However, even when she was still Concubine Li, throwing her weight around in the palace for over a decade, not a single concubine pleaded for her mercy.
In the past, when she was in power, Consort Jin, Zhang Wanrong, Concubine Chu, Consort Jiang...
Now, all these women had either lost favor and been sent to the Criminal Servants' Prison for opposing Concubine Zhen, or had been demoted and lost the Emperor's favor. The rest had scattered, and hadn't caused trouble for a long time.
When Consort Jiang was sent to the Palace of Exile, Concubine Li didn't say a word to help her, which was the real reason they all felt disheartened.
It's worth noting that Consort Jiang had offended Concubine Zhen for Concubine Li's sake.
As everyone reflected on this, they were shocked to realize that Concubine Zhen wasn't a naive fool at all. If she were, how could she have caused so many concubines to meet such miserable fates?
She... she had been playing dumb all along!
Hadn't she completely devoured Concubine Li, that big tiger?
And it wasn't just Concubine Li.
Back then, wasn't it because Jiang Xinyue's father found evidence of Prime Minister Song's crimes and sent him to the prison of the Ministry of Justice that he was able to quickly rise to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment?
When the Song family fell, the Jiang family benefited the most, but later, for some unknown reason, all of the Song family's retaliatory attacks fell on Lord Jiang, the Minister of Personnel.
It was said that Lord Jiang had recently been impeached several times by the officials of the Censorate. After investigation, the Emperor discovered that Lord Jiang had indeed committed those foolish acts and angrily berated him in court.
Now, the two things Lord Jiang feared most were attending court and seeing those old fools from the Censorate at court.
How did the Jiang family escape unscathed?
While the palace concubines found it miraculous, Jiang Xinyue knew that if she hadn't written home at the time, telling her adoptive father to lie low and push all the credit onto Minister Jiang, the Jiang family's fate might have been even worse than Minister Jiang's.
It was also fortunate that Minister Jiang was greedy for merit. After Prime Minister Song's downfall, Jiang Yankun heeded his daughter's advice and took ten days of sick leave, taking Lady Ruan and their children to hide from this "windfall of fortune" at their country estate.
Unable to find Jiang Yankun, the Song family could only vent all their anger on Minister Jiang.
Ironically, Minister Jiang still believed that he had accomplished a great feat, and that Jiang Yankun had merely picked up the scraps thanks to his daughter's favor in the palace.
He thought the Emperor wanted to find a reason to promote the favored concubine's father, so Jiang Yankun was added to the mix this time.
Bringing down the Song family was entirely his own achievement.
With him so eager to be the target, Jiang Yankun couldn't stop him from being shot full of holes, so he simply disappeared. For more than ten days, Minister Jiang scurried about, showing off in court.
Jiang Xinyue could only say that Minister Jiang still didn't understand the Emperor well enough. This ruler was known for... well, for using people and then discarding them.
So as time passed, by the time Jiang Yankun returned, a series of plots against the Jiang family had already begun.
Wasn't Jiang Yankun's promotion due to Concubine Zhen? What did it have to do with the Song family?
It was this low-key, almost invisible approach that allowed Jiang Yankun to sit securely in the chair of the Minister of Punishment, with no one finding fault.
Because he was the father of the favored concubine, rising through nepotism, he had to be treated with respect.
This was a long-standing tradition in officialdom.
Jiang Xinyue watched Lady Pei being forcibly dragged away, her expression unmoved. Even when Minister Pei of the Privy Council finally gave her a vicious look, she merely reminded him, "Old Minister of the Privy Council, I know I'm very beautiful, but don't let your eyeballs pop out. No matter how long you look at me, I won't become your granddaughter."
Jealous?
Jealousy won't help.
Such a beautiful and favored woman is not your granddaughter.
Somehow, Minister Pei of the Privy Council understood the message Jiang Xinyue wanted to convey from her gaze.
He really was old, unable to wield a knife anymore. Even a small concubine dared to provoke him like this.
Jiang Xinyue thought to herself, now she even dared to scold the Emperor, why would she fear this old thing, Minister Pei of the Privy Council?
Lady Pei was executed by the Emperor, and her body could not be buried in the Pei family ancestral tomb. The Song family wouldn't want the body of a divorced woman either.
Minister Pei of the Privy Council could only watch helplessly as his beloved daughter, whom he had doted on since childhood, was strangled to death. He took her body home, but was prevented by clan members from burying her in the ancestral tomb, forcing him to find another auspicious site.
As for how Lady Pei's three brothers and Old Madam Pei were heartbroken and cursed Jiang Xinyue to die a horrible death, that's a story for another time.
Surely they wouldn't dare to express any dissatisfaction to her face.
The order came from the Emperor, not her. She only said Lady Pei should pay with her life, but she wasn't the one who carried it out.
The Emperor could have easily given her a few strokes with the paddle and sent her back, just as Minister Pei of the Privy Council had initially imagined.
But the Emperor didn't. He followed Jiang Xinyue's wishes.
The power of life and death had always been in the Emperor's hands. If the Pei family wanted to hate someone, they should hate the Emperor, not the beautiful, kind, talented, and theatrical Concubine Zhen.
The Emperor and Empress were to attend some ancestral rituals in the afternoon. Being pregnant, Jiang Xinyue was not fit to attend such occasions and was returning to Hexi Palace.
On the way, she encountered Consort Liang and Consort De, who were deliberately waiting for her.
What did these two want?
Seeing her approach, Consort Liang broke into a big smile. "Sister Concubine Zhen, we've been waiting for you. Consort De has just received a fine evergreen plant. Would you like to come with us to see it?"
With her big belly, she would be crazy to go to Consort De's palace, especially with Consort Liang, that unpredictable madwoman, and the inscrutable Consort De.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she said, "This concubine has no interest in flowers and plants. Sister Consort Liang should go with Sister Consort De to see it. Don't let a vulgar person like me spoil your refined enjoyment."
She walked past them without so much as a glance.
"Hmph!" Consort Liang's mood changed faster than turning a page. Flicking her handkerchief, she said, "What's she so proud of? The Emperor's favor won't last forever. I've heard that the girl from the Pei family is coming to the palace."
"The Pei family?" Consort De frowned. "Pei Wu?"
"Who else could it be?" Consort Liang twisted her handkerchief, looking extremely resentful. "When she was still a child and entered the palace with Old Madam Pei, she was as sharp-tongued as Concubine Zhen is now. At such a young age, she was already so caustic. I've suffered at her hands before."
Consort De smiled. "Then isn't it perfect for her to enter the palace? Let her and Concubine Zhen peck at each other. We can enjoy the show."
Consort Liang couldn't smile. "One Concubine Zhen has already turned the palace upside down. If Pei Wu comes too, will the Emperor have any time left for us?"
Come to think of it, they were only twenty-five years old. For ordinary women, this would be the prime of life.
But for women in the palace, it was different.
At twenty-five, they were already past their prime, unable to compete with those fresh-faced fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen-year-old girls.
Pei Wu was only fifteen, as tender as a spring shoot.
