The emperor thought she was cold, so he covered her with a blanket and spoke gently.

"Don't catch a cold."

When Rong Xi arrived at the palace, the emperor arranged her to stay in the palace closest to him. He had people clean up this place a long time ago, and he didn't know whether she liked it or not.

Rong Xi found the emperor's expectant expression a little funny, "Your Majesty, is this what you prepared for me? I like it very much."

The emperor finally showed a sincere smile and introduced her to him in a nagging manner.

"I'm glad you like it. Look at this calligraphy and painting, it's a masterpiece by a famous artist. This vase is... blah blah..."

The emperor told Rong Xi a lot of things and moved all the good things he thought were here.

As a result, there was a new concubine Chun in the palace.

This news dropped on the harem like a bomb. They were not completely clueless about it, but they all thought that Concubine Chun would be chosen in the beauty pageant in the near future. They didn't expect it to happen at this time.

Everyone was very curious about what kind of woman this was that could make His Majesty treat her like this and become a concubine as soon as she entered the palace.

On the night Rong Xi entered the palace, the emperor was invited to her place by the empress dowager. The emperor naturally knew the purpose of his mother calling him over this time.

"Emperor, I heard that you made that woman a concubine right after she entered the palace."

"Yes, she is the one my son likes, and he doesn't want to let her down."

"But you should know that no matter whether it's the deep palace or the harem, the one who is favored will become the center of attention, a thorn in everyone's side, and even the previous dynasty will be implicated."

"Mother, I know all this, but I'm already at this age. The power I hold is not something that can be easily shaken, let alone protecting the woman I love."

The Queen Mother sighed heavily, "Since you already know, I won't care about you anymore. But I have made it clear in advance that if this person is not a quiet person, don't blame me for taking action."

"Son, I understand." The emperor was silent for a long time before speaking again, "Mother, this time, I want to select..."

Before he could finish his words, the Empress Dowager stopped him, "Emperor, you should know the reason for this selection. The imperial decree has already been issued, there is no reason to take it back. You shouldn't do this for a woman."

The issue of offspring has always been a thorn in his heart. Even though he has given up the idea of ​​adopting a child, he still wants to have his own biological child deep down.

Everyone thought that the emperor would rest in Chunpin's palace tonight, but to everyone's surprise, the news they received was that the emperor rested in his own palace.

The next day!

The winter sun shone through the treetops onto the ground, and also onto the concubines who were waiting to pay their respects to the empress dowager.

Rong Xi was no exception. When she first entered the palace, she had to meet the empress dowager with other concubines.

The winter wind was still a bit cold. The concubines pulled their cloaks and observed Jiang Rongxi, the newcomer to the palace, calmly.

I heard that she was the least favored concubine's daughter in the family. I thought a concubine's daughter would not look very good. But now it seems that she is really good-looking, especially her eyes, which are smart and clear and always have a smile when she looks at people.

Concubine Xin and Concubine Li were of lower rank than Rong Xi, so even though it was their first meeting, they still greeted each other according to the rules.

There was another concubine named Ningpin who looked much more indifferent, but the one with the highest attitude was still Concubine Zhao, whose name had been heard for a long time.

According to the system, she is the daughter of General Zhenbei. When the emperor seized the throne, her father was the biggest supporter. It can even be said that if there was no General Zhenbei, the emperor's path to succession would not have been so smooth.

But it was that palace coup that caused the death of General Zhenbei. Before his death, what he was most concerned about were his two children, and his last words were to let his daughter enter the palace.

The emperor had no concubines at the time, and given the circumstances he had no choice but to agree.

In his heart, he was actually unwilling to do so. There were countless women in his father's palace. When he was in his later years and had less experience, the concubines in the palace were full of complaints.

.

Soon the empress dowager's door was opened, and the nanny beside the empress dowager came out, looking at the concubines in the yard with a smile on her face.

"My lords, the Queen Mother invites you."

Everyone entered the palace, but no one dared to sit down until the Queen Mother arrived. It was a long time before the nanny's voice was heard again.

"The Queen Mother has arrived!"

Everyone knelt down to greet her, and the Queen Mother saw Rong Xi kneeling below at first sight.

Even she herself couldn't explain her attitude towards Jiang Rongxi. According to the emperor, this woman was very smart and different from others.

But in this palace, we are afraid of the appearance of someone different.

When she first learned that the emperor had brought a woman into the palace, she was angry and felt that this woman had caused the emperor to break his rules repeatedly.

But later she learned from the emperor that the woman had no intention of entering the palace, and even did not want to marry his son, the emperor. She wondered why the woman looked down on her son.

But later on, the emperor forced her to leave the palace again and again, and repeatedly went against her advice. She once again began to think that she did not want this woman to enter the palace.

If this woman really entered the palace and won the emperor's favor, then this woman would...

She was indeed worried. In recent years, the emperor had no children in his harem and not many concubines. However, under her strict control, no major chaos had occurred.

"Everyone, get up!"

"Thank you, Queen Mother!"

Because there was a new person, the Queen Mother briefly explained the rules of the harem and warned everyone to abide by their own rules and not to overstep the line.

Everyone knew what the Queen Mother meant by this, and when they saw the Queen Mother looking at Jiang Rongxi frequently while saying this, everyone understood it even more clearly.

Then there is the issue of having offspring year after year.

"I know what you are thinking. You want a high position and power. But I also want to tell you clearly that except for the new Concubine Chun, the other concubines have been in this position for many years. If you want to advance in rank and gain power, your best way is to have children."

Everyone knows that every concubine in the palace wants her own child, but they have tried all possible methods over the years, including taking medicine, acupuncture, and folk remedies, making themselves suffer terribly, but there has been no progress so far, and they don't have much hope anymore.

But they still took the Queen Mother's advice to heart. His Majesty was not too old, and they themselves were still at a good age to have children. Several concubines had already thought about trying again.

The Queen Mother talked about the selection of concubines again, and handed the matter over to Concubine Zhao. She didn't want anything else to happen in the palace after the selection of concubines after the New Year.

After coming out from the Queen Mother, Rong Xi thought she could go back to the palace, but she saw that everyone was following Concubine Zhao and had no intention of leaving.

Concubine Xin, who was standing by, saw Rong Xi's puzzled look and whispered to her.

"Empress Chunpin, usually when we come out from the Empress Dowager, we have to go to the Imperial Concubine Zhao's palace to sit for a while. Come with us quickly."

Rong Xi nodded and followed everyone.

I wonder what role Concubine Zhao will play in this palace.