“What is Wen Meiren doing today?” Helian Qi asked.
Wen is a smart person and may be more useful than Song.
Wang Degui immediately replied, “Wen Meiren is drinking tea in Cen Jieyu’s palace.”
“Cen Jieyu?” Helian Qi’s eyes suddenly turned cold.
“Yes! Cen Jieyu invited Wen Meiren to her palace for tea. Wen Meiren stayed for a long time and gave her a valuable gift in return as a token of her gratitude.”
Helian Qi’s eyes turned cold.
Cen Jieyu tried to win over Wen Meiren, and Wen Meiren actually went!
It’s normal for a concubine in the palace to seek refuge with one of the Xue and Cen families. Having a backer is always better than having none.
But Minister Wen was promoted by him!
To the Emperor, this was blatant betrayal.
Helian Qi was furious, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy and terrifying.
“I hereby order that Wen Meiren be demoted to the rank of Baolin for misconduct.”
Wang Degui knelt down to receive the order, his face turning pale with fear.
He didn’t know how this Wen Meiren offended His Majesty. She didn’t even get to see His Majesty and was demoted two levels. How miserable!
At this moment, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Bedchamber led the palace servants in, bringing the Jade Book of Concubines.
“Your Majesty, please review it!”
Helian Qi’s face darkened. He didn’t want his harem to become like his father’s.
Someone must be able to suppress the Xue and Cen families.
But the candidates he favored were: one was aloof, inflexible, and too shallow-minded; the other was quick-witted, so quick-witted that she sought refuge with outsiders. (T/N: LOL, this Emperor is so miserable~~)
Since he couldn’t find a suitable person in the short term, he could only take the long view.
Since Empress Dowager Xue likes to make things difficult for his concubines, he will pick out a few unlucky ones from among the nobles and let her deal with them.
Helian Qi thought about this and casually flipped over a jade token.
…
In the Lingxue Pavilion.
“Master, His Majesty has suddenly reprimanded Wen Meiren and demoted her to Baolin.” Xiao Guizi hurriedly reported the latest imperial edict, trembling with fear.
“There’s no one in the Imperial Garden now…”
After Song Meiren, the first concubine to serve the Emperor, was ordered by the Empress Dowager to copy Buddhist scriptures, the number of people in the Imperial Garden decreased by half. They dared not seek favor before Xue Jieyu.
When the news of Wen Meiren being punished came out, the other half of the fool also hid back in the palace.
Demoted without even meeting the Emperor…
Who wouldn’t be afraid of this sudden disaster?
Originally, everyone was eager to serve the Emperor, but now, fearing offending both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, no one dared to serve the Emperor so soon…
Ning Wanyin was also a little surprised. She originally thought that it would be Wen Baolin who would sleep with her tonight.
How could this happen…
The Emperor suddenly punished one of his own people. This was not right.
“What did Wen Baolin do today?” Ning Wanyin asked immediately.
Xiao Guizi, still feeling a pang of fear, thought for a moment and said, “I heard that Wen Meiren… no, Wen Baolin went to Cen Jieyu’s palace for tea today…”
Um?
Isn’t this just like ignoring the Emperor’s obvious support and rushing into the arms of the enemy?
No wonder the Emperor demoted her.
This Emperor seems to hold a grudge.
However, Ning Wanyin could understand Wen Baolin’s thoughts.
The Emperor hadn’t protected Song Meiren today, so who knew if he would protect her?
Wouldn’t it be more reasonable for her to choose the Cen family as her refuge, rather than hoping for the elusive Emperor’s favor?
However, Wen Baolin overlooked one point: the Wen family’s current status came from the Emperor. She had to think more deeply before making a decision.
Oh, wait— Perhaps in Wen Baolin’s eyes, her family’s high-ranking position was earned because of her father’s outstanding political achievements?
Ning Wanyin was silent for a moment, not wanting to dwell on it.
The most important thing now was: without Wen Baolin, who would His Majesty choose to sleep with him tonight?
No matter who he chose, sleeping before Xue Jieyu and Cen Jieyu would be a thorn in their eyes.
Whoever was chosen would be unlucky.
Ning Wanyin was pondering this when a senior eunuch suddenly entered with a smile on his face.
“Congratulations, Ning Guiren. His Majesty has turned over your name card. Please prepare to receive the Emperor.”
Ning Wanyin: ???
*****
Translator’s Comment:
Ning Wanyin: It turns out I’m the unlucky one.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152
This is exactly my type of story!!! I love palace/harem intrigue!!!! I also love paranoid, aloof, and pragmatic MCs. Poor Ning Wanyin. She’ll be able to turn things around though. I actually predict that the Emperor probably will fall in love with her true (calculating) self but also be self-aware enough not to burden her too much, resulting in a “give-and-take” relationship between the two. This is just my guess of course, but this Emperor seems reasonable so far (rewarding Song Meiren despite not liking her, making logical choices that keep the Kingdom in balance rather than random ones chosen based on his feelings). The real question is if the Empress Dowager will be charmed by Wanyin or not— I suspect the Empress Dowager will try to punish Wanyin and they won’t have a good relationship due to Wanyin’s (somewhat unwilling) “alignment” with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s alignment with Xue Jieyu. By the way, I may have missed this, but is this Empress Dowager the Emperor’s biological mother/is the Xue family his maternal family? I always find it illogical when an Empress Dowager supports her maternal family over her own son, but I suppose it’s a product of the culture and prevalent way of thinking of the times.
By the way, the Emperor is a surprisingly considerate man. Not only did he reward Song Meiren, but the einuch thought “the Emperor must be displeased to only reward the standard amount,” suggesting he’s a generous master, which is always good to see. That people cannot outwardly understand his actions (aside from our MC, who has the protagonist halo) suggests he has good counter-intelligence and cultivates loyal subjects. One does have to wonder how the Meiren he cultivated were so disappointing, but that’s probably because he chose them because their fathers had a degree of actual competence, not because of who they are themselves. Finally, he told Song Meiren not to visit the Empress Dowager, suggesting that he both knew what the Empress Dowager may do (being able to predict an opponent is half the battle) and wanted to protect Song Meiren— it also suggests he doesn’t care much for formality or rituals. Overall, he seems like a good master with high odds of success, so if I were a eunuch or palace maid, I would be more willing to place my bets on him than the Empress Dowager.
I reread, it seems the Empress Dowager isn’t his biological mother, which explains her behavior. Also, some additional context that may be helpful for other readers (Orthez-shifu, please decide for yourself if it’s relevant) is that the palace selection process is very rigorous and that even the plates the Emperor is given every day will vary. The plates are chosen based on who in the harem is fertile at the time. So, if, in the future, someone is chosen by name and not plate, it indicates a certain status in the Emperor’s heart. I also appreciate how we can see his inner thoughts and how he knows Song Meiren likes him (but doesn’t disdain those feelings) and how he acknowledges that his favor can be a curse for those who aren’t smart. Him coming from a random background makes his competence all the more surprising, and his awareness of the political situation all the more so, because I’m almost certain he was chosen because the Xue/Cen families thought he would be easy to control, meaning he really was hiding his talent well.
It also makes me question about the death of his Empress, who had ties to both families…