“Your Grace, is it appropriate? It is not right to let so many people into the palace without His Majesty’s permission.” Lengmei’s maid looked at Lengmei worriedly and gave a glance at the garish female role on the stage.

“What? Can’t I do such trifle thing?” Lengmei wore a cold look immediately and snorted, putting her cup down with a thump.

“Please don’t be angry, Your Grace. Take care of yourself.” The maid flung herself down beside Lengmei’s feet with cold sweat on her forehead. “I just did it for your own good. After all, it is you who let those unidentified people in the palace. If something happens, you are to blame.”

As Lengmei propped up her head with her elbow idly, she heaved a sigh slowly. Then she helped the maid up and sighed with deep feeling, “Alright, alright. I understand that you are loyal to me. I have my own logic by doing so. As a qualified maid, you just need to listen and watch silently. Do you understand?”

The maid lowered her head and said obediently with her palms full of sweat, “Yes, Your Grace.”

“Ok, watch the show.”

Lengmei was quite in watching the show on the stage as she imitated their singing wagging her head.

“The Empress has arrived.” The eunuch drew out the whole sentence, which interrupted the noise like a rock causing a great storm.

All the people knelt on the ground shouting ‘May the empress live a thousand years’.

At this point, Lengmei could be regarded as a big frog in a small pond—she stood up slowly, making her the only person who was standing up while everyone else was kneeling on the ground.

Lengmei bent her legs quite perfunctorily and said in a voice dripping with sarcasm, “Phew, why are you here, Your Grace? I didn’t ask you here.”

“I surely know that. But the theatrical troupe came into the palace without letting me know, I come to check it out.” Tang Xia waved to let everyone rise. Then she let someone bring her a chair and put it by the side of Lengmei. And then she sat down gently.

“There is no need for you to check it out. Humph, why should I tell you? Can’t I do such trifle thing?” Lengmei sat down and looked at Tang Xia with a poker face.

“I’m not sure about that. Don’t forget that I’m the empress of this country.” Tang Xia said, wagging her head with the music from the stage.

“It is His Majesty who entitled you as the Empress. He can withdraw at any time. What do you have to be happy about?” Lengmei said with a disdainful look.

“Right, it is His Majesty who entitled me. But he entitled ‘me’ as the Empress. What can I do? As able men are always busy, I should get busy.” Tang Xia’s big eyes blinked with joyfulness.

“…Are you coming here to show off?”

“Yep, you are right.”

“…” Lengmei clenched her hands tightly and ground her teeth firmly to refrain from overreaction.

“Ah, are you trying to frame me again?” Lengmei said, raising her cold voice suddenly.

There was silence in a twinkling…

“Hm? Look pregnant? What do you mean? It is you who are pregnant. You will look pregnant over a period of time, I cannot help you with that. So ask the imperial physician whatever you don’t understand so as to avoid being laughed by others.”

Tang Xia looked at Lengmei confusedly and took a cup of scented tea for her, “Come on, take a sip of it. You are so restless with anxiety that you are muddled.”

“Humph, don’t put on an act. You know what I’m talking about.” Lengmei pushed the cup of tea away.

Tang Xia clicked her tongue and scratched her hair helplessly. Then she crooked her finger toward Lengmei with her eyebrows knitted, “We both know what the truth is. As we are six of one and half a dozen of the other, why should you censure me?”

“Ha! How can’t I claim justice for myself as you are despicable? Tang Xia, how shameless you are!”

“Ha-ha, you are much more despicable than me.” Tang Xia turned away watching the show on the stage and turned back looking at Lengmei sympathetically, “Sorry, I was wrong.”

Lengmei became speechless and looked at Tang Xia in horror, “What game are you playing?”

“No, I’m serious. Look at you. You are pregnant without your husband by your side. What you can only do is to enjoy the traditional opera. Listen to what they are singing. How can you call them the top-level theatrical troupe? I cannot hear it anymore. Alas! I feel sorry for you.”

Tang Xia stretched out her arm and tapped on the back of Lengmei’s hand kindly with her hand.

“You!” Lengmei was so angry that she could not even breathe.

“Alas, calm down. I know that I say out what you are thinking about and you are very upset. However, truth is what it is. You need to nerve yourself to face up to it!” Tang Xia looked at Lengmei sympathetically with a gesture that could cheer Lengmei up.

“Breathe in, breathe out…”

“I should be patient…”

Lengmei ground her teeth tightly and looked at Tang Xia as virulently as the sharp knife. After a long time, she wore a smile, “Don’t worry, I’m not upset. Although His Majesty does not love me, at least I am pregnant with his child.”

“We used to have romantic hours and be deeply attached to each other. We embraced as we whispered to each other. And we also had joyful nights…”

“He acclaimed me as the most beautiful woman in the world who owned the skin as fair as the mutton-fat jade. And I was just like the Snow Lotus in his eyes…”

“He promised to let me have his kid. As expected, he fit his deeds to his words!”

Lengmei stroked on her belly with the glory of motherhood.

“Alas, I feel sorry for you! Although he says he loves you, he is reluctant to give you a child…” Lengmei sighed and looked at Tang Xia sympathetically, “At least I’m pregnant, you have no child at all.”

Tang Xia’s smile froze as she wore a colder and colder look. But Tang Xia wore a smile in a flash, “Child? Let it be. As long as he loves me and spoils me, God has destined fate after all.”

As Tang Xia was hurt by Lengmei’s words, she pretended to act that everything was fine, actually, she felt quite upset.

“Hm? Really? Aren’t you trying to be brave?” Lengmei looked at Tang Xia’s eyes with interest.

“Of course.” Tang Xia wore a quite sweet smile. Suddenly, her look altered as she slapped against the table and shouted, “Concubine Lengmei! Confess yourself!”

There was only silence suddenly as everyone looked at Tang Xia and Lengmei.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. Please tell me, Your Grace.” Lengmei looked at Tang Xia confusedly in the wildest dismay.

“Did you imagine what would happen that you let so many unidentified people in the palace without His Majesty or my permission?”

“I’m wronged, Your Grace. As this theatrical troupe owns a good reputation for a hundred of years, they are identified. Besides, going out of my palace is expressly prohibited and punished. And they have behaved well…”

“Humph! Are there the words ‘I’m bad’ written on the forehead of the bad guys? Don’t make excuses for your arbitrary behaviors.” Tang Xia swept the cup down to the ground.

As the hot scented tea splashed by Lengmei’s feet, she dodged in the wildest dismay with her eyes darting all around fearfully as if she was as innocent as a rabbit.

“Your Grace…”

“Shut up!” Tang Xia raised her head arrogantly, “The evidence is certain, do you still want to deny it?”

Tang Xia suppressed Lengmei unscrupulously, putting on airs.

Lengmei trembled with tears in her eyes, not fighting back against Tang Xia.

“Right, the decree of the Empress is to the imperial concubines is what imperial edict of His Majesty to them. How dare you not to obey Her Grace’s order!” The snobbish old maid boosted the morale of Tang Xia as she found the situation had changed and started to suck up to Tang Xia.

Besides, Chu Tiankuo had treated Lengmei with indifference for days, so those ‘fence sitters’ were loyal to other masters and people in the palace had belittled Lengmei down to the ground.

After that, Lengmei’s official salary was embezzled. However, Lengmei just grinned and bore it…

“Lyuyou, what do you think she is going to do? I don’t believe that she will sit under these unfair treatments.” Tang Xia rested her chin on her hand, looking at Lyuyou who was doing embroidery.

“Is there anything wrong, Your Grace?”

“Yep, I know her. Lengmei is a keen and cruel woman who will never let herself wronged.”

“Right! She must pretend to be poor so that she can gain sympathy from others. As a result, we are the bad guys. Alas! How detestable she is!” Lyuyou understood what Tang Xia meant immediately.

“Right! It seems that everyone thinks that I am abusing her!”

“…Definitely. But we don’t need to be afraid of that. As long as His Majesty favors you, why should we care what others think of us?”

“Humph! What does it have to do with him?” Tang Xia rolled her eyes at Lyuyou and blushed at herself.

Lyuyou laughed happily and reminded Tang Xia, “Don’t forget that Zui Linglong is still in the palace, Your Grace. She is a tough woman. Besides, a barking dog never bites, she seems to be too quiet these days.”

“I see, alas, I just don’t know what tricks Lengmei is going to play.” Tang Xia pouted frustratedly.

“That’s ok. We can take measures according to the actual situation. As long as His Majesty favors you, we can be safe and sound no matter what conspiracy we are faced with.”

“Humph! Stupid girl, you don’t understand!” Tang Xia said, looking afar blearily, “The imperial harem is just like the royal court that things change quickly. You will never know what will happen the next moment.”

“Your Grace…” Lyuyou said anxiously.

“Forget it. Sell off those awards by His Majesty to relieve the people in disaster! It is good to do benevolence for a good reputation!”