Just two days after Ye Shurong announced her pregnancy, news came from Anqing Palace that Concubine Shugui was ill. After taking her pulse, the imperial physician said that she caught a cold at night and needed to be nursed back to health and not be exposed to the wind.

After hearing this, the Empress generously forgave Concubine Shugui for paying respects. All the concubines in the palace went to Anqing Palace to visit, but they were all stopped by Concubine Shugui on the grounds that she was too weak to meet guests.

After Zhuang Yuyan was stopped at Anqing Palace when she brought Tingzhu and Yunxi, she didn't feel embarrassed. After all, it was just a formality. Whether she met Shugui Concubine or not, she was here, so it would be a big problem whether she came or not.

When the palace maids and eunuchs passing by saw Zhuang Yuyan, they all bowed their heads to show their respect. When they met concubines of lower status, they all bowed and greeted them obediently. However, women of lower status came forward to provoke her because of their favor.

Zhuang Yuyan had never carefully looked at the Yu Garden, but today, as she walked slowly and looked slowly, she felt that the flowers were trimmed very beautifully. She was a layman, and did not notice that the flowers had lost their spirit due to being trimmed. She only felt that each of the flowers was in great bloom, without even a dead leaf, and was very beautifully maintained.

He sighed secretly, thinking that a vulgar person like himself had to live a miserable life in this harem. If he met a beautiful crystal girl, he would probably be sad and painful, and then struggle painfully in the harem.

Realizing that her mind had wandered to the plot of a romance novel, Zhuang Yuyan tried hard to pull her thoughts back. Holding Yunxi's hand, she hadn't walked far when she saw a beautiful woman coming towards her with several palace maids.

"I've met sister Yan Guipin," Zhuang Yuyan saw clearly that this was the recently popular Yan Guipin, she knelt down and bowed, looking at Yan Guipin carefully, she saw that she was wearing a peach-colored silk skirt embroidered with white flowers, her hair was combed into an exquisite cloud-like bun, and a butterfly-shaped gold-threaded jade-embroidered hairpin was inserted in her right temple. As Yan Guipin walked forward, the golden wings of the butterfly actually trembled slightly, and the tassels below also trembled slightly, which was indescribably beautiful.

"Sister Zhaopin, there is no need to be so polite. You and I are both sisters serving the emperor. How can we be so unfamiliar and polite?" Yan Guipin stretched out her hand to support Zhuang Yuyan. Because of this action, the butterflies in her hair swayed again, as if they were about to spread their wings and fly away.

"Sister Yan Guipin's hairpin is so beautiful that I can't take my eyes off it," Zhuang Luoyan said enviously as she glanced at the exquisite butterfly hairpin. She had to admit that the hairpin was really beautiful. Even though she was used to modern craftsmanship, she couldn't help but marvel at it, which showed that the craftsmanship of the ancients had reached the pinnacle.

Concubine Yan was obviously very satisfied with Concubine Zhao's reaction. She smiled with a hint of shyness and pride, "Since my sister likes it, I should have given it to her, but this dance was given by the emperor, so I dare not give it to anyone else."

"Since the emperor loves you, how can I take away your favor? What's more, this shawl is a perfect match for you. Giving it to you would just be a waste of such a good thing." Zhuang Yuyan still acted magnanimous, with a hint of envy in her tone, but it did not make people feel jealous.

Concubine Yan was very satisfied with Zhuang Yuyan's reaction and left with a smile. Zhuang Yuyan looked at her back with a smile on her face. As expected, no matter when a woman wants to show off something, as long as it satisfies her heart, she will be very satisfied. Is this the lovable and hateful side of a woman's vanity?

No matter in which era, women are easier to be satisfied than men, even in previous lives, many women just want to have an ordinary but stable home, a steady and responsible husband. But no matter in which era, men want far more than women, power, fame, money, beauty.

In ancient times, women were always bound by the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. But in modern times, if a woman is a little stronger, she is called the third type of people by men. If a woman is a little weaker, they complain that the pressure is heavy and women only care about enjoying themselves and not about making money to support the family.

Men often complain about how tired they are, but they don't see that the woman beside them has changed from a cute girl to a yellow-faced woman. The home where she was born and raised for many years has become her own family overnight. She gave birth to a child for the man after ten months of pregnancy, but the child did not bear her surname. It is natural for a woman to respect her parents-in-law. A man who cares for his parents-in-law is called a good man. A man who is fickle after marriage is at most called a playboy. If a woman gets close to a man after marriage, she is considered to be a shameless womanizer.

In fact, at this time, whether it was the feudal era or the modern era, it was unfair to women, so Zhuang Yuyan never felt wronged when she came to this harem. Aren’t there many women trying their best to snatch diamond men like this in modern times? The only difference is that the fight in the dark is brought out in the open, and it is not necessarily clear that one is cleaner than the other.

If a woman wants to live a better life, she must learn to be transparent. She could have lived a good life, but why should she ruin her life because of those things? In the end, who will sympathize with her? She will just be called a fool.

Yunxi and Tingzhu noticed that their master had an indifferent expression but her eyes were a little absent-minded, so they knew that she was thinking about something else. They did not dare to disturb her, so they had to support her carefully to prevent her from falling.

"Master, look how beautiful these peonies are," Yun Xi couldn't help but exclaimed when she saw a cluster of gorgeous peonies.

Zhuang Yuyan regained her composure and looked at the purple peony and the other peonies in bloom. She couldn't help but think of a poem about peonies from the Tang Dynasty: "The peonies in the courtyard are enchanting and without character, the lotus on the pond is pure and without emotion. Only the peony is the true national beauty, and the capital is moved when it blooms."

"This kind of peony has another name, called Gejinzi," a pleasant voice sounded beside her. Zhuang Yuyan remembered this voice very clearly because it was so beautiful. She knelt down and saluted, saying, "Greetings to Concubine Rou."

"No need to be polite," Concubine Rou's voice was so soft that it could squeeze water out of her. She glanced at the purple peony flowers that were in full bloom, "This kind of peony is not a famous product. If we talk about beauty, it should be the purple peony, and if we talk about purity and beauty, it should be the white peony. This peony is beautiful, but it is not bright enough or pure enough. In this Yu Garden, it is not eye-catching. It's hard for it to catch the eye of Concubine Zhao."

"I am a vulgar person. I was pleased with beautiful flowers, but I didn't know that peonies could be so stunning." Zhuang Yuyan replied with a smile, "But flowers are in the eye of the beholder."

Concubine Rou smiled and said, "With Sister Zhaopin around, even if this Gejin purple is not eye-catching, it should be more colorful."

After Concubine Rou walked away, Zhuang Yuyan chuckled. Concubine Rou was not talking to him about Peony at all. She was just using Ge Jinzi to intimidate him, saying that her appearance was not the most beautiful and her temperament was not the most outstanding in the harem, so she should not think of winning the emperor's favor.

The title of Concubine Rou is just right, isn't it? It's a pity that such a beautiful voice said such words.

"Master..." Tingzhu and Yunxi were not fools. They naturally knew what Concubine Rou meant. They couldn't help but look at Zhuang Yuyan worriedly.

"Tell the servants in the Palace Department to prepare some kudzu flowers for the flowers sent to Taoyu Pavilion in the next few days. I like this flower very much."

"Yes." Yun Xi and Ting Zhu looked at each other, pretending they were unaware of Concubine Rou's previous display of power.

Since Ye Shurong became pregnant, the emperor has flipped the names of Concubine Yan, Concubine Rou and Concubine Shu once or twice. Now that Concubine Shu is sick, just when everyone in the harem thought that the emperor would flip the names of Concubine Rou or Concubine Yan, he flipped the name of Taoyu Pavilion.

Nowadays, Taoyu Pavilion can be regarded as a favored one, but it is still inferior to Concubine Rou. Therefore, when the Emperor turned over her name card, it was really not as good as the night when Ye Shurong asked for the wedding pulse and Concubine Yan was favored and looked down upon.

When Emperor Chengxuan arrived at Taoyu Pavilion, he saw a few peony flowers in a white jade porcelain vase and asked casually, "My beloved concubine likes peonies. Let the palace department send a pot of pea green tomorrow."

"Your Majesty, please don't waste such a precious product. I just saw that these flowers were blooming beautifully, so I asked someone to send some. If you really sent pots, I'm afraid that after a few days, when Your Majesty comes to see them, you will only see dry branches."

Emperor Chengxuan was slightly stunned. He did not expect Zhaopin to refuse so directly. If it were any other woman, no matter how great the reward was, she would only be happy and express gratitude.

"My beloved concubine, don't you like these famous products?" Seeing Concubine Zhao like this, Emperor Chengxuan really wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Your Majesty, you are making fun of me," the beauty squinted her eyes, showing another kind of charm. Zhuang Yuyan's action was extremely natural, more beautiful than those who pretended to be coquettish. "I am a vulgar person, why would I be so cruel to destroy a flower?"

"My beloved concubine is honest," Feng Jin felt a little itchy at the sidelong glance, and stole a kiss from the corner of Zhuang Luoyan's lips, "But in my opinion, my beloved concubine is more charming than that peony, why don't you let me taste her carefully."

Never believe what the emperor says, because if you do you will lose.

Since they say I’m more beautiful than flowers, why do I move like I’ve been hungry for months? So what they said about tasting is true, but as for being more beautiful than peonies... it’s not good to dream about it in the middle of the night.

Goblin fighting is a physical job, especially when the opponent's behavior is more ferocious than a hungry wolf.

When she woke up the next morning, Emperor Chengxuan had already put on his dragon robe and was stretching his arms while a palace maid knelt on the floor to tidy up the hem of his robe. Seeing her wake up, Emperor Chengxuan said with a smile, "My beloved concubine slept really soundly."

"This is not entirely my fault." Zhuang Yuyan's words, which sounded half angry and half resentful, made Emperor Chengxuan smile.

Zhuang Yuyan looked at the smile on Emperor Chengxuan's lips and rubbed the quilt lazily twice. This is what men are like. Women don't like to hear nice words, but prefer others to complain.

How can it be a cheap word?