"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" the eunuch standing at the door announced in a shrill voice.

The concubines inside immediately stopped their whispering and rose together to pay their respects to Empress Niohuru, who was seated at the head of the table.

"This humble concubine greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."

"Get up! You must have all heard that His Majesty has exempted Consort Tong from paying her respects today, so there's no need to wait."

After Empress Niohuru finished speaking, a hint of unease flashed across the faces of all the concubines, whether they knew the news in advance or not.

The lower-ranking concubines dared not harbor any disrespectful thoughts towards Consort Tong, fearing that such thoughts might accidentally reach her ears and make their already difficult lives even more unbearable.

Among the concubines who held higher ranks and were favored, Consort De's gentle and refined face still showed her gentle and delicate appearance, but her hands tightly clutching her handkerchief revealed her inner turmoil.

Sitting opposite Consort De, Consort Yi noticed the little tricks Consort De was making and couldn't hide the schadenfreude in her eyes.

What she hated most was Consort De's seemingly innocent and carefree demeanor.

"Consort De, I heard that the Fourth Prince has a puppy that His Majesty adores. If you have time, you can go and take a look at it at Chengqian Palace."

Consort Yi spoke with great sincerity, smiling at Consort De. After speaking, she covered her face with her handkerchief and laughed.

Sitting opposite her, Consort De's originally gentle face had become extremely ugly.

"Consort Yi, you..."

Empress Niohuru watched as the two below were about to start arguing. A hint of a smile flashed in her eyes, but she spoke in a fake and insincere manner.

"We're all sisters in the harem, what's all the arguing about?"

"Alright, it's getting late. Come with me to Shou'an Palace to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager."

Consort De followed behind Consort Yi, her gaze towards Consort Yi icy cold. She knew perfectly well where Consort Yi's bottom line was, yet she kept wavering. Consort De felt even more disgusted with Consort Yi, and a hint of dislike for the Fourth Prince also arose in her heart.

Despite being her son, he always becomes a tool for others to attack her.

Thinking back to when I wasn't pregnant with the Sixth Prince, I went to the Chengqian Palace to get closer to the Fourth Prince, and that sentence he said.

"You are not my mother, my master's mother is Consort Tong." This only made her more disgusted.

Sure enough, they were born to collect debts.

As the concubines walked to Shou'an Palace, led by Empress Niohuru, they paid their respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager before returning to their respective palaces.

In the Kunning Palace, Empress Niohuru, attended by her personal maid Dujuan, changed into a bright red peony-patterned everyday dress.

The wet nurse, Granny Du, had already arranged for the palace maids to prepare pastries and tea, which were all placed on the table.

"Your Majesty, have some tea and snacks. You've been working hard for a long time. Come and relax."

Empress Niohuru heard what her wet nurse, Granny Du, said, picked up the red date cake closest to her, took a small bite, and put it back on the plate, her face full of resentment.

“Nanny, I am still somewhat unwilling. I just don’t want to see Consort Tong’s smug face.”

The wet nurse, Granny Du, had an old face full of kindness and doting affection.

“My lord, since you are unhappy, then take action to create a rift between Consort Tong and the Emperor, so that she can no longer enjoy his favor and the Emperor will dislike her.”

"The most important thing about Consort Tong right now is that she has no children, but she herself really wants to have a child of her own."

"Now that the Fourth Prince is still young, if the Emperor finds out that Consort Tong has not raised the Fourth Prince well, he will definitely feel a little displeased."

"Then we'll drag Consort De into it and let them fight like dogs. That way, Your Majesty won't get your hands dirty, and neither Consort Tong nor Consort De will get any favors from His Majesty."

When Empress Niohuru heard the wet nurse Du's opinion, the annoyance on her face vanished, and her voice carried a hint of joy.

"In the inner palace, His Majesty has issued an imperial edict that no one can bear the consequences of revealing who the Fourth Prince's birth mother is."

Upon hearing this, the wet nurse, Granny Du, beamed with a smile on her chrysanthemum-like old face and immediately ordered the palace maid beside her to go and do her bidding.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, this old servant will certainly handle it well."

"This osmanthus cake tastes quite good, please reward me." Empress Niohuru picked up the osmanthus cake from the plate and enjoyed it with a pleasant expression.

Upon returning to the main hall of Yonghe Palace, Consort De smashed all the tea sets on the table as soon as she sat down.

"Consort Yi, that vile woman, all she knows is to rub salt into my wounds and make me lose face."

"And the Fourth Prince, that debt collector."

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with the Fourth Prince. He is still young and doesn't know that you are his birth mother. Ignorance is no excuse."

Uya, the old nanny beside Consort De, quickly offered some advice.

Uya Mama and Consort De are related. In terms of seniority within the clan, Consort De should address her as "Great-Grandma," so their relationship is quite close.

"All of this is just to win the Emperor's favor. As long as you try your best to capture the Emperor's heart, what does anything else matter?"

"In this harem, you are unique in His Majesty's heart."

Consort De was able to rise from a lowly palace maid to one of the six concubines.

It wasn't just because she gave birth to the Fourth Prince, but also because she truly held a place in Kangxi's heart.

Otherwise, how could an emperor who was so stingy with his rank have promoted Lady Uya from a lowly servant to the head of a palace? This shows that Emperor Kangxi still greatly favored Lady Uya.

Consort De dared to throw a tantrum and smash things in Yonghe Palace because she had the ability to control an entire palace, and no one in Yonghe Palace dared to report her to Emperor Kangxi.

Consort De always presented herself as a gentle and innocent girl in front of Emperor Kangxi, but she showed a completely different side when facing the servants below her.

Anyone who can rise from a lowly servant to the position of a palace mistress must be quite kind, otherwise they would have died long ago.

With so many women in the harem, constantly vying for favor and resorting to all sorts of tricks, if they had no ability to protect themselves, they would have been devoured long ago, leaving not even bones or scraps.

Inside Yikun Palace, Consort Yi sat in the main seat, eating tea and snacks served by a palace maid. Her eyebrows were curved and her smile could not be stopped.

"Granny, you didn't see the face on Consort De's face today. She has the nerve to sell her son for personal gain, yet she's afraid of people gossiping behind her back. I've never seen anyone so shameless."

"She always acts like an innocent little white flower in front of His Majesty, but who knows if she's a human being or a devil inside."

Wang Mama was a reliable nanny found through connections by Consort Yi's family in Yikun Palace, and she had many intricate relationships with Consort Yi's family.

Therefore, Consort Yi showed a relaxed and trusting attitude towards Granny Wang, and was willing to tell Granny Wang anything.

Standing next to Consort Yi, Granny Wang looked at the happy Consort Yi with a smile in her eyes, and then, as if she had thought of something, she continued.

"Your Majesty, news has come from outside that someone is trying to disrupt the relationship between the Fourth Prince and Consort De. Should we add fuel to the fire?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Yi immediately straightened up, her smile widening.

"Of course, is there such a good thing? It's only right to give it a push."