Novel website. Jun Zhe's face darkened.

Linghu Lan glanced at the palace maid who was already kneeling on the ground trembling with fear, and said indifferently, "Get out and receive your punishment!"

"Yes! This servant takes her leave!" Linghu Lan didn't remember the palace maid's name, but that didn't stop her from being annoying.

Firstly, she's being too hasty and making a fuss over nothing. Secondly, upon witnessing this, a normal servant would try to cover it up, but she did it instead, smashing the basin and kneeling down, acting as if she, the empress, was so powerful. Since that's the case, let her have her way.

Lin Mama followed her in, hurriedly closed the door, shutting out all the servants and ordering no one to come in. She then quickly stepped forward to help Jun Zhe up, repeatedly saying, "It was this servant's fault for not serving you well. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and the Empress."

Linghu Lan nodded. This was the proper way for a servant to behave.

Jun Zhe's dejected mood finally eased a little.

"Get up, it's not your fault, I accidentally fell last night."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant thanks you for your mercy!"

After the two were settled on the bed, Granny Lin called in the palace maids to help them wash up.

Then came a whole host of formalities.

The wedding ceremony concluded only after the ancestral hall was visited, the Empress Dowager was paid homage, and the palace staff paid their respects.

Night falls.

Even after being exiled, the emperor was still handling state affairs in his study.

After dismissing everyone else, Lin Mama finally had a chance to ask Linghu Lan what exactly happened last night.

She could see clearly that the emperor was sleeping on a couch, not on a bed.

"Your Majesty, you are now of noble status, and all women in the world respect you. But all of this is given by His Majesty. If you lose His Majesty's favor, even if you have a noble status, it will be meaningless. Just look at the current Empress Dowager. You should know that gaining the Emperor's favor is the foundation for standing firm in the palace."

The Empress Dowager's name was Nalando. She started as the late emperor's maid and rose through the ranks from the youngest lady to Imperial Noble Consort. Even the Empress could not do anything to her. The two fought each other their whole lives. In the end, the Empress lost and was deposed and banished to the Cold Palace. Nalando, on the other hand, smoothly assisted her son, Junzhe, to ascend the throne, and she herself became the Empress Dowager.

The legend of the Empress Dowager was the dream of almost every woman in the palace.

In the past, Yue Huangyin was extremely respectful to the Empress Dowager and strictly adhered to filial piety, and the Empress Dowager treated Yue Huangyin well in return.

However, after Jun Zhe's death, the Empress Dowager harbored resentment towards Yue Huangyin, always feeling that she had failed to take good care of Jun Zhe, which led to his untimely death. Therefore, even though she knew that Yue Qingyin had taken the poisoned wine to kill Yue Huangyin, she stood by and watched coldly.

However, after Emperor Longde ascended the throne, his birth mother naturally became the new Empress Dowager. Although Nalando was also honored as Empress Dowager, with each new emperor came a new palace, and she no longer had the right to speak. She relinquished Xiankun Palace and was moved to a secluded courtyard within the palace, where she spent the rest of her life.

Linghu Lan snapped out of her daze and calmly said, "You're right!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but you were far too presumptuous last night. Although His Majesty is the supreme ruler, he is only ten years old, still quite young. You are three years older than him, and as his wife, you are like an elder sister to him. You should naturally be more tolerant of him. The reason why the Empress Dowager chose you was firstly because of your character and appearance, which are worthy of the title of Empress Dowager, and secondly because, as the saying goes, 'A woman three years older brings good fortune,' and you are older, more mature, and more dignified, which inspires trust. That's why the Empress Dowager chose you as Empress. You must not lose sight of your duty and forget your responsibilities!"