The next morning, Mingxiu woke up from her sleep, looked at the begonia canopy above her head, felt her body stretch out, and rubbed herself contentedly under the covers before calling for someone to come in and serve her.

Green Bamboo led Yu Qing in and began to help Mingxiu get up.

"Your Majesty, the things you bought yesterday were delicious, especially the lanterns, which were exquisitely crafted. I love them very much. Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yu Qing said as she served.

Mingxiu smiled slightly: "I'm glad you like it. I bought a lot yesterday, and I've already chosen them all, haven't I?"

"The choice has been made." Green Bamboo chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know, but last night, Yu Qing caused quite a few amusing incidents over a lantern."

"Oh?" Mingxiu couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "What exactly happened last night?"

"For some reason, Yu Qing suddenly rushed forward and kissed Yu Lan, leaving Yu Lan stunned. Then, taking advantage of Yu Lan's dazed state, she snatched the lantern and ran away. By the time Yu Lan came to her senses, she was already laughing out loud in anger." Green Bamboo laughed so hard that her body trembled.

Mingxiu was also at a loss for words, gently poking Yuqing's forehead with her finger and saying helplessly, "You are really naughty."

Yu Qing blushed and lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.

She never expected it; in her excitement, she kissed him, and now she's being laughed at to death.

Sister Green Bamboo, how could you tell the Empress this? She hasn't even seen the mermaids.

Yu Qing bit her lip, her face burning with shame.

Seeing this, Mingxiu and Lvzhu laughed even more happily.

After Mingxiu finished tidying up and had breakfast, she called Xiaoxizi in to start discussing serious matters.

Taking a small sip of tea, Mingxiu spoke softly, "Tell me, what have you discovered these past few days?"

"Your Majesty, this servant has noticed that recently, Chunmei has been spending more time with Liuxing in Yanxi Palace, Baochan with Chengqian Palace, and Xiaochengzi with Jingren Palace. Eunuch Hong seems to have some dealings with Cining Palace, but this is not confirmed. No others have been discovered yet."

"Oh," Mingxiu put down her teacup, tapping the table lightly with her fingertips. This is a bit troublesome. The Empress and Consort Tong are not surprised, but the fact that the Empress Dowager has also arranged for people in the palace makes things a bit difficult.

"Forget about them for now. Have someone keep an eye on them. As for the rest, observe them for a while. If there are no problems, we can put them up for use." Mingxiu checked the time and prepared to go out.

Xiao Xizi lowered his head and said, "Yes."

"Let's go," Mingxiu straightened her clothes and started walking outside with Lüzhu.

Today is the fifteenth, the day to pay respects to the Empress.

The palace already knows what happened yesterday, so I'm afraid Ping An won't dare to go through today.

Mingxiu sighed; she wasn't in a good mood.

Sure enough, when Mingxiu stepped into Kunning Palace, she saw that many people were already sitting inside. Taking a deep breath, she realized that all the concubines in the palace must have come.

Mingxiu walked in, and the Empress sat at the head of the table, her expression indifferent and revealing nothing.

She bowed slightly and greeted the Empress.

Niohuru glanced at Mingxiu and told her to get up and sit down.

Sure enough, as soon as I sat down, someone started making trouble.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the palace was unusually tense and oppressive. Everyone's expressions were serious, and their eyes were fixed on the concubines and secondary consorts in front of them. Consort Tong, Consort Hui, Consort Rong, Consort Yi, Secondary Consort Zhang, Secondary Consort Sun, Secondary Consort Dong, and Secondary Consort Borjigit, among others, began to question Mingxiu about her unauthorized accompaniment of the Emperor out of the palace the previous day.

Consort Tong broke the silence first, unable to hold back her words. She said sternly, "Consort Ming, do you know how inappropriate your actions yesterday were? Leaving the palace with the Emperor without prior notice is not only a violation of palace rules, but also disrespectful to us, your sisters in the harem! How can this show that you are favored by the Emperor?"

"Your Highness is too kind. His Majesty said yesterday that he would take me somewhere. I didn't know at first that it was outside the palace," Mingxiu said calmly.

Upon hearing Mingxiu's words, Consort Tong's expression twisted for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal: "What, does Consort Ming mean that it was all the Emperor's idea, and that Consort Ming was unwilling?"

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. But Your Majesty is my heaven, and I can't stop you from saying what you want." That's what Mingxiu was thinking this morning. Anyway, she was pushing everything onto the Emperor, since he was the one who wanted to take her out to play.

Hmph ╯^╰

Consort Hui immediately chimed in, "Sister Mingfei, even if the Emperor said so, it's really hard to understand what you're doing. It's such a dangerous thing for the Emperor to leave the palace, why didn't you try to dissuade him? As the Emperor's consorts, we should abide by our duties, how can we act so rashly?"

Consort Rong frowned and scolded, "Sister Mingfei, you really went too far this time! If everyone left the palace as casually as you, wouldn't the harem be in chaos?"

Consort Yi appeared somewhat worried. She said softly, "Sister Mingfei, I know you didn't mean to offend, but this incident has indeed caused quite a stir. I hope you can reflect on your behavior."

Although Consort Zhang, Consort Sun, Consort Dong, and the Borjigit Consorts remained silent, their eyes revealed their dissatisfaction and doubt towards Mingxiu. Faced with the accusations from the crowd...

Mingxiu was truly speechless. 'It was clearly the Emperor who took me out, so why aren't they criticizing him? They're all blaming me! It seems they're just picking on the weak!'

Mingxiu's lips twitched: "Your Excellencies are right. I truly didn't consider things so thoroughly. I shouldn't have waited for you all to go out with the Emperor. I could have advised him, but I really don't have that ability."

The concubines: "Don't they want to? But the Emperor has never said he'd take them out to play. What can they do?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Liaoming and everyone else's expressions turned ugly. Even the Empress looked rather displeased, and Consort Tong's face turned pale with anger.

She continued, "My dear sisters, perhaps you could go and talk to the Emperor. I am truly clumsy with words and unable to persuade him..."

The palace fell silent. Finally, Consort Tong couldn't hold back any longer and stood up, slamming her hand on the table.

Just as she was about to say something, the Empress, who had been silent all along, finally spoke. She said slowly, "Alright, everyone, calm down. Consort Tong, please sit down."

"Consort Ming did indeed make a mistake this time, but considering she is new to the palace and unfamiliar with the rules, and that it was indeed His Majesty who spoke, I will refrain from saying anything. I only hope that all of you sisters will think twice before acting in the future. We are all doing this for the Emperor's good, so if His Majesty does anything inappropriate, we should still offer our advice." The Empress's words were like a stabilizing force, instantly silencing the previously noisy palace. Everyone bowed their heads, indicating that they would respectfully follow the Empress's teachings.

Speechless, I thought to myself, they wouldn't try to persuade me otherwise. We're the Emperor, and we're so happy that he's willing to take her out of the palace.

Mingxiu nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will remember this!" The storm had finally subsided for the time being.

But Mingxiu knew in her heart that she had to be careful at all times in the palace from now on, so as not to cause trouble again.