However, Shen Wangshu was too lazy to pay attention to Consort He for the time being.

She casually glanced at the exquisitely carved and lifelike jade statue in front of her. The Buddha statue was solemn and dignified, smiling compassionately as it looked ahead while holding a flower. She couldn't help but smile as well.

"Keep it safe," she said casually, sitting lazily in her chair.

May Buddha have mercy... If you have good intentions, it's best not to let the prayer beads see the most despicable group of creatures in this human harem.

“It’s so beautiful, it’s such a waste to leave it in the storeroom, Your Majesty.” Ah Xiang also circled around the tall statue beside her. Seeing that Shen Wangshu was going to put the statue away, she said with some reluctance, “You can’t find a corner like this in the whole harem. Your Majesty has it, but no other empress has it. Isn’t that what makes Your Majesty so splendid?”

A hint of confusion flickered in her eyes. These past few days, she seemed to have been pampered by Shen Wangshu's gentle care, and she was usually quite lively and endearing. She was only fourteen or fifteen years old, a lovely and innocent girl in the bloom of youth, and Shen Wangshu liked her very much.

This statue was sent by Emperor Hui this morning; it is said that Emperor Hui specially sent it to her.

"There are plenty of good things out there, but once they pass through the hands of a scoundrel, even the best things become tainted." Shen Wangshu chuckled, and a hint of indifference appeared in his eyes as he thought of Emperor Hui telling him about his grievances of being suppressed by the Regent.

She paused, then felt that life in the harem was quite boring.

Emperor Hui still thought he could fool her, and after only having tea in her palace once, he couldn't wait to leave.

“But…” Ah Xiang looked at the Imperial Concubine with admiration, who seemed indifferent to everything and could not be moved by anything, her eyes filled with longing.

She had thought the imperial concubine was a vicious person, but the emperor had only glanced at her before he was about to kill her.

But it turned out that the Imperial Concubine was just teasing and frightening her. She was so kind to her, even stroking her hair and saying that she was still a child.

Since she entered the palace as a maid, no one has ever treated her with such gentleness.

Ah Xiang felt a bittersweet feeling in her heart, and she couldn't understand why everyone in the palace said that the Imperial Concubine was a bad person, but she felt that it was wonderful that only she had seen the Imperial Concubine's gentleness.

She couldn't help but walk up to Shen Wangshu under her nonchalant gaze, pinching the hem of her dress and stealing glances at her cautiously. Seeing that the beautiful concubine, as radiant as the clouds and as celestial as a fairy, only glanced at her without reprimanding her for overstepping her bounds, she couldn't help but smile slightly and whisper, "Your Highness is the best person. I wish I could serve Your Highness for the rest of my life."

Shen Wangshu glanced sideways at A Xiang's longing eyes, then lowered her gaze and said softly, "She's indeed young." Who among the older women wouldn't want to leave the palace and get married?

However, having received benefits from Emperor Hui today, Shen Wangshu was in a good mood and became somewhat interested in the regent who had left Emperor Hui at a loss.

The book also contains some descriptions of the regent. This regent was not cannon fodder like the concubine who was discarded after her usefulness was over. He was a truly powerful figure. Even in the end, after Emperor Hui and Consort He were truly reunited and Consort He was deposed, most of the power in the court was still in the hands of the regent.

Although Shen Wangshu did not understand why the regent did not depose Emperor Hui and ascend the throne himself, this powerful royal family member, whom even Emperor Hui had to call "cousin," held great power throughout his life, yet had the greatest shortcoming.

He had no wife or children... and because of this, although Emperor Hui was wary of him, he was not worried about him deposing the emperor and establishing himself as emperor.

That was the regent in the book, but Shen Wangshu was quite interested in the real-life prince.

It is said that... the Imperial Concubine repeatedly clashed with the Regent, and the two were like oil and water. The Regent greatly disliked the Imperial Concubine, who was ignorant of etiquette.

"The Regent?" Ah Xiang tilted her head and asked curiously.

"All I've heard is His Majesty's description of the Regent. What kind of person is he in your eyes?" Shen Wangshu asked with a smile as he sipped his tea.

The gentle light in her eyes shimmered in the bright sunlight of the palace. Ah Xiang admired the rare beauty in the world, but upon hearing this, she seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Could it be that the Regent's situation is truly so complicated?

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten?" Ah Xiang asked cautiously.

"Forgot what?" She knew nothing at all, only some vague records in the book. However, Shen Wangshu found Ah Xiang's troubled expression amusing.

She's already surrounded by enemies, so why should she fear a regent? Since she's already a Noble Consort, she'll be the most glamorous woman in the harem, adding insult to injury for Emperor Hui and Consort He, that poor couple. If that day ever comes and Emperor Hui dares to betray her, she's still got the skills to stab him in the back; she can just stab him from either side and they'll both die.

Therefore, she didn't really care about what the regent was like.

“Regent, Your Highness…” Ah Xiang nervously clenched her fingers, looked up timidly to observe Shen Wangshu’s expression, and whispered, “Your Highness, have you forgotten that His Highness slapped you?”

Shen Wangshu coughed violently, almost spitting out the tea in his mouth. He slammed the teacup on the table. Seeing Ah Xiang frantically wiping the water stains off her palace dress, he disregarded Ah Xiang and exclaimed in surprise, "He hit me?!"

The Imperial Concubine was actually beaten?

The Regent actually hit a woman?!

Very good... This is very regent-like...

"If you hadn't dodged quickly, the Regent would have drawn his sword! Have you forgotten?" Although Ah Xiang was puzzled that the Consort didn't even remember such an important matter, she was always forthcoming with the Consort, speaking with a hint of indignation, "The Prince has no sense of chivalry whatsoever! You only contradicted him a couple of times, and he immediately started shouting for your life and demanding punishment, hurling awful insults at you. If it weren't for His Majesty's intercession, Your Highness would have truly been sacrificed to the Regent's blade."

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