The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The emperor was never a gentle, courteous, and frugal person.

He was arrogant and overbearing, and sometimes very willful. Once he made up his mind to do something, even if everyone in the Censorate was a wise old man, they would not be able to pull him back.

But today, it was just his careless words that caused his beloved concubine to cry in fear. The emperor was only concerned with coaxing the beauty, so he had no intention of letting go of his stubborn temper: "Why do you think so? But what did someone say to you?"

"No one said anything." Xie Yuzhen leaned against the emperor's chest and said unhappily, "Apart from Your Majesty, who else would scare me like this?"

Hearing that her temper seemed to have subsided, the emperor couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He really loved the way this woman was in a bad mood, but he didn't want to see her cry. Xie Yuzhen's voice was still muffled. She said, "I'm just afraid of overstepping my authority..."

"The Queen has always been kind and benevolent. She won't care about this." The Emperor waved his hand nonchalantly.

After the empress married him, she was no longer the daughter of the Dongxiang Palace, but a member of the royal family and a member of the Lu family. Similarly, concubines, regardless of their rank, were no longer simply daughters of a certain family once they entered the royal palace. In the eyes of the emperor, his women would naturally stand on the same side as him and obey his wishes, even if they were jealous of his preference for someone and had some minor conflicts.

But if you go too far and instigate your family to cause trouble, that would be too ignorant and you deserve to have your whole family punished.

He is willing to respect the elders of his favorite concubine out of love for her, so it's okay for the other concubines to be a little jealous. But if a few words from him cause a big fuss and rumors spread everywhere... do they really think that he, the emperor, doesn't kill anyone with his sword?

The emperor knew very well what Xie Yuzhen was worried about and what she was afraid of, but in his eyes, these were all just trivial matters, not even as important as the tears she had just shed.

"Don't worry, since I love you, I will make sure everything goes smoothly for you and I won't let you down."

Xie Yuzhen lowered his head and buried his face in the emperor's chest.

How easy is it to have everything go smoothly?

She touched her belly and began to complain that time passed too slowly. If her daughter had been born earlier, grew up quickly and ascended the throne quickly, she could have hoped for everything to go smoothly.

The emperor was going to attend the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet with the empress, so he did not stay long. He only instructed Li Zong to tell his subordinates to keep their mouths shut about what happened today, rewarded Xie's mother with some money and then left.

After the emperor and the palace maids left, Xie Yuzhen immediately put away his fragile look and hurried to the compartment: "Is mother okay?"

Mother Xie was a little depressed: "Is mother okay? How is my daughter? I am really scared listening to this. If..." She looked at her daughter's face and swallowed the bitterness in her heart, "If I could take you home, it would be great. We don't want much wealth, as long as our family is safe and sound..."

She knew it was impossible, but she couldn't help thinking: "As a mother, I can't help you. This time I came to the palace with the prescription that Madam gave me when I was pregnant with you... In any case, take care of yourself and the child."

Others only know that Concubine Xie is favored. In the few months since she entered the palace, she has been asking for high positions and acting crazy, but the emperor still favors her, gives her rewards continuously, and she is pregnant with the royal heir and has been promoted. How glorious is that?

Only Xie's mother saw clearly the inequality between Xie Yuzhen and the emperor. She was worried that her daughter was not living a good life and was unhappy. She was even more worried about how she would live in the future. She wished she could keep her daughter under her wings and take care of her for the rest of her life.

The mother and daughter looked at each other. There was no need to say some things directly. They didn't believe that men were reliable. In fact, the only thing a woman could hold in her hands was her child.

Sometimes, even the child may not be able to hold it.

Since she has entered the palace, she has to take the initiative to fight for it. What she is fighting for is not just the emperor's favor, but the status, power and wealth that come with the emperor's favor.

That's all she wanted.

Very much.

Xie Yuzhen took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, mother. I know what I'm doing."

He waved his hand and asked all the palace servants to leave. Xia Zhi walked at the end, still guarding the door from a distance.

"It's good that you know. It's good that you know. I'm afraid that although this love is strong, it won't last long. If he wants to hurt you, it's too easy." Xie's mother finally whispered what she had always wanted to say.

Xie Yuzhen shook her head: "I know, mother. Our emperor is indeed a great man. As long as he has a place for my daughter in his heart, I can borrow his strength for a day..." She leaned her head on her mother's shoulder and whispered, "He doesn't like those who are too obedient and rigid. I occasionally lose my temper, but as long as it doesn't cross the bottom line, he can tolerate me. Not only can he tolerate it, but he will like me more and treat me kindly. So, mother, don't worry."

She handed the reward left by the emperor to her mother and said, "His Majesty has already asked the palace servants to keep silent about what happened today. Mother, don't keep thinking about it. I'll ask Xia Zhi to follow you to the palace banquet later. Eat and play as you please. If anyone provokes you, don't bear it. Your daughter is now a favorite concubine, and it doesn't make sense for her as a mother to suffer injustice."

Mother Xie did not accept the reward, but frowned and pushed it back: "You will need money more in the palace, so you should keep it for yourself."

Xie Yuzhen shook his head: "Your Majesty will not be short of my money. You can take these back and use them to manage my brother. Ask a few good teachers to teach him. If he can pass the exam and become an official in the court, then I will have connections in the court and will be more confident."

When Xie's mother thought about it, she realized that this was the truth, so she stopped refusing and accepted the gold and silver.

Xie Yuzhen still had something to say: "When mother returns home, get to know Aunt Jun next door and ask her to help find a few guards. Oh, and don't ask father to take money out for random social events, and don't ask any weird people to come to our house."

"Of course I know this. When I heard that you and that Zhou woman had divorced and reconciled with His Majesty, that old thing fell ill in bed and waited for you to enter the palace and be given a position. But I don't allow him to go out and I have hired someone to watch over him." Mother Xie has never been kind to Father Xie. Now that her daughter has a chance to succeed, she will not let that old thing hold her back.

Xie Yuzhen has not been close to her father since she was a child. Her father has never given her any love. She just needs to be nice to her father on the surface. Privately, she supports her mother's approach.

She held her mother's hand and was unwilling to let go, and finally let Xie's mother touch her belly which was just beginning to show.

Xie's mother just touched it lightly, then carefully took her hand away, with a look of wanting to say something but stopping herself from saying it.

Xie Yuzhen knew what his mother wanted to say. It was nothing more than the child he had given birth to before... He had changed his surname to his mother's, was given a new name by the emperor, and was raised on his private farm.

The child was well-behaved and filial, and Xie Yuzhen would miss him. But no matter what, her foundation was unstable now. Although she had the emperor's favor, this favor was just a castle in the air. It was not the time for her to act recklessly.

When seeing her mother off, Xie Yuzhen carefully reminded Xia Zhi several times before returning to the room to wipe off the rouge that had been stained with tears and putting on makeup again.

There might be some disturbance at today's dinner, so she must stay alert so that she can respond in time.

Xie Yuzhen deliberately asked Chunfen and Huizhu to accompany him. When the latter could hardly suppress their surprise, Xie Yuzhen looked at him coldly.

She had almost figured out what Qian Shunyi was up to, and was just waiting for her to reach out her hand so that she could slap her hard in the face with a legitimate reason!