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Chapter 63
"A counterfeit is ultimately just a counterfeit. I'm not in a hurry, and neither should Sister Consort Liang be," Jiang Xinyue said with a smile as she saw Consort Liang off. In her mind, she was rapidly calculating.
Ye Baolin was... the Empress's person!
Last time when the Empress urged her to bear a child, she cleverly used the excuse of a cold womb to avoid it. The Empress had then given up on the idea of using her womb to bear a child.
How long had it been since then?
She was already impatiently pushing forward another palace lady.
If she hadn't guessed wrong, this palace lady was the one the Empress had found - a new child-bearing machine.
Was she in such a hurry because she herself... could no longer bear children?
Jiang Xinyue, who had inadvertently guessed a big secret, tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table.
"How disgusting," Xi Que said frankly, placing a hand warmer in Jiang Xinyue's hands to keep her warm. "That Ye Baolin entered the palace on the same day as you, my lady. When we were in Chuxiu Palace, she even lived with us. When our roommates bullied her, we even helped her."
Who would have thought she would use imitation of her former benefactor to gain favor?
It was so revolting!
"His Majesty didn't favor her because she resembles me. In the future, don't reveal any flaws in front of the Emperor. Our Emperor doesn't like playing with lookalikes. Besides, with me as the genuine article, how could His Majesty fancy a concubine who is inferior to me in every way?"
Why would someone who could afford the real thing use a high-quality fake?
"My lady, my lady!" Jiang Chuan came in from outside. "I've found out that this morning, the Emperor also dealt with a batch of palace maids from Chuxiu Palace. They say it was those who were lazy and deceitful when Ye Baolin was there."
Jiang Xinyue knew that the Xuanwu Emperor wouldn't favor a palace lady who was willing to imitate others without reason.
He was just using this opportunity to place his own trusted people in various palaces.
Previously, Chuxiu Palace was managed and controlled by the Dowager Empress Wu. The palace ladies sent into the palace were also selected and determined by the Dowager Empress Wu for him.
The harem of the Great Yan Emperor was like a sieve, leaking everywhere, filled with the Dowager Empress Wu's people. He wanted to solve the problem from its root.
Especially...
It was said that yesterday the Dowager Empress Wu had summoned Empress Zhu, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a very unpleasant exchange, even alarming the Emperor.
Apart from the Dowager Empress, the Xuanwu Emperor, and Empress Zhu, Consort Shu and Consort Rong were also present.
Combining this with Empress Zhu arranging for Ye Baolin to intercept Consort Rong, it must be that she suffered some grievance in Kunning Palace and was retaliating against the Dowager Empress's faction.
For Empress Zhu to take such serious action, Jiang Xinyue couldn't think of anything other than the Dowager Empress competing for her palace power.
Consort Shu and Consort Rong had been pushed to the forefront by the Dowager Empress to compete with Empress Zhu.
Let them all get caught up in it!
While they're all tangled up, she could develop herself sneakily for a while longer.
"My lady, my lady!" Xiao Xuanzi ran in again. "Something big has happened! Just now, the Emperor personally supervised people from the Internal Affairs Department to cut down all the begonia trees in the Imperial Garden. And Ye Baolin, the Emperor won't let her kneel anymore. When this servant was coming back, Concubine Li was making a fuss!"
Xi Que's mouth fell open, she couldn't believe it. Those begonia trees that had caused her mistress so much suffering, had they really been cut down?
But hadn't her mistress said the Emperor didn't truly like Ye Baolin? What was this all about now?
Her brain wasn't sufficient, and she couldn't figure it out even as her mind was about to smoke from overworking.
Remembering that night when she was bleeding profusely, the Emperor had rubbed her belly while comforting her: "Don't be afraid, Yue'er. In the future, I won't let anyone bully you."
So, those begonia trees were actually cut down to avenge her for the punishment of kneeling back then?
Who would have thought that just by setting up the Su family once, it would make the Emperor empathize so deeply, projecting all his youthful experiences of endurance, grievances, and concessions onto her, creating an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Concubine Li was an unexpected bonus.
Ye Baolin was just unlucky.
Wanting to imitate her, she ended up being used by the Emperor, becoming a ready-made target to help Jiang Xinyue get revenge.
However, she wouldn't say these things to Xi Que and Shuang Jiang. At this moment, she was just a foolish girl whose heart had been broken by her beloved.
As night fell, the eunuchs from the Imperial Bedroom Service routinely brought the green jade tablet for the Xuanwu Emperor to select his companion for the night.
There were still a few thin scratch marks on his neck, from when Concubine Li had argued with the Emperor at noon. When Ye Baolin had stepped forward to mediate, Concubine Li, in her anger, had swung a slap. Ye Baolin instinctively dodged, and the slap landed on the Emperor's neck.
The Imperial body had been injured, and the Imperial Guards immediately drew their swords and held them to Concubine Li's throat. With just one word from the Xuanwu Emperor, Concubine Li would have been charged as an assassin and executed.
In the end, the Emperor still softened his heart and didn't allow the Imperial Guards to harm Concubine Li. He only had Wang Dequan escort the frightened Concubine back to Changxin Palace, not allowing her to step out of the palace gates without the Emperor's permission.
His right hand hesitated repeatedly between the names of Consort Shu and Ye Baolin on the jade tablet. Finally, the Xuanwu Emperor sighed and chose Consort Shu.
In fact, he wanted more to see Jiang Xinyue. He wondered if she had understood his good intentions? Would she be angry that he had helped another concubine get revenge?
After arguing with Concubine Li today and getting injured, he really didn't have the energy to coax anyone else.
Moreover, Jiang Xinyue was menstruating, so her green jade tablet had been removed.
The air in the hall was oppressive, making it difficult to breathe.
He got up and walked to the door of Chengqian Palace. Just as the eunuchs from the Imperial Bedroom Service were about to come out from behind him to notify Jingren Palace to light the lamps, they heard the Emperor ask, "What's that?"
In the dark sky with twinkling stars, the not-so-bright night was illuminated by several flying paper lanterns. Something seemed to be written on them.
"They look like prayer lanterns," Wang Dequan also looked up. "This servant has heard that there's a folk legend: if you write your wish on a prayer lantern and let it fly to the sky, the wish fairies in the sky will take those wishes and report them to the immortals and heavenly lords, and the wishes of those who pray will all come true."
"Nonsense," the Emperor scoffed. Where were there any immortals in this world?
"Oh! One lantern has fallen down."
The dim lantern flickered and happened to fall right at the entrance of Chengqian Palace. Seeing the Emperor staring at the lantern, Wang Dequan astutely picked it up.
"My beloved Ye Lang, may everything surpass your expectations."
Signed: A devoted heart.
After Wang Dequan read the words clearly, he could feel the heavy love of the person who made the wish.
It must be some concubine in the harem who had long admired the Emperor but didn't dare to express her love directly. So she prayed to heaven, hoping that the person she loved would have everything turn out even better than he wished.
"May everything surpass your expectations" meant hoping that everything would turn out even better than one could hope for.
She hadn't even revealed her own name. She truly only wished for the Emperor's well-being, only wanting the heavenly immortals to remember the person being blessed, not wanting them to pay attention to who was making the wish.
"Heh!" The Xuanwu Emperor chuckled softly. "Wang Dequan, whose chicken scratch handwriting does this resemble?"
Chicken scratch?
Wang Dequan suddenly recalled an old incident. The Emperor had once said that Consort Zhen's handwriting was worse than even indecipherable scrawls, barely legible at best.
"This... this is..."
The Xuanwu Emperor's lips curled into a faint smile as he addressed the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department behind him: "There's no need to go to Jingren Palace. Tonight, I will accompany Consort Zhen in Hexi Palace."
"But..."