After he disappeared, Consort Cao looked at Guo Shi, whose face was full of grievances, and laughed gleefully.

"Back when we were in the Eastern Palace, His Majesty... cough cough, just so that the Imperial Concubine could sleep a little longer, he specially exempted her from paying her respects. Now it seems that His Majesty's affection for the Imperial Concubine has only increased! Sister Guo, what are you after?"

It wasn't because of her high rank that she forced them to obey, but because she thought that the law wouldn't punish everyone, and that if there were too many people, the Imperial Concubine wouldn't dare to punish them.

The Imperial Concubine was reluctant to punish him due to her status, but the Emperor had no such reservations.

Wu Jieyu coughed lightly and tugged at her sleeve: "Perhaps Sister Guo has forgotten."

"Sister Wu, don't speak up for her. Everyone can see through her intentions."

Consort Cao stood up with the help of a palace maid.

"You're no longer a Liangyuan, not even a Xiuyi anymore. You're just a Jieyu now, like us. How does it feel, Guo Jieyu?"

She leaned down and looked at Guo with a mocking expression.

Guo's blood boiled, and she suddenly raised her hand and slapped her.

"You're nothing but a lowly palace maid! How dare you try to climb over me?"

Cao Jieyu raised an eyebrow, not angry at being hit, but instead raised an eyebrow.

Wu Jieyu didn't dare to interrupt, and looked at her with pity.

She can't even understand her current situation, does she still think she's the same Guo Liangyuan from before? Now that even the Crown Princess has fallen, instead of lying low and bowing her head, she still wants to show her face. She's just asking for death!

The Cao family was no pushover.

Wu Jieyu took a step back.

Sure enough, the next moment, Cao Jieyu suddenly burst into tears.

"Your Majesty! Your Highness, please do me justice!"

She stumbled and ran towards the inner room, crying.

Of course, she was not allowed into the bedroom and was stopped by two palace maids guarding the outside.

Inside the bedroom, Song Xibai, with her hair down, leaned against the headboard, listening to Cao Jieyu crying outside, and couldn't help but raise her hand to rub her temples.

"These people are such a handful!"

She resigned herself to her fate, got out of bed, called someone in, and helped herself to wash and dress.

Actually, she had woken up long ago. When Yuan Shen was scolding them, Song Xibai was listening inside! She just didn't want to cause trouble, so she didn't go out.

I thought that after this lesson, these people would behave themselves for a while, but I didn't expect that they would start making trouble again as soon as Yuan Shen left.

Is it that they don't have a brain or that they just don't have a memory?

With a stern face, Song Xibai had the palace rules brought out and went through them one by one in front of everyone.

"Guo Jieyu assaulted someone without cause. She is demoted one rank and punished by copying the palace rules one hundred times."

Well, she was just demoted to the rank of Jieyu, and now she's going to be demoted another rank.

Song Xibai muttered to himself, then turned to Wei Hong and asked, "What's below Jieyu again?"

"She is a beauty of the fourth rank."

Wei Hong answered dutifully.

"Someone, escort Consort Guo back!"

Song Xibai waved his hand, summoned people, and carried away the sobbing Guo Shi.

After Guo left, Song Xibai looked at Consort Cao again.

Before she could speak, Consort Cao took the initiative to say, "I was wrong to start this trouble. I will go back and copy the palace rules a hundred times."

Song Xibai was completely confused.

What are you trying to achieve by doing this?

Consort Cao looked up and casually tossed her hair: "She used to bully us because of her status. Now that we finally have a chance to turn things around, I'm going to make sure we get our revenge."

Song Xibai understood.

They're all just bored.

She didn't say anything more, and waved for them to go back.

After everyone left, Song Xibai rested her chin on her hand and pondered: I need to find them something to do, otherwise they'll be fighting and causing trouble every day. Even if I take charge of things for them, it'll be annoying!

Wouldn't it be better to use that time to read a couple more medical books or play with the kids?

She didn't think about it for too long; there was still a lot of things waiting for her to deal with!

Now, she basically makes all the decisions, big and small, in the palace. From the mundane things like eating, drinking, and using the toilet, to the grand arrangements of banquets…

Even though there are few concubines now and far fewer palace maids and eunuchs, there are still countless things to deal with every day.

Song Xibai finished most of his business in one morning, without even having time to drink a cup of tea.

When Yuan Shen arrived, she was surprised to find that it was already noon.

"Didn't I tell them to stop bothering you? Why do you still look so tired?"

Yuan Shen walked behind her and gently rubbed her forehead.

Song Xibai slumped weakly on the table.

"The end of the year is approaching, and there are so many things to do! Just the Laba porridge distribution alone is too much to handle. And then there are the expenses reported by each palace. Today a bottle was broken, yesterday a basin was smashed, and something just doesn't seem right... I can't possibly check them all one by one, it's so annoying."

Yuan Shen glared at her.

"Don't say the word 'death,' it's unlucky."

Song Xibai patted her mouth: "Okay, okay! I just blurted it out, I won't do it again next time."

She turned around, hugged Yuan Shen's waist, and started to act coquettishly.

"I'd like to find a few people to help me, is that alright?"

Yuan Shen chuckled: "The Empress's Phoenix Seal is in your hands. You can do whatever you want with it."

"That's different. I'm only temporarily holding the Phoenix Seal. The rules still need to be followed. It would be better to ask His Majesty for peace of mind!"

Song Xibai chuckled.

Yuan Shen pinched her nose and actually started to think about it seriously.

"With the year-end approaching, there are indeed many things to do, not only trivial matters within the palace, but also those outside... In previous years, some noble families in the capital would distribute porridge outside the city in the twelfth lunar month, and the more particular ones would distribute porridge from the beginning of the twelfth lunar month until New Year's Eve. There are also audiences with the ladies of the inner court and the New Year's Eve banquet..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Xibai felt an immense headache coming on.

Song Xibai was never good at handling these things, and the thought of being burdened by endless palace affairs every day made her feel exhausted.

“It’s not easy to overstep boundaries inside or outside the palace, and I can’t transfer the people around me to you. As for the inner palace, apart from Granny Fangqi, the people I can use aren’t very reliable. If I promote someone from below, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control them. It’s a bit of a headache!”

The stewards in various parts of the harem were originally either the fake emperor's people or Consort Shu's people. After Consort Shu faked her death and left the palace, some of them were kicked out, and Consort De took advantage of the situation.

Even after Yuan Shen took over the palace, he couldn't dismiss everyone, otherwise the harem wouldn't be able to function. So, the same people remained in power.

Song Xibai suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"How about we ask Wu Jieyu and the others to come and help?"

Yuan Shen was taken aback.

"Them? What help can they offer?"

"Oh dear, aren't Consort Wu and Consort Cao originally palace maids? They must know more about palace affairs than I do. They are imperial concubines, with high status! Aren't they afraid of not being able to control those palace maids and eunuchs?"

Song Xibai began to talk incessantly.

"Consort Wu is very shrewd and resourceful, while Consort Cao is quite assertive. If used properly, they can manage most people. Sister Du is a bit too soft-hearted, but she's good at needlework. We could have her oversee the needlework bureau... Oh, right, I remember Feng Ying's family used to be in business? I wonder if she can do accounting? If she can, she'll be a great help to me."

That pile of old grievances gave her a terrible headache.