Chapter 296: Concubine Yao's Fight for Favor

Rong Yue was wholeheartedly thinking about Song Zhao, but she was not as calm as her and could not think of so many twists and turns so quickly.

Now hearing Song Zhao ask this question, she quickly fell silent.

Song Zhao's eyes darkened, and he sneered, "It seems that the whirlwind in the palace has spread outside the palace, and the aftereffects are much greater."

Rong Yue said: "I just didn't think enough. How can it be so easy to be a 'noble lady'? The emperor is suspicious. If the whole matter cannot be investigated as soon as possible, the emperor will sooner or later suspect the people around him.

If all the benefits are left to you, Zhao'er, then the emperor might first believe that you are a noble person who can help him turn danger into safety, but slowly, he will also suspect you of being a criminal who is trying to murder him..."

Song Zhao continued, "If the plot to murder the emperor succeeds, then Cheng Yu, the noble son, will of course be the only candidate to inherit the throne. If this fails, I will become a 'noble lady', and my status in the harem will rise sharply. No matter how you look at this matter, I am the beneficiary, so it's no wonder that the emperor would be suspicious."

"This... We were so careful, but we didn't expect that we would still fall into someone else's trap. But who could have done this?" Rong Yue was both worried and puzzled, "How come the woman that the emperor only likes is the assassin? When she was dressing up before going to bed, there were maids to check her body, so how did she get the dagger in? And the ship was heavily guarded, how could the assassin escape so easily by escaping into the water?"

She paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Is it Huipin? But she is a chess piece planted in the harem by the emperor. No matter how powerful she is, she can't reach out of the palace..."

Song Zhao said lightly: "We don't need to worry about who did this. If someone wants to murder the emperor, there will be many people investigating this matter. Now I have to think about how to get rid of the title of 'noble' from my head. Don't be noble today and guilty tomorrow. One word difference will end up with a complete loss."

Rong Yue thought for a moment and said slowly, "Actually, this isn't that difficult. Didn't Concubine Yao also have merit in saving the emperor?"

Song Zhao nodded slightly and replied, "If this benefit falls on me, it will be a disaster, but if it falls on others, it may become a blessing. Sister Wan should not know this news yet, right?"

Rong Yue said: "She has given up on the emperor, I'm afraid she won't bother to care even if she knows."

Song Zhao was silent for a moment, then waved to Xiao Fuzi who was guarding the door.

"Xiao Fuzi, come here, I have something to tell you."

*

The next day, the news of Xiao Jingheng's assassination spread among the concubines.

Everyone went to visit Xiao Jingheng, even Ning Wanshuang, who had been in a stalemate with Xiao Jingheng.

However, she was only indifferent to Jamel Xiao. After asking him how he was doing as if following the procedure, she hurriedly left.

But he was willing to visit Xiao Jingheng, and Xiao Jingheng sent away the other concubines and left her alone.

In the eyes of other concubines, it was most likely that she was going to regain favor.

So after another day, early in the morning, the concubines all rushed to Ning Wanshuang's room to pay their respects to her.

Song Zhao didn't come today, using the excuse that she was pregnant.

Ning Wanshuang glanced at her empty seat and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Oh, Concubine Yi is really blessed. Wasn't the yellow jade that blocked the emperor's sword the one she gave him? The emperor treasured it every day, and now that piece of rotten jade saved the emperor's life, Concubine Yi has done a great deed again."

Rong Yue said, "Your Highness is wrong. Concubine Yi's incident was just a coincidence. If there is any merit in saving the emperor, it should be attributed to Concubine Yao."

"Yaopin? Ha~" Ning Wanshuang sneered, and inadvertently rolled her eyes at Yaopin, saying:

"I don't know what you were doing hiding in the emperor's closet in the middle of the night? You haven't received the emperor's grace for a long time, and you wanted to see the emperor enjoying himself with another woman, so that you could satisfy your craving, right?"

Yaopin blushed with shame, lowered her head and said timidly: "I... don't have such intentions..."

Ning Wanshuang said: "You are the only one who knows what you are thinking. And how can you say that you are saving the emperor? When the people were about to run away, you rushed over to cause trouble. Not only did you get stabbed for nothing, but you also delayed the guards to catch them.

If I were to say, I am not as good as Concubine Yi. You don’t know that when I was in Suzhou, when Concubine Yi and I were accompanying the Emperor on a walk, we met a famous fortune teller in the area.

"The divine fortune teller?" Ying Fei asked, "But is it Tan Yuezhi?"

"Oh? Concubine Ying also knows? Yes, it was him. He calculated that day that the emperor would encounter a bloody disaster during his southern tour, but he would meet a noble person who would help the emperor out of danger. Now that I think about it, the noble person he was talking about must be Concubine Yi, right?"

Ning Wanshuang chatted for a while, perhaps feeling tired, and yawned lazily, then said casually:

"After all, no matter whether it is Concubine Yi or Concubine Yao, whoever gets the title of 'noble lady' will be close to a prosperous life. Well, I am tired of talking to you for a while, so let's all go our separate ways."

Ning Wanshuang's unintentional words reached Yaopin's ears, and her expression changed immediately.

In order to show her contribution to saving the emperor in front of Xiao Jingheng, Qu Yanran cut the tendons of Concubine Yao's hands. The imperial physician said that even if she fully recovered, her right hand would not be able to move freely in the future.

For this matter, Xiao Jingheng also rewarded her many gifts.

But what's the point of her having those material possessions?

Women in the palace will have no hope in their lives if they don't have favor.

When Concubine Yao returned to her room that day, her maid Fu'er saw that she was unhappy and spoke up for her.

"I feel wronged for Your Majesty. You risked your life to protect the Emperor, but now you want to give it to Concubine Yi? She gave birth to a son, and now she's pregnant again. If she becomes the Emperor's 'noble lady', won't Your Majesty have to look at her face in the future? After all, she was sent out from Your Majesty's palace. Now she is so proud, but Your Majesty..."

She lost her temper as she spoke these words of discontent. Seeing that Concubine Yao's face was not right, Fu'er slapped herself in the face.

"My servant said something wrong, please forgive me, Your Majesty..."

"Forget it. I don't blame you for anything. You are telling the truth. If these comments were to be made by others, they would probably be even more offensive than what you said."

Concubine Yao felt very uncomfortable when she looked at her acne-ridden face in the bronze mirror.

She entered the palace to serve Xiao Jingheng for five years before she was promoted to the position of concubine.

Song Zhao was sent out from her palace, and now she is about to become a royal concubine. How can she be willing?

"It's still unclear who will be given the title of 'noble lady'! That fortune teller said that the emperor will get help from a noble lady, so this noble lady could be Concubine Yi or me!"

Yaopin took a deep breath, turned to look at Fu'er, and asked, "I remember that the Imperial Observatory also accompanied us on this southern tour?"

Fu'er nodded in agreement, and Concubine Yao took out a stack of banknotes from the drawer of the dressing table and handed it to her.

"Go and give these banknotes to the Supervisor."

Fu'er flipped through the thick banknotes in her hand and said in surprise:

"My lady, this is all the money you have saved over the years, and you have given it to the Supervisor. This..."

"Compared to my future, these are nothing. Give him the banknote and pass on a message to him from me."

After saying this, Concubine Yao waved to Fu'er, and when she came closer, she whispered in her ear.