The so-called ink-serving was actually just grinding and pouring tea in Yu's study. Naturally, there was no so-called red-sleeved beauty. Feng Jian was a reliable emperor. Reliable means that politics and laughter can be separated. In his eyes, women can be used for entertainment and as toys, but when dealing with political affairs, women are dispensable decorations in his eyes. At least she has been in Yu's study for so long, and she has never seen this emperor give her a lingering look.

"Your Majesty, Lord Su, the Minister of Personnel, requests to see you." Gao Dezhong walked in and reported in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yuyan glanced at Feng Jian and realized that he intended to summon Lord Su, so she put down the book in her hand and turned to go to the inner room behind the screen.

"Let him in," Feng Jian threw the letter aside, glanced behind the screen, and said in a flat tone.

I wonder if Lord Su, the Minister of Personnel, has any relationship with Concubine Shugui? Zhuang Yuyan looked around the inner room. The furnishings inside were very regular, not extravagant or overly refined. It really looked too much like an emperor's inner room, and she found it a little boring.

The voices of conversation outside could be faintly heard in the inner room, and Zhuang Yuyan had no intention of listening to them. To her, knowing too much would not be a good thing. But when she suddenly heard Zhuang Qingzhi's name, she felt that something was wrong. This Minister Su seemed to be making a complaint, and wasn't this Zhuang Qingzhi her half-brother?

"My dear Minister Su, is there any evidence for what you have reported?" Feng Jin looked at Su Konglan, who was kneeling below, with a calm expression, and slowly closed the memorial in his hand, making it impossible to tell which side's statement he believed more.

"I dare not slander Lord Zhuang." Su Konglan just raised his head slightly, saw the calm expression on the emperor's face, and quickly lowered it again, with a lot of sweat on his forehead.

"I understand. I will send someone to investigate this matter. Please leave."

"I will take my leave."

It was quiet outside again. Zhuang Yuyan sat quietly in the inner room for half an hour before the eunuch asked her to go out and serve. When she went out, Feng Jin still had no expression on his face, as if the Zhuang Qingzhi mentioned just now was not her brother, and the one who complained was not the brother of Concubine Shu Gui. She felt a pang in her heart. Such a deep-minded emperor was the most terrifying. She wondered why the emperor had the mind to have such a beautiful woman, and chose her who had no interest in poetry, and it turned out that he was waiting for her here.

But was the emperor's move a warning to the Zhuang family, or was he trying to stir up conflict between the Zhuang and Su families? Although Zhuang Yuyan said she could use some tricks, she was not confident that she could handle the political tactics.

When they walked outside, Zhuang Yuyan looked at the emperor, who had a normal expression, and said with embarrassment: "Your Majesty..."

"A chef from Shu has come to the palace recently. My beloved concubine has always loved delicious food. Please have dinner with me later." Feng Jian smiled, as if he did not notice the embarrassment on Zhuang Yuyan's face, and put the memorial in his hand aside.

Zhuang Yuyan bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift."

"Um."

The study fell into silence again.

The air in Shu is humid, so most of the dishes are spicy. Fortunately, Zhuang Yuyan has experienced eating super spicy hot pot, so the Shu dishes specially prepared by the palace to cater to her stomach are nothing special.

Feng Jian looked at the woman who was sitting quietly eating. He was satisfied with Zhuang Yuyan's reaction. She was not particularly smart, but she would not make him unhappy because of her mother's family affairs. After entering the palace, she should naturally be the emperor's woman. A concubine who only cared about her mother's family would not get too much favor from him, no matter how beautiful and smart she was.

Men and women in the world are all selfish. Men always want women to be devoted to them, while women always want men to devote themselves to them. Unfortunately, this world is never perfect. Feng Jian is an emperor, a special man. He has more things than other men, so he naturally has more requirements than other men.

Zhuang Yuyan understood the mentality of this kind of man, so she was happy to act like a silly woman who thought the emperor was more important than her own family in front of the emperor. She also figured out that since Feng Jian let her hear what the Su family said, it at least showed that he had no intention of touching the Zhuang family for the time being.

The pay for being a concubine is actually quite good, it's just a bit stressful and the boss is a bit difficult to figure out, but she can still barely bear it.

Feng Jin was satisfied, and naturally felt better. Being in a good mood, Zhuang Yuyan naturally stayed in the emperor's palace that night to sleep with him.

The news that the emperor summoned Zhao Chongyi to serve as the emperor's attendant on ink, granted her the right to share meals with the emperor, and asked her to sleep with him at night spread to all the palaces that night. Some were jealous, while others were indifferent. However, such a night was nothing out of the ordinary in the harem.

The second watch had passed. Zhuang Luoyan opened her eyes and just as she was about to get up, she was held down by a warm hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Your Majesty, I have to go to the side hall." As a concubine, I cannot spend the whole night on the dragon bed after serving him in the emperor's bedroom, unless it is for the emperor's grace.

"No need, go to sleep." Feng Jin pressed the quilt on Zhuang Yuyan's body, and said with some sleepiness in his tone, "I have to attend the court early tomorrow, so don't bother yourself."

Zhuang Luoyan looked at the emperor who didn't even look at me. He softly agreed and lay still. It was really hard to lie down in this weather. He grabbed the corners of the quilt in his hand, twisted the quilt for the emperor, and closed his eyes.

After she closed her eyes, Feng Jin opened them. If Zhuang Luoyan had seen this, she would have definitely sighed, "This is the complex look of the legendary male protagonists."

She opened her eyes, and the golden auspicious cloud and dragon pattern on the tent made Zhuang Luyan's mind react quickly. This was the emperor's bedroom. She blinked and turned to look at the person lying next to her. The person next to her also opened his eyes quickly. There was no charming scene of mutual affection, because the eyes were too calm, so Zhuang Luyan could not see much emotion.

"Your Majesty," Zhuang Yuyan smiled, her eyes filled with satisfaction and relief after spending a night in the arms of her beloved man.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Feng Jian sat up, and palace maids and eunuchs came in from outside the tent and helped him put on his clothes and shoes.

Zhuang Yuyan looked at his back and said, "At first I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep well, but later I slept very well."

"Oh?" Feng Jin took the scarf handed to her by the palace maid, turned around and glanced at Zhuang Yuyan who had already gotten off the bed, with an ambiguous smile on her face, "Indeed."

Lowering her head shyly, Zhuang Yuyan looked at the shiny floor tiles beneath her feet, her lips slightly curved. He was indeed an emperor, a natural actor and a romantic.

When watching TV in the past, I always felt that the actors who played emperors were very pitiful, because the dragon robes looked annoying. But today, when Zhuang Yuyan actually touched the dragon robe, she found that the workmanship was very delicate and it felt very smooth. I wonder how much processing it took to make such a dragon robe. It seems that there was a reason why she didn't like watching those messy TV dramas in the past.

After respectfully seeing the emperor off, Zhuang Yuyan took the palace maids with her to the empress's bedroom.

The Queen paid her respects as usual, and Concubine Shugui did not show anything special. However, Zhuang Yuyan did not believe that she was unaware of what her family wanted to do to the Zhuang family. This showed how scheming and forbearing this woman was.

After leaving the harem palace, the weather was a little gray and it looked like it was going to rain. Zhuang Yuyan frowned. Raining in this season would be damp and cold, which was really not a good thing.

"What's wrong with Zhao Chongyi? She looks so sad so early in the morning," Ma Jieyu approached slowly and raised her eyebrows, "Could it be that my sister has made the emperor unhappy?"

"Ma Jieyu is always speculating about these things," Zhuang Luyan smiled.

Just when Concubine Ma thought that Zhuang Yuyan would just let it go, she suddenly changed her expression without a trace of smile on her face. "Who gave you, a little concubine, the right to interrogate the affairs between me and the emperor? The harem is managed by the Empress Dowager, and it has nothing to do with you, a concubine. It's really unruly."

Ma Jieyu's face froze, and she felt a little timid, but she couldn't get off the stage for a while because she was surrounded by other concubines, so she said with all her strength, "Could it be that I hit the nail on the head, and Sister Zhao Chongyi got angry because of shame?"

"How dare you! Concubine Ma's words and actions are really outrageous. Even though I have been promoted to a high position, I cannot allow a Concubine like you to humiliate me." Zhuang Yuyan said sternly, "Tingzhu, slap her in the face!"

"You dare..." Before Ma Jieyu could finish her words, Ting Zhu's slap had already landed heavily on her face. She wanted to curse, but when she looked up, she saw Zhuang Yuyan's cold eyes.

"Ma Jieyu, today is different from the past. You are really too unruly. I am sorry for offending you." Ting Zhu slapped Ma Jieyu again, bowed to her, and retreated behind Zhuang Yuyan.

Today is different?

Ma Jieyu looked at Zhuang Yuyan's stern eyes, and remembered her attitude towards her when Zhuang Yuyan fell from power. The panic in her heart almost overwhelmed her. She staggered, and only managed to stand up with the help of the palace maid behind her.

"Go back to the palace." Zhuang Yuyan didn't even look at her, turned around and got on the sedan chair.

"We respectfully bid farewell to Zhao Chongyi." The other concubines of lower rank watched the lively scene, and after Zhuang Yuyan left, they all looked at Ma Jieyu sarcastically, as if they were watching a joke.

On the other side, Concubine Zhuang had a very ugly expression on her face. She didn't know if Zhuang Luoyan's words "little concubine" were directed only at Concubine Ma, or was she also scolding her?

"Your Majesty, Zhao Chongyi just had someone slap Concubine Ma in the face in front of several people." He Yu did not expect that Zhao Chongyi, who had been low-key recently, would suddenly become domineering again.

"Ma Jieyu has always been unruly, so it's not surprising that Zhao Chongyi punished her," the Queen said without changing her expression, "especially since I heard that Minister Su reported the Zhuang family yesterday."

"Wasn't it yesterday..." He Yu suddenly woke up. Wasn't Zhao Chongyi serving Mo in front of Yu yesterday? No wonder she was in a bad mood today. It was also fitting that Concubine Ma ran into this wall.

"Young girls are always impatient." The queen looked out the window, "Let's forget about this matter. Since Concubine Ma has violated palace rules, she should be fined for half a year."

"Yes." He Yu bowed her head and left. This Concubine Ma is no longer favored. The Palace Department has always been neglectful of her. Now she has been fined for half a year by her master. I am afraid that her future life will be even more difficult. However, such an ignorant person should have ended up like this long ago. It's just that the master is kind and gave her a lighter sentence today.

The news of Zhao Chongyi slapping Concubine Ma in the face soon spread throughout the palace, causing the concubines to think a lot.

"It's just a transfer of anger," Concubine Shu Gui smiled nonchalantly, took the bait and threw it into the blue and white fish tank in front of her. Seeing the golden fish eagerly taking the bait, she smiled more gently, "You greedy thing, you can't hold your temper like this."

In the afternoon, it finally rained. It got dark before nightfall. Gao Dezhong, along with a group of palace maids and eunuchs, lit the candles in the palace. Seeing that the emperor was still reading the memorials, they stepped aside.

"I heard that Emperor Zhao Chongyi punished Concubine Ma today?" the emperor suddenly asked.

Gao Dezhong was stunned for a moment before he said, "Your Majesty, I have heard something about this."

Feng Jin smiled, not showing any displeasure on his face, "She is unhappy today, so give her the Ruyi Xiangyun Hairpin presented by the Red Degree Country a few days ago. Her hair is soft and green, so it is perfect for her."

Gao Dezhong knew in his heart who this "she" referred to, and replied softly, "Yes."

A concubine like Zhao Chongyi who is aware of current affairs but not deep-minded and loyal to the emperor is the most satisfactory concubine in the emperor's mind. If she really does not show any emotions, she has a terrible character.

However, most of the women in the harem are like this. Zhao Chongyi is still a little young. Fortunately, the emperor likes her like this. Otherwise, let alone reward, she would probably be questioned on the spot.

Just as Gao Dezhong was about to leave, the emperor in front of the case spoke again.

"Ma Jieyu's words and deeds are inappropriate and have offended your high position. She will be demoted to a talented person as a lesson."

"Yes." Gao Dezhong looked up at the emperor, and seeing that he had no more instructions, he retreated quietly.