Chapter 73:

Time flies by quickly; two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The days of the twelfth lunar month have been quite pleasant. Although Chen Yulan is pregnant and many assumed she would fall out of favor, unexpectedly, the emperor has treated her even better since her pregnancy.

Over these two months, the person summoned most frequently to the emperor’s chambers was not the widely presumed favorite, Consort Hui, but rather Consort Chun Wan—a frequency even Consort Hui could not rival. Moreover, the Empress Dowager had also taken a particular liking to Consort Chun Wan.

Layue was no fool; since the Empress Dowager treated her kindly, she naturally responded with genuine sincerity. Knowing the Empress Dowager enjoyed playing chess, Layue made it a habit to play a game with her every few days. Fortunately, neither of them had made significant progress in their chess skills, so their matches always remained evenly balanced.

It is precisely like this with chess; a one-sided situation is always uninteresting. This way, both of them were quite happy.

The concubines in the palace are not simple people, and this situation is truly difficult to understand.

But sometimes, you realize that some people are just lucky; no matter how hard others work, they can’t catch up. The emperor’s favor, the Empress Dowager’s affection—apart from not having children, Consort Chun has extraordinary luck.

But in this palace, she’s not the only one without children. Since she’s still young, why worry so much?

It seems everything changed after Chen Yulan’s pregnancy; the palace’s power structure has become more apparent. Chen Yulan is already three and a half months pregnant. By the emperor’s decree, she has remained in her quarters and hasn’t gone out, precisely because of this, her pregnancy has not been targeted by any schemes and has been stable.

After three months, the fetus becomes steady. Chen Yulan isn’t one who can stay indoors for long; she repeatedly begged the emperor to be allowed to go outside, saying she felt stifled staying inside. The emperor agreed after only a moment’s thought.

She has been living quite well these days. Since things are going well, her mood has naturally changed. Now that her pregnancy is stable, she feels different from others. After all, isn’t she the only pregnant woman in the palace now? She even feels slightly smug.

She herself thinks simply, yet she doesn’t realize that others had not acted earlier precisely because the emperor had confined her to her quarters. Now, things are different. Every day she goes out for a stroll, and although her pregnancy is only slightly visible, she still holds her belly with her hand, a gesture that makes others envious.

Layue could only scoff coldly at this matter. Originally, she had thought Chen Yulan was somewhat clever, but now it seems she is incredibly foolish. Didn’t she think about how many people have been waiting for this moment?

Now it is already spring; a few days ago was Qingming Festival. In the Nanshun Kingdom, it seems that once Qingming passes, the rain begins to fall continuously.

Gazing out the window at the fine rain, Layue’s emerald green dress further accentuates the spring ambiance.

Across from her sits Bai Youran.

If there are any people in the palace she can talk to, there are only two: one is Bai Youran, and the other is Zhu Yuning.

“Chen Caimei has been released from house arrest by the emperor,” Bai Youran smiled, her voice carrying no particular emotion, merely stating a fact.

La Yue nodded, indicating she already knew, and sighed.

“She wasn’t like this before.”

There was no regret in her words, just slight puzzlement. She was curious about Chen Yulan’s increasingly flamboyant attitude.

Bai Youran chuckled, then her voice turned slightly colder: “Doesn’t she know who she’s associating with? Does she think that Bai Xiaodie is an easy person to deal with?”

In an instant, Layue grasped the implication in Bai Youran’s words and stared at her in stunned silence.

Seeing her so stunned, Bai Youran didn’t hide anything from her.

“Bai Xiaodie is no simple person. You’ll understand once you’ve been around her longer. Beneath her gentle exterior lies a heart as venomous as a snake.” Her tone was full of mockery.

Regardless of Bai Youran’s intentions, the warning in her words was evident, as if reminding Layue.

La Yue regained her composure and laughed playfully: “Sister Bai, are you worried I’ll be harmed by others?”

Bai Youran gently placed the teacup in her hand and smiled as well: “Although my younger sister is young, she is not easily deceived. I’m just reminding you, as a way of returning a favor.”

This statement was strange. Layue didn’t understand what she had done to make Bai Youran act this way.

Seeing her confusion, Bai Youran sighed slightly, realizing that she was still young and not yet fully aware of the intricacies involved.

“On that day, you didn’t give Bai Xiaodie and Lian Xiuyun face, which was the greatest help you could give me. If it weren’t for you, how could they have been demoted?” Bai Youran laughed happily.

“Everyone has their own pursuit—Consort Hui seeks the emperor’s true affection, Consort De seeks the pinnacle of power. I don’t know what you seek, but what I seek is merely to crush Bai Xiaodie and her mother beneath my feet, making their lives unbearable.”

Bai Youran said fiercely.

If it weren’t for Bai Youran sitting opposite Layue, she probably wouldn’t have imagined that the gentle Bai Youran could utter such words. Though she didn’t know what kind of life Bai Youran led at home, Layue observed carefully and caught a glimpse of resolve on her face.

Bai Youran’s hatred towards Bai Xiaodie far exceeded Lamei’s expectations.

“Sister, don’t say such things in the palace.”

There are no secrets in the palace. If Bai Youran isn’t careful with her words, she won’t last long.

Bai Youran smiled indifferently: “I won’t say these things in the future. I’m telling you because I trust you.”

Hearing this, Layue did not seem pleased but instead grew serious: “Sister Bai, you should know that I entered the palace solely to serve His Majesty faithfully. I will not entertain other thoughts or engage in factionalism. Whatever displeases the emperor, I shall avoid. Sister, please do not speak of trust with me—if His Majesty inquires, I will disclose everything. Our relationship will not alter that fact.”

Bai Youran was momentarily stunned, then smiled: “You’re overthinking. Perhaps you don’t trust me, but I’m good at judging people. When I say I trust you, I truly do. I won’t ask you to help me with anything; I just need someone to talk to. Sometimes, my heart feels so blocked. In the future, I won’t mention these things again. Please don’t take offense, younger sister.”

If Bai Youran had been a certain type of person in her past life, Layue could only say that she was neither particularly favored nor neglected by the emperor. It seemed that apart from the Third Prince, she had nothing else. The Third Prince was her entire pillar.

In this life, because her half-sister Bai Xiaodie entered the palace at the same time, she developed more emotions. If she had to say, isn’t every person in this palace carrying their own story!

Whether in her previous or current life, there have always been many rumors about the Bai family, but they all agree that the eldest daughter of the Bai family is aloof, while the second daughter is gentle and kind.

How could a concubine-born girl like Bai Xiaodie gain the favor of the entire family, and her mother even holds the power of the Bai family? One can easily imagine how the mother and daughter of the Bai family must be living.

Tilting her head, Layue looked like an innocent little girl: “This is the deep palace. Although I don’t like others competing with me for the man, if someone can truly help you, it must be the emperor, not me.”

Hearing Layue’s words, Bai Youran was genuinely taken aback, never having anticipated she would say such a thing.

Layue had her own considerations as well. Undeniably, she intensely disliked Bai Xiaodie. In her previous life, the downfall of the Shen family was primarily caused by her brother, but the root of the disaster lay with Bai Xiaodie. In this life, Bai Xiaodie hadn’t done those things yet, and Layue had tried to convince herself not to harm others over events that hadn’t occurred. However, the facts proved that Bai Xiaodie was not a kind person.

Setting aside her veiled hostility, the sinister smile she wore during Consort Hui’s miscarriage was enough for Layue to grasp her true nature. Such a person could not be left unpunished.

If she didn’t take action now while Bai Xiaodie’s wings were not yet fully grown, she might later suffer real harm at her hands.

It seems that this Bai Xiaodie and the people of the Shen family truly have an ill-fated connection.

Bai Youran stood up and laughed: “Thank you, younger sister, for speaking so frankly.”

Without raising her head, Layue ran her fingers along the table’s edge and said, “What’s there to thank me for? You’re so smart—how could you not have figured it out yourself?”

Bai Youran must have thought of it already, she just couldn’t make up her mind.

After all, the emperor isn’t yours either; using each other’s strength and gaining an ally might not be a bad thing. Although Bai Xiaodie’s rank isn’t high, it’s hard to say whether others will protect her.

Sometimes, chaos isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Bai Youran shook her head, as if recalling something, and advised Layue: “Two people standing in the same camp is never the best situation.”

Finally, Layue raised her head and looked at Bai Youran.

After a long while, she smiled slightly.

“If she competes with me for the emperor, how could I possibly stand in the same camp as you?”

Seeing her expression, Bai Youran also smiled: “Then, little sister Shen, I’ll take my leave. Please guide me more in the future.”

Layue nodded. Whether it was Layue or Bai Youran, both had their own reflections after today’s conversation.

After Bai Youran left, Jin Xin was somewhat worried. She cautiously looked around and whispered: “My lady, just now outside the window was Guo’er.”

If someone was eavesdropping, and the mistress had said so much, it was definitely not a good thing.

Layue was indifferent: “If you want to gain something, you must be willing to pay the price. Besides, everything Bai Youran said was her own doing; I only spoke one sentence. It might be useful to find out whether Guo’er is the emperor’s person or not.”

“What if the emperor suspects us?”

Layue smiled faintly: “Suspect? Why? I didn’t say anything. And how loyal am I?”

Jin Xin couldn’t help rolling her eyes slightly.

“My lady, the implication in your words wasn’t like that.”

Layue shook her head and smiled: “Jin Xin, because you know who I am and understand my thoughts, you overthink things. Those people don’t understand me; they won’t dwell on it too much. I believe it’s worthwhile to use this matter to test Guo’er.”