The candlelight was dim, flickering with a bright and clear light.
Inside the room, ambiguous sounds kept coming out, intermittent and seemingly muffled, not very clear.
Outside the room, Xia He and Wu Shulai, who had anticipated this, had already dismissed the other palace servants, leaving only the two of them guarding the door.
They exchanged a glance, and Wu Shulai muttered to himself, "No wonder Consort Shu is so favored by the Emperor. With her ability to make the Emperor happy every night, anyone in the harem who controls her will be favored."
"Eunuch Wu, over there in the side hall," Xia He pointed to the side hall not far from the main hall, her words unfinished, but Wu Shulai understood immediately.
We specially prepared various meals for him so he could keep watch at night and also take a nap.
"Miss Xiahe, we won't go today. We appreciate the Empress's kindness."
Wu Shulai patted his chest, and fearing that Xia He might misunderstand, he also explained, "There are many gossips in front of the Emperor, and I was just afraid that I might accidentally implicate the Empress."
"Once this storm passes, our family will definitely have to enjoy the food prepared by Your Majesty."
After hearing this, Xia He nodded knowingly. "With your words, Father-in-law, I understand. The Empress will surely understand you."
Those who serve in the imperial kitchen are not like us; the eunuch has always been the emperor's right-hand man.
Some people don't want their father-in-law to remain forever young and successful, but the father-in-law can't do as they wish.
If there's anything we can do to help, please don't be shy, Father-in-law. We're all here to support you.
Upon hearing this, Wu Shulai smiled broadly; who doesn't like nice words and flattery?
It's not like I was born with masochistic tendencies and only feel happy when people give me the cold shoulder.
During this period, Wu Shulai's time in front of the emperor was not as easy as before, entirely because during the time he was away from the palace, several originally honest eunuchs bypassed him and ran to the emperor to curry favor.
They were all veterans who had served in the imperial court for several years. Wu Shulai had misjudged them and suffered a loss, and now they were still fighting each other.
However, while the others may have their own methods, they are still not as capable as Wu Shulai, who has been in the imperial court for a long time, has deep roots, and has many connections.
Most of the time, Wu Shulai was the one suppressing those people, but Hongli would still need to use them occasionally. Wu Shulai couldn't suppress them all at once, so they had to secretly restrain and trip each other up to see who would be kicked out of the imperial court.
"With Xiahe's words, we feel much more at ease."
Everyone in the harem knows that Consort Shu enjoys unparalleled favor.
Wu Shulai first complimented Yikun Palace on its importance, then probed the relationship between those people and Yikun Palace.
Xia He kept her eyes down and her mouth closed, saying, "Don't worry, Father-in-law, the Empress trusts you the most."
As for the others in the Emperor's court, to be honest, there are a few who can speak to him, but they are not even fit to do anything close to him; they are only fit to do menial tasks like cleaning and watering.
The implication was that Wu Shulai should rest assured that Yikun Palace had no intention of being half-hearted and was promoting a new head eunuch to the position.
Wu Shulai: ...
"Oh dear, Miss Xiahe, look at you, you've misunderstood our intentions."
"That's not what we think. Being favored by Her Majesty is a blessing for us servants. We're overjoyed; why would we have so many reservations?"
Despite what he said, it would be understandable if Wu Shulai's smile wasn't genuinely bright.
Xia He knew perfectly well what was going on, and didn't mind Wu Shulai's hypocritical expression.
Everyone is the same. Originally, the cooperation was pleasant, but now we have to find replacements. Anyone would feel uncomfortable in that situation.
Chen Yuwei rarely does this kind of thing because she believes in "remaining faithful to one's husband until the end".
It wasn't referring to its original meaning, but Chen Yuwei thought that changing people arbitrarily was too troublesome, especially since she didn't know much about newcomers and they were easier to manage than veterans.
There's a saying that's true: the more dirt a person has on them, the more stable they become, because they no longer dare to take risks.
The more you gain, the more you fear losing; this is why older people lack the drive of younger people.
Chen Yuwei had also learned about some of the disputes within the imperial court from Xia He's fragmented words.
Chen Yuwei thought Wu Shulai was more useful for the time being, so she didn't want to get involved and kicked Wu Shulai out of the court.
Xia He continued, following Wu Shulai's lead, "Our lady is not the one from Changchun Palace after all."
Father-in-law, you think this is a blessing, but others don't think it's a good thing.
Sigh, some people are better left unmentioned. Our Empress doesn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"If only your father-in-law believes that our Ladyship values you, then that's enough."
The play that had to be sung would continue, and Wu Shulai's probing would be returned untouched. Xia He reached out and touched her somewhat cold arm.
Wu Shulai exclaimed, "Miss Xiahe, go and rest in the side hall. We'll keep watch here, nothing will happen."
Xia He pursed her lips slightly embarrassed, "Thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law. I'll be right back."
Wu Shulai waved his hand repeatedly, reminding Xia He not to worry, since he wasn't leaving and it wouldn't matter if he stayed a little longer or a little less.
Xia He nodded, and using the moonlight as cover, turned and quickly left.
Wu Shulai watched Xia He walk away, and his smiling face returned to normal.
Turning his head to listen to the sounds coming from the room, Wu Shulai couldn't help but chuckle. What he had just said was indeed true. As long as Consort Shu still needed him, he would have a place in the Emperor's court.
Although his most loyal follower was the emperor, the emperor didn't mind them accepting bribes from the harem.
There are no clean people in the imperial court, because clean people wouldn't have lived this long, and the emperor wouldn't allow any clean person to stand out in the imperial court.
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