On the second day after moving to Changle Palace, in the early morning, Murong Zhao went to Cining Palace according to etiquette to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.
She changed into a simple palace dress, without makeup or excessive accessories, appearing clean and elegant, and brought Su Yue along.
Wei Zhao was patrolling outside Changle Palace and saw her coming out. He paused slightly, his gaze conveying inquiry.
Murong Zhao gently shook her head: "No need to follow. The inner palace is not a place for guards to move about freely."
Wei Zhao frowned slightly but did not say more, only clasped his hands in salute and whispered: "Your Highness, be careful."
Murong Zhao nodded and headed toward Cining Palace with Su Yue.
Wei Zhao stood where he was, watching the slender figure disappear at the end of the palace path. Though he could not follow, his gaze remained fixed on that direction for a long time.
Entering Cining Palace, Murong Zhao lowered her eyes and adjusted her sleeves, walking to the center of the hall, kneeling respectfully with a standard posture.
"I pay respects to the Empress Dowager, wishing Your Highness eternal peace and prosperity."
Her voice was light, neither humble nor arrogant.
However—
The Empress Dowager did not speak to let her rise.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths.
The hall was so quiet that the faint crackling of charcoal could be heard.
Murong Zhao maintained her kneeling posture, her body slightly lowered, hands folded at her sides, unmoving.
Su Yue knelt behind her—as a palace maid, she naturally performed the kneeling ritual—now terrified, barely daring to breathe, feeling this silence more unsettling than any reprimand.
The Empress Dowager sat upright on the phoenix chair, fingering a string of prayer beads, her gaze heavily fixed on the figure maintaining the kneeling posture in the hall. She neither called for her to rise nor asked questions, just quietly watching.
What was she watching?
She was watching this girl's composure.
She was watching this girl's patience.
She was watching whether this girl truly could endure, or was merely pretending to endure.
An hour quietly passed.
Murong Zhao's legs gradually grew sore, the tendons around her knees strained painfully. Yet she remained motionless, breathing steadily, her face showing no trace of anxiety or grievance, still maintaining her initial posture, stable and steady.
Eighteen years in the Cold Palace, she had endured hardships worse than this.
The Empress Dowager finally spoke, her tone indifferent: "Rise."
Murong Zhao slowly straightened up, her legs slightly numb, yet she stood steadily, her spine straight.
The Empress Dowager's gaze swept over her face, finding no hint of resentment or grievance, only a calmness like still water.
She raised her hand slightly, her tone neither warm nor cold: "Grant her a seat."
Murong Zhao knelt to express gratitude, then sat down steadily, neither humble nor arrogant.
The Empress Dowager spoke first, her voice not loud but each word carrying a probe: "Have you settled comfortably in Changle Palace these past few days?"
"Thank you for Your Highness's concern, Changle Palace is very good." Murong Zhao lowered her eyes, her tone respectful.
"Has the emperor… visited you?"
This question was laden with meaning.
Murong Zhao remained calm, her voice neither hurried nor slow: "The Emperor is busy with state affairs and has not yet visited."
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp as a knife: "In front of me, there is no need for pretenses. Speak, what seductive tricks did you use to lure the emperor into exceptionally moving you to Changle Palace?"
All the palace servants in the hall instantly held their breath.
Everyone knew that the Empress Dowager despised palace women scheming and competing for favor.
Su Yue knelt on the ground, trembling all over, wishing she could bury her head in the ground.
But Murong Zhao slowly raised her head, her gaze calmly meeting the Empress Dowager's eyes, without evasion or panic, her tone utterly candid: "I reply to Your Highness, I used no tricks at all."
"If the Empress Dowager insists on asking what methods this concubine possesses… then this concubine's method is to do nothing at all."
The Empress Dowager raised a brow slightly. "Do nothing?"
"Yes." Murong Zhao nodded, her voice clear and steady. "This concubine grew up in the Cold Palace of Beishuo. Over eighteen years, I came to understand one truth most clearly—the more desperately one strives for something in this palace, the less likely one is to obtain it."
"By neither contending nor seizing, neither quarreling nor making a fuss, but remaining dutiful and knowing one's place, one may instead receive unexpected blessings."
"This concubine never imagined His Majesty would notice me, much less that I would be moved to Changle Palace. That His Majesty deigns to spare me a glance is this concubine's fortune. All I seek is to live quietly, knowing my place. Nothing more."
Her words were neither humble nor arrogant, neither defensive nor resentful.
There was no appeal to pity, no claim to merit, no swearing of oaths, nor any deliberate attempt to curry favor.
The Empress Dowager remained silent for a long time.
Those sharp eyes, having judged countless people, fixed intently on Murong Zhao, as if to see through her from the inside out.
Truth and falsehood—she could naturally distinguish them.
This girl truly had not sent anyone to solicit favor, had not gone about currying alliances, and had not employed any cunning schemes.
When suffering in Yong Lane, she endured silently; when her provisions were withheld, she resolved it herself; even after moving to Changle Palace, she remained as tranquil as still water, without the slightest display of ostentation.
Such composure, such clarity of understanding—countless noblewomen from distinguished families in the inner palace could not compare.
The Empress Dowager spoke slowly, her tone neither mild nor harsh, yet each word carried a pointed warning: "Since you understand the principle of remaining dutiful and knowing your place, this palace will remind you once more—"
"This inner palace does not lack clever people. What it lacks are those who know what to think and what not to think."
"The Emperor allowing you to move to Changle Palace is a favor. But favors—they can be given, and they can be taken back."
She paused, her gaze settling heavily on Murong Zhao's face. "This palace cares not what you were like in Beishuo before. Now that you have entered the Dayin inner palace, you must abide by Dayin's rules."
"Remain dutiful, and you will have a path to survival. Should you fail to do so—"
The Empress Dowager did not finish, merely lifting her teacup and gently blowing on the tea foam.
That unspoken half-sentence was more chilling than any uttered threat.
Murong Zhao lowered her eyes, her tone exceedingly respectful: "This concubine will engrave the Empress Dowager's teachings in her heart."
The Empress Dowager glanced at her and finally waved a hand. "Enough. You may withdraw."
"This concubine takes her leave."
Murong Zhao rose slowly, bowed, and withdrew, her steps still steady.
Once outside Cining Palace, a cold wind blew, and Su Yue's legs went weak, nearly collapsing as she patted her chest in fearful relief. "Your Highness! Y-Your courage is too great! Just now, when the Empress Dowager made you kneel for so long, this servant was nearly frightened to death! How could the Empress Dowager treat you like that…"
Murong Zhao reached out to steady her firmly, her voice light yet carrying the lucidity of one who sees through everything: "Su Yue, the Empress Dowager has lived over fifty years. What schemes and seductive tactics has she not seen?"
"Today, by not allowing me to rise, she was testing me—testing whether I could truly endure or was merely pretending."
"If I had shown the slightest grievance or agitation, she would have looked down on me instead."
Su Yue listened, her heart pounding with fear. "Then Your Highness, you…"
"I am fine." Murong Zhao lifted her gaze toward the depths of the palace heights, her dark eyes as calm as a deep pool. "In the Cold Palace, I endured hardships far worse than this. A little grievance like this is nothing."
This trial with the Empress Dowager was temporarily passed.
But the true storms still lay ahead.
Within Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager watched Murong Zhao's departing figure, remaining silent for a long time.
Liu Momo whispered, "Empress Dowager, that girl knelt for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and when she rose, her legs didn't even tremble…"
The Empress Dowager twirled her prayer beads and spoke calmly, "This girl can endure more than I imagined."
"Those who can endure are either fools or ruthless people."
She paused, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. "She is no fool."
Liu Momo asked cautiously, "Then what does Your Majesty mean…"
The Empress Dowager waved her hand. "First, let's see if she can survive Consort Shu's test."
Outside the window, the cold wind howled, sweeping up fallen leaves from the ground.
The chess game in the deep palace had only just begun.
And Murong Zhao had already caught everyone's attention.