Chapter 90: Flipping the Name Plaques

The Emperor came and went from Consort Yu’s palace again. The night after Consort Fang gave birth, even the Empress was paying attention to where the Emperor would spend the night. In the end, he went to Zhongyu Palace for dinner.

Ever since Consort Yu regained favor, Xuanyuan Ling had frequently visited her. The Empress, though full of resentment, was powerless and could only watch as Consort Yu rose again. As for what happened in the bedchamber, no matter how resourceful the Empress was, she couldn’t find out exactly what the Emperor was doing with her. Zhongyu Palace was now managed like a steel fortress under Wan Zhao’s oversight due to the incident involving the Second Prince—information rarely leaked outside.

Now with Consort Yu favored again, and Consort Fang having just birthed a prince, the Empress—who had no children—seemed even more desolate and pitiable.

Even though the Emperor did not stay overnight in Zhongyu Palace that night, his attitude was clear. The Empress had no sleepiness that evening. She had originally gone to oversee the birth of Noble Lady Fang’s child as her duty, and though she was physically exhausted, her mind was too unsettled to rest.

Jinzhi felt sorry for her. “Your Majesty, please lie down and rest. You’ve been working hard for a long time.”

But the Empress didn’t hear Jinzhi’s words. Instead, her thoughts drifted to the soft, newborn child Consort Fang had just delivered. “Consort Fang is truly fortunate.”

That “fortunate” remark wasn’t all that different from what Shen Qing had once said about Consort Fang—Consort Fang was indeed incredibly lucky.

Jinzhi said, “If it weren’t for Consort Yu’s miscarriage, the unsolved issue of Noble Consort Xi’s birth control medicine, and—most importantly—the sudden death of the Second Prince, she never would’ve had the chance to give birth. In the end, it’s because both mother and child survived.”

The Empress chuckled bitterly. “Heh, sometimes in this palace, it all comes down to luck. She made Consort Yu kneel for two whole hours. Her legs took days to recover, and yet the child wasn’t lost. She’s young and strong. But now that the child is born, what’s the use of talking about it?”

She gave another faint smile. “That woman doesn’t seem like a quiet, obedient one either. And she holds a grudge against Consort Yu.”

The last woman who had a feud with Consort Yu—Noble Lady Shen—didn’t end up so badly. This Consort Fang would be useful someday, too.

However, now that she had one child, she must not be allowed to have a second. This palace did not need another Consort Yu.

“Keep a close eye on Consort Fang these coming days,” the Empress instructed. “Make sure her postpartum recovery is done well so she can continue serving His Majesty.”

Jinzhi understood the hidden meaning. “This servant will personally go tomorrow to deliver Your Majesty’s rewards to Consort Fang and ensure she lacks nothing.”

“Mm.” After giving her orders, the Empress finally closed her eyes and had Jinzhi massage her acupoints to help her relax. Before long, drowsiness took over.

Meanwhile, over at the Empress Dowager’s palace, Cuiyun brought good news, which brought a hint of a smile to her face.

“Not bad,” said the Empress Dowager, who had been in low spirits for days. Her mood only improved now. Part of it was the grief over the Second Prince’s passing—as his imperial grandmother, she truly felt sorrow. But another reason was the disruption of her birthday celebration. It had been prepared with such grandeur, only for tragedy to strike.

She had never liked Consort Yu. Now that the Second Prince was gone, the Empress Dowager saw it as a failure of Consort Yu as a mother.

Yet the Emperor continued to favor her. With the Second Prince gone, he turned his attention once again to Consort Yu, while visits to the Empress’s palace became increasingly rare.

The Empress Dowager had been aware of the Empress’s desire to raise Shen Qing’s child. She had allowed it, but then Shen Qing had been rendered infertile by Consort Yu’s beating. Looking around the palace now, there were only Beauty Zhao and Beauty Li left. But neither had the Emperor’s favor—he barely saw them once a month. How could they possibly get pregnant?

In the end, the Empress was useless, and the other women were also useless. The only one who could’ve succeeded, Shen Qing, couldn’t bear children anymore.

So when would the Empress finally get to raise a child?

Thinking over it again, the Empress Dowager asked Cuiyun, “Isn’t there a girl named Zhenzhen from the Chen family? I saw her once during last year’s New Year celebration, and she left a deep impression. Her looks were truly remarkable—how does she compare to Noble Consort Xi from Zhaohua Palace?”

If the Empress Dowager hadn’t brought it up, Cuiyun wouldn’t have remembered. She thought for a moment. “This servant remembers the second daughter of the Chen family—Miss Zhenzhen. She should be fifteen this year. Her appearance is indeed outstanding. However, this servant has never seen Noble Consort Xi in person, though I’ve heard her beauty is said to be breathtaking.”

“Hmph.” The Empress Dowager scoffed. “With a low status like that, people only care about her face. She’s just a seductive fox, not to be compared to a daughter of the Chen family. Find a reason to bring her into the palace to accompany me. It’s nearly New Year anyway. She’ll need to enter the palace eventually. At that time, we’ll just tell her parents to take her back afterward.”

But really, telling the parents to take her back later? This sounded more like she didn’t intend to send her back at all.

Cuiyun understood immediately. The Empress Dowager had her eye on Miss Chen Zhenzhen’s beauty and thought the Emperor might fancy her.

But this wasn’t proper at all. It wasn’t an official selection of consorts. What justification was there for letting a girl live in the palace without a formal status? If it worked out, people would say the Emperor brought a girl in to serve the Empress Dowager and ended up taking her to bed.

What kind of reputation would that leave?

Cuiyun knew that arguing directly wouldn’t sway the Empress Dowager, so she cautiously said, “This servant thinks, if Your Majesty acts so openly, this matter still depends on whether His Majesty is willing.”

The Empress Dowager frowned.

Cuiyun quickly added, “But no doubt, Your Majesty’s intentions are always heard by His Majesty. Didn’t he go all out for Your Majesty’s birthday celebration?”

In other words, whatever Your Majesty says is right—His Majesty will surely listen.

Sometimes, reverse logic was more effective. Cuiyun knew that if she pushed too hard, the Empress Dowager’s stubbornness would flare up. But by taking the opposite approach, the Empress Dowager would consider whether the Emperor might not actually listen.

Sure enough, the Empress Dowager sighed, “The Emperor has a fiery temper. Fine, let’s wait a few more days. Bring her into the palace just before the New Year.”

Bringing her in then would sound more respectable than doing it now.

Cuiyun silently breathed a sigh of relief, while lamenting the difficulties of being a servant when one’s master had such schemes.

Back on Xuanyuan Ling’s side, after finishing up with Consort Yu, he did indeed go over some memorials and then rested at Qianyuan Palace—he did not flip any name plaques that night.

In the days that followed, he visited the Third Prince when appropriate and saw Consort Yu regularly. Just like that, six or seven days passed.

Then one day, the Stewards of the Office of Attendants brought over the green name plaques again.

These days, his visits rotated among the Empress, Consort Fang, Consort Yu, and Shen Qing. Now, looking at the green plaques, one of them was Beauty Zhao. He had little impression of her. In terms of appearance, no one in the harem could surpass Shen Qing.

Xuanyuan Ling thought of Shen Qing again and frowned. She had said she didn’t want him going to others. That little vixen—this past month, she really had been the only one to serve him in bed. Even Xuanyuan Ling felt like he was losing his resolve.

His gaze landed on Beauty Zhao’s plaque. He had no real impression of her, just remembered she was proper and well-behaved. So he flipped Beauty Zhao’s plaque.