The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"I just came from Shouning Palace." The Queen started the conversation.

The emperor put down his imperial brush and said, "Hmm? What's she doing now?"

Currently, Xie Yuzhen is the only one living in Shouning Palace. It's not because he wants to save space in the palace, but the emperor is afraid that if he doesn't take good care of this woman, she will quarrel with her neighbors who live in the same palace every two or three days, endlessly.

"Thank you, Qing, you have suffered a lot in the past, so it is inevitable that you are a little sensitive. If there is anything inappropriate, please bear with me, Zi Tong." After a little hesitation, the emperor decided to say something good about his beloved concubine to the queen.

Unfortunately, he never considered that if the empress was a jealous person, after hearing that the emperor was so partial to and protected a concubine, would she really be dissatisfied with Xie Yu? Of course, from another perspective, perhaps it was because the emperor and the empress had been married for many years and knew her generosity well, which was why he was so frank.

Furthermore, as the ruler of the world, the supreme ruler, there were many times when he was domineering, and others always had to give way to his will, and he never had to humble himself to give in to others.

The emperor showed off his romantic and passionate nature in front of his wife with confidence.

The queen was already used to it, so she just smiled and continued, "I heard that the talented lady's father had a stroke, and her brother was not at home. She was worried that Madam Xie would feel lonely at home, so she came to ask me if I could take a few orphans from the charity home to raise them."

Hearing this, the emperor frowned slightly.

The queen glanced at him and said softly, "This morning I saw her eagerly sending a female official to Kunning Palace to ask for an audience. I was afraid that she had something serious to deal with, but I didn't expect that she would be so cautious even for such a small matter... Alas, this woman is pregnant, so it's inevitable that she is restless and worried. I see that she has lost weight, which is really pitiful."

The most reassuring thing about Xie Yuzhen was that her family had no power, her father was incompetent, and her brother was not a talented person either. Even if they were raised up, they would not be able to interfere much in the government.

Furthermore, the Xie family in Huanggui Lane in Kyoto had few relatives worth mentioning for three generations - and they were all poor relatives who made a living on the land - Xie Yuzhen, who had no family background, no family background, and no relatives to support him, was completely a dodder entangled in the emperor's power in his heart.

However, the emperor's love for this woman was far from the point where he would allow her to interfere in the previous dynasty and develop her own power. He even secretly regarded Xie Yuzhen as his own exclusive concubine. Although adopting a few children was not a big deal that could be compared with court politics and clan power, the emperor could not help but wonder why she adopted children. Did she think the sense of security he gave her was not enough?

This man is used to being conceited, and he would never easily bend down to understand the worries in the heart of a weak and helpless woman.

The empress and the emperor had been married for many years, and she saw through the hesitation in his heart with just a few words. Then she was not afraid, and only used Xie Yuzhen's sensitive emotions during pregnancy to dispel the emperor's doubts, and easily changed the topic: "In my opinion, the talented person is probably missing his family."

"Since you miss your family, you can summon Madam Xie into the palace to accompany her until she gives birth and finishes her confinement, or you can call her brother in as well... What does Zi Tong mean?" The emperor suddenly reacted.

He looked at the queen with both anger and amusement: "This woman is too bold when she is brave. She shouldn't be timid. She is like a little mouse, always hiding behind people and peeking, as if I would do something to her for a mere child!"

The emperor pulled a warm wet towel from the shelf beside him and wiped his hands. Although he was not face to face with Xie Yuzhen, he felt that he had found fun in this woman again and caught her weakness. He immediately set out to Shouning Palace to tease her. "It's not like I don't know that she has been married and had children. I only punished the Wuwei Marquisate according to the law. The second son of the Marquisate was only exiled. I didn't even rush to kill him, so how could I bother with an innocent child?"

Although Zhou Ting poisoned his wife, Xie Yu was not implicated and according to the law, he was not sentenced to death. The Marquis of Wuwei was only charged with failing to educate his son properly, and was stripped of his position, fined his salary, and was ordered to reflect on his mistakes at home, which was considered an offset.

He clicked his tongue a few times, his smile growing stronger. "Speaking of which, I was the one who named the child. Although he has no royal blood, he is more or less a stepson... The Queen hasn't seen the child yet, right? He looks 90% like Xie Qing, and has a similar temper, like a little wolf cub. If you saw him, you would definitely like him."

The Queen ignored him and instead talked about Xie Yuzhen: "Your Majesty is a great man, how can you know the hardships of us girls?"

"Oh?" Seeing that her expression was unusual, the emperor also became a little more serious.

"Since Concubine Ning, the second marriage has been suppressed by me and I am not allowed to spread rumors, but the palace maids are also human beings. How can we completely control their mouths with just one order?" The Queen sighed, "I am afraid that there are still people who say it privately. Besides, people in the world attach great importance to women's chastity, especially the rich and powerful. She doesn't have the support of Concubine Ning's family, and she has never been in contact with the rich and powerful since she was a child. It is inevitable that she will feel guilty."

"Moreover, Your Majesty, you also know the hard life that the talented lady had in the Marquis of Wuwei's mansion. I'm afraid that even though she doesn't show it on her face, she is still afraid in her heart!"

"Think about it, has her temper become much more sharp since she entered the palace?"

The emperor thought about it. When Xie Yu was outside the palace, she had a very bad temper. She would bite anyone and would not suffer any loss. But... the emperor thought about it carefully and found that after dealing with the Zhou family, Xie Yu's temper became calm for a while. At that time, there were others who talked about her divorce and deliberately blamed her, but she didn't react that strongly to those people. When she got angry, she would take it out on him... The emperor was quite useful to her.

Then she entered the palace and started to confront everyone she met, with thorns all over her body...

The emperor touched his chin and felt that the stubble he had just shaved off seemed to be starting to grow again.

Seeing him lost in thought, the Queen paused for a moment and then continued, "Although I haven't spent much time with the talented lady, I can see that she is very stubborn. The more scared she is, the more she doesn't want others to see her fear, so that she can appear fearless and unyielding... But, Your Majesty is her husband and the man beside her. No matter how strong she is, she can't help but become weak and dependent on Your Majesty. It's normal for her to be afraid of disturbing Your Majesty with her own affairs. Your Majesty must not harbor a grudge just because you don't know that she loves you. If that happens, I, who am here to persuade you, will be ashamed."

These words just hit the nail on the head about why the emperor loved Xie Ruizhen the most. He closed his mouth and nodded repeatedly.

The Queen sighed, "Besides, this woman is pregnant, and her body and mind are strained. It is inevitable that she will become overly worried and paranoid. I would like to ask Your Majesty to be more compassionate and considerate of this talented woman. She has a strong character and a quick mind. I believe that after a while, she will understand your Majesty's love for her and will no longer be so frightened."

"She loves me so much and has borne me a child, so I will naturally be more considerate...Why not bring the child to the palace and let her know that I am taking good care of her, so that she can rest assured and take care of her baby."