In the Emperor's words: "Isn't his name Li Guitian? Then I'll just let him roll back to farm the land."
Return to the fields, return to the fields... you were ultimately destined to be a farmer!
Li Guitian's miserable life after being banished from the palace is a story for another time. In any case, Imperial Chef Gao welcomed his second spring.
At the mere age of twenty-five, by the Emperor's personal decree and the Imperial Household Department's announcement, he was appointed as the Head of the Imperial Kitchen.
Before leaving Hexi Palace, the Xuanwu Emperor specifically said to Jiang Xinyue: "My beloved, after much consideration, I still think your confinement order should be extended for some time. The news of your pregnancy cannot be revealed too quickly. I think... the Empress Dowager has many misunderstandings about you. After your month of confinement is over, you can visit the Empress Dowager at Kunning Palace to clear up her misunderstandings about you."
Fine!
Let her go and provoke that old woman, angering her enough to confine her for another three to five months, is that it?
The Emperor speaks in such a roundabout way that without some ability to interpret, one truly wouldn't understand what he's saying.
Since he was being so considerate of her, and to protect the child in her belly, Jiang Xinyue was willing to give it a try: "Whatever Your Majesty says is what shall be done. This concubine wouldn't dare to disobey."
Seeing that she understood, the Xuanwu Emperor kissed her forehead again: "My beloved, take good care of yourself and the baby. I will come to see you every day. When you give birth to the little prince, I will bestow upon you the title of Consort. The Imperial Astronomer says there won't be a severe heat wave this summer, otherwise I would have taken you to the summer palace to escape the heat."
This way, she wouldn't need to be confined. After all, it would be enough to keep the imperial concubines and the Empress Dowager who threatened Concubine Zhen in the palace.
"Your Majesty can bear it, but the Empress Dowager and the others might not. Actually, if this concubine weren't pregnant, I would have loved to experience the year-round spring climate at the Qinzhou Imperial Villa!"
The Emperor, suddenly enlightened, straightened his posture: Indeed! If Concubine Zhen couldn't go, why not send the Empress Dowager, Consort Shu, Consort Jin, Noble Consort Ye, and the others all to Qinzhou? When Concubine Zhen's pregnancy reached four months and was as stable as could be, they could bring them all back, couldn't they?
"But..."
The Xuanwu Emperor continued: "In that case, I need to think of a way to stay behind."
Jiang Xinyue pushed him away: "Your Majesty should return to the study! Empress Zhu is still waiting outside! This concubine dares not make her wait too long."
The Emperor felt a bit jealous, thinking: She doesn't dare to keep the Empress waiting too long, but she dares to push me out.
But Concubine Zhen used to be so cautious around him, fearing his displeasure. Now that she had finally become a bit more casual and intimate with him, he didn't want to say anything that might scare this little turtle that had just poked its head out back into its shell.
After Empress Zhu and Jiang Xinyue saw the Emperor off together, the Empress's face instantly darkened: "Concubine Zhen, we spoke so well last night, why did you betray me?"
Jiang Xinyue had already knelt down smoothly, even knowing which side of her face to show to best evoke a sense of protectiveness when she knelt.
A clear tear rolled down her cheek, her face contorted in unbearable pain, crying so hard she could hardly speak.
Empress Zhu: ?
Fen Yun: ?
What's the meaning of sitting on the ground and crying her heart out before even counting to three after kneeling?
Could it be that she's faking it?
Her Empress hadn't even touched her!
After crying until Empress Zhu's displeasure with her reached its peak, Jiang Xinyue finally took a deep breath and said, clutching her heart dramatically: "Empress, it's not that this concubine was unwilling to identify him. It's that His Majesty was testing me. He suspects that this concubine is in cahoots with you, Empress. This concubine didn't dare to identify the Jin Family Young Master! Empress... do you think... do you think His Majesty truly cares for this concubine? He tests me at every turn, never trusting me. How much of the love he speaks of is true or false? Hahaha..."
The beautiful, seemingly unhinged woman sat on the ground, crying and laughing at the same time, which was quite heart-wrenching.
Her heartbreaking sobs reminded Empress Zhu of the countless days and nights she had silently wept, sharing a bed but not a heart with the Emperor.
She too wanted to ask if the Emperor truly had a heart. Which woman did he genuinely love?
But she couldn't ask. She was the Empress of Great Yan, and had to maintain her dignity, elegance, and magnanimity at all times.
"So that's how it is."
Empress Zhu, feeling guilty, helped her up: "I didn't know about this. I've wronged you. Please get up!"
Jiang Xinyue wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve: "Empress, His Majesty has arranged for the Jin Family Young Master to serve as an imperial guard in the palace. Do you think he knows about the relationship between Consort Shu and Guard Jin? This concubine's heart feels uneasy. Could it be that His Majesty suspects Consort Shu and Guard Jin? His Majesty cares so much for Consort Shu, it's clear he doesn't love this concubine..."
As she spoke, she was about to burst into tears again.
Empress Zhu's head was splitting from the crying of this "foolish woman" trapped in the emperor's love, but she took her words to heart.
Was it because the Emperor suspected that Consort Shu had been unfaithful that he kept the Jin Family Young Master in the palace?
If that were true, the Emperor must have left people to monitor the two of them.
Empress Zhu was overjoyed internally, but didn't show it. Instead, she perfunctorily comforted Jiang Xinyue with a few words before hurriedly leaving with Fen Yun.
The Jin Family Young Master must remain in the palace!
Keeping this secret weapon here could one day lead to Consort Shu's demise and severely damage Noble Consort Li - killing two birds with one stone. She would have to discuss this thoroughly with the Zhu family.
As soon as the Empress's entourage left, Jiang Xinyue stretched lazily. In the blink of an eye, only coldness remained in her eyes.
With just a few words, she had set the three most troublesome women in the harem - the Empress, Noble Consort Li, and Consort Shu - at each other's throats. Jiang Xinyue was truly one of a kind in the Great Yan harem.
The Emperor's plan for a summer retreat ultimately didn't come to fruition, because the very next day, a memorial from Qinzhou arrived on the Emperor's desk.
Local officials in Qinzhou had been accepting bribes and selling positions at the Emperor's villa. Any family that offered gold and silver to the local government could send a beautiful woman to the villa, and they would even be arranged to stay in Jiuzhou Hall where the Emperor resided.
Many wealthy merchants had also given gold and silver, just to buy a spot to dine and enjoy performances with the Emperor.
It was said that these merchants had already hired painters, determined to create a painting of themselves in the same frame as the Xuanwu Emperor, to hang in their homes as a display of their status.
These merchants were no fools, spending a fortune just to be in the same picture as the Xuanwu Emperor.
They had calculated everything very carefully!
Holding portraits featuring themselves alongside the emperor, neither cooperating merchants nor officials dared to give them much trouble, fearing they might have powerful backing. This made earning money much easier for them.
The Xuanwu Emperor flew into a rage at being treated like an object, a tool for online swindling, and a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. He lashed out at several officials from the Song Family faction in court for days.
The reason was simple: the local official in Qinzhou who had been selling the emperor's image as a commodity was a protégé recommended by the Song Family.
Moreover, the person who reported this official was his own advisor, who, as it happened, had close ties to Jiang Xinyue's adoptive father.
