“Someone, come quickly! Attendant Pei has fallen into the water!”
“Your Majesty! You mustn’t! Your Majesty, your person is worth ten thousand gold…”
…
Qing Luo woke up in a room filled with the bitter fragrance of medicinal herbs.
Upon opening her eyes to a room with an ancient charm, Qing Luo was momentarily stunned.
Hadn’t she been in a car accident?
Why wasn’t she in a hospital?
And she hadn’t reached the Underworld either?
Suddenly, Qing Luo felt a sharp pain in her head.
Once the pain subsided, a cheerful voice rang out of nowhere: [Welcome, host, to the successful activation of the 1001st good pregnancy system. From now on, Xiao Qian will always be with the host. Our goal is only one: birth, birth, birth! Have many children, have superior children, and reach the pinnacle of life by bearing children.]
Qing Luo had read many novels and was naturally familiar with the concept of a system.
However, she never expected that a fictional plot would one day happen to her—accidentally transmigrating and gaining a golden finger.
But this golden finger seemed a bit useless, not very powerful.
Isn’t it just having children?
As long as her body was fine and there was a man with decent sperm quality, having children would be a natural outcome.
[host, do not look down on our good pregnancy system. Children aren’t something you can have just because you want to; it’s not that easy. Do you think it’s like a hen laying eggs? If it were, there wouldn’t be a need for our good pregnancy system.]
Next, through the good pregnancy system’s retrospective ability, Qing Luo figured out the basic situation of the time and space she had transmigrated into.
This was a fictional dynasty, the Great Yong Dynasty, which had been established for two hundred years.
The current Emperor’s era name was Zhangping, thus he was called Emperor Zhangping.
Emperor Zhangping was over thirty years old and had recruited many concubines, yet he still had no children.
The Original Owner was named Pei Qing Luo, the illegitimate daughter of an unfavored concubine.
Her father was a minor seventh-rank official in the capital.
Three years ago, she entered the palace for the draft and was selected due to her beauty, becoming a Little Concubine.
The harem was full of beauties.
In three years, the Little Concubine had only served in the bedchamber once.
Despite her beauty, her personality was dull, and without a good family background, she had long been forgotten by Emperor Zhangping.
The unfavored Little Concubine’s life in the palace was very difficult, and she was often bullied openly and secretly.
After this ‘accidental’ fall into the water, she had died, and the one who woke up was Qing Luo, a completely different soul.
‘This Emperor is no good,’ Qing Luo clicked her tongue inwardly, clearly assuming Emperor Zhangping had issues in that department.
No wonder there was such a thing as a good pregnancy system.
[The Emperor does have some minor issues in that area, but he is naturally capable. The problem was caused later. Therefore, host, the heavy responsibility falls on you. Bear several children for the Emperor, or else his lineage will end.]
Qing Luo said disdainfully, “What does it matter to me if his lineage ends? Why should I have children for him? It’s not like my lineage is ending.”
[How is it not? host, you are now the Emperor’s woman, and this is ancient times. If you don’t have children with the Emperor, who else can you have them with? Who would you dare to have them with? Unless you don’t want your life and dare to cuckold the Emperor.]
Having already died once, Qing Luo didn’t want to die again so soon, and her resolve wavered.
She thought to herself that ancient people aged quickly and had short lifespans.
Rounding up, Emperor Zhangping’s age was equivalent to forty, basically a semi-old man.
If he kicked the bucket one day, would she, this Little Concubine, be buried with him or die of old age in the palace?
This body was only twenty years old; if nothing went wrong, she still had many years to live.
Either way, it sounded miserable.
If she had a child to rely on, the second half of her life would probably be much better.
At least, things like being buried with the dead should have nothing to do with her.
Besides, having a few children to play with seemed alright.
She quite liked children.
Now that she had a ready-made Emperor husband—a great tool who couldn’t be replaced—why not use him.
…….
Half a month later, in the East Courtyard of Xianfu Palace.
“Little Master, it is time to rise.”
Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Qing Luo was awakened by her personal maid, Zhu Lan.
Qing Luo mumbled groggily, rolled out of bed reluctantly, and then began washing up under Zhu Lan’s service, her sleepy eyes clearly showing she hadn’t slept enough.
It was only the Mao hour, which is five in the morning; she hadn’t even woken up this early back when she was preparing for the college entrance exams in her third year of high school.
While tending to her Little Master’s grooming, Zhu Lan whispered, “Today is the first time you are paying respects to Consort Rou since recovering from your illness, Little Master. It is best to go early, the earlier the better, so that no faults can be found. If you haven’t slept well, you can catch up on some sleep after you return from paying your respects.”
Her tone carried a hint of coaxing.
Ever since she woke up after falling into the water, the Little Master’s temperament had changed; she had become delicate, and sometimes would even throw little tantrums like a child.
Hearing this, Qing Luo rubbed her brow and sighed softly, “I know.”
Zhu Lan meant well, and she couldn’t ignore her good intentions.
The head of Xianfu Palace was Consort Rou.
According to the rules, low-ranking Concubines in Xianfu Palace, such as Noble Ladies and Attendants, had to pay their respects to her every five days.
On days like the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, they also had to be led by the head consort to pay respects to the Imperial Noble Consort and the Empress Dowager.
Previously, when Qing Luo was ill and suffering from intermittent fevers, and since everyone in the Inner Palace knew about her falling into the water, Consort Rou had exempted her from paying respects.
Now that she had recovered, not going to pay respects would be considered insubordination and ignorance of the rules.
If someone with ill intentions made an issue of it, it would be another trouble.
In an era where status was clearly defined and strict hierarchies were emphasized, everything had to follow rigid rules.
Qing Luo truly disliked it, but for the sake of survival, she had to adapt.
As an unfavored low-ranking Little concubine, Qing Luo’s clothing and jewelry were pitifully scarce, leaving her with little choice.
She had only had one new outfit made at the beginning of spring this year, and she hadn’t even received her share of summer clothes; most likely, it had been withheld by the Imperial Household Department.
One had to know that discriminating based on status was always the specialty of the Imperial Household Department.
In the end, she chose a pale blue palace gown that was about seventy percent new.
Even though it was a bit old, it looked decent on her.
As for the hairstyle, Zhu Lan had skillful hands and could style many kinds of hair buns.
However, more complex buns required more hair accessories to adorn and set them off.
Qing Luo didn’t have many decent hair accessories, so she had her style a simpler lily bun, pinned with a few blue velvet flowers as adornments, which complemented her dress quite well.
Although this look was simple, on the attractive Qing Luo, it appeared somewhat fresh and refined.
Her peach blossom eyes were like autumn water, rippling with emotion, and when she smiled, they curved into two crescent moons, exuding a subtle allure.
Coupled with the slight pallor on her face from having just recovered from a major illness, she appeared delicate and weak, evoking pity.
Qing Luo admired her own beauty in the mirror.
Although it was different from her previous face, it was still quite beautiful; it was no wonder she had been selected to enter the palace.
Tsk, it was a pity that the Original Owner had such a good appearance but had received no favor at all in three years, living in such a miserable state.
Once ready, Qing Luo took Zhu Lan and headed to the main hall.
Qing Luo had risen early, so she was the first to arrive.
Shortly after she arrived, other Imperial Concubines began to arrive one after another.
They exchanged greetings and pleasantries as required, and once the chatter was over, Qing Luo silently stood to the side like a background decoration, not saying a word.
The Original Owner had a dull personality and was taciturn, so Qing Luo acting this way wasn’t strange and wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.
Her own personality was naturally more cheerful and lively, but right now, she just wanted to sleep and didn’t want to socialize, yet she couldn’t fall asleep.
To keep herself alert, Qing Luo found something to do and began to secretly observe her colleagues.
Among the Imperial Concubines present, the two Noble Ladies looked to be of some age.
Although they were well-maintained, there were faint fine lines at the corners of their eyes.
Noble Lady Zhang looked gentle and kind, while Noble Lady Wang was slightly more flamboyant; the two were among the oldest batch of concubines to enter the palace.
Attendant Zhou had entered the palace in the same batch as Qing Luo.
Because of her good family background, she was granted the title of Attendant as soon as she entered the palace.
She occasionally had the chance to serve the Emperor three or four times a year, so she wasn’t completely invisible.
The newly entered Attendant Miao was about sixteen or seventeen, in the prime of her youth, and her smile was full of childish charm.
Those who could be selected as the Emperor’s Imperial Concubines naturally had good looks; some were pretty, some were gentle, and some were vibrant, each beautiful in her own way.
Who wouldn’t like beautiful young ladies?
Just looking at them was a feast for the eyes.
Qing Luo couldn’t help but think that being the Emperor was great, surrounded by beauties and enjoying the blessings of all.
Little did she know, while Qing Luo was admiring this group of beautiful colleagues, they were also observing her.
To be honest, Attendant Pei’s appearance was definitely the most outstanding within the small territory of Xianfu Palace.
Even after her illness, her complexion was just a bit poor; with a little dressing up, she would outshone all of them.
It was just that her personality was like a block of wood, too boring and too dull; no wonder she wasn’t favored by the Emperor even after serving him.
However, as the old saying goes, “He who survives a great disaster is destined for good fortune.” That day, Attendant Pei fell into the water and was personally saved by the Emperor.
It was a blessing in disguise, and she had managed to show her face before the Emperor; it just remained to be seen if she would have greater fortune in the future.
Arriving late was Attendant Chen.
This Attendant Chen had been somewhat favored in the past year and had served the Emperor several times.
She was round and plump, with a full figure, which was said to be the look of someone who could easily bear children.
Come to think of it, this Attendant Chen had some grievances with the Original Owner, and she had often bullied her in the past.
Giving her cold looks and mocking or ridiculing her was a common occurrence.
The most excessive time was when Attendant Chen, relying on the fact that she was favored, snatched away Xin Lan, the maid assigned to the Original Owner, claiming she didn’t have enough people to serve her and wanted to borrow a maid for a while.
It was called “borrowing,” but it was completely a pretext for stealing, and once borrowed, she never returned her.
Having been bullied to such an extent, the Original Owner actually just silently endured it.
When Qing Luo accessed this memory, she felt angry for the Original Owner, and even angrier at the Original Owner’s weak personality, as she couldn’t stand up for herself at all.
She didn’t fight back or protect herself, and she does not know if it was because she had given up on herself and just let everything be.
Attendant Chen had always looked down on Qing Luo.
That face was indeed born well, with a seductive look, the kind that was best at enticing people, but her body was skinny and flat, looking as if she would fall over with a gust of wind, which clearly meant she won’t be able to bear children easily.
No wonder she wasn’t favored.
It had to be someone like her who had the hope of bearing the Emperor a son or daughter.
When that time came, she would be honored because of her child.
Even if it were a princess instead of a prince, being promoted to Consort would be a sure thing.
As the most favored Imperial Concubine in Xianfu Palace at the moment, as soon as Attendant Chen arrived, except for Noble Lady Zhang, who did not fawn over her out of reserve, the others were very enthusiastic toward her.
There were no shortage of people flattering her, making Attendant Chen puff up with pride.
Attendant Chen enjoyed the enthusiasm of the Imperial Concubines like a fish in water, completely ignoring Qing Luo as if she couldn’t see her.
From beginning to end, she didn’t say a single word to her, yet she deliberately cast a look of contempt and triumph toward Qing Luo.
Qing Luo:…
Is she sick in the head?
What is there to be proud of?
[She has the Emperor’s favor, of course she is proud.]
“Isn’t he just an old man? How many days can he favor her?” Qing Luo thought dismissively.
When the Emperor dies one day, everyone’s fate will be the same, more or less.
[At least she is favored now, and her life is easier. host, look at her, she is wearing the most fashionable fabric, which is both breathable and good-looking, and her head is covered in jingling hair accessories…]
Qing Luo fell silent.
By comparison, she, this little concubine, felt even more miserable.