Xia Mo burst into laughter at Dongxue’s imitation and pouted unhappily.
“When Her Majesty sent this servant to ask for chili peppers last time, he practically looked down at me through his nostrils.”
As she spoke, Xia Mo tilted her head upward dramatically, exposing both nostrils.
“Just like this.”
“Now that the Emperor has spoken, he’s wagging his tail and bowing like a dog. What a snobbish thing.”
And it wasn’t just the Imperial Kitchen.
Lin Anran suspected this entire palace was full of opportunists.
Thinking about it, she once again felt fortunate that she had transmigrated into the role of Empress. If she had become some unfavored minor concubine instead, then unless she wanted to starve or freeze, she would have no choice but to desperately compete for favor.
Win the struggle, and maybe she’d get food.
Lose it, and she’d lose her head.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
…
Dinner time.
The Imperial Kitchen truly delivered a plate of huoming shrimp roast.
And not just a small serving either—it was piled high with at least forty or fifty shrimp.
Had they sent over every shrimp in the palace?
Not only that, there were even several spicy dishes included.
Lin Anran was no fool. Even using her toes to think, she could guess the Emperor must have specifically instructed the Imperial Kitchen about her meals.
So her cheap husband was not only tall and handsome—
he was also surprisingly considerate.
…
Yongning Palace.
Looking at the dishes delivered today, the Noble Consort asked in confusion,
“Where are my shrimp?”
A palace servant carefully answered, “Replying to Noble Consort, the Imperial Kitchen said that Her Majesty the Empress and Princess Shengshi wished to eat shrimp, so all the shrimp were sent over to Fengyi Palace.”
The answer made the Noble Consort frown unhappily.
She loved shrimp.
Therefore, using the excuse that she needed nourishment after her miscarriage, she had requested a favor from the Emperor to have the Imperial Kitchen prepare one shrimp dish every evening.
Yet now her shrimp had been intercepted by the Empress?
What exactly was the Empress trying to do?
This morning, the Empress had already targeted Consort Xian, causing her to be confined by the Empress Dowager and forcing her to silently swallow the humiliation.
Then the Empress had pressured her into bringing the Third Princess to Jinghe Palace, where she had been mocked by Consort Xian and returned covered in bad luck.
Originally, she had wanted to soothe her mood by eating shrimp.
Yet now even the shrimp had been taken away by the Empress.
Was the Empress declaring war on both her and Consort Xian at the same time?
The Noble Consort pondered this, but something still felt wrong.
In the original novel, although the Empress was technically the villain, her character setting had basically been that of a “professional miscarriage specialist.” She only focused on sabotaging pregnancies and did not engage much in palace intrigue.
Neither she nor Consort Xian was currently pregnant, so why was the Empress suddenly targeting them?
Could it be that her own schemes against the Empress had altered the plot and triggered some butterfly effect?
Or was there truly something wrong with the Empress?
It seemed she would have to find another opportunity to test the Empress again.
“Bibo, go ask the spy in Fengyi Palace whether the Empress has shown any strange behavior recently,” the Noble Consort ordered.
Then after a moment’s thought, she asked again,
“Whose name did the Emperor select tonight?”
Bibo answered cautiously, “His Majesty selected Lady Yue.”
“Lady Yue?” The Noble Consort raised a brow. “Wasn’t she originally the Empress’s dowry maid? Then she entered the palace together with the Empress and was even arranged by the Empress to attend the Emperor’s bedchamber.”
“It is indeed that person,” Bibo replied enviously.
At that moment, the Noble Consort did not know whether she felt more angry or more irritated.
Although the Emperor had technically selected Lady Yue, Lady Yue belonged to the Empress’s faction.
So it was essentially no different from favoring the Empress herself.
Could it be that the Emperor had already forgiven the Empress for causing her miscarriage?
As the Noble Consort brooded gloomily, a palace servant suddenly announced that the Emperor had specially sent over a dish.
Confused, the Noble Consort opened it.
Inside was a plate of huoming shrimp roast.
Bibo’s face lit up with delight.
“Noble Consort, His Majesty truly dotes on you. He knew your shrimp were intercepted by the Empress, so he specially ordered another plate sent over. He must have been worried you’d feel upset if you couldn’t eat shrimp.”
“The Emperor isn’t worried I’ll feel upset,” the Noble Consort replied coldly. “He’s simply using one plate of shrimp to buy me off so I won’t trouble the Empress.”
Although she understood perfectly, she still felt deeply displeased.
In the original novel, the Emperor had always been broad-minded. Even if he disliked the Empress, he still gave her the respect she deserved. He never excessively favored a concubine, nor would he commit the absurd act of neglecting the wife for a mistress.
Put nicely, he was rational.
Put bluntly, he was emotionless.
As a transmigrator, however, the Noble Consort firmly believed herself to be the heroine of this novel. Even if the Emperor had originally been cold and loveless, he would surely be influenced by her protagonist halo and eventually fall desperately in love with her.
With that thought, she instructed Lübo to summon the wet nurse to bring over the First Prince.
…
Yaoguang Palace, Qinxing Hall.
Night had fallen.
A crescent moon hung high in the sky while the autumn wind blew cold and sharp.
A beauty dressed in green stood before the palace entrance holding a lantern, gazing eagerly into the distance.
At last, flickering lights appeared far away.
The beauty’s lips curved upward joyfully.
But the person who arrived was not the Emperor.
Instead, it was Jiang Xiurong, mistress of Yaoguang Palace.
“Lady Yue, the First Prince has fallen ill. His Majesty changed direction midway and went to Yongning Palace instead. The autumn night is cold—you should give up and go back to Qinxing Hall to sleep.”
Hearing this, Lady Yue merely raised a brow and did not appear angry at all. Instead, she smiled.
“Thank you, Xiurong-niangniang, for informing me. This concubine is deeply grateful.”
Seeing that Lady Yue was not upset only made Jiang Xiurong herself angrier.
“Lady Yue was robbed of the Emperor by Noble Consort, yet you’re still not angry. I wonder whether you truly have a good temper… or whether you’ve been the Empress’s dog for so long that you only know how to wag your tail at people.”
“The First Prince is ill. It is only natural that His Majesty would be worried and go see him. Why should this concubine be angry?” Lady Yue asked in confusion.
Then she added:
“This concubine does not believe Noble Consort is stealing His Majesty away because this concubine believes the First Prince is genuinely ill.”
“But Xiurong-niangniang says Noble Consort deliberately stole His Majesty away. Does that mean Your Ladyship believes the First Prince is not truly sick and that Noble Consort is deceiving the Emperor?”
Jiang Xiurong: “You—”
Lady Yue continued calmly, “Or perhaps Xiurong-niangniang believes Noble Consort intentionally made the First Prince sick?”
Smack!
Unable to outargue Lady Yue, Jiang Xiurong furiously slapped her across the face.
“How dare you! Insolence! You’re merely a low-ranking talent, yet you dare talk back to me. That is blatant disrespect to your superior and a complete lack of manners.”
“Since Lady Yue clearly failed to learn proper etiquette from the Empress, then as mistress of Yaoguang Palace, I shall personally teach you today what it means to respect rank and status.”
“Lady Yue will kneel before Qinxing Hall tonight and properly reflect on her mistakes. You may rise only after two hours.”
The night grew darker and darker.
Frost settled. Cold seeped into the air.
Then a sudden rainstorm descended, pushing the deep autumn weather even closer toward winter.
…
The next day.
Qinxing Hall.
Chunhua looked at Lady Yue lying unconscious on the bed from a raging fever, tears already blurring her vision with distress.
Touching Lady Yue’s burning forehead, Lin Anran asked displeasedly,
“Why hasn’t an imperial physician been summoned to examine her?”
Luoyu hurriedly dropped to her knees.
“Replying to Her Majesty, this servant already went to request an imperial physician, but they said they were unavailable this morning and could only come in the afternoon.”
Unavailable?
Clearly, the physicians simply believed Lady Yue was unfavored and therefore not worth prioritizing.
Lin Anran’s expression darkened.
“Chunhua, go to the Imperial Medical Bureau. Even if you have to tie one up, bring an imperial physician back here for me.”
Chunhua immediately departed.
Lin Anran then turned toward Luoyu, who still knelt on the floor.
“How did Lady Yue’s fever become this severe?”