Days passed, and Chen Xiaoru remained confined to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Aside from the meals delivered daily, she saw almost no one else. The bedroom door remained closed, a fact she found blissful. Xuanyuan Che also didn't visit, a fact that made Chen Xiaoru feel relieved. She spent most of her time sitting by the window, her chin propped up, staring blankly at the unchanging scenery outside.

Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Xuanyuan Che, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat upright on the dragon throne. His expression was indistinct, and he asked the shadow standing below him in a low voice, "How has she been these past few days?"

Xiao Tao bowed her head and reported, "Your Majesty, the young master has been sitting in a daze by the window these past few days and has not left the bedroom. Her meals have been eaten on time, and we servants dare not ask any more questions."

Xuanyuan Che frowned slightly, tapping the armrests of the dragon throne with his fingertips, making a dull sound. After a while, he said, "Did she say anything?"

Xiao Tao answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, Miss Chen rarely speaks, except for occasional mutterings to herself, which we servants can't hear clearly."

"Talking to yourself?"

Xuanyuan Che frowned even tighter. "I'll go take a look."

Meanwhile, inside Fengyi Palace, Su Wanwan was sitting in the hall, listening to the nanny's report. She was wearing a gorgeous golden phoenix robe, a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin on her head, and her face was delicately made up, but her phoenix eyes were filled with a cold light.

"My lady, I have already found out everything."

The nanny bowed and spoke in a low voice, "That Chen Xiaoru is indeed from the common people, with no father or mother, and a very clean background. It's just that..."

She hesitated, seeming a little worried.

"Just what?"

Su Wanwan raised her eyes, with a hint of impatience in her tone.

The nanny took a deep breath and said with a stiff upper lip, "It's just that I heard that the Emperor arranged for her to stay in the Palace of Heavenly Purity and didn't visit her, but he still sent an imperial physician to take care of her day and night. The Emperor himself stayed in a side hall every day and didn't bother her."

Su Wanwan's face turned livid upon hearing this. She abruptly stood up, walked to the window, and, gazing out at the dark night sky, spoke word for word, "Chen Xiaoru is truly capable of such tricks! She's actually managed to get His Majesty to lower himself and live in a side hall. It seems His Majesty has fallen in love this time. How ridiculous! I will never let her succeed!"

She turned around, walked to the dressing table, picked up an exquisite jade hairpin, gently stroked the phoenix pattern carved on the hairpin, and a cruel light flashed in her eyes.

"Mammy,"

Su Wanwan's voice was low and cold. "Go and make some arrangements. I want the entire harem to know what kind of person this Chen Xiaoru is!"

The maid's heart trembled, and she quickly responded, "I obey your command."

As the night deepened, the entire palace was shrouded in silence. However, beneath this silence, a conspiracy against Chen Xiaoru was quietly unfolding.

The next morning, a rumor spread like a plague throughout the harem. The maids gathered in groups of three or five, whispering to each other, their eyes filled with curiosity and fear.

"Have you heard? The one in the Qianqing Palace is not a good girl at all. I heard that she knows witchcraft and has bewitched the emperor!" A young palace maid said in a low voice with a terrified expression on her face.

"I've heard that too," another maid echoed, her eyes twinkling. "I heard she looks enchanting and doesn't look like a good person. I don't know what the emperor was thinking, bringing her into the palace."

"Shh, keep your voice down,"

An older palace maid hurriedly stopped them, looked around, and said in a low voice, "This kind of thing can't be said carelessly. If the Empress heard it, it would be troublesome."

However, the rumor spread quickly to every corner of the harem like wings. Even some concubines who usually stayed at home rarely went out heard the news.

"Witchcraft? To confuse the Emperor?"

Inside Huayang Palace, Concubine Li, Huang Shuangshuang, reclined on a soft couch, listening to the palace maid's report with a mocking smile on her lips. She was dressed in a lavender palace dress, with several delicate pearl flowers in her hair, looking particularly charming and alluring.

"Huh, that's ridiculous,"

Huang Shuangshuang snorted coldly, her delicate hands gently stroking the snow-white Persian cat in her arms, and said nonchalantly, "A common woman dares to dream of flying up to the branches and becoming a phoenix? Don't you even consider your own status?"

"Your Majesty is right."

The palace maid quickly agreed, carefully observing the emperor's expression, "However, I heard that the emperor dotes on her very much and has been staying in the Qianqing Palace these days."

Huang Shuangshuang's eyes flickered with jealousy when she heard this. She put down the Persian cat, slowly stood up, and walked to the window. Looking out at the blooming peach blossoms, she spoke with a hint of sourness, "Favor? It's just a novelty. Men are all the same, they get tired of the old and love the new. When the emperor tires of her, she'll fall out of favor."

She turned around and looked at the palace maid, a cold glint in her eyes. "However, we can't let her be so proud for too long. Go and bring me the box of 'Ningxiang' that I treasure."

"Your Majesty, you want to use 'Ningxiang'?" The palace maid's face changed slightly when she heard this, and she said hesitantly, "But..."

"What? Are you scared?" Huang Shuangshuang raised her eyebrows, a hint of displeasure in her tone, "If I tell you to go, just go. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

"I dare not," the palace maid lowered her head quickly, not daring to say anything more, and turned around to get "Ningxiang".

Meanwhile, inside Chuxiu Palace, Consort Song Hye-kyo was sitting at a table, concentrating on practicing calligraphy. She was dressed in a simple white palace dress with no ornaments on her head, appearing exceptionally elegant and refined.

"Your Majesty," a palace maid hurried into the hall and whispered a few words in Song Hye Kyo's ear.

Song Hye Kyo paused slightly as she heard this, letting the ink drip onto the rice paper, spreading out. She put the brush down, raised her head, and a complex expression flashed across her clear eyes.

"witchcraft?"

Song Hye Kyo frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt in her tone, "How could anyone in this harem believe such a ridiculous statement?"

"Your Majesty, this rumor has spread widely, I'm afraid..." The palace maid hesitated to speak.

Song Hye Kyo was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Forget it. Rumors stop at the wise. We don't need to pay attention to these nonsense. Just do your own thing."

She picked up the rice paper on the table and looked at the smudged ink on it, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes. She knew that the harem was always full of open and covert struggles. Now, Chen Xiaoru's appearance had undoubtedly disrupted the original balance of the harem, and a new storm was probably inevitable.

Xuanyuan Che arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity and pushed open the door to his bedroom. He saw Chen Xiaoru standing alone in front of the window, her back looking a little frail. She was staring out the window, her thoughts unclear, her expression indifferent, as if she didn't fit in with the magnificent palace.