Consort Shu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed lightly a few times: "Your Majesty, I am feeling a little unwell. May I rise first and apologize to Your Majesty another day?"

A hint of confusion flashed in A Zi's eyes as she looked at Qing He beside her.

Before she could even speak, Consort Shu had already started acting.

Consort Shu rushed forward to grab her hand, intending to pull Azi down. However, Qinghe reacted quickly, protecting Azi and taking a few steps back, causing her to miss her target.

So, she ended up falling awkwardly onto the wet floor in front of everyone. Fortunately, the snow had been swept to the sides of the road, preventing her from sinking into the snow.

Azi blinked. What was this woman trying to do? She was acting pitiful and weak, and now she was going crazy. It was terrifying!

Azi stared at the woman who had begun to weep, pondering her dream. She wasn't sure if it was the woman before her, as she couldn't make out her face at all. She tried to identify her by her figure, but her memory grew even more hazy.

Azi shook her head, pressed her temples, and took Qinghe's hand, wanting to leave.

In that instant, Consort Shu had already crawled over with difficulty and grabbed Azi's skirt. Out of professional ethics, Qinghe subconsciously kicked her. Consort Shu was kicked several meters away, clutching her chest and vomiting blood. She stared innocently at Azi.

Azi felt very uncomfortable being stared at, but now the situation seemed difficult to salvage.

The concubines and palace maids standing nearby were so frightened by Qinghe's rudeness towards Consort Shu that they shrank to the side and knelt tremblingly, not daring to raise their heads.

Startled by Qinghe's kick, Caiyue's pupils dilated. She got up and ran to Consort Shu's side, her face full of worry and panic.

"Your Majesty, are you alright! This servant will fetch the imperial physician for you!" Caiyue shouted at the eunuchs behind her, and immediately a young eunuch ran out to fetch the imperial physician.

Azi didn't stop her; she was also afraid of causing a death in the palace. The current situation was beyond her imagination, and she didn't know how to handle it for a moment, but reason told her that she couldn't show her helplessness in front of outsiders.

Azi stood frozen in place, her face expressionless, as if she had made a terrible mess of things.

She began to doubt again whether the harem was suitable for her. She hadn't done anything wrong; she just didn't want to be looked down upon, so she made people bow.

She was momentarily numb, wondering how things had developed to this point. Her mind was in turmoil.

Liu Meiren and Li Guiren were taking care of Shufei on the side, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Azi and Qinghe.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Suddenly, a group of people hurriedly tidied their appearance and bowed respectfully.

Emperor Jingcheng hurried over, followed by Zheng San and others. Prince Yuan also arrived.

With her back to Di Jingcheng and the others, Azi only realized he had arrived after they had all bowed. She was momentarily at a loss for how to face him, because it was so embarrassing; she had made a terrible mess of things, even though she hadn't intended it to be this way.

Clearly, she knew she couldn't defeat the concubines before her. Even knowing their intentions, she was powerless to change the situation and was at their mercy.

Azi clenched her hands hidden in her sleeves, lowered her head, looked completely bewildered, and her big eyes moved erratically.

Di Jingcheng came up to her, looked at her pitiful expression, shook his head helplessly, and then smiled indulgently: "Azi, are you unhappy?"

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back to comfort her.

The moment Azi was embraced in that familiar arms, all the awkwardness, shame, and helplessness in her heart instantly turned into tears that gushed out. She sobbed in the man's arms, feeling utterly wronged.

Di Jingyuan stood aside watching this scene, feeling a pang of heartache. A little thought revealed the situation: how could she, who had only recently entered the palace, possibly outmaneuver the cunning concubines of the inner palace?

Di Jingcheng lowered his head and gently coaxed her in her ear, letting her vent her emotions, feeling extremely distressed.

The people kneeling on the ground were all speechless. They never expected that the Emperor would dote on this Empress so much. He didn't ask any questions before starting to comfort her. His worried face and furrowed brows showed how much he cared for the Empress.

They had never seen such a gentle emperor; they only felt that he was cold and ruthless but governed effectively.

Seeing the Emperor protecting the Empress like this, Consort Liu and Noble Lady Li felt uneasy. Consort Shu, standing to the side, felt even more so; her lowered eyes seemed to radiate venom. She pinched Caiyue's hand, which was covered in nail guards, and Caiyue curled her lips into a smile.

Beside Caiyue was Consort Liu, who muttered a few complaints in a low voice: "The Empress is being far too pretentious." Her voice was so soft that Consort Liu could hear her.

Meanwhile, the emperor's men were too preoccupied to pay attention to them and naturally didn't notice.

Upon hearing this, Liu Meiren's jealousy was amplified to an extreme degree, and she felt as if her heart was about to be twisted.

Resentment flashed in her eyes. Why did that woman of unknown origin receive all the emperor's love, while she, who had been in the palace for many years, was still just a minor concubine and had never even spoken a word to the emperor?

"Your Majesty! Consort Shu is injured and just coughed up blood. Her condition doesn't seem too good." Consort Liu spoke softly, looking at the weak Consort Shu with concern. Consort Shu coughed twice in response, and Caiyue supported her, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with one hand.

No one paid her any attention, and Consort Liu looked embarrassed. Consort Shu's face paled even more, and she glanced helplessly at Noble Lady Li, thinking to herself that Consort Liu was truly useless.

With his head bowed, Emperor Jingcheng paid no attention to the flirtatious glances exchanged between Consort Shu and the others, his mind solely focused on comforting the person in his arms.

Prince Yuan, of course, noticed that the women were up to their old tricks again. He scoffed inwardly, thinking how annoying it was that these women could put on a show without a script or a stage.

This Consort Shu seems to be the biggest actor in all of this.

Just then, the eunuch beside Consort Shu brought over Imperial Physician Li.

Seeing the scene before him, Imperial Physician Li wisely approached the Emperor and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and Prince Yuan."

Seeing that his elder brother didn't want to talk to him, Prince Yuan casually waved his hand and said, "Imperial Physician Li, please get up and wait here."

"yes."

After crying for a while, Azi felt much better and leaned against Di Jingcheng's chest, refusing to leave.

Di Jingcheng had no choice but to pick her up and carry her to the pavilion to sit down. He then carefully wrapped her body in his cloak, afraid that she would get cold.

"Alright, tell me what happened. Qinghe, you tell me." Di Jingcheng took the hot tea that Zheng San handed him, took a sip, and found the temperature to be just right.

So he gently fed the girl in his arms who was crying pitifully: "Baby, have some hot tea first. You must be tired from crying. Rest for a while."

Azi nodded, nestled in his arms, and obediently drank the tea he fed her, sniffing comfortably with her rosy little nose.

Qinghe recounted the whole story from beginning to end without embellishing it, leaving no room for Consort Shu and the others to elaborate.

After hearing this, Di Jingcheng felt sorry for the little baby in his arms. These women were really terrible. No wonder his innocent and lovely little girl was so aggrieved.