What happened in the palace of Lin Zhi could not be known to outsiders. The concubines only knew that Xiang Fei was very lucky and had a bright future ahead, but they did not know what would happen next.

  Lin Wan is very busy. Moving house is a laborious task, although there are dozens of palace staff around her, but she lives in a palace, not a modern three-bedroom apartment, and moving once is like moving a mountain.

  Fortunately, she didn't have to do it herself, so she took a chair and sat down leisurely in the small courtyard, chatting with Zhen Huan while snacking on melon seeds.

  "I think the peony garden in Jingren Palace should be taken care of. I heard that Empress Wenxian loved Qianzhong Weizi, and the courtyard was full of purple flowers, which was very eye-catching." Zhenpin smiled and said: "I think you're not a dull person, so you must want to make the flower garden colorful before you're satisfied! The plum garden behind the Mirror Moon Pavilion on the back mountain has been well maintained by you, from November to March next year, various plum trees bloom continuously, and there is scenery throughout the winter."

  Lin Wan pinched a dried plum and ate it, her expression somewhat lazy, and said leisurely: "Sister, you're overpraising me. I'm a boring person who doesn't understand flowers either. The plum tree is easy to raise, but you don't know that the emperor gave me the Zhitao orchid and white narcissus, which I ended up killing. Even the emperor laughed at me. It's not about what kind of flower it is, as long as it looks good on the surface. The thousand-layered purple peony is too expensive, and someone with my status raising it would be inappropriate."

  Although Zhen Huan's words were pleasant to hear, Lin Yuan felt more and more that there would be hidden dangers in the future - Jingren Palace was too eye-catching. Chuhua Shuang had taken over the position of Xianfu Palace with her noble status, but Xianfu Palace was just an ordinary palace, far from Jianzhang Palace.

  Especially in the Jingren Palace, that patch of peony garden has a scorching feeling. In those years, Empress Wenxian was favored again, but she was still framed by Concubine Li. She first lost favor, and later, in order to regain favor, she played and sang "Shan Zhi Gao" day and night in the Jingren Palace, but unfortunately, it did not move Emperor Kangjing's heart, instead, it angered Concubine Li again. In the end, she was framed for colluding with the "White Lotus Sect", and Emperor Kangjing had her strangled to death, and her body was thrown into the chaotic burial mound on Mount Shou.

  When it came to the reign of Qianwu, Empress Dowager Xiaoxian remembered her past friendship with Consort Wenyuan and cleared her name, restoring her position. Unfortunately, her body could not be found, so during the burial, only her jade pendant from when she was alive was used as a substitute for her clothes and headdress.

  Of course, there were many concubines living in Jingren Palace, and they all lived a life of glory and splendor, envied by others.

  Lin Wan is not a person who is indifferent to luxury. Who wouldn't like the extravagance of Jingren Palace? But wanting to move into Jingren Palace, now is not the best timing.

  Just as they were speaking, a sudden commotion was heard outside the door, and it became noisy. A eunuch's cry pierced through the palace wall and came from afar: "The Jingren Palace is flooded! Come quickly..."

  Lin Yanteng suddenly stood up, her face cold as frost.

  The eunuchs who came to help with the move in the Imperial Palace were all shocked and pale, a manager aunt hastily ordered: "What are you doing standing there! Concubine Wei was originally going to move palaces, now something has happened at Jingren Palace, hurry up and take the water buckets over to put out the fire!" As she spoke, her face was also very flustered, how did this happen? It just so happens that it's Jingren Palace that's on fire, Concubine Wei is supposed to move in today!

  When the time comes, Concubine Wei will shift the blame, and it will still be Empress Shang's fault!

  She thought to herself that it was bad luck and carefully said to Lin Wan: "Your Ladyship, look at this... how can this be good..."

  "What's going on here?" Lin Wan's eyes were extremely sharp, making people tremble. She turned around and swept the fruit, tea, and pastries off the table with one palm: "Good, very good! Someone actually dares to openly oppose me!"

  If it's said to be an accidental flooding, Lin Wei would never believe it. There can't be such a coincidence in this world.

  Jian Pin's face also changed, and she frowned at Lin Yuan: "Don't worry, let the servants go and investigate the fire first. If it's a small fire, we can repair it later without any major issues." She ordered the Shang Gongju girl: "Wang Zhangdian, take some people to put out the fire first, and then send someone back to report to Concubine."

  The queen's aunt hastened to carry out the order and left, while a house full of palace maids scurried about, carrying water buckets and water jars, rushing in the direction of Jingren Palace.

  "Sister, there are still some things in the palace, I won't make trouble here." Zhen Huan turned around and bid farewell to Lin Yuen: "I also can't help with anything."

  Lin Wan had never expected her help anyway, nodded and said: "Sister go back, be careful on the road, don't get rushed by those running palace people."

  Jian Wan quickly left. Lin Yu raised her head, gazing far into the southeast direction, and saw that behind the dense temples a thick black smoke was rising, straight up to the sky.

  "Good heavens!" exclaimed the First Snow, her face filled with anxiety. "This is terrible! The fire seems to be spreading fast, and I fear that the Jingren Palace will be destroyed. How can our young master possibly live there?"

  "Don't worry about it anymore." Lin Wan's tone was cold as winter: "Their goal is to stop me from entering the Jingren Palace. Since they've succeeded, can't they just burn everything clean?" She sat back down: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to send someone to put out the fire. Let's take everything apart, Chuxue you go to Shangxiang Bureau to deliver dinner, and we'll have to stay in Jingyue Pavilion for a while longer."

  The first snow looked at the thick smoke rolling in the distance, feeling anxious in her heart. The honor of getting Jingren Palace was gone so quickly. But no matter how anxious she was, there was nothing she could do. The fire had burned to the sky, and it was estimated that even if the entire palace was extinguished, it would not be habitable.

  She stamped her foot in anger and said, "There are many people in the palace who dare to oppose Your Majesty, but I don't know which one is so bold as to set fire to Jingren Palace!" She then expressed her doubts and asked, "Your Majesty, do you think this is really a human act? It's said that killing people and setting fires will not be tolerated by heaven, Jingren Palace is one of the six palaces, if someone sets fire to suppress Your Majesty in the palace, wouldn't they be afraid of being punished for such a serious crime?"

  The first snow was not wrong, for a Lin Yuan, setting fire to the Jingren Palace, this price is a bit high, the investment and return are not in proportion.

  Lin Yan's lips curled up in a smile, with a deep meaning on her face: "I'm afraid her goal is not just me."

  ***

  The fire at Jingren Palace was extremely large and wasn't extinguished until late into the night.

  When General Liu, the commander of the Imperial Guard, led his men inside to inspect, the outermost nanmu wooden palace gate had already been burned black and was on the verge of collapse. Inside, the main hall, Yaoguang Hall, had its beams collapsed and its roof destroyed, with only charred brick walls remaining in the inner chambers, and all the furniture and utensils were unrecognizable.

  The other six side halls were also affected, but they were not completely destroyed and could still be used after repairs. However, the main hall of Jingren Palace was destroyed, and it would not look good to live in the side halls again. After inspecting the area, General Liu wrote a summary report titled "Awaiting Major Repairs" and presented it to the Emperor.

  On that night, Emperor Xiaowen's edict also arrived. As expected, the matter of Empress Feng's demotion was put off for later consideration.

  Lin Wan slept in the messy Jingyue Pavilion that night. She wasn't worried about moving palaces, as the Jingyue Pavilion was no longer habitable after the discovery of the witchcraft. The Jingren Palace had been burned down, and Tuoba Hong could only choose another palace for her to live in.

  On the second day, Lin Wan got up early and hastily went to pay her respects to the Empress. After returning from Beiting, Lin Wan had not been to Changxin Palace yet. Now that she was almost fully recovered, it was time for her to go and make an appearance.

  Recently, there have been many things to attend to in the palace, and even during my morning routine, I no longer feel as leisurely as before. The Empress held a palace account book and said to everyone: "The Jingren Palace had a great fire, and the Emperor's intention is to order the six workshops to start repairing it, which means that several hundred thousand taels of silver will be spent like flowing water. With the New Year approaching, there are even more places where silver is needed, so I have decided to reduce the expenses of the inner palace."

  The concubines below furrowed their brows, and some even dared to whisper among themselves. The empress did not take their discontent to heart, took the teacup in her hand and slowly said: "As concubines, being frugal and sharing the country's worries is a matter of course. This palace has made up its mind, and from today on, it will be implemented. Except for the Jianzhang Palace and the Changle Palace, which will remain unchanged, the Longxin Palace will be reduced by half, and the rest of the palaces will be reduced by one-third." After finishing speaking, a pair of phoenix eyes scanned the lower part with dignity: "Do you have any other objections?"

  Xiao Huanghou has always been in charge of the six palaces, with a firm grip on power, and no one among the concubines can change her decisions. Although people are unwilling in their hearts, they can only nod their heads and agree.

  The several concubines beside Lin Yan all had gloomy faces. Reducing their allowance wasn't the first time, favored concubines weren't afraid, the emperor's rewards were generous, and they received respect from the six imperial uncles, living a life of luxury even if their monthly allowance was less it didn't matter. But those who weren't favored, normally suffered mistreatment, if their allowance was reduced again, their lives would be even more difficult.

  The empress's hand slightly rose, causing the crowd to quiet down. At this moment, an inner attendant from the outer palace came in and loudly announced: "The emperor has arrived——"

  Everyone stood up and paid their respects. Tuoba Hong hurried in, clearly having just returned from the morning court session. He sat down in the seat yielded by the Empress, looked around the grand hall, and said: "Today Huihe Fuma has also arrived; everyone is present."

  Lin Wan bowed her head and said, "It's about time to come and pay respects to the Empress Dowager, it's just that the concubines have been lazy." The Empress smiled and said, "These days are busy with many things, and we also need to prepare for the New Year's festival, all the consorts have been very diligent, everyone has arrived on time." As she spoke, she personally handed tea to the Emperor: "Your Majesty is also tired, having just finished the morning court and rushing over here."

  Taizong of Northern Wei nodded slightly and waved his hand to the crowd, saying: "You are all excused from paying respects, just sit down. I have come to Changxin Palace today also for an important matter."

  He said, pointing to the first vacant chair on the left side of the Empress: "Xiang Fei Shangguan Shi gave birth to the third and fourth princes, making great contributions to the country. By imperial decree, Xiang Fei Shangguan Shi is promoted to First Rank Noble Consort, with the title Changhe conferred upon her. The third and fourth princes are granted the title of Prince of the Blood, each enfeoffed as Prince of Qi and Prince of Chu respectively."

  The two imperial princes born to Empress Jing were ranked third and fourth, because there was another deceased imperial prince before them, who was the son of Consort Wei.