Consort Liang opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word for a long time.
She simply didn't understand - if things were as the Emperor said, why would Concubine Zhen say such things to her face?
So she couldn't think of any words to refute.
Jiang Xinyue coughed twice and swayed. The Xuanwu Emperor, quick to react, caught her. His eyes were brimming with concern as he swiftly scooped her up into his arms.
When he turned to look at Consort Liang, his eyes were frighteningly cold. "Consort Liang has shown improper conduct, acted recklessly, and shows no remorse. From this day forward, she is demoted to Consort Yu and confined for three months. Her salary will be halved for half a year. The servants of Shunan Palace, having failed in their duty to dissuade her, will all receive fifty lashes. If this happens again, all the servants in Shunan Palace will be replaced."
Before Empress Zhu could say a word, the Xuanwu Emperor continued, "Concubine Zhen has done a great service by bearing me a son. She shall be promoted to the highest of the four consorts - Senior Concubine Xian, retaining her title. The formal investiture ceremony will be held when the Sixth Prince is one month old."
Being named the highest of the four consorts as Senior Concubine Xian was not enough to display the Emperor's favor - he even allowed Jiang Xinyue to keep her title.
From now on, everyone would have to address her as Concubine Zhenxian, further distinguishing her from the other consorts in the harem.
"No! It's not true, Your Majesty... I... I really didn't lie. Concubine Zhen really did say those things."
The Emperor had already mentally blocked out Consort Liang's words, but Empress Zhu voiced her disagreement: "Your Majesty, it's not that I disagree with you making Concubine Zhen the Senior Concubine Xian, but there are others in the harem with more seniority, like Consort De and Consort Rong. Even Consort Jin has been in the palace much longer than her. Your Majesty's decision might dishearten them."
She didn't completely reject the Emperor's idea, but instead suggested tactfully, "Moreover, Concubine Zhen is young. If she's made Senior Concubine Xian now, she might not be able to command the respect of the older consorts in the harem. Why not first promote Concubine Zhen to Senior Concubine Zhen, and then in a couple of years when she has more experience, promote her to Senior Concubine Xian? It's not too late then."
It sounded nice, as if she was considering Jiang Xinyue's best interests, but in the harem, blocking someone's promotion was as good as killing their parents. Jiang Xinyue was still unwilling to accept this.
She raised her head from the Emperor's embrace and said, "Empress, weren't you also only in your teens when you became Empress?"
The previous Emperor had numerous consorts in his harem, but in his early years, he had overindulged in sensual pleasures, depleting his vitality. When his offspring were dwindling, the harem was also embroiled in severe internal conflicts, resulting in the deaths of several princes due to conspiracies.
At that time, the Empress Dowager was not yet favored. By a twist of fate, in the end, only the Xuanwu Emperor remained as the sole prince. It was from that time on that the previous Emperor began to favor the Empress Dowager and established the Xuanwu Emperor as the Crown Prince.
The year Empress Zhu became Empress, she was only eighteen, barely half a year older than Jiang Xinyue is now.
If Empress Zhu could become Empress at eighteen, why couldn't she, at seventeen and a half, become a Senior Concubine?
Even Zhuge Liang hadn't led an army before he came out of seclusion!
Didn't he still make his mark in history?
Empress Zhu wanted to say, how dare she compare herself to me?
The Zhu family was a century-old noble family from Chang'an. Whether in terms of wealth or talent, they far surpassed the Jiang family. No... to be precise, the Jiang family wasn't even qualified to be the Zhu family's servants.
The Zhu family was a powerful clan that even the Emperor had to be wary of, and she was the legitimate daughter of this family, raised from childhood to the highest standards of nobility. How could she be compared to a concubine's daughter from a small, insignificant family like Concubine Zhen?
But these thoughts, Empress Zhu could only keep to herself. They were absolutely not to be spoken aloud.
The Xuanwu Emperor, thinking about how Consort Liang was not good, and Consort De might not be virtuous either, became even more determined: "I am the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, the ruler of the world. I merely want to establish a woman as a consort. Since when do I need to consider the feelings of other consorts? Is it them whose hearts I'm chilling, or is it yours, Empress?"
Empress Zhu was unwilling to engage in a direct conflict with the Emperor. She smiled bitterly and said, "That wasn't my intention. I was just worried that Concubine Zhen is too young and might lack authority. But since Your Majesty has made up your mind, I congratulate my sister, Senior Concubine Xian."
Only then did Jiang Xinyue retract her claws and smile gently at Empress Zhu: "I thank you, Empress."
In just half a day, word spread throughout the palace that Consort Liang had instructed a eunuch to sow discord between the Fourth Prince and Concubine Zhen, but was discovered by Concubine Zhen, who then went to Shunan Palace to confront her.
During the argument, Consort Liang supposedly pushed Concubine Zhen, causing her water to break. The Sixth Prince almost didn't live to see another day.
The Emperor was enraged by this incident. Not only did he not promote Consort Liang to Senior Concubine, he even demoted her by one rank, making her Consort Yu.
Yu... was her surname.
It seemed the Emperor was extremely angry, not even willing to give her a proper title, directly using her surname as her consort title. Historically, this was mostly done for those who had fallen out of favor but had children, when the Emperor casually bestowed a consort title to elevate the status of the princesses and princes.
From now on, there would only be Consort Yu in the palace, no more Consort Liang.
Even Consort Rong now outranked Consort Yu, after all, Consort Rong had a proper title!
Everyone thought, now that Consort Liang had been demoted, among the four consorts, only Consort De remained.
Consort De had entered the palace early, had seniority, a good reputation, and most importantly, she was the mother of the oldest prince in the palace, the Third Prince.
From every aspect, the position of Senior Concubine should rightfully belong to Consort De.
Even Consort De herself thought so.
Today, Consort De had rarely dressed up. On her high bun, she had arranged a large, gorgeous red and white frangipani flower. The variety was precious, and usually, she only used it for appreciation, feeling heartbroken even if a single petal fell.
Now, feeling triumphant, she had picked it to use as a hair ornament.
"It's only right for Your Highness to dress like this. You look stunning," Luyin smiled as she looked at Consort De admiring herself in the water's reflection. She couldn't help but feel excited, "Your Highness, Consort Liang has brought this upon herself. This time, the Empress must recommend you for the position of Senior Concubine."
Like Consort Liang, Consort De was a firm supporter of the Empress. Although Consort Liang often charged into battle for the Empress, gaining more of her favor, Consort De had been strategizing for the Empress behind the scenes for many years. If not for her achievements, at least for her efforts,
Now that Consort Liang had proved useless, surely it was her turn?
Reality proved that it really wasn't her turn.
Less than two hours after Jiang Xinyue gave birth to the Sixth Prince, Wang Dequan brought the Emperor's decree promoting Jiang Xinyue to Concubine Zhenxian and announced it to the six palaces.
"I can't believe the Emperor actually made Concubine Zhen the highest of the four consorts. She's only been in the palace for less than two years!"
"This speed... I've never seen any consort get promoted so quickly before."
"Even if Consort Yu made a mistake, there's still Consort De. How could it possibly be Concubine Zhen's turn? Isn't the Emperor being reckless?"
"Shh! Do you have a death wish? If these words reach Concubine Zhenxian's ears, you'll get us all killed!"
"My mistake, my mistake. I won't say anymore..."
A brilliantly blooming frangipani flower fell onto the arch of a small bridge, crushed to pieces by an embroidered shoe. The flower's juice stained the sole of the shoe red, like fresh blood.
