The Empress had given birth to a precious son, and all the concubines in the palace, whether sincere or not, had to attend the one-month celebration of the Fifth Prince.
In previous years, Concubine Li had always arrived the latest, and this year... this year was no exception.
Although the Emperor had told Jiang Xinyue that it was fine for her to arrive late, her goal was not to be like Concubine Li, who had only a title but no reputation. She wanted to become powerful and influential, to the point where no one in the harem could touch her or find any fault with her.
Empress Zhu was very pleased with her discretion. So when the Zhu family asked if they should deal with the Jiang family, Empress Zhu replied, "This time, I was able to adopt Sheng'er so smoothly, thanks to Concubine Zhen speaking up for me in front of the Emperor. When she first entered the palace, she offended Concubine Li, and it was I, along with Consort Liang and Consort De, who helped her. I see that she is someone who remembers kindness and returns favors. She is very attentive to the eldest princess and the third prince. Just watch! If she can be useful to me, I don't mind rewarding her with the position of a consort."
The position of the fourth consort was still vacant. She wanted to promote either Consort Liang or Consort De, and then make Jiang Xinyue one of the four consorts.
In this way, among the four virtuous consorts, only Consort Shu would not be her ally.
This didn't matter, as long as the Emperor grew tired of Consort Shu, Concubine Zhen could immediately take Consort Shu's place in the Emperor's heart.
It seemed that Consort Shu wasn't as favored as Concubine Zhen now, but in reality, the Emperor was harboring resentment, angry that Consort Shu had never wholeheartedly loved him.
Compared to Concubine Zhen, Consort Shu was not as sincere in her treatment of him.
Men are like this - the more they can't have, the more desperately they want to possess. Especially when this man is the Emperor who commands the submission of all under heaven.
The less Consort Shu loved him, the more he wanted to conquer her.
Concubine Zhen was currently the woman who loved him most in the Emperor's eyes, so he wanted to take care of her and repay her love. It was also to tell Consort Shu that if she didn't love him, there were better women who would.
Empress Zhu felt that as an outsider, she could see things clearly. Only Consort Shu and Concubine Zhen were blinded by their situation, both pitifully indulging in the Emperor's tenderness.
The Emperor was both passionate and fickle. Once he withdrew his love, both Consort Shu and Concubine Zhen would go mad.
This truth had taken her ten years to understand.
So, she no longer yearned for the Emperor's love.
As long as her son could be named Crown Prince and ascend to the throne, her mission as the daughter of the Zhu family would be fulfilled.
Empress Zhu didn't intend to warn Concubine Zhen. These women should all experience the path she had walked, suffer and save themselves as she had done, so that she could find some comfort in this suffocating harem. Only then would she feel that all women in this world were as pitiful as herself.
Then her misery wouldn't seem so miserable.
What she didn't know was that Jiang Xinyue had not only seen through the Emperor, but also through her, the Empress.
When the Emperor and Empress approached hand in hand, and Empress Zhu's gaze fell on Jiang Xinyue, she timely displayed an expression of loss - as if seeing her beloved with another woman, unable to change the situation.
But remembering that today was a joyous day for the Empress, she forced herself to cheer up, revealing a bitter smile, and knelt with the other concubines to pay respects to the imperial couple.
Not to mention how heartbroken the Emperor was seeing her expression, Empress Zhu was already very satisfied.
Another fool who had fallen in love with the Emperor.
Her gaze gradually moved to Xuanwu Emperor's face. With his godlike handsome features, coupled with the Emperor's vigorous and domineering aura, it would be hard for any woman in the world to resist his charm.
Hadn't she fallen for it too?
Jiang Xinyue sighed, lowering her head and rolling her eyes in boredom.
Day in and day out, the Emperor stared at her, the Empress stared at her too. She was already tired of pretending to be a favored concubine deeply in love with the Emperor. When could she be arrogant and overbearing, be a wicked favored concubine who only cared about her own pleasure and could irritate others to death?
"My subjects and beloved concubines, please rise—"
As the Emperor spoke, his eyes remained glued to the dejected Jiang Xinyue.
Although he couldn't clearly see Concubine Zhen's expression, he could discern some loss and sadness from her figure.
She never spoke of deep love, yet everywhere was restrained and controlled passion.
In contrast, Consort Shu, who was closer, constantly professed her love for him, yet didn't even look at him, her expression cold, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
How could someone who loves another remain so indifferent when seeing them intimate with someone else?
Jiang Xinyue took the opportunity to quickly glance at Xuanwu Emperor and Consort Shu as she rose.
Oh my~
The man's expression was subtly angry, his jaw almost clenched to bursting; the woman's face was cold, but her averted eyes were full of grievance and sorrow.
These two were acting like two sealed gourds in front of her!
She had once heard a line in a TV drama: "Two equally proud people together will never have a good outcome."
Xuanwu Emperor and Consort Shu were living examples of this.
But this was good. Consort Shu's strength of character gave her an opportunity to exploit.
In the workplace of her previous life, sucking up to superiors was the way to get promotions and raises. What was wrong with flattering the Emperor a bit in this feudal dynasty?
Besides, her flattery was purposeful, so it couldn't be called sucking up. She was strategizing to win over the Emperor.
Having convinced herself, Jiang Xinyue sat down in her seat, feeling confident again.
She looked up at Xuanwu Emperor, putting on an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, barely containing her heartbreak. She hid her body behind Consort Rong, not wanting others to see her affected state.
As long as Xuanwu Emperor saw it, that was enough. Men all fall for this trick.
"Concubine Zhen, are you feeling unwell?"
A cup of warm water was offered to Jiang Xinyue. Consort Rong frowned, looking at her with concern: "I... I'm sorry. You saved me before, and I said I owed you a favor. But... but when the Empress Dowager was giving you a hard time, I couldn't help much."
She looked very remorseful, timidly gazing at her, afraid she wouldn't accept her apology. She even started to withdraw the cup of warm tea.
Jiang Xinyue smiled and quickly took the teacup, drinking it all in one go. She said to her, "Sister Consort Rong, there's no need to feel guilty. When the Empress Dowager wanted to punish me, it wasn't something you could have prevented. I appreciate your kind intentions."
Consort Rong smiled apologetically, her eyes occasionally looking towards her, then lowering again, as if she had some unspoken difficulty.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably asked Consort Rong what she wanted to say by now. But Jiang Xinyue wasn't an ordinary person - she was an extraordinary one. So she pretended not to notice and didn't ask any unnecessary questions.
Curiosity killed the cat, and she certainly didn't have nine lives.
"Sigh..."
A sigh reached her ears as Consort Rong spoke, seemingly to herself: "After my miscarriage, I was afraid the Empress Dowager would direct her anger towards you. I specifically instructed my sister to remind you to be careful of the Empress Dowager. I heard about your later incident of falling into the water - they all said it was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager. It seems my sister must have forgotten to pass on my warning to you."
Forgotten? More like deliberately chose not to warn her!
Consort Shu and the Empress Dowager - one concealing treachery within, the other openly displaying malice - neither of them were good people.
