No matter what the emperor was thinking about when he came to Xihe Palace, Zhuang Yuyan dressed up as usual, without any rouge or powder, her hair was fragrant and smooth, and her clothes were loose. After all, the emperor came to the concubine's palace at night to chat or fight under the quilt, not to watch how women remove their makeup and hairpins.

It is better to save things like stunning the emperor for daytime, as night is more suitable for nighttime tasks.

When Feng Jin arrived at Xihe Palace, he was not surprised to see Zhuang Yuyan standing at the palace gate. He got off the sedan chair and helped Zhuang Yuyan up, saying, "It's been cold these days, my beloved concubine, please take care of yourself."

"I am dressed warmly, Your Majesty, don't worry." Zhuang Yuyan rubbed the emperor's hand with hers with her other hand, "But your hand is so cold. I have prepared some hot soup for you, please use it to warm yourself up."

Feng Jin patted the back of Zhuang Yuyan's hand with his other hand and said, "Don't be nervous, it's just some wind." After that, he led Zhuang Yuyan into the house.

There was no special incense scent in Xihe Palace, but it had some grass scent, which was the special thing about Zhuang Yuyan. Whenever he went to Zhuang Yuyan's place, he would smell all kinds of natural things, such as the peach scent in June, the lotus scent in July, and the mint scent in August, which were always refreshing. So when it was hot last year, he also preferred to go to Zhuang Yuyan's place. Even if there was ice in the house on a hot day, no one liked to smell the messy incense scent.

Zhuang Yuyan personally brought the peanut, barley and taro ball soup to the emperor and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I asked the small kitchen to simmer this. Try it."

The celadon bowl was filled with a fragrant soup, which whetted Feng Jin's appetite after he had walked in the cool spring breeze. He took the silver spoon handed to him by Zhuang Luoyan and took a sip. The temperature of the soup seemed to have warmed his stomach.

"It tastes great. I've never tasted this kind of soup before. It seems the cook in the small kitchen is quite skilled." Feng Jin drank a few more sips before putting down the bowl. After rinsing his mouth, he looked at Zhuang Yuyan with a smile, "If I want to eat delicious food in the future, it seems I will have to come to my beloved concubine's place."

"If the emperor likes it, you can transfer this cook to the kitchen," Zhuang Yuyan smiled proudly, "but I taught her how to cook this dish. If I think of another dish, I can tell the cook."

"Since that's your idea, why do I need a chef? You are enough." Feng Jin smiled, and seeing that Zhuang Yuyan's face was moved, he stood up and put his hand around Zhuang Yuyan's waist, "It's getting late, my beloved concubine, go to bed with me."

Upon seeing this, the palace servants immediately stepped forward and removed the curtains, leaving the emperor and Zhao Xianrong their own space.

Outside the heavy curtains, Gao Dezhong led several palace maids and eunuchs to wait quietly. Opposite him were two senior palace maids from Xihe Palace. He smiled and said, "Just now I saw Zhao Xianrong's hands seemed a little red. Did Zhao Xianrong cook for the emperor herself?"

"This..." Ting Zhu was a little embarrassed, "Eunuch Gao, the queen has previously instructed us not to talk too much, please don't embarrass us."

"We are all serving the master, this eunuch understands," Gao Dezhong sighed, "The emperor will understand the queen's intentions." He finally understood that Zhao Xianrong was probably really in love with the emperor, otherwise why would she do these things secretly and not dare to express them in front of the emperor.

Upon hearing this, Yun Xi bowed to Gao Dezhong and said, "Eunuch, you are very perceptive. I beg you not to tell the emperor about this. I would like to thank you for your kindness."

Other masters would try their best to show off in front of the emperor, but this Zhao Xianrong was different. She didn't dare to let the emperor know her feelings. Gao Dezhong saw Yun Xi's sad face and nodded as a promise. He wouldn't say it, and whether the emperor would ask or not was none of his business.

In view of the fact that the emperor has been visiting the harem frequently recently, Zhuang Luoyan originally thought that the emperor would just chat with her under the covers, but she did not expect that he was in such a good mood. After a passionate lovemaking, Zhuang Luoyan, with her long black hair draped over her, lay on the emperor's chest, secretly wondering if the emperor would have a nightmare like sleep paralysis tonight.

"My Lord, it's getting late. Let's go to bed early." Chenxi put a piece of clothing on Ning Guiren and saw Ning Guiren stroking the zither given by the emperor. "The emperor went to Xihe Palace today and will not come again."

"Yes, he is the emperor, the emperor of all the women in the harem, not just me." Ning Guiren smiled bitterly, stood up and walked to the window, looking in the direction of Xihe Palace, "I didn't want to enter the palace, but the emperor's mercy and favor made me forget that this is the harem."

"My Lord, don't think like that. The Emperor treats you well. He has never favored the talented women Hua and Yan who entered the palace with you," Chenxi put away the zither. "Since you entered the palace, the Emperor has stayed here more often and given you gifts. How can the Emperor continue to stay here when the people in the harem are constantly speculating about you?"

"Why bother to persuade him?" Ning Guiren smiled indifferently. "There are so many women in the harem. It is natural for the emperor to go to whoever he wants. Moreover, Zhao Xianrong is already favored. It is normal for the emperor to go to her."

Thinking of the conversation in Yu Garden, Lady Ning withdrew her gaze towards the direction of Xihe Palace. Although Zhao Xianrong was not multi-talented, the emperor would have to favor her because of her easy-going personality.

Feng Jin woke up in the morning and had breakfast with Zhuang Yuyan, who brought him a bowl of pearl rice porridge. "It's really peaceful to wake up in the morning."

"You are so lazy. You should have walked more often in the morning," Feng Jin picked up a piece of pastry and put it into Zhuang Yuyan's bowl. "You should not stay in the palace all the time on weekdays. It is good to walk more often."

"I have been there too," Zhuang Luoyan argued, "and I met Concubine Ning and Lady Ning in Yu Garden yesterday. The crabapple tree painted by Concubine Ning was extremely beautiful."

"No one in the harem can match Concubine Ning's paintings. Lady Ning..." Feng Jin frowned, "Although Lady Ning's surname is Ning, it conflicts with Concubine Ning's title. Pass on my decree. Although Lady Ning's surname is Ning, because Concubine Ning has already used this title, Lady Ning's title is Qian."

Qian? Isn't this title too superficial? Zhuang Luyan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, now that you say this, I find it difficult to pronounce. It would be easier to distinguish it if I change the title."

Soon, the emperor's oral order was issued to the harem. For a while, the harem didn't know whether the emperor favored Ning or didn't care about her. If he said he didn't care, he turned Ning's tooth card several times. If he cared, why would he give Ning the title of Qian on the grounds that Ning violated the title of Ning Fei?

"Noble Lady Qian?" After hearing the emperor's order, the queen smiled, "The romance in the southern building remains the same, but there is no reason for the parting. Who can play the flute in the dangerous room? Tonight, I hear the sound of falling plum blossoms and complain about the mountains and rivers. It's a good title."

"This noble lady Qian is fine, why did the emperor think of changing her title?" Diancui said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, the emperor stayed in Xihe Palace yesterday. Is this related to Zhaoxianrong?"

"Whether it matters or not, the emperor has issued the decree, and you just need to correct the way you call it," the queen said with an unchanged smile, but her eyes were a little cold.

Regardless of whether this was done by Zhuang Yuyan, the fact that the emperor still remembered to visit Concubine Ning despite his love for her shows the status of Zhuang Yuyan in the emperor's heart. However, if the emperor favored her more than Concubine Shu Gui, it would not be a bad thing, at least she did not have the same scheming as Concubine Shu Gui.

After Ning Shengyu received the imperial edict, she was a little confused. What did it mean to offend Concubine Ning? She had just entered the palace without a title, so she used her surname as her title. Was this also an offense?

"Master..." Chenxi looked at her worriedly.

"It's okay," Ning Shengyu lowered her eyelids, "In this harem, having a title is also a favor from the emperor, right?"

But this title was so unbearable that even the word "Qian" became ridiculous.

All the women in the harem admired Zhuang Yuyan's good tactics. This move not only showed goodwill to Concubine Ning, but also gave a warning to the new Ning family who had just entered the palace.

Just when everyone was sighing over Zhuang Yuyan's favor, another incident happened in the harem: Lady Ye died in the dry well of Jingqiu Pavilion. The well was not high enough to cause death, so the emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation of the matter.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I found a piece of this thing inside the lining of Mr. Ye's clothes. I think it is evidence that Mr. Ye left behind when the murderer was not paying attention to remind us," the eunuch from the Palace Department presented a piece of torn silk.

The queen looked into the tray and saw that the thing painted on the cloth was clearly a corner of a peacock's tail. It seemed that Lady Ye had torn off a small piece in a hurry and hid it in her lapel.

Feng Jin, who was drinking tea with the empress, also looked at the plate, his brows slightly wrinkled.

"My lady, I think this peacock tail is similar to the paper ibis that Lady Zhao Xianrong placed a few days ago," He Yu frowned and looked at the plate a few more times, "I guess I must have seen it wrong."

“No matter what, this matter must be investigated thoroughly,” the Queen turned her head to look at the Emperor, “Your Majesty, please look at this matter…” She knew that Zhuang Yuyan was favored, and that the Emperor was with Zhao Xianrong on the day when she released the paper iris, so only if the Emperor spoke up, would she feel at ease to let someone investigate Zhuang Yuyan.

"Since Zhao Xianrong has doubts about this matter, call Zhao Xianrong to ask her about it," Feng Jin put down the teacup, "I also want to get to the bottom of this matter."

Upon hearing this, the Queen nodded to the eunuch in charge, and the eunuch in charge retreated quietly.

Feng Jian stared at the blue and white porcelain teacup on the table expressionlessly, not realizing at all how a favored concubine should look when she is the murderer who framed a concubine.