The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The howling Shen Xiaoyi was fed medicine by the imperial physician who came over. The queen asked the palace servants to take her away, and asked Gao Sheng to tell the emperor what happened today. She felt more tired: "How is Miss Liu?"

Concubine Song Shu sighed and said, "She has woken up and the baby is still alive, but she is still weak. The imperial physician said it is best for her to stay in bed and rest."

"I'm so lucky to have you here today." The Queen looked at Concubine Song Shu and gave a slightly bitter smile.

Concubine Song Shu also smiled: "It was also because of Lady Liu's luck that she was able to save your Majesty's child..." She glanced at Concubine Zhang who was kneeling on the ground and Susu whose face was covered in blood, "If anyone should blame someone, they should blame those mean people who were so cruel as to scheme against a child."

The Queen looked over and Concubine Zhang immediately put on a remorseful and ashamed expression: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have ignored my dignity as a concubine and fought with Shen Xiaoyi, and also affected Lady Liu."

"Ha." Concubine Song Shu sneered disrespectfully, "Sometimes, if you keep pretending to be stupid, you will become really stupid."

Lady Zhang's face froze, she lowered her head and secretly clenched her fingers.

"Your Majesty, I'm a little tired, so I'll take my leave first. What I said to Your Majesty before...please reconsider it." Concubine Song Shu stood up and was about to leave.

The queen nodded: "You go back and rest first."

Xie Yuzhen suddenly spoke up: "Speaking of which, this little palace maid is really unlucky to have such a master. Tsk tsk, at such a young age, she not only witnessed the miscarriage of the royal concubine, but also saw Liu Yunu suffer. I hope she will be so scared that she won't dare to marry and have children in the future."

Concubine Song Shu, who was about to leave, paused and glanced at Xie Yuzhen, who was facing Shen Xiaoyi's madness but still smiling tenderly and charmingly. She then turned to look at the shivering little palace maid beside her, frowned, and turned back to say, "Your Majesty, this little palace maid has been bumping into pregnant concubines in the palace one after another. I'm afraid she has a bad fate. Besides, as a female official, she couldn't advise her master, but she actually helped her master fight with another concubine..."

"Of course they will be punished. Concubine Shufei, don't always worry that I can't bear to correct them harshly." Xie Yuzhen felt a little strange about the Queen's attitude towards Concubine Song Shufei.

It didn't seem like the Empress Dowager was giving in to the favored concubine, but more like the tolerance of the elders towards the younger ones. As for Concubine Song Shu... Although he didn't meet her very often, Xie Yuzhen could roughly guess what kind of temper this woman had.

She was arrogant and cautious towards the emperor's other women, and never minded showing off some of her own methods to discipline them, but at most she would just scold them a few words, or find fault with the palace servants, or transfer them to other positions to annoy others, or the worst punishment would be to make them kneel. As for being ruthless enough to kill people, at least Xie Yu had never heard of such a thing.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that she hid it too deeply.

What Xie Yuzhen found even more interesting was that Concubine Song Shu showed on several occasions how much she valued children.

Whether it was when she disregarded her own safety and flew to save the fourth princess during the Mid-Autumn Festival, or when she allowed a bleeding imperial maid to use the carriage that only a concubine could use today, it was enough to prove how much she valued her offspring.

It just means that what he said is a bit amusing.

It also has to be pointed out that it is the emperor's child.

So...how much does she like children and why does she like them so much, or does she actually like the emperor's children?

Xie Yu really wanted to tell Sisi to shut up forever, and he also wanted to find out how much Concubine Song Shu valued offspring, which is why he made those remarks earlier.

Seeing that Concubine Song Shu was indeed beginning to suspect that Sisi was in conflict with the pregnant concubine and had even made a direct suggestion to the Queen, Xie Yuzhen couldn't help but feel surprised when he got the answer.

Could it be that Concubine Song Shu is... terribly in love with the Emperor?

She loved him so much that she even treated the emperor's children with other people as her own. No wonder she disgusted herself when she entered the palace, but later stopped...it turned out that she did it for the sake of the child.

You are such a lucky star to your mother, my dear daughter.

Xie Yuzhen held her belly and touched it happily.

"Your Majesty is kind, but that's no reason for your subordinates to be unruly." Concubine Song Shu exhaled heavily, frowned, pressed her chest and coughed, "I should go back to the palace to take medicine. I'll take my leave."

The sound of her cough gradually faded away.

The Queen watched her walk away, hesitant to speak, and in the end she said nothing. She just sighed helplessly, told Concubine Zhang to get up, punished her by having her receive ten strokes of the cane on the buttocks, and then sent her to do hard labor in the palace.

Apart from the death penalty, the most severe punishments for servants in the Dasheng Palace were caning on the buttocks and caning on the back. Caning on the back was intended to beat a person to death, or at least leave them disabled if not dead, while caning on the buttocks left a little leeway, allowing the palace maid a chance to recover.

On the surface, it seemed that Susu was indeed incompetent and could not persuade her master, so the queen wanted to punish her, but she still held back. Unfortunately, Xie Wei really wanted to take her life.

Seeing the Queen's unhappy expression, Xie Yuzhen said considerately, "Your Majesty has been very busy today. Why don't I watch them carry out the execution for you?"

If there was only Susu, then we could just ask a female official to watch over her, but there was also Shen Xiaoyi waiting to be beaten in the side hall, so there had to be a proper master watching over her.

The Queen shook her head: "Don't be silly. What's so good about that bloody scene? Don't just watch the excitement and scare yourself."

"I just can't bear to see you working so hard, and I'm very brave. The one in my belly is not a coward either. I'll just stand far away and not get close to it, so I won't see those things." Xie Yuzhen looked at the queen with a hint of complaint, "You know I've always been strong. You're worried that I'll be scared, or that the one in your belly will be scared. Don't you know that I'm also worried that you won't be able to hold on?"

She spoke frankly and passionately, and her care and closeness almost hit the queen's face directly, leaving the queen at a loss as to how to respond.

Xie Ruzhen moved closer and closer: "You also said that the scene was not a good look. How could I bear to let you, Your Majesty, get frightened again?" She sat still, at least five or six people away from the Queen, but the Queen still felt that Xie Ruzhen's tender and affectionate eyes were only an inch away from her, almost looking into her heart.

"Aunt Yunrong, thank you for your help." Without waiting for the Queen's permission, Xie Yuzhen stood up and called Yunrong, motioning her to lead the way.

As the most trusted female official of the Queen, Yun Rong knew how poor her master's health was. Although she agreed with Xie Yuzhen's concern, she was the Queen's female official and not Xie Yuzhen, so she stood by without moving. She just couldn't help looking over and bowed her head respectfully to the Queen, "Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."

The queen's mind was a little confused. She looked at Xie Yuzhen helplessly and said, "Forget it, Yunrong, take Concubine Xie away. Don't let her get close. It's better to watch."

Then he said to Xie Yuzhen in a serious tone: "Don't run around."

Xie Yuzhen replied to the queen sweetly: "I know that your majesty is willing to let me care about you."