Chapter 3: ③ The Empress
The news of an election immediately made all the concubines feel anxious.
Especially before the end of the flower banquet, the Empress casually remarked, "I heard that this year, the youngest daughter of the Grand Tutor's family, Miss Su, is also going to participate. She's a clever girl."
The meaning is already very clear; the Grand Tutor's daughter, Miss Su, will definitely enter the palace. Moreover, with the support of her family, she will likely be granted a high position as soon as she enters the palace. It wouldn't be surprising if another consort were to be added to the ranks.
As soon as the flower banquet ended, the concubines hurriedly returned to the palace, planning to carefully strategize how to deal with the upcoming election.
Concubine Shen was called by the Empress.
"Since the noble consort sister is feeling well, why not accompany me to pay respects to the Empress Dowager?" The empress spoke in a gentle and calm tone, without a hint of worldly concerns.
Concubine Shen, with respect, complied and handed Adult to the nearby Manxing, who held it, and they all boarded the Empress's phoenix carriage together.
The Empress is a very easy-going person, at least for Concubine Shen. She seemed to have long understood the relationship between Shen Yuqing and the Emperor, and she never harbored any hostility towards Shen Yuqing— not even the superficial hostility she showed towards other concubines.
Shen Yuqing then knew that the Empress was also one of their own.
But she is different from Shen Yuqing; to the emperor, Shen Yuqing is merely a pure partner, whereas the empress is much closer to the emperor, almost like family.
In Fengyi Palace, there are four teams of female secret guards hidden, their numbers not fewer than those of the emperor's Zicheng Palace. One wonders what background this Empress has.
I heard that the Empress is the Empress Dowager's niece and the only child left by the Empress Dowager's deceased elder brother. Back then, before she moved into the main palace, she stayed in her boudoir until she was twenty-one, almost becoming a laughingstock. Who would have thought that later on, she would directly enter the palace and become the empress, earning the emperor's deep respect?
Hmm... The emperor respects her like a cousin sister?
Shen Yuqing lowered her eyes, adjusted her clothes, and quietly listened to the Empress speak.
"Recently, the Empress Mother hasn't had much of an appetite, so I sent Xue Xiurong to keep her company for a few days. Xue Xiurong has been taking good care of her, but the Empress Dowager's appetite still hasn't improved.”
Although she is the highest-ranking woman in the harem, the Empress Dowager is actually quite young, only thirty-five, and she takes excellent care of herself, with not a single wrinkle on her face. She is a very wise woman; even though her son has spoiled the arrogant and overbearing Consort Shen a bit too much, she has never intervened.
Unlike the queen's impartiality, the empress dowager was very adept at discerning the emperor's intentions. Whoever the emperor favored, she would treat with a slightly more pleasant demeanor, while the rest would be met with indifference. Her demeanor was perfectly poised; not only was there no animosity between mother and son, but even the concubines couldn't gossip behind their backs.
She is the Empress Dowager; even a glance from her is a great favor. This is the emperor's biological mother, the legitimate empress of the late emperor, and she has the backing of a century-old scholarly family from Jiangnan. Even the noble consort wouldn't dare to offend her.
"The empress dowager has always been in good health. Why is her appetite so poor now?" Concubine Shen was very perceptive and followed the Empress's lead, continuing the conversation.
The queen smiled and said, "Perhaps she's missing the snacks you used to make."
Shen Yuqing is a disciple of the Ming Sect from the Western Regions and can make quite a few snacks with distinctive flavors from the Western Regions. Previously, when she had nothing to do, she made some and sent it to the Empress and the Empress Dowager for them to try. It was indeed quite good.
Anyway, they are all her own people, so Shen Yuqing didn't mind and wasn't afraid of her identity being exposed.
"Since that's the case, tomorrow I will bring some snacks to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager." Shen Yuqing readily proposed.
The queen and the empress dowager have extended an olive branch to her, she has to accept it.
Having been ill for a month, the emperor rarely set foot in the Reed Palace, and there were already rumors in the harem saying she had fallen out of favor. If she didn't want to face the emperor every day, Shen Yuqing could only prove her continued favor through other means, such as the fact that she was still deeply loved by the Empress Dowager.
Would a wise and highly skilled master of the harem like the Empress Dowager favor an arrogant and overbearing concubine? Of course not, generally, mothers-in-law don't like their son's young concubines. So she treats the mistress kindly, and there's only one possibility: her son dotes on this mistress, and the mother-in-law is just saving face for her son.
The empress was as meticulous as dust; she somehow sensed that Shen Yuqing didn't like dealing with the emperor and thus provided her with another way out.
The atmosphere in the carriage instantly improved a lot. Shen Yuqing couldn't help but exclaim, "The emperor is surrounded by all-star teammates. No wonder he was able to save the precarious Dayan Dynasty in just three years. You have to know that three years ago when he ascended the throne, the court was filled with all sorts of schemers vying for power, the treasury was empty, high-ranking officials were selling their positions, and the nobles had ulterior motives—each one was difficult to deal with.”
The Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace is not far from the Imperial Garden, and they arrived there quickly.
As soon as she got off the carriage, Granny Fu, who was by the Empress Dowager's side, immediately came forward to greet her.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress and Her Highness the Noble Consort."
The queen immediately supported her, "You are too polite, ma'am."
This is an old servant the Empress brought from her family, who has served for many years and holds a high status in the palace, having raised the Emperor single-handedly. Shen Yuqing certainly wouldn't overstep; she greeted her with a smile.
When others give face, she naturally will give face back. "Mamma, you look well today. Is the Empress Dowager in good health?"
"Your Majesty, everything is well, but the empress dowager misses the Noble Consort a bit."
Missing someone, my foot.
"The Empress Dowager doesn't miss me at all! You're probably the one missing me, right?" Shen Yuqing maintained her smile and continued to act with the knowledgeable person for the spies around to see.
After the group entered Shoukang Palace, the sneaky little eunuchs outside finally dispersed.
In the warm chamber of the West in Shoukang Palace, the Empress Dowager was basking in the sun while listening to a book. The articulate little palace maid held a storybook and read aloud, her voice rising and falling in a way that didn't make it feel tedious.
Seeing someone come in, the young palace maid immediately knelt and bowed, silencing herself.
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes, nodded at the two, and shifted her gaze to Manxing behind Shen Yuqing.
"This girl, her figure is getting more and more voluptuous." She joked, waving at Manxing, "Quick, bring Adult over so I can give it a hug."
In the palace, the most favored by the higher-ups is none other than Master Cat. The emperor, the empress dowager, the empress, and the consort, each one is its loyal servant. Although the other concubines would love to get rid of this little darling who helps the favored concubine gain favor.
The Empress Dowager wouldn't let go of Adult once she held it, and after chatting with the Empress for a bit, she wanted to play with Adult for a while, as if she couldn't wait to snatch it back to raise herself. However, the Adult was a principled cat. It quickly pushed away the Empress Dowager's hand, strutted over to the soft couch, and meowed at Shen Yuqing, demanding that the ‘slave’ come over and attend to it.
Concubine Shen immediately carried the master and carefully attended to it.
Without Adult to distract her, the Empress Dowager finally felt at ease discussing the election matters with the Empress and the Noble Consort.
"The emperor's harem is empty, so for this election, my intention is to select two more." She thought for a moment, "Choose more from the lower ranks, no need for the higher ranks. One Su Qiaoxin is enough."
Mentioning Miss Su from the Su family, the Empress Dowager's tone was indifferent, clearly showing her dislike for this person.
Shen Yuqing still had some understanding of the previous dynasty's situation; after all, she and the emperor were teammates and couldn't let him down. If she doesn't understand the situation of the previous dynasty, she won't be able to gauge the right level of confrontation.
This Su Qiaoxin was originally not an important person; at most, she would end up like Consort Shu, unable to achieve anything significant. But the problem is, she has an older sister, Su Qiaoyun.
Su Qiaoyun is three years older than Su Qiaoxin, and this year, she is the same age as Concubine Shen and the Emperor, twenty. The emperor's inner palace treasures many portraits of Su Qiaoyun; this person is clearly the emperor's true love. Unfortunately, the true love married early, but after many years, she had no children and was not living well in her husband's family.
Su Qiaoxin is seventeen this year, and three years ago she was just fourteen, not yet old enough to be in the election. The election requires you to be between fifteen and eighteen, so she waited for three years and finally got to participate in this election.
Generally, daughters of officials get married by the age of fifteen. If they miss the selection, they might as well find a suitable husband outside the palace; it wouldn't be much different from competing for a man in the palace. But Su Qiaoxin was unwilling; she insisted on entering the palace, clearly deeply infatuated with the emperor.
Her father, the Grand Preceptor, was the emperor's teacher, and her sister and the emperor were childhood sweethearts, but unfortunately, they were not meant to be. She believed that with her sister's connections, it would be no problem to win over the emperor, so she turned down all the marriage proposals her family had arranged for her over the past three years.
This behavior is quite off-putting, both for the concubines in the harem and for the Su family.
But in the end, having no connection with the Empress Dowager can at most prove that she is not particularly charming. Why doesn't she like Su Qiaoxin?
On the way back, Consort Shen pondered for a while and decided to ask the Empress.
Recently, I don't want to see the emperor; otherwise, it would be more convenient to ask him.
The Empress personally poured her a cup of tea: "Miss Su isn't actually deeply in love."
She wants to be the empress, no, she wants to be called the empress dowager.
Enter the palace, give birth to the crown prince, bring down the empress, support her son to the throne, and become the empress dowager herself. This is Su Qiaoxin's true purpose, and it is also the goal of many ambitious concubines.
However, many concubines, after entering the palace, couldn't control their hearts and accidentally fell in love with the indifferent emperor. They were preoccupied with jealousy and harming others, ultimately ruining their efforts.
But Su Qiaoxin is a person with perseverance, not as easy to deal with as those women who go crazy for love.
Shen Yuqing had a premonition that for a long time to come, she would have to take special care of this Miss Su. The emperor will definitely not let her off. Even if she uses her sister's tiger skin coat as a talisman, it won't work. The emperor is not a foolish ruler blinded by lust.
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