The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"This Xie is really a strange person. She just caused Qian Shunyi to be demoted, and now she has even mixed herself up in the dispute between Zhu Guipin and Meng Ronghua. She is indeed a restless troublemaker."

In the royal garden.

Concubine Li took the second princess out for a stroll. The princess ran to the front to play, and she kept complaining to everyone around her with a face full of resentment. She only had one daughter, and her favor was fading day by day. And she chose a scourge like Xie Yuzhen: "Your Majesty loved her so much before, and now she's pregnant. I think in a few days, she will climb over my head."

She was angry, but she had no power in the palace, and no favorites, so she really had no way to target Xie Yuzhen. The female official Ruyi knew her master's embarrassing situation, so she spoke carefully: "She is just a poor girl who got pregnant by luck. Besides, if Xie Cairen is not well taken care of at her age, I am afraid she will not be as good as other new ladies in the palace."

Ruyi was very careful when she spoke, thinking that she had criticized her master. Concubine Li glanced at her and said, "I just hope that Xie's baby is a daughter... If it is a son, do you think it is feasible for me to ask His Majesty to raise the prince under my lap?"

“This…” Ruyi was speechless.

"Forget it, forget it. I am just thinking randomly. There has never been an example in our dynasty where the adoptive mother of an imperial heir was changed while the biological mother is still alive. Unless Xie herself is unsuccessful in giving birth to a child and dies..." Concubine Li's expression darkened.

Ruyi panicked: "My queen, we don't have enough manpower in Shouning Palace..."

"If there is no manpower, then go and bribe them. There will always be someone willing!" Concubine Li's expression gradually became ferocious, but the next moment.

"Mother, look, this pink rose is so beautiful. I want to take it back to the palace and make it into a bookmark. Mother, come and pick one too!" The second princess just turned ten this year. She is at the most lively and mischievous age. She wore a goose yellow dress with hundreds of butterflies on the flowers, and ran to Concubine Li to present her treasure with a bunch of pink roses held high in her hand.

Concubine Li's expression softened instantly. She said to her daughter with a hint of blame: "Be careful, this flower has thorns. Why don't you ask the palace maid to hold it for you?"

"I want to give it to my mother personally." The second princess said with a smile, "Please pick one for me."

"Okay, okay, mother will pick one right away. This one will do." She took the whole bouquet from her daughter and handed it to the maid behind her. "You are so old and still playing with flowers. Learn from your older sister. She is either reading or playing the piano. She is so quiet!"

The second princess curled her lips and said, "I am already this age, my temperament has already grown up, and I can't change it even if I want to. Mother, if you had been stricter with me when I was a child, wouldn't I have been quiet too?"

"Hey, kid!" Concubine Li raised her hand as if to hit her, but the Second Princess seemed to be accustomed to her mother's bluffing, and she did not dodge or avoid it. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and made a face.

Concubine Li failed to deliver the slap. She angrily clapped her other hand and said helplessly, "I hope your father can choose a softer consort for you in the future. Your mother is old and can't stand you fighting in the princess's mansion all day long!"

"Then will it be okay if I beat up the prince consort unilaterally?"

The fearless and innocent words of her daughter almost made Concubine Li stumble: "You...you are such a shameless little girl!"

"Hmph, my elder sister was already engaged to the son of the Marquis of Anguo when she was my age, and I'm almost there too. Don't worry, mother. I know everything I should know, and I will never put myself in a difficult position." She acted like a little adult and comforted Concubine Li.

Concubine Li was so blocked by her daughter that she was speechless. Although she was a concubine, she did not have much autonomy over her daughter's marriage. She could look for suitable candidates in advance, but the final choice of the princess's husband would have to be decided by the emperor and the empress.

"Ancestor, please stop worrying me!" Concubine Li wanted a son more and more. Her own daughter had such a lively personality. If she didn't have a brother to support her, she didn't know what her life would be like when she passed away.

Although the Queen now treats all the royal heirs equally and impartially, the Fifth Prince is still young after all, and who can predict what will happen in the future?

It turns out that having a son and a daughter like Sister Xianfei would provide more security.

She desperately wanted a son to raise by herself, even if he was born to someone else. But right now, Xie Yu was the only one in the palace who was pregnant. The emperor valued her so much, so unless she died during childbirth, she would have to raise the child by herself... But as for how to snatch the child away from the mother, Concubine Li couldn't think of a good way for a while.

She poked her daughter's forehead in annoyance, and when she looked up, she saw Xie Yuzhen holding his waist and slowly walking towards her from the other end of the path in the Imperial Garden.

"......You're not even pregnant yet, and you're already pretending." Concubine Li lowered her voice and spit on Xie Yuzhen fiercely.

The second princess didn't hear clearly, and asked doubtfully: "Mother?"

Concubine Li reacted immediately and forced a smile: "If you look closely, the rose is indeed very beautiful. Where did you find it?"

The Second Princess did not suspect anything and pointed in the direction where Xie Yuzhen came from and said cheerfully, "I picked it from over there. Do you want more, Mother? I'll go pick it for you right away!"

After she said that, she jumped out like a rabbit.

Concubine Li was anxiously calling the Second Princess' name from behind: "Xianqiong! Oh, you...don't run so fast!"

What to do if you fall!

She lifted her skirt and chased after her, staring at her daughter's back for fear that she would fall. She was even more afraid that something would suddenly appear under her feet and cause her to fall on Xie Yuzhen.

In the past, there were cases of concubines who lost their babies after being hit like this.

Xie Yuzhen saw from afar that Concubine Li, who always showed a dignified demeanor, picked up her skirt and ran away without caring about anything, and even grabbed a little girl by the back of her neck with one claw. She couldn't help laughing immediately, and walked towards the mother and daughter leisurely: "Greetings to Concubine Li."

"No need to be polite." Concubine Li had been educated as a traditional lady since she was young, and she had to be gentle in everything she did. It was only after she gave birth to a daughter that she had to run after her daughter frequently. At this moment, her breathing became rapid, and she took several deep breaths before she could barely regain her composure. However, her voice inevitably trembled a little when she spoke.

"Why is Concubine Xie here instead of staying in Shouning Palace to take care of her baby?" Concubine Li held her daughter tightly, who was full of curiosity. "You haven't seen Concubine Xie yet, right? This is my useless daughter, Xianqiong. This is Concubine Xie."

The second princess, Lu Xianqiong, smiled sweetly: "My lady, Hello, Xianqiong, I heard from the palace servants that you are going to give birth to a little brother. Is that true?"

She looked at Xie Yuzhen's flat belly, her eyes full of curiosity, without a trace of malice.

Xie Yuzhen glanced at Concubine Li, who looked unhappy. She didn't expect that such a mean-looking woman could raise such a lively daughter, so she said softly, "Yes, but I hope she is a lively and lovely daughter like the second princess."