Chapter 36 The Gentle Wins Favor

"Su Peisheng."

"Your servant is here."

"Send the white jade and glass Buddha statue from the storeroom to the Fourteenth Prince."

“Your Majesty, isn’t that…” Isn’t it a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager? Su Peisheng was interrupted by Yinzhen’s gaze before he could finish speaking. “Yes, this servant will go right away.”

Not daring to say a word, Su Peisheng quickly took his leave, thinking that the Fourteenth Prince would come to visit, and he would get a great deal. The Prince was too kind-hearted; why bother with him now that the imperial genealogy had been changed?

The study was now completely empty except for Yinzhen. After seeing off the tearful Yinzhen, he had Su Peisheng thoughtfully prepare a generous gift, ensuring that Su Peisheng could add another layer of warmth through his words. This established his image as a "good older brother who does more than he says."

"How was your performance?" Even the incredibly talented actor Yinzhen, who is full of dramatic flair, occasionally needs feedback from the audience.

[666, I'm giving the host a shout-out! I see the Fourteenth Prince is completely under the host's control. The host is really amazing...] 555 kept showering the host with compliments and pulled out a handful of virtual paper flowers from somewhere, scattering them incessantly in his mind.

Even 556 couldn't stand his fawning manner. [Master is amazing, his character score has gone up again!]

556's tone was full of twists and turns, and even the kitten next to him couldn't help but shiver and slapped the pink ball to the ground with its paw.

【Ah... Xiao Liu, I didn't mean to, I don't know why, my hands suddenly felt itchy...】555 panicked and hurriedly pushed the pink dumpling up.

Seeing the smile on Yinzhen's lips, 556 gritted her teeth and forced a smile, "[It's okay, you didn't do it on purpose...] Just wait, you naive sweetheart, wait until I become the eldest brother..."

The interaction between the two small systems always brought Yinzhen some amusement. Therefore, he never got involved, but only watched from the sidelines.

"Xiao Wu, how's the fanfiction going lately? Send it to me."

In 556's eyes, "Grandma Wolf" was asking "Little Red Riding Hood" for food again, and the naive and innocent "Little Red Riding Hood" took it for granted and handed it over, washing herself clean and placing herself next to "Grandma Wolf's" mouth.

【Okay, okay.】Completely unaware of the pitiful look in the eyes of the little pink dumpling beside him, 555 took out the text and handed it to Yinzhen as usual.

Yinzhen, as was commonplace, connected with his spiritual power, exploring the existence of another world. Soon, soon…

"My lady, Princess Rouze was playing the zither on the path when she ran into Prince. The servant who reported this said that the two had a very pleasant conversation..."

Upon receiving the news, Jianqiu, looking grim, entered the inner room to report.

Yixiu put down the account book in her hand, her brows furrowing impatiently. "It seems the Ulanara clan still has some tricks up their sleeves..."

In the three days since she entered the manor, Yinzhen hadn't visited her even once, and everyone laughed at Rouze. But Yixiu had never let her guard down. She didn't believe Rouze would give up so easily; she knew Rouze was capable of such shameless acts to curry favor with the powerful.

The rivalry between her and Rouze had long been established; anyone could gain favor in the inner quarters, but Rouze could not. For this reason, she had deliberately planted spies in Rouze's courtyard and kept a very strict watch on her.

Who knew that Rouze would still have the opportunity to meet the Prince? Yixiu didn't believe it was just a chance encounter.

Rouzena's spy has already become a head maid, but she hasn't sent back any news in advance. It seems that Ulanara has left her with quite a few tricks up her sleeve.

Thinking of this, Yixiu couldn't help but feel distressed. She was already a Fujin (a high-ranking concubine), while Rouze was only a Gege (a lower-ranking concubine). Yet, her father still valued Rouze, and the Ulanara clan's connections were still given to her. Could it be that the Prince had also taken a liking to Rouze...?

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Just as Yi Xiu was feeling lost and sad, she suddenly heard the servants' greetings coming from outside the door. Before she could react, a tall and imposing figure walked in.

"What's wrong? Why are you sitting here in a daze?" Yinzhen walked in with a smile, sat down next to Yixiu, and looked at her curiously.

"Your Highness..." Yixiu was overjoyed and wanted to stand up to pay her respects, but Yinzhen pressed her down.

"Alright, alright, we're husband and wife, why are you being so polite?"

Hearing the words "husband and wife," Yixiu felt a sweet warmth in her heart and obediently sat down next to Yinzhen. Seeing his visibly joyful expression, she couldn't help but be curious, and worried that it was because of Rouze, so she couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Is Your Highness very happy?"

“Yes,” Yinzhen said with a smile, glancing at Yixiu beside him, “your elder sister is quite interesting…”

Upon hearing this, Yixiu felt a pang in her heart, and her smile vanished. She didn't say much, but her resentment towards Rouze only intensified.

Yinzhen didn't care about Yixiu's feelings; he genuinely felt that Rouze was interesting. It's just that it wasn't what Yixiu thought.

While checking his rising character score in his study, Yinzhen analyzed the curve and was slightly dissatisfied; the recent rate of increase was simply too slow. He felt that his acting skills were still lacking. After all, he had been playing the role of a gentle and harmless righteous sorcerer for over a thousand years, and temporarily switching to the "pure and innocent" persona was still somewhat insufficient.

Just as he was feeling annoyed, he heard Su Peisheng report on some of Rouze and Ulanara's little schemes in the backyard. Yinzhen's eyes lit up instantly—the template was finally here!

Rouze is still somewhat useful; the pure, natural white lotus body is the best object for him to observe and learn from!

So, with Yinzhen granting him ample funds, Rouze successfully reconnected with Ulanara's network of connections and established some "spies" in the inner court. Thus, when Yinzhen had some free time, Rouze finally managed to "accidentally" meet him.

Well, as expected of a pure and innocent woman, she speaks so eloquently. Yinzhen felt he learned a lot and would come again next time!

"What about Yuan Kang?" Yinzhen asked, snapping out of his reverie. The grandsons of the emperor were usually given their formal names by Emperor Kangxi on their first birthday. Yuan Kang was the nickname Empress Yixiu had chosen for the child, simply wishing for his good health. Yinzhen thought it was quite fitting and agreed.

“Yuan Kang just fell asleep. That child always needs a lot of sleep.” When the child was mentioned, Yi Xiu forgot everything else and was filled with maternal love.

"I'll go take a look." Yinzhen twirled the beaded string on his wrist and walked towards the side room. After seeing Yinzhen off, Yixiu's smile faded, worried that Yinzhen might be using the excuse of seeing the child to leave and go to Rouze's place.

Feeling utterly disappointed, Yixiu wondered how she should deal with Rouze. After seeing the child, Yinzhen returned and had dinner with her. They stayed overnight in the main courtyard, during which time he never mentioned Rouze again.

Yi Xiu couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. Perhaps the Prince didn't mean it the way she thought, or perhaps the Prince still harbored resentment towards Rou Ze...

At this moment, she was still somewhat uneasy, fearing Rouze's rise to power. But in the following days, things developed in a way that completely exceeded her expectations, and she even couldn't help but feel sorry for Rouze...

On the first day, Rou played the zither and happened to meet Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight in the main courtyard.

The next day, Rou Ze played the pipa to express her feelings and happened to meet Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight at Qinghezhai.

On the third day, Rouze sang by the water and happened to meet Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight at Yunshui Residence, where he broke the ice with Song Gege...

Good heavens—what kind of kind person is Rouze? After her chance encounter with the Prince, even the Yunshui Residence, which had been in a stalemate for so long and felt like a cold palace, has warmed up again. The remaining three concubines are hoping that Rouze will have a few more chance encounters; surely it'll be their turn next?

Unfortunately, Rouze was probably discouraged. They always had a good chat, and the Prince seemed very interested in her, so why didn't he stay overnight at her place?

Completely baffled, Rou was dejected for three days. With the kind encouragement of her maid, she regained her confidence and launched another attack.

So, on the fourth occasion, Rou was burying flowers under the tree when she happened to meet Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight at Liu Qingxue's place.

The fifth time, Rouze wrote a poem praising the red plum blossoms and happened to meet Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight at Mei Qiyue's place.

The sixth time, Rou was bandaging the little rabbit when she ran into Prince Bei. They had a pleasant conversation, and Prince Bei stayed overnight at Yuan Yuxiu's place...

From then on, within half a month, Yinzhen successfully bestowed his favors evenly, and everyone in the inner court, except for Rouze, received his affection. Rouze, a helpful and kind-hearted woman, saw her popularity in the inner court rise slightly...