Chapter 186:

All that happened in the Imperial Garden was known to Layue immediately.

Previously, she had many thoughts about those people flocking to the Imperial Garden just for the Emperor’s favor. She felt annoyed but had not found a suitable opportunity to act. She was simply waiting for the right moment to make her move.

She never expected that today would bring the incident involving Lady An Shuyuan.

And the fact that Emperor Jing showed no mercy made Layue particularly delighted.

In this case, it turned out quite well.

“Her Majesty the Empress, Lady An Xiu Yi requests an audience.”

Layue paused briefly before nodding. “Let her in.”

It was reasonable for An Xiu Yi to come now. After all, Lady An Shuyuan was her younger sister and from her palace. It would be strange if she didn’t show up after such an incident.

Speaking of An Xiu Yi, the two had exchanged many sharp words in the past, but never had they caused real harm to each other. Even their verbal sparring was always restrained. Layue had lived with An Xiu Yi in the same palace for some time and had come to understand her to some extent. She wasn’t someone who couldn’t tell right from wrong.

“Your Majesty,” An Xiu Yi greeted.

Layue, in a good mood, smiled. “Lady An, please sit.”

“I wonder, Lady An, what brings you here today?”

An Xiu Yi sat properly, watching Xing’er serve tea. She smiled and said, “Your Majesty, I have come to apologize.”

“Oh?” Layue raised her eyebrows. She didn’t think there was anything for which An Xiu Yi needed to apologize to her.

But An Xiu Yi didn’t see it that way. “My younger sister, though a servant, acted improperly by seeking the Emperor’s favor and causing his displeasure. It is due to my failure in discipline. Therefore, I must apologize to Your Majesty. Without rules, there can be no order. I am truly ashamed.”

Hearing An Xiu Yi speak thus, Layue’s expression softened.

“You’re thinking too much, Lady An. Although it is true that every palace has its share of ambitious women. If the Emperor is pleased, we naturally cannot interfere. But if she offends the Emperor, that is indeed inappropriate.”

“Exactly,” An Xiu Yi nodded.

Layue naturally understood that each of An Xiu Yi’s words had its own intention. Layue, recalling previous rumors, began to understand. She just didn’t know what conflict existed between An Xiu Yi and her younger sister that would prompt her to further undermine her sister.

Her coming today to apologize was merely to make Layue dislike Lady An even more.

Everyone knew that An Xiu Yi had the Emperor’s ear. Otherwise, Princess Diwa wouldn’t have left the palace.

It seemed she was determined to suppress her own sister completely.

Although Shen Layue was close with her own sisters and cousins, she had a bitter rivalry with her cousin Chen Yulan.

Therefore, she could somewhat understand.

The secrets within noble families often remained obscure.

The reasons behind the An sisters’ estrangement were even more mysterious.

“Now that your sister has already left, we need not dwell further on this matter. Harmony should be maintained among the palace ladies. As for those who break the rules, there will always be someone to deal with them accordingly.”

An Xiu Yi’s happiness was evident. “Your Majesty speaks truly.”

Layue merely tested with a few words and saw An Xiu Yi’s obvious joy, further confirming her suspicions. Although the Shen family had simple relationships, she understood that other families were not necessarily the same. Layue knew this well and chose not to say more.

“Alright then, if that’s the case, you may return now. I feel a bit tired.”

Upon hearing this, An Xiu Yi immediately took her leave.

***

Time flew swiftly.

In what seemed like no time at all, several months had passed. It felt as if it had just been June, but now it was already October.

Autumn winds brought coolness, and the falling leaves created a slightly desolate scene.

After returning from the previous sacrifice to Heaven, Emperor Jing immediately immersed himself in new affairs.

Since the smallpox incident, Emperor Jing no longer brought anyone with him when he performed sacrifices to Heaven.

In this way, Layue felt somewhat relieved.

Since his return from the sacrifice, Emperor Jing had not visited any other concubine, which pleased and surprised Layue.

Although the Emperor repeatedly declared his exclusive love for her, Layue thought that this wasn’t solely due to affection.

Perhaps he truly loved her, but his decision not to favor others was also due to his own concerns.

Layue could see that Emperor Jing was a man of high vigilance.

She hadn’t realized it before, but now she knew that when he didn’t sleep with her, he often woke up from nightmares.

It showed that whether due to past experiences or the constant scheming of concubines over the years, there were many things that made him uncomfortable. It was precisely because of this that he gradually calmed his desires. If one were to say that he remained faithful solely out of love for her, Layue believed it had more to do with timing — she had simply encountered a rare, perfect opportunity.

Since she had gained such a great advantage, she naturally needed to cherish it carefully.

In fact, Layue’s guess was somewhat accurate. Emperor Jing did love Shen Layue deeply. However, in his upbringing, loving one person exclusively and not favoring other concubines was not something he had ever been taught.

If he were an ordinary man, such behavior wouldn’t be unusual.

But Emperor Jing had experienced too much scheming since childhood — from other consorts of the previous Emperor, from his own brothers, and even from the families of concubines who committed offenses after he ascended the throne.

Otherwise, how could Chen Yulan’s father dare to harm people?

Moreover, because of the obvious scars left by smallpox on his body, Fu Jinyao, who claimed to have loved him since childhood, still showed disdain, which made him question whether these women truly loved him or merely loved what he represented.

If they were placed in a dangerous situation, would they stand by him as Shen Layue had done?

All these thoughts and experiences intertwined, causing Emperor Jing to develop an aversion toward other women.

If they could not bring him benefits but instead increased the insecurities in his life, why should he favor them?

Therefore, an emperor’s love and exclusivity also require the right timing, circumstances, and harmony.

They were exactly in such a situation.

Layue didn’t know the Emperor’s thoughts and could only guess at them vaguely.

“My Lady, Princess Diwa is indeed no ordinary woman. I heard she has become involved with Minister An, which caused the Emperor to become furious in court.”

The Emperor was like this — he would tightly guard any information he did not want others to know.

If he wanted something widely known, the news would spread throughout the harem even before the court session ended.

“Diwa Princess is indeed beautiful, young, and noble. Minister An must be reaching beyond his station,” Layue said casually.

Now she understood perfectly; the Emperor was using Princess Diwa to deal with the aristocratic families one by one.

It seemed these people, despite knowing that Diwa Princess was promiscuous, still rushed after her, disregarding their wives and public opinion.

Perhaps in their eyes, being able to attract such a beautiful woman at their age was itself a kind of honor or demonstration of charm.

The Emperor’s move was indeed well-played.

“I wonder if Princess Diwa’s eyes are covered in dung. Why does she only go after old men?” Tao’er pouted.

Jin Xin gave her a sidelong glance. “You little girl, speaking so crudely at your age.”

Tao’er wasn’t offended and cheerfully replied, “I’m not wrong, Sister Jin Xin. Look, aside from the Sixth Prince before, weren’t all the others old men? Perhaps after being hurt by someone as young and handsome as the Sixth Prince, she went to the opposite extreme?”

Hearing this, Layue couldn’t help but laugh.

“No matter what the Emperor says, Princess Rosalind will always be Diwa Princess.”

Layue’s thoughts were clear. Based on Emperor Jing’s nature, he would definitely insist that Rosalind marry over, otherwise how could she stir up chaos?

“It’s still uncertain, but judging from appearances, the princess will marry into the An family.”

Layue nodded.

Sure enough, a few days later, news came from outside the palace that Diwa Princess Rosalind had married Minister An as a co-wife.

This indeed surprised everyone.

Once again, people marveled at the unusual customs of Diwa.

Although this matter involved An Xiu Yi’s family, Layue noticed that An Xiu Yi showed no unusual reaction during her morning greetings, which made Layue understand that every family had its own difficulties.

Others might not know, but An Xiu Yi was barely concealing her happiness. In her view, it was particularly amusing that Diwa Princess had married into the family as a co-wife.

Never would she have imagined that woman would end up like this. She hoped that all the things that woman had done would now be returned to her tenfold.

No one would be as easy to bully as her mother had been. The Diwa Princess was clearly no ordinary woman; this turn of events was unexpectedly interesting.

Even without Layue’s involvement, the An family’s affairs might still unfold as she wished. For now, she would simply watch.

But another matter occupied her thoughts for many days — the child she had lost.

Although many people in the palace had already gone, An Xiu Yi had never given up investigating the matter of her lost child.

Although initially she had believed it was the doing of Consort De, and she truly believed it at the time,

after much reflection, she began to notice some clues. At the time, it seemed like a closed case, but in reality, it wasn’t necessarily so.

There were too many inconsistencies and unusual circumstances.

Looking back now, it was possible that someone had taken advantage of the situation to frame Consort De.

After many years in the palace, she had only ever longed for one thing — her child, who had been killed.

She was determined to find the murderer and ensure they did not escape justice.

If the murderer was still alive, she would never let them go. If they were already dead,