The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Xie Wei is really a very insecure person.

But she didn't really think that the emperor did this only because he saw her insecurity and wanted to promote her own family members to make herself feel at ease.

It was clear that he had always acted as if he was the emperor and Xie Yuzhen only needed to rely on him.

Most men in this world who enter officialdom do so to ennoble their wives and children and to benefit their families. And isn't it the same for concubines like Xie Yuzhen who come from an ordinary family?

They still served the emperor, and both hoped to promote their relatives and change their family status, but one was in the front court and the other in the harem.

Just as the emperor would grant officials' parents and wives the benefits of his official position, how the relatives of concubines were rewarded also depended on the emperor's wishes.

When the emperor liked a courtier, he would give him an official position and a title, and grant his family members imperial decrees and favors. When the emperor liked a woman, he would give her a position, palace power, and children. The same principle also applies to the rewards for her family. In this dynasty, it was not uncommon for the emperor to grant titles and official positions to the families of his concubines.

The emperor had wanted to grant official positions to Xie Yuzhen's father and brother a long time ago, but Xie Yuzhen was not on good terms with his father, and he did not want his brother to be excluded by future colleagues because of nepotism, so he refused.

At that time, the emperor thought Xie Yu was really considerate and sensible.

But this time, he actually directly conferred the title of marquis on Xie Yi... Xie Yuzhen initially thought that the emperor simply acknowledged Xie Yi as his stepson, and that following the precedent of conferring the title of king on the adopted son of the Dasheng royal family, he took today's action.

But the emperor's final words made Xie Yu really undecided.

The implication of his words seemed to be that he was encouraging Xie Yuzhen to expand the power behind her.

Considering the fact that the Emperor had previously intended to ask people from the Lizheng Palace to help the Empress share the harem affairs, Xie Yuzhen came up with a bold guess.

She felt her fingertips gradually becoming hotter in the emperor's palm. Xie Yuzhen carefully raised her eyes and looked directly into the emperor's dark eyes: "Your Majesty is here, how can I be uneasy?"

"But my family has been common people for many generations. I'm afraid my parents and brothers don't know how to manage the interpersonal relationships in a marquis's mansion... I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself."

For concubines in the harem, their background cannot represent everything, but having a good background can sometimes reduce a lot of trouble.

This origin does not refer to whether the concubine comes from a noble family, an official family, or just a simple commoner family or even a palace maid or slave.

Rather, it was the power behind her that supported her as a concubine and allowed her to reach any position.

What Xie Yu really wanted to test was whether the emperor's actions today meant that he was willing to allow himself to cultivate such a force.

Because the empress was ill and weak, he had to share power with concubines, and Concubine Deng and Concubine Li took the largest part. Both their qualifications and the power behind them could support them in managing palace affairs without being criticized, and they could also suppress the people's hearts in the palace. But they were not liked by the emperor, and there was the problem of Concubine Wang's miscarriage. It was understandable that he wanted to promote another concubine to take charge of the affairs.

And this concubine is completely on his side...

Xie Yuzhen's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly understood why the emperor, who had always respected and trusted the queen, suddenly attacked her that day in an attempt to divide the queen's power... This man didn't want to use the Lizheng Hall to suppress the power in the hands of the queen. He was just preparing for the future to help Xie Yuzhen, the concubine whose glory was completely dependent on him and who was completely under his control, to ascend to the throne!

Directly stripping away the queen's power is like opening the vault of the Kunning Palace all at once, which is simply impossible to do. That's why the emperor claimed that he was going to open the vault, but in fact he secretly drilled a window for Xie Yuzhen to pass through!

Thinking of this, Xie Yuzhen felt a cold and wet sensation on his back.

I have a new understanding of this man's excessive desire for power.

She couldn't help but wonder whether the Queen knew the deeper meaning behind the Emperor's move. With the Queen's intelligence, she might have thought of it. Unfortunately... She could mention the Queen Mother to temporarily prevent the Emperor from directly reaching into the harem, but it was still difficult to go against the Emperor's desire to centralize power.

So... do you want to accept the emperor's olive branch?

Xie Ruizhen knew that she still had a choice. She could refuse to become a tool for the emperor to pry open the power of the harem. Doing so might not lose the emperor's favor, but as long as the emperor did not change his mind, he would one day favor the person who was willing to serve him over Xie Ruizhen. At that time, Xie Ruizhen's abandonment would be an inevitable consequence.

Moreover, Xie Yuzhen's ambition was constantly clamoring, urging her to obey the emperor's wishes in order to gain the power she had longed for. Only by holding power could she be treated with caution like Empress Deng Xianfei, or even be a secretly competing figure, rather than a mere favorite concubine who could be discarded at any time.

"So, I thought... to ask Your Majesty for some more manpower or something. Even if I can't stay in the Marquis' Mansion permanently, I can at least teach my parents and brothers for a period of time, so that their actions in the future can be recognized by the officials in the capital, so as not to let Your Majesty down, and not to lose face for me and this child." Xie Yuzhen held the emperor's hand with one hand, and gently stroked the curve of his lower abdomen with the other.

"Please help me." Their eyes exchanged emotions silently. Xie Yuzhen seemed like a young woman in a sweet and passionate love, believing wholeheartedly in the tall man in front of her, "Tan Nu, please ask father to help you too."

The mother and son were acting coquettishly together, and the emperor seemed unable to resist. He said a few reserved words and then promised to send someone to help the Yongjia Marquis' Mansion.

"Then Your Majesty must grant us a better place, preferably one that is closer to the palace. When the child grows up and wants to live outside, it will be convenient for him to come back to the palace to pay his respects." Xie Yuzhen looked at the emperor nodding his head repeatedly and knew that he had made the right move. His heart was relieved a little, and he said happily, as if he had just remembered it, "I still have to write a letter to my eldest brother. He can live at home during the next spring examination. It's better to ask him to move back in advance to avoid trouble again."

Xie's father is now paralyzed in bed due to a stroke. Before Xie Yi grows up, Xie Jingrong is the only adult male in the Xie family who can take charge of the affairs of the Marquisate. Although Xie Yuzhen thinks that his mother is not inferior to men in this regard, it is a pity that the world is like this and it is difficult to change it with the power of one person.

"Your Majesty, you know that I was good friends with your daughter when I was young. I thought that when we open the mansion, I would ask them to come and help warm the room. Yuexin will help my mother to entertain the female guests, and her brother will help my eldest brother." Xie Yu really wanted to pull this brother and sister onto his warship.

I just don't know whether the emperor would be willing to allow his family to have an association with the Jun family, which has military power.

The emperor still acted generous and said, "You can make your own arrangements. If you are not busy on that day, I can take you back to your parents' home."

This was truly a pleasant surprise. Xie Yu was truly grateful and said, "Then I must make good arrangements."

They were just like an ordinary young couple, discussing the happy event of the girl's return home, and easily hiding the transaction without any affection under the undercurrent.