Noble Consort Chen looked at her daughter’s indifferent face and gradually calmed down.
“My child is right.”
“No matter who enters the palace, they will merely be assigned a place to stay. They could never shake the status of us, mother and daughter.”
Princess Zhaoyang’s expression remained unchanged.
She had long grown accustomed to it.
When she was young, she used to be afraid.
Because Noble Consort Chen would always tell her that she was her father’s only daughter, the most noble little princess in the world.
At first, she felt proud.
But slowly, she began to fear.
Afraid that she would no longer be the only one—would she still be the most noble little princess in the world then?
Would her father and grandmother still dote on her so much?
A dark thought lurked in her heart—that her father should never have any other children!
And over the years, fate had been on her side.
Her father truly had no other children. He had been afflicted with a strange poison, and whether it was the women in the harem, those outside, or even her own mother, none had ever conceived his child again.
Only then did Chaoyang breathe a sigh of relief.
She had long grown accustomed to it and firmly believed that her father would never have a second child in this lifetime.
Thus, Princess Zhaoyang did not care who else might be added to the harem.
Those women, whether forced or driven by ambition into the palace, would ultimately never surpass her and her mother.
Once her father grew tired of them, they would all slowly wither away in this harem.
What is there to pay attention to about a flower destined to wither?
…
Chuntao never expected that she had almost missed out on this immense fortune.
She did have someone she loved, but when she learned that the noblewoman was the Empress Dowager and that the person she was originally meant to serve was the current emperor, Chuntao no longer wanted to leave.
Yet she began to feel uneasy. She had made a mistake in judgment and nearly fled—would the emperor and Empress Dowager hold it against her?
Yesterday, when she was caught by the guards, she distinctly heard what was happening inside that side room…
Chuntao was not foolish. She realized that someone had taken her place and received the imperial favor!
She couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.
That woman—if she hadn’t taken her place, how could she have been so fortunate?
Now that she was on equal footing with her, she wanted to see who this person was!
But since she had been brought into the palace by the Empress Dowager, it stood to reason that the Empress Dowager had forgiven her.
She still had a chance to serve the emperor.
Chuntao secretly held onto hope.
She was settled in a small courtyard, attended by only one palace maid.
When she entered the palace, she didn’t know where to look.
The palace was truly magnificent; every object looked expensive and beautiful.
However, Chuntao was also a woman who knew how to read people’s expressions. When she realized that she was wandering around and gazing like an uncultured country bumpkin, the palace maid’s slightly disdainful gaze…
She immediately stopped looking.
She cleared her throat, imitating the manner of the mistresses she had seen in operas.
“I ask you, where is the woman who entered the palace with me?”
Although the palace maid was impatient and looked down on her petty demeanor, she still bowed respectfully, mindful that this person had been personally brought back by the Empress Dowager.
“Reporting to the noble lady, there was no woman who entered the palace together with the noble lady.”
Upon hearing this, Chuntao stood up abruptly.
“What?”
Chuntao had entered the palace but had not yet been formally conferred a title.
Yet as a commoner, she had been personally brought into the palace by the Empress Dowager and placed in a small courtyard where imperial consorts resided—naturally, she was the Emperor’s woman.
It was just that she had not yet been formally conferred a title or rank, which was why the palace maids addressed her as “Noble Lady.”
This address of “Noble Lady” made Chuntao feel as if her bones had lightened several degrees.
“How could this be?”
She had clearly heard…
Could it be that the Emperor did not like that woman?
Even after… even after all that…
Chuntao recalled the sounds that had made her ears burn, and couldn’t help but blush.
But then she reconsidered—perhaps that woman had been discovered for impersonating her identity and had offended the Empress Dowager and the Emperor?
With this thought, she immediately felt elated.
“When will the Emperor come to see me?”
The palace maid thought to herself that this woman truly came from the common folk and understood no palace etiquette at all.
“Noble Lady, please settle in peacefully for now.”
“The Emperor… is occupied with state affairs.”
She paused briefly. “In a few days, the Empress Dowager’s personal maidservant will come to instruct you in palace etiquette. Once the conferment ceremony is held, you will be able to meet His Majesty.”
Chuntao felt a sense of awe.
No wonder it was said that the palace was the most prestigious place in the world.
So many rules indeed!
…
Meanwhile, Zhou Mingyi was not idle either.
She knew that Emperor Qianwu was a man of deep thoughts. Since she had shared an intimate moment with him, he would undoubtedly regard her as his possession and would surely have secret guards protecting her in the shadows.
However, since she couldn’t locate where those secret guards were, she might as well pretend not to know.
Emperor Qianwu had given her a few days to bid farewell to her brother.
As a woman with an engagement who was about to enter the palace, it was only natural for her to take the initiative to dissolve her engagement with her fiancé, wasn’t it?
…
At the entrance of the Cen residence.
As soon as Zhou Mingyi stated her identity, the gatekeeper’s attitude immediately turned haughty.
“The Zhou family? Which Zhou family?”
“Our Cen family has never known any Zhou family.”
She wore a veil hat and paid no mind to his tone.
“Although my Zhou family has declined, the engagement between me and the Second Young Master of the Cen family was personally arranged by my father and Lord Cen. Now that I am here to dissolve the engagement, if you fail to properly announce my arrival and cause trouble for your master, can you bear the responsibility?”
The gatekeeper, who had initially intended to make things difficult, broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this.
He naturally understood that this woman was not someone he could afford to offend.
He hurriedly said, “Miss Zhou, please wait a moment.”
In the drawing room of the Cen residence.
Madam Cen was drinking tea with her niece from her maiden family, occasionally glancing toward the door.
“Why hasn’t Yuan’er arrived yet?”
She looked at her trusted maidservant beside her. “Go and urge him personally.”
After speaking, she turned to her sister-in-law with a smile and explained, “This child, I’ve truly spoiled him. Even when his aunt and cousin from his mother’s family visit, he doesn’t know to come out and greet them.”
As she spoke, Madam Cen addressed her niece again, “You and your second cousin were closest since childhood. Now that you’ve grown up and see each other less, you’ve grown distant.”
“But don’t worry, no matter what, your aunt will always protect you and not let him bully you.”
Madam Cen’s maiden surname was Zhao. Her niece, Zhao Xiuyun, blushed immediately upon hearing this.
Madam Cen’s sister-in-law, Madam Jin, smiled and said, “Look at how much your aunt dotes on you!”
The two sisters-in-law exchanged words, each praising and elevating the other.
Anyone with eyes could see that the two intended to become in-laws.
It was just that the Second Young Master of the Cen family didn’t seem very cooperative.
No matter how many times Madam Cen’s people urged him, he refused to appear.
Before Madam Jin could say anything, Madam Cen’s expression had already darkened.
Just as they were about to send someone again to urge him, Cen Shaoyuan finally arrived, fashionably late.
He wore a deep blue straight robe adorned with four-directional ruyi cloud patterns, standing tall and graceful, with a carefree smile hanging on his face.
Madam Cen’s expression finally softened into a smile.
She instinctively glanced at Madam Jin and said,
“See, he’s here now, isn’t he?”
From the moment Cen Shaoyuan entered, Madam Jin had been sizing up her nephew.
As the saying goes, “A mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, and the more she looks, the more pleased she becomes.”
Madam Jin said with a smile:
“The last time I saw my little nephew, he was still young, just a plump and fair child with rosy lips and white teeth, looking like a little girl.”
At this, both Madam Jin and Madam Cen covered their mouths and laughed. “But after just a few years, A-Yuan has grown up. What a handsome young man he has become!”