To make an emperor admit his mistakes to oneself, for any other consort, would seem an unimaginable honor.
But not for Jiang Xinyue.
She forcefully pulled her hand away, placed her hands on her hips, and slightly pouted her cherry-like lips, expressing her dissatisfaction: "What exactly did Your Majesty do wrong?"
It was fortunate that this body was still that of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, so these coquettish actions appeared cute and natural, as if this was exactly how she was meant to be.
If it had been someone more mature, like Empress Zhu, for instance, the emperor might have been frightened enough to turn tail and run.
The Xuanwu Emperor tirelessly tried to take her hand again. Jiang Xinyue kept pulling away, and he kept reaching for it. Finally, Jiang Xinyue grew tired of the game and allowed him to hold her hand.
"If Your Majesty can't say what he did wrong, this concubine requests that Your Majesty return to where he came from. This concubine is unworthy of Your Majesty's grace."
She was finally able to hear herself speak properly. The Xuanwu Emperor gripped her hand even tighter: "Yue'er, from the moment I was born, the Empress Dowager raised me to the standards of an emperor. I wasn't allowed to cry loudly or laugh boisterously as a child. If the palace servants dared to play with me, they would all be replaced the next day. As I grew older, mother wouldn't allow me to have any cherished possessions. When I was young, I once kept a snake, but under mother's deliberate actions, it disappeared too. I can confidently say that I am a good emperor. But I... I'm not good at being a good husband."
The cautious look in his eyes, filled with hopeful light, made Jiang Xinyue feel it was time to reel in this big fish and let it swim into her pond.
But words of vulnerability couldn't come from her mouth, so she still maintained a stern expression without speaking, though her stance was considerably less resistant than before.
This gave the Xuanwu Emperor great courage and confidence to continue: "Yue'er, I shouldn't always weigh pros and cons, putting you in danger. I shouldn't disregard your feelings, shouldn't be fickle, or let you suffer for the sake of balancing the court. Moreover, I can't possibly dismiss the entire harem in the future. Because I am an emperor first, and then your husband. Stabilizing the court and ensuring the people's happiness is my responsibility."
Fearing Jiang Xinyue might become angry again, he quickly explained: "But I promise you, from now on, I will never let you suffer for the sake of anyone else in the harem. I can't dismiss the harem, but I can favor you alone. I may not be very good at being a husband yet, but Yue'er can teach me, can't you?"
This confession was quite sensible.
He didn't make any grandiose promises he couldn't keep, nor did he say sweet, sappy words to coax her. Instead, he frankly admitted to things that might bother Jiang Xinyue in the future.
He couldn't dismiss the harem because he was the emperor and couldn't cause upheaval in the court. He also couldn't promise never to be intimate with other consorts in the future. Those women entered the palace with missions from their families. If he didn't favor them, their families would become restless and lose motivation to serve the emperor wholeheartedly.
In truth, Jiang Xinyue understood all of this. It was normal for the emperor to be unable to do these things. To achieve all this, he would have to stop being the emperor.
But that was an even more unrealistic fairy tale.
So she was actually quite pleased that the Xuanwu Emperor was willing to be this honest.
It showed that over these past two months, he had been sincerely pondering how to earn her forgiveness. He had also seriously analyzed what he had done wrong and what he should apologize for.
Since ancient times, it was considered proper for an emperor to have three palaces and six courtyards, with three thousand beauties. Favoring only one person would upset the balance of the harem.
It was only because the Xuanwu Emperor had been brainwashed by Jiang Xinyue to believe that loving one person meant loving only that person, that he now felt his fickleness was wrong. He thought his heart, eyes, and entire being should belong to just one person.
This wasn't the monogamous system of later times; this was a feudal dynasty where a man could have three wives and four concubines, and her man was at the very top of this pyramid.
To have reached this level of awareness was entirely due to her relentless PUA and brainwashing.
Jiang Xinyue's eyes already revealed a faint joy. Under the Xuanwu Emperor's hopeful gaze, she casually uttered a few words: "We'll see how you perform!"
If he reverted to his old ways in just a few days, she would have to plan for herself and consider getting rid of the father to keep the son.
However, the risk and difficulty of such a move were far too high. Even if successful, Empress Zhu and Consort De still had princes; the throne wouldn't fall to her son.
For now, it was best to rely on the emperor's protection, wait for the Jiang family to grow stronger, or for her child to develop under the cover of Empress Zhu and Consort De's influence, biding their time.
This was the optimal strategy.
Before then, both she and the child needed the emperor's protection.
She no longer prevented the Xuanwu Emperor from following her inside. Seeing this, Wang Dequan was so happy he nearly jumped for joy. However, being a man who had seen his fair share of ups and downs, he quickly composed himself, making a mental note to ask Tang Shiliang later how much profit he had made from the ten taels of gold he had bet.
Gracious Consort Zhen!
A veritable goddess of fortune!
Seeing their mistress and the emperor reconciled, the servants of Hexi Palace were as delighted as if they had found money on the ground.
Although the New Year was still a month away, the joyous atmosphere in Hexi Palace was hardly different from the festive season.
When Empress Zhu first discovered the guards picking plum blossoms, she was furious. Everyone in the palace knew she was brewing wine, enjoying the snow, and admiring plum blossoms in the Warm Pavilion today. Those ignorant guards had picked all the flowers from the most beautiful trees, wasn't this a slap in the face to her, the dignified Empress?
As Empress Zhu's vanguard, Consort Liang took the lead when her mistress couldn't show anger or reveal an unsightly appearance. She rushed down from the Warm Pavilion first, with others following suit.
They also wanted to see who had the audacity to oppose the Empress and all the palace consorts.
"Outrageous!"
Consort Liang began berating as soon as she entered the plum garden: "Where did these ruffians come from? Don't you know the Empress is here with the palace consorts to admire the flowers? You've picked all the flowers from these plum trees, what is left for the Empress to admire?"
Plum blossoms, plum blossoms, now they had truly become "no blossoms."
The guards, upon hearing this, didn't stop their work. They even quickened their pace: "We beg the Empress's forgiveness. His Majesty ordered us to fill three large baskets with plum blossoms within a quarter of an hour. We truly can't delay. If we miss the Emperor's deadline, our heads will roll!"
Oh!
It was the Emperor's order!
Well, that changed things.
Empress Zhu waved Consort Liang aside and revealed a friendly smile: "Did His Majesty mention where these flowers are to be sent? With so many flowers, is he planning to brew plum blossom wine? I have over a dozen jars of plum blossom wine. If His Majesty likes, I can have them sent to Chengqian Palace right away."
The lead guard jumped down from the tree and cupped his hands towards Empress Zhu: "In response to the Empress's question, the plum blossoms are to be sent to Hexi Palace. His Majesty is still waiting for us brothers, so we can't linger. We'll take our leave now."
With that, he led the guards carrying the large bamboo baskets away in a hurry.
