The Golden Palace.

The ministers and the emperor were in the Golden Palace, discussing the upcoming friendly exchanges between other countries and Nan Ding Kingdom.

"Report!"

A young eunuch rushed in from outside and knelt down in the main hall with a thud, respectfully saying, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is requesting an audience outside the hall!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiji frowned and asked unhappily, "What is it?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhongchangshi, knowing it was his own daughter, anxiously awaited the young eunuch's reply.

The kneeling eunuch said, "I heard that it was the Empress who was bullied, and they came to file a complaint with the Emperor."

"What? This is outrageous! What kind of behavior is this?" Li Qiji shouted loudly upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, Guan Hongsheng realized that his daughter was also involved, and he quickly clasped his hands in a salute, saying, "Your Majesty, this is impossible. Her Majesty the Empress is kind by nature and often cares for the servants in the palace. She would never quarrel with anyone, and I have never seen her raise her voice at anyone."

"Your Majesty, the Consort is gentle and kind at home, and filial to her parents. She has never argued with anyone. Yet now she is being bullied by the Empress. This is a slap in the face to this old minister!" Shen Zhongchangshi quickly spoke up.

Su Xu frowned slightly. Was this old man implying that Xiao Yue'er was a villain who bullied his daughter?

"I know that you two are deeply concerned for your daughter, but this is the main hall. Why not have His Majesty bring her in to greet her? Wouldn't that resolve all the issues?" Su Xu said calmly.

Li Qiji glanced at Su Xu, who gave the Emperor a slight nod.

"Guards, bring Consort Shen in to me!"

"Consort Xuanchen is here to pay her respects!"

"Consort Xuanchen is here to pay her respects!"

The eunuch's announcement echoed throughout the entire hall. Shen Na ran in from outside, sobbing. Looking at the assembled officials, she shrank back somewhat awkwardly, then composed herself.

"Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!" Shen Na ran to the main hall of the Golden Palace and knelt down with a thud.

Li Qiji raised his eyelids and glanced at her. Her hair was messy and her clothes were wrinkled. She had no trace of the demeanor of a noble concubine.

"How dare you, Consort Shen! Where is your decorum? Look at yourself, so unkempt! Are you showing contempt for the dignity of the royal family?" Li Qiji was furious with anger at the sight of this woman.

Shen Zhongchangshi couldn't stand it any longer and knelt down with a thud, shouting loudly, "Your Majesty, this must be evidence that the Empress bullied Consort Shen! Otherwise, how could a Consort Shen, with such an honor, appear before Your Majesty with such a face!"

When Guan Hongsheng heard Shen Zhongchangshi speak of his daughter in such a way, his fiery temper flared up, and he roared, "Old man Shen, this is utter nonsense!"

"General Guan, the facts are right before our eyes, how can this be nonsense? General Guan has been fighting on the front lines for many years, so it is understandable that he has neglected to discipline his daughter. But now that she is the Empress, she is still so unruly and unreasonable!"

"You old man Shen, it's none of your business to talk about my daughter. What kind of good person do you think she is?"

The two started arguing back and forth. Li Qiji looked at them, took a deep breath, and then shouted, "Enough! Do you think this is a vegetable market?"

Upon hearing this, the two immediately knelt on the ground, buried their heads in the earth, and remained silent.

Li Qiji glanced at Shen Na, who was kneeling on the ground, and said coldly, "Heh, is that so? Then Consort Shen, tell me properly how Her Majesty the Empress bullied you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Na recounted what had happened in the Cold Palace that morning, embellishing the story. Immediately, the ministers began to hurl insults at each other.

"How could Your Majesty do such a thing? This is jealousy!"

"Yes, how could the Queen of a country do such a thing?"

"Her Majesty the Empress is morally deficient!"

"Your Majesty the Empress is utterly disgraceful! How could Your Majesty be farming?"

"Where is the demeanor of a nation's mother now?!"

"This is an utter disgrace to the royal family!"

"This old minister believes that Consort Shen is right. How can the Empress of a nation be expected to work in the fields?"

"This is an utter disgrace to the royal family! It's outrageous! Your Majesty, please issue an edict to punish the Empress!"

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict to punish the Empress!"

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict to punish the Empress!"

The ministers all began to echo each other. Li Qiji sat on the high dragon throne, his hands clenched tightly. He was extremely annoyed by Consort Shen.

"Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Your Majesty, this humble servant, Xiao Dezi, requests an audience with Your Majesty!" Xiao Dezi's voice rang out loudly from the gate, breaking the chatter of the ministers present.

Li Qiji looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young eunuch at the entrance of the main hall, waving his arms as he was blocked outside by the Imperial Guards.

"Who's making a scene outside? Get them out of here right now!" Hua Quan shouted.

Xiao Dezi at the door shouted even louder, "Your Majesty, it's a miscarriage of justice! That's not how it happened, Your Majesty!"

Li Qiji said, "Let him in!"

Upon receiving the news of his arrival, Xiao Dezi quickly tidied up his letter, then bowed and hurriedly ran into the main hall, kneeling beside Guan Hongsheng.

"Your humble servant Xiao Dezi greets Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" Xiao Dezi said.

He first greeted her, and then recounted everything that had happened that day.

"Your Majesty, this is how it is today; it is not as the Noble Consort described."

"Your Majesty, at the beginning of the year, an imperial edict was issued to exempt the concubines from their morning and evening greetings. The harem was indeed peaceful for a while. However, just as Your Majesty and Prince Xiaoyao were working together to develop glass."

"And after the glass windows were installed in the Cold Palace, Consort Shen couldn't get any glass windows from Your Majesty, so she brought the concubines and ladies of the harem to the Cold Palace every day to pay their respects to the Empress. But the Empress was determined to do things for the people of our Nan Ding Kingdom."

"Therefore, she devoted herself to the land behind the mountain all day long. The Queen said she wanted to ensure that the people of Nanding Kingdom would have enough to eat, no longer suffer from hunger, and no longer be displaced. So the Queen kept researching new crops and experimenting with methods to improve food production."

"These days we've been busy turning over the fields, planting rice seedlings, planting fruit trees, and looking for all sorts of fresh food crops to fill our stomachs."

"However, Consort Shen leads the concubines of the harem to pay their respects every day, disturbing the Empress and taking up her time, which often leaves the Empress busy until late at night."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor asked the Empress what she was doing so late at night, "Empress, what are you busy with so late at night?"

Xiao Dezi took a deep breath and said, "Recently, Prince Xiaoyao said that he has found a glass shop in the capital and would like to ask the Empress to design the shop's interior design. The Empress has to entertain the ladies of the harem during the day and then goes to the fields, so she can only draw the design late at night. Therefore, she often brews medicine until late at night."

"Your Majesty, it's not what the ministers say, but Your Majesty is truly a good person. Your Majesty is very kind. Not only does Your Majesty teach us to read and write, but you also require each of us to learn a skill so that we can find a place to live after leaving the palace."

"Your Majesty, everything Xiao Dezi said today is true. Please, Your Majesty, see the truth!" After saying this, Xiao Dezi kowtowed several more times.

The ministers standing by fell silent, unsure of whose advice to follow...