The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Xie Yuzhen had been speculating all the way about Concubine Song Shu's intention of inviting him to meet her at this time. He anticipated how he would respond if Concubine Song Shu made trouble, and how he could gain some benefits from it - just like when he first entered the palace, Concubine Song Shu sent Qiu He to annoy him. Although on the surface he and Concubine Song Shu were evenly matched under the emperor's method of smoothing things over, but later, even when Xie Yuzhen became pregnant, the time the emperor spent with her did not decrease. Instead, it gradually became equal to that of Concubine Song Shu, and even gradually exceeded it.

This seemingly insignificant incident actually left a mark in the emperor's heart. In his opinion, Xie Yu was really being bullied. Although he did not blame his ex-love for this, he could not help but be more partial to his new love.

Just thinking about it randomly.

Xie Ruizhen arrived at Lefu Palace. When she walked through the palace gates and passed through the gauze curtains soaked with the bitter taste of medicine, she finally saw Concubine Shu lying on the bed. She looked so sick that she was just a bag of bones. Even someone as carefree as Xie Ruizhen was shocked.

Seeing someone coming, Concubine Song Shu was helped by the palace servants to lift her upper body, put a thick cushion behind her waist, and half sat up. She said weakly to Xie Yuzhen: "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xie Yuzhen found a comfortable position and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Concubine Song Shu suddenly asked her, "Zhao Guipin's expression just now was very interesting. Does this look of mine now look very ugly and scary?"

"No one looks good when they are sick. Your Majesty, don't think too much. Once you recover from the illness, your complexion will naturally improve." Xie Yuzhen replied with a smile.

Concubine Song Shu showed some disgust and curled her lips: "Although this illness of mine can no longer be cured, Concubine Zhao, don't be afraid to tell me the truth, or you will directly anger me to death."

“People who don’t care won’t be angry, but you, Concubine Song…if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t refuse to see His Majesty.” Xie Yuzhen looked at Concubine Song’s expression - after she became seriously ill, the emperor visited her several times, and he was able to see her the first few times, but later Concubine Song refused to see the emperor again.

The emperor even sighed about this matter in front of Xie Ruizhen.

After the words fell, Concubine Song Shu fell silent for a long time before she let out a long sigh: "Yes, I do care about my appearance. After all, I was just a little maid in the palace at the beginning. I was picked out because of my good-looking face and got the opportunity to advance. Later, it was the Empress Dowager who saw that I was good-looking and pointed me to His Majesty..."

She recalled: "At that time, I was presented to His Majesty together with another woman named Cui. She was not as pretty as me, but His Majesty did not touch her. Instead, he let her go and married a scholar. Her husband later passed the imperial examination and became a second-class Jinshi. Now he is a county magistrate in an unknown place... She would occasionally send me letters to tell me about her children."

"Since she didn't serve His Majesty, she naturally didn't have to drink contraceptive medicine every day." Concubine Song closed her eyes. "She was in good health, and the baby she gave birth to was also very lively... Sometimes, I would think, if it was me who was released in the first place... Then, would I have become so ugly now?"

"Your Majesty, why are you suddenly saying this to me?" Xie Yuzhen refused to respond to Concubine Song Shu's words. She became more and more suspicious that this person knew that she was going to die, so she said these seemingly sincere words to her to buy time so that the emperor, the queen, the queen mother, etc. could catch her at the scene of Concubine Song Shu's death...

Xie Yuzhen, who couldn't help but think of conspiracy theories, saw Concubine Song Shu sneer and said, "Concubine Zhao is so wary of me, is she still holding a grudge about the previous incident?"

"I dare not." Xie Yuzhen answered calmly with an unchanging smile.

Concubine Song Shu curled her lips childishly: "Forget it, no matter what you think, I won't use my own life to frame you. At least, you have to wait another two or three months before you can hear the news of my death."

"Your Majesty, what you said is not discouraging. A person is ill and the most taboo is to have wild thoughts. You have to cheer yourself up so that you can get better quickly, right?" Xie Yuzhen pretended not to understand and kept saying empty words.

Concubine Song Shu was not angry either: "It's all your fault for talking too much. I was already not in good spirits and I almost forgot what I was going to say because of you."

Xie Yuzhen, who was suddenly scolded, said: ...Ah! Even though she is so sick, she can still look pretty even when she is angry. The dog emperor is so lucky!

"How is the Fifth Princess?" Then, Concubine Song Shu asked a question that Xie Yuzhen, who was on high alert, was completely unprepared for.

She resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows and said, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. Yuanjun is doing very well. She can eat and sleep well and is growing fast. But she is a little too strong and likes to pull people's hair all the time. I'm afraid she will become a troublemaker when she grows up."

"......Hello, Demon King......" Concubine Song Shu seemed to have heard the most satisfactory answer, and her brows suddenly relaxed.

This aroused Xie Wei's curiosity: "Does the queen like children so much?"

Concubine Song Shu looked at her and said, "I was pregnant with Ningguang less than a few months after I gave birth to Yunkang. Later, I had a difficult labor... My body became even weaker. Your Majesty, in order to prevent me from suffering childbirth, you have allowed me to take contraceptive pills."

After all, the most important responsibility of a palace concubine is to have children for the royal family. The emperor is willing to take care of Concubine Song's health and ask her to stop having children. Which man would not praise her for her infatuation when seeing this?

But Xie Yuzhen just felt cold all over.

At this moment, Concubine Song Shu seemed to no longer care that Xie Yu was really unruly, and only regarded her as an outlet to confide in: "I have never blamed those two children. They didn't force me to give birth to them... I have no parents, and no relatives. They are the only two people in this world who are connected to me by blood."

"The time I spend with my children is when I feel most at peace. As for the rest, it's just love for my own children and other people's children."

"I am about to die, and you, Concubine Zhao, are in your prime and favored by the emperor, so I want to ask you if you can make a deal with me." She looked up at Xie Yuzhen calmly.

Xie Yuzhen slowly frowned: "What kind of deal?"

"You must first promise me that you will take care of my two children in the future, and then I will tell you."

"But what if the content of your transaction is of no value to me?" Xie Yuzhen narrowed her eyes, which were similar to those of a cat. "Besides, aren't you afraid that I will regret breaking the contract in the future?"

"I'm scared, but I have no other choice. I can only try my best to grab what I can." Concubine Song Shu looked tired.

Although Xie Yuzhen kept bargaining with her, her curiosity was aroused in her heart: "Why did Your Majesty think of asking me to be a guarantor? Why didn't you ask the Queen?"

"Empress..." Concubine Song Shu's eyes were filled with sorrow. "The Queen is indeed kind-hearted, but Concubine Zhao, if you think you can always rely on the Queen, you are totally wrong."