"Dowager Empress..."
A palace maid peered through the window, her voice tinged with pity: "Concubine Li... Concubine Li has fainted."
The Dowager Empress stood by the window, her delicate brows furrowed. "Am I blind? Can I not see? If you pity her so much, why don't you join her kneeling in the rain?"
The palace maid hastily knelt down, professing she wouldn't dare.
She did indeed feel sorry for Concubine Li. Prime Minister Song had already been sentenced to execution after autumn by the Emperor. While the other Prime Minister Song had narrowly escaped, he had been stripped of his official positions. Rumors suggested that life in the Song household had become quite difficult.
The Song clan members had been subjected to varying degrees of punishment. The once-mighty Song Family had crumbled in an instant.
Concubine Li, formerly a high-ranking imperial consort, had now become someone that even the lowliest palace servant could trample upon.
The Dowager Empress seemed intent on grinding her down. At this rate, her health would surely suffer.
In the rainy night, a shadow loomed over the unconscious Concubine Li. Xia He looked up to see Court Lady Jiang holding an oil-paper umbrella, gazing at the fallen concubine with an impassive expression.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
In her daze, Concubine Li squinted, thinking the Emperor had come to her rescue. She weakly raised her hand, trying to grasp at the illusion.
"My lady, look carefully. I am Court Lady Jiang."
Jiang Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Once, I served you with utmost loyalty, ready to die for your cause. But when I was framed by the Empress and banished to the Cold Palace to suffer, what did you do? Did you even spare me a glance? Did you care at all whether I lived or died?"
Concubine Li lay on the ground, her hands pressed against the slippery surface as she struggled to open her eyes. "Court Lady Jiang? Why... why are you here?"
Upon recognizing Jiang Yuan's cold face, Concubine Li's eyes blazed with intense hatred. "Save you? If it weren't for you and that wretched Concubine Zhen, how could I have fallen to such depths? I only regret not having you both burned alive in the Cold Palace. Then I wouldn't have to see you villains prosper today."
She remembered how glorious and proud she had felt when she had punished Jiang Xinyue, making her kneel under the scorching sun in the imperial garden.
Back then, no one in the harem could rival her.
Yet in just a year, fortunes had reversed dramatically.
Concubine Zhen had become the Emperor's most beloved consort, while she... had fallen so low she was like a dog, forced to endure Court Lady Jiang's mockery.
Court Lady Jiang laughed coldly again. "What does this have to do with me or Concubine Zhen? If your Song Family hadn't disregarded the Emperor so blatantly, how could you have ended up like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean nothing. If you can't understand, then continue to hate me and Concubine Zhen!"
Court Lady Jiang's eyes flickered with derision. "When I was in dire straits, you abandoned me. But I won't stoop to such heartlessness."
She turned to the eunuch behind her. "When dawn breaks, escort Concubine Li back to Changxin... Oh, no... She's no longer the exalted Imperial Consort. The Emperor has decreed that she will reside in Xihuo Palace with me."
Moreover, Jiang Yuan, despite her lowly rank as a court lady, would occupy the main hall, while Concubine Li, once a high-ranking consort, would be relegated to the side chamber.
When imperial favor wanes, it seems even old affections are forgotten.
Jiang Yuan walked through the heavy rain, her small oil-paper umbrella barely shielding her shoulders from the spray.
The eunuch holding the umbrella was soaked to the bone, yet he worried more about Court Lady Jiang punishing him for letting her get wet.
Behold!
The imperial court was a place where big fish ate small fish, small fish ate shrimp, and shrimp ate sand.
But one day, small fish like Concubine Zhen might grow into mighty leviathans, swallowing all the weak in their path.
The Empress... her days of glory were numbered.
It didn't matter if Concubine Zhen refused to ally with her. She could tear out the Empress's heart all on her own.
With the Song Family dealt with, the Xuanwu Emperor had been in excellent spirits lately. He had even promoted Court Lady Jiang to the rank of Concubine Jiang.
Moreover, as the Jiang family had recently triumphed over the once-powerful Song Family, they began to receive flattery from court officials. Jiang Hewei's reputation grew ever greater.
Only Jiang Yankun, following Jiang Xinyue's instructions, deflected all credit to Jiang Hewei whenever asked, downplaying the Jiang family's crucial role in the affair.
She had also suggested sending their clan's "instigator," the eldest uncle, back to their hometown in Yizhou, trying to ensure no one would remember his involvement.
Jiang Xinyue's letter made sense. She pointed out that while the Song Family's influence had waned, with Prime Minister Song unlikely to ever regain power, the other Prime Minister Song remained. The Song Family was scattered but not completely broken. Though they couldn't cause major upheaval, they could still easily deal with the Jiang and Song families.
If the Jiang Family were to become arrogant in the wake of the Song Family's decline, they would inevitably draw the ire of the Song clan.
Should they seek revenge, the newly risen Jiang Family would be unable to withstand it.
Besides, Jiang Yankun had already reaped the most tangible benefits, having been promoted by the Xuanwu Emperor to the position of Minister of Punishment, a third-rank official. What use was there in seeking empty fame?
Jiang Xinyue had written a separate letter to Uncle Jiang Yanxi, promising to remind the Emperor of him at an opportune moment, by which time the Song Family would no longer pose a threat.
If the main branch of the Jiang Family truly had great talent, they wouldn't have only produced a single local government advisor until now.
Jiang Yankun also advised his cousin: "Since entering the palace, Xinyue has outmaneuvered several of the Emperor's favored consorts. Even when banished to the Cold Palace, she found a way to secure her release and even a promotion. My appointment as Minister of Punishment is entirely due to her whispering in the Emperor's ear. Cousin Yanxi... we must heed Xinyue's words. The day of the Jiang Family's ascendance is not far off."
Jiang Yanxi was moved by his words, especially when Jiang Yankun suggested he select a few studious children from their clan to send to the capital. He spoke of establishing a clan school within the Jiang Household to assess the children's studies and see if they could participate in this year's Autumn Imperial Examination alongside his son Ze.
The prospect of the Jiang Family producing more promising young officials was certainly appealing, making his own career aspirations seem less important.
Jiang Yanxi immediately prepared a horse, refusing even the carriage Jiang Yankun had readied, deeming it too cumbersome.
He wanted to return to Yizhou quickly, share the news with the clan, and bring those young descendants back promptly. He feared that delays on the road might cause them to miss their chance.
Originally, the Autumn Imperial Examination was scheduled for the eighth month, but due to the Song Family's examination fraud scandal, the Emperor had postponed it until the end of the year.
It could hardly be called an Autumn Examination anymore; it was now a Winter Examination.
The journey to and from Yizhou would take a month!
There wasn't much time left to prepare.
After the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination will be held next February. Following the metropolitan examination, the final palace examination will take place in March.
The schedule is quite tight.
Although the provincial examination could be taken in Yizhou, Jiang Yanxi felt that the most promising person in their clan was Jiang Yankun, who had previously achieved the second-highest rank in the imperial examinations.
Therefore, he decided to bring all the young men of the clan to the capital city, transferring their student registrations there.
The Jiang family was the wealthiest in Yizhou, and the Yizhou governor was hoping to establish some connections in the capital. Not only would he not make things difficult for them, but he would also be eager to expedite the process, so as not to delay their examination preparations.
