The next day.

Under Bilian's leadership, the servants in the Cold Palace began tidying up the abandoned area yesterday.

Guan Zhiyue was holding a modified jump rope and jumping wildly in the yard.

The rope that Bilian used to find for her was the thick and large kind, but since a servant came yesterday, a skilled eunuch has modified it for her.

They cut the thick rope and took out a thinner rope, then tied it to both ends with bamboo joints.

This way, when jumping rope, you can simply hold the two bamboo sections at both ends, without having to wrap the rope around your wrists.

This item earned Guan Zhiyue's high praise, and the eunuch who was praised was overjoyed.

Guan Zhiyue was still jumping rope in the courtyard, while the palace servants were clearing weeds and tending the land.

"Your Majesty, what are we doing clearing this wasteland?" a sweaty eunuch asked Guan Zhiyue, who was jumping rope.

Guan Zhiyue stopped jumping rope upon hearing the sound and looked at the group of palace servants who were working, saying, "Didn't Bilian tell you that I'm planning to raise chickens and grow vegetables?"

"No way? Your Highness, we're raising chickens and growing vegetables in the palace. If the Emperor finds out, he'll skin us alive!"

Guan Zhiyue said playfully, "Then why don't we just not let him know?"

That eunuch...

"Your Majesty..."

"Don't worry, your empress is still in front. She will definitely not let the emperor skin you alive first."

Just as the eunuch was relieved, Guan Zhiyue added insult to injury: "They should have skinned me first, then you."

A flock of crows flew overhead...

Everyone was embarrassed. What was wrong with the empress? Why did she keep saying scary things to frighten them?

Seeing that everyone was frightened, Guan Zhiyue laughed and said, "Alright, hurry up and get to work. You won't get any food if you don't finish."

Upon hearing that they wouldn't be given food, everyone quickly buried themselves in their work again.

Today, some people are clearing up abandoned areas in the yard, some are repairing houses, and a few are building an open-air kitchen next to the yard where Guan Zhiyue jumps rope.

This kitchen is the private kitchen of the Cold Palace. Guan Zhiyue thought that she would cook for herself in the Cold Palace from now on. Since the emperor did not issue an order for her to leave the Cold Palace, she might as well stay in the Cold Palace and be self-sufficient!

Guan Zhiyue stopped jumping rope and walked towards the rocking chair down the corridor. She kept wondering what this damn emperor looked like. The original owner of this body was really something, how could she marry herself off to a man she had never even seen?

I may have seen him when he was a child, but there's no guarantee he'll grow up to be a handsome man. What if he grows up to be disabled?

However, I also heard from Bilian that this dog emperor is the man that women in the capital most want to marry, because he is handsome, aloof and supreme.

Guan Zhiyue lay on the rocking chair and thought about what Bilian had said. She felt it was unreliable because she had also said that the women in the capital wanted to marry her eldest and second brothers.

In the original owner's memory, her two older brothers were incredibly handsome. They could not only solve all her problems, but also give her gifts she had never seen before. They were practically modern-day Doraemons.

"Sigh! How long will it take for me to get rid of this extra weight!" Guan Zhiyue lay down on the rocking chair and rocked herself until she fell asleep.

Guan Zhiyue was half asleep when she was woken up by those annoying mosquitoes. When she opened her eyes, she saw a very cute and petite girl holding a foxtail grass in her hand and trying to touch her nose.

"Alright, so that's what was disturbing my peaceful sleep! It's you, you little brat."

Guan Zhiyue stood up, looking at the little girl with some anger, and pointed at her, saying, "Who are you?"

"Your humble servant, Consort Xian, greets Your Majesty the Empress."

The little girl was so frightened by Guan Zhiyue's accusation that she immediately knelt down on the ground and cried out in a trembling voice.

Guan Zhiyue looked down at the little girl kneeling on the ground, sighed as she looked at the girl who was about the same size as the original owner of the body, and said, "Get up!"

The little girl stood obediently in front of Guan Zhiyue and quickly threw away the foxtail grass in her hand.

"You are Consort Xian?"

"Your Majesty, it is indeed your humble servant!"

Guan Zhiyue searched through the original owner's mind before saying, "Your father is Lord He, the Grand Herald in the court who is in charge of receiving guests?"

The little girl stepped forward in surprise and said excitedly, "You recognize my father?"

Guan Zhiyue looked at the somewhat outgoing girl and said with a smile, "I've heard a little about her!"

"I heard you're somewhat slacking off?"

The young girl didn't know what "shirking responsibility" meant, so she approached Guan Zhiyue with a puzzled look and asked, "Your Majesty, what does 'shirking responsibility' mean?"

"Uh! I mean you're lazy!"

Instead of getting angry, the little girl looked at Guan Zhiyue with great interest and said, "I'm not only lazy, I'm also greedy."

I wish I could have food and clothes without having to do any work every day, and not have to take care of my in-laws, and most importantly, not have to manage household affairs! Oh dear!

After listening to the girl's words, Guan Zhiyue thought about it and realized that it was indeed as rumored in the world.

"What is the name of Consort Xian?" Guan Zhiyue asked, looking at the lively and innocent child beside her.

When Consort Xian heard Guan Zhiyue ask her name, she didn't care at all and immediately said, "My name is He Jiao. I am fifteen years old this year, the same age as Your Majesty."

Guan Zhiyue nodded, and with a knowing look, asked, "What month were you born in?"

He Jiao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I was born on the tenth of October, a month later than you."

Guan Zhiyue thought for a moment and realized that the original owner's birthday was September 10th, which meant that the original owner had just turned fifteen on September 10th.

Then on September 20th, she married the current emperor and died on the evening of September 27th. Then she transmigrated into this world.

Guan Zhiyue shook her head in disbelief. She felt so sorry for the original owner of this body. What had the original owner done to deserve such a tragic end?

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Guan Zhiyue took a deep breath, composed herself, and looked at He Jiao, saying, "What brings you here to see me today?"

He Jiao said playfully, "I found the palace quite boring, so I came here when I heard that Your Majesty had something fun to do."

"Why don't you take any maids or servants with you when you go out, little girl?"

He Jiao sighed and said, "Sigh! These old fogies always keep me confined to the palace, making me learn this and that. Am I the kind of person who knows how to learn?"

Guan Zhiyue's lips twitched repeatedly upon hearing He Jiao's words.

Consort Xian: He Jiao, age 15, born on the 10th of the tenth month.

She was a simple-minded girl, a complete and utter good-for-nothing, truly useless.

Her father had no other choice but to try to get her into the palace. He wanted to make her suffer in the palace. In the end, it took a lot of effort to get her into the position of the fourth wife so that she wouldn't be bullied.

My father was the Grand Herald of the Imperial Court (in charge of receiving guests), named He Jin, a middle-aged man of thirty-eight.

Guan Zhiyue looked at He Jiao, who seemed to be giving up, and even felt a little envious. It seemed that this Lord He was also a doting father. She just didn't know whether this decision was good or bad for her!

Guan Zhiyue suddenly remembered something that happened before she went to sleep: the original owner had never seen the emperor after he came of age, but had this maid who entered the palace earlier than her ever seen him?

"Consort Xian, I have a question for you," Guan Zhiyue said cautiously, glancing around furtively as she leaned close to He Jiao's ear.

He Jiao excitedly joined in, whispering like a thief, "Your Majesty, what is it?"

Guan Zhiyue cleared her throat and said, "Have you ever seen the Emperor?"

"Ah! Your Majesty! I have never seen you before."

Guan Zhiyue was shocked and immediately sat down in a rocking chair next to her.

"You...you've never even met the Emperor, so why are you marrying him?"

Consort Xian looked at Guan Zhiyue, who was in shock, and said with a smile, "Because you don't have to manage the household affairs, you don't have to be filial to your parents-in-law, and you don't have to deal with family matters!"

"puff....."

At that moment, only one thought was in Guan Zhiyue's mind: "Is this really a family that just gives up?"

"Don't you think it's more difficult to manage people inside the palace than to manage ordinary families outside?"

After listening to Guan Zhiyue's words, Consort Xian thought for a moment and said, "I haven't even met the Emperor yet, so why would I need to set up a family?"

"Besides, Your Majesty, you're in the Cold Palace, so we don't have to pay our respects to you morning and evening. It's just too nice, isn't it?"

"So you think that because I'm in the cold palace, you don't have to worry about these things?"

Consort Xian said rather presumptuously, "Isn't that so?"

"I am a concubine of the same rank as the Imperial Concubine, and besides the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and Your Majesty, no one else in this palace is as senior as us, so there is no need for us to care about them."

Rosamund Kwan....

"You really know how to slack off. Luckily, your father managed to get you the position of the fourth wife. Otherwise, with your personality, I think you would have caused some trouble sooner or later."

Consort Xian chuckled, scratching her head somewhat awkwardly, and said, "Your Majesty, it's not as exaggerated as you make it out to be."

"I'm exaggerating, think about it yourself!"

"Hehe, I'm not afraid. I'll have Your Majesty's protection from now on." As Consort Xian said this, she directly hooked her arm around Guan Zhiyue's and rubbed against her.

Guan Zhiyue herself was disgusted by the smell of sweat all over her body, yet this girl still had the audacity to rub against her.

"Don't say that. I'm in this cold palace now, how can I protect you? You'd better take care of yourself."

He Jiao still held onto Guan Zhiyue's arm, unwilling to let go, and said, "What's the big deal? I don't believe Your Majesty can't get out of this cold palace."

Rosamund Kwan...

Guan Zhiyue couldn't help but laugh and said, "So you've decided to stick with me, girl?"

"Of course, when I was at home I often heard my father talk about how majestic Uncle Guan was."

Now, seeing you, Your Majesty, are just like Uncle Guan—unyielding and relentless. You've even started to be self-sufficient.

"Is this how Lord He talks about my father?"

He Jiao said with a grin, "No way, they said much more! They even talked about how amazing General Guan was, how devoted General Guan was, and how accomplished Young General Guan was at such a young age."

Guan Zhiyue looked at He Jiao speechlessly, brushed the stray hairs from her forehead and said, "Let me go first, I feel like I'm going to die of heat."

Upon hearing Guan Zhiyue say that she had choked her, He Jiao quickly released her arm.

Guan Zhiyue pulled her arm away from He Jiao's embrace and looked at He Jiao, saying, "It's already lunchtime, aren't you going back to your palace for lunch?"

When He Jiao heard that it was lunchtime, she looked at Guan Zhiyue with sparkling eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, have you had lunch yet?"

Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes at her and said, "I've been waiting for you all morning, do you think I've eaten?"

"Hehe, Your Highness, would you like to order the meal?"

Guan Zhiyue looked at He Jiao and said with a smile, "Does the Consort Xian wish to dine in my Cold Palace?"

He Jiao smiled, not yet understanding Guan Zhiyue's ambiguous smile, which held a hint of anticipation for a good show.

"Your Majesty, may I dine with you here?"

Guan Zhiyue said with a smile, "Sure, why not?"

He Jiao felt that Guan Zhiyue's smile was a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with it, so she stopped thinking about it and just looked at Guan Zhiyue with a cheerful smile.

Seeing that He Jiao was still unsure about leaving, Guan Zhiyue decided to stay and have a meal with her.

"Bilian..."

"Bilian, where have you been? Come quickly and serve the meal."

Bilian, covered in dust and dirt, ran over from the wasteland and said very respectfully to Guan Zhiyue and He Jiao, "Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress, greetings to Your Highness the Virtuous Consort."

"Hmm! Go and serve the meal! Today, Consort Xian will be dining with me, so just tell the Imperial Kitchen to increase the portion size I usually eat."

"Oh! This...this isn't a good idea, is it?"

Before Guan Zhiyue could say anything, Consort Xian spoke up first, saying, "There's nothing wrong with it, Bilian, right? Go ahead! I can't wait any longer."

Bilian then looked at Consort Xian and said, "Sister He, don't regret this!"

He Jiao said somewhat displeasedly, "Your Highness, what are you saying? It's just lunch, what's there to regret? You'll regret it if you don't eat! Hurry up, Bilian, go quickly!"

Seeing that He Jiao had already said that, Guan Zhiyue didn't say anything more. She nodded to Bilian and told her to go and serve the meal.

He Jiao looked at Guan Zhiyue with an innocent expression and said, "Your Majesty, you will definitely be a great beauty when you lose weight. I heard that you have been dancing lately. Can you teach me?"

"Let me tell you a secret!"

As He Jiao spoke, she quietly lifted her clothes, revealing three layers of white, fleshy fat on her stomach.

After seeing this, Guan Zhiyue's lips twitched uncontrollably, and she asked somewhat embarrassedly, "What is this?"

"Hehe...of course it's from what I eat."

Guan Zhiyue's head creased with three black lines, and she was speechless!

I originally thought this girl was the kind of person who could eat a lot without gaining weight, but I never expected this, I never expected her to have so much fat on her stomach.

Guan Zhiyue then thought, "Sigh, it's still better than the original owner's body. The original owner's body was really... well, it's hard to describe. I'll just have to keep dieting!"

He Jiao covered herself up with her clothes and continued chatting with Guan Zhiyue, waiting for lunch.

After all that, Guan Zhiyue made her first friend, a concubine, in this world, who was also a foodie.