He Xuejian and An Lingrong did not move, and said sternly, "Lingrong, if you want to stay by my side, you must first be confident. You are someone by my side, and no one can look down on you."

"If you can't do that, there's not much use for you staying by my side!"

Upon hearing this, An Lingrong immediately stood up and walked firmly to Zhen Huan, then slapped Zhen Huan's face hard, as if this slap had erased all her past and given her a brand new future.

Zhen Huan's face immediately felt a burning pain, and her mouth tasted of rust.

He Xue walked up to Zhen Huan, lifted her head, and said, "So what if you have a good background? I don't care about you. You are nothing."

Lingrong is now my woman. Even your father would have to be extremely respectful to her, let alone you!

You must live well; Lingrong will surely reach heights you can never attain in your lifetime!

Zhen Huan stared intently at An Lingrong, her eyes filled with anger and resentment.

An Lingrong, however, showed no fear, looking directly into Zhen Huan's eyes, her lips even curving slightly upward.

Seeing this, He Xue was very satisfied.

He Zhu waved to the guards who were holding Zhen Huan, signaling them to take her away immediately.

"Have you vented your anger?" Emperor Jingning asked with a smile.

"Is Your Majesty distressed?" He Xue asked, turning her head to the side.

"Of course I feel sorry for you. What would you do if you got angry?" Emperor Jingning helped He Xue onto the imperial carriage and held her in his arms. "Don't get angry with people who aren't worth it in the future."

"It's all because the Emperor is too charming and attracts too many admirers!" He Xue joked.

"I just happened to run into her, so I said a few words to her!"

"It seems Zhen Huan was waiting for you on purpose. How could a newly arrived palace maid like her find out your whereabouts? She must be quite resourceful!"

Emperor Jingning pondered for a moment, then said, "I will have He Zhu investigate this thoroughly!"

In Chuxiu Palace, Shen Meizhuang was getting increasingly anxious as it grew later and she still hadn't seen Zhen Huan return. Zhen Huan had only told her that it was a bit stuffy in the room and that she was going out for a walk, but she wouldn't let her accompany her, and she didn't know where Zhen Huan had gone.

In the end, Shen Meizhuang had no choice but to go to the disciplinary nanny.

Upon hearing this, the supervising nanny cursed Zhen Huan inwardly for causing trouble, but she dared not delay and immediately sent someone to secretly find Zhen Huan, in case Zhen Huan offended the Empress, she might also be implicated.

The supervising nanny sent people to search for half an hour but couldn't find any trace of Zhen Huan. The supervising nanny wondered whether she should tell He Xue about this, since the disappearance of a palace maid was no small matter.

Just then, He Zhu arrived.

When the head steward saw He Zhu arrive, she immediately greeted him with a smile, "Head Steward, what brings you here!"

"Summon all the young ladies-in-waiting; the Emperor has something to convey!" He Zhu said sternly.

Seeing He Zhu's appearance, the supervising matron immediately ordered all the young women to be brought out.

"Is everyone here?" He Zhu asked, glancing around.

"Grand Steward, we're still missing one. The imperial concubine Zhen Huan hasn't returned yet!" the supervising matron said with difficulty.

“She’s not coming back!” He Zhu said sarcastically.

Everyone was surprised to hear this, but they didn't dare to ask and could only suppress their curiosity.

Shen Meizhuang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Today, the imperial concubine Zhen violated palace rules, and the emperor has sent someone to send her back to her residence."

All of you ladies are people who care about your reputation. If you are really sent back, it won't look good for you either. So, all of you ladies should stay quietly in Chuxiu Palace. After the second round of selections, you can go back to your residences.

"I understand what you ladies are thinking, but please keep your thoughts to yourself, otherwise you'll not only implicate yourselves but also your families."

After He Zhu finished speaking, he turned to the supervising nanny and said, "Nanny, these young ladies are entrusted to you by the Emperor and the Empress. You must not betray this trust!"

The head maid replied tremblingly, "Yes, this old servant understands, thank you for the reminder, Head Steward!"

After saying that, He Zhu flicked his whisk and turned to leave.