Gu Jiangli couldn't understand why the emperor would suddenly bestow the title of concubine upon her, but the fact was that she had indeed been granted the rank of concubine.

That night, she left the painting pavilion with the emperor, and the next day she received an imperial edict bestowing upon her the title of imperial concubine.

She was granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Consort and the honorary title of Consort Chen.

Because of a single sentence she uttered, the emperor promoted her to a rank two, which was utterly ridiculous.

Although Gu Jiangli was puzzled, she still accepted it gladly.

After the imperial edict was issued, the news quickly spread throughout the inner palace.

Consort Lan Zhaoyi was still admiring her new clothes in Yuntai Palace when a palace maid rushed in.

"Your Highness! Consort Gu of Delan Palace has been promoted to Imperial Concubine Chen by His Majesty!"

The smugness on Lan Zhaoyi's face vanished instantly.

"What?! Conferring her the title of Imperial Concubine? On what grounds?"

"The imperial edict has just been delivered to the Palace of Delan, and it's real!"

Lan Zhaoyi's face contorted, her nails digging deep into her flesh.

She had only been happy for a day, and before she could even run up to Gu Jiangli to show off and make sarcastic remarks, Gu Jiangli had already taken advantage of her!

Isn't His Majesty slapping her in the face by doing this?

"Why would His Majesty do this? By promoting me to the rank of Zhaoyi, isn't he trying to elevate me above Gu Jiangli? Isn't he helping me?!"

Consort Lan grabbed the palace maid beside her and asked her questions repeatedly.

Yesterday she was smug about being able to outdo Gu Jiangli, but today she found herself outdone by him. How could she possibly face anyone now?

But the palace maid could only answer in fear:

"Please don't be angry, my lady. You'll only hurt yourself. Perhaps... that Consort Chen gave His Majesty some kind of spell. His Majesty favored you in front of so many people back then, so he must have you in his heart."

"He favored me? Yet he still made that bitch Gu Jiangli a concubine! Why? Just because she's pretty? Throughout history, very few concubines have been promoted two ranks at once. What makes her, the daughter of a fifth-rank prefect, so special?"

Lan Huier couldn't understand it at all.

Aside from being better looking and having a sharper tongue, what makes Gu Jiangli better than her?

"Is Your Majesty doing this on purpose? Is he deliberately trying to make me unhappy?" Lan Hui'er murmured in anguish.

Just then, another palace maid rushed in, her face beaming with excitement.

"My lord, His Majesty is coming this way!"

"Your Majesty?" Lan Huier hurriedly got up.

"My lady, I told you His Majesty has you in his heart. There must be some unavoidable reason why he made that lady from Delan Palace a concubine. Look, he came to comfort you and explain to you right now, didn't he?"

Lan Huier thought it made some sense.

The gloom on his face vanished instantly.

"Prepare to meet the Emperor."

She changed her facial expression, making a wronged look.

Since the emperor himself came to explain to her, she should seize the opportunity to pour out her grievances.

————

Inside the Hall of Teresa.

Gu Jiangli sat on the soft sleeper, staring blankly at the tinderbox in his hand, his mind filled with the emperor's behavior the night before.

She had never studied a person so carefully and thoroughly before.

Winning over the emperor is indeed no easy task.

Her beauty, which she had once been so proud of, was of no use to the emperor, because she had never seen any amazement in his eyes. It was as if, in his eyes, all women were the same and without any difference.

It's not entirely true that emperors preferred "obedient" women. Which concubine in the harem was disobedient? Nor does it suggest that the emperor favored any particular one.

Gu Jiangli looked at the tinderbox, the emperor's fear of fire still vivid in her mind.

He was so afraid of fire that he couldn't stand the light of a flame at all. If she hadn't covered the tinderbox in time last night, she even suspected that the emperor would have suffocated.

Such a serious condition must have stemmed from something that happened in the past.

Was it that experience that shaped the emperor's current unpredictable personality?

So, the emperor not only had physical ailments but also mental ones, how could he not die young?

As Gu Jiangli pondered, she caught a glimpse of the dejected lotus flowers out of the corner of her eye.

She collected her thoughts and asked:

"Lotus, what happened? Why do you look like that?"

Just a moment ago, she was so happy about being made a concubine that she was dancing with joy, but now she's changed.

Lotus pouted and walked over with a mournful look on her face. "His Majesty has gone to Yuntai Palace."

Gu Jiangli frowned; that was Consort Lan's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has just promoted you. Shouldn't he spend some time being affectionate with you? How could he turn around and go to Consort Lan?"

Lotus, puffing up her cheeks, stood up for her, "This servant doesn't understand. His Majesty clearly doesn't like Consort Lan, so why does he still go to see her? His Majesty clearly treats you differently, so why doesn't he come to see you?"

Hearing Hehua's frank remarks, Gu Jiangli couldn't help but smile. "You can tell that His Majesty doesn't like Consort Lan, but treats me differently?"

"Of course. His Majesty promoted Consort Lan's rank simply to give face to the Empress Dowager. He promoted you're doing so to vent your anger, isn't that extraordinary enough?"

"Besides, since His Majesty ascended the throne, no concubine has ever received the treatment you have. In His Majesty's heart, you are absolutely special."

Lotus spoke with absolute certainty.

Gu Jiangli's eyes widened, and he fell silent.

Unfortunately, she did not sense that the emperor treated her any differently.

When he granted her the rank of Consort, his expression was almost exactly the same as when he promoted Lan Huier to the rank of Zhaoyi.

In his view, these two things might not even be a big deal.

Like Lotus, she couldn't understand, "If that's the case, why did he go to Consort Lan's place?"

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