I am the stepmother of my son, and the little villain has changed into a little cotton-padded jacket

Wen Shutang sat quietly by the side watching Xiao Wan practice acupuncture. He corrected her mistakes directly when he saw them. After accompanying Xiao Wan for a while, Wen Shutang quietly left the room, leaving Xiao Wan alone in the room to continue practicing seriously.

Wen Shutang returned to the room on the second floor, opened the door and found Xiao Yizhuo and Mu Yin discussing something in the room.

Seeing Wen Shutang coming back, Mu Yin bowed respectfully and said, "I greet you, Madam."

Xiao Yizhuo waved at her: "Madam, come quickly."

Wen Shutang walked over to the two of them and found a map on the table: "What is this?"

"This is the intelligence I have gathered over the years. The map of the imperial palace has the locations of each palace clearly marked," Mu Yin explained.

Wen Shutang looked carefully and found that there were indeed many small words on the map, which clearly stated who lived in each palace and how many people lived there. It was very detailed.

"The palace map? What are you studying?"

"I didn't study anything. The young master wanted to show you the map. After all, you might follow the young master into the palace in the future. The young master is afraid that you will be bullied by others, so you have a way out. At worst, you can remember who bullied you, and the young master can seek justice for you."

Mu Yin had a smile on his face. He originally thought that the young master had called him here to discuss matters after returning to Beijing, but he didn't expect that it was just to let his wife know the map of the palace for the sake of his wife's future safety.

When had his young master ever cared so much about someone, let alone a woman.

Now he believed what Mu Zhu said, that the young master only recognized Wen Shutang as his wife.

After hearing what Mu Zhu said, Wen Shutang turned and looked at Xiao Yizhuo with a questioning look.

Xiao Yizhuo nodded slightly: "Everyone in the palace is very cunning, we have to be on guard."

Although he felt that Wen Shutang being bullied was a rare thing, there were always unexpected things. Xiao Yizhuo would never let such an accident as Wen Shutang getting hurt happen, even if there was only a slight possibility.

Knowing Xiao Yizhuo's intentions, Wen Shutang felt warm in his heart and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

Lower your head and look carefully at the map of the palace.

She discovered that there were many palaces in the imperial palace, but only a few concubines lived there, no more than a dozen in total.

Wen Shutang raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't expect that there were only so few people in the harem.

"There are so few concubines? It seems that this emperor is not a man obsessed with beauty." Wen Shutang sighed, touching his chin.

Xiao Yizhuo opened his mouth slowly and told Wen Shutang about the current situation in the palace.

"Since the Emperor ascended the throne, he has only held a beauty pageant once, and the girls chosen were all legitimate daughters from large families. Girls from lesser families were not chosen. Because there are few concubines in the harem, the Emperor does not have many children, only two little princes and four princesses. The princes are still young, and the Emperor has not yet appointed a crown prince."

Upon hearing the news, Wen Shutang was even more surprised.

I didn’t expect that the emperor had only two sons. This is rare.

Mu Yin nodded slightly and agreed, "The queen is the legitimate daughter of the Mu family in the capital. She has a noble status, but she is not close to the emperor. There are even rumors that the emperor and the queen are not on good terms. As for the truth, it is still unknown. The most favored one in the harem is Shu Guifei. Shu Guifei is the second legitimate daughter of the Tang family. She was supposed to enter the palace as the eldest legitimate daughter of the Tang family, but later on, for some reason, she became the current Shu Guifei. The eldest prince was born to Shu Guifei."

Mu Yin explained to Wen Shutang several of the more important people in the harem. Wen Shutang listened with great interest. Just by listening, he felt that there must have been some interesting palace fights going on between these people.

This indeed piqued Wen Shutang's interest.

"Whose is the other prince?" Wen Shutang couldn't help but ask.

"It belongs to Concubine Dun, who is a daughter of the Zhao family." Xiao Yizhuo explained.

Wen Shutang turned to look at him and raised his eyebrows: "Daughter of the Zhao family? Are you talking about the Zhao family of Zhao Fuqiu?"

Xiao Yizhuo nodded: "Well, at that time, the Zhao family didn't want to let their daughter participate in the selection, but the emperor personally selected the eldest daughter of the Zhao family to enter the palace, so the Zhao family had no choice but to send their daughter away. As soon as Concubine Dun entered the palace, she was favored and soon became pregnant. The emperor treated Concubine Dun well, and the Zhao family was relieved and gradually dispelled their worries about their daughter. Concubine Dun is the aunt of Zhao Fuqiu and Zhao Linhe."

Hearing what he said, Wen Shutang couldn't help but smack his lips. This relationship was really complicated.

"But since Concubine Shu entered the palace, the emperor rarely favors Concubine Dun anymore." Mu Yin added.

After listening to what the two said, Wen Shutang touched his chin and nodded in understanding. His eyes fell on the map of the palace again, carefully observing where the people mentioned by Mu Yin just now lived.

It seems that this harem is not as simple as it seems.

As for why the emperor only wanted the legitimate daughter of each family, it was probably to keep these important families tightly under his control.

After all, the harem and the previous dynasty are inextricably linked.

"The biological mothers of the other three princesses are also daughters of prominent families. Only the biological mother of the fourth princess is a little maid." Mu Yin continued.

Hearing this, Wen Shutang raised his eyebrows and roughly guessed the background of the fourth princess.

Sure enough, the next second, Mu Yin said the answer she had guessed in her heart: "His Majesty got drunk at the winter banquet and favored the young palace maid who was serving at the time. The young palace maid was later found to be pregnant and was named a concubine by the emperor. When the baby was born, it was found to be a girl, so she was sentenced to death. However, it was announced to the public that the concubine died of dystocia."

Wen Shutang smacked her lips. It was exactly as she thought. The fourth princess must be having a hard time in the palace. Her father didn't love her and her mother was not around.

Thinking of this, Wen Shutang couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

At the same time, Wen Shutang became more curious about the emperor. After all, she came here from the modern times, and she really wanted to meet the emperor.

Xiao Yizhuo and Wen Shutang studied the map in the room until the sun set, then they put away the map of the palace.

-

Thousands of miles away in Qingshui Town, several carriages arrived before dark.

The servant walked up to the carriage and whispered, "Master, we have arrived at Qingshui Town."

A low voice came from the carriage: "Well, let everyone go to the inn, and you come with me to Mingde Academy."

The servant nodded: "Yes, Master."

After settling all the followers, the servant and the man went to Mingde Academy together.

The servant walked up and knocked on the door, and after a moment the door was opened.

When the servant saw the person coming, his eyes widened in surprise, then he bowed respectfully and said, "Young Master."

The man nodded slightly: "Take me to see grandpa."