The night was already deep, and the night sky wasn't clear tonight. In the dark expanse, only a few scattered stars hung sparsely. Chen Zhi couldn't sleep well. She tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep, as the events of the day still weighed heavily on her mind.

　　This wasn't the first time. Since she woke up in this world, the concubines in the harem had always had ulterior motives towards her. Although she never took the initiative to provoke them, being constantly on guard wasn't a sustainable solution. Yu Qian had too many women, and she was alone in the harem. It was really difficult to cover every aspect of things. Only today did she clearly realize that there was no possibility of co - existence between Yu Qian and this body.

　　"Rong Quan, are you there?" Unable to sleep, Chen Zhi asked tentatively. It was already past the early hours of the morning, and everywhere was silent. Even the chirping of insects had stopped.

　　"I'm here." Rong Quan's voice came from the darkness, immediately making her feel more at ease. Then there was a brief silence. She wasn't sure how to start the conversation, but since Rong Quan was nearby, she wanted to talk to him.

　　"Rong Quan. Today, was I a bit... " Chen Zhi didn't know how to put it. She wasn't from this place. Although she now occupied Yue Chen's body, what if the original owner came back one day? She wasn't sure if acting according to her own nature was the right thing to do. Everyone she had heard speak of Yue Chen described her as different from herself.

　　"You didn't do anything wrong! You didn't do anything at all. They came to provoke you on their own initiative," Rong Quan replied. Yue Chen hadn't made any mistakes today. Facing such a serious accusation, she was justified in doing whatever she did. He didn't know what Yue Chen was like before, but the Yue Chen in front of him never looked for trouble. Even when verbally provoked by others, she would only retort on the spot and never stab them in the back.

　　The words Rong Li had said to him today lingered in his mind. The crime of harming the imperial heir was a serious one that could implicate the entire family. Not only Yue Chen, but even his prince would be involved. Rong Li had said that if she hadn't been so decisive and come up with a counter - measure immediately, Yue Chen might have already been thrown into the imperial prison by now.

　　There was an unhidden admiration for Yue Chen in Rong Li's words. He was pleasantly surprised that Yue Chen could react so quickly with a clear mind when facing such a serious frame - up. In a hurry, she even managed to make every arrangement without any mistakes. In the past, they had underestimated her. But only such a Yue Chen was worthy of the prince's protection. She knew how to utilize her support and also how to protect herself and fight back.

　　"Didn't you always dislike me relying on your prince? Today, I essentially used the Prince Regent to do things for me," Chen Zhi said in a low voice. The word "use" didn't seem inappropriate.

　　Rong Quan replied, "Ever since the prince decided to enter the capital to protect you, you and the prince are like grasshoppers on the same boat. It's too late to try to distance yourself now. People in the capital won't believe it." Since the prince started to help Yue Chen, they had become one entity. They would either prosper together or perish together.

　　Chen Zhi remained silent. She was sure that Rong Quan hadn't read many books. How could he say that his prince was a grasshopper! She secretly chuckled in her heart.

　　"By the way, how were you so certain that woman wasn't pregnant? She just colluded with the imperial physician to frame you," Rong Quan asked.

　　"The frame - up by He Jieyu today could be divided into three situations," Chen Zhi began to explain her analysis. "First, if she was truly pregnant. Then when she fell, she would have carefully protected her belly. What she wanted was just to frame me, and she wouldn't bet on the life of the imperial heir. Moreover, if the emperor knew she was really pregnant and something happened to the child, she would end up losing both the child and the emperor's favor. At present, the emperor doesn't have many heirs. Who would really joke about the imperial heir!"

　　"Second, if she wasn't pregnant, then when doing these things, the more tragic she made it seem, the better. Otherwise, how could she pretend to be in pain during a miscarriage?"

　　"Third, if she had been pregnant but had already had a miscarriage. This situation would be the most convincing. And by pushing the blame for the loss of the imperial heir onto me, it would fulfill her wishes and also the emperor's. But this situation requires speed and accuracy, otherwise, it would be easily exposed. So she must have sent someone to keep an eye on the Changle Palace all the time. When she saw me leave the palace today, she quickly followed."

　　Rong Quan's eyes widened in disbelief and admiration. The incident had happened in a hurry, yet she could come up with a counter - measure in such a short time. It was evident that she was meticulous in her thinking and decisive. But upon further reflection, he felt something was wrong. If she was so capable, how had she ended up in such a miserable state before? Chen Zhi didn't know what Rong Quan was thinking. Otherwise, she would surely argue that it wasn't her fault and she wouldn't take the blame.

　　"Then why do you think the emperor was also involved?" Rong Quan asked again.

　　Chen Zhi was patient with Rong Quan and continued, "A concubine's pregnancy is a top - priority matter in the palace. I carefully studied all the materials you brought me last time. The Sigunguan is in charge of the affairs in the harem. There are detailed records of when the emperor summons concubines. If she was really pregnant, with her low - ranking Jieyu position, she wouldn't be able to hide it privately."

　　"Even if the emperor didn't know the inside story, once he came to the Zhilan Palace, he would just follow the lead and try to pin the crime of harming the imperial heir on me. I don't have a good impression of Yu Qian. During this period, I've been staying in the Changle Palace, not going out, and they couldn't find a reason to depose me. My position as the empress was protected by the Prince Regent. Once I do something heinous, at least half of the blame will be shifted onto your prince." In the eyes of those people, she was already on the side of the Prince Regent.

　　"The harem and the imperial court have been inseparable since ancient times. If a concubine does something wrong, it's easy to implicate her maternal family. And things done by the maternal family can also easily involve the concubines in the harem." Chen Zhi was helpless. Why did she have to transmigrate into Yue Chen's body? She was the empress, yet not free. "In fact, I can somewhat understand the emperor's actions. After all, a subject's power should not overshadow the emperor's. The emperor's imperial power cannot be challenged. The Prince Regent is like a thorn in the emperor's side, and it's reasonable for the emperor to want to get rid of him."

　　Rong Quan didn't understand and said, "My prince doesn't have such thoughts. Otherwise, why would he lead the troops to go on an expedition and stay away from the court back then? The emperor is just overly suspicious and thinks everyone is trying to seize his throne."

　　"But can you deny that the Prince Regent's power is indeed too great? It's not about whether he wants to rebel or not, but that he has the ability and the status to rebel! Now that the emperor has just ascended the throne and hasn't fully taken control of the court, while the Prince Regent commands five hundred thousand troops of the Dayan Dynasty. If they were to turn against each other now, the emperor would have little chance of winning. If it weren't for his fear of the Prince Regent, the imperial edict to depose the empress would have already been sent to me."

　　Rong Quan fell silent. Her words were similar to Rong Li's. But this situation wasn't necessarily bad. The prince couldn't lose his power. The fate of the Yue Mansion was right in front of them. A threat that had lost its power was doomed not to end well.