Jiang Shuman had just stepped out when she heard those words and almost stumbled.
Honey, just tell me, who isn't miserable?
Jiang Shumiao: The main characters all have tragic fates.
After the female lead jumps off the building, the male lead immediately goes insane.
Shen Zhixian died the easiest death, but her soul was crushed by him after death, preventing her from reincarnating. Then the male protagonist started recruiting various talented people in the hope of resurrecting Jiang Shuman.
If you can't do it, you'll die.
He began indiscriminately killing innocent people as soon as he ascended the throne, and eventually he simply gave up being emperor, leaving behind a mess, and took Jiang Shuman to find a way to be resurrected.
People were displaced, war raged, and foreign tribes invaded…
Jiang Shumiao gave up after seeing this, mainly because she felt upset.
Actually, after all this time, Jiang Shumiao had already realized that something was wrong. This was not the world of a storybook at all, but the real world.
The goddess Nuwa wouldn't let her read any stories for no reason.
That's more like a bad fate.
Everyone's logic and stance were sound, perfectly illustrating the saying, "Every evil has a cause."
She was born here, perhaps to change all of this.
The fate of everyone in this world rests on the male protagonist, who comes from another world.
It belongs to an existence that is outside the rules of the world.
It's similar to a demon that wreaks havoc on the human world.
For some unknown reason, he was protected by the Heavenly Way.
Fortunately, Jiang Shumiao is now a mortal, so she doesn't have to abide by the rules of immortals—she never did before anyway.
Changing one's fate is her specialty.
The Fifth Princess was particularly fond of Jiang Shumiao and kept insisting that she stay in the palace to play with her, and the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress had no objections.
Emperor Hongde had other thoughts on his mind.
She wanted her exceptionally adorable nephew to be her daughter-in-law in the future.
The empress poured cold water on him.
“The Crown Prince is thirteen this year, and Miaomiao is not even a year old. If you are not afraid of being scolded by the Empress Dowager, you may speak up.”
Emperor Hongde was taken aback, then said, "Aren't there still the third and fourth brothers? If all else fails, there's always the fifth."
The Queen nodded.
“That would be fine. Xiao Wu is only one year older than Miao Miao, so they are about the same age. His birth mother also holds the highest rank among the imperial concubines. However, in this dynasty, a princess is of the first rank, above a Zhaoyi. It would be inappropriate for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to serve tea and pay their respects when they meet in the future. If Your Majesty has this intention, why not promote Zhaoyi Lin’s rank first? She is gentle and virtuous by nature, and the title of Consort Xian would be just right.”
This basin of water is even colder than the previous one.
The late emperor's harem was filled with high-ranking concubines, each with powerful family backgrounds, and their ambitions grew. The empress was even murdered several times.
Emperor Hongde heeded the lesson and refused to take women from noble families as concubines or bestow high-ranking titles upon them.
The Empress is the absolute ruler of the harem and cannot be challenged.
Consort Lin was initially granted the title of Baolin, a sixth-rank official. Due to her gentle nature and respectful demeanor towards the Empress, she rose through the ranks to become a Meiren (a concubine rank). After giving birth to the third princess, she was granted the title of Jieyu (a concubine rank). Later, the third princess died young, and Consort Lin suffered a difficult childbirth while giving birth to the fifth prince. The Empress then pleaded for her to be granted the title of Zhaoyi (a concubine rank).
But the account was not banned.
And just like that, she had risen through the ranks of the harem the fastest.
Before the fifth prince comes of age, Emperor Hongde has no intention of promoting her rank again, lest she become spoiled and arrogant.
"Never mind, we'll talk about it later."
The Empress couldn't help but roll her eyes. She quite liked Consort Lin; she was beautiful and had a good temperament, and had been in the palace for eight or nine years. What was wrong with promoting her to the rank of Consort?
Unfortunately, the emperor was too stingy with his concubines.
Shaking her head, the Empress followed his words and said, "That's true. After all, Miaomiao is still young. Even if Your Majesty wants to bestow a marriage upon her, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I think you should worry more about her older sister."
The little girl isn't even a year old yet, what's the rush?
Childhood sweethearts don't necessarily fall in love.
Isn't your eldest niece a perfect example? Ordinary families can discuss breaking off an engagement; at most, their reputation will be tarnished.
But who would dare to back down from the royal family?
Isn't that courting death?
You really aren't afraid of offending your own sister and your classmates and siblings.
Emperor Hongde frowned again after her reminder. "That boy Yanhe used to seem mild-mannered and without any major problems. Who knew he would do such a terrible thing? It's better to break off the engagement, so that Manman won't suffer after marrying into the family."
The two broke off their engagement, stating publicly only that they were incompatible.
But Emperor Hongde knew the inside story: Lu Yanhe had also taken a liking to Shen Zhixian.
He disliked the name Shen Zhixian.
The old lady was truly confused; perhaps she missed her daughter too much, so she didn't take it to heart.
But Jiang Sixian is dead, and the truth from more than 20 years ago has come to light.
Once Shen Zhixian is out of mourning, he insists on changing her name to this one.
And her father, Shen Jiming.
That guy was a fool too.
It's one thing to elevate a concubine to the status of legal wife, but to do it so ostentatiously, making it public knowledge, is another. You can pamper your own concubine however you like at home. But to act recklessly in a Buddhist temple—isn't that just giving others ammunition to use against you?
Ever since the Fang family started producing ginseng, the reports from Shen Chenji Ming have never stopped.
He could guess that Shen Jiming had been outmaneuvered by his own family. The eldest son was suppressed by his second uncle and, despite marrying a noblewoman, was transferred away from the capital. Upon his return, the Shen family had no place for him. Jiang Sixian was arrogant, but she had offended the Gu family in the past, and Jiang Zhixu didn't want to openly oppose the Empress and the Crown Prince.
Therefore, Shen Jiming was unable to become the head of the family by leveraging his wife's family's influence.
Jiang Sixian, a county princess, couldn't even get control over the inner quarters, so naturally she had to go to the old matriarch to complain.
This is also why the old lady felt pity and sympathy for her.
Later, Shen Jiming gained some recognition in front of Emperor Hongde by getting close to the newly appointed Imperial Tutor Wen Zhixuan through his daughter.
The second branch of the Shen family was naturally wary, so they set him up.
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