Since the emperor likes her, the empress dowager naturally loves her too.
"I plan to make her the Imperial Noble Consort." said the emperor.
The Empress Dowager frowned slightly upon hearing this. "Isn't the rank of Imperial Noble Consort too high? A Noble Consort gave birth to your second princess, and now she's only a Noble Consort. Why not first make her a Third Rank Zhaoyi, and then slowly rise higher in the future?"
The Queen Mother still wanted to maintain peace in the harem, otherwise the old people like the Imperial Concubine would be upset.
The emperor shook his head. "Mother, I wish I could have made her the Empress directly. How could I have only given her a third-rank rank? I feel that the position of Imperial Noble Consort is already unfair to her."
This was not the first time the empress dowager had heard that the emperor wanted to depose the queen, and she was now able to remain calm.
Well, the Imperial Noble Consort is not the Empress after all, and it is rare for the Emperor to be interested in her.
The empress dowager took a deep breath. If the emperor was a child, she would slap him.
But she is old now, and she almost experienced the pain of losing her son some time ago, so now she is willing to obey the emperor.
"Whose family is this girl from?" the Queen Mother asked again.
The emperor hesitated and said, "She used to be Shen Qinghuai's wife, but they are divorced now."
The Queen Mother: “…”
Seeing the queen mother's unhappy expression, the emperor quickly spoke: "She and Shen Qinghuai are in name only. She and I are a perfect match. Mother, she is the first woman I have truly loved since I turned thirty. I know you think this is ridiculous, but I really want her. It's not just a whim."
What else could the Queen Mother say? She had been able to stop the Emperor from doing what he wanted to do before, but now she couldn't.
However, the fondness he had for Xu Lingyi, whom he had never met before, had completely disappeared.
The Queen Mother sighed, "You have been on the throne for many years, and the whole court praises you as a wise ruler."
"Mother, I don't care about these anymore."
"You don't care about your own reputation, but I do. And what about Concubine Xu? Do you want her to be labeled a witch concubine? Then let Concubine Xu enter the palace for a few days. I will go to Hanshan Temple to worship Buddha tomorrow and get into danger on the way. Concubine Xu happened to save me. Then you can take Concubine Xu into the palace. This will benefit both her reputation and yours. Okay?"
The emperor nodded.
Xu Lingyi will be his until her death, so naturally she won't need these days or two.
"Okay. I'll do as Mother says."
————
On the day Xu Lingyi entered the palace, several of the concubines in the harem had their handkerchiefs torn off.
Especially those concubines of lower status, they were full of jealousy towards Xu Lingyi.
The imperial concubine was probably one of the few women who could laugh at this moment.
"I can't wait to see the Queen's face! If the Imperial Consort holds the same rank as the Vice Queen, our virtuous Queen will probably be furious."
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