pdf-ebookys Chapter 104 Affection
Chapter 104 Affection
Shen Shixi naturally wouldn't bother with such foreign affairs, and Li Yuanke had finally gotten this opportunity to give him a warning, so he naturally prioritized the interests of the Great Zhou.
The Western Qiang and Eastern Hu were not unaware of this; they had chosen the wrong person to take shortcuts and try to get something for nothing.
This time, Li Yuanke will not give up until he has torn off a large chunk of flesh.
The Queen of Western Qiang looked at the furnishings in the hall and knew that she was the favored concubine. She showed no less sincerity than she would to the Empress. Shen Shixi smiled and immediately ordered someone to see the guest out.
Is she so easily swayed? Wouldn't she ask Li Yuanke for money if she didn't have any?
Besides, does she lack money?
In Fengyi Palace, the Empress said,
"It seems that even those barbarian tribes outside know that in this harem, among those who have influence with the Emperor, Lady Shen is more effective than I, the Empress."
Granny Qu said, "This is not a good thing either. The inner palace is not allowed to interfere in politics. If this reputation gets out, what will the court officials think? What will the emperor think? Everyone knows that the Queen of Xiqiang came to take her son. It would be best if she didn't come to Fengyi Palace."
The Empress asked, "What do you think the Emperor will think?"
The Queen of Western Qiang and Shen Shixi had a past relationship, so it's obvious why she was looking for Shen Shixi.
Let's see how this favored concubine whispers in her ear.
"His Majesty probably won't be pleased either. However, in my humble opinion, Consort Yuan isn't foolish; she might not be willing to speak well of the Western Qiang. But as you just pointed out, it all depends on how much sincerity the Queen of the Western Qiang can offer!"
The Queen of Western Qiang brought lavish gifts this time. She gave the Empress a gift worth no less than five thousand taels of gold, and the gifts were all rare items.
Among them is Luozidai (螺子黛).
The emperor had given her only a few snail-shaped inkstones, and she had to share some with others, leaving her with very little left to use.
The Empress smiled and said nothing more.
She had someone bring her the official history, and upon opening it, she was immediately shocked: "The Emperor visited the inner palace quite a few times last month, a total of twelve times, and stayed at Zhaoyang Palace ten of them."
She slammed the official history book shut. The emperor had stayed in her palace on the fifteenth of August, according to ancestral rules.
The eldest prince was not well at Consort De's place, so the emperor went to visit him and stayed overnight. Consort De was pregnant, so the emperor naturally would not favor her, and the incident of Lady Pan taking the opportunity to serve him in bed did not happen again.
The emperor also summoned the new concubines, but only three times, and each time it was one of three women: Wang Yuehuai, Xie Tingwan, and Su Fuying.
"Before Lady Shen entered the palace, the Emperor rarely visited the inner palace, sometimes not even for a whole month. Now he comes more often. Have you noticed that the Emperor rarely summons Lady Shen to his bedchamber? He always goes to Zhaoyang Palace instead."
Granny Qu said, "Consort Yuan did stay overnight in the Emperor's palace. Your Majesty, please don't be angry about this for now. Taking care of your health is the most important thing. Consort Yuan will have her period at the end of the month, and she is not pregnant yet. If you can act quickly, you will have a better chance of winning."
"Didn't she say she couldn't have children?" Qin asked.
Granny Qu said, "This is precisely the Empress's opportunity! She is unable to have children. Didn't Zhaoyang Palace send in a female physician? I heard that the Emperor specially appointed her to help her recover."
The Empress stopped worrying about Shen Shixi. The focus was on the child in Consort De's belly. "We must make good use of Pan Shi as a pawn. Pan Shi wants to leave Bao Ci Palace. She must have realized that after she was beaten by Consort Yuan in the last battle for the Emperor's favor, the Emperor refused to let her serve him when he went to Bao Ci Palace. Her situation in Consort De's palace is precarious."
However, whether or not to move her out requires careful consideration.
Granny Qu said, "Consort De is wary of her now, so even if she has the intention, she has no chance. It would be better to move her out of the picture, do her a favor, and make her wholeheartedly follow the Empress."
In Baoci Palace, Consort Pan knelt before Consort De and cried, "Your Majesty did not want me to conceive the Emperor's child, so why did you make me take advantage of the Crown Prince's nosebleed to curry favor? The reason I did not tell Your Majesty was because I myself did not know that I was pregnant."
By the time I was about to tell Your Majesty, the Empress already knew. How could I have known that the Empress knew?
No one, not even Consort De, would believe these words.
Consort De was too lazy to argue with her and didn't want to pay her any attention. "If you want to move out of Bao Ci Palace, you only have one chance: walk out sideways!"
That means they'll only let her move out after she's dead.
Consort Pan was stunned. "If Mother knew how Your Highness treated her, she would never forgive Your Highness. Has Your Highness disregarded even our years of sisterly affection?"
"I've been in the palace for many years. How many times a year do I even see my relatives outside? I barely see your maternal grandmother, let alone your mother. Besides, you must know how much sisterly affection I have for your mother, right?"
Consort Pan raised her head. "As I suspected, Your Majesty is still angry that my mother stole your fiancé back then."
"Ginkgo, slap yourself!"
Yinxing came over and slapped Pan Xuanshi several times, making her dizzy. She knew she couldn't say these words; if she did, the emperor would be furious, and who knows how many people would be implicated.
"I am not angry. I am grateful to your mother. I heard that your father's favorite concubine has been suppressing your mother for so many years. Otherwise, why would she have sent you into the palace? I know very well why you are in such a hurry to give birth to the imperial child."
It's not that I'm unwilling to grant your request, but you're wary of me, preferring to trust an outsider rather than your aunt. Why should I take you seriously?
Consort Pan may not trust her, but she should not denounce her in front of the Emperor.
Furthermore, she was completely unaware that there were so many abortifacients in her palace, which were obviously planted by her good niece to slander her.
Unfortunately, she probably didn't understand the Emperor. The Emperor never took these demons and monsters in the harem seriously.
That day, when the Emperor came to see the First Prince, Consort De took the opportunity to suggest that she was now pregnant and her pregnancy was progressing, and the First Prince's illness had not improved. She wanted Pan to stay in her palace so that she could take care of him.
However, they decided to stop her from living in the side hall and move her to Qingyu Xiaozhu instead.
Qingyu Xiaozhu was an auxiliary building of Baoci Palace, and its area was only one-third the size of the current side hall.
Lady Pan stood to the side, struck dumb, incredulous. She could only look pitifully at the emperor, hoping he would take pity on her.
Li Yuanke took a sip of tea. "You can arrange things for the people in your palace. How is the First Prince today? What did the imperial physician say?"
Consort De had the eldest prince brought over. The emperor only glanced at him and felt that his son was somewhat foolish. He felt uncomfortable just looking at him. He didn't mean to dislike him, after all, he was his son, but he just felt bad.
He patted the child's head and said, "You don't need to force him to study anymore. Just let him be happy."
Upon hearing this, Consort De burst into tears, "Yes!"
Fortunately, I'm pregnant again; hopefully it'll be a son.
After reading it, the emperor got up. Lady Pan dared not stay any longer and hoped that Consort De would stay.
Consort De said, "Today in the Imperial Garden, I met Consort Yuan. She said she was going to check if the persimmons were ripe. I saw her leading the palace maids to pick a lot of hibiscus flowers to take back, saying they would be used to dye her nails. They should be finished by now. Does Your Majesty intend to go and see them?"
Pan couldn't help but cry out, "Your Majesty!"
Li Yuanke didn't even glance at her, and said, "I'm going to Zhaoyang Palace. You're pregnant, so take good care of yourself. I'll come see you again when I have time."
He then looked at Madam Pan and said, "You should also help Consort De."
Consort De tied a cloak around his neck, bowed, and said, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!"
After everyone left, Consort De let out a cold laugh, "Today you will move into Qingyu Xiaozhu!"
He then instructed Ginkgo, "Watch her move it!"
When Lady Pan returned to her palace, she was filled with regret. She had only hated her family for sending her to the palace in order to curry favor with Consort De. She had only wanted to defeat Consort De, which was why she accepted the Empress's offer.
All I could think of was that Consort De was old and her beauty had faded.
But to my surprise, Consort De manipulated me so easily, and the Emperor showed me no affection whatsoever.