Chapter 2 He Doesn't Deserve It

"What a bunch of useless bastards, none of them are capable! The Queen has been unconscious for several hours and hasn't woken up yet. If the Emperor asks about it again later, you guys should answer them yourselves!"

The sharp voice pierced Meng Yan's eardrums and caused her head to ache.

"Ruizhu..."

She moaned weakly and pressed her solar plexus with both hands.

Such an earth-shaking voice could not belong to anyone else, but Ruizhu, her dowry maid and personal maid who had served her for many years.

"My Lady, you're awake!"

A round-faced palace maid dressed in Suzhou embroidered silk clothes lifted the curtain, rushed to the bedside with a happy face, and said happily.

"Your Majesty, you're finally awake. You fainted in the Yangxin Palace, and the servants were terrified. The Emperor was also very worried and sent messengers to inquire about your condition several times!"

Ruizhu had served Meng Yan since she was a child. She was her most senior servant and the most loyal. Her only flaw was her loud voice and bad temper, which often gave Meng Yan a headache.

This girl was beaten to death by the Ministry of Punishment when she was banished to the cold palace. Why is she here now?

Meng Yan stared at Ruizhu's face and asked in a hoarse voice after a while, "What's wrong with me?"

When Ruizhu heard her master asking, she hurriedly told him everything.

Amidst Ruizhu's loud voice, Meng Yan looked around and saw the gorgeous rain-soaked sky-blue chiffon curtains, the huanghuali mother-of-pearl bed carved with peony vines, the rosewood wardrobe with carved cloud patterns and painted in gold, and the red sandalwood dressing table inlaid with rubies and small leaves...

Every valuable item was her household furnishings when she was a royal concubine.

Is she... reborn?

Meng Yan only felt a dull pain in her temples, and all the events in her past life flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope.

After dying once, she finally realized that she was just a supporting actress in a storybook called "The Tyrant's Favor".

In the book, she is the eldest daughter of Marquis Yiyang. At the age of sixteen, she entered the prince's residence as a concubine. At the age of eighteen, she was conferred the title of noble concubine when the prince ascended the throne.

She is deeply in love with the male protagonist, Emperor Lu Haozhi, and her love is unwavering. Her father and brother on her mother's side are both high-ranking officials and have made great contributions to the country. Emperor Lu Haozhi is very fond of her and her mother's family, the Yiyang Marquis Mansion.

However, all this is just a foil for the heroine Lin Yanrong.

Since Lin Yanrong entered the palace through the selection, according to the plot of the novel, she has gradually entered Lu Haozhi's heart and become his beloved.

He was extremely jealous and tried his best to make things difficult for Lin Yanrong. He tried every possible means to murder her. Relying on his extraordinary medical skills, he was able to dominate the six palaces, but in the end he was defeated miserably. He was demoted to a commoner by the emperor, sent to the cold palace, and froze to death miserably in the snow.

Her father and brother on her mother's side were also implicated in the conspiracy, and were stripped of their official positions, stripped of their titles, and had their property confiscated and exiled.

The Meng family, such a big family, ended up with a tragic end of collapse.

"...It's all that little bitch's fault. It wasn't even her time to sleep with the Emperor yet, but that shameless, vixen-like womanizer had managed to seduce him into breaking the rules. As a noble concubine, Your Majesty was supposed to keep the palace in order, so she went to the Yangxin Palace to make a complaint. The Emperor actually argued with Your Majesty over that little vixen. She was so angry that she fainted and was carried back by the palace servants, which frightened the servants to death."

Ruizhu helped Meng Yan up and brought her a bowl of bird's nest and pear soup. While serving Meng Yan, she continued to talk indignantly.

"If the emperor himself has no intention, how can she be so coaxing?"

Meng Yan uttered these words lightly and swallowed a mouthful of bird's nest soup. The smooth soup flowed down her throat, light and sweet, it was the most luxurious taste in the world.

Oh, I don’t know how long it has been since I tasted it.

"Mother?"

Ruizhu was a little suspicious. These simple words were very different from her master's usual temper and personality. It was as if she had become a different person.

If it were in the past, based on the Empress's temper, she would probably jump out of bed immediately and go to the Yangxin Palace to quarrel with the Emperor, or simply send someone to invite the Emperor, and would not stop until she forced the little bitch to be disciplined.

Meng Yan saw what she was thinking, smiled and said nothing.

Maybe it's because I died once, my mind is much clearer.

He is just a man. Since he is destined to have someone in his heart, why should she still be so infatuated with him?

Besides, in the storybook, Lu Haozhi and Lin Yanrong were a match made in heaven, so why should she risk her own life?

Wouldn't it be great if she could keep her position as a noble concubine and her family's Yiyang Marquis Mansion and enjoy the splendor and wealth to her heart's content?

She doesn't care whoever Lu Haozhi loves, and she won't be jealous anymore and compete with Lin Yanrong for a man.

They will be gone for a long time, and I will just watch the show on the side and be a leisurely concubine.

Thinking too much will make you old, Lu Haozhi doesn't deserve it.

After swallowing the last mouthful of bird's nest, Meng Yan ordered, "Send someone to the Yangxin Palace to tell the emperor that Meng Yan knows her fault and that the matter of the concubine is up to the emperor to decide. I will not interfere anymore."

In her previous life, the conflict between her and Lu Hao was also caused by this matter.

Lu Haozhi encountered Lin Yanrong in the Begonia Garden and fell in love with her at first sight. He disregarded palace rules and favored her before her official title was even granted. Later, he tried to promote her. Jealous and angry, she stormed into the Yangxin Palace and argued with Lu Haozhi. However, in her previous life, she hadn't fainted.

Fainting on the spot in this life was a good opportunity, and she had to make up for it. Although she didn't care about Lu Haozhi anymore, she cared about the position of imperial concubine, so she had to do her best to keep it.

"ah?"

Ruizhu was stunned when she heard this. This was very different from the imperial concubine's usual temper.

Meng Yan looked at Ruizhu's stunned face and added with a smile, "Send someone to the Imperial Household Department and tell them that I'm sick and to hang up my green card."

Ruizhu was even more surprised. Hanging up the green card meant that she would not sleep with him.

In the past, the Imperial Concubine would never agree to this.

Everyone knows that Concubine Meng of Changchun Palace is extremely fond of jealousy and monopolizing the emperor. Even on her day as the imperial concubine, she dares to send someone to invite the emperor.

"My Lady, what are you doing..."

"Go ahead."

Meng Yan just woke up, still very tired. She didn't want to say anything more and lay back on the bed.

Ruizhu saw that her master had made up his mind, so she had to get up as ordered. But before leaving, she remembered something.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician is still waiting outside. How do we get rid of him?"

"Tell them they've worked hard, and give them a bunch of red envelopes as a thank you."

Such politeness was very different from the master's usual behavior, but Ruizhu was no longer surprised.

In the Changchun Palace courtyard, two imperial doctors knelt on the steps, with cold sweat on their foreheads and their legs trembling.

Concubine Meng is deeply favored by the emperor and is the number one person in the harem. She is arrogant, has a bad temper, and is overbearing and domineering. Who doesn't know this?

To treat her, she had to hang her head on her belt. If the needle pricked her too hard or the medicine was too bitter, she would be beaten with a stick.

I just heard some noise inside, it seemed like the imperial concubine had woken up, and I don't know what she will do to them.

They were worried when the imperial concubine didn't wake up; they were even more worried when she woke up.

There was the sound of light footsteps, and the loud voice of Ruizhu, the chief maid of Changchun Palace, was heard again.

"The Imperial Concubine has something to say. You two have worked hard on this mission. Here's a reward!"

As soon as the sound fell to the ground, the two imperial doctors were stunned. After a long while, they suddenly kowtowed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Has the imperial concubine changed her personality?

Why are you so... gentle and kind today?

Ruizhu didn't have time to pay attention to them. She gave them a red envelope as a reward and hurried to the Yangxin Palace to deliver the message.

In the Yangxin Palace, the young emperor Lu Haozhi sat on the golden nanmu dragon throne, playing with a string of sandalwood bracelets in his hands, listening to Ruizhu's report.

"...The Empress said she knew she was wrong and hoped the Emperor would forgive her. Regarding the distribution of the concubines, the Empress asked the Emperor to make the final decision."

The emperor's handsome face was covered with dark clouds, and the beads on the bracelet in his hand were spinning rapidly.

Rong An had just come to report that the imperial concubine had feigned illness and informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hang up the green card, when her maid came to deliver the message.

Yan'er, are you angry with him?!