At this year's palace banquet, the dazzling and resplendent Concubine Li was absent. In her place was Consort Li, seated far from the imperial throne.
Without her luxurious attire and jeweled adornments, she appeared lackluster when others looked at her now.
Strangely, how could anyone have previously thought Senior Concubine Xian was her substitute, believing their beauty to be comparable? The difference was clearly vast.
All the guests had arrived, with the Emperor and Empress seated at the main position, yet Senior Concubine Xian was nowhere to be seen.
Consort Yu was under house arrest, and without her sarcastic remarks, the entire banquet atmosphere seemed particularly harmonious.
"The Sixth Prince arrives—"
It was the Sixth Prince arriving, not Concubine Zhenxian. It seemed Wang Dequan had brought out tonight's main character.
Behind Wang Dequan followed a dignified old nanny, cradling a small infant wrapped in an imperial yellow swaddling cloth. They slowly approached and knelt down: "This old servant pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."
The Xuanwu Emperor sprang to his feet, descended the steps, and skillfully took the Sixth Prince into his arms. He tucked the swaddling cloth, which had been blown open by the wind, back under the little bundle's armpits, his expression tender and full of love.
"So this is the Sixth Prince! He's so fair, just like Your Majesty."
"Indeed! Look at that nose and those eyes, they're exactly like His Majesty's, as if carved from the same mold."
"Congratulations to Your Majesty! The Sixth Prince has the bearing of a dragon and the countenance of a phoenix. One look and you can tell he's blessed with great fortune."
Empress Zhu watched as the officials around her told blatant lies with straight faces, maintaining a proper smile.
In her heart, she cursed: A bunch of old fools flattering without thinking. I'm so close and can barely see the tip of the Sixth Prince's nose, how on earth can you see his eyes and nose?
But clearly, the Xuanwu Emperor didn't think so. The Emperor beside her smiled so broadly that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, looking extremely pleased.
Jiang Yuan, due to her father and brother's favor in court, had now become a fourth-rank Noble Lady.
But what use was a higher rank?
She had lost her youth and beauty to the ravages of the Palace of Exile. Although she was actually a few years younger than the Empress, she looked over a decade older.
If it hadn't been for the Empress framing her for poisoning Concubine Zhenxian, causing the Emperor to banish her to the Palace of Exile, she wouldn't be in this state today.
Next spring, new palace ladies would be entering the palace. Now the Emperor didn't even remember her existence. Next year, even if her father and brother were in favor, it would have nothing to do with her.
Because her half-sister was on the list of candidates for next year.
"The Dowager Empress arrives—"
Amidst the eunuch's announcement, the Dowager Empress entered gracefully, surrounded by her entourage.
Whispers arose in the great hall: "Why has the Dowager Empress returned? Wasn't she supposed to be at the southern palace?"
"Choosing to return specifically for Senior Concubine Xian's investiture ceremony and the Sixth Prince's full month celebration, isn't she deliberately causing trouble for Senior Concubine Xian?"
"As expected of the Dowager Empress, she knows how to pick her moments."
"I wonder what expression Senior Concubine Xian will have when she sees the Dowager Empress has returned?"
Some also noticed Pei Wu following behind the Dowager Empress's procession, lowering their voices: "Isn't that the granddaughter of the Minister of the Secretariat? Why is she with the Dowager Empress?"
"Now that you mention it, we haven't seen her for a long time. Who would have thought she'd aligned herself with the Dowager Empress?"
"It's not exactly a good ship to board. We can all see clearly the Emperor's attitude towards the Dowager Empress. By attaching herself to the Dowager Empress, she'll fall out of the Emperor's favor."
"There's no other choice. I see the Emperor is wholeheartedly devoted to Senior Concubine Xian. We don't even know what next year's selection of palace ladies will be like."
At the front, the Emperor frowned upon seeing the Dowager Empress, tightening his hold on the Sixth Prince.
He could easily hand the Sixth Prince over to Nanny Xiang and have her take him away, to avoid any potential harm should the Dowager Empress have another outburst.
But... why should he?
Today was a most auspicious day, calculated by the Imperial Astronomers. The Sixth Prince turned one month old on the twelfth of the fifth month, but for this auspicious day, he had postponed the celebrations for both Yue'er and the little one by three days, setting it on the fifteenth of the fifth month.
He wanted mother and son to have their moment of glory, not to retreat because of the Dowager Empress's arrival.
"Emperor, why didn't you send someone to inform me in the South about my grandson's full month celebration? You won't blame me for coming uninvited, will you?" she said, immediately looking to cause trouble, her words full of reproach.
The Xuanwu Emperor smiled, freeing one hand to support her: "Mother, what are you saying? The southern scenery is pleasant, and I thought that given your advanced age, with the scorching heat of the sixth month approaching, it would be better for you to stay there through the height of summer. I planned to send for you after that, to spare you the exhaustion of travel."
The implication was clear: at your age, you shouldn't be exerting yourself.
The Dowager Empress caught his hidden meaning and snorted coldly: "I wouldn't miss my grandson's full month celebration for anything."
She looked down at the little bundle in the Xuanwu Emperor's arms, frowning: "So this is the Sixth Prince? Has he been named?"
"Yes, he's called Shen Mingye."
The character 'ye' implied a future that would be bright and glorious.
It seemed the Emperor had high hopes for this little one, full of love.
The Dowager Empress didn't react, her gaze falling on the seat to the Emperor's left. Without a word, she sat down.
"Concubine Zhenxian arrives—"
Some coincidences in this world are truly beyond human control.
Who knew Jiang Xinyue would time it so perfectly? Just as the Dowager Empress had taken her seat, her figure appeared before everyone's eyes.
She was wearing the ceremonial robes of the highest-ranking concubine, no longer in the fresh pink and white colors. A blue collar encircled a stretch of her snow-white neck, with an innermost dark-patterned wide-sleeved robe, an apricot-colored middle robe embroidered with flying birds and flowers reaching her ankles, and a near-crimson long coat embroidered with auspicious patterns. The outermost layer was a black long jacket with blue-green sleeves.
The deeper layers had longer sleeves, while the outer sleeves were shorter, revealing layer upon layer of patterns at the cuffs, giving an impression of understated luxury, full of the dignity and elegance that comes with age.
The crane and flower pattern on her chest was the finishing touch, bringing the entire outfit to life.
Jiang Xinyue's skin was snow-white, adorned with two pearl necklaces of different lengths. The pearls didn't need strong light to emit a dazzling glow, illuminating her entire being as if she were a heavenly fairy, resplendent and incomparably beautiful.
The golden crown on her head made crisp collision sounds, and the green leaves and red flowers embroidered on her snow-white feather fan seemed to come alive as she gently waved it. The tassels on the fan quivered, as if the flowers, birds, and branches had all come to life around her, creating a sacred sense of all birds paying homage to the phoenix.
She also saw that someone was already seated in her rightful place.
As she drew closer, she realized an uninvited guest had taken her seat.
"This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress, the Dowager Empress..."
She didn't skimp on the proper etiquette, but after the Emperor bid her to rise, she walked unyieldingly to the Dowager Empress, her attitude firm: "Dowager Empress, this is this concubine's seat."
