The Three-Life Stone

Concubine Shu covered her face and smiled. She had originally thought that this woman who was allowed to be brought back by the emperor and made an exception must be quite scheming if it wasn't for her talent and beauty. But now, it seems that this is not the case.

Hua Xiaoyao looked calm when it came to eating, and the joy in her eyes showed that she was not scheming and was easily satisfied. Jin Xiuyi was not particular about small matters, and if she could be favored by the emperor, there must be more to it than that.

"My sister is really silly and cute like this. No wonder the emperor likes her."

"Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty."

The concubine nodded slightly in satisfaction. She was not arrogant because of her favor and she would not think about the hidden meaning of other people's words. She was quite easy to get along with. As she was thinking about this, a loud voice came into her ears from the door.

"Sister, you're not too late. The two elder sisters are having breakfast. Can you please have one more?"

Hua Xiaoyao frowned slightly, but Concubine Shu didn't react much. She exchanged a few pleasantries and asked someone to give her more chopsticks.

The visitor sat down without any hesitation and looked at Hua Xiaoyao. Concubine Shu gave the two of them a basic introduction.

"This sister is An Zhaoyi of Zhongcui Palace, and this one is Jin Xiuyi, the new concubine of the Emperor."

Hua Xiaoyao didn't care, swallowed the food in her mouth and nodded politely: "Hello, Sister An."

"Some people climb too high without even standing firmly on their feet. What do you think would happen if she fell down?" An Zhaoyi ignored Hua Xiaoyao's advances and asked this question to herself. She didn't know who she was asking, but Hua Xiaoyao and Shufei also understood what she meant.

Concubine Shu was afraid that the situation would become stalemate: "What are you talking about, sister? Since you can climb high, your steps will naturally be steady."

Hua Xiaoyao just thought that she was envied when she first came in. This was a normal reaction in the palace. She told herself to adapt. Hua Xiaoyao calmed herself down and tasted different pastries in silence.

An Zhaoyi refused to give in: "At the beginning, the imperial concubine was in great favor, and the emperor indulged her even in some unreasonable things, just for fear that he would not hand over the country to her..."

"An Zhaoyi, do you know why we humans have two ears but only one mouth?" Concubine Shu interrupted An Zhaoyi.

"Ears are naturally more attentive to the advice given by the mouth. If you can't listen to the words, it's useless to have another ear."

Just as Concubine Shu was about to say "outrageous", Hua Xiaoyao couldn't help but smiled and said, "Sister An is very eloquent. Sister, why don't you let the outsiders go down so that the three of us sisters can have a good chat."

An Zhaoyi looked at Hua Xiaoyao with satisfaction. This Jin Zhaoyi was not so stupid.

Concubine Shu dismissed everyone for fear of something going wrong and looked at An Zhaoyi: "Sister, you should know how to speak and act properly."

"Okay, got it, stop nagging." An Zhaoyi responded indifferently, "I just want to tell Jin Xiuyi that the favor given by the emperor may be your support, but it may also lead to your eternal damnation. Don't rely on it too much."

Hua Xiaoyao's intuition was correct. The relationship between Concubine Shu and An Zhaoyi was pretty good. An Zhaoyi was just afraid that she would follow the old path of the Favored Concubine, so she came to remind her at the very beginning, risking great disrespect. Whether she didn't want to live the same life as before or had good intentions, An Zhaoyi was not a bad person.

"Thank you for your reminder, I know what I am doing." Hua Xiaoyao signaled An Zhaoyi to rest assured.

An Zhaoyi suddenly became bold and unrestrained: "Sister, you are a good person. Do you want to play cards later? You don't know how frustrating it was to be suppressed by Concubine Jiang. We dare not count on the emperor's favor, for fear that we will die in the next moment. The sisters have to work together to study tricks to pass the time. We are used to it."

"How did the Imperial Concubine become so favored?" When Hua Xiaoyao asked this question, she felt a sense of resentment that she herself was not aware of.

An Zhaoyi didn't hear it, Hua Xiaoyao didn't realize it, but Shufei felt it: "A useless chess piece, it's all over."

"Eh? It's easier to talk about it after the past has passed. Don't talk about me. Sister was also suppressed and couldn't get up. Doesn't sister have resentment in her heart?" An Zhaoyi did not agree with Concubine Shu's attitude of keeping things quiet. Unhappy emotions should be vented. If you dare to do dirty things, you don't have to be afraid of being criticized.

"It's over, and I'll let it go."

Everyone has some pain in their heart. The concubine Shu has been able to live until now because of her indifferent attitude.

Originally, Concubine Shu and Concubine Liang could check and balance Jiang together, but Concubine Liang was dissatisfied and insisted on trying to come to the fore, resulting in two deaths.

Concubine Liang did not think too much about it. If the emperor really doted on Jiang, why did he allow her to be so arrogant and domineering that she was impeached by the censor and left with a bad reputation? If the emperor really doted on Jiang, why did she have no children for a long time? She should have asked the imperial physician to take good care of her health condition, and there should be a reason for all these years.

It was only a matter of time before Jiang was sent to the cold palace. From the very beginning, the national treasury was empty and the country was unstable. The reason why Concubine Shu was able to survive until now was that the emperor valued her non-competitive character. Jiang's father was also highly praised by the emperor and used as a shield.

Concubine Shu was not aware of the inside story. She only knew that Jiang Decan was able to take the position of prime minister with the help of the emperor.

During the uprising, Jiang De and Lin Mo had differences of opinion. Lin Mo noticed Jiang De's ambition, but Lin Mo did not expose it but negotiated with him privately. After that, Jiang De put aside his prejudice. In the later period, Jiang De's performance was not outstanding and was even a little backward.

After Lin Mo ascended the throne, he arranged for Jiang De to gain credit along the way, and finally he sat in the position of prime minister. During this period, Jiang De killed countless people.

Prime Minister Jiang unknowingly became Lin Mo's knife in the previous dynasty. The emperor trusted him, and everyone was helpless. At most, they said that the emperor was useless and treacherous ministers were in power. As time went on, Jiang De felt more and more that Lin Mo was not as good as himself, and some ministers were just cowards and fools who just made up the numbers every day. They dared not say anything wrong about himself or the emperor.

Jiang's status rose accordingly, and she became Lin Mo's knife in the harem. It was necessary to select concubines for the harem. In just a few years, there were two selections of concubines to enrich the harem. Smart people knew how to protect themselves, and those with means were bullied by Jiang. The harem was divided into two factions. One faction followed Concubine Shu and Concubine Liang to be pure-hearted or look for opportunities, and some acted as Jiang's lackeys and flattered him every day.

Jiang was creating hatred in the harem and thought that the emperor liked her just the way she was, and many of them became cannon fodder and died innocently.

Later, the ministers urged the establishment of a queen and the birth of a crown prince. Lin Mo withdrew the contraceptive soup, but Jiang, who had been favored for many years, became jealous and harmed the concubines, causing many unborn babies to die in the womb.

Later, the emperor was tired of acting, so he uprooted Jiang De and spared Jiang for the time being. Someone found out that the emperor often went out of the palace to a town and told Jiang the news. Jiang was a person who didn't suspect anything and believed everything she heard. She found out the location and chased after her. She blamed everything on that woman. The women in the harem didn't dare to be presumptuous. The vixen outside seduced the emperor, so she was so miserable. As long as she got rid of that woman, she could restore her former glory.

Not long after she left the palace, a eunuch reported this to the emperor. Perhaps the emperor was afraid of being misunderstood by Hua Xiaoyao, so he took the Embroidered Uniform Guards and chased after her at full speed. Concubine Jiang was then sent to the cold palace, and went crazy in her unwillingness and endless despair.