Her arrogant and coquettish little demeanor drew a laugh from the Xuanwu Emperor, who couldn't resist teasing her: "When others praise your beauty, you don't know how to be humble, do you? Have you no shame?"
Jiang Xinyue shook her head playfully, "Your Majesty, excessive humility only makes people dislike you. It's like if I were to praise you as a diligent and benevolent Emperor, wouldn't you agree that I have good taste?"
After all, how could the Emperor say he wasn't?
Indirectly flattered, the Emperor's dragon countenance beamed with delight as he embraced her from behind. "During the Vernal Equinox in the second month of spring, I shall lead the officials to the countryside for spring plowing. Would my beloved consort like to join me?"
Jiang Xinyue had heard of the ancient tradition of Emperors personally "guiding the plow" during spring plowing ceremonies, but had only seen it in television dramas. She was quite curious to witness the spectacle herself.
Her eyes widened with eagerness, having already cast aside any displeasure over the Emperor's previous suspicions. "Could this servant really go? Truly?"
The Xuanwu Emperor was charmed by her timely emotional response. "If I say you can go, then you can go."
On the day of spring plowing, the Empress would also attend, so bringing along a couple of consorts wouldn't be an issue.
In the Cining Palace—
Although the Dowager Empress didn't manage the affairs of the harem, she knew full well which consort the Emperor favored and which he bestowed gifts upon.
A pungent medicinal scent wafted through the air, revealing Consort Rong's haggard and pallid complexion.
The palace maids in the Cining Palace were more solemn than elsewhere, their footsteps so light they were almost inaudible, their breathing shallow. None of them smiled or spoke to one another.
The elegantly adorned Dowager Empress sat by the bedside, while not far away, a woman with a delicate and refined beauty knelt on the floor.
"Your Highness..."
Consort Rong's hair was disheveled. "My sister has been kneeling for two hours now in this bitter cold. If she develops any ailment from this, you will feel pained too."
The woman kneeling on the floor, her face turning bluish, was none other than Consort Shu who had already been elevated to that rank.
The Dowager Empress let out a cold snort. "Consort Shu is so high and mighty that even when the Emperor humbled himself to seek her forgiveness, she refused to pardon him, driving the sovereign out of the Jingren Palace. Now Consort Zhen has reaped the great benefit. Now that I pity Consort Rong's miscarriage and wish to help her find the true culprit so that she may regain the Emperor's favor, Consort Shu is unwilling to help. It seems she is hoping for us members of the Wu family to die sooner!"
Consort Shu's heart was filled with grief, the deep sorrow in her eyes refusing to dissipate. "Why must you torment me so, aunt? The Emperor's past affection for me was just an act, staged for you and my father. Ever since the fall of the Wu family, the Emperor has long grown weary of me. Now that the lives of over two hundred Wu clansmen separate the Emperor and me, how can I possibly vie for his favor as you suggest?"
"So you wish to wait for death in this harem?"
The Dowager Empress was well aware of the Emperor's wariness towards her. Years ago, the Emperor's initial choice for Empress was supposed to be Consort Shu, but he had secretly selected the daughter of the Yu family instead, infuriating her.
"If you quickly bear a son of Wu lineage, I shall have the Emperor name him Crown Prince, and our Wu family will prosper once more."
If her son disobeyed, she would simply replace him with her grandson. Where was familial affection in the imperial household? What she desired was supreme and unrivaled power.
"That wretched Consort Zhen cannot be allowed to remain. I see she has already bewitched the Emperor, body and soul."
For the sake of that lowly maid, he even defied his own mother. Utterly unfilial.
"Sister!"
Consort Rong grasped her sleeve. "It was Consort Zhen who saved my life."
"Slap!"
The pale little face bore a stinging slap, revealing a sickly flush. The Dowager Empress withdrew her sleeve and rose. "You're both fools, how did our Wu family produce such vexing fools? In any case, I leave you with these words today. One of you must give birth to an imperial son. Otherwise, you know my methods."
Upon hearing this, Consort Rong and Consort Shu both turned deathly pale.
Though their father was dead, their mother and brother still suffered in the Ninggu Tower. If the Dowager Empress threatened them, Consort Shu knew... she had no choice but to comply.
Over the next few days, the Xuanwu Emperor bestowed his favors evenly across the harem. Apart from the first and fifteenth nights spent in the Yikun Palace, he spent three nights that month in the Changxin Palace with Concubine Li, two nights each with Consort De and Consort Liang, one night each with Consort Jin and Consort Zhang.
What surprised Jiang Xinyue most was that Consort Shu of the Jingren Palace, the Dowager Empress's niece, was granted six nights of accompaniment.
The remaining nights were either spent resting in the Hexi Palace or retiring alone in the Chengqian Palace.
Even the most virile of stallions required moderation, lest he suffer the fate of "death by overexertion."
Among the palace maidens who entered the harem alongside Jiang Xinyue, some were favored once and then forgotten, while others had been there for over half a year without ever laying eyes on the Emperor.
All they could do was gaze wistfully at the moon and sigh, for there was no one in the palace who would pity them.
The Emperor was but one man, how could he satisfy them all?
Before long, the second day of the second month arrived. Early that morning, Wang Dequan came to the Hexi Palace to inform Jiang Xinyue, by the Emperor's orders, to dress simply and modestly, and gather at the Taihe Hall.
Jiang Xinyue donned a silver-gray shortened coat, paired with a coarse linen skirt that peasant women often wore, and beneath that a pair of lotus-green trousers. On her feet were plain gray cloth shoes, her raven tresses bound by a headscarf, with only a single deep red sandalwood hairpin for adornment. The overall look was understated yet tidy.
She wasn't the first to arrive at the Taihe Hall; the Emperor and Empress were already present, with Consort Shu standing by the Emperor's side. Clad in a coarse cotton robe and a thick overcoat, she exuded a refined and ethereal beauty.
It seemed Wang Dequan had visited the Jingren Palace before coming to the Hexi Palace.
Jiang Xinyue didn't know if this was the Emperor's intention or Wang Dequan's own initiative.
Last year during the spring plowing, Concubine Li, accustomed to luxury, developed rashes all over after wearing the coarse linen garments provided by the Imperial Household Department. This year, she refused to attend no matter what.
Thus, among the consorts, only the Empress, Consort Shu, and Jiang Xinyue herself would be present.
As the lowest-ranked among the four, it was only natural that her palanquin would be placed last.
This was Jiang Xinyue's first time leaving the palace since her reincarnation, her first glimpse of how the ancient commoners truly lived.
Shuang Jiang drew back the curtains by the window, allowing her a better view of the outside and some fresh air.
Consort Zhen was truly an excellent mistress. She was sold into the palace as a maid when she was only six years old, and she had long forgotten what the world outside was like.
So on this occasion of leaving the palace, she deliberately brought Xi Que along, as she had not brought the bird before.
With the Emperor and Empress traveling, the street vendors had been ordered to clear away early. The streets were cleaned spotlessly, leaving only curious commoners held back by officials, lining the sides and craning their necks eagerly to catch a glimpse of the procession emerging from the palace gates.
