After Lin Daiyu sent the imperial consorts away, she called Mu Qing and instructed: "Go and investigate, who was the first to start this."

  Four or five imperial consorts and concubines get together, there must be someone who takes the lead in organizing.

  Mu Qing had already investigated clearly and replied, "Yesterday, the Imperial Noble Consort went to Cian Palace to visit Empress Dowager Sheng, then Empress Dowager Sheng went to see Empress Dowager Zhao. Empress Dowager Zhao then called over Yun Taihou and Su Taihou to drink tea together. This morning, they all came together to pay their respects to Her Majesty."

  Lin Yidao said: "So to speak, it should be Empress Dowager Duan who started this. However, looking at the current situation in the palace, the one who has been speaking continuously and leading the charge is actually Empress Cao. He couldn't help but smile and say: "Empress Duan is indeed clever, she found Empress Cao to lead the charge, if things don't go as planned or something goes wrong, there's always Empress Cao in front to take the blame for her."

  Cao Guifei was not as clever as Duan Taifei, and she didn't even know this simple truth.

  Lin Xiao asked again: "However, the Japanese palace is not seen today, and even the queen mother is involved."

  Mu Qing slightly raised an eyebrow at Lin Xiao, saying: "Your Majesty can rest assured, Consort Lian is a wise and foolish person who knows how to read the situation. Before entering the palace, Empress Xian was already betrothed, so after entering the palace, she suffered from the exclusion of the harem, but only Consort Lian got along very well with Empress Xian and took good care of the young Emperor."

  Lin Dai nodded, no wonder, after the emperor ascended to the throne, he did not love to reuse his own brothers, only Liang Taifei's son, Yanping Junwang, became the head of the Imperial Clan Office.

  The Imperial Clan Court is in charge of the royal jade register, marriage and death of the imperial clan members, posthumous titles, and burial. Those who can sit as the Director of the Imperial Clan Court must be trusted by the emperor.

  "Your Ladyship, it's possible to get along with Consort Lin for now. Sometimes, when it comes to matters between consorts and imperial noblewomen, it's not suitable for you, as a junior, to intervene personally. It's best to let them handle their own affairs among themselves. As for Consort Lin, she will surely understand your intentions."

  Lin Dai nodded and said, "Let's talk about it later."

  But reducing the number of copies was not finished after Lin Daiyu sent off Cao Guifei and others.

  Empress Cao fell ill on the second day after returning from Changkun Palace, and King Heng brought in three large carts and five small carts of goods including medicine, cloth, silver incense, tea leaves, etc.

  This move was clearly a slap in the emperor's face, accusing him of treating the imperial concubines cruelly.

  The emperor was furious in Changkun Palace: "A few widows, not a bit of peace. And Prince Heng, he's everywhere."

  When it comes to Emperor Heng, he is also a person who doesn't know what to say. In the late period of the previous emperor's reign, there was a struggle for the position of crown prince. First, the crown prince was poisoned by Xian Wang, and then the previous emperor beheaded Xian Wang. As the third imperial son, Qi Wang colluded with Empress Chen to prepare for a palace coup, but failed and took his own life. Then, as the fourth imperial son, Emperor Heng thought, "Ah, all my older brothers are dead, among the remaining brothers, I am the eldest in terms of age, and my mother's status is the most honorable, so the throne should be mine." At that time, there was also an incident where all officials collectively requested to establish Emperor Heng as the crown prince.

  As a result, Heng Wang was scolded by the previous emperor and demoted from Imperial Prince to Duke. The current emperor, who was seventh in line at that time, became the crown prince instead. When the emperor ascended to the throne, he reassigned Heng Wang as an Imperial Prince to appease him.

  Lin Xiang guessed that at the time, the officials asked to establish King Heng, and there was more or less the emperor's handwriting in it. But it can also be said that King Heng's wisdom is not enough to make him become the emperor.

  King Heng is probably somewhat resentful of the Emperor, feeling that his own imperial position has been usurped by him. He often likes to do things contrary to the Emperor's wishes. As a result, King Heng still remains a prince without any official duties, relying solely on the output of his fiefdom for survival. Oh, and last time there was an incident where King Heng privately mined iron in his fiefdom, so even his fiefdom has been taken over by someone appointed by the Emperor.

  Heng Wang, you can say he's "fearless of power" in a good light, or "can't see the situation clearly" in a bad light. Even his fiefdom was managed by others, but his original intention of opposing the emperor remains unchanged.

  Lin Xiao looked at the huffing and puffing emperor, but only wanted to laugh, then she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  This was the first time the Emperor had shown his intense dislike for the Imperial Concubines in front of Lin Daiyu.

  The emperor, who was normally cold and majestic, was now so angry that he looked like he wanted to jump up and down, which made Lin Xi feel a bit of warmth and childishness.

  The emperor glared at her and said, "What are you laughing at again?"

  Lin Xiao shook her head, handed him a cup of tea and smiled: "Your Majesty, calm down."

  The emperor accepted the tea but didn't drink it and instead placed it on a small table.

  Lin Xiao blinked at him and said: "The emperor must not like the imperial consorts and concubines living in the palace."

  The Emperor then felt that his behavior earlier was somewhat unseemly, shifted his gaze, looked embarrassed for a moment, and then solemnly said: "Nonsense. The imperial consorts who served the previous emperor and helped the previous emperor to have children are people with merit. I respect them as much as I respect my own mother."

  Lin Xiang smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty's filial piety is evident to all. However, since the imperial consorts have all served the previous emperor with merit, now that they are old, it is also time for them to enjoy family bliss."

  The emperor's face moved slightly, turned his head and looked at Lin Xiao, waiting for her to continue.

  Lin Daiyu leaned over and whispered to the Emperor with a smile: "Your Majesty, I have an idea for you."

  The emperor nodded slightly, indicating for her to speak.

  Lin Daiyu said: "Why doesn't the Emperor let the princes take the imperial consorts and concubines to their own palaces for support? This way, it would save the Emperor's money, be less trouble for him, and make the consorts and concubines happy. It's a win-win situation. Moreover, I found that there were precedents in previous dynasties."

  As for why there is no such example in this dynasty, it has to be traced back to the fact that the founding of this dynasty is still too recent.

  From Taizu's founding of the country down to the present, the country has been established for less than a hundred years, and the current emperor is only the fourth ruler.

  The parents of the Taizu Emperor were both self-posthumously honored, so there was no issue with serving a stepmother. The Taizong Emperor was more ruthless, usurping the throne by plotting against and killing his father. If he dared to kill his own father, then his stepmother and half-siblings were naturally not spared either. When Taizong first ascended to the throne, the entire court was in an uproar, with bloodshed everywhere, and over half of the concubines in the harem of the Taizu Emperor had been killed or injured, while the remaining consorts were all taken into custody by Taizong.

  The previous emperor had no brothers, and his stepmothers were childless, so they were all sent to the Qingliang Temple.

  Then it got to the emperor, who was quite a handful. There were too many concubines and empresses who had given birth to princes and princesses, making it difficult to support them all. These imperial consorts would get upset over minor things, and their half-brothers would come out and meddle in affairs.

  The emperor fell silent for a moment, and Lin Daiyu's suggestion was not something he hadn't considered before.

  There were too many chaotic phenomena in the court caused by the struggle for the throne among the princes in the late period of the previous emperor, and he was busy sorting out the government and handling political affairs. The empress dowager's affair could not be handled yet. Secondly, he proposed to govern the world with filial piety, at this time, letting the king and the prince take the imperial concubines out of the palace to support them would easily lead to criticism.

  The emperor patted Lin Daiyu's head and said, "This matter cannot be accomplished in one or two days."

  Lin Xiao glanced at the emperor, meaning that the emperor also had this intention, but was not in a hurry at the moment.