Even if Concubine Qin held a grudge in her heart, she had to wash and dress up and go to Kangfu Palace.

After all, the one who is in charge of the harem now is Concubine Xian, and all the concubines in the harem have to go to Kangfu Palace to pay their respects to Liu Qiuchan every day.

"The phoenix-head hairpin that Concubine Xian wears is exquisitely designed, precious and gorgeous. I think it must have been given by the Emperor."

"The Emperor saw that most of the jewelry in my jewelry box was jade, which looked a little dull, so he gave me this phoenix-head hairpin as a reward."

There was a hint of pride in Liu Qiuchan's eyes, and her hand gently touched the dazzling phoenix hairpin on her head.

She had just gained favor yesterday, and today the emperor bestowed her with a phoenix hairpin. All the concubines in the palace could guess what the emperor meant.

Concubine Qin also walked in and saw the phoenix hairpin on Liu Qiuchan's head at a glance. She gritted her teeth in hatred.

But she pretended to be indifferent and said with a smile, "I also have a few phoenix hairpins. Although they are not as gorgeous as the one on the head of the Concubine Xian, they still have the same meaning."

The meaning of Concubine Qin's words was very clear, that is, the emperor had no other meaning when he bestowed the phoenix hairpin on his concubines, and she also had a few in her hand.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the palace became cold. Liu Qiuchan didn't even look at Concubine Qin and continued talking to the other concubines.

After paying her respects, Concubine Qin did not bow to Concubine Xian, but simply turned and left. From her expression, anyone could see that there was an undercurrent between the two of them.

Liu Qiuchan didn't take her light treatment to heart, because she remembered what Lin Zan said and she must be extremely cautious in the next few days.

Two days later, during the morning court session, the emperor was furious and threw many memorials to the ground. "Where is the governor of the southwest? Why didn't he report to the court when the southwest was hit by a severe drought, but waited half a year to report it?"

The Southwest Governor Wei Youli knelt down in shock, his body trembling as he said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I thought the drought was only temporary, and I had already dug canals to irrigate the crops, but I didn't expect..."

"But I didn't expect that the drought would not only not ease, but would become even worse. Now tens of thousands of people are displaced. What crime should you be charged with?"

Before Wei Youli could finish his words, the emperor stood up angrily, walked down the steps and scolded him.

Many ministers knelt down and begged the emperor to calm down. The emperor kicked Wei Youli hard and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to allocate grain to the southwest.

After the emperor planted grain in the drought-stricken areas in the southwest, he thought that the drought would be alleviated and the people would not be displaced.

However, what was unexpected was that the severe drought in the southwest region did not ease, but instead affected several places, becoming a once-in-a-century disaster.

The situation became increasingly serious. Due to the allocation of grain, the Ministry of Revenue's granary immediately became stretched to the limit, so the emperor decided to save food in the palace.

However, this news has not been officially revealed, and no one in the harem knows about it.

Only Lin Zan, who knew the plot in advance, knew it clearly, and told Liu Qiuchan to be frugal in the next few days and not to be extravagant on food.

The emperor, whose mood was affected by the disaster, stepped into the harem with an unhappy face and happened to come to Liu Qiuchan's Kangfu Palace.

Liu Qiuchan, who learned the news in advance, immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare some light porridge and side dishes. It was very simple, which surprised the emperor when he saw it.

"Your Majesty, I heard that there was a severe drought in the southwest and tens of thousands of people were displaced. I was very worried. I thought that those people might not even have enough porridge to drink, so I wanted to save some money from the palace and donate it to help those people."

Liu Qiuchan looked generous and virtuous, and looked at the emperor with a sincere expression.

Instantly, the emperor was moved by her words, holding her hand tightly, and said with emotion, "The virtuous concubine is indeed virtuous and unmatched. She truly cares about the victims. I am lucky to have the virtuous concubine to help me solve my problems."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Emperor hugged Concubine Xian tightly in his arms.

A smile appeared on Liu Qiuchan's lips. For the next few days, the emperor slept in Kangfu Palace.

This caused many concubines in the harem to complain, especially Concubine Qin, who clutched the handkerchief in her hand resentfully and counted on her fingers the number of days the emperor had not come to her Mingde Palace.

Finally, one evening, the emperor came to Mingde Palace. Concubine Qin was immediately overjoyed and asked the small kitchen to prepare many delicious dishes, using a lot of precious ingredients.

As soon as he entered the palace, the emperor smelled a rich aroma and saw a small table filled with various expensive dishes.

"Your Majesty, you haven't come to my place for several days. I made you the pigeon soup that you like." Concubine Qin walked to the emperor with a sweet smile and snuggled up to him.

But she didn't expect that the emperor's face was incredibly cold and he pushed Concubine Qin away fiercely.

The defenseless Concubine Qin fell to the ground, looking at the emperor who was glaring at her with an incredible look on her face.

"Princess Qin, I never thought you would be so extravagant. You know there is a severe drought in the southwest and people are starving everywhere. Instead of helping me, you only care about enjoying yourself in the harem. I am so disappointed."

After the emperor finished speaking angrily, he turned around and left. Concubine Qin sat on the ground in a daze, unable to come back to her senses for a long time, until the palace maid Xing Yuan helped her up.

After experiencing the incident with Concubine Qin, most of the concubines in the palace knew the direction of the situation and began to practice thrift and automatically reduced the food, clothing and other expenses in the palace.

"Zhan'er, everyone in the palace now knows about the severe drought in the southwest. The emperor is worried, and they have begun to cut back on spending. I'm afraid this trick won't work. What should we do now?" Liu Qiuchan looked at Lin Zan with some anxiety.

Ever since the concubines in the harem used this trick, the emperor's favor was distracted, and the emperor did not come to Liu Qiuchan for several days.

Lin Zhan smiled, with an expression that had expected this. "Don't worry, Madam. Don't we have another way to go?"

"Do we really want to do this?" Liu Qiuchan's face showed a painful expression, but Lin Zan's expression was very firm.

In the end, out of trust in Lin Zan, Liu Qiuchan donated all the money he had saved over the years to buy food and sent it to the disaster area.

Liu Qiuchan was the first person to do so, which naturally attracted the emperor's attention and made many ministers in the court praise the virtuous concubine for her kindness.

For a moment, Liu Qiuchan's impression in the emperor's eyes was surprisingly good.

Even though Concubine Qin and other concubines in the harem later imitated Liu Qiuchan's behavior, they could never compare to Liu Qiuchan's status in the emperor's heart.