After becoming emperor, the Fourth Prince was so busy that he was often nowhere to be seen for ten days or half a month. The huge palace was like a huge cage.

Before, when she was in the Yong Prince's Mansion, she could at least sneak out to play. But once she was in the palace, leaving the palace was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

While Yinzhen was busy with court affairs, the Empress had the final say in all matters of the inner palace. If she wanted to leave the palace, she would need the Empress's permission and a pass to leave. Otherwise, she could not easily walk out of those palace gates.

She considered sneaking away, but it was too difficult. First, there were many guards, and second, the palace guards were full of hidden talents. If she were caught, it would be a real problem. She was no longer a prince's concubine, but an imperial consort, a first-rank official.

Speaking of imperial concubines, the Fourth Prince had more than a dozen wives and concubines in his harem, but only four of them were granted the title of imperial concubine: Empress Nara, Noble Consort Nian, Consort Qi Li, Consort Xi Niohuru, and her, Consort Zhen Tong.

Lady Geng, who gave birth to the Fifth Prince Hongzhou, was granted the title of Consort Yu; Lady Song was granted the title of Consort Mao; and the rest were all granted the titles of Lady-in-Waiting and Lady-in-Waiting.

Yiren is now the head nanny of Chengqian Palace, and Xiaoshunzi is in charge of all internal and external affairs of Chengqian Palace.

"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner," Yiren reminded her mistress, who was standing in the courtyard lost in thought.

Nan glanced at the sky; it was getting dark again. She thought to herself, "This is the life I'm living. All I do is eat and sleep; I'm practically turning into a pig."

During her more than a month in the palace, apart from the two times she paid her respects to the Empress on the day of the investiture ceremony, she did not see any outsiders.

Nan Yi couldn't help but sigh, "When will this ever end?"

Yiren chuckled, covering her mouth. "Master, what are you saying? Isn't this a good idea? If you're really bored, there's a vacant lot in the backyard. Why don't we clear it out? You can use it to pass the time."

Nan Yi sighed, "You said it yourself, it's just to pass the time. It's not good at all, it's not even as good as that little courtyard in the Forbidden Garden."

"Where is it not good? I'll have someone fix it." The Fourth Prince walked in at some point and stood not far behind her, smiling as he spoke.

"This servant greets Your Majesty." Yiren knelt down to pay her respects.

"Rise."

Nan Yi gave a perfunctory curtsy and asked listlessly, "Your Majesty, it's quite unusual that you've come today."

After becoming emperor, the Fourth Prince's aura became even more majestic. Dressed in the auspicious robes of the Ming Emperor, he looked both refined and dashing.

Even with wrinkles on his face, the handsome uncle's charm hasn't diminished.

As expected of an emperor, the spirit of a true Son of Heaven is exceptionally different.

Yinzhen first walked up to her, looked at her carefully for a while, then relaxed his brows and said out of the blue, "Hmm, you look well, I'm happy to see you like this."

He led her into the house and asked with concern, "How are you? Are you getting used to the palace? I've been so busy lately that I haven't had any time to myself, but I've finally managed to sort things out in the last few days."

The two sat on the couch. Yinzhen held the soft hand in his palm. They hadn't seen each other for many days. His eyes were filled with tenderness. He reached out to pull her into his arms.

"Hey, the girl's here." Nan Yi pushed away his chest.

Yinzhen smiled, his gaze intense, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, they've already left."

Nan turned around and saw that there was no one left in the hall. Even Yiren had already slipped away. What a treacherous fellow, she disappeared too quickly.

Yinzhen embraced her, rested his head on her slender shoulder, and sighed in a hoarse voice, "Bored, aren't you? The palace is not like the manor. With your restless nature, you definitely can't stay still. Bear with it for now, and when I have some free time, I'll take you out of the palace."

He didn't bring it up, and Nan Yi almost forgot. She pushed him away and reached out to feel around his waist. As the emperor, he should have a waist token. With the emperor's waist token, why would she need to find the empress?

Yinzhen was completely bewildered. "Yi'er, what are you doing?"

"A waist token, the kind that allows you to leave the palace, give me one." Nan Yi said as she continued to grope his body.

"Don't bother, you can't carry your waist token around with you." Yinzhen chuckled and pressed her hand down, then pulled her onto his lap with both hands. "Now that you are of noble status, how can you leave the palace at will? If word gets out, people will laugh at you. If outsiders find out, I will lose face, and it won't be right for my subjects to do the same."

"Then I'll be locked in this birdcage for the rest of my life. Wouldn't that be suffocating? If I had known, why did you bestow such a title upon me? It would have been much better to keep me in the manor."

Yinzhen's face darkened immediately, and he scolded in a low voice, "Nonsense! I won't confer a title on you. You'll continue to be a concubine. You'll be a laughingstock and a disgrace to the world."

Nan Yi turned her head indifferently, "I don't care."

"I care." Ever since the Ministry of Rites submitted its memorial to the emperor to appoint empresses and concubines, he has been thinking about what kind of title to give her.

After much deliberation, I chose the character "珍" (zhen, meaning precious/precious), and cherished it dearly.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince was angry, Nan Yi lowered her head slightly and said, "I was wrong." At the same time, she thought to herself that she had lost her freedom after becoming Consort Zhen.

Despite her noble status, she didn't really care much. Even if the Fourth Prince cared about her, he still didn't surpass Lady Nian. Lady Nian was a Noble Consort, the head of the Four Consorts. Although both were of the first rank, she was still inferior to Lady Nian.

"It's good that you know you're wrong. You must not say such things again, nor should you think such things. If you perform well, I may consider promoting you to a higher rank."

That was impossible. The Noble Consort was from the Nian family. Above the Four Consorts, the next highest honor was the Imperial Noble Consort, but she understood that that belonged to the Nian family.

Nan Yi got up from his lap, walked to the palace entrance, leaned against the door as if boneless, and stared longingly at the sky.

Rank and status are all meaningless to her; she just wants to leave the palace. As long as she doesn't have to stay cooped up in Chengqian Palace all day, she'd be willing to be a concubine or a low-ranking lady.

Seeing Tong's appearance, Yinzhen felt very sorry for her. She had been with him for many years and had no other faults except that she was active and playful.

While other wives and concubines vied for favor, children, and the rank of imperial concubine, Lady Tong only cared about having fun. As long as her requests were met, everything was fine.

"Stop looking. Tomorrow is the thirteenth of the month, so I'll have him accompany you on a two-day trip. Remember, just two days, not a moment longer," the Fourth Master said gently.

"Really?" Nan Yi was surprised that Fourth Uncle was so cooperative. Overjoyed, she jumped on him, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and said with bright eyes, "It's a promise, no going back on your word."

Fearing she might fall, Yinzhen quickly caught her, saying, "My word is as good as gold."

"That's great, I believe you." She patted the Fourth Master's shoulder excitedly, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "Put me down and tell Xiao Su to serve the meal. I have something to ask of you later, and I hope the Emperor will grant me a favor."

Yinzhen put her down. "It's better to say it now, lest you say something shocking that makes me lose my appetite."

Nan Yi chuckled lightly, "No, I just wanted to remind you about Yong-ge." She hugged Yinzhen's arm and spoke of the past, "As you know, Yong-ge has done me a great favor. Several times when I was in dire straits, he saved my life. For more than ten years in the Forbidden City, he has also helped us from time to time. I can never repay this favor. Why don't you help me, Your Majesty? What do you think? You could grant him an official position, or grant him any requests he may have. That would be a way to repay this favor. What do you think?"