The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Liu Shuyi insisted that she had lost her composure because the fourth princess was ill, and Liu Xiaoyi stepped forward to help her elder sister. One of them put on a loving mother's face and even bent down to apologize to Wen Baolin and Xie Yuzhen; the other was righteous and had no regrets, showing a noble character and a deep sisterly love.

Seeing this, the Queen was unwilling to pursue the matter further, and only said to Wen Baolin: "Since Liu Xiaoyi is willing to make such a solemn oath, Wen Baolin can rest assured. As for the matter of moving the palace..."

How many days has the new concubine been in the palace?

Meng Ronghua was moved not long ago. If another one is moved, although there are reasons for it, it will show that there is disunity in the harem and it will damage the reputation of the royal family.

"It is not suitable for Shen Xiaoyi to move while she is sick. Let's wait until she recovers. If Wen Baolin is worried, I will allow you to stay in Yanzhang Palace for a while." The queen made the decision.

Wen Baolin could only bow his head to thank him and secretly clutched the hem of his skirt.

"As for Liu Shuyi, you have been in poor spirits since you gave birth to the fourth princess. Before the New Year this year, you are excused from paying respects. Just stay in Yanzhang Palace and recuperate."

Although it was not explicitly stated as house arrest, it was almost the same. The Queen was lenient with Liu Shuyi, the princess' biological mother, for the sake of the Fourth Princess. However, it also implied that: Liu Shuyi would be spared for the time being, but if she came out of Yanzhang Palace during her "recuperation" or caused any trouble again, she would be severely punished.

After the queen finished speaking, she called Liu Xiaoyi up again and praised her for her loyalty and sense of propriety without sparing any words. She also made it clear that she would inform the emperor of her actions today.

Liu Shuyi knelt down with a pale face to thank the queen. She was glad that the queen had saved her face, but she secretly hated herself for being just a little Shuyi. With her family background and origin, she could have been the queen, but she was just unlucky and could only be a Shuyi...

Although she thought about it, she didn't dare to show it on her face.

Outsiders only knew that Liu Shuyi suddenly fell out of favor after she became pregnant with the fourth princess, and they speculated whether she had made a fool of herself during her pregnancy and annoyed the emperor. However, the fact was that she took advantage of her pregnancy to ask the emperor for a position. The emperor did not agree, but he did not say that he would not promote her. However, Liu Shuyi felt that she was being neglected even though she was pregnant.

She did not dare to blame the emperor, so she cursed several empresses who were higher in rank than her in private, and even ridiculed the empress for being a concubine's daughter and not worthy of being the mother of the country...

Somehow the emperor got to know this. Since then, the emperor rarely went to Yanzhang Palace. When Liu Shuyi gave birth to the fourth princess, she became more and more obsessed. She even deliberately made the princess sick, using this as an excuse to curry favor with the emperor... Naturally, her actions were ruthlessly exposed by the emperor. Not only did she completely lose the emperor's heart, but she also caused the fourth princess to become weak from then on.

Seeing that Liu Shuyi was so biased, the emperor and empress once thought of giving the fourth princess to other concubines to raise. However, for various reasons, the idea was eventually abandoned. Fortunately, after Liu Shuyi fell out of favor, she acted more prudently and realized that she might only have this one biological child in this life. She regained her motherly heart and raised her daughter like the apple of her eye.

But her family thought that her daughter was useless and hurriedly sent Liu Jindie to the palace... In Liu Shuyi's eyes, this concubine sister whom she had never met was there to replace her. She had always been spoiled and proud of being the legitimate daughter of the wife. How could she have ever taken her father's concubines' children seriously?

Now, a little concubine's daughter whom she looked down upon the most is going to replace her.

Liu Shuyi did not feel the slightest bit of gratitude for Liu Xiaoyi's stepping forward.

As soon as she walked out of the gate of Kunning Palace, she glared at Liu Xiaoyi fiercely: "Don't think that you can suppress me just because you used those shameless tricks and were praised by the Queen - you'd better pray that Shen Xiaoyi can wake up, otherwise...ha, think about the fate of your lowly mother!"

Liu Xiaoyi's eyes were filled with resentment, but she still said respectfully and softly, "Of course I know my duty, but..." She lowered her voice, "Shouldn't it be the best for you, Your Majesty, to pray that Shen Xiaoyi will wake up?"

Anyone with a discerning eye could see clearly what happened today. The Queen spared Liu Shuyi for the sake of the Fourth Princess. But if Shen Xiaoyi died... Liu Shuyi would definitely not be able to escape responsibility!

Liu Xiaoyi's smile was gentle and respectful, and her voice was soft, so only Liu Shuyi could hear it clearly.

She raised her hand and slapped him, but Liu Xiaoyi dodged immediately and reminded her: "Your Highness, why are you as careless as Concubine Zhu? Although my face is not as precious as Meng Ronghua's, if it is hurt by Your Highness, wouldn't it put Your Highness in an unjust position again?"

First, he snatched away the imperial physician and almost killed the concubine, and then he slapped his sister who stood up to plead for her... Liu Shuyi's heart was filled with anger. She looked at Liu Xiaoyi fiercely, turned around and left.

Xie Yuzhen followed the sisters silently. When he saw Liu Shuyi leaving, he pretended to be just passing by: "Tsk tsk, Liu Xiaoyi is loyal and righteous. This Madam Shuyi is not ordinary. She can even do something to a sister like you who cares about her...

"

"Meet Ms. Xie." Liu Xiaoyi gave a bitter smile, "Maybe my sister felt that I was protecting her and that I was losing face for her."

Xie Yuzhen glanced at the gentle and helpless woman and said, "You are helping her out of kindness, how could you make her feel embarrassed? This is too ungrateful."

Liu Xiaoyi shook her head: "Sister is the daughter of the first wife, so she is naturally different from us illegitimate daughters."

She seemed to have said nothing, yet she seemed to have said everything.

Anyway, Xie Wei really understood that the Liu sisters not only did not get along well on the surface, but they also wished each other dead in their hearts. The older one did not treat her younger sister as a human being, and the younger one would destroy her sister's image whenever she got the chance.

"Ah, I've said too much..." Liu Xiaoyi gently covered her lips with a handkerchief, "I have lived in Jingjun since I was a child and have never been to Kyoto. I was raised by my aunt, so it is natural for my sister to look down on me..."

There was a gleam in her eyes.

It seems that he has suffered great injustice.

Xie Yu really wanted to find out what "strange thing" there was in her, so he didn't mind playing along with her: "Liu Xiaoyi, don't be sad. Since you have entered the palace, you are all concubines with a certain rank. What does your birth mean?"

"Look at the men of the previous dynasty. Once they became officials, who would care whether they were born to a wife or a concubine?" Xie Yuzhen said, "The rank of the imperial concubines in our dynasty has been the same as that of officials in the previous dynasty since the founding of the country. It is not the case that those ignorant people say that the rank of a wife, a concubine, a legitimate wife, or a concubine can be used to distinguish the high and low."

As if it was unintentional, or as if it was intentional, Xie Yuzhen looked at Liu Xiaoyi's lowered eyes and said, "During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Consort Zheng was also born to a concubine. She was favored and had a son, and her biological mother was later named Lady of the State."