The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Xie Yuzhen suddenly felt like laughing.

The emperor's favorite concubine, whom he always thought of even in front of other women, actually hated him deeply in her heart.

What this guy did was really a failure, Lu Yesheng.

However, she could understand why Concubine Song Shu was resentful. After all, a man who did not need to have children would never understand how much suffering a woman would suffer in childbirth... Concubine Song Shu gave birth to princes one after another, and was later granted special permission to use contraception. This seemed to be a great favor, but in fact -

The continuous births and the bowls of contraceptive medicines had destroyed Concubine Song Shu's body, forcing her to step onto the road of death step by step. She had to watch her life slip away, but she had to smile and be grateful for the grace...

If he really loved someone so much, how could he only care about satisfying his own desires and ignore the health of the person he favored?

At worst, he is the emperor and cannot harm the dragon body, but he can still wear a sheep intestine sleeve!

After all, he just didn't want to make himself unhappy just for a mere favorite concubine.

Some people might wonder why Concubine Song Shu didn't avoid the favor, concentrate on raising her children, and recuperate, but Xie Yu really understood that Concubine Song Shu had no choice. She might be able to resist the monarch's favor, but that might incur the man's anger, and she also had to take care of her two children. People who have concerns are always easily controlled...

"Your Majesty knows so much about the effects of this thing, how could I know that this is not a trap you set up for me?" Although Xie Yuzhen found some resonance between herself and Concubine Song Shufei, the two had never been close after all, and they had even had conflicts. Even now, she was still on guard.

Concubine Song Shu replied in a weak voice: "I can't grow this thing. When I pulled it out, it was a big plant as tall as a man's legs. Now, there is only this one branch left... There are many rabbits in the back hall of Lefu Palace. They are very cute. When you leave, take two with you to the fifth princess. You can raise them as a toy for her to play with, or kill them and make soup. Don't worry, I haven't used them to test medicine for many years..."

"By the way, Qian said before that she used Datura pollen to harm you. If I'm not mistaken, this is what she used. Ahem," Concubine Song moved uncomfortably. "That imperial physician named Lin is very young, right?"

Xie Yuzhen rolled his eyes and said, "... He is also trusted by His Majesty."

"If you can subdue him and then take this thing to ask him, you will know whether what I said is true or not, and you will also know whether our Majesty knows about this thing or not." Concubine Song Shu said lightly.

Xie Yuzhen smiled and said, "Your Majesty thinks too highly of me. How could I possibly move your Majesty's confidant?"

The Emperor's most trusted Imperial Physician Bai is already old, but Imperial Physician Lin, at a young age, is able to thrive in the Imperial Hospital which is full of men in their fifties. Not only does he frequently appear before the Emperor, but he can even get involved in such secret royal occasions as Qian Xianhui's drugging and harming people. This shows that he has a special status in the Emperor's eyes.

If what Concubine Song Shu said is true, then it is only natural that the emperor would give this plant to Imperial Physician Lin for research after obtaining it.

"Why do you want to belittle yourself? When I first saw you, I knew you must be ambitious. Now that you have successfully dealt with Meng, I believe that after a while, you will also be able to get some power in the palace... She has also been eyeing the position of the queen, and has been in power for many years. She can order everyone in the palace around, and she is also good at superficial work. She is deeply trusted by the queen... Now she is just waiting quietly because she knows that the queen is not in good health. If the queen also dies... you will definitely fight."

Xie Yuzhen lowered his eyes: "You don't have to instigate me to confront her now. Besides, you said that she is trusted by the Queen, but if you tell the Queen about this thing and what you found, there is no way the Queen will not investigate."

"Why should I tell the Queen?" Concubine Song Shu suddenly opened her eyes and looked over. "I do respect the Queen, but that's all. Besides Concubine Ning, Concubine Xian is the Queen's closest and most trusted concubine. The Queen may not believe me. She is too soft most of the time. Even if she believes me, it's easy for that person to use sneaky means to temporarily cover up their friendship for many years. On the contrary, I'm in danger of being exposed..."

"Well. Forget it... Since you have listened to all my ramblings, I will kindly remind you again - I don't know to what extent she knows the secrets of the palace. If you really want to stay in the harem for a long time, it's best to stay away from Concubine Ning, or even the Queen."

"The queen's health has not deteriorated this time, I'm afraid she will be anxious... But given her patient nature, she won't take action for the time being, but over time, who knows what she will do." She pursed her dry lips and turned her head to the inside of the bed like a child in anger. "Anyway, I've told you everything. You can decide for yourself how to act in the future. Now, get out!"

Xie Yuzhen stood up, but did not leave. Instead, she took two steps towards the bed: "Sister Hengzhi, what big event did Concubine Ning and the Queen get involved in? Can't you tell me?"

Concubine Song Shu was startled by her shouting and turned around: "...... You are so shameless."

She showed a strange smile: "Why, could it be that I was wrong? You care so much about the queen?"

"My queen is a good person."

"I didn't realize you were such a good person!"

"Well, Sister Hengzhi is right, I'm not." Xie Yuzhen's voice became delicate, "But even if I'm not a good person, there is always something I want to protect."

Concubine Song Shu looked at her steadily, and was very disgusted with Xie Yuzhen's expression, which changed faster than turning the pages of a book and had no dignity at all: "Even if you can't protect me?"

"You have to try it to know if you will regret it later."

"Then you will definitely regret it." Concubine Song Shu's expression gradually softened. "...Do you know how the late emperor's most beloved Concubine Yuan and her son fell into ruin in his later years?"

"As far as I know, it was because of the poisoning of the lay Buddhist Huisu, the prince born to the former Concubine Meng De."

Concubine Song Shu shook her head and said, "That incident only caused their power in the court to be suppressed. The real downfall was after the late emperor fell ill and died at a palace banquet. Some were imprisoned, and some committed suicide."

Xie Yuzhen's eyebrows twitched: "...Does the late emperor really want Your Majesty to succeed the throne?"

Concubine Song Shu smiled and said, "Guess?"