In order to eat, I signed a contract with the system

The clerk knew that what Qin Wanrong said was right, but she still felt sorry for her. Even if that person was from an official family, so what? Her young lady was both talented and beautiful, and smart. She could be a proper saintly lady. If it weren't for the fact that the eldest young lady was known for her delicate and jealous nature, which affected the young lady's reputation, she could have arranged a marriage for her young lady when the old Dongchang Marquis' wife was still alive.

Who would have thought that the old marquis and his wife died before the young lady could get engaged, and the new marquis and his wife were heartless and very stingy towards the young lady, their own sister. Not only were they unwilling to arrange a marriage for the young lady, they even withheld all of the dowry that was prescribed for her.

Wenshu grew up with Qin Wanrong. She knew how proud Qin Wanrong was and how much trouble she had suffered from the Qin family and Lord Qin. Wenshu didn't want Qin Wanrong to be sad, so she forced a smile and agreed, "Yes, when the young lady marries the official and becomes a queen in the palace, no one in the entire Bianjing city will dare to talk about the young lady's reputation to her."

"Young lady is so beautiful. Today, the emperor is so focused on her. Young lady's plan will surely succeed. When the time comes, I will accompany you to the palace and serve as a palace lady."

Qin Wanrong didn't say anything silly about not bringing the clerk into the palace. She touched the clerk's back with emotion and said, "Thank you, clerk."

When the official came to his senses, all the Buddhist scriptures scattered on the ground had been picked up by Liang Duzhi. The official took them and looked at them, and was very surprised. The handwriting was really good, not inferior to contemporary calligraphy masters at all. For this reason, the official had a new impression of the "fairy" he had seen before. Not only did she look like a fairy, but she was also a mysterious talented woman.

"Liang Duzhi, it's getting late, let's go back."

The official wanted to ask someone to investigate the fairy, but when he thought of his age, he suddenly felt ashamed and couldn't say it out loud.

But who is Liang Duzhi? Liang Duzhi saw all the pauses in Guanjia's tone and changes in expression. He grew up with Guanjia and knew Guanjia better than Guanjia himself. Although Guanjia couldn't say it out loud, Liang Duzhi still silently sent people to find out Qin Wanrong's identity.

Soon the emperor returned to the palace, and Qin Wanrong's life in Hanshan Temple returned to normal, except that this time there were some unfamiliar faces in Hanshan Temple. Through their abnormal actions and behaviors, Qin Wanrong easily analyzed the identities of these people.

Since someone in the palace had sent someone to investigate her, it meant that her previous plan was not in vain. As for the others, Qin Wanrong had no money or people, and her actions were still limited. She was willing but unable to investigate, and could not find out anything.

Ever since he met Qin Wanrong, the emperor dreamed of the fairy that night. In the dream, the fairy did not run away. He just held the fairy in his arms and walked in the pavilion in the mountains with her fragrance. The refreshing breeze, the green all around, the birds singing in his ears, the faint fragrance in his nose and the warmth in his arms made the emperor so happy that he even smiled when he slept.

However, this smile turned into melancholy when he woke up. Perhaps the life in the dream was the life that the official yearned for. After waking up, the reality was either political affairs or the jealousy of the women in the harem.

On this day, the emperor dreamed of the fairy in the temple again. She was in the Zhaoren Hall holding the Buddhist scripture and thinking of her.

Inside the Ciyuan Hall, all the concubines were gathering in the main hall to pay their respects to the holy Empress Cao. Ever since the third prince died young the year before last, the emperor had become disheartened and neglected the harem, but at least he could still summon a few concubines every month. Who would have thought that a month and a half had passed since the emperor left the palace, but he had not entered the harem once.

Now the concubines were all anxious. They began to suspect that the emperor had met some little demon when he left the palace last time, and that this had attracted all his attention. They hurriedly sent people to inquire.

Who would have thought that they didn't find out anything about the little goblin, but they did find out that the official had fallen in love with Buddhism since he had visited Hanshan Temple. He spent all day reviewing memorials or reading Buddhist scriptures in Zhaoren Hall, and it seemed that he wanted to become a monk.

The emperor was about to become a monk, and the concubines were completely panicked. Their status was not high enough to ask for an audience with the emperor, nor could they persuade him, so they could only come together to find Empress Cao to perform her duties as empress.

"My lady, I'm sure you've heard that the emperor seems to be thinking of becoming a monk!"

The first person to speak was Zhang Wanyi, who was the most impatient. She was born a court dancer, and was able to become a concubine only because of the emperor's favor. If she lost the emperor's favor, Zhang Wanyi would really have nothing. For this reason, when she heard that the emperor wanted to become a nun, Zhang Wanyi was the most anxious.

After Zhang Wanyi spoke, before Empress Cao could say anything, Concubine Zhao Shu also spoke up: "Yes, Your Majesty, although the emperor was sad after the death of my third brother, he at least remembered to come to my palace to comfort me. But now that my third brother has passed away for a year, the emperor has begun to stop entering the harem. What if the emperor really becomes a monk, leaving me and others behind? What should I do?"

Concubine Zhao Shu is the daughter of the official's wet nurse and the biological mother of the deceased third prince. She grew up with the official and loved him deeply. If we rank the concubines who admire the official, Concubine Zhao Shu is definitely in the top three. Usually, Concubine Zhao Shu is gentle and does not fight or compete. She also respects Empress Cao. If she is not really anxious, she would never do such an act as to speak before the empress.

Fortunately, Empress Cao did understand the feelings of everyone in the harem. As the empress, she could find out more than everyone else. She knew that the rumors were true. The emperor had indeed visited Hanshan Temple many times, and it was after he returned from Hanshan Temple last time that he brought back a Buddhist scripture. However, the empress believed that she knew the emperor's temperament well, and it was absolutely impossible for the emperor to become a monk.

"Alright, alright, I know everything. After paying my respects, I will go to Zhaoren Hall to meet the emperor and persuade him to go to the harem. Everyone, go back first."

Empress Cao was the second empress of the Emperor. Her relationship with him was more of respect than romance. Empress Cao was not favored and had no children. As for the Emperor's decision not to enter the harem, Empress Cao was more concerned about the adoption of a child.

I wonder if this move by the emperor meant giving up on having his own children and turning to raising royal children? Before the birth of the third prince, the emperor adopted his adopted son, Zhao Zongshi, under the coercion of the ministers, and raised him under Empress Cao.

Originally, Empress Cao wanted to raise Zhao Zongshi well, so that when Zhao Zongshi succeeded to the throne, she, as his adoptive mother, could become a powerful empress dowager based on her love for him. However, she did not expect that after five years of raising him, Concubine Zhao became pregnant and gave birth to the third prince.

For the emperor, Zhao Zongshi, the adopted son, naturally became an eyesore after having his own son, so the emperor sent someone to send Zhao Zongshi away, but this was not a good thing for Empress Cao. Neither Zhao Zongshi nor the third prince was her son. Compared with Zhao Zongshi, who she had raised, the third prince, the illegitimate son, had his own biological mother.

With the help of the Third Prince, Concubine Zhao became a first-rank concubine, which was only one step away from becoming the Queen. How could Queen Cao be willing to accept this? So gradually the Third Prince began to fall ill and became weak. After tenaciously holding on for three years, he finally died.