Qiao Qiu felt a little confused. Besides, it takes time to like someone, so why did the emperor like her so quickly? Was there something wrong with that?

She didn't reply; she didn't know how to respond. Since she didn't know how to respond, she remained silent. Unless she was insane, how could she trust the emperor's words?

The emperor was a little annoyed that he didn't get a response, but when he thought of Qiao Qiu's personality, he felt relieved and bent down to pick her up.

Qiao Qiu was startled and reflexively hugged his neck, blinking her eyes with a hint of nervousness.

The emperor placed her on the bed, covered her with his body, and carefully pulled her hands above her head.

Qiao Qiu: "..."

...

In the Moonlit Garden, a figure suddenly darted into the courtyard and entered the inner room through the window.

Then Qiao Dong came over, closed the window, and went to the door to instruct everyone not to disturb her rest.

The palace maid tactfully returned to her room, leaving only two eunuchs guarding the courtyard.

As soon as Qiao Dong closed the door, two slender arms wrapped around her waist. The person rested their chin on her shoulder, their increasingly heavy breathing spraying onto her fair neck.

Qiao Dong felt a pang of fear and reached out to push him, "Mu Yan, don't do this, we can't do this."

Zhao Yucheng kissed her neck for a while, and only let her go when he reached his limit.

"Dong'er, I love you, we must be together."

Qiao Dong's fair skin was flushed with pink, but upon hearing these words, she immediately cried out in anguish, "Mu Yan, forget me. I am the Emperor's woman."

"Dong'er, why? You clearly love me, yet you want to enter the palace to serve him?" This was the part Zhao Yucheng couldn't understand the most. He had considered many possibilities, but he just didn't want to use those possibilities to speculate about his Dong'er.

"I hate him, and I hate everyone in this harem. I want to take revenge on them." A hint of malice appeared between Qiao Dong's brows.

Zhao Yucheng was stunned. He had considered many possibilities, but none of them could be related to hatred. Just how deep was the hatred that would make Dong'er give up being with him and choose to stay by the emperor's side?

"Dong'er, what exactly happened?"

“I…” No, I absolutely cannot reveal that I was reborn. Qiao Dong turned his head away and said, “Because Qiao Qiu is better than me in every way and has bullied me for so many years, I want to take revenge on her.”

"It's easy to get revenge on her, isn't it? Dong'er, how could you be so foolish? If you had told me earlier, how could I have let you into the palace so easily?" Zhao Yucheng hugged Qiao Dong with both heartache and regret.

Qiao Dong remained silent. It seemed that Qiao Qiu was the most favored person in the Emperor's eyes, and she had to take some action.

"Dong'er, don't worry, we'll be together soon."

"What?" Qiao Dong was lost in thought and didn't pay attention to his words.

Zhao Yucheng kissed her forehead. "In the deep palace, I can't be by your side all the time. You have to take good care of yourself."

Qiao Dong nodded; she knew this even without him saying it.

The two lingered for a while, but ultimately didn't get down to business, and Zhao Yucheng left.

The next morning, Qiao Qiu woke up early when she felt a slight pain and coolness in her fingers.

As the emperor applied medicine to her wound, he blew on it, his peach blossom eyes filled with tenderness. He noticed she was awake and smiled at her, "My beloved consort is awake. Did I hurt you?"

Qiao Qiu squinted her sleepy eyes and looked for a while before recognizing that it was the emperor who had woken her up. "Why didn't Your Majesty wake me up?"

Her sleepy voice, soft and endearing, touched the emperor's heart, and his smile widened. "Seeing my beloved concubine sleeping so soundly, I can't bear it..."

As he spoke, the emperor bent down and pecked her unusually red and full lips, then leaned close to her ear and said, "Qiu'er, how about you accompany me out of the palace in a couple of days?"

"Okay." Qiao Qiu's eyelids were drooping, and after answering this, she fell asleep again.

The emperor chuckled and rose, placing one hand behind his back as he gazed tenderly at Qiao Qiu. "Little Shunzi, convey my decree: Consort Qiao is intelligent and beautiful, and has won my heart. She is hereby granted the title of Ronghua, a fourth-rank official, and granted residence in Ronghua Palace."

Xiao Shunzi tried to calm his frightened and chaotic heart, and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Qiao Qiu didn't truly wake up until the sun was high in the sky. As soon as she moved, her whole body ached, and all the memories of last night flooded back. She touched her chin, squinted her bright eyes, and recalled for a while... It seemed that the feeling wasn't as bad as before.

Qiao Qiu struggled to sit up. "Hong Lan, help me get dressed."

Honglan entered from outside with two palace maids, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Qiaoqiu, slightly excited.

Qiao Qiu felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but Hong Lan suddenly knelt down in front of the window, saying, "Hong Lan greets Consort Ronghua."

"Ronghua...Your Majesty?"

Honglan said happily, "Your Majesty does not know, but this morning, His Majesty bestowed upon Your Majesty the title of Ronghua, and this matter has already been announced to the entire harem."

"From the sixth rank to the fourth rank, that leap seems a bit too big," Qiao Qiu said, squinting.

"Your Majesty, this is an honor that no one else has received. You must cherish it."

"Too talkative."

Honglan didn't wash Qiaoqiu first. The two palace maids who came in with her helped Qiaoqiu to the bath behind the palace and let her soak for a while before washing her clean and helping her out. They dressed her and put on her headdress according to her rank.

After finishing all that, Qiao Qiu led Hong Lan towards Yangfu Palace.

Yangfu Palace is where the Empress Dowager resides. She didn't go to pay her respects yesterday, but she must go today no matter what.

Upon entering Yangfu Palace, Qiao Qiu immediately saw Qiao Dong talking to the Empress Dowager, the two appearing quite affectionate.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"

The Empress Dowager acted as if she hadn't heard, and continued talking to Qiao Dong. Qiao Qiu was half-squatting, her body already exhausted from last night's ordeal, and now she had to endure the Empress Dowager's show of force, making her even more uncomfortable.

Qiao Qiu remained outwardly calm and motionless, inwardly scoffing at Qiao Dong's behavior. Foolish woman! The Emperor and Empress Dowager were never on good terms; they were merely maintaining a facade. Whether in the harem or the court, the Emperor was the one in charge. If one were to ask who the Emperor disliked most, it would undoubtedly be this Empress Dowager who had once ruled from behind the curtain.

The others gloated when they saw the Empress Dowager making things difficult for Qiao Qiu.

About half an incense stick's time later, the Empress Dowager looked down and said with a kind smile, "So it's Qiao Ronghua. I really didn't see her. Get up."

"Thank you, Empress Dowager." Qiao Qiu swayed slightly as she stood up.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Qiao Ronghua?" the Empress Dowager asked, feigning concern.

Qiao Qiu curtsied and said, "I am not feeling well. I have already paid my respects to the Empress Dowager, and I will now take my leave."

"Go." The Empress Dowager waved her hand, not caring at all about Qiao Qiu. Only the white cloth strip in Qiao Qiu's hand made her pause for a moment.