Her little mind could not comprehend it, so she could only kneel outside Xihuo Palace, watching the Xuanwu Emperor chase after the back of Consort Zhen.
If she could understand it clearly, she would not need to kneel here.
Jiang Xinyue returned to her bedchamber and buried herself under the covers, refusing to come out no matter how much Xi Que and Shuang Jiang pleaded, with not a single movement coming from under the covers.
The Xuanwu Emperor smiled: "All of you leave. Let Wang Dequan bring the meal. I will join your mistress for lunch."
The mistress acted like this, yet the Emperor was not angry?
Xi Que and Shuang Jiang stood dazed, but happily withdrew.
After they had all left, Jiang Xinyue "swooshed" and threw off the bedding, her beautiful eyes glaring at the Xuanwu Emperor: "Your Majesty did it on purpose."
"What did I do on purpose?"
Did he purposefully flirt with her outside, purposefully making her recall last night's intimate moments? Or did he purposefully speak in a mocking way?
Then he was guilty. He did indeed deliberately tease her, wanting to see her reaction.
It had been a long time since there was such a lively person in the harem.
If Jiang Xinyue did not speak, she would turn her head away: "Earlier, Concubine Chu maliciously slandered me first, yet Your Majesty helped her."
This was a false accusation against him.
The Xuanwu Emperor laughed and sat on the edge of the bed, tugging at her bedding: "Come out first, it's hot inside, don't suffocate yourself."
Seeing that she did not move, the Xuanwu Emperor directly threw the snow-white silk cover aside, pulled her into his arms, and sat her on his lap, their foreheads touching: "When did I help her?"
"The way you looked at your concubine..."
She imitated the Xuanwu Emperor's expression at the lotus pond, but without the same commanding presence, appearing cutely fierce: "Like this..."
The Xuanwu Emperor couldn't help but lightly kiss her pouting lips. Jiang Xinyue looked dazed, and he kissed her again, and again...
Eventually, it turned into a deep, long French kiss.
This was something the Xuanwu Emperor had learned from Jiang Xinyue.
In passionate moments, a woman's supple, agile little tongue danced playfully with his, making even a kiss interesting.
He increasingly wanted to conquer her mischievous, provocative organ.
"I'm not... I'm not angry anymore, I'm not angry anymore."
Jiang Xinyue pushed away the Xuanwu Emperor, panting, with blushing cheeks, avoiding the Emperor's approaching face: "Your Majesty said earlier that you came specifically to see Concubine Chu, but now what are you doing?"
Saying she was not angry, but she was still upset!
"If I did not say that, wouldn't they unite even more to bully my beloved consort?"
He was still considering her interests.
If she were the original Jiang Xinyue, she would probably be lost in the Emperor's deep affection.
But...
Was he not just using her to suppress Concubine Chu?
For six years, Concubine Chu had always pretended to be ill and fragile, and Jiang Xinyue could clearly see the Emperor's attitude towards her.
His tolerance of Concubine Chu, no... of Concubine Chu and the Chu family, had reached its peak.
From the moment she first arrived through transmigration and gained his favor, the Xuanwu Emperor had already planned how to use her to achieve his goals.
Otherwise, the Emperor would not have directly elevated her over Concubine Chu, making her Consort Zhen instead of just a noble consort.
Was it not just to give her the power to suppress Concubine Chu, enraging Concubine Chu to bring about her own downfall?
Jiang Xinyue's greatest strength was her self-awareness. How could the Xuanwu Emperor, who had seen through the beauty of the harem and ruled the Great Yan Dynasty with peace and prosperity, truly develop feelings for her?
However, fortunately, she was only play-acting her part.
Today's slap in the face to Concubine Chu was to satisfy the Xuanwu Emperor, letting him feel that everything was proceeding according to his plan.
Correspondingly, he would certainly give her some compensation.
Because soon, Concubine Chu would strike back.
In this palace, if you were slapped in the face but did not retaliate, you would become the laughingstock of the entire harem, bullied by everyone.
Only by successfully retaliating could you tell others that you were not to be trifled with, thereby maintaining your outward dignity and status.
With a touched, smiling expression on her face, Jiang Xinyue leaned against the Xuanwu Emperor's embrace, a glimmer of wisdom flickering in her eyes.
And the Emperor, with his chin resting on her head, also seemed lost in thought, as if contemplating something.
The noon meal was exquisitely prepared. With the Emperor present, the Imperial Kitchen did not dare to neglect Xihuo Palace, serving with exceptional care.
Jiang Xinyue was used to taking a beauty nap half an hour after lunch, but the Xuanwu Emperor did not have such leisure time. After some more intimate exchanges with his "beloved consort," he had to return to the Imperial Study to handle state affairs.
"Mistress..."
After seeing off the Xuanwu Emperor, Xi Que and Shuang Jiang immediately returned to tell Jiang Xinyue: "Just now, when the Emperor was leaving, Concubine Chu fainted at his feet. Guess what happened?"
Jiang Xinyue, her hair neatly tied up, was applying a sticky mixture of crushed lotus leaves and honey as a face mask: "The Emperor would say, since Concubine Chu is weak and frequently ill, from this day forth, the green plague sign will be removed from Changchun Palace, and she will be confined and forbidden from leaving to recover. When she is fully healed, then she can come out again, to prevent spreading her sickness to the other consorts and ladies of the harem."
Her words matched exactly what Shuang Jiang had witnessed the first time she saw Jiang Xinyue apply a lotus leaf and honey face mask, leaving her even more astonished: "Mistress, how... how did you know the Emperor said those things?"
Not a single word was different.
Jiang Xinyue used her fingers to massage the face mask, promoting absorption, and calmly said: "Because your mistress is the worm in the Emperor's belly!"
What was so difficult to guess?
In the past, when the imperial in-laws held power and the Dowager Empress controlled the harem, the position of Empress was essentially ceremonial. The Wu family, relying on the Emperor being the Dowager Empress's own son, shamelessly engaged in selling official positions and titles, crossing the Xuanwu Emperor's bottom line.
As a result, the Wu family was confiscated, the Dowager Empress was placed under house arrest in Cining Palace, and the Wu family, from the Emperor's own maternal uncle down to distant branches ten thousand miles away, regardless of age or gender, were all exiled to the bitter cold of Northern Ning.
This showed his cold-heartedness, having already renounced all relatives.
Now that he was unwilling to tolerate Concubine Chu any longer, he would naturally strike at what she valued most - her imperial favor.
A shudder ran through Jiang Xinyue's body, reminding herself once again to preserve her intact heart and never let the Emperor enter it in the slightest.
All of his kindness towards her was calculated and weighed, and even if Consort Zhen did not exist today, there would be Consort Zhang or Consort Li...
She just happened to appear at the right time, with stunning beauty and an undistinguished background, so there was no need to worry about her family causing any major disturbance.
Because she had never developed feelings, she would not be heartbroken.
She was rather grateful that she possessed something the Xuanwu Emperor, the Empress, and Concubine Li wanted to exploit, for those very things would only help propel her higher and farther.
She had no intention of becoming the Empress, nor did she wish to be a drudge working for the Xuanwu Emperor, constantly dealing with petty grievances and false accusations.
Her ambition was grander – she wanted to be the Xuanwu Emperor's favored concubine, so pampered that she wouldn't have to kowtow to anyone, living a carefree and unrestrained life as his cherished consort.
