The emperor, at most, would show the empress a little more respect because of the eldest princess.

But that's all there is to it.

Other women are dispensable; after three encounters, they become indifferent to the other person's well-being.

She was the same.

Whether the person involved felt humiliated or wronged, the emperor didn't care.

She still fantasizes that by getting closer to him, she can gain his favor?

That's the kind of foolish thought only a naive young girl who's just entered the palace would have!

She'd rather go back to the palace and look at the account books.

The Empress Dowager was disappointed in her son's lack of ambition, but there was nothing she could do.

Over the years, countless words of comfort have been offered, but to little avail. This has led the Empress Dowager to regret that she should not have summoned Zheng Ming to the palace, only to have her confined there for the rest of her life, just like her.

But they had no choice. The Zheng family had to send a daughter into the palace no matter what, otherwise, after she passed away, the emperor's first priority would be to suppress the maternal relatives.

Fortunately, Ming'er has many hobbies: reading, calligraphy, and arithmetic. She also manages the miscellaneous affairs in Yongshou Palace. She keeps herself busy every day, which is also a way of pleasing herself.

Even without a man to cherish her, a girl like Ming'er won't be lonely.

Right now, Consort Zheng is engrossed in reviewing the accounts, completely ignoring the news that her maid, Biyu, has been gathering.

Biyu stamped her foot. "Your Highness, please stop looking at the account books. The sky is about to fall!"

She worried that if Chu Yuan continued to be favored like this, she might be promoted to a rank above her own concubine after giving birth!

Noble, virtuous, wise, and virtuous—there are still two empty spots ahead of them.

How dare a lowly, disgraced concubine's daughter jump ahead of her own mother?!

The Empress is different. Among all the concubines, the Empress comes from the best family background. She is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ying, and her father and brothers have made contributions to the founding of the country. She also gave birth to the eldest princess. She should naturally be the Empress.

Could Consort Ying really get away with this just because of her pretty face and her pregnant belly?

As a result, Biyu was so worried that her hair was almost turning white, while Consort Zheng was still holding onto her account book, glancing dismissively out the window, "Where did the sky fall? I don't see it falling!"

"Your Majesty!" Biyu rushed forward and snatched the account book away.

With no more account books to look at, Consort Zheng sighed helplessly and looked at Biyu earnestly, "Good girl, I know you are thinking of me, afraid that Consort Ying will threaten my position."

But don't you think about it? It's like the sky wanting to rain or a mother wanting to remarry. My cousin likes her and is willing to give her a high position and flatter her. What can I do?

Even if my frantic efforts did manage to hinder things in the slightest, the consequence would certainly be that I'd be disliked—a net loss, Biyu!

"...Are we just going to stand by and watch Consort Ying rise to power?"

Consort Zheng touched her earlobe, took the account book back from Biyu's hand, and said in a light tone, "Well, that's not necessarily true. I don't like fighting, but some people love to take things too seriously!"

"Who?" Biyu asked in confusion. "Consort Fang? She did carry a prince before, but unfortunately she couldn't give birth."

Consort Zheng shook her head, "No, no, no, she's long lost her spirit, she's just a living dead!"

“That is…” Biyu said, then slowly fell silent.

Rongfang Pavilion.

It's been several months, and Consort Fang's minor cough is still lingering.

Lingxi was furious. "That's outrageous! Consort Ying is just feeling unwell due to morning sickness, yet she summoned most of the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital, leaving Your Highness with no one to turn to!"

The remaining imperial physicians were either incompetent or morally questionable, so I dared not call upon them casually. What if I encountered someone like Hu Yong, like the one in the Cold Palace? We'd be completely finished!

"Ahem..." Consort Fang waved her hand, "It's alright, just make me a bowl of loquat water."

Lingxi frowned. "Your Majesty, we've run out of dried loquats in the palace. I've been to the Imperial Household Department several times to try and get some, but they keep making excuses. It's infuriating!"

Consort Fang smiled bitterly, "They probably see that I'm out of favor and practically a living dead, so they don't want to bother looking for me."

Lingxi didn't know how to respond to that.

In truth, the Empress knew everything, but she simply didn't try to compete, nor could she muster the energy to do so.

A miscarriage had deeply broken the Empress's heart.

For the children, and for the emperor.

A child can be born again, but once the emperor's heart has grown cold, warming it is harder than climbing to heaven...

After an unknown amount of time, Consort Fang, unusually, asked Lingxi softly, "Lingxi, do you think Consort Ying will have a smooth delivery this time?"

Don't end up like she did back then.

She still can't bear to recall those horrific scenes, and every time she wakes up in the middle of the night, she's covered in a cold sweat.

The child... is so pitiful...

Why did God favor her, yet not continue to favor her to the end?

Yikun Palace.

When the Empress heard Qiu Tong talk about Consort Wan, she was supervising the embroiderers making clothes for the eldest princess.

The eldest princess was the only child in the palace, and was treated with utmost care and privilege; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was raised on piles of jewels.

Autumn is almost here.

Every time the seasons change, the eldest princess has to have dozens of different outfits made, as well as countless headdresses, sachets, handkerchiefs, antiques, and so on.

The Eastern Palace, which was formerly the residence of the Crown Prince, has now been half allocated to the eldest princess, and is filled with her belongings. In addition, she also has an extremely luxurious princess mansion outside the palace.

Although the eldest princess is only eleven years old, the empress has arranged almost everything for her until she is fifteen.

We just need to wait for the eldest princess to grow up naturally, day by day.

The reason why no one over the age of fifteen was arranged was because the Empress wanted the eldest princess to get married early and have a grandson, so that the Emperor and Empress Dowager might consider letting the grandson succeed to the throne.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!