Mrs. Gao then went to see the Duchess of Duke Zhen’s Mansion, and they hit it off. That very day, Wei Yundai became the sworn sister of Empress Nianxi and entered the palace under the guise of a family visit.

The alliance signal sent by the two prominent duke mansions quickly spread, causing quite a stir in the court.

However, both Duke Wei and Duke Zhen insisted that this was a private meeting between women, unrelated to them.

Li Qingmu knew they were trying to gloss over the truth, to fool him, but everything needed evidence. He was the Emperor, yet he couldn’t just arrest people without proof!

Otherwise, those ministers would certainly have a lot to say.

Li Qingmu was very annoyed by such matters, which is why he truly didn’t wish to be the Emperor.

As for the harem, since they were not allowed to interfere in state affairs, no one dared discuss the issue openly, and at most, a few whispers were exchanged in secret.

"Your Highness, there’s trouble now. Miss Wei has entered the palace and is living over by Kunyue Palace. Because she’s a bit younger than the Empress, she keeps calling ’sister’ this and ’sister’ that all day long. Tell me, aren’t they joining forces to go against you?"

Yu Zhu spoke in a flurry, inwardly panicking.

She was truly worried about this situation unfolding. After all, they were dealing with the Empress, who had such great backing. How could her master possibly contend with that?

It seemed now that Long Yue had a slight advantage since she was carrying the Dragon Son, but if it came to a real conflict, they could be destroyed in minutes!

"Foolish servant, what are you thinking? The Empress is dignified and generous, caring for the bigger picture. How could she possibly harm me? Don’t talk nonsense!"

"Ma... Ma’am?"

Yu Zhu was stunned, thinking Long Yue had changed somehow. How could she praise the Empress as virtuous?

That Empress had often given her mistress trouble in the past, though it was always subtle and not obvious. But it was precisely that subtlety that was most troubling.

These insidious methods were truly hard to defend against.

"Enough, stop it. Instead of chatting about these pointless matters all day, why not do some real work? Look at Liu Xiang, much more obedient than you!"

Yu Zhu pouted discontentedly, glancing at the dutiful Liu Xiang nearby.

Ha, dutiful?

In her eyes, dutifulness equated to stupidity!

People need to be flexible; only flexibility can lead to a future.

Living life monotonously day after day was so dull and boring, wasn’t it?

Yu Zhu thought that her involvement in these things was absolutely right, but her mistress just had to chide her, which made her very unhappy.

But what could she do? She had to obey her mistress’s orders after all!

Yu Zhu apologized for her mistakes and left.

Once outside, she grumbled unhappily, "What’s with the attitude, really? I don’t understand, why does a favored concubine have to be so cautious, no different from a servant? This so-called Ming Fei, in my opinion, is just a coward! Honestly, she doesn’t dare offend the Empress and ends up scolding me, a maid? I... I’ve had enough!"

Yu Zhu fumed as she walked out of the palace, her eyes suddenly darting as she remembered Lady Jinfu, who was still in the Cold Palace. Perhaps... she should pay her a visit and humiliate that Lady Jinfu a little, just to regain some face?

Lady Jinfu, Lady Jinfu, she was once the Emperor’s woman, and being able to humiliate her feels... incredibly satisfying!

With this thought, Yu Zhu cheered up and headed towards the Cold Palace.

The Cold Palace, desolate and eerie, felt utterly forlorn.

This place was truly cold and cramped to the extreme, almost devoid of any visitors. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds and dead leaves, with a thick layer of dust accumulated on the ground, and even the branches were covered with cobwebs.

"Tsk tsk, how long has it been since someone came to clean this place? So dirty, so dirty! Oh dear, even in my worst days, I’d never lived in such a dreadful courtyard. Is this a place fit for humans? Ah... and there’s a dead rat here, ew—"

Yu Zhu exaggerated her gestures as she walked through the courtyard, arriving at the palace gate, and peered inside.

It was pitch black inside, with no sign of movement.

"Coo coo..."

A cuckoo flew over from the side, landed on the ground, cocked its head, walked a circle, then took off again.

Yu Zhu was a maid and had seen some dirtiness before, but recently, she had become accustomed to comfort and could no longer tolerate such things.

She flapped her arms, feeling it was bad luck.

"Is anyone here? Anyone? I’m coming in now?"

Yu Zhu never imagined she had the nerve to come to the Cold Palace alone, yet she opened the door and entered.

What if there were ghosts inside? After all, many concubines had died here, and their spirits might linger.

Yet, she had already pushed open the door.

"Creak!"

The door frame and floor made creaking sounds as Yu Zhu walked in.

The light in the Cold Palace wasn’t very good. Yu Zhu squinted subconsciously, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a disheveled woman lying on the bed, seemingly asleep.

This woman was naturally Lady Jinfu.

But how could Lady Jinfu not respond despite her entry making noise?

Oh, could it be she’s about to...

This thought suddenly emerged, and Yu Zhu didn’t quite know how she felt.

Initially intending to humiliate Lady Jinfu to assert her presence, now that the person seemed on the brink, what should she do?

Never mind, better call someone for help. At least, she shouldn’t die here, it’s too unlucky, right?

This Cold Palace, who knows how many wronged spirits haunt it. Staying here for a few days could drive people insane.

Yu Zhu thought herself too kind-hearted.

Sigh, seeing others worse off tends to make one feel better, and she wanted to offer a little help?

Yu Zhu took a step closer to the woman lying there.

"Lady Jinfu... Lady Jinfu?"

She attempted to call out, to probe the situation.

However, just as she leaned closer to shout louder, the motionless Lady Jinfu suddenly leapt up and grabbed her by the throat!

"Ugh, ugh... ah..."

Yu Zhu struggled desperately, trying to escape her grip, even wanting to use both her hands and feet!

However, it was futile!

The other party had the advantage, and Yu Zhu was caught off guard. Additionally, her current position made it hard to exert force.

In this way, Yu Zhu was choked until she gradually lost breath and heartbeat, becoming a cold corpse.

"Bang!"

Yu Zhu collapsed beside the bed.

The one who choked Yu Zhu to death was naturally Zhi Jin.

Zhi Jin raised her head, her face twisted with rage, staring at a shadow in the Cold Palace: "She’s dead, she’s dead! Next, what do you want me to do?"

"Simple, impersonate her, then just do what you’re supposed to do. Remember, when you go serve Ming Fei, don’t let her become suspicious!"

Zhi Jin’s head snapped up as she glared at the shadow, screaming: "It’s so close, shouldn’t I just kill her? Why should I serve her, why wait? Why?"

"Because you want revenge! Do you want to kill them all at once, or slowly torture them? Choose for yourself!"

Naturally, Zhi Jin wanted Long Yue to suffer a fate worse than death!

She was now eager to see Long Yue meet a miserable end!

But Long Yue was alive and kicking!

This made her even angrier!

So she said, "The second option! I want to slowly torture her, making her suffer the world’s pains, only then can my heart’s hatred be relieved!"