The peony in full bloom was like a gorgeous beauty!

It was rare to see such a scene outside the Palace. All the peonies in the courtyard were of high quality with their full blooms as posh as an emperor.

Even though peonies were not Shao Wanru’s favorite flowers, she couldn’t help staying a bit longer. She walked out of the pavilion and then around the garden with slow paces to appreciate the peonies. She felt very easy without anyone else around.

However, she lost such a sense of freedom as soon as she saw Shao Yanru.

It was unexpected for Shao Wanru to meet Shao Yanru here. It was said that Shao Yanru had been sent to a remote palace, because not only did the Empress dislike her, but also the Emperor did not want to see her. How surprising it was to see her appear here!

“Your Highness!” Shao Yanru seemed to be very surprised too. She had just entered the courtyard through the gate and was stunned for a few seconds when she saw Shao Wanru, but she hastened to salute her respectfully, behaving very naturally.

Shao Wanru noticed that Shao Yanru was plainly dressed. In the past, even her principal maid would never wear such clothes, let alone Shao Yanru as the Eldest Miss. But she wore it now, which made people feel pity for her.

It seemed that she didn’t live a good life in the Palace. Her face was pale and lean but that made her look more pitiful. She was not gorgeous enough to be the first beauty, but she was so delicate that she still looked very charming.

Her clothes looked very simple, but she was neatly dressed. Her waist looked even slenderer when it was tightly tied now.

Shao Yanru had always been beautiful, so she looked more attractive than those ordinary imperial concubines even when she was simply dressed.

“Where are you going?” Shao Wanru gestured for her to stand up and asked lightly.

“I am going to see an imperial concubine, Your Highness!” Shao Yanru said vaguely with a gloomy face. She was no longer as dazzling as before, which made her even more abject.

“Would you please tell me which imperial consort has the honor of having your initiative visit?” Shao Wanru looked behind Shao Yanru and asked. Peony Garden was very close to Empress Dowager’s Palace of Benevolent Peace so that it could be considered the center of the Palace. Therefore, it was naturally not comparable to the remote place where Shao Yanru lived now.

“It’s Zhaoyi Di,” Shao Yanru answered obediently.

Zhaoyi Di was the Miss of Duke Yong’s Mansion. After entering the Palace, she was conferred the title of Zhaoyi. When Shao Wanru had just moved to the capital city, Di Fenglan used to take advantage of her status to bully Shao Wanru.

“But Zhaoyi Di wasn’t inside!” Shao Wanru said.

“I know… I just come here to enjoy the peonies. I heard that we couldn’t see such peonies anywhere else,” Shao Yanru said gently, without any arrogance. It looked like she was convinced by the fact that she as a Secondary Consort could only be respectful to Shao Wanru, who was a princess now.

“This way, please!” Shao Wanru stepped aside and said with a smile.

Shao Yanru respectfully saluted Shao Wanru and then slowly walked into the garden. Her palace maid Han Dan closely followed behind her, so no one noticed that she was holding the handkerchief in her hand tightly. When she passed by Shao Wanru, she broke out in a cold sweat when she seemed to see a faint smile on Shao Wanru’s face.

If there was someone she was most afraid of, it was this Princess Chen in front of her.

Shao Wanru didn’t stay. She turned around and left with Yujie.

Hearing the footsteps behind her fading away, Shao Yanru stopped and then slowly turned around, with her soft eyes instantly filled with viciousness, jealousy, and hatred.

Han Dan also stopped. When she saw the dark and cold expression on Shao Yanru’s face, she hurriedly reminded her, “Young mistress…”

“I know… I just can’t accept this… Why can she, as a bastard, have such a high status while I am in dire straits now?”

Shao Yanru said that in a low voice. It seemed that she was talking to herself, but the viciousness in her words almost overflowed.

“Young mistress, we must hurry up. We will get into trouble if the Empress finds out that you have been out!” Han Dan reminded her again.

The Empress didn’t like Secondary Consort Shao, and the Emperor had never come to see her. So few people in the Palace showed respect to Secondary Consort Shao, not to mention her as a palace maid.

Han Dan had intended to move up, but unexpectedly she was even worse off now than when she was in Chuxiu Palace. She regretted it.

But no matter how regretful she was, she had no choice but to follow Shao Yanru.

“Let’s go!” Shao Yanru said a few seconds later. She turned around and walked into the garden. Indeed, she couldn’t sigh with self-pity. If she couldn’t save herself in the dark Palace, she would end up like this.

Today, she was not going to see Zhaoyi Di but to find out Consort Lan’s whereabouts.

It was said that Consort Lan used to be one of the Emperor’s most favored concubines, for whom the Emperor almost removed the Empress’s title. But later, Empress Dowager intervened and suppressed it, which also made Consort Lan imprisoned. Shao Yanru got all of these with the power of Duke Xing’s Mansion.

It was said that even though Consort Lan was imprisoned, the Emperor was still fond of her. The Emperor had been going to Consort Lan’s palace to see her, though he didn’t go there a lot often because of the Empress Dowager’s order. Moreover, it was said that Consort Lan didn’t have to always stay in her palace and was allowed to go out from time to time.

Since the Emperor didn’t want to remove the Empress from her position anymore, Empress Dowager turned a blind eye to it.

Before entering the Palace, Shao Yanru had analyzed and concluded that Consort Lan probably was the Emperor’s favored consort and he had always been in love with her. Otherwise, Consort Lan could not have been living such a good life during her imprisonment. Even the Empress had to avoid offending her.

Any topic related to Consort Lan was not allowed to be mentioned in Phoenix Palace.

As for Consort Lan, she slowly became a taboo in the Palace, and no one was allowed to talk about her.

After Shao Yanru entered the Palace, she used to pretend to be ignorant of it and strolled to Consort Lan’s palace, with the hope that she could see Consort Lan. Unexpectedly, she was scolded and asked to stay away from Consort Lan’s residence by Chu Liuyue later.

She was exposed at the Empress’s Phoenix Palace that day. No matter what she would do next, the Empress would not accept her again. Other consorts knew that she was not favored by the Empress, and none of them dared to help her. Even Zhaoyi Di took care of her in secret.

She had to have an anchor in the Palace. The Empress and Empress Dowager were unlikely choices, and the Emperor did not like her now. Therefore, Consort Lan was her only hope.

If she could win the heart of Consort Lan, who was favored by the Emperor, she would live a better life in the Palace.

Moreover, it was because of the Empress that Consort Lan ended up like that, and the two of them must be born to be at odds with each other. So Shao Yanru was confident that Consort Lan would be convinced to help her as long as she saw that Emperor’s favored consort.

That was why Shao Yanru secretly came here with the excuse of visiting Zhaoyi Di. But she didn’t expect to meet Shao Wanru, which made her become jealous and hateful.

But she knew that it was not the time to be jealous of Shao Wanru. She pacified herself and walked into Peony Garden in a hurry.

She didn’t find Consort Lan after rooting around the garden. She only saw a kettle, a stove, and two teacups on the table in the pavilion. Consort Lan had left.

Standing in the pavilion, Shao Yanru silently looked at the stone table in front of her with a darkened face.

“Why don’t you take a rest here, and I’ll go to look for her again, young mistress? Maybe Consort Lan is hiding from others, for she doesn’t want to see anyone,” Han Dan suggested. She was very good at reading people’s faces.

“No, she has left!” Shao Yanru shook her head and said.

“That’s not necessarily the case! As it is for you, it is inconvenient for her to meet other people, young mistress. She might hide!” Han Dan did not give up, with the hope that Shao Yanru could stage a comeback.

Their current lives were too tough to handle. Not to mention Shao Yanru, even Han Dan had suffered a lot as she was oppressed wherever she went.

Shao Yanru walked to the stone table, picked up a teacup, and glanced at it. Then she said coldly with anger in her eyes, “Shao Wanru met Consort Lan just now!”

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see Consort Lan in the end. But Shao Wanru came across her soon after she entered the Palace!

It was the same as their status. She wanted to become Princess Yue, Princess Zhou, Princess Chen, or Princess Xin, but in the end, she became an imperial consort of the lowest rank, while Shao Wanru became Princess Chen! Why?

It was she who was the most favored eldest legitimate daughter in Duke Xing’s Mansion. How could a bastard child like Shao Wanru compare with her?

Han Dan lowered her head and didn’t dare to speak anymore. This was often the time when Secondary Consort Shao was in a bad mood, which could be told from the viciousness on her beautiful face.

She had better keep silent at this time as a servant.

It was quiet in the pavilion with only the sound of the wind. Shao Yanru heavily put down the teacup and ordered with the hatred on her face gradually fading, “Let’s go back. Then you go to tell them that if there is news about Consort Lan next time, report it to me as soon as possible!”

“Yes, I’ll pass on your order later!” Han Dan answered hurriedly with a sigh of relief.

“It has been late when we came out. Let’s go back early!” Shao Yanru nodded, turned around, and walked out of the pavilion. She was not favored by the Emperor now, so she had to keep a low profile. Besides, she hadn’t intended to sleep with the Emperor.

The Emperor had the greatest power, but he was old after all and no one knew when he would die. Those young royal men were more reliable. She didn’t mind that she was an imperial consort of the lowest rank now. At least she was unobtrusive in the Palace temporarily. She had been too impatient before, and that was why she fell into such a dilemma.

Of course, it was just a temporary avoidance of losing her virgin but not her original ambition.

Since she had entered the Palace, she could not waste such a favorable condition. She would get back everything that belonged to her. It was not like it had never happened in history that a woman had been an imperial consort for two reigns…