Chapter 210: Struggle for Favor
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
[Wow! Consort Hui is so bold!]
[No wonder Her Majesty the Empress is afraid of her. How could she not be?]
[I thought we were sisters, yet you want to sleep with me!]
Lu Chao Chao’s eyes burned with intensity, yet she dared not move an inch, fearing she might alert the two outside the curtain.
Tears clung to the corners of Consort Hui’s eyes as she bit her lower lip, sobbing softly.
“At that time, Your Majesty was severely ill with a high fever. The imperial physicians couldn’t bring it down, and you kept calling out that you were cold. I was heartbroken, and in my desperation, I climbed into bed!” Yes, entirely bare.
“What’s so good about men?”
“They snore when they sleep, and no matter how many times they bathe, they still stink.”
“He has countless consorts in his harem, unlike me, who has only ever had Wan Wan in my heart.”
“Yes, he granted you supreme glory, but has he ever truly cared for you? Does he know what you love to eat, what you think about, or what foods you cannot tolerate? He has never paid attention.”
“He gave you status, but not love. Are you really content with that?”
“The palace is lonely, and the nights are endless. He has an abundance of consorts, but what about Wan Wan? He never considers your feelings. I, on the other hand, am different.”
“I always think about Wan Wan. You entered the palace at fifteen, still just an innocent child.”
“So small, wrapped in grand silk robes, facing a harem full of people who would devour you without leaving a trace. How terrifying must that have been? Yet he didn’t even shield you, letting you fend for yourself among wolves and tigers.”
“That time, when you hid under your covers and cried, I knew.”
Thanks to the Emperor’s absence, Consort Hui finally had Her Majesty alone. How could she not seize the chance to reveal her true feelings?
“My heart aches for you. Truly.”
While the Empress was still in shock, Consort Hui suddenly grasped her hand.
[Wow! Consort Hui just grabbed the Empress’s hand!]
The Empress shuddered in fear. A tear slid down Consort Hui’s cheek as she whispered, “Entering the palace was never Wan Wan’s choice. Your entire life has been dictated by others. I dare not ask for more—just being able to talk to you and see you is enough for me.”
The Empress’s body stiffened. A flicker of triumph crossed Consort Hui’s brows.
Just as she was about to embrace the Empress, Lu Chao Chao murmured in her sleep from within the curtain, “Fishy, don’t run away…”
Startled, Consort Hui released her grip abruptly.
The Empress’s heart pounded wildly as she hastily took two steps back. “Don’t act recklessly!” Her normally dignified face showed an unusual trace of panic.
“Chao Chao, were you having a nightmare?”
Lu Chao Chao rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, catching the disappointed look on Consort Hui’s face as she left. The Empress quietly let out a sigh of relief.
That was terrifying.
Every time Consort Hui touched her, she got goosebumps all over.
“I had a nightmare.”
“I dreamt someone was fishing in the sea, and all the fish were about to be caught in one big net…” Lu Chao Chao murmured, wrapping her arms around the Empress’s neck.
“Silly child, how could all the fish in the sea be caught?” The Empress, who had no daughter of her own, was especially fond of Lu Chao Chao’s soft and sweet nature.
Besides, with Rong Che interested in Lu Chao Chao’s mother, she had to earn some favor.
She had to help her foolish younger brother somehow.
The Empress dressed Lu Chao Chao in thick layers, wrapping her up tightly, and personally carried her to the Imperial Study.
A group of senior officials exited the study, bowing to the Empress and Lu Chao Chao in greeting.
The Empress carried Lu Chao Chao into the hall.
“Have you reconciled with Consort Hui?” Emperor Xuan Ping set down his memorial and pinched the bridge of his nose.
For some reason, his eyelid had been twitching nonstop these past few days.
The Empress hesitated for a moment. “Mm.”
A smile spread across Emperor Xuan Ping’s face. “Consort Hui is gentle and considerate. I knew you two would get along.”
“When she first entered the palace, the other consorts strongly opposed her.”
All the other consorts had been chosen through the selection process or arranged marriages, but she was the only one Emperor Xuan Ping had personally brought back, even enduring a caning for her.
At the time, the other consorts had done everything to make things difficult for her.”
“Do you remember? Jiang Pin had the fiercest temper when she first entered the palace. On her very first day, she pointed at her nose and cursed her as a vixen.”
“And now? Jiang Pin always keeps her in mind whenever she has something good, and their relationship is incredibly close.”
The Emperor couldn’t help but feel gratified when he thought of Consort Hui.
[This entire harem… is just a pond of fish she’s been raising…]
Just as they were speaking, a sudden commotion erupted outside.
“Silence outside the Imperial Study!” Eunuch Wang immediately called out in a stern voice.
Amidst the disturbance, the sound of crying could be heard. Eunuch Wang hurriedly stepped inside to report, “Your Majesty, Jiang Pin and Noble Lady Qin have started fighting!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Pin and Noble Lady Qin barged in, clutching each other’s hair, tears streaming down their faces.
The moment they entered, they fell to their knees with a loud thud.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please uphold justice!”
“Jiang Pin is too overbearing!”
“It was clearly Noble Lady Qin who was being unreasonable!”
Neither of them was willing to let go of the other’s hair. Both bore visible scratches on their faces, evidence of a fierce struggle.
They continued to accuse each other.
The Emperor felt a headache coming on. “What exactly happened? Fighting like this in the palace—what kind of conduct is this!” His expression darkened.
The Empress sat to the side, cradling Lu Chao Chao, her gaze distant, lost in thought.
“Jiang Pin is too overbearing! This concubine got up early to prepare ginseng soup. Even if there was no merit, there was hard work! But she… she wanted to dump it out!” Noble Lady Qin sobbed.
Jiang Pin refused to back down. “Wretched woman! I arrived first! If anyone should drink first, it should be me!”
Sure enough, behind them, their respective maids each carried a food box.
“Drink mine first!”
“No, drink mine first! My rank is higher!”
The two of them shamelessly continued their brawl before the Emperor, who was rather astonished.
It had been years since Jiang Pin and Noble Lady Qin fought for favor or even offered him soup.
“Wang Yuan Lu, open the food boxes and take a look,” the Emperor commanded with a wave of his hand.
The two food boxes were opened and placed on the table.
“Enough, enough! I will treat both of you equally! I’ll drink both, will that do?”
It was strange. In past years, palace concubines would resort to all sorts of schemes to vie for favor.
Yet, in recent years, things had been rather peaceful.
Now, suddenly witnessing a physical fight over favor, the Emperor actually found it quite novel.
As he lifted a bowl of ginseng soup, Noble Lady Qin panicked. “Ah… wait…!” She involuntarily released Jiang Pin’s hair.
She looked at the Emperor, hesitant to speak.
The Emperor chuckled. “I am impartial, never favoring one over the other. Jiang Pin, I haven’t forgotten you either.”
He picked up Jiang Pin’s bowl as well.
“Huh?” Jiang Pin looked at him blankly, releasing Noble Lady Qin’s hair.
“Your Majesty, actually…” Noble Lady Qin tugged at Jiang Pin, who suddenly clamped her mouth shut, her face looking even worse than when they had been fighting.
The Emperor took turns drinking from the left bowl, then the right, looking at the two women. “Am I fair?”
The two concubines, like frostbitten eggplants, lowered their heads, their eyes vacant, their spirits crushed.
“F… fair.”
“F… fair,” they murmured numbly.
They could only watch as the Emperor finished every last drop of ginseng soup, not leaving a single sip behind. The light in their eyes dimmed entirely.
“No more fighting over me in the future.”
“Go find Consort Hui and ease your minds,” the Emperor waved dismissively.
The two bowed in resignation and left, looking utterly dejected.
Lu Chao Chao noticed something unusual and let out an internal screech like a startled groundhog.
[Wait… This doesn’t seem like they were fighting over Emperor Daddy’s favor…]
[Could it be… they were fighting over Consort Hui?!]
Lu Chao Chao felt as though she had just uncovered a shocking truth!
[Oh heavens!]
[It’s already escalated to the point of a physical fight?!]
[If there are too many fish, won’t the pond overturn?!]
Bruh lmao harem inside harem. Aiyaaa