Having officially served in bed and developed a more harmonious relationship with the Crown Prince than expected, Kan’er slept exceptionally soundly this night.
Little did she know that the news of the Crown Prince’s visit to Yongxu Yuan had spread, causing the entire Back Palace to boil like a pot of hot water.
Leaving aside the shock among the palace servants, just considering the reactions of mistresses like Zheng Mingzhi and Cao Liangyuan—each felt as if their hearts were being clawed by a cat.
None could rest peacefully.
It must be noted that whenever the Crown Prince previously visited the Back Palace, aside from dining with the Crown Princess or staying overnight at Jiarong Hall, he would only come—or not—on days when it was Cao Liangyuan and the other two’s turn to serve in bed, as he pleased.
But today was different.
Not only did he enter the Back Palace quietly, but he also went to Kan’er’s room on a day when she wasn’t scheduled to serve in bed.
It was simply unbelievable!
So unlike the Crown Prince’s usual temperament!
At first, Zheng Mingzhi thought:
The Crown Prince always acted with propriety.
When he initially agreed to let that wretched maid bear a child for her, it was likely because he wanted a legitimate heir as soon as possible.
Thus, it made sense for him to be in a hurry to have that wretched maid receive his favor.
Cao Liangyuan and the other two were also well aware that Kan’er was meant to secure the Crown Princess’s favor and bear a child.
So, although all four felt uncomfortable, it wasn’t enough to keep them awake.
Until midnight, when it was almost Yin Hour, the servants below reported that the Crown Prince had returned to Yuan Chun Palace.
He had entered Yongxu Yuan halfway through the Xu Hour and didn’t leave until nearly Yin Hour.
A full three hours.
Three hours!
Among the earlier concubines, the Crown Prince had spent the longest time in Cao Liangyuan’s room, but that was only two hours.
With Kan’er, it was more than three full hours!
“That wretched maid!”
Zheng Mingzhi shot up from her bed, her Kou Dan-painted hands gripping the brocade quilt tightly.
“She must have used some vulgar trick to seduce Dianxia, relying on those extra few ounces of flesh on her chest!”
Otherwise, given the Crown Prince’s cold and detached nature, how could he linger so long in a concubine’s room?
“No, I can’t let her continue like this!”
Granny Pang felt her mistress was overreacting.
It was true that the Crown Prince was famously abstinent, and his behavior tonight was indeed unexpected.
But ultimately, among the wives and concubines in the Back Palace, the Crown Prince could favor whomever he wished and stay in whose room for as long as he pleased.
Since that little hussy had become the Crown Prince’s concubine, it was only reasonable for him to spend a bit more time in her room.
The Crown Prince was disciplined, which was why he didn’t make a habit of staying overnight in a concubine’s room—other men would have done so long ago.
Yet her own mistress, who clearly had no romantic feelings for the Crown Prince and wanted to be a dignified and virtuous Crown Princess, always lacked the capacity to tolerate others.
Her possessiveness toward the Crown Prince knew no bounds.
Still, having nursed this girl since infancy, Granny Pang naturally stood by her mistress.
“Please calm down, mistress,” she soothed.
“Even if that little hussy used dirty tricks to seduce Dianxia, it’s not appropriate for you to take action against her now.”
Zheng Mingzhi glared.
“Should I just let her ruin Dianxia’s health? If this gets out, what face would I have left as the primary wife?”
Failing to manage even a concubine—the other princesses from the princely mansions would surely laugh at her!
“Of course, we can’t let her ruin Dianxia’s health,” Granny Pang said gently.
“But think about it, that wretch is one of our people. To outsiders, His Highness visiting her also brings you face. If we punish her right after His Highness favors her, what would others think? Moreover, the longer His Highness stays in her room, the higher the chance she’ll conceive. Only if she gets pregnant quickly can Jiarong Hall have a young master soon. And once she’s with child, she can no longer serve in bed. If she can’t serve in bed, why would His Highness ever go to her room again?”
Men are all fickle and heartless.
Royal men especially have no constancy to speak of.
How could the dignified Crown Prince of a nation possibly care about a low-born Xiao Zhaoxun?
“When she gets pregnant, we’ll feed her like a pig. If something happens during childbirth from being overfed, that’s her bad luck. Even if she miraculously delivers safely, by then she’ll already be as fat and stupid as a pig. So why would we need to worry about her seducing His Highness again? What do you think?”
Zheng Mingzhi thought it was brilliant!
“As expected of my wet nurse, you always have methods!”
Of course!
Granny Pang lifted her chin proudly.
Zheng Mingzhi sneered, “Let her enjoy a few more good days then!”
While Granny Pang was advising Zheng Mingzhi, the head palace maids in other courtyards were also counseling their respective mistresses.
In the main room of Xiangye Xuan.
Head palace maid Bai Song tightly held her mistress’s arm, lowering her voice urgently: “Mistress, you mustn’t speak like that!”
Jin Chenghui’s willow-like eyebrows shot up.
She, a distant niece of Empress Pei’s maternal family, had to accept being outranked by that woman surnamed Cao after entering the Eastern Palace!
Now even a slave could climb ahead of her.
How could she not be furious? How could she not be angry!
She’s just a slave – why couldn’t she be spoken of like that?!
Bai Song: “The lowly servant you speak of is already His Highness’s woman. No matter how angry you are, you must consider this fact, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, mistress.”
Another head palace maid, Zi Su, agreed.
“If His Highness finds out you’ve taken offense at Song Zhaoxun right after he visited her courtyard, he will certainly punish you.”
The reasoning was sound.
But Jin Chenghui couldn’t swallow this injustice!
Three years ago, she had finally managed to break off the engagement her parents had arranged for her and persuaded them to let her participate in the imperial selection.
All for the purpose of living a superior life, preferably like Empress Pei – one person below the emperor but above all others!
When she was selected by the Empress Dowager and sent to the Eastern Palace, she was truly happy.
She had even planned how many children she would have.
After all, a mother’s status depends on her sons.
As long as she had children, she wouldn’t need to worry about rank or favor. Wouldn’t power and status then come easily?
But what was the result?!
The Empress Dowager fell ill soon after, passed away, and the Crown Prince observed mourning – through this series of events, she didn’t even get to see the Crown Prince!
Why did she have to die right when I had just entered the palace?
What bad luck!
Jin Chenghui had cursed like this in her heart more than once.
She had thought that once the Crown Prince finished mourning, he would come to her room. Then she would spare no effort to get pregnant.
But then—
It was time for the Crown Prince’s wedding!
The Crown Prince was cold-natured and valued rules. To show respect to the Crown Princess, he didn’t visit the Back Palace even once during those six months!
Jin Chenghui felt she was truly unfortunate.
Not only did she enter the palace at the wrong time, but she also ended up with such a rigid man. She had never seen any royal descendant as unromantic as the Crown Prince.
Looking throughout history.
Shouldn’t Crown Princes all have numerous wives and concubines, beautiful maids surrounding them, and countless offspring?
Why did it change when it came to her??
Fortunately, heaven doesn’t disappoint those who persevere.
Last December, she finally waited for the Crown Prince!
Jin Chenghui would never forget that day.
The Crown Prince walked toward her from the night, his hands clasped behind his back.
He wore a narrow-sleeved robe of apricot yellow embroidered with coiled dragons and clouds in gold thread, a crown with two dragons playing with a pearl on his head, and boots of brocade adorned with auspicious clouds.
With just one glance, she was awestruck by the Crown Prince’s dignified and imposing presence, unable to utter a single word.
But at the same time, Jin Chenghui’s heart was surging with emotion.
Because her family’s relation to Empress Pei was quite distant, and her father was only a minor sixth-rank official.
She had no qualifications to attend palace banquets and had never seen the Crown Prince before, so that day was her first time laying eyes on his true appearance.
Jin Chenghui hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to truly be as rumored—aloof yet handsome, comparable to a male Bodhisattva from the heavens.
And such a male Bodhisattva was her husband!
Jin Chenghui was ecstatic.
She immediately decided that she must use all the tricks she had read about in vernacular stories that night.
She was determined to make the Crown Prince unable to forget her!
Favor, status, the Crown Prince.
She wanted it all!
With this in mind, Jin Chenghui was as energized as if she had been injected with adrenaline, her gaze at the Crown Prince so sticky it could practically form threads.
Who would have thought the result…
What happened afterward was something Jin Chenghui would rather die than recall.
“Why?!”
Pulled down to sit by Zi Su, she stamped her foot in anger, “Why did he stay so long at her place? Is it because she has big breasts and a big butt?!”
Bai Song: “Song Zhaoxun came from Jiarong Hall. Dianxia’s actions are likely out of consideration for the Crown Princess’s face.”
Jin Chenghui gritted her teeth.
“Sending such a low-born wench to Dianxia’s presence—who knows what she was thinking!”
The key point was that Dianxia had actually agreed.
It infuriated her!
“Master, don’t be angry,”
Zi Su said.
“After all, it was Dianxia who made the decision. No matter how angry you get, it won’t change anything and will only harm your health. Besides, even if someone should be angry, it shouldn’t be you.”
Jin Chenghui looked at her.
Zi Su: “Have you forgotten? There’s another Zhaoxun in our courtyard, and she comes from a scholarly family.”
Jin Chenghui’s eyes shifted, and she smiled.
Outside, the study in the eastern wing was deathly silent.
Dan Bi and Dan Xia stood waiting nearby, not daring to make a sound.
As for Qin Zhaoxun herself.
She sat upright before the desk, her elegant face calm and unruffled, as cool and detached as an immortal untouched by worldly cares.
It made Dan Bi and Dan Xia’s hearts ache uncontrollably.
Although the Qin family wasn’t among the prominent aristocratic families or distinguished nobles, they were still a well-known scholarly family.
Both the grandfather and father in the family were Jinshi.
The eldest young master had been awarded the Tong Jinshi title by His Majesty in this year’s spring imperial examinations, and their mistress was also a famous talented woman in the capital.
If not for the second young master being framed and causing a scandal three years ago, which left the Qin residence in peril, their mistress wouldn’t have been sent by the old madam to participate in the palace selection.
And only received the position of Zhaoxun.
Now, not only did a lowly servant hold the same rank as their mistress, but she also received more favor from Dianxia.
This was simply an insult to their mistress!
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, their emotions showing on their faces. Qin Zhaoxun glanced at them but said nothing.
Cao Liangyuan was much more composed.
She didn’t care how many hours the Crown Prince had spent with Kan’er, nor did she feel jealous or resentful about it.
What Cao Liangyuan thought about more was what the Crown Prince and that Song woman had been doing in the room during those three hours.
The Crown Prince still hadn’t consummated their relationship.
Every time he came to her place, it was either to play chess in the study, read books, practice calligraphy, or review official documents.
Back then, she had put on quite an act to avoid letting Zheng Shi and those two notice anything amiss and make a fool of herself.
Now, another one surnamed Song had appeared.
That palace maid was meant to help Zheng Shi secure favor and bear a child, so Dianxia must have truly favored her during those three hours, right?
Otherwise, how could she possibly conceive?
An inexplicable fury surged in Cao Liangyuan’s heart.
Everyone could serve in bed—except her!
Her father clearly stood on the Eastern Palace’s side, so why wouldn’t the Crown Prince grant her a child to win over their Cao family?
And to think she had believed, just the night before last, that the Crown Prince’s visit was his own idea—who knew it was actually Zheng Shi’s suggestion!
“Master, it’s half past Yin Hour now. You should rest a while.”
Nongmo cautiously advised.
Cao Liangyuan shot her a sidelong glance, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“What good fortune do I have to rest? In just over half an hour, I’ll have to get ready to pay respects at Jiarong Hall. Your master still has to go congratulate that Song Zhaoxun.”