Seeing that Wan'er remained unmoved and her heart was as firm as a rock, Fulin was overcome with anger. "Fine, since that's how it is, then I will grant your wish. I will never set foot in Chengqian Palace again. You should take good care of your health!" With that, he turned and left.

Watching Fulin leave in anger, Wan'er felt not sadness, but rather a secret delight.

This is exactly the effect she wanted.

Sure enough, for several days in a row, Fulin stopped coming to Chengqian Palace.

She publicly claimed to cry every day, but in reality, she didn't shed a single tear, and she ate three meals a day without missing a single meal, and she became rounder and rounder as she ate.

Fortunately, her clothes were thick and she wore a haggard makeup, so no one noticed.

Although it was her doing, deliberately causing herself to fall out of favor, how could others possibly know?

Once they learned that she had fallen out of favor, all sorts of true colors were revealed. The concubines mocked her, the servants cut back on her allowance, and even Qiu Ye looked down on her.

She didn't get discouraged. Every time someone mocked her with a sarcastic tone, she could pretend that nothing had happened.

However, she also learned from this experience what it means to be true friends in times of trouble.

Fearing that she would be humiliated or wronged, Jing'er has always stood up for her; otherwise, how could she be so plump and healthy?

Even Li Dequan risked his life to steal a steamed bun from the imperial kitchen for her.

She was very touched...

That night, Fulin still did not come.

Wan'er sat blankly by the bed, her tearful eyes staring straight out of the room.

Qiu Ye was serving her tonight, and seeing this, she said irritably, "Don't wait anymore, the Emperor won't come."

Wan'er ignored her and stared blankly at the doorway.

"I told you the Emperor wouldn't come, didn't you hear me?" Qiu Ye shouted.

She was already incredibly sleepy, but Wan'er wouldn't let her get down, which fueled her unspeakable anger.

After Wan'er's indulgence over the past few days, Qiu Ye no longer takes her seriously.

Now he calls Wan'er "you" directly, having long since thrown the distinction between superior and inferior to the winds.

"Are you really not coming?" As she spoke, Wan'er's tears fell.

"Hmph!" Qiu Ye snorted coldly, "It's all your own fault for pretending to be reserved. I've never seen a concubine refuse the Emperor time and time again."

She paused, then said, "It's all your fault for being so pretentious; you went too far with your feigned indifference."

Wan'er wiped away her tears, "Who says otherwise? I am also filled with regret now. What should I do?"

"What can we do?" Qiu Ye mocked. "From now on, Chengqian Palace will be your cold palace."

"No, I'm not reconciled." Wan'er shook her head in disbelief, and grabbed Qiu Ye's wrist, saying, "Please help me."

"I'm just a servant girl, how can I help you?" Qiu Ye pushed Wan'er's hand away with disdain.

"As long as you're willing to help, I'll give you a hundred gold pieces if it's not too much." She looked at Qiu Ye. "And I believe you can do it."

Upon hearing that it was a hundred gold coins, Qiu Ye's expression softened considerably. After all, few people could resist the temptation of money. "Tell me, I'll think about it."

Seeing that Qiu Ye had agreed, Wan'er smiled with relief. She quickly took out a handkerchief from her bosom and placed it in Qiu Ye's hand, saying, "Just give this to the guard named A Gu who is guarding the Cold Palace."

Qiuye took the handkerchief and examined it closely. "What do you mean by this?"

Wan'er feigned mystery, "There's no need to ask so many questions. Just deliver it to him, and he will understand what I mean."

Qiu Ye pouted and casually tossed the handkerchief aside. "Since you're not sincere, don't blame me for not helping you."

After saying that, he was about to get up and leave, but Wan'er stopped him.

"Don't go. I'm just afraid it will offend your ears."

Hearing this, Qiuye stopped what she was doing. "Then hurry up and tell me, or I'll regret it."

Wan'er looked around to make sure no one was passing by before whispering, "I want a child. Once I'm pregnant, the Emperor will favor me again."

Upon hearing this, Qiuye was taken aback. "But didn't you just come for your period a few days ago?"

This "menstrual flow" was something Wan'er tricked Qiu Ye into having a period of menstrual flow a few days ago; even the Imperial Household Department had no record of her having a period of menstrual flow this month.

“That’s why I summoned Agu,” Wan’er said cautiously.

"Could it be that you want to..." At this point, Qiu Ye finally understood Wan'er's intention, which showed that she was not a clever person.

If it were anyone else, they would have noticed when Wan'er took out the handkerchief, since no concubine would give a guard personal item for no reason.

"You're too audacious! How dare you mix royal bloodlines with the royal bloodline!" Qiu Ye was still startled.

"But I have no other choice," Wan'er said helplessly.

"Aren't you afraid the Emperor will find out?" Qiu Ye asked.

"No, this matter is only known to you, me, and him. Besides, I didn't have the Imperial Household Department record my period a few days ago. If I am indeed pregnant, I will arrange for the imperial physician to say it's two months, so the Emperor won't suspect anything," Wan'er said firmly.

"No wonder you stopped me that day; it turns out you had already thought of this plan," Qiuye said thoughtfully.

"Yes." Wan'er nodded. "I've said everything that needs to be said, so... are you going to help me or not?"

That's a hundred taels of gold, how could Qiu Ye refuse it? She nodded and said, "For the sake of our past relationship as master and servant, I'll help you this time!"

"Thank you," Wan'er said gratefully, almost kowtowing.

After accepting the hundred taels of gold from Wan'er, she picked up the handkerchief from the ground and leisurely left.

After she walked away, Wan'er immediately dropped her humble gaze and put on a cold expression.

She took out another handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She then sat quietly, as if waiting.

Before long, she saw Qi Lan rushing over anxiously.

She said, panting heavily, "As Your Majesty predicted, that slut didn't go to the Cold Palace at all, but went to Consort Ning's palace."

Wan'er smiled calmly: "That's good. I was worried she'd end up in the Cold Palace."

“That’s true.” Qi Lan nodded in agreement, then said, “Next, we need to cast the net. Once it’s caught, none of us can escape.”

"Yes!" Wan'er nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's proceed according to plan!"

"Yes!" Qi Lan curtsied and then took his leave.

It was already midnight. After a night of acting, Wan'er was exhausted. She lay down on the soft bed and fell asleep without realizing it.

She was able to sleep because there would be an even more exciting scene tomorrow, and she had to be fully alert to handle it.