Consort Shen looked at the eldest princess in shock.

She never imagined that such words would come from the mouth of her beloved daughter.

She wanted to say that she was forced to stand up for her family.

At that time, Consort Shen was about the same age as the eldest princess, but she had to shoulder the fate of the entire clan. How could she have thought about love and romance? At that time, all she could think about was how to get the late emperor's attention and how to do something for her family.

Even after she successfully entered the palace, she still lived cautiously and fearfully, afraid of being targeted and framed by others, worried about losing favor, and afraid that her father and brothers would cause trouble... She has been living on thin ice ever since.

Having endured hardship herself, she didn't want her daughter to follow the same path. So she thought of choosing a husband for her daughter who knew her well, so that she could live a worry-free and peaceful life.

But to my utter surprise...

Consort Shen closed her eyes, her body swayed, and she almost fell to the ground.

Just then, a gasp rang out from outside the door, and a petite figure rushed in and cushioned Consort Shen's fall.

"Consort Shen!"

Consort Shen was shaken violently, opened her eyes, and saw the Fourth Princess looking anxious.

"Lanhua..."

She opened her mouth, only to feel the veins in her head throbbing as if they were about to burst.

The fourth princess turned pale with fright and hurriedly called out twice.

Consort Shen's personal maid rushed in, her face changing drastically.

"Your Majesty!"

"What happened? What's wrong, Your Highness?"

Consort Shen glanced at her own daughter subconsciously, only to see the eldest princess kneeling to the side, covering her face and sobbing with her head down.

My heart grew even colder.

Even if she was disappointed, she couldn't expose this matter. Otherwise, it would ruin the reputation of all the royal daughters and the future of the Shen family.

Consort Shen gritted her teeth and stood up, supporting herself on the arm of a palace maid.

"It's nothing, I was just too tired and accidentally fell. Help me back!"

The two palace maids wanted to ask more questions, but were stopped by a look from Consort Shen.

The three of them, mistress and servants, left Qifeng Pavilion. No matter how you looked at Consort Shen's back, she exuded a sense of haggardness and dejection.

The fourth princess suddenly stomped her foot.

"I'm worried about Consort Shen, elder sister, let's go and check on her!"

The eldest princess covered her swollen cheek: "Go ahead! How can I go out looking like this?"

The fourth princess then noticed that her face was swollen and was extremely surprised.

"Big sister, did Consort Shen hit you? But why? Consort Shen loves you so much."

The eldest princess snorted, her face full of stubbornness.

"What do you mean by affection? It's just a tactic she uses to win favor."

The Fourth Princess's eyes widened: "How could that be? Consort Shen truly loves you."

The Fourth Princess herself had no biological mother since childhood. She had always envied Consort Shen's care and love for the First Princess. She followed the First Princess like a little shadow, only hoping to get even a little bit of care in return.

"Big sister, why don't you come with me to take a look? Consort Shen doesn't look well."

The eldest princess acted as if she hadn't heard anything. She got up from the ground, called a maid to fetch water for her to wash and groom herself, and after applying the medicine, she looked in the mirror, worried that she might be disfigured.

Seeing her like this, the fourth princess gritted her teeth, turned around and ran out.

The eldest princess's personal maid glanced outside with concern.

"Princess, are you really not going to go and take a look?"

The eldest princess didn't care at all: "I'm not an imperial physician, what could I do there? Mother is fine. Didn't she always claim to be unwell and call for the imperial physician every few days? It was all just a tactic to attract Father's attention. Instead of wasting your time, you'd be better off helping me think of a way to send a message to Brother Meng..."

The eldest princess was unaware that her mother was only pretending. In reality, Consort Shen collapsed as soon as she entered the Cining Palace after returning home.

The two palace maids were terrified and hurriedly sent someone to fetch the imperial physician.

When the imperial physician arrived, he said that the patient was so angry that he had lost his mind and was in critical condition. He needed strong medicine to have any chance of recovery.

But using strong medicine could also lead to worse consequences, which is not something a mere imperial physician like him can decide.

So the palace maids went to plead with Consort Shu, who was now the most powerful person in Cining Palace.

After hearing the whole story, Consort Shu immediately made a decision, telling the imperial physicians to go all out in treating the patient, and that she would take responsibility if anything went wrong.

Having received permission, the imperial physician dared not delay any longer and immediately administered acupuncture for emergency treatment. He also prescribed medicine and had it prepared.

After working tirelessly until the early hours of the next day, they finally managed to save Consort Shen's life.

A while later, after dawn, Song Xibai learned about this.

She knew the reason without even asking.

"Fortunately, the person is alright... By the way, what did the imperial physician say later?"

The person who came to report was a nanny who served Consort Shu.

"Consort Shen is temporarily fine, but she has aged considerably overnight. The imperial physician said that Cining Palace is crowded and not conducive to recuperation, so our Lady sent this old servant to ask the Noble Consort whether to allocate a separate place for Consort Shen?"

Song Xibai nodded: "That's no problem. There are plenty of empty spaces in the harem. Let Consort Shen choose one herself!"

"Your Highness is so kind and considerate. This old servant dares to presume to suggest something: Consort Shen used to live in Jingyun Palace. Why don't we let her move back there? What does Your Highness think?"

Song Xibai laughed.

"Your consideration is excellent, let's arrange it this way!"

The old woman curtsied, rose, and took her leave.

After she left, Song Xibai turned to Wei Hong and asked, "Is there any news from the eldest princess?"

Wei Hong shook her head.

Song Xibai's expression immediately turned cold.

"The fourth princess, who isn't their biological daughter, stayed there all night, while the eldest princess, who is their biological daughter, didn't seem to care at all. You really can't tell what people's hearts are like."

Wei Hong pouted: "Your Majesty, His Majesty already told you not to worry about it, why are you still concerned about it?"

Song Xibai sighed.

“I’m afraid she might do something rash in the heat of the moment… Get a few more people to keep an eye on Qifeng Pavilion.”

Wei Hong agreed, but in her heart she didn't think much of it.

A heartless and unfilial daughter like the eldest princess deserves to suffer.

If she hadn't been born into the palace, she wouldn't have the good life she has now. Even her own mother doesn't care about her; if she were in any other family, she would have been drowned in spit long ago.

Song Xibai indeed stopped interfering in the matter.

Even the marriages of the other princesses were left to Yuan Shen's discretion; he told her not to interfere and instead entrusted the matter to several of the princesses' aunts.

It's more appropriate for an elder to step forward than Song Xibai, and they won't have to worry about being criticized.

So, Princess Hui took the lead, along with several of her sisters-in-law and nephew's wives, and began the selection process.