Tuoba Hong walked for a while, and the people in front of him came to convey the message, leading a large group of palace maids to Lin's face. It turned out that Tuoba Hong had sent four nanny-like women to take care of the postpartum woman and four female doctors to serve her, and also selected six palace maids, more than ten eunuchs, and guards from the Imperial Forest Army to guard the Scarlet Smoke Building, ordering them to protect Hui Xiao Yu wholeheartedly. Having personally experienced the matter of Empress Xiao, Tuoba Hong was doubly cautious with Lin, almost wanting to seal off the Scarlet Smoke Building airtight before he would be at ease.

  Lin Wan saw Tuoba Hong being so attentive, and naturally liked it very much. She thought to herself that after a hard day's work, it was truly worth it. Not only had she avenged the grudge of Xiao Huanghou from back then, but also made Tuoba Hong treat her with such care, as if he was afraid that someone with ill intentions would harm her again. Since Tuoba Hong was willing to put in so much effort, this pregnancy would be much easier for her.

  She slept soundly that night, Wu Yu physician did his job and gave her a dietary menu, the guards outside the Hongyan Building were bustling about, making people feel at ease. The medicinal herbs bestowed by the Empress Dowager also arrived after dinner. After Lin Yan took the fetal nourishing medicine, she lay on the bed early, thinking about the misfortune of Xiao Huanghou in her mind, laughing out loud with joy.

  On the second day of the New Year, on the second day of the first month, people in the folk would visit their relatives, and the concubines in the palace would also visit each other, chatting warmly. However, this year's New Year was unusually lively, with Wei Shi being promoted to Qing Fei, followed by Lin Huan being pregnant and promoted to Hui Pin, making Huayang Palace extremely popular, like a hot potato that everyone wanted to get close to. The concubines from other palaces didn't go anywhere else, but instead flocked to Huayang Palace, this auspicious place, to pay their respects and offer congratulations, forming a continuous stream of visitors.

  Jingfei's place was crowded, but Lin Wan's place was even more crowded. Those consorts followed the rules and visited the main hall first, then came to the side hall to hug Lin Wan, not minding the trouble. In the end, Jingfei thought of a plan, calling out all the consorts in the Huayang Palace, everyone sat together in the small pavilion in the courtyard, and those who came to visit also came over to chat and have fun, so they didn't need to run back and forth anymore.

  The lotus pond in front of the Hehuan Hall was not small, and it was a good place to enjoy the scenery on summer days. However, in winter, a thick layer of ice had formed on its surface. Jingfei and Lin Yuanyu were wrapped in thick fur coats, huddled together in the pavilion, with a small stove in the middle where a pot of mutton stew was simmering, courtesy of Qi Ronghua's idea. This idea couldn't be called bad, as Huayang Palace was already a tempting piece of cake, and Qi Ronghua's personally cooked mutton stew wafted its fragrance for miles. The consorts who came to visit would rub against Jingfei's legs while eating and drinking, and once they arrived, they didn't want to leave. In the end, more and more people gathered around.

  Jing Fei wore a calm face, she was gentle in nature and didn't particularly like to eat meat. She looked around at the lively crowd that was as bustling as the Lantern Festival, her ears buzzing with noise, and sighed as she used her chopsticks to scoop from the pot. Just as she had scooped up a piece of flat mushroom, she was bumped by several concubines playing ring toss behind her, causing her hand to slip and the mushroom to fall. She tried to scoop again, but that flat mushroom had already been snatched away by Lin Yuan with one chopstick. Fortunately, at the edge of the pot, she saw a piece of yam, but before she could even pick it up, Lin Yuan's second chopstick was already coming down.

  Jing Fei, a noble lady who was used to being pampered, shouldn't have eaten with Lin Yu and Qi Ronghua. Jing Fei had been dealing with those sisters all morning and hadn't even had lunch yet. At this point, the only thing left in the pot was mutton. She was starving and didn't care about picking and choosing, finally stretching out her chopsticks to grab some meat. As a result, Qi Ronghua swooped in with one swift motion of her chopstick, and Jing Fei saw a fleeting shadow pass before her eyes. When she looked back at the pot, it was spotless, not even a single strand of meat left.

  Lin Wan was a happy eater, she didn't taboo anything. In such a grand and public occasion, no fool would dare to put poison in the pot. The Huayang Palace had been bustling for a whole day, until dusk, there were still several guests lingering around.

  Liu Yueyu of the Palace of Celebration was still holding a large spoon, scooping out food from the pot and eating it. She loved drinking soup and was full of praise for Qi Ronghua's culinary skills. Qi Ronghua had good relationships with everyone, and at this time, she was laughing and chatting with Empress Jing about the clothes and jewelry that the Emperor had just bestowed upon her: "Empress Jing is truly a lucky person, that large pearl is as big as a fist, it's a treasure from the deep sea in the south of Dali Kingdom, there's only one such item in the world. The other sisters can't even take a look at it, but the Emperor bestowed it upon you..."

  Jing Fei was both tired and hungry, and had no mood to think about Dong Zhu anymore. She just needed to face the person in front of her, Xu Ronghua, and respond accordingly. Xu Ronghua was also a notable figure, five years ago she was just a small talented woman, later entered Yongshou Palace and attached herself to Shen Yu Fei, but still didn't gain favor. Unexpectedly, five years later she managed to become the legitimate mistress of Ronghua, while Shen Fei had already passed away.

  "It's great, Huayang Palace has been quiet for a long time." Zhang Wan'er was genuinely delighted. She smiled at Jing Fei and said with emotion: "For five years, Huayang Palace has been stagnant, but after Your Highness recovered from your illness, there is finally some vitality in the palace. Now that Hui Bin is also here..."

  Lin Wan didn't respond to her words, she was still playing with the person who had just arrived, and her interest was high. Although she had a child, she didn't feel anything, it hadn't reached the point of affecting her eating, drinking, and having fun. Jing Fei smiled warmly and also let out a sigh: "Yes, this Huayang Palace is really lively, it's surprising me."

  "Almost all the sisters in the palace have come, except for Concubine Tian and Concubine Wen..." Zhang Wan'er counted on her fingers, then lifted her face to smile: "Originally during festivals, everyone would go to Changxin Palace to visit, but today is not ordinary, the Empress has left the palace to return to her mother's home to pay respects, that's why our Huayang Palace has become the only lively place."

  "Empress Wen has always been like that, let her come and apologize to you with a smile, don't even think about it this lifetime." Liu Yu said casually. Empress Wen's relationships in the palace were really not good, every day she had an air of being aloof and distant, as if others couldn't enter her eyes.

  "Wen Pin Niang is still easy to talk to, but Tan Pin Niang might be sulking in her own palace." A beautiful woman behind Liu Jieyu laughed and said with a smile: "Hui Pin Niang got pregnant and was promoted, she's now on an equal footing with her, she must be feeling resentful."

  This beautiful woman with the surname Mu is not a clever person, and her words to curry favor are not skillful. Lin Yu heard only smiled without speaking, but in her heart she thought of that Chu family's concubine daughter - Chu Huashang was skilled at plotting, and her family background was also prominent. This is a very difficult person to deal with.

  Guifei has been deposed, Shenfei has been given a death sentence. Now it's clear that the Emperor is supporting Jingfei to take her place, but there's still one more person missing. If she guessed correctly, that person should have been Chuhua Shang.

  In Lin Wan's view, Tuoba Hong should have wanted to kill Shen Yunrong long ago. At the beginning, when he promoted Chu Huashang as Ronghua, he had the idea of letting her replace Shen. However, later on, the noble consort gave birth to twin princes and was forced to leave the palace, which was something that Tuoba Hong really didn't expect and was caught off guard. Fortunately, Wei Miao Zhuang woke up one night and temporarily made up for it, two corners are not as stable as three corners, at least better than Xiao Huanghou's solo show.

  Chu Hua's current abilities are still shallow, but with time and cultivation, she will eventually reach a level that satisfies Tuoba Hong. However, the current situation seems to have taken an unexpected turn.

  That unexpected person was Lin Yuan herself. Lin Yuan had already sensed this.

  Tuoba Hong was too fond of her. So the emperor began to want to change his plan - compared to Chu Huashang, he wanted to support Lin Yuan, who was more to his liking, to fill that corner. After Mu Wu Wang was executed, the Military Machinery Office was established, and the Shen family was also confiscated, this young emperor had more and more confidence, and began to act arbitrarily according to his own preferences. The power in his hands grew stronger and stronger, and he didn't have to worry about losing Chu Dajiang's loyalty if he didn't give Chu Huashang a high position.

  I believe Chu Hua also felt this crisis.

  Secretly laughing in my heart, thinking of competing with Lin Wan? Heh, then let's see.

  Jing Fei listened to the flattery of those around her, but in her heart she was not very happy. That Zhang Wan Yi was still the same as five years ago, and had not made any progress at all! On a day of great joy, in the Huayang Palace with lanterns and streamers, it would have been fine to just enjoy herself, but instead she brought up that Xiao Shi again.

  These concubines all envied her and Lin Wan, and they came over to curry favor with them, but no matter how much they were favored, they couldn't compare to Xiao Huanghou. Even if the Emperor didn't love her, yesterday she was still splashed with dirty water because of Lin Wan's pregnancy, making her situation even more difficult, these things couldn't change the fact that she was the Emperor's legitimate wife. On the second day of the first month, it was traditionally a day for married women to return to their natal home, and in the entire palace, only Xiao Huanghou could proudly return to her mother's house on this day.

  Quiet consort, quiet consort, sounds good! Ranked as the first rank, with a position equivalent to that of a chancellor, and a title comparable to that of a vassal lord! But in the end, isn't she just a concubine?

  It's just that her father died early, and the family declined. Otherwise, with her identity as a noble lady, how could she be inferior to Empress Xiao? When Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei was still the crown prince, his position was unstable, so in order to seize the throne, he had to marry the daughter of Xue Chao, who held great power. If her family were prominent...

  As night fell, Liu Mei and her companions finally had the intention to leave. Qi Ronghua was generous and sent each of them a food box containing crystal sugar trotters, bean paste roasted deer tail, marinated upper rank, and wine-dried chicken, which were the four famous dishes from her hometown Jiangzhou. She also smiled and saw everyone off at the palace gate, waving her handkerchief and saying: "Come and play again tomorrow!"

  Jingfei rolled her eyes at her from the side.

  Finally, the people were sent away, and Qi Ronghua and several others returned to their respective palaces. Jing Fei rubbed her sore forehead, glanced at Lin Yuan who was collecting the tea set beside her, and felt a bit annoyed in her heart.

  Lin is not very old, and she's quite cautious in her playful ways. Just the other day, she was still found playing cards with a group of people in the house. But despite appearing to be an easy person to deal with, she actually has a very deep and complex character.

  Zi Ronghua is really good at eating and being lazy, not thinking about making progress. Lin Shi is different from him.