After Xu Jinyi lost the baby in her belly, the Queen Mother fell seriously ill. Her spirit became worse and worse, and her white hair increased significantly.

When the Emperor walked in, he could smell the smell of medicine in the whole hall.

He took the medicine from the nanny and fed the Queen Mother himself.

Glancing at the two small clothes on the Queen Mother's bedside, the Emperor's eyes reddened.

"Mother, you must take care of yourself. The children of the Imperial Concubine and I will be waiting for you to take care of them when the time comes."

Speaking of children, the Queen Mother shed tears again: "I was wrong. I know the Queen's character well. I thought that as long as I protected the Imperial Concubine, nothing would happen. I was too soft-hearted."

"If I had known that the Queen would harm her grandson, I would have dealt with the Queen first, even if it meant breaking my promise."

The Emperor felt bad too. Thinking of what the secret guards had found out, he also blamed himself.

The Queen had been doing evil for many years, and it was not that he had not discovered it, but that he had let it go for the sake of that little favor.

If he had investigated once, things would not have turned out like this.

"Mother, I intend to confer the title of Empress upon the Imperial Noble Consort and hold the coronation ceremony on a certain day."

"And all the concubines in the harem, I intend to have them leave the palace."

This latter decision was a spur-of-the-moment one. Xu Nianhuan was right; his daughter deserved better.

He wanted to make her a promise of a lifetime together.

However, this statement shocked the Empress Dowager. "I have no objection to you making the Imperial Noble Consort Empress. She is worthy of this position as the Mother of the Nation."

"But you should think carefully about dispersing the harem, especially the ministers at court. They will definitely disagree."

"Besides, they are all your concubines. If you let them leave the palace, will they be able to marry again?"

"Who would dare to marry a former emperor's concubine? Even if someone did, where would the royal family's reputation be?"

The Emperor countered, "Are you, Mother, going to confine these women to old age in the harem just for the sake of royal reputation?"

"After leaving the palace, they can marry and have their own children. If we confine them to death just to save face, wouldn't that be too selfish?"

"Of course, I won't force them to choose whether to stay or go. I'll let them choose for themselves."

The Empress Dowager sighed, knowing the Emperor had already made his decision, and said nothing more.

The Emperor thought that once this imperial decree was issued, all the women in the harem would leave. Unexpectedly, less than half of them were willing to leave.

For those who wanted to leave the palace, the emperor asked Youfu to give some money to each of them, and also ordered that the concubines who left the palace were allowed to take away the belongings of their own palaces, even the maids and eunuchs. For

those who did not want to leave the palace, people were arranged to investigate the situation. If they wanted to leave the

palace but had difficulties, they could ask for permission. Xu Jinyi's body had actually recovered a long time ago. Seeing how sad the emperor and the empress dowager were, she even wanted to get pregnant again as soon as possible to make it up to them.

However, the emperor listened to the doctor's words and said that they could not have sex for three months and could not get pregnant within six months. He really just held her in his arms and covered her with a quilt every night to chat.

Even Xu Jinyi's attempts to provoke her were useless, and she even thought that her figure had changed.

One day, Xu Jinyi was basking in the sun in the yard when Xia Qing said that a group of concubines had come outside.

With such a big scene, how could Xu Jinyi not see them?

Seeing Xu Jinyi walking out with the same demeanor as always, like a vixen, the concubines did not care to be jealous.

They all knelt down: "Please, Imperial Concubine, please let the Emperor keep us. We will not compete with you for your favor."

"Yes, as long as we can see the Emperor from afar, we will be satisfied."

Several concubines started crying as they spoke: "The Emperor asked us to leave the palace. Isn't this asking us to die?"

"A woman cannot serve two husbands. To put it nicely, it's a divorce. To put it bluntly, it's being divorced by the Emperor."

"If we go home, will there be room for us? Everyone regards us as ashamed. Who dares to marry the Emperor's concubine?"

After everyone chattered, Xu Jinyi finally understood what they were talking about.

She didn't expect that the bastard man would go this far for her and be willing to disband the harem for her.

From the vast expanse of water, only one scoop of water is enough!

Xu Jinyi would not refuse his kindness when it came to what his man did for her.

She spoke softly, "All of you, please stand up and sit down to talk."

Without directly responding to the concubines' words, Xu Jinyi asked, "This sister is Concubine Liu, right? How long have you been in the palace?"

Concubine Liu was pretty, with a delicate appearance. Although she wasn't a great beauty, she was very attractive.

"I've been in the palace for exactly six years."

Xu Jinyi nodded. "Your father is the Minister of Revenue, right? You are his legitimate daughter? Did you enter the palace voluntarily? Why did you enter the palace?"

Her thoughts drifted back to six years ago, and Concubine Liu still remembered her resistance.

"I cannot disobey my father's orders, my parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. Aren't all marriages in the world decided by parents? They want me to enter the palace, how can I go against their wishes."

Xu Jinyi pursed her lips: "In that case, now there is a chance to leave the palace, why don't you take it?"

"Life is only a few decades long. You have lived for your parents for the first half of your life. You have been learning the Four Books and Five Classics, chess, calligraphy and painting since you were a child. You have no childhood of your own."

"When you grow up, you don't have the right to choose your husband, and you can't do whatever you want.

" "Do you want to die of old age in this birdcage of the palace for the rest

of your life?" "In this huge palace, you have no lover, no flesh and blood, no relatives.

" "You are only in your twenties now. Are you willing to give up this opportunity?"

Seeing that Concubine Liu wanted to say something, Xu Jinyi did not give her a chance, but continued.

"What you just said is not a problem. Ask yourself, don't you want to leave the palace?"

"Don't you want to stroll through the bustling streets outside, breathe the fresh air, and enjoy your free time?"

"Spend the remaining half of your life on more meaningful things? The world is so big, with so many beautiful scenery? Don't you want to go and see?"

"Since you are afraid that your family will know and that you are trapped at home, aren't you afraid of being trapped in the palace?"

"Another way is not to announce your departure from the palace, so that the world or your family will always think that you are in the palace."

"After leaving the palace, you can contact your family if you want to, or not."

The palace was silent, and you could hear the sound of a pin drop.

Each concubine pondered Xu Jinyi's words in a daze.

They were awakened by her words, like lost in a thick fog, and she offered them a ray of light.

A light that led to freedom, a light that made people yearn for it.

Xu Jinyi didn't interrupt their thoughts, but instead picked up the teacup, taking a sip and savoring it slowly.

Concubine Liu's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and then she knelt.