The Emperor pondered for a long moment.
Even though he had never been fond of Prince Fu's household, he had to admit the words sounded quite reasonable.
After all, one should consider the master before striking the dog, shouldn't one?
But with the Noble Consort right beside him, he still cherished her more than anything. Mindful of her feelings, he found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
He furrowed his brows slightly, feeling an inexplicable discomfort toward the Noble Consort's meddling this time.
Indeed.
Such a trivial matter, yet it had brought him all the way to the Empress's palace to suffer.
And in such hot weather.
But the Noble Consort would never think of such things.
Her heart burned with hatred, her usually cold eyes now red-rimmed. She felt that everyone in the palace—the Empress and all the palace maids—was suppressing laughter, mocking her.
"Your Majesty, do not listen to her sophistry. She is simply—"
"Noble Consort." Though this was their first meeting, it was more than enough for Lin Zhen to despise her.
She was rude to the Empress Dowager, heartless toward Prince Fu, and had tried to frame her. The Princess Consort Fu was petty-minded… no, she simply felt she ought to advise the Noble Consort on how to be a better person.
She interrupted the Noble Consort's coquettish plea, letting out a gentle sigh, and spoke with a hint of softness, "This humble woman has heard people outside the palace mention that the Noble Consort possesses a noble and pure character, like snow atop the lofty mountains."
Seeing the Emperor's lips curl slightly, as if he enjoyed others praising the Noble Consort in such a manner, Lin Zhen also curved her lips and advised with genuine sincerity, "Your Ladyship sits among the clouds like an immortal—how could you bear to constantly listen to such worldly affairs? The disgraceful affair Lady Dongyang stirred up is like dust that has settled upon your Ladyship's robes. This humble woman feels that your Ladyship has been tainted with a bit of the Lady's flavor. Alas…"
She said softly, "In the future, your Ladyship should spend less time with such scheming people who wish to use your Ladyship as a vanguard in battle. Otherwise, if snow is stained with dust, it will no longer be pure—it will turn black."
She had mentioned "worldly" several times now.
The Noble Consort had only felt something was slightly off, but when she finally understood, her expression changed drastically. She stared at Lin Zhen as if looking at her mortal enemy… What the Emperor loved about the Noble Consort was precisely her aloofness and purity.
But if the Emperor came to feel that his beloved beauty had become worldly…
"You—" The Noble Consort had not expected the Princess Consort Fu to be so vicious. One finger pointed at her, trembling.
But Lin Zhen merely raised her head, smiled at the Noble Consort, and then looked sincerely at the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, the Earl Dongyang's household has been whispering in the Noble Consort's ear, and then sent Your Majesty to make an example of this humble woman. But Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler who has not been swayed by one-sided words. You were willing to hear my defense, to grant me justice, and to leave no place for those treacherous villains who dare to play tricks before Your Majesty and use Your Majesty as a weapon."
She had never feared being overly flattering in her praise.
After all, she was merely a humble woman.
Flattering the Emperor was no disgrace.
The Emperor did not refute her.
Not that he would admit it, but being praised did make him feel rather pleased.
And from that pleasure, a measure of anger toward the Earl Dongyang's household grew within him.
"The Princess Consort Fu is right. The Earl Dongyang's household saw that the Noble Consort is innocent and dared to deceive her." And they had even tried to manipulate him, the Emperor!
Yet what vaguely unsettled him was that even after hearing the Princess Consort Fu's words, the Noble Consort still wished to speak for the Earl Dongyang's household, without considering the Emperor's dignity.
But he loved the Noble Consort dearly, and her innocence meant she might not think things through completely—that was only natural.
Since he could not bear to blame the Noble Consort, the fault naturally fell upon the Earl Dongyang's household. The Emperor cast a meaningful glance at the rather clever Princess Consort Fu and asked, "Then in your view, what should be done?"
"The Earl Dongyang's household dared to sow discord before the Noble Consort, to deceive the Emperor's ears, and to slander a member of the imperial family… How to handle this should be decided by Your Majesty's sage judgment. This humble woman would not presume to overstep. But as for my own grievance…"
Seeing his demeanor, Lin Zhen knew he wished to protect the Noble Consort, so she did not mention the Noble Consort again… What did the Noble Consort matter anyway?
She simply continued, "I only ask that Your Majesty bestow a reward upon this humble woman, to bring glory to Prince Fu's household. Let all of the capital know that Your Majesty understands the wrong done to Prince Fu's household and has spoken up for it."
The Emperor was not particularly fond of Prince Fu's household—Lin Zhen found that of no consequence.
But since there was an opportunity to try to gain some face for Prince Fu's household from the Emperor, she was more than happy to accept it.
The Emperor was taken aback, but found this sister-in-law quite perceptive.
Indeed.
When a noble house erred, it was naturally for him, the Emperor, to handle it.
Not for someone to point fingers from the side, overstepping their bounds, and showing no regard for the Emperor.
"Then I shall bestow—"
"Your Majesty need only bestow some ordinary items upon this humble woman," Lin Zhen said, appearing utterly without greed.
But as long as the Emperor would bestow rewards to soothe Prince Fu's household when they had been wronged, and would reward Prince Fu's household for slapping the Earl Dongyang's face—such an attitude alone was clearly more than sufficient.
"Very well then, you have indeed been wronged." Having come to interrogate her, the Emperor had not expected the Princess Consort Fu to be so reasonable in every word.
Though he had been displeased earlier when the Empress Dowager had given the Western Hills estate to the Princess Consort Fu, preventing him from fulfilling his promise to Duke Cheng'en, the Emperor truly had not thought much of the Princess Consort Fu, a widow.
A mere widow—making too much of her would diminish the Emperor's dignity.
He didn't even stop to think that moments ago he had wanted to punish Lin Zhen. Now, feeling that bickering with a widow was pointless, he said flatly, "Then let it be a reward for Princess Consort Fu…"
He had intended to bestow gold, silver, and jewels to settle the matter.
But the Empress spoke softly from beside him, "Your Majesty, A’Zhen is Your Majesty's sister-in-law—family. Why bestow costly gold and jewels?"
She cast a gentle glance at Lin Zhen before continuing, "Since we are all family, why not grant A’Zhen free access to the palace, allowing her to come and go as she pleases to visit and care for Mother Empress? What does Your Majesty think?"
Not even having to spend gold and jewels—saving money besides—the Emperor naturally agreed readily, nodding and saying, "Let it be as the Empress suggests."
Merely free access to the palace.
An empty honor, nothing more.
For a noblewoman as favored within the palace as Princess Consort Fu, entering the palace was already easy enough.
But even an empty honor, when nodded upon by the Emperor, became a unique distinction in the eyes of others.
After all, even royal women faced cumbersome procedures to enter the palace—submitting name cards, waiting for summons, and so forth.
This was the Emperor's way of showing Princess Consort Fu special regard.
Lin Zhen understood the Empress's thoughtful intentions and hurriedly curtsied in thanks. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Noble Consort had come seeking trouble for Princess Consort Fu, yet in the blink of an eye, Princess Consort Fu had gained such a great advantage—she simply could not accept it… She had gone so far as to bring the Emperor himself to find fault with Princess Consort Fu, yet the Emperor had instead granted Princess Consort Fu free access to the palace. How could word of this not spread outside?
Once the noblewomen of the capital learned that the Emperor had overruled her words, and that her grievance had come to nothing, the Noble Consort could not bear it.
"Your Majesty, no!" she cried out, shrill in a way she rarely was.
"Enough, enough—blame it all on Earl Dongyang's household." The Emperor had just received news of the great victory in the northwest and had been discussing follow-up matters with his chief ministers when he hurried over upon hearing that the Noble Consort had been wronged, setting aside even his official business.
Now that there was nothing more to be said, he patted the Noble Consort's hand affectionately and said in a soothing tone, "I still have matters to attend to. Earl Dongyang's household deceived you—I won't let them off! Let that be the end of it."
He doted on the Noble Consort, accustomed to coaxing her, and now held her in the seat of honor, soothing her again and again, promising her many treasures.
He acted as though no one else were present.
Lin Zhen felt a little sickened.
If they wanted to be affectionate, couldn't they do it back in the Noble Consort's own palace?
Displaying their devotion right in front of the Empress—how cheap was that?
The Emperor certainly didn't think himself cheap.
He could never possess such self-awareness.
Only after kissing and embracing the Noble Consort for quite some time did he rise, as if just noticing the Empress was still there, and said flatly, "Empress, you should rest as well."
He strode off without even taking the Noble Consort with him.
As for the Noble Consort, though she resented having failed to put Lin Zhen in her place today, she was nonetheless pleased to have displayed her favor with the Emperor before the Empress.
She was in no hurry to leave. She watched the Emperor's figure disappear through the doorway, then smoothed her slightly disheveled hair and rose with a hint of contempt.
"Don't think you've won," she said coldly to Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen smiled, clearly not sparing her a second thought.
"Speaking of which, Princess Consort Fu is truly clever—even Empress Dowager and the Empress are so fond of you. And you speak of nothing but Fu Manor at every turn—clearly a devoted mistress of the household."
Seeing that the Empress and Lin Zhen both seemed disinclined to acknowledge her, the Noble Consort nursed her resentment inwardly… She looked at the Empress, who, though aging and losing her beauty, still clung to her position as Empress without budging.
More than she loathed Princess Consort Fu, she loathed the Empress.
This old woman who had long lost favor—she had long since left the Emperor's heart.
If not for her luck in being the Emperor's first wife, bearing him two princes, and having the Empress Dowager looming over the Emperor, she would have been deposed long ago!
The Noble Consort unconsciously touched her lower abdomen.
She was so young, and she monopolized nearly all of the Emperor's time. She had been in the palace for years now, yet she had never conceived.
Without a pregnancy, how could she bear a Crown Prince?
It seemed she would need to keep the Emperor suppressing the princes for a few more years—not allowing them to marry and have children, lest they take the place of her son.
"Since you're such a devoted mistress, you should let the ladies of your household come out and socialize more. Princess Consort Fu, why hasn't Consort Shen been coming to the palace lately?"
The Noble Consort paid the Empress no mind at all—after all, she was still young, and in the future she would surely bear the Crown Prince, and then the Empress would have to defer to her.
Intent on making things difficult for Lin Zhen, she said coldly, "You must not neglect Consort Shen. Consort Shen, after all, bore Prince Fu's eldest son. You have no children and little seniority in the manor—you cannot afford to show disrespect to one who has served Prince Fu for so long."
"Your Grace, I offer these words to you as well, to share and encourage one another," Lin Zhen said with a smile.
She had no children, and the Noble Consort had no children either—they were the same in that regard.
Though Lin Zhen had never believed a woman's merits should be measured by childbearing, since the Noble Consort had chosen to raise the topic of bearing children, Lin Zhen thought she might as well remind the Noble Consort to consider her own belly.
The Noble Consort's sore spot was precisely this—seeing that Lin Zhen dared to mock her for having no children, her face flushed red with anger.
"Hmph!" She mentally noted today's grievance and swept away in a huff.
Seeing her leave in haste, the Empress rubbed the corners of her eyes and rose, gently tapping Lin Zhen's forehead as she said, "You… you've truly offended her this time." It had all happened so fast, she hadn't even had a chance to speak.
Striking right where it hurt most—the Noble Consort was not a broad-minded person. Wouldn't she now hate Lin Zhen to the bone?
The Empress had previously advised Lin Zhen not to clash with the Noble Consort, but who knew that within just a few days, Lin Zhen would thoroughly offend her… She couldn't help but worry for Lin Zhen.
Though the Emperor had been appeased by Lin Zhen today, the Noble Consort was still the one who shared the Emperor's pillow. With daily slander, the Emperor would not be so easy to deal with next time.
"Your Majesty, she provoked me first." Lin Zhen tugged at the Empress's robes, speaking with a pitiful look.
She was a far cry from the one who had just stood her ground against both the Emperor and the Noble Consort.
She even had two different faces.
The Empress propped her forehead in her hand.