Chapter 46

This morning, Su Jingyao woke up around the end of the Mao hour (between 5-7 AM). After getting up, she sat in front of her dressing table.

Miaoxia stood beside her, gently combing her long, flowing hair.

Su Jingyao slightly narrowed her eyes, looking relaxed and comfortable.

Miaoxia glanced at her mistress’s beautiful reflection in the mirror and picked up a buyao (a type of hair ornament), carefully placing it into her hair.

“Master, the rumors in the harem spread much faster than in the Eastern Palace.”

Miaoxia frowned slightly, her tone carrying a hint of frustration.

“Oh? Why do you say that?” Su Jingyao lazily lifted her eyelids and asked softly.

“Yesterday, didn’t you go to Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty? Now, people in the palace are saying that you were trying to win his favor, but in the end, the Emperor still went to Yikun Palace. They claim that even though you gave birth to the Eldest Prince, you still can’t compare to the Noble Consort.”

As Miaoxia spoke, a look of anger appeared on her face.

She had been furious when she heard these rumors this morning.

If His Majesty truly favored the Noble Consort so much, why did he demote her from wife to concubine? Last night, he probably just went to comfort her, nothing more.

Su Jingyao simply curled her lips into a slight smile. Then, she reached out her slender fingers and carefully selected an accessory from the dressing table.

In the end, she picked up a white jade magnolia hairpin, a gift from Jun Zechen the day before.

With a gentle smile, she said, “Pin this hairpin for me.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Miaoxia replied, taking the hairpin and carefully placing it in her mistress’s hair.

“Miaoxia, if His Majesty hears these rumors, he will only feel more pity for me. As for the other concubines, they will simply become more jealous of the Noble Consort.”

Su Jingyao lifted her chin slightly, a faint and unreadable smile playing at her lips.

Miaoxia thought about it seriously and realized that her mistress was right.

Still, she felt indignant about the way the palace servants spoke about her mistress.

To her, Su Jingyao was the best. So what if the Noble Consort had favor?

At that moment, Miaoyun hurried into the room and bowed. “Mistress, the Noble Consort has already left Yikun Palace.”

“Alright, I will prepare to leave as well.”

Su Jingyao stood up, ready to head to Cining Palace.

The Qianqing Palace, where the Emperor resided, was in the center of the palace. Yikun Palace and Zhaochun Palace were among the six eastern palaces, located to the east of Qianqing Palace.

Yikun Palace and Zhaochun Palace were on the same path, with Zhaochun Palace slightly below Yikun Palace.

Cining Palace was to the south of the six eastern palaces, meaning that the Noble Consort would have to pass by Zhaochun Palace on her way there.

Su Jingyao took her time and left her palace at just the right moment.

Sure enough, she ran into Ling Yue, who was also on her way to Cining Palace.

With a perfectly composed smile, Su Jingyao calmly and gracefully bowed, her movements precise and elegant.

In a soft voice, she said, “Greetings to the Noble Consort. Wishing Your Highness peace and blessings.”

At that moment, Ling Yue’s gaze sharpened the instant she saw Su Jingyao.

Her eyes landed directly on Su Jingyao’s hairpin, flashing with undisguised dislike.

Su Jingyao, however, remained composed, keeping her head slightly lowered as if unaware of Ling Yue’s hostility.

Then, Ling Yue’s eyes inadvertently landed on the delicate white jade hairpin in Su Jingyao’s hair.

Instantly, her expression darkened further. Her long nails dug deeply into her palm, but she seemed completely oblivious to the pain.

Could anything be more painful than what had happened last night?

Her mind suddenly drifted back to that moment—

The previous night, when Jun Zechen stepped into Yikun Palace, she had looked up at him with a forced, bitter smile.

Jun Zechen gazed at her silently, his expression full of complex emotions.

Then, he began explaining, comforting her, even relaying the Empress Dowager’s words—

She would adopt the prince as her own, and in the future, she would rightfully become Empress.

However, no matter how convincing his words were, Ling Yue understood one thing—

His heart had already changed.

She didn’t throw a tantrum or break down in anger.

Instead, she imitated Concubine Shu, her eyes welling up with unshed tears, looking pitiful yet silently accepting her fate.

Sure enough, when Jun Zechen saw her teary eyes, guilt flickered across his face, and his expression softened.

She spoke with forced generosity, “Your Majesty, I heard that Concubine Shu visited Qianqing Palace today. You should have stayed with her. After all, she gave birth to the Eldest Prince. I understand my mistakes and will accept whatever punishment You and the Empress Dowager deem fit.”

Jun Zechen replied gently, “Yue’er, you are kind-hearted. It’s good that you can think this way. I visited you tonight because Concubine Shu didn’t mind. To reassure her, I had Anshun deliver a white jade hairpin—she once mentioned that she liked it.”

“So, Yue’er, you don’t need to worry about Concubine Shu’s feelings.”

Ling Yue obediently responded, “Yes, Your Majesty, I was overthinking. Concubine Shu has always been generous and kind.”

Yes, kind and pure—wasn’t that the reason she was given the title ‘Pure’ Concubine?

Among all the concubines, she was the only one with an honorary title.

Plus, she had the Eldest Prince, which meant she and Ling Yue, the Noble Consort, were almost equals.

Jun Zechen didn’t stay long at Yikun Palace before he began to feel sleepy.

Ling Yue gently helped him take off his outer robe.

As he sat on the bed, his gaze became hazy as he watched her remove her jewelry.

Her silhouette appeared strangely blurred in his vision.

Before she could finish changing, Jun Zechen leaned back against the bed with his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

When Ling Yue finished changing and approached him, she softly called, “Your Majesty?”

Hearing her voice, Jun Zechen suddenly opened his eyes.

Then, as if something had ignited within him, he grabbed her forcefully, pulling her into his arms.

In the next moment, he flipped over, pressing her down beneath him.

At first, Ling Yue was startled by his sudden action, but soon, she felt a trace of joy.

It had been two years since he had shown such urgency and passion toward her, ever since Concubine Shu entered the Eastern Palace.

His kisses rained down on her neck, moving toward her earlobe.

Then, in a deep, magnetic voice, he murmured—

“Yaoyao…”

Ling Yue froze as if struck by lightning.

Her arms, which had been wrapped around his waist, suddenly lost all strength and fell to her sides.

So… two years of love and devotion had been misplaced.

He didn’t love her anymore.

Everything that happened afterward became a blur.

It felt as though the entire world had lost its reality.

Coming back to the present, Ling Yue’s gaze remained fixed on Su Jingyao’s white jade hairpin.

So, on the first night after ascending the throne, the place Jun Zechen longed to visit most was Zhaochun Palace.

The one he couldn’t stop thinking about was Concubine Shu.

And because he felt guilty for coming to Yikun Palace instead, he had given her that hairpin—as nothing more than compensation.

Jun Zechen came to Yikun Palace just to explain and comfort her…

How ridiculous. So, a man’s heart can change this quickly.

At this moment, Su Jingyao had already been bowing slightly for a while. She then slowly lifted her gaze, with a hint of doubt in her eyes, and gently called out, “Sister?”

“Pure Consort, you may rise. I was just momentarily distracted by your beauty. But today is quite the coincidence,” Ling Yue said expressionlessly, her tone so calm that it was impossible to tell what she was feeling.

“Thank you for your compliment, Sister. Since it’s a coincidence, why don’t we walk together?” Su Jingyao said with a smile.

“There’s only one road to Cining Palace. Even if we didn’t want to go together, we wouldn’t have much choice.”

Ling Yue’s tone carried a hint of suppressed frustration, as if she was trying hard to keep it in but couldn’t fully hide it.

Su Jingyao still kept her smile, as if she hadn’t noticed anything at all.

She hadn’t even tried to test Ling Yue yet, and the hostility was already so obvious.

It seemed that Jun Zechen hadn’t made Ling Yue very happy last night.

With that, the two of them walked silently along the palace path.

Since they were going to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, neither of them took a sedan chair. Besides, the palaces in the center of the imperial palace were not too far apart.

By the time they arrived at Cining Palace, the other concubines were already there.

“Greetings to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager be blessed with health and longevity.”

Ling Yue and Su Jingyao bowed gracefully, their voices respectful. Since Ling Yue had not yet become Empress, she had to address the Empress Dowager the same way as everyone else.

The Empress Dowager sat steadily at the head seat, raising her hand slightly. Her expression was dignified but carried a hint of kindness.

“You may rise.”

Ling Yue stood up and took a seat to the left of the Empress Dowager, while Su Jingyao sat on the right, maintaining the perfect polite smile.

This time, the other concubines had been promoted by the Empress Dowager herself.

Su Jingyao glanced around at the other women.

Today, An Jinyan looked graceful. Thanks to her strong family background, she was given the title of Second Rank Zhaorong.

Bai Mengli, whose father was a high-ranking court official, was granted the rank of Third Rank Jieyu.

Shen Biwan and Shangguan Yi had never been very noticeable in the Eastern Palace. Although they came from noble families in other cities, their status wasn’t high in the imperial harem.

Shen Biwan was given the title of Fourth Rank Ronghua, while Shangguan Yi was made a Fifth Rank Meiren.

Tang Suxi, however, was absent today. She was still recovering from a miscarriage.

Because she had lost her child due to Ling Yue, the Empress Dowager gave her a decent title as compensation—Fourth Rank Ronghua.

With these promotions, Shangguan Yi ended up being the lowest-ranked among the former Eastern Palace concubines, holding only the title of Meiren.

The Empress Dowager slowly scanned the group of concubines.

The harem still had too few women, and it seemed that only the Noble Consort and the Pure Consort were truly favored by the Emperor.

But the Noble Consort was unable to bear children.

Zhaorong An, due to her grudge against the Noble Consort, naturally didn’t have the Emperor’s favor.

Ronghua Tang had been favored before, but she had just lost a child, so she wouldn’t be able to conceive again anytime soon.

As for Jieyu Bai, Ronghua Shen, and Meiren Shangguan, they had never been significant even when they were in the Eastern Palace.

Sigh.

The Empress Dowager let out a quiet sigh in her heart. The Emperor still didn’t have enough heirs.

“Today marks the first time you have all come to Cining Palace to pay your respects since the Emperor’s ascension,” the Empress Dowager said in a calm voice, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone. “I have two announcements to make.”

“The first is that I will be granting the responsibility of assisting in the management of the imperial harem to the Noble Consort and the Pure Consort.”

She paused briefly before continuing, “The harem consists of six departments and one bureau, which together oversee twenty-five offices. The Palace Justice Bureau operates independently of the six departments.”

“I have decided that the Noble Consort will oversee the Department of Rites, the Department of Attire, the Department of Food, and the Office of Ceremonial Affairs. Meanwhile, the Pure Consort will manage the Department of Palace Affairs, the Department of Sleeping Quarters, the Department of Handicrafts, and the Palace Justice Bureau.”

Upon hearing this, Su Jingyao and Ling Yue both stood up.

Ling Yue was the first to bow slightly. “Thank you, Empress Dowager. I will do my utmost to manage the three palace departments and the Office of Ceremonial Affairs.”

Su Jingyao followed with a respectful bow, her tone firm and composed. “I am honored by the Empress Dowager’s trust. I will do my best to uphold fairness, maintain harmony among the concubines, and manage the three palace departments and the Palace Justice Bureau well.”

“Rise,” the Empress Dowager said with a slight nod.

The two women returned to their seats.

The Empress Dowager then continued, “Since the Emperor has few heirs, I have decided to hold a selection for new concubines. The selection will take place in three months. The Noble Consort and the Pure Consort will oversee the preparations.”

“Yes, Empress Dowager,” they replied in unison.

Ling Yue’s face remained expressionless, but she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

She had to use the Emperor’s guilt to maintain her hold on power. If the Emperor could fall for Pure Consort Su, then he could just as easily be swayed by the new beauties that would arrive.

She could no longer afford to be naive.

Meanwhile, Su Jingyao lowered her head slightly, her eyes flashing with thought.