"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Jiang Xinyue, a woman of virtuous conduct, knowledgeable and wise, respectful and filial. We hereby consult you, Jiang Xinyue, who has long supported the inner affairs, conducted yourself with propriety and embodied the spirit of a noble family. We are greatly pleased. We now confer upon you the title of [Consort Zhen] as a sign of Our imperial favor. May you cherish this grace, conduct yourself with propriety and filial piety. This is Our command."
Guiyi, Guirong, and Guiyuan were all titles for consorts of the fourth rank.
Previously, Consort Wan held this position, but now Jiang Xinyue had attained it, while Consort Wan had been demoted by two ranks, falling behind her.
From Lady Jiang to Consort Zhen, then Zhen Fangyi, and now leaping several ranks to be named Consort Zhen, she had achieved this promotion in merely half a year.
This was a pace of advancement that ordinary consorts might never achieve in their entire lives.
Even Concubine Li, who had risen from a humble talent to Consort Li, had taken three years.
Now, everyone was still in disbelief, feeling that this title was something Jiang Xinyue had won with her life, nothing to be envious of.
But if they thought about it carefully, they would be alarmed. It seemed that every time Jiang Xinyue was wronged, she would advance two ranks.
When her life was in peril, she leaped four ranks, a truly terrifying prospect.
"Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your boundless grace."
When Jiang Xinyue rose from the ground, tears streamed down her face, a mix of the anguish of clearing her name, the joy of being able to see the Emperor again, and the release of the suffering she had endured.
Wang Dequan could not help but feel heartache when he saw this, and said, "Quick, don't cry anymore, Consort Zhen. His Majesty has sent attendants from the Bureau of Palace Affairs to assist you in dressing and freshening up. The entire imperial palace now awaits at the gates of the Palace of Exile to welcome you back to the Hexi Palace!"
This was an immense honor. Never before had any consort been regarded so highly by the Emperor, not even the Empress or Concubine Li.
From this day forth, no one would dare look down upon Consort Zhen, nor would anyone consider her a mere substitute for another.
She now had the capital to rival Concubine Li's charm.
Two imperial chefs were still lamenting that they would not learn the wondrous dish called "fried chicken," when Consort Zhen turned and said, "Move all of these things to the Hexi Palace later. I wish to treat His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress to fried chicken."
Oh my, how delightful! Fried chicken, beer, and handsome men – she had it all.
Outside the Palace of Exile—
The Emperor and Empress stood under the eaves, sheltered from the snow, with hand warmers tucked in their sleeves, surrounded by a throng of palace attendants, not feeling the cold.
Concubine Li, Consort De, and Consort Liang were high-ranking consorts, each attended to by their own servants. Though they could not stand alongside the imperial couple, they had palace maids holding umbrellas for them, protecting them from the snow.
Only the lower-ranked consorts who had fallen out of favor suffered, standing in the freezing snow and watching the Emperor heap all his affections upon another woman, unable to voice any grievance.
The goose feather snow showed no signs of abating. The Empress looked back and said, "Your Majesty, perhaps they should take shelter in the gallery?"
The Xuanwu Emperor observed the carefully made-up consorts, their appearances ruined by the melting snow soaking their makeup and hair, looking like ghosts.
Indeed!
Not everyone could remain radiant bare-faced like his precious Consort Zhen, whose unadorned beauty was still breathtaking.
Yet these consorts had not truly come to welcome Consort Zhen's release from the Palace of Exile. Their faces betrayed resentment before they could conceal it, caught by the Emperor's gaze.
"Only Consort Jin may remain. The rest shall take shelter in the gallery."
Caught red-handed, Consort Jin felt deeply embarrassed, her face flushing as she lowered her head, not daring to meet the Emperor's eyes again.
As everyone retreated to the gallery, Consort Jin's dishevelment became even more apparent.
"Consort Zhen has arrived!"
Clad in an elegant snow-gray silk gown embroidered with seasonal flowers, with a fur-lined overcoat of a deeper shade, a pale pink fur trim framing her porcelain face no larger than a palm.
Despite her prolonged stay in the Palace of Exile, her beauty remained untarnished. In fact, her slightly thinner frame lent her a poignant, delicate air.
Yet her eyes shone with tenderness, tears welling up before she could speak, her demeanor so alluring that one wished to pluck the moon from the sky and gift it to her.
Her face was bare of makeup, for she was only sixteen, at the peak of youthful radiance, embodying the notion that true beauty needs no artificial enhancement, the foremost among flowers.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, and greets Her Majesty the Empress..."
As she began to kneel, a strong hand firmly supported her arm. The Xuanwu Emperor's gaze burned with longing barely restrained as he embraced her, saying, "My beloved has suffered."
Clearly, whatever truth lay behind Concubine Li's mishap, it must have cleared Jiang Xinyue's name for her to emerge so triumphantly from the Palace of Exile.
Jiang Xinyue shook her head, a crystalline tear rolling down, searing the Emperor's heart. "As long as Your Majesty remembers your humble servant, I do not suffer."
She was telling the Xuanwu Emperor that she understood and trusted all his decisions.
The Emperor's heart swelled with affection, cherishing her even more.
Xiao Xuanzi stood behind the door, envy flashing in Jiang Yuan's eyes as she said bitterly, "Do you see? She has risen to such heights now, yet has she spared a thought to elevate you? For all your kindness to her, you have been repaid with indifference."
Though Xiao Xuanzi knew Consort Zhen was not that sort of person, the prospect of being left behind to guard this desolate Palace of Exile while they departed filled him with sadness.
Yet just as he resigned himself to merely catching glimpses of Consort Zhen from afar in the palace, avoiding her, the Xuanwu Emperor's gaze fell upon him.
Soon after, the head eunuch Wang Dequan approached him, saying, "You must be Xiao Xuanzi."
To Jiang Yuan's astonishment, Wang Dequan continued, "I have heard that you were attentive to Consort Zhen during her time in the Palace of Exile. She is grateful and has requested you from His Majesty and Her Majesty. From now on, you shall serve in the Hexi Palace."
What incredible fortune!
But this good fortune was earned through his own kindness.
Tears welled up in Xiao Xuanzi's eyes as he knelt, kowtowing, "This servant thanks His Majesty, thanks Her Majesty the Empress, thanks... Consort Zhen."
With Wang Dequan leading Xiao Xuanzi back to Jiang Xinyue's side, a grand procession escorted the Emperor and Consort Zhen back to the Hexi Palace.
Of course, Concubine Li and the others had no opportunity to sample the delicacy of fried chicken, but the Hexi Palace was more lively than during the New Year celebrations that day.
Rejected at the gates were Concubine Li, Consort Jin, and others, forced to return to their own palaces, their ambitions thwarted.
The Empress Dowager, Consort Liang, and Consort De assumed that Consort Zhen, having just returned from the Palace of Exile, must be eager to rekindle her intimacy with the Emperor.
But no...
Not only did she not dismiss the others, but she also summoned Xi Que and Shuang Jiang to bring over the Crown Princess, the Second Princess, and the Third Prince: "Consort Zhen is making a delicacy today that you children will surely love! Consider it Consort Zhen's way of thanking you for looking after the Hexi Palace."
