"My daughter-in-law understands." Chu Jinyao responded cleverly with a well-behaved look, but she only said that she understood, but did not say how she understood. Empress Xiao Qi had no choice but to make it clearer: "Since the Crown Princess is a virtuous and generous person, how should the East Palace be arranged? The Crown Prince is the crown prince, and it is most important to leave an heir as soon as possible. Crown Princess should understand, right?" After

saying this, Empress Xiao Qi looked at Chu Jinyao as if watching a play. The words of sages always teach women to be virtuous and generous, and everyone can recite the Women's Classics and Precepts, but it doesn't hurt unless the knife cuts oneself. No matter how much great principles are preached, when the time comes for the main wife to allow her husband to take a concubine, who would be willing?

Moreover, Chu Jinyao's husband is not an ordinary person, he is the crown prince who is above all others. The Crown Prince stayed in her room for a month straight, sleeping in the same bed. Any little girl would be overwhelmed by vanity and greed. Empress Xiao Qi didn't believe that Chu Jinyao, a bride who had not received a good education as a noblewoman and had not been taught the ways of husband and wife by her mother, could really bear to give up the Crown Prince.

As soon as the Queen spoke, the voices in the palace suddenly became low. Today is the eighth day of the first lunar month. The palace will light Lantern Festival lanterns. The Aoshan Lighthouse will also be lit today. The concubines in the harem came to Kunning Palace to wait for the lights. Unexpectedly, before they saw the lanterns, they saw a good show first.

The two most noble women in the world are arguing with each other. What other show can be more interesting than this one between the Queen and the Crown Princess?

Zhao Lanhui was also in Kunning Palace. She had already known her future fate, and today she was sent in by Princess Rong'an to manage her in-laws' relationship. Zhao Lanhui's focus was naturally on the empress and several princesses. She sat in the warm pavilion with the princesses, and heard the conversation between the empress and Chu Jinyao outside. Zhao Lanhui also calmed down.

In the future, she will also become a member of that position. The empress will become her mother-in-law, and the crown princess will become her sister-in-law. Zhao Lanhui is now listening to the empress persuading Chu Jinyao to take a concubine. She feels a little sad, but also feels that if she is in that position, she will definitely do better than Chu Jinyao.

People's hearts are always endless and greedy. Zhao Lanhui closed her eyes and saw the arrogant Second Princess rolling her eyes in disdain. She smiled faintly, thinking in her heart that she had the advantage of her status, and the Second Princess was obviously closer to her. Zhao Lanhui was confident that she, the Second Prince's Consort, would be more capable and more popular than the Crown Princess.

Outside, Queen Xiao Qi was also staring at Chu Jinyao step by step. In Queen Xiao Qi's expectation, no matter how tolerant Chu Jinyao was, she would always show a reluctant look when she heard such words. Next, Queen Xiao Qi would use the female ring as a weapon to easily restrain Chu Jinyao. If Chu Jinyao did not show any reluctance... Haha, then her step-son and daughter-in-law were amazing. It was so hard for her to hide it all the way.

Chu Jinyao nodded lightly and smiled at Empress Xiao Qi in silence. There were beauties in the harem, but Chu Jinyao's beauty was very obvious. It was a kind of beauty with flowers in full bloom, like crabapples in the spring, peonies after the rain, quiet and rich, and only rich families could keep such a beauty.

Usually, she would not notice it when there were many people around, but at this moment, all the women in the room were looking at Chu Jinyao quietly, and they felt more and more how beautiful Chu Jinyao's appearance was. Chu Jinyao just nodded and smiled, and many people, including the empress, felt a little embarrassed. There are really beauties in this world, and women think they are treasures in the world, let alone men?

Before anyone could react, Chu Jinyao responded crisply, "Okay."

Everyone else was stunned by this answer. What did she say? Without waiting for these people to react, Chu Jinyao waved behind her, motioning Erxue and Erhua to come forward and kowtow to the Queen: "I have kept them with me these days. Today I finally have the opportunity to let them kowtow to the Queen."

The Queen was caught off guard by this move. She frowned in surprise: "What are you doing?"

"Your Majesty forgot, these are the maids you gave to me. Each of them is a beauty." Chu Jinyao smiled, "Your daughter-in-law always keeps your teachings in mind. With your arrangements, I don't have to bother looking for people. Your Majesty is so thoughtful and considerate to consider the Eastern Palace like this." The Queen

wanted to talk about the fact that the main wife should not be jealous, but after being interrupted by Chu Jinyao, she really didn't want to mention it. After all, Empress Xiao Qi is not her biological mother-in-law. She has already stuffed four maids into the Eastern Palace. Chu Jinyao has brought them to the stage. If Empress Xiao Qi continues to interfere, it will seem like she is deliberately meddling in her step-son's affairs, which will make her reputation unpleasant.

Empress Xiao Qi was blocked for a moment, and her next words were much more vague: "It's good that you have the intention. You are the Crown Princess, the future queen mother, you should be virtuous and generous, and you must not do things that would lower your status by competing for favors. Do you understand?"

"Thank you for your teachings, Her Majesty." Chu Jinyao agreed smoothly, but she felt ridiculous in her heart. The main queen cannot compete for favors, haha, thanks to Empress Xiao Qi for saying so. Chu Jinyao pretended not to know and smiled deliberately, saying, "Your Majesty is right. After all, I am young and I don't know how to manage many things in the Eastern Palace. If you think I am doing something wrong, please point it out."

Chu Jinyao said this, what else could Empress Xiao Qi do? She could only say, "It's okay. Everyone learns from not knowing how to do something. You have done well. You will learn slowly in the future."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration." Chu Jinyao squatted down and thanked her "sincerely."

At this point, the topic could no longer be continued, and Empress Xiao Qi had to start a new topic. When the Empress started talking, the other concubines joined in the fun and the matter was just over.

The Kunning Palace was bustling again. Chu Jinyao sat back in her seat. She seemed to be listening to others carefully, but there was a hint of sadness in her expression. The Empress Dowager pretended not to notice, and the other concubines were secretly relieved after seeing this.

Everyone in the palace was like this, how could anyone be an exception? It was just two maids. Chu Jinyao could at least get ten days. She should be content.

Everyone spoke enthusiastically and didn't realize that although Chu Jinyao said a lot of things and called Erxue and Erhua up to kowtow to the empress, why did they kowtow? According to everyone's understanding, kowtowing to the mistress means taking a concubine. The concubines thought according to their usual way of thinking and didn't think it was wrong. In fact, Chu Jinyao never said from beginning to end that she would give these two maids status.

She just asked the two maids to come up and kowtow to the queen to thank her for giving them the maids. Afterwards, Chu Jinyao promised that "the queen is right", but she did not say that she would do so.

For the first time, Chu Jinyao was grateful for the problem of half-guessing and half-saying in the palace, which helped her a lot this time.

However, the strange thing is that Chu Jinyao obviously relied on the lawsuit to get through this difficulty, but she did not feel happy.

She could use a little trick to reject Queen Xiao Qi, but could she reject Qin Yi?

Because of this incident, even though Chu Jinyao saw the magnificent and majestic Aoshan Lighthouse and many extremely exquisite palace lanterns, she could no longer find the mood to watch the fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Chu Jinyao's emotions soon infected the maids around her. Linglong looked at Chu Jinyao worriedly, Erxue remained silent, and Erhua thought that after meeting the queen, her identity was different from that of an ordinary palace maid. Erhua was excited, but she didn't dare to show it in front of Chu Jinyao.

Erhua was very excited, and looking at Erxue's eyes, she hastily provoked and guarded. Erxue sneered and said to herself, "Idiot."

At the same time, Erxue also knew that she had no way back now. Erhua was taken out because she was reckless and brainless, and Erxue was also outside, which was Chu Jinyao's silent threat. Either she would become a knife in the hands of the Crown Princess like Madam Hong, or she would be torn to pieces by those women in the East Palace who wanted to climb into her bed.

Er Xue is most praised for her knowledge of current affairs. Since the Crown Princess thinks highly of her, Er Xue is willing to choose a good tree to live in. The Crown Princess is a noble person, how can she care about a mere palace maid, so the one who stepped forward to suppress the palace maids with ulterior motives in Ciqing Palace can only be another palace maid Er Xue who was born in the lower class and was cruel and ruthless.

After returning to Ciqing Palace, the palace nanny originally came out happily, but when she saw Chu Jinyao's face, the palace nanny was stunned. When no one was around, she quietly asked Linglong: "What's wrong with the Crown Princess?"

Linglong shook her head, pointed at Er Hua who was twisting her waist and combing her hair, and quickly pointed to the northwest. The palace nanny probably guessed what happened tonight, and was afraid that the person in Kunning Palace would talk about these beautiful palace maids again.

After entering the room, the palace nanny sent everyone out and asked softly, "Crown Princess, I will help you to comb your hair?"

"Yes."

The gorgeous pearl flowers were placed on the table one by one. The palace nanny looked at Chu Jinyao's face in the mirror and said carefully, "Crown Princess, you are the mistress of the East Palace. That person has been at odds with His Highness for a long time. The grievances you have suffered are all for His Highness. Don't take it to heart."

"I know."

Chu Jinyao had been bullied by the Empress before, but she was not so listless. Nanny Gong vaguely grasped the crux of the problem: "Crown Princess, are you worried about taking a concubine?"

Chu Jinyao did not say anything, but Nanny Gong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Crown Princess, who are you? How can you bother with them? His Highness is sensible and willing to listen to you, which is better than many principal wives! These women are just playthings. If they continue to act like monsters, can they surpass you?"

Linglong quickly pushed Nanny Gong away. If she let Nanny Gong continue to persuade her, the knot in her heart would grow bigger. After waiting until there was no one around, Linglong squatted down, leaned against Chu Jinyao's legs, looked up at Chu Jinyao eagerly: "Crown Princess."

Linglong lived up to her name. Over the years, Chu Jinyao and Linglong were master and servant in name, but in her heart she already treated Linglong as a half-sister. Linglong looked at her sincerely, and Chu Jinyao also let down her guard and asked her inner thoughts in a slightly dazed manner: "Linglong, do you also think that I should take the initiative to find a concubine for His Highness?"

Linglong did not answer immediately. She thought for a while, reached out and held Chu Jinyao's hand, her palm warm and strong: "Crown Princess, this is a matter between you and His Highness. No matter what others say, it's useless. You have to ask yourself and His Highness. I have observed these days and found that His Highness is very attentive to you. If you find another woman for His Highness without saying a word, I'm afraid His Highness will be angry."

Chu Jinyao thought about it. She found that her current mentality was very dangerous. She clearly warned herself to be humble and not be blinded by prosperity and vanity, and finally became hateful because of jealousy. She didn't want to be like Zhao, who was jealous of concubines all her life and had no life of her own. She also didn't want to be like other women who complained and waited for their husband's short-lived "respectability" and tenderness all their lives. She originally wanted to be a handsome and beautiful princess.

Obviously, it was fine when they just got married, but not long after, Chu Jinyao found that she couldn't do it.

She didn't want to see Qin Yi looking for other women, smiling at them, writing with them, and doing that kind of thing with them at night.

Chu Jinyao's eyes were filled with tears unconsciously. Linglong looked at these beautiful and amazing eyes filled with tears, and she felt heartbroken as a woman. Linglong slapped her forehead and came up with a brilliant idea: "Crown Princess, when you came back today, you were bitten by the cold wind and had a cough when you just entered the room. Why don't you pretend to be sick and say that you caught a cold. When the prince comes back, just pretend to be sick. I will tell the prince that the queen forced you to take a concubine. By then, the prince will definitely not have the heart to take someone else out of pity."

Chu Jinyao thought it made sense. She could just use the illness as an excuse to find out what Qin Yi was thinking. The two of them agreed and immediately started to pack up.

When Qin Yi came back from the dinner, it was already dark. The emperor didn't care about state affairs, but he had many banquets. In addition, the emperor had a son in his middle age, which was indeed a proud thing for him at his age. Therefore, the emperor and his ministers were all happy, and the banquet today lasted for a long time.

In such occasions, Qin Yi was bound to drink and toast. He could not leave until the emperor was satisfied with the feast. After he was free, he immediately went to Ciqing Palace. He did not have this problem before, but now there was another person living in the palace, and he always felt uneasy when he came back late.

However, today, Qin Yi found something wrong after entering the house. He naturally recognized several maids around Chu Jinyao, among whom Linglong, who often followed Chu Jinyao, had a dull face and was hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong?" Qin Yi asked.

Linglong finally underestimated the pressure when facing Qin Yi. Her voice became low and as thin as a mosquito: "The Crown Princess seems to be ill."

Qin Yi's face changed immediately. He didn't bother to change into court clothes. He waved away the eunuch beside him and strode inside. Linglong followed him fearfully. She stood at the door of the bedroom, listening to the movement inside with one ear and driving away the people around with the other.

Qin Yi did not see Chu Jinyao after entering the room. Through the bed curtain, he could vaguely see Chu Jinyao lying with her back to the inside. Qin Yi did not notice that his eyes became sharper, but his footsteps became lighter.

"Jinyao, what's wrong?" Qin Yi sat lightly on the edge of the bed, his hand had already been stretched out, but he stopped when it touched Chu Jinyao's shoulder. He was afraid that he would use too much force.

Chu Jinyao slowly turned around, his cheeks flushed: "Your Highness."

"Why did you suddenly get sick? Why? Did you call the imperial physician?"

"No, don't bother."

Qin Yi looked at Chu Jinyao's face, his brows wrinkled, and was about to get up: "How can this be done? I'll ask them to bring Imperial Physician Gao into the palace."

Chu Jinyao heard it and quickly reached out to grab Qin Yi's sleeve: "Your Highness, everything has been locked down, don't bother."

"What's the problem? Just lie down and relax."

"Your Highness." Chu Jinyao had no choice but to half-raise her body and hug Qin Yi's arm, forcibly holding Qin Yi who was about to go out, "It's not a serious illness, I will be fine after taking good care of it for a night. Really, there is no need to ask too many people to come, Your Highness, just keep me company and talk."

Qin Yi stopped in front of the bed, stared at Chu Jinyao for a while, and really sat back: "Okay."

"Your Highness, I went to see the Empress today." Chu Jinyao tried to pretend to be casual and get to the point. She saw that there were small red confetti on Qin Yi's shoulders, which seemed to have fallen from the lanterns. Chu Jinyao couldn't help but reach out to flick them. However, before she touched the other's shoulder, Qin Yi suddenly reached out and held Chu Jinyao's wrist. He looked at it carefully for a while, his face still expressionless, but he leaned over and put his palm on Chu Jinyao's forehead.

Qin Yi's palm was a little cold, Chu Jinyao blinked, and suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Qin Yi probed for a while, then slowly sat back. There was still no clue on his face. Chu Jinyao sank into the soft red pillow, looked at Qin Yi with wide eyes, and suddenly forgot what he was going to say. Qin Yi and Chu Jinyao looked at each other for a while, and suddenly smiled softly: "You don't have anything to say to me?"

"I..."

The smile on Qin Yi's lips was the same as usual, but the light in his eyes made Chu Jinyao instinctively feel dangerous. Chu Jinyao stuttered a little, and before she could say anything, Qin Yi took over her words slowly: "You are so brave that you dare to pretend to be sick with me."

Chu Jinyao immediately determined that Qin Yi was angry. Chu Jinyao thought that she could actually make Qin Yi angry, which could be written into her merit book, but she didn't dare to be careless now, and carefully pulled Qin Yi's sleeve: "Your Highness?"

Qin Yi didn't say anything, but his eyes could kill people. If the ministers who had dealt with Qin Yi saw this, they would surely have knelt on the ground in shock, not daring to say a word. However, Chu Jinyao was not his minister, so when she saw this situation, Chu Jinyao was not afraid, but dared to continue to use her woman's natural killer move, acting coquettishly.

"Your Highness, are you angry with me?"

Qin Yi was really angry. When he first heard the news, he was shocked, as if a chill spread from head to toe. He almost ordered someone to take his badge to open the palace gate and drive Doctor Gao out of the house. As for whether it was a violation of palace rules, who cared. However, Chu Jinyao scared him for a long time, but it turned out to be fake.

Qin Yi had a cold face and pretended to get up and go out. Chu Jinyao saw something was wrong. If Qin Yi really left at this time, it would be troublesome. She immediately threw herself over and hugged Qin Yi's waist. Qin Yi seemed to be stiff for a moment, and then wanted to pull her down. Chu Jinyao refused to let go and still hugged him regardless, with a crying tone: "Your Highness, are you leaving?"