At this moment, he had the feeling that Yun'er was pushing him towards other women, and he hoped that this was just his imagination.

Lin Yun grasped his hand: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Yuan Chun acted impulsively. Her mother, Lady Wang, is known for her snobbishness and must have put a lot of pressure on her."

She paused, then continued, "It was my oversight, Your Majesty. There are quite a few palace maids like her who are over twenty-five, wasting their youth, and it's inevitable that they'll develop some thoughts."

Emperor Yongzheng's expression softened slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I recall a rule from the previous dynasty that palace maids over the age of twenty-five could be released from the palace to marry?"

"That's the rule," Lin Yun nodded, "but these past few years, with the affairs of the court keeping us busy, we haven't released many."

Emperor Yongzheng stood up and paced around the hall: "In that case, tomorrow I will issue an edict that all palace maids who are twenty-five years of age or older shall be released from the palace, and the Imperial Household Department shall allocate silver as their dowry."

He turned to Lin Yun, "As for Jia Yuanchun... for Daiyu's sake, I will not pursue her actions today, but she must leave the palace."

Lin Yun nodded slightly: "Your Majesty is wise. In this way, both the long-standing problems in the palace are resolved, and the lifelong happiness of those women is fulfilled."

Yongzheng snorted coldly and finally gave up, but the resentment in his heart did not dissipate so quickly.

He then picked up Lin Yun and said, "Since it's Yun'er's fault, Yun'er will have to be more careful tonight."

As they spoke, they walked towards the dragon bed…

The following day, an imperial edict was issued to the six palaces: all palace maids who have reached the age of twenty-five may receive twenty taels of silver to leave the palace for marriage; those who do not wish to leave the palace must obtain special permission from the Empress; henceforth, all palace maids who have reached the age of twenty-five shall be released.

When the news reached the Jia family, Lady Wang fainted on the spot.

Jia Zheng's face turned ashen. Seeing Lady Wang's state, he understood perfectly well what was going on. He wrote a letter that very night to question Yuan Chun about what she had done wrong.

When Yuan Chun heard the imperial edict, the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and shattered.

"Your Majesty..." She knelt before Lin Yun, tears streaming down her face, "This servant knows her mistake, please have mercy and let this servant stay in the palace..."

Lin Yun helped her up, her tone gentle yet brooking no argument: "I cannot disobey the Emperor's decree. You are not young anymore; it would be better for you to leave the palace and find a good family than to waste your youth here."

Yuan Chun was devastated to find that there was not a trace of emotion in the Empress's eyes.

Only then did she realize that she was nothing more than a pawn on the emperor and empress's chessboard.

Three days later, Yuan Chun walked out of Shenwu Gate with simple luggage.

Looking back, the red walls and golden tiles of the Forbidden City gleamed in the setting sun, while her ten years of youth were gently erased by a single imperial edict.