The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Who bribed him?!" Xie Yuzhen's eyes were wide open with anger, and he almost jumped up.

The emperor loved her cute, lively and straightforward appearance: "I didn't ask, but that person made the deal with him under the cover of night."

"Okay." Xie Yu said angrily, "How will Your Majesty deal with that eunuch?"

"The Queen has punished him to do hard labor in the Imperial Palace." At this point, the Emperor couldn't help but want to see how the woman in front of him would react.

Do you feel that the Queen’s treatment is unfair?

The eunuch took the money and intended to harm Xie Yuzhen and her unborn child, but in the end, Shen Xiaoyi fell into the trap by mistake... Although Shen Xiaoyi did not lose her life for the time being, the attempt to murder a concubine in the palace was a dead end. However, the queen wanted to keep him to see if she could hook out something else, so she only punished him to do hard labor in the palace.

Compared to Xie Yuzhen's appearance, the emperor was actually more interested in this woman's temperament. Towards him, most of the palace concubines were docile, and their every word and action were in accordance with the rules, just like the various flowers grown in a greenhouse, although they were all charming and beautiful, but there were some things in their bones that were the same.

However, Xie Yuzhen, the "red apricot" that the emperor had forcibly plucked from someone else's field, was different. At first glance, she looked no different from other flowers, but inside she had a "wildness" that made him want to explore and tame it. Moreover, the longer the emperor spent with Xie Yuzhen, the more he realized that she was actually very smart and had not fully revealed her true nature to him.

Aware of the emperor's inquiring gaze, Xie Yuzhen pretended not to know and swung the handkerchief in his hand, as if to drive away something annoying: "Well punished, this is what you deserve!"

Xie Yuzhen was planning to have someone keep a close eye on this eunuch, but who knows what might be gained?

She kept this thought to herself without making a sound, and instead mentioned the real victim of this incident: "Speaking of which, I have to thank Shen Xiaoyi. She also helped me to avoid disaster..."

"Then how does Xie Qing plan to thank Shen Xiaoyi?" The emperor generously changed the subject according to her wishes.

Xie Yuzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said with an unchanged expression: "I plan to ask the imperial physician to give her some of the good health-preserving herbs that His Majesty gave me earlier."

Her family was poor, and what property she had now was basically awarded or given by the emperor. After entering the palace, she received a monthly allowance and other rewards, and her small treasury gradually became full. She did not feel bad about spending some medicinal materials that she could not use temporarily. Instead, she could be more generous and ask the emperor to make up for it later.

"There is nothing good in my palace, so I can only borrow flowers to offer to Buddha." Xie Yuzhen spread her hands. She was not without gold, silver and silk, but what Shen Xiaoyi needed more right now was medicine, and she had to save up money for the baby in her belly. In the future, wouldn't it cost money to bribe court officials and win people's hearts? On the other hand, those medicinal materials were precious, but she couldn't use them for a while, so it was better to give them out as a favor.

By the way, he could also show his meager family fortune to the emperor and hint at some compensation.

The emperor probably understood what the woman meant and said with a smile, "How can a talented person like you be so stingy?"

"Those are all valuable medicinal herbs that are in short supply and are just right for Shen Xiaoyi. How could Your Majesty think of me like this?"

"Thank you for your generosity, but you are also concerned about my private treasury."

Hearing the emperor's tone, Xie Yu knew that her compensation was secured, and she said coquettishly: "I didn't say that..."

The Great Sheng Dynasty had a prosperous economy and abundant resources, and it was a scene of prosperity. As the master of the world, the emperor's private treasury was naturally rich. Of course, the most important point for Xie Yuzhen was that the emperor was willing to spend money on her.

Nothing is more important than money and power.

Xie Yuzhen sighed and accepted another wave of rewards from the emperor without any uneasiness.

The emperor did not stay overnight, and Xie Yuzhen, who had a huge income, did not care.

Early the next morning, the imperial physician who had been treating Shen Xiaoyi was invited to come. He asked in detail what medicinal herbs Shen Xiaoyi could use and directly asked someone to get them from the treasury. The group went to Yanzhang Palace with the medicinal herbs.

Arrived at Yanzhang Palace.

You have to visit the host, Ms. Liu Shuyi, first.

Xie Yuzhen waited outside the palace for a while, and saw a palace maid in green clothes coming over with an apologetic look on her face and bowing, saying, "Last night, the fourth princess cried in the middle of the night. My queen stayed up for half the night and didn't get up yet. It's inconvenient to see Concubine Xie. Shen Xiaoyi lives in the Feiyu Garden at the back. Please come with me, Concubine Xie."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Xie Yuzhen was not surprised that Liu Shuyi was unwilling to see him. When the new concubine paid a visit to the queen, Liu Shuyi's behavior was very normal, but there was a hint of disdain in her eyes when she looked at him. That look was very similar to that of Xie Yuzhen's former sisters-in-law who came from aristocratic families.

The green-clad palace maid brought Xie Yuzhen and others to the Feiyu Garden and then said goodbye and left.

Xie Yuzhen was welcomed into the house by a little palace maid with an unfamiliar face. The house was filled with the bitter smell of medicine and the palace servants were all very quiet. The little palace maid whom he had seen in the imperial garden that day was nowhere to be seen.

Pushing aside the curtain, Xie Yuzhen walked into the inner room.

Shen Xiaoyi was lying on the bed, dying, and guarding her bedside was a man named Xie Yuzhen whom she had never expected.

"Greetings, lady." The man stood up and saluted.

Xie Yuzhen waved her hand: "Wen Baolin, there's no need to be so polite. I just came to see Shen Xiaoyi..." As she spoke, she turned to look at the girl lying on the bed.

The girl had a pale complexion and chapped lips, with an abnormal redness on her cheeks. There was a wet handkerchief on her head that was actually on fire.

"Why did Shen Xiaoyi suddenly have a fever? Has the imperial physician checked it out?"

Wen Baolin said with a bitter look on his face: "I have checked. She was fine last night. She suddenly had a high fever this morning. The imperial physician said that Shen Xiaoyi accidentally caught a cold when she was sent back. That's why she became like this. But at least she was awake, so the situation won't be too serious."

"That's good." Xie Yuzhen asked Xia Zhi to hand the herbs she brought to a person dressed as a palace maid in the room, "These are herbs given by His Majesty. I don't have any use for them. Ask the imperial physician to see if there are any suitable ones for your Xiaoyi."

The maid gratefully left with the herbs.

Xie Yuzhen asked Wen Baolin the question he had always wanted to ask: "I seem to remember that Wen Baolin's family name is also Shen?"

Wen Baolin nodded: "Yes, Shen Xiaoyi and I are from the same clan."

"Oh?" Xie Yuzhen said casually, "I see. No wonder I think Wen Baolin and Shen Xiaoyi look alike. Unlike Liu Shuyi and Liu Xiaoyi, I can't imagine that they are sisters just by looking at their appearance."

"Compared to that, you two sisters are more alike."

Wen Baolin's expression froze, and he said in a gentle voice, "Well, maybe Shen Xiaoyi and I are especially destined to be together."

Shen Xiaoyi did look similar to her, but their relationship could not be more distant. According to her father, it was clear that her half-brother had deliberately found someone who looked like Wen Baolin to adopt and send her to the palace.

Wen Baolin felt a little uncomfortable about this. She looked at Shen Xiaoyi who was in a coma with a high fever and smiled faintly, "It is common for sisters from noble families to enter the palace to serve the emperor at the same time. Wang Xianshi in the palace of Concubine Xian is also the cousin of Concubine Xian."