Li Siyao begged him to kill me, but Li Huaiyan did not agree.

Because I am the righteous daughter of the Emperor of Beidi.

Now that his foundation is not yet stable, the court is unstable. If he kills me at this time, Beidi will definitely send troops, and then there will be internal and external troubles. It is unknown how long he can sit on the throne.

After that night, Li Huaiyan rarely visited my palace, and even when he did, he only accompanied me for dinner. No matter how I tempted him, he would not stay the night with me.

So, in the long nights, I carefully planned a script.

Every day, I never dared to slack off in paying respects to the Empress at the He'an Palace, even earlier than the other concubines in the palace.

While she was dressing inside the room, I would go to the courtyard outside to collect morning dew to brew tea for her.

The other concubines sneered at this, privately mocking me: "Who doesn't know that the most favored in the palace is not us concubines, but the Princess Chang. She doesn't even know how to flatter the right person, so it serves her right to be ignored by the Emperor."

Several times, they stopped me on the palace road, humiliating me.

But I turned a deaf ear to it, always calmly paying respects to the Empress, never saying much.

Finally, after one such visit, the Empress sent for me.

"Consort Lan, you have a good appearance." The Empress sat upright, the heavy makeup not hiding the fatigue on her face.

"Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty." I lowered my eyes, standing respectfully before her. "But I admire Your Majesty even more."

"What do you admire about me?" She gave a bitter smile. "The Emperor does not like me. The people in this palace are used to bowing to his preferences. If it weren't for my title as Empress, I might have been devoured by those people long ago."

"Your Majesty should not think like that. You have family who love you, and family who spare no effort to fulfill your wishes." I said softly.

A hint of regret flashed in her eyes.

The Empress's father is the current Grand Marshal, in charge of the entire army. Although the military power has slowly been taken back by Li Huaiyan, his influence in the court is still significant.

The reason Li Huaiyan was able to successfully ascend the throne was due in part to the efforts of the Grand Marshal.

And all of this was because of the Empress. She had set her sights on Li Huaiyan, wanting to marry him with all her heart.

The Grand Marshal doted on this only daughter since she was young, raising her to be innocent and naive. Whatever she wanted, the Grand Marshal would satisfy her.

After Li Huaiyan became Emperor, he kept his promise and appointed Shu He, from the Shen family, as Empress. But the lack of favor and love in the harem life caused this bright flower to lose its color.

After the Empress finally became pregnant, she was startled by the "accidental" actions of Princess Chang, causing her to lose the child.

The Empress cried bitterly, but the Emperor only reprimanded Princess Chang and did not impose any other punishment.

"My father had advised me before, but I insisted on my own way. I have let my father and the Shen family down." Tears welled up in the Empress's eyes.

"Your Majesty, would you like to seek revenge for the unborn child?" I asked softly.

She looked at me warily. "What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, do not worry. I just want to find a support in the harem. The Emperor's favor changes constantly, and I do not want to endure days of being bullied again. You are the mistress of the harem, I just seek your protection. Princess Chang is ruthless and cruel. As long as she is here, Your Majesty will never have a good day. I want to do my part for you."

She scrutinized me, tapping her fingers irregularly on the table, seemingly contemplating the truth of my words.

After a while, she whispered, "What do you suggest?"

I took out the stack of scripts from my sleeve and handed it to her, saying slowly, "It's time for Princess Chang to get married."