Jiaofang Hall
Xia Ruqing and Honored Lady Hu knelt side by side, with several Servants also kneeling behind them, not daring to breathe too loudly.
"Empress, it's all my fault that things have turned out like this. If Sister Hu likes it, I am willing to offer my rouge to her," Xia Ruqing sobbed as she spoke.
Sometimes, retreating is advancing, which is much better than a direct attack.
She was naturally extremely beautiful, and now with her crying so pitifully, tears streaming down her face, her apricot eyes full of tears, she looked truly miserable.
"However, Sister Hu should not have hit my servant. After all, he has followed me faithfully for a year. I myself cannot bear to scold or beat him!" After saying that, Xia Ruqing cried out in grievance again.
These two sentences, seemingly a complaint, laid bare all of Honored Lady Hu's terrible actions.
She was quite satisfied with her own performance, thinking to herself that indeed, one never knows how outstanding they can be until they push themselves.
The Empress already knew the details of the incident. She then saw that, indeed, a Little Eunuch was kneeling next to Xia Ruqing with a swollen cheek and several deep footprints on his clothing.
With a slap on the table, the Empress said angrily, "Honored Lady Hu has gone too far! How disgraceful for a palace consort to lay hands on another! Where did she learn such rules!"
At that moment, Honored Lady Hu, for some inexplicable reason, talked back, "Empress, you have always been the fairest. Please judge between us. We are both Honored Ladies; why does she have a tribute of rouge while I do not!"
The Empress laughed out of anger. "Why? Because it's the Emperor's will. What more reason do you need?"
Then, she scoffed coldly, "Since Honored Lady Hu is not convinced and feels wronged, why don't I have the Emperor come here and decide for you? Would that satisfy you?"
Honored Lady Hu's face turned white. Now that Lady Xia is in favor, if the Emperor comes, I'll have no way out. In her grievance and desperation, she cried and said, "Empress, the Emperor is biased towards her, and you protect her as well! Where else can one seek justice in this palace?"
"You..." That statement struck the Empress deep in her soul.
She aligns herself with whoever the Emperor favors; this has always been the most sensitive spot in her heart. Now that it was so sharply exposed, she felt she couldn't maintain her composure.
"Lady Xia has always been sensible and well-mannered, unlike you who cause such a fuss!" The Empress's face turned blue with anger.
"Guards! Take Honored Lady Hu away, confine her for a month, and dock half a year's salary! No one is to visit her without my permission!"
"Empress..." Honored Lady Hu panicked.
Losing her salary was a minor issue, but being confined for a month was a great loss. Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, followed by the Double Ninth Festival. She would miss two opportunities to appear before the Emperor!
"Empress, I realize my mistake! Please show mercy!"
Honored Lady Hu struggled frantically, but alas, the Sisters were strong and quickly dragged her out.
Xia Ruqing bowed her head and sneered coldly. To apologize now… isn't it a bit late?
However, she had to admire Honored Lady Hu. Such a brainless person, yet she had managed to survive up to now. That was indeed a miracle.
After Honored Lady Hu had gone, the Empress allowed Xia Ruqing to stand, comforted her with a few words, rewarded her with some medicine, and then told her to return.
Before leaving, Xia Ruqing kowtowed with a grateful expression. "Thank you, Empress, for upholding justice for me! I am eternally grateful!"
The Empress smiled faintly. "You are a sensible girl; there's no need to stoop to her level. I have already punished her, so let this matter rest."
"If this incident were to spread, it wouldn't sound good and would only invite ridicule!"
Xia Ruqing understood her meaning and obediently agreed.
As soon as Xia Ruqing left, the Empress's smile instantly vanished. With a light sigh, she took the tea handed over by Yu Lan and slowly began to drink. The usual dignity and grace were gone, leaving only desolation in her expression.
She touched her flat belly and said bitterly, "Yu Lan, do you think I'm a particularly pathetic Empress?"
The Empress Dowager did not like her, favoring only Noble Concubine Shih; that, she could bear. The Emperor did not seem to hold much affection for her either. To gain his favor, all she could do was put on the virtuous facade of being magnanimous and accommodating. Four years into the palace, and there was still no sign of pregnancy. How could she willingly push her own husband toward other women? But what choice did she have? Whenever the Emperor came to her, eight times out of ten he showed little interest. If she didn't cultivate a reputation for virtue, how could she secure her position?!
Yu Lan was startled, hastily smiled, and comforted, "My Lady, what are you talking about? You are the Empress, revered above all in the world. Who could be more noble than you?"
She continued, "Besides, in the Harem, although Noble Concubine Shih enjoys profound imperial favor, she hasn't overstepped the rules. The Emperor is not unkind to you either; he always visits on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month and often comes at other times. He also grants us ample dignity in both major and minor affairs."
"In this Harem, among all the ladies, high and low, isn't everyone looking to Your Majesty as their leader? Even Noble Concubine Shih, no matter how resentful she is in her heart, doesn't she also have to behave properly on the surface?"
Yu Lan was part of the Empress's dowry; otherwise, she wouldn't dare speak so freely with the Empress.
Sure enough, after this conversation, the Empress felt much more at ease. Her brow smoothed, and she playfully rebuked, "You girl, you certainly know how to coax and humor someone!"
She added, "It seems I was overthinking things again. It's only natural for the Emperor to have many consorts and concubines; haven't empresses throughout history lived this way?"
"It's good that Your Majesty has come to understand!" Yu Lan said happily.
The Empress nodded again. "As long as they don't harbor improper thoughts, I have no need to be at odds with them. If they can divert some of his favor from *that side*, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all!"
Saying this, the Empress glanced indifferently in the direction of Xifu Palace.
"Naturally! With Your Majesty's intelligence and virtue, the Emperor will surely cherish you even more!" Yu Lan also smiled.
Then, with a mischievous grin, she added, "Tomorrow is the fifteenth, and the Emperor will surely come. Has Your Majesty made any preparations? Please give your orders early."
"You naughty girl..." The Empress blushed slightly and feigned annoyance.
"Have the small kitchen prepare a few of the Emperor's favorite dishes. Also, don't forget my tonics!" Jiaofang Hall had its own private kitchen.
"Yes! Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Yu Lan said with a smile as she left.
The Empress caressed her flat belly, her smile quickly retracting. Her fists clenched tightly, her eyes as cold and hard as ice. She could be magnanimous about the Emperor's affections for others, she could choose not to mind, but the Crown Prince must come from her womb. If anyone dared to stand in her way, she would not hesitate to stain her hands with blood.
...
Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet
The Emperor's lesser concubines were each dressed in ostentatious finery. Although the Emperor was certainly not going to summon them to his bed tonight, that did not stop them from casting flirtatious glances and sending covert signals of interest. Just to see the Emperor was enough to excite them.
The Emperor and Empress sat on either side of the Empress Dowager, joining in the laughter and conversation.
Noble Concubine Shih was seated to the Emperor's right, occasionally throwing him a resentful yet coquettish look, and at other times staring at the Empress's position with a complex gaze.
Xia Ruqing, dressed in a gown of moon-silver bright satin embroidered with Molli flowers and wearing two white jade hairpins, sat at the very end.