After this, it was already getting late.

The crowd watching the lanterns gradually dispersed, and the roads became clearer. Before long, the carriage passed through the palace gates.

Yanshu had thoroughly enjoyed eating melons tonight. Just as they were about to disembark, she tentatively asked Yuwen Lan, "Does Your Majesty intend to inform the Eldest Princess about this matter?"

Tsk tsk, if he told her, there would surely be a great battle! She'd better prepare in advance to eat melons, hehe.

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Always looking for drama.

But he had much more to consider.

So he simply said, "Let them investigate thoroughly first. The Eldest Princess is impulsive. If we rashly let her know, I'm afraid there will be bloodshed."

Yanshu nodded, "That's for the best."

— She actually knew that although the Eldest Princess and the Emperor were siblings, their relationship was ordinary. The Eldest Princess only viewed her brother as a tool to maintain her wealth and status.

Otherwise, how could she have joined with a group of officials to force the Emperor to punish her before the ice games banquet?

So this was for the best. After all, they were the first to know about this matter, and they held the initiative.

Yuwen Lan, who had been quietly listening, felt his heart stir.

— She used "they"?

This was the first time in his life someone had referred to them in this way. It gave him a special feeling.

Just then, they arrived at Ganlu Palace, and the carriage came to a stop.

Yanshu said to him, "Your humble consort will retire first."

She was about to get off the carriage.

Yuwen Lan instinctively held her back.

Yanshu asked curiously, "Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"

Yuwen Lan thought for a moment. He felt like he had something else to say, but couldn't remember what it was.

After a moment, he could only say, "It's getting late. Go back and rest early."

Ahem, in any case, don't think about those messy things anymore.

Like novices and such...

Yanshu didn't understand, but simply replied, "Yes."

In her heart, however, she giggled, [Tonight was so exciting, I must hurry and ponder writing a story about it. I've even thought of a title: "The Two-Faced Scholar Dies Under the Flowers".]

Yuwen Lan: "???"

But before he could say anything, she had already gotten off the carriage and entered Ganlu Palace.

With the Lantern Festival over, the New Year celebrations were considered complete.

Early the next morning, Consort An took up her new post, assisting with the affairs of the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Having finally gained the favor of the Empress Dowager, Consort An naturally didn't dare to slack off. She spent the entire morning reviewing warehouse records and ledgers.

As noon approached, Zhang Laifu, the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, came to Lanlin Hall to report to her, "Reporting to Your Highness, as the weather is turning warmer, the silk and fabrics ordered by the Weaving Bureau from Jinling City should arrive in about half a month. We've tentatively set the third day of the second month for taking measurements for new clothes for all the masters. I wonder if this meets with Your Highness's approval?"

Consort An nodded and said, "This is similar to previous years, it's suitable. Remember to measure the Empress Dowager first, and also send the fabric samples to the Palace of Benevolent Peace for the Empress Dowager's approval."

Zhang Laifu quickly agreed, "Your Highness is so thoughtful. This servant will certainly remember."

Consort An handed over the few ledgers she had just finished reviewing and smiled, "Since Manager Zhang took charge of the Internal Affairs Bureau, everything has been running smoothly. His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have had much less to worry about."

Everyone likes a kind master. Zhang Laifu quickly smiled and said, "Your Highness is too kind. It's just what we should do."

Consort An smiled and nodded, but suddenly asked, "By the way, I noticed that recently, the palace has been ordering more letter paper, ink, and brushes than usual?"

"That's correct."

Zhang Laifu hurriedly explained, "Actually, the other masters' orders are the same as before. Recently, it's mainly Ganlu Palace's Consort Yi who has been requesting more letter paper. I heard that Consort Yi has taken up calligraphy practice lately. However, this was all approved by His Majesty, and the funds were specially allocated by him."

"I see."

Consort An nodded and didn't ask anything further. She simply smiled and said, "I have nothing else here. Manager Zhang should go rest as well."

Zhang Laifu quickly agreed and took his leave.

With no outsiders in the room, there was no need to be so cautious. Liu Di, her personal maid, said, "His Majesty goes to Ganlu Palace every day, how does Consort Yi have time to practice calligraphy?"

Consort An, however, said, "She's requesting letter paper, which doesn't seem like it's for calligraphy practice."

— People who have studied know that letter paper is suitable for writing small regular script, usually used for writing letters or documents. Calligraphy practice mostly uses xuan paper.

Consort An pondered carefully. Consort Yi using letter paper, could she be corresponding with someone?

But that didn't seem likely either.

With her background, who would she correspond with besides her poor rural family?

Moreover, her family members were already on their way and about to arrive in the capital soon. She wouldn't need to write so many letters, would she?

Could it be... that she was writing some kind of manuscript?

Consort An thought this was unlikely too — given Li Yanshu's humble background, it was already impressive that she could read and write. How could she possibly be writing a manuscript?

Unable to figure it out, Consort An thought for a moment and simply summoned the young eunuch Shuang Xi from her palace.

...

Meanwhile, Yanshu, who was enthusiastically writing her new story, suddenly received a message from the system, [Heads up, someone is preparing to go through your trash.]

Yanshu was full of question marks, [What does that mean? What do you mean by going through my trash?]

The system replied, [Because someone has noticed that you've been using a lot of letter paper recently, so they're trying to find out what you're using it for.]

Yanshu: "..."

Although this was a roundabout way of saying it, after thinking for a moment, she understood.

Who would be constantly pondering her activities?

It must be someone from the harem.

Who would notice that she's been using a lot of letter paper?

That would most likely be the newly appointed assistant of the Internal Affairs Bureau, Consort An.

Moreover, with Consort Zhou and Consort Ning's level of intelligence, even if they noticed she was using a lot of letter paper, they probably wouldn't think of going through her trash to spy on her.

So it could only be Consort An.

Tsk, Yanshu sighed. This one was indeed quite clever, but why did she have to be at odds with her?

Of course, no matter how clever she was, this tactic wouldn't work.

— To avoid others discovering that she was writing stories, Yanshu always threw her drafts and waste paper directly into the brazier to burn, never throwing them out.

However...

Considering how much effort the other party was putting in, she could leave some bait.

Yanshu raised an eyebrow and smirked to herself. First, she set aside the "The Two-Faced Scholar Dies Under the Flowers" that she was currently writing, and began writing on a new sheet of letter paper...

Shuang Xi waited for three full days before finally getting hold of the discarded letter paper from Ganlu Palace.

After the people from Ganlu Palace left, he immediately ran back to Lanlin Hall with the discarded items.

"Your Highness, these are all thrown out from Ganlu Palace. Please take a look."

Consort An immediately looked. She saw that the bag was full of waste paper, some crumpled into balls, some torn into pieces.

She immediately called her personal maids to help.

Some unfolded the papers, some pieced them together. It took nearly half a day's effort.

Consort An then discovered that most of the waste paper was just random scribbles, unrecognizable.

However, fortunately, there was one sheet with some text on it. Although messy, it was barely legible.

Consort An hurriedly read it herself and saw that it seemed to be a story.

It was roughly about a high-ranking court official who appeared proper on the surface, full of talk about propriety and integrity, but was actually lecherous and vulgar. Despite his advanced age, he still took advantage of the maids in his household. Later, someone learned of his predilection and sent him many young and beautiful women to curry favor...

Reading to this point, Consort An suddenly froze.

Advanced age, sending concubines...

Could this, could this be talking about her grandfather?

That Li Yanshu! How dare she fabricate such stories about her family!

Consort An angrily read on, only to see that she had written that the old man actually had an even bigger secret. Taking advantage of his son's poor health, he had been carrying on with his daughter-in-law for many years...

Consort An paused.

What, what is this???

Her second uncle indeed had poor health. Was Li Yanshu implying that her grandfather and her second aunt...

That vile woman Li Yanshu!!!

How dare she slander her family like this!

However, the story wasn't over yet. She tried to read on and saw that it was written — The old man originally had two sons. Although the elder son's family was more accomplished, because of his improper relationship with the second daughter-in-law, he always favored the second branch of the family, causing great dissatisfaction in the first branch.

Consort An was stunned again.

Although angry, she had to admit that there was some truth in this.

Since she was young, she had noticed that her grandfather always showed particular favor to the second branch of the family. For example, whenever he got some rare items, he would always secretly give them to her cousin from the second branch first, while she and her brother never received anything...

If there was any unpleasantness between her mother and her second aunt, her grandfather would always tell her mother to be forbearing, saying that as the elder sister-in-law, she should be more broad-minded...

Reflecting on this, Consort An still felt resentful.

But how did this Yanshu know about her family situation?

She was just a country girl, how could she possibly know any important officials in the capital to find out about affairs in the Minister of Rites' residence?

Consort An thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to Liu Di and asked, "Have you been gossiping about me to outsiders?"

Liu Di was startled and quickly shook her head, "My lady, how could that be possible? I'm with you all day, how could I go out and gossip about you, and to whom?"

Of course, Consort An knew this was true.

Liu Di had grown up with her since childhood and was the most honest person she knew. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought her into the palace.

But if it wasn't Liu Di, how did Yanshu know about her family matters?

Could it just be a coincidence that she made it up?

Liu Di didn't know what had happened, but seeing her mistress frowning deeply in thought, she became very nervous and had to ask, "My lady, has something happened?"

Consort An suddenly instructed her, "Tell Shuang Xi to keep watching, and if there's any more waste paper, bring it back."

Liu Di had to quickly agree and went out to find someone.

But Consort An still felt something was off.

What was going on with this Yanshu?

Why was she fabricating stories about her family at the Minister of Rites' residence? What was she trying to do?

Meanwhile, in Ganlu Palace, Yanshu, who had just learned the whole story, shrugged her shoulders—

Sorry, but she'd only drop this little bit of gossip once. Next time it might be a bombshell.

But it was still too early for that. For now, let Consort An squirm like an ant on a hot pan.

Yanshu unconsciously started humming a tune, planning to continue writing her novel.

However, at that moment, Fu Hai entered the hall and reported to her, "This servant has come to inform the Imperial Consort that the Marquis of Loyal Righteousness, along with the Madam, Old Madam, and young master have just arrived in the capital."

Yanshu was stunned for a moment before realizing he was talking about her father, mother, grandmother, and brother.

Right! On the night of the Lantern Festival, the Emperor had bestowed the title of Marquis of Loyal Righteousness on her father in front of everyone. It must be them!

So that meant her parents had arrived in the capital?!

Yanshu suddenly became excited, "Really? When did they arrive?"

Fu Hai quickly answered, "They arrived this morning. His Majesty arranged for people to receive them. Right now, the Marquis and his family are settling into their residence. His Majesty's intention is to let them rest for a while, and then arrange for you to meet with the Old Madam and Madam tomorrow."

"Good, good, good."

Yanshu happily agreed, then said, "I'll prepare some silver later. Chief Steward Fu, could you find someone to help me send it to my parents?"

— Although they now had a house and land, the whole family had just arrived and would inevitably need to take care of various matters and add some things.

She knew her family's situation best. Whenever there was extra money, her father liked to help others, so she guessed they probably didn't have much money on hand.

But Fu Hai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Imperial Consort. His Majesty has already sent someone to deliver money."

What?

Yanshu was stunned. The Emperor had sent money to her parents?

Was he really so considerate?

So she hurriedly said, "Then please convey my thanks to His Majesty on my behalf."

She then called Rendong to bring some silver pieces and handed them to Fu Hai, saying, "Thank you for coming to deliver the message, Chief Steward. Please take this for some tea."

Fu Hai happily accepted, "Thank you for your kindness, Imperial Consort."

Then he took his leave.

Thus, Yanshu waited contentedly to meet her family.

The next morning, as promised, the Emperor sent people to bring Yanshu's grandmother, Old Lady Li, and her mother, Ms. Zhu, into the palace.

Having not seen her family for three years, heaven knows how excited Yanshu was. She got up early and asked Rendong and the others to clean the courtyard and tidy up the palace hall, and also prepared some snacks and fruits.

Finally, when Xiao Dongzi led them into the hall, as soon as she saw her mother and grandmother, Yanshu immediately rushed over to them.

"Grandmother, Mother!"

Separated for three years, the grandmother, mother, and daughter couldn't help but burst into tears.

Rendong, watching from the side, also started tearing up.

However, as they were still in the palace, after a brief cry, Old Lady Li said, "This is a joyous occasion, let's stop crying, lest others see and say something."

Yanshu quickly wiped her tears and asked, "Was your journey smooth? Was it tiring?"

Her mother, Ms. Zhu, also wiped her tears and said, "It wasn't too tiring. We had plenty to eat and drink along the way, and the weather was good. Everything went quite smoothly."

As she spoke, she carefully examined her daughter, checking to see if her precious child had suffered or grown thin from hunger.

However, after looking for a while, Ms. Zhu discovered that her daughter hadn't lost weight at all. In fact, she seemed to have become a bit rounder, her skin was fair and glowing, and she looked even more beautiful than when she was at home.

Ms. Zhu nodded and sighed, "It seems the palace really does nurture people!"

It was good. Her daughter hadn't suffered, which put her mother's heart at ease.

As soon as she finished speaking, Old Lady Li quickly urged her daughter-in-law, "Hurry and take out the things, before we forget."

Ms. Zhu quickly complied, taking out several cloth bags from the bundle she had brought with her. Peeling back layer after layer, she finally revealed the treasures inside.

They turned out to be plump, white steamed buns and golden pan-fried flatbreads.

Yanshu's eyes lit up as she saw her mother smile and say, "These were all made just this morning. They're still warm. Quick, try them."

Before she finished speaking, Yanshu had already stuffed a bun into her mouth.

Mmm, a large steamed bun filled with chives, vermicelli noodles, and the perfect touch of pork crackling in the center. The bun skin was soft yet chewy – it was indeed her mother's flavor.

After finishing the fist-sized bun in a few bites, she picked up a flatbread. One bite filled her mouth with the fragrance of scallions and wheat, along with the unique rich aroma of peanut oil. It was truly satisfying!

Her mother smiled beside her, "You've become an Imperial Consort now, but you're still the same as before."

Yanshu also smiled and said, "No matter what I've become, I'm still your daughter."

She then asked, "How's the new residence? How are you all settling in?"

"It's wonderful," Old Lady Li immediately nodded. "It's a large compound with five courtyards, and even includes a garden. It's spacious and beautiful, absolutely stunning! We each have our own courtyard and there's still room to spare. His Majesty's grace is truly boundless!"

Yanshu also smiled and said, "Then keep one courtyard vacant for when Tian Rui takes a wife in the future."

She then asked, "How is Father's new position? How is Tian Rui?"

Ms. Zhu quickly replied, "This morning we came to the palace together. Your father took Tian Rui to pay respects to His Majesty, so we don't know about the position yet. Qingzhou Academy has written a letter of recommendation for Tian Rui, and he's planning to report to Songhe Academy in the capital tomorrow."

Yanshu's eyes lit up, and she said, "That's great, he needs to hurry. If there's enough time, he might even be able to take this year's annual examination. If he does well in the annual exam, he might be able to enter the Imperial Academy."

She still remembered that the Emperor had mentioned reducing the number of first-round admissions to the Imperial Academy this year, shifting them to the second and third rounds.

Her family wasn't considered nobility, but her brother was a good student and could potentially enter the Imperial Academy through examinations.

However, Ms. Zhu said, "We don't dare to think that far. It's good enough if he can study well."

"That's true," Yanshu smiled. "Even if he can't enter the Imperial Academy, brother is intelligent and talented. He'll surely be able to pass the imperial examinations in the future."

Ms. Zhu and Old Lady Li both smiled and agreed.

The palace rules were strict, and although they were allowed to meet today, Ms. Zhu and Old Lady Li couldn't stay for too long. After chatting with Yanshu for a while, they bid farewell and left the palace.

As they were leaving the palace and getting into their carriage, another carriage had just arrived at the palace gates.

When the carriage stopped, a person alighted – it was Lady Tian, Consort An's mother.

Ever since seeing that piece of "waste paper" thrown out from Ganlu Palace, Consort An had been anxious. She had endured for several days, and finally, taking advantage of the opportunity when Yanshu's family entered the palace, she had made great efforts in front of the Empress Dowager to obtain permission for her mother to enter the palace for a visit.

Time was limited. As soon as Lady Tian entered the palace gates, she headed straight for her daughter's Lanlin Hall.

When the two met, Consort An immediately dismissed all unnecessary personnel and asked Lady Tian, "Mother, how have things been at home lately?"

— She actually wanted to probe her mother to see if the matters mentioned on the waste paper were true.

However, after pondering for a long time, she still couldn't bring herself to ask directly, so she could only ask in this roundabout way.

Lady Tian replied, "Don't even mention it. The second branch of the family has been causing trouble again these past couple of days."

Consort An's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, "What happened?"

Lady Tian sighed, "The Imperial Academy is recruiting new students, and your second aunt planned to send her son Chang there. Who knew that this year the number of spots would be reduced and the exam would be stricter? Chang has been spoiled by her, how could he be up to the task? So he was eliminated in the first round. Your second aunt wanted your grandfather to pull some strings to get Chang into the Imperial Academy."

Upon hearing about her grandfather and second aunt, Consort An felt a pang in her heart and quickly asked, "Did grandfather agree?"

Lady Tian gave a mocking smile, "Your grandfather can't even attend court these days, how could he refuse her? Unexpectedly, she then went to your father, wanting him to help."

Consort An immediately frowned, "With the recent imperial edict, the court is extremely strict now. If father really helped her do such a thing, it would be disastrous if discovered later!"

Lady Tian nodded hurriedly, "Exactly. Your father naturally didn't dare agree, but who would have thought she even wanted to come find you. When she learned I was entering the palace, she insisted on coming along."

Consort An angrily said, "Don't let her come under any circumstances! I've finally gained the Empress Dowager's trust, how could I let her come and cause trouble?"

Lady Tian quickly said, "I understand, don't worry. That Chang of hers is ignorant and unlearned all day long. It would be a miracle if he could enter the Imperial Academy. Let's look to our Qi next year instead. If your grandfather helps her this time but doesn't help our Qi next year, I'll go make a fuss too!"

Qi was Consort An's younger brother, a year younger than her second aunt's son Chang, and would be ready to enter the Imperial Academy next year as well.

Consort An made a noncommittal sound, her thoughts still on that matter—

Given grandfather's current situation, would he really help Chang?

If he did help, wouldn't that mean he and second aunt...

Just then, she heard Lady Tian suddenly lower her voice and say, "By the way, I heard a few days ago that His Majesty bestowed that golden bowl from Tibet's tribute to Consort Yi. Do you know about this?"

"Golden bowl?" Consort An paused.

That golden bowl was part of Tibet's tribute to the emperor when seeking peace. It was made of pure gold with red and blue gemstones, extraordinarily beautiful.

At the time it was first revealed, it had attracted everyone's gaze, even Consort Zhou stared at it.

Now it had actually been given to Consort Yi?

She immediately asked, "Why did His Majesty give it to her?"

But Lady Tian shook her head and said, "I only heard about it, I don't know the specific reason."

She raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, "Such a precious thing, I wonder if the Empress Dowager knows about it?"

After seeing Lady Tian off, Consort An went to the Palace of Benevolent Peace.

Using the opportunity to thank the Empress Dowager, she planned to mention the golden bowl matter.

Mother was right, such a precious thing, His Majesty didn't even present it to the Empress Dowager as a filial gift, but gave it to Consort Yi...

The Empress Dowager would surely be displeased if she knew about this.

...

Meanwhile, Yanshu was still leisurely eating the buns and pancakes her mother had made in Ganlu Palace.

Mother's cooking was truly delicious!

In comparison, even the imperial kitchen's dishes had to take a step back.

She wanted to save a few for the emperor, but wasn't sure if he would care for them.

While she was hesitating, she saw Yuwen Lan enter the hall.

She was startled and quickly put down the bun to rise and curtsy, "This consort greets Your Majesty."

Yuwen Lan made a sound of acknowledgment and sat down at the table. Glancing at the large buns on the table, he asked curiously, "What are these?"

Yanshu could only introduce them, "These are buns that this consort's mother made herself and brought this morning. Would Your Majesty like to try some?"

Tsk, she had just been thinking of not giving him any, after all he was used to fine cuisine and probably wouldn't appreciate such hearty fare.

Who knew that as soon as she finished speaking, he said, "Alright," and picked one up to eat.

As he ate, he even commented, "Fresh and flavorful, with a nice chew to the wrapper."

Yanshu smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty enjoys them, please have some more."

She even proactively poured him a cup of tea, "Your Majesty, drink some tea, be careful not to choke."

In her heart though, she thought, [Eat a couple less, leave some for me!!! These were made by my mother, it's been three years since I've gotten to eat them!!!]

Yuwen Lan: "..."

However, these buns really were quite good. He pretended not to hear her mental cries and ate four in a row.

This left Yanshu's heart dripping blood.

But before she could say anything, she heard the system say, [Don't worry about the buns now, Consort An has been gossiping to the Empress Dowager lately about the emperor giving you the golden bowl!]

Golden bowl?

Yanshu raised an eyebrow. She even knew about that?

Quite capable, isn't she!

Well, in that case, she could feel free to use her trump card.

So she said to the person contentedly eating her buns in front of her, "Your Majesty, this consort has written a new story. Would you like to take a look after you finish eating?"

Yuwen Lan had just finished the fourth bun and was feeling a bit full, so he wiped his hands and said, "Alright, let me see it."

Yanshu then took a stack of manuscript papers from the table and handed them to him.

Yuwen Lan picked them up and saw the title was "A Real Man Stands Up".

Hmm?

He raised an eyebrow. "...This name is quite special. What's it about?"

But he heard her say, "The protagonist of this story is a young master. This young master was weak from birth due to issues in the womb, so he was sickly as a child. But he persevered and studied hard, learning many skills. Unfortunately, he married a rather scheming wife who, thinking her husband was in poor health with no future, actually became involved with her father-in-law."

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Wasn't this about the Minister of Rites and his daughter-in-law's affair?

But... he had been wanting to know more about it too.

So he hurriedly read on.

However, after a while he was surprised to discover that this matter was not as simple as just an affair.

In her story, she wrote that the father-in-law and daughter-in-law had even had a child together.

"???"