I thought Liu Chan would continue pretending to be incredulous, but she actually accepted it quite quickly.
She extricated herself from Xiao Lin’s embrace, met his gaze, and murmured, “So last time at Weiyang Palace, she was also scheming? Please enlighten me, Your Majesty, why would she do this?”
Seeing her react so swiftly, Xiao Lin felt she was indeed teachable.
Xiao Lin didn’t hide it from her. “The Noble Consort cannot bear children.”
“So she wants me to bear a child?” Liu Chan’s pupils dilated in shock, her small hands clenching. “But she clearly knows I’m about to get married… No, she knows Meng Xun. This…”
“Although you’re naive by nature, I know you’re clever. Think it through yourself.” Xiao Lin stroked her smooth back, finding the touch so pleasant that much of his anger dissipated.
Indeed, being with Liu Chan relaxed him.
But living in the rear palace, mere innocence wasn’t enough to survive—one also needed a shrewd mind.
Liu Chan clenched her hands, her face showing indignation. She smiled bitterly and shook her head. “I thought she genuinely missed her family, which was why she brought me into the palace. I considered myself the luckiest of the Liu family, but I never expected…”
She paused, beginning to reflect on herself. “It’s my fault for being too trusting of others.”
“Hmm.” Seeing her like this, Xiao Lin felt considerably more pleased.
Before he could say more, the young girl suddenly looked up, her eyes red as she met his gaze. “Can I trust you?”
Can I trust you?
Xiao Lin looked into her utterly sincere eyes, and his heart inexplicably stirred. He found himself nodding involuntarily. “Yes.”
The next moment, Liu Chan’s small face flushed with anger. “She schemed against me. I will definitely get my revenge in the future!”
“…” Xiao Lin stared at her intently for a long moment.
Suddenly, the corners of his lips curled upward, his mood instantly clearing like clouds parting after a storm. He even felt like laughing.
The women around him all desperately showcased their virtue and gentility on the surface. No one had ever dared to say in front of him that they intended to seek revenge after being wronged.
“Good.” Xiao Lin became amused and teased her, “If you find an opportunity for revenge, let me know. I’ll help you.”
Watching Liu Chan grit her teeth and nod, he recalled how she had seduced him with bewitching eyes and pleaded with him on the bed earlier, and he felt a sudden stir of emotion.
He somewhat regretted his earlier promise not to touch her again.
But an emperor’s promise was worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Xiao Lin stood up. “Attendants!”
Huang Jiu pushed the door open and entered.
“I recall there’s a Yuqiong Residence next to Taiji Hall. Let Consort Liu reside there.” Xiao Lin instructed gently, “Huang Jiu, take good care of her. Don’t let anyone bully her.”
Huang Jiu immediately acknowledged the order, thinking to himself that the Emperor indeed favored this Miss Liu.
No, Consort Liu.
Even though Consort Liu was from the Liu family, the Emperor didn’t seem to mind. Right now, it looked more like the Emperor had coaxed Consort Liu, rather than the other way around.
**
The Empress Dowager led Jing Guifei back to her chambers at a brisk pace.
As soon as they entered, the Empress Dowager ordered the door shut directly, then turned and slapped Jing Guifei across the face. “Fool!”
“Empress Dowager!” Jing Guifei immediately knelt down, her expression panicked.
She covered her face, not daring to say more.
“Daring to scheme in this family’s Shou’an Palace—not only plotting against the Emperor, but even daring to manipulate the young lady of the Liu family.”” The Empress Dowager’s voice emerged like a cold whisper. “Jing Guifei, you truly have the gall of a bear and the courage of a leopard, forgetting what you truly are!”
At these words, a flicker of resentment crossed Jing Guifei’s lowered face.
She was no longer the performing girl from the brothel of her past, but an exalted and favored noble consort within the Imperial Palace.
Yet the Empress Dowager had publicly shamed her before the palace staff!
Though bitterness churned within her, Jing Guifei could only suppress it, adopting a fearful demeanor as she murmured, “This humble consort acknowledges her wrongdoing.”There are two matters this Empress Dowager holds most dear in this lifetime,” the Empress Dowager stated coldly, her gaze piercing. “One is my position within the palace, the other is the reputation of the Liu family.””
When a daughter of the Liu family climbed into the Emperor’s bed within the palace, none dared utter a word of criticism.
But if a Liu daughter were discovered lying with another man inside the palace walls, and such news spread beyond them, the Liu family would struggle to hold their heads high in the capital again. Even she, the Empress Dowager, would have her back scourged by public scorn.
“Yes,” Jing Guifei softly acknowledged.
With a single glance, the Empress Dowager detected the defiance simmering beneath the surface.
Outwardly, Jing Guifei also claimed origins from the Liu family, but the Emperor had granted her high status precisely because he knew she was not a blood relative.
Slowly turning her beads in hand, the Empress Dowager reflected on her long-standing covert discord with the Emperor. Guessing he would likely refuse to approve another true Liu daughter as consort, she had planned for Jing Guifei to undergo womb-borrowing to bear a prince with Liu bloodline.
She had thought the plan had failed.
Unexpectedly, Jing Guifei’s blunder had inadvertently achieved this outcome, and Liu Chan had been enfeoffed as a ninth-rank Da Ying. Though her rank was low, it could be considered a blessing in disguise.
Considering that the Jing Guifei before her had likely forgotten her roots, the Empress Dowager spoke evenly, “This Empress Dowager enabled your entry into the palace as a noble consort, and can just as easily return you to your former place.” Jing Guifei, this widow allows you to be foolish, but never to act with arrogant cleverness. Otherwise, this family will be the first to cast you out.”
Her voice sharpened abruptly on the final words.
It was a warning.
A shiver ran through Jing Guifei.
Before she could respond, the Empress Dowager’s voice continued from above, “In the future, when Liu Chan bears a prince, this widow will have the Emperor place the child under your care.” Do you understand?”
At this, Jing Guifei looked up in disbelief, unable to conceal the delight in her eyes.
She had assumed that with Liu Chan remaining, the Empress Dowager would support her instead.
“Yes!” Jing Guifei swiftly cast aside her earlier resentment, exclaiming eagerly, “This humble consort will surely protect and assist Consort Liu, ensuring she conceives a prince soon.”
Once the prince was born, she would be a noble consort with a royal heir in her care, the Empress Position within her grasp.
The Empress Dowager waved a hand dismissively. “Go kneel in the Buddha hall. Since the Emperor has entrusted this widow with your instruction, this widow must provide him some account.”
“Yes,” Jing Guifei replied cheerfully.
Her mind now brimmed with plans for nurturing the prince soon to be hers and securing the Empress Position. Kneeling in the Buddha hall was a small price; today’s humiliation was worth enduring for such a prize.
As Jing Guifei hurried away, Wang Momo stepped forward to assist the Empress Dowager to her seat.
Wang Momo could not help commenting, “This servant observes that the noble consort’s ambitions are not small.”
The Empress Dowager took a sip of the tea handed by the palace maid and calmly remarked, “The Emperor is only twenty-six, still young. Who will rise to prominence in the palace in the future is truly uncertain. Though she has ambition, she lacks the capability. I quite like such foolish creatures.”
Easy to control.
“But as for Liu Chan…” The Empress Dowager curled her lips. “She appears harmless, yet she managed to make the Emperor keep her by his side. She is no simple one. Let us wait and see.”
The Emperor’s cold-blooded nature—others might not understand it, but she was the one who had raised the wolf herself. How could she not know?