As soon as she stepped into the palace, Xiao Shu'er showed a look of disgust. This princess, who was of noble birth, had never seen such a filthy and shabby place. There was no soft carpet with intricate and gorgeous patterns on the ground, and the furnishings in the palace were all so old and dilapidated.

The food on the ground, the bowls and plates with chipped edges smashed to pieces, the food scattered on the ground, Xiao Shu'er thought it was probably spoiled, emitting an unpleasant smell.

The once beautiful and noble Consort Lan now has disheveled hair, a pale and haggard face without makeup, and is dressed in a shabby outfit like a palace maid. She seems to have aged ten years in an instant and has lost eight-tenths of her former beauty.

"Consort Lan? You are Consort Lan?" Xiao Shu'er looked at the woman sitting on the ground with lifeless eyes in disbelief, her eyes filled with suspicion and disgust.

Consort Lan suddenly laughed, a desolate laugh filled with disdain: "What? You've come here to laugh at me too?"

Xiao Shu'er rolled her eyes and said, "With you like this, I regret coming to see you."

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for your terrible idea, I would have just lost my child and ended up in this state!" Consort Lan looked at Xiao Shu'er with eyes full of hatred.

That terrifying gaze made Xiao Shu'er take two steps back. After a while, Xiao Shu'er whispered to the palace maids in the hall, "You all go out."

Bai Mei looked at the seemingly deranged Consort Lan and said worriedly, "Princess..."

"It's alright, you can go out."

No one dared to disobey Xiao Shu'er's orders, and they all withdrew upon hearing them.

"That was your own choice back then. You need to understand that these things are inherently gambles. If you win, you are the victor; if you lose, you end up like you. Oh no, although you lost, you still have your life. Look at those who lost to the Empress, how many of them still have their lives?"

Xiao Shuer squatted down and looked at Consort Lan, but as she spoke, she still couldn't stand the unpleasant smell and kept covering her nose and frowning.

The hatred in Consort Lan's eyes dissipated, and she seemed to have all her strength drained away, speaking weakly and feebly.

"What's the use? Tell me, I have nothing left, what's the point of me living now? I might as well be dead." After saying that, she laughed foolishly.

Xiao Shu'er grew impatient and snapped, "As long as the green hills remain, there's no worry about running out of firewood. Don't you want to make a comeback? Don't you want revenge?"

"Will it be of any use? To make a comeback? I have nothing left. What can I use to make a comeback?" Consort Lan asked with a bitter smile, her eyes moist and bright.

Xiao Shuer also became excited at this moment. She had come looking for help and did not want to have made a wasted trip.

"Yes, look at you, you have nothing left, what are you afraid of? Think about how you used to be favored by the Emperor, why can't he favor you like before?" she questioned excitedly.

Consort Lan was stunned as memories flooded back. She had once been a wealthy young lady, naturally beautiful, and was chosen to enter the palace.

At that time, she did not want to enter the palace, nor did she think about gaining the emperor's favor. However, she later discovered that in order to survive in this deep palace, she had to use cunning and tricks, otherwise she could only accept her fate.

"Can I...can I regain my former favor?" Consort Lan asked, her voice trembling.

She looks no different now than when she first entered the palace, when even the servants didn't take her seriously.

She didn't want that kind of life; she didn't want to spend the rest of her life living a life worse than that of animals.

Xiao Shu'er's voice seemed to carry a mysterious power as she said leisurely, "Of course you can. I think my brother still has feelings for you. As long as you add a little something extra, you'll still be the same Consort Lan you always were."

Lan Fei's eyes showed a hint of expectation, but she was also somewhat at a loss: "But... but what can I do? The Emperor doesn't even want to see me now."

Xiao Shu'er said with a cold smile, "Don't worry about that. I know your whereabouts perfectly well. I will send someone to inform you. As for what to do, that's up to you."

Consort Lan nodded gratefully, but then her lifeless eyes regained their sparkle, and she stared at Xiao Shuer with some wariness, asking, "Why did you help me?"

Xiao Shu'er stood up, her lips still bearing that cold smile: "My goal is the same as yours. You want revenge, and I want revenge too, but it's inconvenient for me to act alone."

Consort Lan stood up and said with a light laugh, "We have a common enemy, I understand."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace, in a quiet palace, Xiao Lingshou was playing chess around a chessboard. He had made his moves on both the left and right sides of the board; his opponent was him.

Lanlan suddenly rushed in, looking flustered, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

As soon as she finished speaking, a graceful and elegant woman walked over, her face expressionless and her emotions unreadable.

Lanlan immediately bowed and stepped aside. Upon seeing this, Xiao Lingshou stood up and respectfully greeted her, "Mother, what brings you here?"

The Empress snorted coldly and sat down before Xiao Lingshou could greet her. She said unhappily, "If I hadn't come, you would probably have rotted in this dilapidated palace for the rest of your life."

“If I don’t stay in the palace, I have nowhere else to go,” Xiao Lingshou said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the Empress was enraged and angrily said, "Why don't you go and find your father, the Emperor..."

Suddenly she paused, dismissed the servants around her, and then earnestly advised, "You are now your father's only prince. You must shoulder heavy responsibilities and share more of his burdens."

Xiao Lingshou chuckled dismissively and said, "Father should have had other princes."

"What do you mean? How can you talk to me like that? Who did I plan all this for? Now that we finally have no other threats, you actually want to betray all my efforts!" The Queen's face flushed with grief and indignation, and fine wrinkles were faintly visible on her heavily made-up face.

“But I don’t need your planning!” Xiao Lingshou said calmly but stubbornly.

The Empress stood up, but swayed slightly. She picked up a teacup from the table and threw it at Xiao Lingshou, yelling, "You incompetent Liu Shan!"

Xiao Lingshou neither dodged nor avoided the blow, but his forehead bled from the impact, and the scalding tea spilled onto his snow-white clothes, leaving tea leaves and water stains.

The Empress's eyes immediately turned to pity, but she stopped as soon as she lifted her foot.

"Even if you don't consider your mother, you should at least consider your own future. If your mother doesn't deal with those people, they will deal with you!" she said with a heavy heart, her eyes closed.

“But what you have done is far too much. Even if I were to stand before Father Emperor now, he would not deign to pay me any attention.” Xiao Lingshou’s voice was flat and even.

"How could that be?" the Empress exclaimed excitedly. "You are his only day. Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. If you get close to him, he will naturally get close to you in return."

Xiao Lingshou laughed self-deprecatingly and muttered to himself, "Even a tiger wouldn't eat its cubs... Mother, please go back. I can't do what you say."

In his mind, a man's face appeared, his chest pierced by him, yet his face wore a relieved smile.