TFSRITA Chapter 11

Those brave enough to serve Ji Yecheng in the palace were not naive or innocent. On the contrary, they were all quite cunning. Take Consort Xian, for example. Her family’s background wasn’t particularly prominent, but she managed to secure her current position through sheer cleverness. Even Empress Dowager Jiang treated her well, having fought for her to gain her current rank. In this palace, where so many women vied for Ji Yecheng’s favor and perished, she had long since learned to stay quiet and wait for the emperor’s attention.

Even though… no woman had been favored by him for quite some time.

At this point, the women of the palace were rather calm. After all, they were all just resigned to a life of celibacy.

However, that balance was recently disrupted when the prime minister’s daughter was brought into the palace as a Noble Consort and welcomed with the grand ceremony of an Empress. Compared to all the other women, who entered the palace in a single palanquin, Yan Qing’s arrival attracted all their jealousy.

Yesterday had been the wedding, and this morning, they were supposed to pay their respects and meet this prime minister’s daughter. But just as they were all dressed up, prepared with their maids, and arrived at Lingyun Palace, they were blocked by the armed eunuchs guarding the entrance. The emperor had given the order: No one was allowed in or out of Lingyun Palace.

This was the emperor protecting her!

The consorts seethed with jealousy but could only leave in frustration.

Who would have thought that not even an hour later, the main subject of their resentment would step out herself? And cause such a scandal in front of the emperor?

She was truly fortunate to have a powerful father.

Consort Xian was envious, jealous, and pitied her for a moment. But with Yan Qing’s advantage of having a powerful father, she became much less of a threat.

Meanwhile, in the Yonghe Palace of Consort De:

Consort De came from a much better background and had been placed in Ji Yecheng’s residence while he was still a prince, thanks to her discerning father, the Minister of War. His decision had proven to be wise, as she had been promoted from a side consort to a consort, and then recently elevated to her current rank. Her family’s influence had grown with her.

In the palace, Consort De faced little opposition. Consort Xian’s background wasn’t strong enough to be a threat.

But just as Consort De was basking in her superiority, Yan Qing entered the palace.

Like most of the palace, Consort De was extremely cautious of Yan Qing, especially after seeing how the emperor had protected her.

Previously, Ji Yecheng had intended to bring Yan Qing into the palace as a lesser consort, which was likely a ploy to placate his ministers. But after Yan Qing left Lingyun Palace this morning, Consort De had been scheming how to eliminate her, even with the emperor’s protective orders in place.

But now, seeing how foolish Yan Qing was—so adored, yet so careless—Consort De realized she might not have to act after all.

With a graceful smile, Consort De glanced at the maid kneeling before her and waved her hand dismissively. “Very well, continue to keep an eye on things. Report back immediately with any news. And be clever about it.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the maid, Red Peach, from Yan Qing’s palace, responded eagerly, bowing as she left.

 

Inside Lingyun Palace, there was nothing but weeping. Yan Qing, her neck bruised and swollen, returned to the palace, where everyone was kneeling in fear.

Those who had the honor of accompanying her outside were her first- and second-class maids; the lower-ranked ones had stayed inside, waiting for orders.

When they saw their mistress in such a state, they immediately dropped to their knees, trembling, nearly bursting into tears.

Zi Yun was already crying.

Yan Qing tried to comfort her, but without being able to speak, her efforts were futile. As Zi Yun cried harder, Yan Qing frowned. Eventually, Zi Yun realized something was wrong, glanced at her mistress, and finally quieted down, though the fear and unease remained in her eyes.

At that moment, Qingshan came to report, “Your Highness, the emperor has ordered the eunuchs guarding the palace to leave.”

Yan Qing was relieved. At last, the restriction was lifted. Now, anyone could come to falsely accuse her, claim to be pregnant, or vie for favor. If their accusations stuck, Ji Yecheng would surely have her executed.

Unfortunately, it seemed that no one in the harem was pregnant at the moment.

Otherwise, she could stage an incident and shift the blame.

After some time, Yan Qing called for a meal, feeling a bit hungry. Noticing this, Zi Yun eagerly ran off to fetch the food.

A little while later, a maid entered, “Your Highness, the emperor has sent peonies. Where would you like them placed?”

Peonies?

Yan Qing’s eyes widened. She remembered the initial commotion over peonies. Glancing at her hand, she noticed the faint traces of green sap still left. But hadn’t that scoundrel emperor taken the peonies?

She stood up, and the maids immediately rushed to straighten her gown.

Once she was ready, Yan Qing stepped outside.

In the main hall, several eunuchs held pots of peonies—deep reds, soft pinks, and delicate white ones—all beautifully in bloom. The sight lifted her spirits a bit, and with a nod, she silently instructed the maids to arrange them in various spots around the palace.

Lingyun Palace fell into a heavy silence as the maids, sensitive to their mistress’s injured throat, remained quiet. Meanwhile, in other areas of the palace, those who had been celebrating Yan Qing’s fall were now seething with envy over the emperor’s gift of peonies.

Peonies were the national flower of Daqian, featured prominently on the empress’s robe. What could it mean for the emperor to give them to Yan Qing, especially after she had angered him? Was he apologizing?

Could it be that an emperor was subtly apologizing to a consort?

People wanted to laugh but found they couldn’t.

Consort De glanced at the sky. “Summon me early tomorrow to pay respects… to the Noble Consort.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” her maid, Qinghe, replied obediently.