The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to Her Majesty Huifei." After greeting, Chen Peiluan immediately changed her tone and said, "Sister Yunlou!"

"Why are you so anxious? What happened?" Concubine Chen Hui gave the female official beside her a look, and the female official and the palace servants quickly retreated. "Ever since you replaced Tao Er and stood in the position of representing the Duke of Shen's Mansion among the former nobles, I haven't seen you so anxious for a long time."

Chen Peiluan was holding her breath and was determined to compete with Lin Qiao in the court. She was always rigorous, serious and solemn in her daily behavior. Many people even secretly called her "Lady Sanyan" behind her back. Her overly tough attitude also washed away some stereotypes about her as a noble woman and helped her get a place in the government hall.

However, before Chen Peiluan could gather enough confidence to do something to Lin Qiao, the latter requested an imperial decree and went to inspect Kyushu on behalf of the emperor and empress... and he also brought his wife, a barbarian from a mountain family, with him. He even left Kyoto secretly. After not seeing him in the Lizheng Hall for several days, Chen Peiluan realized that the man whom she secretly regarded as her rival had once again abandoned her.

Feeling that she was being ignored by Lin Qiao, Chen Peiluan worked even harder in the Lizheng Hall. She knew very well that Lin Qiao had a relationship with Empress Xie, and no matter how long she was away from the capital, she would not be able to fall out of the center of power in the court when she came back. So she had to work hard to get to a higher position before Lin Qiao came back, so that Lin Qiao would never be able to ignore her existence next time as before!

However, Chen Peiluan never expected that on her path to advancement, there would suddenly appear such a huge stumbling block as Princess Rong Le - she was indeed on good terms with her, but what exactly did Princess Rong Le do to suddenly make Empress Xie vent her anger on her? There was no news of it before.

Because what happened in Heyi Tower was jointly blocked by Princess Rongle and Marquis Yongjia, it was not widely spread. Although Chen Peiluan had already established a foothold in the Lizheng Hall, she was not yet a close confidant of the emperor and empress. Therefore, she had to use her own connections to find out many more secretive news.

Concubine Chen Hui - this high-ranking concubine in the inner palace who was from the same family as her and was favored by Empress Xie was naturally one of the connections that Chen Peiluan worked most carefully to cultivate.

After the initial panic of being left alone by Empress Xie, Chen Peiluan quickly realized that she might indeed be implicated by Princess Rong Le, but the involvement must not be serious, otherwise Empress Xie's attitude would not be so gentle. Judging from her previous style of doing things, if she was really nailed to the crime, the most likely thing Empress Xie would do was to pretend to know nothing and secretly weave a trap, waiting for her to step into it before raising the butcher knife to reap the harvest.

Although the idle order meant that she had been dismissed from her position, from another perspective, wasn't this also a subtle reminder to herself?

After thinking this through, Chen Peiluan felt much more at ease, but she still chose to go to Concubine Chen Hui to inquire.

"Tao Er broke his leg and could not accompany His Majesty on the tour. I submitted a letter of resignation on his behalf, but after Her Majesty heard me read the letter from His Majesty Rong Le requesting to stay in Beijing, she actually said that she would give me three months to unload my duties, go home to rest, and take care of Tao Er's broken leg!" Chen Peiluan's face was full of worry.

Concubine Chen Hui raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise: "You are usually diligent and prudent in your work. I think the queen has seen it, otherwise she wouldn't point it out to you like this."

Since she had already made up her mind to live comfortably in the palace in her old age, it was impossible for Concubine Chen Hui not to try to figure out the temperament of her boss. Although she usually showed a kind of laziness, she did not really give up on everything.

"Sister Luan, do you know that His Highness Yuyi left the palace a few days ago?"

"Of course I know." Chen Peiluan frowned, "His Highness Yuyi and several other highnesses went out of the capital for fun, and His Highness Rongle was there too. Could it be that she did something that made the Empress displeased?"

"I only heard that the Duke of England lost face in front of His Highness and has been too embarrassed to show up since returning to the capital."

Chen Peiluan thought: "If it was just a simple offense or a temporary conflict, with the Queen's broad mind, she would definitely not bear a grudge too much."

Concubine Chen Hui, who had experienced all the turmoil when Empress Xie first entered the palace, felt that it was better not to speak ill of others behind their backs, especially her immediate superior. She held down Chen Peiluan's hands, which were unconsciously clenched together, and gently comforted her, saying, "Before leaving the capital, His Highness Yuyi went to Heyi Tower. In order to avoid suspicion, I did not inquire too much. I only know that it seems that the servants in Heyi Tower had a problem with His Highness."

"And after that, the man named Xie Jinchao, Lord Xie, who came out of the Empress's palace, began to mobilize files related to folk sects with Aunt Xia Zhi."

"Scared!" Chen Peiluan realized something instantly. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened involuntarily. "She actually got involved in this?!"

"And... Madam already knows about it?"

She took a few deep breaths anxiously: "Then His Majesty and His Majesty are going on a tour at this time..."

"So, the queen asked you to go home and rest for a while at this time. Apart from suspicion, she also wanted to protect you." Concubine Chen Hui said softly, "Although we are not sure whether it will happen... But for a family like ours, it is better to avoid such things. Anyway, the Chen family has always established itself with literature and never coveted the credit of following the emperor. You..."

"No, Sister Yunlou, I can't stay at home!" Chen Peiluan suddenly turned around and grabbed Chen Huifei's hands. She was not young anymore. Although she was well maintained, years of hard work still left many fine lines at the corners of her eyes. However, Chen Peiluan's eyes, which were not particularly outstanding, were surprisingly bright.

It was as if there were ghost lights burning inside.

"Sister, although I am a daughter of the Chen family, I am now a wife of the Tao family. I am the wife of Duke Shen, and I stand in the court with this title!"

"We are sisters, and I don't want to hide it from you. The wife of Duke Shen is just the wife of Duke Shen. What if I...what if I can turn this wife of Duke Shen into the wife of the Duke of Shen?" Chen Peiluan's low voice was like a ghost's muttering, "I'm afraid I won't be able to be a duke in this lifetime, but I can still try my best to get the position of a wife of the Duke of Shen!"

"I don't want to stay at home doing nothing, and I don't have to squeeze into the patrol team. Sometimes, staying at the back, staying in the place where chaos breaks out, I can play a greater role for the queen. Please help my unfilial sister one more time!"