"It is said that when the Marquis of Zhenbei was young, he was a famous handsome man in the capital. He was a highly decorated general who guarded the border and was the dream man of countless women. Zhenzhen, if you meet those requirements, you will have a hard time finding someone like him," her close friend said, patting her on the shoulder.
"If I can't find anyone, I won't get married. I'll stay in the Marquis's mansion and have my father support me for the rest of my life," Qi Zhenzhen replied confidently.
She attended several more banquets after that, and the people there were still the same as before, each with their own flaws.
But Qi Zhenzhen's heart was quite different. Every time she attended a banquet, she couldn't help but think of Qi Xiao, and the frequency of this thought kept increasing.
After some time, even when she didn't attend the banquet to meet him, Qi Xiao's face was always on her mind.
If I can't find a husband like my father, why can't I marry him? After all, we're not blood-related father and daughter.
When this audacious idea first surfaced in Qi Zhenzhen's mind, she was startled; even she found it absurd.
But once an idea is formed, it's not so easy to completely forget it.
Qi Zhenzhen was as if she were under a spell; she couldn't eat or sleep, and she kept thinking about this problem.
She realized that she had fallen in love with Qi Xiao, not as a daughter's love for her father, but as a woman's love for a man.
But her love was pathological; the adopted daughter fell in love with her father, and regardless of whether they were related by blood, this was unacceptable to the world.
But so what! Can a person control their own heart? Blinded by love, Qi Zhenzhen is willing to fight against the whole world for Qi Xiao.
However, to her surprise, her first opponent was Qi Xiao.
Upon realizing his daughter's feelings for him, Qi Xiao flew into a rage. For the first time, the usually loving man lashed out at Qi Zhenzhen, even uttering many hurtful words.
Qi Zhenzhen was terrified. At that time, she was still very naive and only thought about being with Qi Xiao. She had not considered whether he was willing.
The broken window can never be fully restored. No matter how much Qi Zhenzhen wanted to go back to the way things were, Qi Xiao's cold attitude had already shown his determination to drift further and further away from her.
However, three months after the new emperor ascended the throne, Qi Zhenzhen was sent to the palace by the Marquis of Zhenbei to become a concubine.
The man she loved most gave her away to someone else. When she first entered the palace, Qi Zhenzhen felt that her world was full of darkness, and she even thought about ending her life.
But time is the best healer; after staying in the palace for so long, he didn't really want to go out anymore.
The palace had many rules, and Qi Zhenzhen was forced to give up many things, but the one thing she couldn't let go of was Qi Xiao, no matter how hard she tried.
She couldn't get any news from Qi Xiao, but things in the palace could get out, so Qi Zhenzhen went from one extreme to the other.
She began frantically seeking attention in the palace, and news of her domineering behavior as a favored concubine spread to every corner of the capital.
In that case, Qi Xiao will know.
The mere thought of Qi Xiao caused Qi Zhenzhen to curl up in pain. Confined to the deep palace, she was like a bird trapped in a cage, only able to silently yearn for her beloved in the quiet of the night.
If Qi Zhenzhen was truly infatuated with love, then Prime Minister Zhang's daughter was far too clear-headed.
She didn't have a sweetheart; after all, daughters of the Zhang family were born with the mission of bringing prosperity to the family.
Every daughter of the Zhang family is expected to contribute to the prosperity of the family.
So how should this effort be made? In an era when women could not hold official positions or show their faces in public, the answer was only two words—marriage.
Those who could enter the palace did so, while those who could not were arranged to marry into aristocratic families.
Zhang Han'er is an ambitious woman, just like her deceased aunt, who wants to be the most honorable woman in the world!
At the same time, she was very lucky and was able to enter the palace and become a concubine of the new emperor.
Although she was still far from becoming the empress her father had promised, and the emperor didn't seem to like her, it didn't matter. As long as the Prime Minister's mansion still held power, the position of empress was hers for the taking!
It doesn't matter whether it's Consort Zhang or Lady Ying who is favored.
However, compared to that, she would rather see Consort Ying gain favor. Anyang Prefecture had long since fallen into ruin, and Ji Ying'er was a destitute distant relative of the emperor. Without the support of a powerful maternal family, what good would it do to gain favor?
The best outcome would be to bear a son for someone else and then be secretly executed.
It just so happens that the emperor is not interested in women, so they have no way to have children even if they want to. Why not take advantage of a ready-made child?
With this mindset, Zhang Han'er remained unmoved and as steady as a mountain.
However, the irony came quickly. One morning, as the maid was dressing Zhang Han'er, a beautiful maid rushed in, looking flustered.
The person who came was named Qinghe, a maid who had been with Zhang Han'er since childhood.
"Miss, something terrible has happened! Your Majesty..." Qinghe ran all the way, still out of breath, and spoke haltingly.
"What is it that you are so flustered? I have told you before that the most important thing in the palace is to maintain a proper demeanor. Even if something terrible happens, you must not show it on your face."
"You've been serving me since I was a child, don't you understand this simple principle?"
While being helped with her washing and grooming, Zhang Han'er lectured her maid.
The moment her sharp gaze swept over her, Qinghe immediately knelt down with a "plop" and began kowtowing repeatedly, admitting her mistake. The sound of her kowtowing was deafening, sending chills down one's spine just by listening to it.
Seeing that Qinghe kowtowed heavily, Zhang Han'er's displeasure lessened somewhat.
"What are you doing? I was just saying it casually. You're not so petty as to not even have this much tolerance. The ground is cool, so stop kneeling. Get up."
In fact, Zhang Han'er wasn't angry at all. It was just that her usual way of managing subordinates was to give them a sweet treat after ten lashes. It was always right to discipline servants a little more.
She was the daughter most like Prime Minister Zhang, even in disciplining her servants.
Although she doesn't openly get angry and physically abuse people, Zhang Han'er is extremely capricious, and her ever-changing face makes her even more unpredictable.
"Thank you, Your Highness." The maid was so frightened that she dared not breathe and whispered her reply while pinching her fingertips.
"It's good that you know I'm merciful." Seeing everyone in the room bowing their heads humbly, Zhang Han'er felt wonderful.
"By the way, what did you want to say when you rushed into the room?" After a few words of prodding, Zhang Han'er remembered this matter again.
Upon seeing this, Qinghe immediately replied, "This servant wanted to tell Your Majesty that the Emperor intends to make Consort Ying the Empress."
"What!" Zhang Han'er's voice immediately rose eight octaves upon hearing this.
"His Majesty intends to make Ji Ying'er Empress? Such important news, why didn't you inform me sooner!"
As if she had amnesia, she raised her hand and threw a teacup at Qinghe. Poor Qinghe, facing her master's anger, didn't even dare to dodge, and her head was smashed open with a bloody hole.
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