After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

I sighed and said, "Now that the late emperor has passed away, the empress dowager's gifts are naturally less. Although these jewelry are gorgeous and precious, they cannot be sold, and I cannot wear so many of them. If I keep them in my hands, they are like rotten firewood and are not worth anything at all. It is better to have some silver on me. Now the empress dowager has given all of these to 1. She must be afraid that she can't keep them and that they will be taken away by others. It is safer to keep them with me. So I will give her some silver notes as a return gift."

Yang thought about it and finally understood. She nodded and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Although these gifts from the emperor are valuable, they are not as real as money. I will go and buy them right away."

I told Zheng Yan that reorganizing the harem was no joke, so after lunch, I asked Fuyao to pass on my oral order and summon all the concubines in the harem to Shengping Palace for an audience.

The news that Concubine Li was sentenced to death last night had spread throughout the palace. Although the concubines were glad to get rid of Concubine Li, they could not be glad when they thought that I was even more cruel than Concubine Li and did not even spare Concubine Li who was pregnant with a dragon seed. They always felt like they were being killed at any time. With such an uneasy mood, they ignored all the things on hand and rushed to Shengping Palace as fast as possible, fearing that they would die if they were late. As a result, they all arrived more than an hour earlier than the agreed time.

I sat in the main seat, looking at the eighteen beauties kneeling on the ground. It was the first time I saw many of them. As expected, each of them was as beautiful as a flower. Any one of them would become a big internet celebrity if put in modern times.

Zheng Yan appointed two imperial concubines. One was Imperial Concubine Li, who was executed by me. The other was Imperial Concubine Yun, whose name was Chu Yujiao and whose father was the Minister of Justice Chu Tianxiong.

As expected, each of them has powerful backers. No wonder once they come to power, their true natures are revealed and they use all possible means.

I took the roster from Yang and said, "I don't know you very well. When I read your name, please stand up and let me take a look."

This show of majesty almost frightened me.

I read out the names on the roster one by one. When I read Shen Fengyao's name, the concubine with a scratch on her face stood up with her head lowered. I saw that she was wearing a veil on her face, as if she didn't want people to see her wound.

Shen Fengyao is the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Shen Qingyi. She is beautiful and talented, but unexpectedly she almost disfigured Concubine Li.

I looked at Shen Fengyao and said, "Come forward and let me take a good look at your wound."

After hearing this, Shen Fengyao not only did not move forward, but she was so scared that she took two steps back and looked at me with horror.

I found her reaction a little funny, so I turned to Yang and said, "Go get that bottle of Jade Face Cream and give it to Lady Shen."

These concubines who had been favored by the emperor all had their own positions, and Shen Fengyao's current position was beauty.

Yang quickly went to the inner room and brought out a porcelain bottle and presented it to me.

I took the bottle, waved to Shen Fengyao, and said, "Come here, this bottle of jade cream is for you. Apply it on your face carefully every morning and evening, and the scars on your face will disappear soon."

Shen Fengyao looked up at me in disbelief. She was only sixteen years old, at the age of being as beautiful as a flower. If her face was ruined, she couldn't imagine how miserable her second half of life would be.

Shen Fengyao felt that I didn't seem like a good person, and she was hesitant to step forward and take the bottle.

I saw Shen Fengyao was on guard, slowly lowered her hands, and said, "Do you know why I ordered the death of Concubine Li?"

These eighteen concubines dared not say a word.

I smiled coldly and said, "Now it seems that you still like Concubine Li's abuse of you. You still want to protect her even after she has died."

My words made everyone tremble a few times, and then they all knelt down again, with their heads buried low, trying to reduce their presence as much as possible.

I said coldly, "The reason why Concubine Li was sentenced to death was because she offended the late emperor and was disrespectful to me. Shouldn't a person who doesn't distinguish between the noble and the humble and causes chaos in the harem be sentenced to death?"

The dozen or so concubines looked at each other, and only then did a hint of understanding appear in their eyes.

I was very satisfied with everyone's expressions, and then continued: "Since you are married to the emperor and eat his food, you should share his worries instead of focusing all your energy on competing for his favor. There is only one emperor, but there are dozens, hundreds, or even more concubines in the harem. If you win this fight today, you might be defeated by others tomorrow. Why bother?"

They were all stunned by what I said. Their only mission in entering the palace was to try every means to gain the emperor's grace and benefit the family. Do you think I meant that they should stop fighting and be invisible?

Concubine Yun couldn't help but speak up first: "Replying to Concubine Shu, according to what you said, His Majesty has only one wife, but if we don't fight for it, His Majesty won't pay any attention to us. We may only be able to be a minor concubine in our lifetime. When will we be able to stand out?"

I said unhappily, "Do you have nothing to do but to revolve around a man in your life? As long as you don't commit suicide, you can enjoy endless wealth and splendor in this palace. In your spare time, you can embroider, read storybooks, play cards, or even plant flowers and make snacks. If you have children, you can teach them to read. This palace is so big, can't you find something to do to kill time?"

Actually, I feel it's against my will when I say this. Although this palace is big, it's like a prison. There are people watching your every word and action and setting rules for you. If I live in this palace for a long time, I'm afraid I'll get depression, so I often go out.

But these concubines cannot leave the palace at will. After they marry into the palace, they will be locked up in this deep palace for the rest of their lives and have no freedom at all.

After hearing what I said, these concubines felt a little confused at first, but later they found it to be very reasonable.

Yes, they are all talented and beautiful, and have endless money. Why should they compete with dozens of women for a husband?

Wouldn't it be nice to just live your own life behind closed doors?

These concubines seemed to have just woken up from a dream, as if they had suddenly been enlightened. They all bowed to me and thanked me, "Thank you, Concubine Shu, I understand."

I still feel guilty about what I said. I couldn't convince myself after learning it, but I succeeded in brainwashing them.

I swallowed my saliva, blew a whimper, and said, "Everyone, please stand up. Since it's so rare for us to get together, how about staying and having dinner with me?"

Everyone kowtowed and thanked him again before standing up.

It was still a little early for dinner, so I offered everyone a seat and ordered snacks to be served. Everyone drank tea and ate snacks.

At first they were a little reserved, but after chatting for a few words, everyone saw that I was not as scary as the legend said, and they gradually relaxed and started talking more.

Shen Fengyao also obediently came forward to take the ointment I gave her and expressed her gratitude.