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If he went with Concubine Li today, he would certainly spend the night at her quarters.

He knew this favor also meant that Concubine Li would return to everyone\'s attention and regain her status in the harem.

But as soon as the Xuanwu Emperor thought of how Concubine Zhen had been slapped by her in the past, kneeling until her knees were injured, and later sent to the Cold Palace because of her, his disgust for Concubine Li outweighed his former affection.

In the past, Concubine Zhen had treated him with wholehearted devotion, but he hadn\'t noticed, thinking it was how she should treat him.

Now that Concubine Zhen was angry and no longer paid attention to him, he felt an empty ache in his heart.

He had no interest in the beauties of the harem or affairs of state.

It had been almost two months since he\'d last seen Concubine Zhen.

He didn\'t know how big her belly was now. Was Little Six behaving? Had he kicked his mother? Without him there to tell stories, would Little Six be unhappy?

Concubine Zhen had said last time that when she was further along, the baby\'s movements would be strong, and she would be very scared.

What about now?

As the New Year approached, the child was already over six months along, nearly seven months. Imperial Physician Yan said that judging from Concubine Zhen\'s pulse, there was an 80% chance it was a little prince.

Did it hurt when his Little Six kicked?

Had Concubine Zhen cried alone under the covers at night?

She was so timid; she must have cried.

The Xuanwu Emperor clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back against the chair, sitting in a posture he had never adopted before. After a long while, he opened his eyes.

Those eyes, as deep as whirlpools, looked resolutely at the door, as if making a decision, his fists clenched.

The heavy snow had not stopped, and the gloomy weather made people inexplicably irritable.

Once, she had cursed Wang Dequan as a "dog-faced eunuch slave" and acted willfully as the most favored in the harem. Now, Concubine Li, formerly known as Noble Consort Li, had to smile like a flower at Wang Dequan.

"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Wang."

Concubine Li said to Xia He, "Quickly invite Eunuch Wang in for a seat. Brew a cup of this year\'s new Biluochun tea that the Emperor bestowed, and let Eunuch Wang have a taste."

"Thank you for your kindness, Concubine Li. I appreciate the gesture," Wang Dequan said with a smile, waving his hand. "I won\'t have the tea. I need to have a word with Consort Jiang, and then hurry back to Chengqian Palace as there\'s no one attending to the Emperor."

With that, he bowed and retreated.

Xia He flicked her handkerchief and rolled her eyes. "That stinking dog who relies on his master\'s power. My lady honored him by offering tea, and he puts on airs. It\'s true that a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs. There will come a day when he falls into our hands."

As she spoke, she was about to pull off Wang Dequan\'s cloak and throw it away. After tugging a couple of times without success, she looked up at Concubine Li in surprise. "My lady?"

Concubine Li\'s fingers gripping the cloak were so tight that her veins showed, indicating how much force she was using.

Her eyes were red-rimmed as she struggled not to let her tears fall. Anger and hatred filled her entire chest. "Xia He, times have changed. I am no longer the once-powerful Noble Consort Li. One word difference, yet it\'s like a chasm between heaven and earth. My grandfather is gone, and my father at home relies on me to survive. I can no longer be willful like before; I must learn to bow to reality."

What was wrong with wearing a dog\'s clothes?

If she had a day to put them on, she would have a day to take them off.

When Wang Dequan came out of Consort Jiang\'s main hall, he could still see Concubine Li standing at the door seeing him off.

He felt neither proud nor arrogant, only a chill all over his body, as if he had been targeted by a venomous snake. He couldn\'t help but quicken his pace.

It was evident that Concubine Li was truly different from the Concubine Li of the past.

In the palace, it\'s not the openly arrogant and domineering people who are scary, but the smiling tigers who kill without blinking an eye.

Jiang Xinyue had also heard about what happened at the gate of her palace. Xi Que and Shuang Jiang were describing it vividly!

"Concubine Li has really lost face this time. Tomorrow when she goes to pay respects to the Empress, who knows how the others will laugh at her."

"Those who are pitiful must have done something detestable. Back then, she schemed against our lady like that, and now it\'s her turn to play the victim."

"But then again, the Emperor had favored Concubine Li for over a decade. How could he stop loving her so suddenly? For women in the harem, especially those who have fallen from grace like Concubine Li, how are they supposed to live without the Emperor\'s favor?"

Xi Que wasn\'t feeling sorry for Concubine Li. After what she had done to her mistress, this was karma she deserved.

She was just moved to comment because of Concubine Li\'s situation.

Yesterday\'s Noble Consort Li is today\'s Concubine Li, so who will today\'s Concubine Li be in the future?

"You\'d better stop talking," Shuang Jiang said, observing Jiang Xinyue\'s somewhat dazed expression. She pulled Xi Que out of the room. "Are you stupid? Our lady is sensitive now that she\'s pregnant. Saying those things to her, aren\'t you just making her overthink? Imperial Physician Yan said that in late pregnancy, it\'s most important to avoid anxiety and worry, as it can easily lead to premature birth."

Xi Que slapped her own mouth. "I didn\'t mean to. I just thought the Emperor was too... too..."

Too fickle.

Would he one day treat their lady the same way?

"It\'s not your place to comment," Shuang Jiang scolded her seriously. "There are spies from other palaces in Hexi Palace. If your words reach the Emperor\'s ears, it could cost you your head, and might even implicate our lady. In the future, put a lock on your mouth and don\'t blurt out everything."

Not only were there spies from other concubines\' palaces, but there was also Nanny Li, who was the Emperor\'s person.

"My lady..." Nanny Xiang was about to comfort the silently grieving Concubine Zhen when she saw a sudden light in her previously vacant eyes.

"Xi Que, Shuang Jiang, go to the imperial kitchen and tell Chief Steward Gao that I want to prepare my own lunch today... Huh?" She looked around, her beautiful big eyes full of confusion. "Nanny Xiang, where are Xi Que and the others? Strange, they were just here. I only thought about a dish for a moment, how did they disappear?"

Nanny Xiang: My native language is speechlessness.

So Xi Que and Shuang Jiang had been talking here for half the day, thinking they had made her sad, but she hadn\'t heard a word. That pretty little head of hers was always thinking about how to make delicious food.

Earlier, when her eyes were vacant and she looked sad and heartbroken, she was actually thinking about recipes.

Her sadness and heartbreak were because the cooking utensils of the Great Yan Dynasty were limited, and the hotpot she could make might not be as delicious as in her previous life.

But in autumn, Jiang Xinyue had already asked Chief Steward Gao to make two copper pots, thinking about eating hotpot in winter.

It was better than nothing!