Nan Zhiyun couldn't quite understand what she was hearing.

"What use is it for you to come to me about this? You should go to the Imperial Concubine or His Majesty." Nan Zhiyun frowned slightly.

"I cannot see His Majesty, nor do I dare to speak to him. As for the Noble Consort... she said that this is against etiquette. If you are really in a hurry, you can speak to His Majesty. That is why I came to see you, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, I have no other choice. I have a deep affection for my mother, who has always treated me very well since I was a child. I am also very worried about her. I have missed her terribly since we haven't seen each other for many years. Now that I hear that my mother is seriously ill, I have lost my status for a while. I beg Your Highness to grant my filial piety." Consort Yang continued.

“What’s the use of telling me this? I can’t help you. It still requires His Majesty’s permission,” Nan Zhiyun replied.

At this time, Qianxia also had tea prepared, but, tsk, it was probably brewed in vain.

"Your Highness, His Majesty currently favors you greatly, and your favor is abundant. I beg Your Highness to help me. As Your Highness knows, His Majesty dislikes such trivial matters, and I dare not, for I am also afraid that His Majesty will not agree," Consort Yang continued to plead.

"Then... I dare not..." Nan Zhiyun didn't know how to refuse, so she said this. And what she said was the truth. She really didn't dare.

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..." For a moment, she was stuck. How could she continue the conversation?

“His Majesty treats you differently now. If you are willing to help, His Majesty will definitely agree,” Consort Yang continued.

"What if His Majesty changes his mind and gets angry after I tell him about this?" Nan Zhiyun seemed genuinely clueless.

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..."

"You can go and say it yourself, why does it have to be me? She's your mother, not mine. Wouldn't it be more sincere if you went and said it? His Majesty might even be more likely to agree." Nan Zhiyun added seriously.

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..."

“It’s different, Your Majesty. His Majesty doesn’t like me, and I’m not favored…” Consort Yang was about to continue, but Nan Zhiyun interrupted her, saying, “How do you know His Majesty doesn’t like you?”

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..." How should I put this?

"His Majesty is the ruler of a country, so naturally he wouldn't like concubines..."

“Then he is the ruler of a country, so he certainly wouldn’t like me, wouldn’t he?” Nan Zhiyun said very “sincerely.”

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..." How many times has this happened? Is this Consort Shu really that naive? Or... well, just plain stupid?

"Anyway, I dare not say," Nan Zhiyun added.

Seemingly after a moment's thought, and still feeling it wasn't enough, he added, "His Majesty has punished me many times, with great pain and severity, but he has never treated you this way. Therefore, His Majesty's treatment of you is different; his leniency has always been reserved for you..."

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..."

"Your Majesty..." This time it was Qianxia who called out, looking at Nan Zhiyun with a face full of heartache.

"...Perhaps His Majesty is intolerant of everyone, but...he is only harsh on me." Nan Zhiyun didn't know why, but she suddenly felt unhappy. She had said she couldn't help, yet the woman kept bothering her, and kept mentioning how His Majesty treated her differently. Nan Zhiyun was annoyed.

She just said what was on her mind. Even though His Majesty had never tolerated her before, she... just felt uncomfortable, her heart felt bitter and sour, and she was also a little angry.

"Your Highness, Consort Shu..." Yang Zhaoyuan was about to say.

However, Nan Zhiyun clearly no longer had the patience.

"I was just lying to you," Nan Zhiyun said, leaving everyone puzzled.

"So, Consort Shu means she's willing to help me?" Consort Yang asked, somewhat surprised.

“No, what I meant was that I was just saying I was bored and had nothing to do, so it didn’t matter if you came. But now I’m saying that was a lie, because I’m very busy and don’t have time to talk to you about this, so you can go back now,” Nan Zhiyun said earnestly.

Yang Zhaoyuan: "..."

"Didn't you hear me, Consort Yang? Shall I escort you out?" Qianxia noticed Nan Zhiyun's impatience and immediately prepared to see her off.

"Your Highness, you can't do this! You're just letting someone die!" Consort Yang exclaimed agitatedly.

"How dare you! Consort Yang, this is He'an Palace. Consort Shu is of a higher rank than you. Is this how you speak to her? Besides, you were the one begging Consort Shu to do things for you. What do you mean by acting like this?" Qianxia rebuked angrily.

"Someone, escort Consort Yang out!" Qianxia ordered. Qiuyun and Dongwan, who were already prepared, were about to step forward when Xia Yi outside shouted, "His Majesty has arrived!"

"Your Majesty?" Nan Zhiyun immediately followed after hearing this, and Yang Zhaoyuan's eyes lit up as well. Wasn't this perfect? ​​When Yu Jingchen appeared in her sight, Yang Zhaoyuan threw herself to the ground.

Qiu Yun and Dong Wan were both stunned. They hadn't pushed her... and the ground wasn't that slippery. Nan Zhiyun had also seen it, but she knew that Yang Zhaoyuan had fallen on her own.

"Your Highness, what do you mean by this? Even if I am of lower status than you, you cannot treat me like this!" Consort Yang feigned distress, acting pitiful and genuinely as if she had been wronged.

"What's wrong?" Yu Jingchen walked over calmly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Nan Zhiyun bowed. It would be a lie to say she wasn't worried; who knew what Yu Jingchen would think? This had happened before.

Some concubines loved to pretend they were being bullied by him, then beg the Emperor to intervene on their behalf. But the Emperor always listened to them, completely distrusting him. If he tried to defend himself, it would be seen as sophistry, and he would be punished even more severely…

Thinking of all this, Nan Zhiyun's hands tightened slightly. Would it be like that again today? The worst time before was when she was punished with twenty strokes of the cane, her hands were slapped, and she had to kneel for two hours. Because that concubine said she had slapped her, she made that concubine return the favor on the spot with two slaps.

The important thing isn't how heavy the blow was, but self-respect. That little concubine was just a minor imperial concubine. Yet, she slapped herself in front of Yu Jingchen, some other concubines, and even so many palace servants…