On the fifteenth day of the month, Chu Shaoling was required to attend a family banquet in the palace, as was customary on the first and fifteenth of every month.

Having just emerged from the incident at the temporary palace, Chu Shaoling was reluctant to bring Wei Ji along. He casually said, "Now that you have an official position and duties, it doesn't look right for you to always be following behind me as a guard. Besides, with the others accompanying me, it should be fine. If it gets late when we disperse, I might as well not return tonight. What could possibly happen?"

Wei Ji solemnly replied, "If you're not returning, I must accompany you. Now that Your Highness has fallen out with the Emperor, who knows if staying overnight in your palace might lead to trouble?"

Chu Shaoling laughed, "The Emperor can't possibly find an excuse to place me under house arrest too, can he?"

Chu Shaoling spoke without much thought, but Wei Ji took it to heart. After some consideration, he said, "Your Highness has analyzed it well. It's not impossible. It would be too easy for the Emperor to make a move against you. I must go with you."

Chu Shaoling couldn't help but smile and had no choice but to agree, "Alright, alright, you win. You can come along. I'll find an excuse to return early after the evening banquet."

Only then was Wei Ji satisfied. He turned his head and continued practicing his calligraphy.

That day, the two of them entered the palace at the hour of You. Chu Shaoling first went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. In the inner chamber, the Empress Dowager was talking with Fuyi, who was now visibly pregnant and had become much more voluptuous. Her complexion was rosy, and the Empress Dowager was pleased to see her. She smiled and said, "Carrying a child has made you even more beautiful. Did the imperial physician say everything is well when checking your pulse?"

Fuyi nodded with a smile, "The imperial physicians are just saying the usual pleasant words. I had some morning sickness earlier, but it has gotten much better recently. Every day, all I do is eat and sleep, and with all the excellent tonics from the Empress Dowager, it would be difficult not to be well."

The Empress Dowager patted Fuyi's waist and said, "I see that your belly is larger than usual for this stage of pregnancy. You mustn't just eat and sleep all day. You see..." The Empress Dowager pursed her lips and changed her words, "It's still better to move around more. If the belly grows too big, it won't be good for giving birth."

Fuyi realized that the Empress Dowager was referring to Zhen Si. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, she said in a low voice, "I heard that Consort Zhen's pregnancy has not been going well. I'm afraid she will have a difficult time during childbirth when the time comes."

The Empress Dowager sighed, "She was frightened early in the pregnancy and never fully recovered. We can only see if her luck holds out. If she makes it through, she will have great fortune ahead. If she doesn't make it..."

Fuyi softly comforted, "With so many experienced imperial physicians attending to her, there shouldn't be any mishaps. Empress Dowager can rest assured."

The Empress Dowager patted Fuyi's hand without saying anything. Chu Shaoling entered the inner chamber and smiled, "What are the Empress Dowager and my sister talking about?"

Fuyi quickly stood up to offer her seat and said, "Being cooped up in my residence during pregnancy, I've become deaf and blind. It was only a couple of days ago that I heard about the incident at the Tanghe Palace. Big Brother, you must have been frightened."

Chu Shaoling smiled, "Now that you're pregnant, they naturally wouldn't dare let you know about these things. It's actually not a big deal, except that you won't be seeing your second brother for a while."

Fuyi had never exchanged more than a few words with Chu Shaoruan since childhood. She slowly said, "I heard from my husband that the people guarding the Tanghe Palace are under his command. Second Brother is now depressed and unhappy in the temporary palace. A few days ago, he even made a fuss about writing a memorial to Father Emperor."

Chu Shaoling chuckled, "He will naturally be depressed for a while. That's right, why haven't I seen Third Brother?"

The Empress Dowager said, "He went to the Mulan hunting grounds today. He said there was some issue with his estate that required his attention, so he probably won't be able to make it today."

Chu Shaoling nodded with a smile, "I thought so..."

In the Linzhi Palace, Consort Li held Madam Xu's hand and cried, "Whenever I think of Ruan'er suffering, I can't have a moment's peace. This is the age when he should be making a good impression in front of the Emperor, but instead, he's been placed under house arrest in the temporary palace. Isn't this a death sentence for him? Father, don't you have any solution?"

Madam Xu secretly resented Consort Li for acting on her own and causing such a big disaster. Seeing her daughter crying pitifully, she had no choice but to comfort her, "Your father is also trying to find a way. But how can it be so easy? We still need to take it slow..."

"Take it slow? If we go any slower, Ruan'er and I will be tortured to death!" Consort Li angrily pushed Madam Xu and said, "Si is determined to establish her own power, and Big Brother surely won't help me now. You're not just trying to appease me, are you?!"

Mentioning her eldest son, Madam Xu also had grievances she couldn't express. Her son had learned about those previous matters, and even though she was his own mother, in front of her son, Madam Xu had lost her authority after plotting against Zhen Si. It was frustrating that now everything in the family had to be handled by Zhen Binwen and his wife, and Madam Xu, who had enjoyed a glorious life, now had to speak humbly in front of her son and daughter-in-law.

Madam Xu softly persuaded, "Your Highness, calm down. How could I possibly appease you? It's just that this matter is indeed difficult to handle. Your father and your elder brother need to take it slow and deal with many complications."

Consort Li had been frightened that day in the Yongfu Palace when Zhen Si scolded her. Feeling anxious and uneasy, she wanted to seek help from her family, but she never expected that she couldn't even get a definite answer. She couldn't help but angrily scold, "You're all lying to me! You're all ungrateful beasts! Have you forgotten how I helped you in the past?! Now you've turned your backs on me and forgotten about me. Without me, could you have lived so comfortably all these years? Don't even dream about it! It's all your and Father's fault! You insisted on marrying Zhen Si to Chu Shaoling, and what's the result? Now she's turned around to torment me!!"

Madam Xu had been holding in a belly full of anger, and now seeing Consort Li's complete lack of decorum, yelling and screaming like a shrew in the marketplace, she also became angry. She coldly said, "Your Highness is right. This is all our fault. But who is to blame for the Second Prince being placed under house arrest? Your father and I didn't know about this. We only knew that Your Highness and the Second Prince went to the temporary palace together, and now only Your Highness has returned. Your father and I also want to ask Your Highness about the reason behind this."

Hearing this, Consort Li was stunned for a moment. She buried her face in a handkerchief and wept, choking out, "It's all my fault. I misheard Chu Shaoruan's words. Mother, Ruan'er and I had originally planned everything so carefully. I don't know how... It's all my fault. I've harmed Ruan'er. I've harmed him..."

Madam Xu's heart softened. She stepped forward and hugged Consort Li, gently saying, "The situation is not good right now. We can't continue to be impatient and seek quick success and instant benefits. The most urgent task is for Your Highness to win back the Emperor's heart. Think back to when you were favored in the past. Back then, even if Your Highness made a small mistake, the Emperor would overlook it. But now, Your Highness is only focused on fighting with Chu Shaoling and Zhen Si, completely disregarding the Emperor. Not only have you not gained any benefits, but you've also lost the Emperor's favor. That's why you've suffered a big loss. Your Highness must change from now on."

Consort Li nodded, quickly calling for someone to bring things to wash her face and get dressed, saying urgently: "I just finished talking with Mother, and I still have to attend the family banquet in a bit. His Majesty hasn't seen me for so many days, I need to dress up a little better."

"That's the right attitude." Madam Xu personally came over to help Consort Li get ready, whispering, "Your Highness, when you see the Emperor, don't mention bringing the Second Prince back. This matter really can't be rushed. The Emperor has the Second Prince in his heart. If Your Highness keeps urging, it will only make the Emperor unhappy. Just relax, and treat it as the Second Prince going to recuperate. Once you've won back the Emperor's heart, what can't be accomplished?"

Consort Li nodded, softly saying: "Mother, don't worry, I naturally understand. As long as I regain the Emperor's favor, see if I'll let any of them off."

Seeing that Consort Li understood, Madam Xu finally felt relieved. Fearing the palace gates would be locked, she kowtowed farewell early.

In Yongfu Palace, Zhen Si rubbed her high, protruding belly. Today she felt her body was even heavier than usual and had no energy. She said softly: "I don't feel like moving. Go tell the Emperor that I won't attend today's family banquet."

Before Zhen Si's attending eunuch could respond, a palace maid was seen hurriedly walking in from outside. She bowed and handed a letter to Zhen Si, softly saying: "Your Highness, please take a look."

Zhen Si opened it and glanced at it. Her expression quickly darkened as she sat up straight and said sternly: "Who delivered this?"

The palace maid shook her head. Zhen Si reopened the letter and reread it. Written on it was precisely the conversation between Consort Li and her mother in Linzhi Palace just now. Below there was another line: Wild fire cannot burn it; spring breeze blows and it grows again.

Zhen Si suddenly thought of Chu Shaoling, and then of Wei Ji. For a long while, she didn't speak. The attending eunuch standing to the side asked softly: "Your Highness, should this servant still go inform the Emperor?"

Zhen Si shook her head: "No need. I suddenly feel much better. Attend to me while I wash up."

On this day, the family banquet was set up in the Ci'an Palace of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager loved liveliness and had the hall decorated even more exquisitely than usual. When the Emperor arrived, he first paid respects to the Empress Dowager. The others paid their respects in turn, which need not be mentioned. The Empress Dowager looked at Zhen Si in surprise: "How come Consort Zhen also came?"

"This concubine heard that today the Empress Dowager was holding a banquet, so my body suddenly felt much better." Zhen Si had applied more powder than usual, making her complexion seem better than normal days. She smiled, "So I hurriedly got ready to come drink."

The Empress Dowager smiled: "If there's anything you want to eat, just tell me. I'll have it sent to you. With such a big belly, you're actually not afraid to come out."

Zhen Si lowered her head and smiled: "Coming to the Empress Dowager's place, what is there to fear? It's not time yet, it won't interfere. The imperial physician also said I should move around more."

The Empress Dowager nodded: "As long as you know your limits, that's good. Sit down. Granny Sun, give Consort Zhen a few more soft cushions to support her lower back."

Zhen Si smiled and thanked her for the grace. Supported by palace maids, she slowly sat down. Under the handkerchief, her slender fingers clenched tightly. Just now when speaking with the Empress Dowager, she had felt waves of pain in her belly. Zhen Si held on, gently rubbing her belly while glancing over at Chu Shaoling's direction. Chu Shaoling was also looking at her. Zhen Si quickly turned her head.

Consort Li was sitting right across from Zhen Si. Zhen Si looked at Consort Li's exquisite makeup and chuckled lightly: "I haven't seen Aunt for a few days. Aunt's complexion has gotten even better."

Today, Consort Li had changed from her usual rich and glamorous makeup, only lightly applying powder and rouge. She also didn't adorn her hair much, only inserting a double-pronged white jade hairpin at a slant. Compared to her usual domineering manner, this revealed a hint of a woman's gentle charm.

The Emperor was also captivated. That hairpin on Consort Li's head was precisely the one he had bestowed upon her when Consort Li first entered the palace. The Emperor was slightly lost in thought. In a flash, it had been so many years.

Seeing the Emperor staring at her intently, Consort Li felt more confident. Her eyes held a bit more grievance and anticipation. Zhen Si watched Consort Li and sneered inwardly. Indeed, it was like a wildfire that couldn't be put out.

"Emperor, shall we begin the banquet?" The Empress Dowager was annoyed by Consort Li's manner and said indifferently, "The children are all hungry."

The Emperor came back to his senses and nodded: "Begin the banquet." Everyone toasted, but the Emperor was distracted several times, occasionally glancing at Consort Li.

Consort Li's heart swelled with pride. She deliberately didn't say a word, putting on an air of having suffered a great grievance. The Emperor hesitated for a while but still couldn't help asking: "Has Consort Li been well recently?"

Consort Li was extremely pleased. She quickly stood up, lowered her head and said: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. This concubine is very well. This concubine committed wrongs. Now every day I chant scriptures and worship Buddha, praying for blessings for Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager. After reading Buddhist scriptures for a long time, one's heart also becomes tranquil."

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Zhen Si chuckled: "I was wondering why Aunt was dressed so plainly today. So that's why. Speaking of which, I haven't had a proper conversation with Aunt since returning from the temporary palace."

Enduring the severe pain in her abdomen, Zhen Si leaned on a palace maid to stand up. She took a cup of wine and walked to Consort Li, smiling: "I toast Aunt a cup."

Consort Li detested Zhen Si to the extreme. She turned her face and said: "I still need to burn incense and pray when I return later. I'm afraid I can't drink."

"Aunt, what kind of words are these?" Zhen Si smiled, "The wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart. If there is Buddha in your heart, then your devotion is the same no matter what. Aunt, please show some consideration, I can't stand for long. Drink it."

Consort Li grew even more irritated and said impatiently: "Don't make a fuss. If you offend the deities, I'm afraid even you can't bear that sin."

Zhen Si deliberately laughed: "Good Aunt, drink it, drink it."

Zhen Si pulled on one of Consort Li's hands, laughing as she tugged at her. Suddenly, her hand trembled and her whole body fell backwards. Consort Li was also startled and instinctively backed away. Zhen Si, enduring the severe pain, tightly gripped Consort Li's hand. The two fell to the ground together. Zhen Si cried out in agony: "Aunt! Why did you push me?"

In an instant, the hall was in chaos. Chu Shaoling drank by himself.