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  Everyone in the side hall was frightened, but only Empress Pei calmly stopped the palace maid who wanted to go to the main hall to inform the emperor. "The emperor rarely gathers with his relatives, and although Concubine Hui's fainting is a big deal, the emperor is not a doctor, and even if he comes, there's nothing he can do about it. With me taking care of things, I think Concubine Hui will be fine."

  She ordered the female officials behind her to help Yu Huifei up, and saw that Huifei's face was slightly flushed, her eyes were closed, but her eyelids were jumping constantly. She had a plan in mind, so she spoke slowly and calmly, "Someone, go and invite the imperial physician to come and take a look. Huifei is raising the crown prince, it's a big responsibility. If something goes wrong, what will happen to the crown prince?"

  The palace maid went away at the sound.

  Dongping Old Lady and others were all fox spirits, while Consort Hui was still fine just now. She had just said she wanted to recite poetry when she suddenly fainted. It's likely that no one didn't understand what was going on in their hearts, although they all put on concerned expressions on their faces, but inwardly they all looked down on Consort Hui's petty and narrow-mindedness.

  At this time, everyone was reluctant to stay in the side hall, but Hui Fei was still pretending to be unconscious. Since Hui Fei did not wake up, no one dared to leave first. After all, she was the emperor's favorite concubine and the mother of the crown prince, so they couldn't be disrespectful to her on this occasion.

  The imperial physician arrived soon and after feeling the pulse, his face was uncertain, very embarrassed.

  Empress Pei said in a deep voice, "What's going on? Is Consort Hui suffering from some kind of serious illness? She actually fainted. Quickly think of a way to wake her up, so we can ask her clearly what happened."

  The imperial physician hastily knelt down, "Her Highness Hui Fei's pulse is strong and her breathing is even. I am incompetent and couldn't diagnose what's wrong with Her Highness, but it's certain that she wouldn't faint without reason. Please, Your Majesty, give me another chance. I'd like to try stimulating several major acupoints on Her Highness Hui Fei using acupuncture to see if she'll wake up. If not, I'm willing to accept punishment."

  Actually, the imperial physician who serves in the palace has experienced everything. As long as he takes her pulse, he knows that Consort Hui is pretending. However, since the Empress Dowager asked so seriously, and he also had some small grudges with the Yu family of Dingguo, he decided to take a gamble and followed the Empress Dowager's lead in giving Consort Hui a hard time.

  Golden needle acupuncture, although effective, is quite frightening. Consort Hui's heart was crying out in distress, but when she decided to pretend to faint, it was already destined that she couldn't wake up at this time, or else it would really become a joke. Therefore, she held her breath and forcibly suppressed the fear in her heart, enduring as several major acupoints on her Renzhong were pierced by acupuncture needles. The imperial physician seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for her, taking a long time and specifically targeting the most painful areas. She felt a sharp pain piercing through her chest, almost making her cry out loud.

  She slowly came to, looking bewildered as she supported her head and asked, "Your Majesty the Empress, what happened to me? I had a bit too much to drink at the banquet just now, and my head was spinning for a moment. Did I scare everyone?"

  The imperial physician has already seen through her trick of pretending to be ill, and at this moment, she is afraid that she can only use drunkenness as an excuse to get off the stage without losing face.

  Empress Pei let out a snicker and her tone turned even softer, "Since Consort Hui is somewhat drunk, hurry back to the Gui Ren Palace to rest. In the future, don't be greedy for good wine, it's fine if you just lose your composure, after all, we're all family today so there's no need to worry about anyone gossiping. It's just that it's caused several elderly imperial consorts to worry and frightened several young ladies, truly not quite right."

  Yu Huifei was speechless for a moment, and couldn't think of anything to refute, so she swallowed her anger and bid farewell to the crowd with a sickly expression, returning to the Guiren Palace.

  After this commotion, Mei Xue's poem could no longer be written. The imperial consorts thought it didn't matter and also catered to Ming Huan's intentions.

  The Empress Pei ordered hot tea and pastries to be served, and she chatted casually with the female guests for a while. When the banquet in the main hall came to an end, they bid each other farewell and returned to their respective homes.

  On the way back to the Zhongguo Gongfu, the horse carriage swayed, and Mingxuan quietly told Pei Jingchen about what she had seen and heard today. She was still in shock and patted her chest, shaking her head and saying, "In the past, I only heard that the inner palace struggled fiercely, but today I experienced it personally and realized how terrifying it is. In ordinary families, there are still rituals between wives and concubines, and the favored concubine destroying the wife would be subject to national law, so there is still some dignity. But in this imperial family... the emperor's favoritism is fundamental, and only after giving birth to a prince does one have the confidence. It's no wonder that Hui Fei is so arrogant, having both."

  "She lowered her voice and said, 'But I had previously overestimated Consort Hui. I thought she was not only ugly but also didn't have a high enough status to be able to make a name for herself in the palace. Such a woman must be unfathomable. Who would have thought that she would first deliberately embarrass Empress Dowager in front of everyone, and then put on such an act of pretending to be ill? It's left me speechless.'"

  However, this time it was Empress Pei who intervened in a timely manner to stop the palace maid of Concubine Hui from inviting the Emperor, and instead invited a cooperative imperial physician. Otherwise, although Concubine Hui's plan was straightforward and foolish, it would have been very effective on the Emperor. The Emperor had only just returned the Phoenix Seal to Empress Pei, and who knows what changes might have occurred because of this matter.

  Pei Jingchen shook his head and said, "Ah Xuan, you underestimate Consort Hui."

  His eyes deepened, and he sneered, "The Empress must have guessed that the Emperor would take action against the Lin Nan Wang Fu. However, whether it was the Ding Guo Gong Fu or herself, they were all too deeply involved with the Lin Nan Wang Fu in the past. Even her current status, the Lin Nan Wang Fu must have played a role in it. Now that the Empress Dowager has no children, and the Noble Consort only has the eldest princess, the lower-ranking consorts are not to be feared. She gave birth to the Emperor's only son, and her position is revered. In the future, she will certainly not allow herself to be suspected by the Emperor because of Lin Nan Wang."

  Ming Xuan came back to his senses and asked in surprise, "So everything she did today was intentional?"

  Pei Jingchen nodded, "In the past, when Empress Shu was favored by the Emperor, she would also act arbitrarily and willfully at times. The Emperor did not object to this, showing that he tolerated and enjoyed being pampered by his favorite women throwing small tantrums. Consort Hui understood this point and used it with great skill."

  He paused for a moment, then continued, "I guess the emperor returned the phoenix seal to the empress because he had reached some sort of agreement with his grandfather. In his heart, he still doesn't like the empress, and old habits die hard. As for the crown prince, he has always been a thorn in the emperor's side, a constant reminder that he can't quite forget. The imperial concubine has risen to power over the years by exploiting this weakness of the emperor, and she knows it all too well. That's why she dared to openly defy the empress in front of all the other consorts today - the emperor will never blame her for it."

  Ming Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and she said in a low voice, "The Queen of Hui and the Prince of Lin Nan are too deeply entangled. If she were still as calm and reserved as before, I'm afraid the Emperor would be suspicious that they had reached some kind of agreement between them. Now that she has the eldest son of the Emperor in her hands, if the Prince of Lin Nan were to let the eldest son take the throne, it would be easy for him to control the world by holding the Son of Heaven hostage. So, in order to dispel the Emperor's suspicions, the Queen of Hui will probably continue to act like this from now on... but can she really do that?"

  Pretending to be ill is also like this.

  Even if the emperor knew that Concubine Hui was faking her illness, he probably wouldn't be displeased in the slightest. On the contrary, he would feel reassured. In men's eyes, being arrogant and spoiled is a woman's nature. If she were too calm and composed, that would be seen as having ulterior motives. With such a foolish temperament, even if several royal families saw it, it wouldn't be worth mentioning. No one would dare to speak of this matter, at most they would just secretly criticize her in their hearts. In the future, when her son ascends to the throne, she will become the empress dowager, and those imperial consorts and princesses will still have to pay homage to her.

  Ming Xuan thought that the thoughts of women in this palace were terrifying. She suddenly realized that if Yu Fei hadn't taken her own life, with her simple and strong personality, she probably wouldn't have been happy even if she had lived. The emperor's favor was fleeting, and Shu Fei, who had been favored by the emperor before, died just two months ago, leaving no impression on the emperor's heart. If Yu Fei hadn't died, that little bit of guilt and love would have worn off by now, and they would probably only be left with mutual resentment. For a woman like Yu Fei, who was true to herself, this was more painful than death.

  She was momentarily grief-stricken and didn't know whether she should feel sad or grateful.

  After a brief silence in the carriage, Ming Xuan raised her head, grasped Pei Jingzhen's neck and said seriously, "The emperor has granted you the title of Anping King. According to the rules, there can be one queen, two concubines and four madams, all with titles and ranks recorded in the book. You once promised me that I would be the only one for this life, but times have changed, and I want to ask again, is it still valid?"

  She slightly tilted her small face, with a hint of unease in her eyes, yet a threatening sharpness flickered subtly within.

  Pei Jingxuan gazed at her without speaking, then suddenly buried his head in her neck and chuckled softly. He seemed to be in a good mood, with a hint of abandon and comfort in his laughter. After a long while, he held Ming Xuan's face and said seriously, "There are usually three reasons why men take concubines: beauty, offspring, and reputation. I don't care about beauty; to be arrogant, there aren't many women in the entire Zhou dynasty who surpass me in looks. As for offspring, Ah Xuan, if you're willing to have more children with me, I'd be overjoyed. But if my children weren't born from the same mother, then it's not necessary. There are many fathers in this world who don't raise their own children; what's the point of having many offspring? I don't want to be that kind of person. As for reputation, what is that empty thing? If I cared about it, I wouldn't be like this now."

  Pei Jingxuan leaned down, his eyes so soft they seemed to be dripping with water. "Ah Xuan, my heart is not big enough, it's already full with just you, there's no room for anyone else."

  He paused for a moment, leaned in close to Ming Xuan's ear and said word by word, "To have someone who understands me, to grow old together without ever parting, this is my wish, it will not change for this lifetime."

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