CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 66: LOVE-ADDLED MIND

The Empress saw Consort Xi’s grimace through her tear-filled eyes.

Her head buzzed:

"Consort Xi!"

Yun Jiao’s grimace was exceedingly skillful.

She wasn’t going for cuteness, she was blatantly wrinkling her nose at the Empress. As an aristocrat from a prestigious family, the Empress had never encountered such brazen behavior. Immediately, she was so infuriated that she lunged forward and couldn’t help but lose her voice in a roar. At her roar, Yun Jiao quickly rolled her eyes and shut them, pretending to faint.

At that moment, Snow Bud and Gong Mei broke free from the palace maids of Jianzhang Palace, crying as they rushed out and knelt on the ground: "Mistress, Mistress was frightened into a faint by the Empress!"

The Empress was dumbfounded.

She was certain she saw Consort Xi roll her eyes at her; she saw it plain and clear!

How could such a vile person exist!?

Actually having the audacity to confront her, pretending to be pitiful, pretending to faint, taking the opportunity to deceive her!

"Your Majesty, please discern, Consort Xi made faces at me, I, I..."

"Silence,"

This time, Xie Zhixing actually believed what the Empress said because it was too outrageous.

But the Empress wasn’t the first to falsely accuse favored concubines of the harem, so he decided to let her experience the feeling of being wronged: "Empress, are you dissatisfied with my decree?"

This heavy accusation made the Empress finally dare not argue anymore.

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling: "I accept the decree."

With her peripheral vision, the Empress could only see him turning to leave, without a trace of lingering.

He was even unwilling to help her up.

The Empress felt so heartbroken that her tears almost soaked the tiles until the Emperor left Jianzhang Palace, carrying Consort Xi away. Only then did she rise, with the aid of the palace maids, stumbling along, filled with sorrow, yet unable to voice her grievances: "Help me back, let them all rise."

"Yes, Lady."

The inner room was extremely quiet.

The Empress passed through the door, followed by a succession of palace maids and eunuchs with bowed heads. Their steps were extremely light, and only the almost unnoticeable sobs of the Empress could be heard.

Was it my fault today?

The Empress continually asked herself.

Reason told her it probably was. Before the marriage was arranged, her parents and grandmother repeatedly warned her that marrying into the Royal Family is different from ordinary Official Families; she must curb her indulgence, or it would harm not only herself but her whole family. She must consider the big picture over herself. If she couldn’t do it, the family wouldn’t be involved or they could choose someone else instead.

She didn’t want them to choose someone else; she thought she could handle it.

When she finally saw the majestic Eldest Prince, the Empress felt admiration, and that man never caused a stir by favoring concubines and slighting his wife. The female relatives in the residence were bestowed by Lady Shufei at the time and the late Emperor: "Nanny, besides showing extra affection to the Ji Family, His Majesty never spent the night in anyone else’s room."

"Mother told me this was because the Prince wanted to quickly have an heir from me, not only to stabilize internally but to show outsiders that my position as the main wife was secure, and to praise the Prince for not being swayed by personal affections, prioritizing the overall situation..."

"But Nanny, I also wish to be his personal affection."

"Lady, where in the world are things twofold? Lady, you need to put your heart at ease; when you’re at odds with His Majesty, it’s Lady Shufei who stands to gain! Lady, you must have a proper talk with His Majesty, as there’s nothing between husband and wife that can’t be discussed."

The nanny earnestly advised.

The Empress leaned over the table, tears flowing, while the intricate jewels and fineries once her favorites were now too overwhelming.

She had begged His Majesty before.

She had tentatively asked His Majesty, yet he neither realized with remorse as a husband chasing his wife, nor did he coldly dismiss her infatuation by declaring his true love was Lady Shufei—he sighed, sat beside the Empress, and told her:

"Empress, apart from Prince Duan, you should understand me the most. I govern externally while you manage internally; we are not ordinary people. Xu Taifu of the Official Family dismissed all his concubines for his wife, loved fiercely, yet quarreled endlessly. What were they arguing about? I had someone investigate, and Mrs. Xu felt Taifu was no longer attentive enough, not as loving as before; she intentionally accepted a beauty to test his heart. That beauty spent the night luring him, and he stayed awake lighting the lamps to maintain his resolve, almost fainting during the morning court, neglecting his duties."

"If a concubine is causing trouble, she won’t be able to stir up major issues."

"Even Madam Taifu acted so, what of the Central Palace Empress?"

Translated: our positions are so high that even the slightest move affects the entire nation; let’s not become love-obsessed.

"I understand the reasoning, but I still feel hurt."

"He said so much, yet I still feel he only lashed out at me for a mere consort! Even handing over palace authority to that vile Lady Shufei!"

Discussing Lady Shufei, the Empress was even more furious. As she spoke, she grabbed everything within reach and smashed them, shattering them into pieces. She felt slightly relieved, so she couldn’t stop. Her room contained treasures many concubines couldn’t even dream of, yet those were divided by the Emperor for her to allocate, allowing her to keep most, not personally bestowed by him.

The mountain of gold and silver, thousands of exquisite silks, all paled in comparison to the tiger skin personally hunted by the Emperor for Consort Xi.

Because they were easily obtained, the Empress smashed these valuable items without a second thought.

Some gold and silver objects weren’t easily broken, rolling out as they stung her palms, vexingly.

"The Emperor barely came to Jianzhang Palace before, now he’s even more reluctant to see me."

Amidst the chaos, the Empress slumped in a chair, feeling both resentful and wronged.

"It’s all because of Consort Xi, all because of Lady Shufei, those enchantresses who bewitch the Emperor."

"Anyway, the Emperor will stop me, so why don’t I just ruin her face first, so she can no longer use it to seduce the Emperor!"

"How could that vile woman be so lucky, the Emperor had clearly left the palace..."

Saying this, the Empress’s face gathered in doubt.

The Emperor’s plan to leave the palace this time wasn’t widely announced, supposedly only she and the Empress Dowager were informed. However, upon reflection, her punishment of Consort Xi was impulsive, and the Emperor couldn’t have known it beforehand.

Even though her jealousy towards Consort Xi was driving her mad, deep down, the Empress believed the Emperor had long intended to warn her, and today just happened to erupt with Consort Xi as the trigger.

"Tomorrow... how will they mock me?"

The Empress pressed her lips until they turned white, her hand instinctively on her abdomen: "If only I had a child, the Emperor wouldn’t treat me this way, it’s because my womb failed me that I suffered such humiliation today." She let out a cold laugh: "She better stay flawless in the harem, always lucky enough to have the Emperor stand up for her!"

She could already imagine the triumphant and smug face of Consort Xi due to her good fortune!

However, the Empress was mistaken again.

Right now, looking around the Six Palaces, the one who feels the luckiest isn’t Consort Xi, but Lady Shufei of Yanxi Palace.