"Master, are you still thinking about what happened yesterday?" Ting Zhu was holding Zhuang Luoyan's hair, thinking that she was upset because she remembered the dead palace maid, so he advised: "This is how it is in the harem. If you take a wrong step, you will go to hell. Master, you don't need to worry too much."

Zhuang Yuyan nodded without saying anything, but she knew what happened yesterday.

Concubine Rou had a different stance from her, so when the maid was near Taoyu Pavilion, she intended to let Fubao go out to scare the maid and give her a warning. However, the maid was so timid that she pretended to pick two peaches and hurried out. As soon as she went out, she bumped into the empress dowager who was in a bad mood.

What puzzled her was why this palace maid deliberately wandered around Taoyu Pavilion, and why Concubine Rou came so quickly. Who was behind this?

Suddenly I remembered the two palace maids who died inexplicably after Ye Shurong gave birth, Jin Liangyi who was banished to the cold palace by the emperor, the current conflicts between the Ye sisters, the Queen Mother's unusually obvious confrontations with the emperor after she worshipped Buddha, and the Queen Mother's inexplicable visit to an inconspicuous peach garden this time, and then this kind of thing happened again. What exactly is the problem?

Was it someone who wanted to plot against her, or was it Concubine Rou, or was it someone else who originally wanted to plot against her but ended up having her plan ruined, and in the end only caused Concubine Rou to be reprimanded by the Empress Dowager?

"What's the name of that palace maid? Does she have any good friends in the palace?" Zhuang Luoyan stopped Tingzhu from inserting a red coral hairpin into her hair, pulled out the bright red coral hairpin from Tingzhu's hand, picked out a jadeite hairpin from the box and handed it to Tingzhu.

Ting Zhu changed her hairpin in accordance with Zhuang Yuyan's wishes, "I only know that this maid is called Jin Tao, and she is a maid in charge of cleaning for Concubine Rou. She is not allowed to get close to Concubine Rou on weekdays."

Seeing Zhu's words, she seemed to be suspicious of the matter. Zhuang Yuyan put the coral hairpin back into the dressing box and said, "There's no need to inquire about this for now." Even the emperor got involved yesterday, so it shouldn't be a simple matter.

Today, the Empress Dowager exempted the concubines from paying respects, and the concubines were spared the trouble and felt relieved. Zhuang Yuyan walked slowly in the garden, thinking that the concubines talked and laughed this morning, which was no different from the past. Even Concubine Rou, who had been reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, was fine as usual. This shows how cunning these women are.

Soon after returning to Taoyu Pavilion, the eunuchs of Qianzheng Palace came to announce the emperor's reward, which was nothing more than some palace silks, hairpins and pearls. The only special thing was probably a bonsai of Podocarpus Hanyu. This Podocarpus Hanyu was trimmed very carefully, making people feel comfortable when looking at it. It was perfect to put it in the outer room.

"Master Zhao, before I left, the emperor told me that he has more Podocarpus macrophylla. If you are not satisfied with this pot, you can exchange it for another one." The eunuch who announced the decree said with a smile.

"Thank you, Eunuch Lao. This pot is very good," Zhuang Luyan noticed that the pattern on the white-bottomed blue and white porcelain holding the Podocarpus was actually June snow. Was the emperor expressing his love for her?

"I like it very much," Zhuang Luoyan's smile instantly brightened. She rewarded the eunuch with a purse and carefully wiped the edge of the pot with her hand silk. She seemed to treasure the potted plant very much, but seemed rather indifferent to the palace satin, pearls and jade hairpins.

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict looked at the Arhat pine in confusion. Although bonsai was nice, it was not a rare thing. Why did Zhao Chongyi like these things?

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict returned to Qianzheng Palace to report the matter. In the past, the emperor would just nod and leave it at that. But today, after he finished speaking, the emperor suddenly spoke.

"Does Zhao Chongyi like those things?" Feng Jin had just come off court. While taking off the emperor's crown, he looked at the eunuch who delivered the emperor's edict. The eunuch felt inexplicably nervous. He didn't know if it was his illusion, as if even Gao Zongbuteng beside the emperor was looking at him.

"Your Majesty, Zhao Chongyi likes it very much." He paused and told the whole story of what happened in Taoyu Pavilion. "Zhao Chongyi was already very happy, and after seeing the bonsai of the arhat pine, she was even more delighted. She even gave me a gold ingot. When I left, I saw Zhao Chongyi wiping the edge of the pot with a handkerchief. I think she likes the arhat pine very much."

"Well, since Zhao Chongyi rewarded you with one ingot of gold, I will reward you with two ingots of gold. Gao Dezhong will take him down to get it." Feng Jin handed the imperial crown to the female official, and seemed to be in a good mood.

"Yes," Gao Dezhong led the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict out of the door and smiled at him twice, "You are really lucky, but does Zhao Chongyi really like that pot of Podocarpus?"

"Replying to the chief steward, how dare I tell a lie? Chief steward Gao, you didn't see it. Originally, I saw that Zhao Chongyi had a normal expression on her face when it came to those palace satins and pearls, but I didn't expect Zhao Chongyi to be so happy when she saw the pot of Podocarpus. I have also been to Taoyu Pavilion to convey the emperor's orders several times, but I have never seen Zhao Chongyi as happy as she is today." The eunuch who delivered the order shook his head, still not understanding why Zhao Chongyi was suddenly so happy.

"As a servant, you should not dwell too much on the master's affairs," Gao Dezhong handed two gold bars to the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict. "As a servant, you should not talk too much about the master's affairs. Got it?"

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict nodded hurriedly upon hearing this. Since he had managed to gain some status in the Qianzheng Palace, he must have been smart. Besides, with Chief Steward Gao's reminder, how could he not understand that this matter should not be mentioned to anyone else?

After Gao Dezhong returned to Feng Jian, he repeated what the eunuch had just said. Looking at the emperor's expression, he seemed very satisfied with Zhao Chongyi.

Tingzhu and Yunxi both knew what their master had said a few days ago. Seeing the emperor giving this as a gift, they were also happy. They just wanted to ask the gardener how to take care of the pine tree right away.

Zhuang Luoyan thought about the flowers and plants that were given to her here. First it was the iris, then the water lily, and now the podocarpus. Is the emperor planning to open a flower shop in his next life?

However, the workmanship of this blue and white porcelain basin is so fine that it would probably fetch a sky-high price if it were auctioned off in the future.

Because the emperor had been rewarding concubines whenever he favored them recently, the women in the harem were used to it, so Taoyu Pavilion did not react in any other way when it rewarded the concubines. The empress sent a gift as usual, although it was not expensive, but at least she showed her kindness and generosity.

The emperor went around among the women in the harem, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, he did not turn over the cards of the Ye sisters. Even the empress's cousin Sun Huiji was favored and promoted to Sun Ronghua, on par with Ye Ronghua.

When Zhuang Luyan heard that the Empress's cousin was promoted to Ronghua, she couldn't help but sigh. This emperor was really wicked. There were so many titles in the harem that she couldn't even count them, but he only gave her the title of Ronghua. Isn't this embarrassing for Ye Wanmei?

When paying respects to the empress, Zhuang Yuyan looked at the newly-appointed Sun Ronghua. Seeing her timid appearance, she could not help but sigh, what a sin! Such a young girl had become a victim of the harem struggle. Not to mention others, even the empress was probably treating her as a pawn.

It rained at night, but it did cool down the summer heat. After leaving Jingyang Palace, Zhuang Yuyan suddenly felt like appreciating the lotus flowers. She had heard that there was a beautiful lotus pond not far from Yu Garden, but unfortunately she had never had the chance to see it. Now that she had the urge to see it, she decided to go and take a look.

When they arrived at the lotus pond, they saw that the lotus flowers were in full bloom. Zhuang Yuyan couldn't help but do something cruel to the flowers. Just as she stood firm, she heard a young voice behind her.

"Is that Zhao Chongyi in front?"

Zhuang Yuyan turned around and saw Sun Ronghua wearing a pink silk dress. She smiled gently.

"I've met Zhao Chongyi." Sun Ronghua saluted obediently, giving people the feeling of a good girl. Zhuang Yuyan couldn't help but sigh. Both of them had bodies of eighteen years old, but why didn't she have such an innocent feeling? Could it be that the soul determines the temperament?

"Sun Ronghua, there's no need to be so polite," Zhuang Luyan nodded with a smile, "Sun Ronghua is here to appreciate the lotus as well?"

"I heard that the lotus flowers here are in full bloom, so I came to take a look," Sun Ronghua glanced at the lotus pond, "It's a pity that the lotus flowers are not at their most beautiful right now. They will be at their most beautiful in a few days."

"To me, it's the same at any time. As long as it blooms, it's beautiful," Zhuang Yuyan looked at the lotus in her hand, "I have something else to do, so I won't accompany Sun Ronghua."

"I respectfully bid you farewell," Sun Ronghua knelt down and bowed, and suddenly added from behind Zhuang Yuyan, "Flowers must bloom in the right way to be the most beautiful."

Zhuang Luoyan looked at Sun Ronghua and said, "When there are flowers to be picked, pick them now, don't wait until there are no flowers and there are empty branches to pluck." After saying this, she took the lotus flowers she had picked, got on the sedan chair and left.

Sun Ronghua watched the group of people go away with an expressionless face, then slowly turned his head, looked at the water in the lotus pond, and curled the corners of his mouth.

"Master, what does Sun Ronghua mean?" Yun Xi was a little worried. "I always feel that Sun Ronghua is not as simple as he looks."

"She is too impatient," Zhuang Yuyan inserted a few lotus flowers into the long-lasting bottle and spoke slowly, "She spoke to me like this today, and she will speak to other concubines like this tomorrow. It seems that the Empress' cousin is far inferior to the Empress in terms of temperament."

Zhuang Luoyan had some understanding of what the original owner of this body was like. When she first gained the emperor's favor, she was probably like Sun Ronghua, so proud that she forgot who she was and who else was in the harem.

Two nights later, a burst of thunder broke the thunder. Zhuang Yuyan was so scared that she sat up from the bed and looked at the dark night illuminated by lightning. She didn't know if she had said something wrong, but she seemed to hear a woman's scream from a distance.