Chapter 455 The Empress Dowager's Power
The Empress Dowager then spoke of the ranks of the other concubines, saying, "Those who have given birth to imperial heirs are all given high ranks, and I will naturally not allow the few favored by the Emperor to be wronged. It was also the Emperor's will that Consort Zhu was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Zhu, a third-rank concubine..."
The Empress Dowager was unaware of what had happened to Zhu Zhenzhen outside the palace.
Jiang Fenghua was surprised to hear Xie Shang make this decision. She didn't hear the Empress Dowager's next words clearly, and was only wondering why Xie Shang would still confer the title of Consort on Zhu Zhenzhen.
The Empress Dowager then asked, "The Empress?"
Jiang Fenghua realized what was happening and said, "The Empress Dowager has decided on the Crown Princess's rank. I have no objections."
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Now palaces have been arranged for them. I plan to have Consort Tang and Consort Song assist in managing the affairs of the inner palace. The Empress will come to assist me after she gives birth to the prince and after the coronation ceremony. Ruan Ruan is heavily pregnant and should not be overworked. Currently, Ruan Ruan is the only one in the entire inner palace carrying the imperial heir. The Emperor and I value the child in the Empress's womb the most."
Jiang Fenghua understood that the Empress Dowager meant she should just focus on her pregnancy and not hand over the power of the various palaces and departments to her. What was the point of being Empress if she had no power? Being Empress without power was like being the mistress of the house but not having any authority. Once the Emperor lost interest in her, he could kick her out at any time. At that point, she wouldn't even have anyone to cry to, and she might even be called stupid.
It seems her path to seizing power is still long and arduous.
Without Consort Su causing her trouble, Cheng Langjin became arrogant.
Jiang Fenghua's smile remained unchanged. "Your Majesty, I am indeed unwell right now. Please make the decision!"
Empress Dowager Cheng was very satisfied with her obedience. "There are only a dozen or so concubines in the harem. I plan to have the Imperial Household Department arrange the selection of concubines. I have already informed the Empress, so the Empress does not need to worry about it."
"Yes." Jiang Fenghua only had one word left. Now she finally understood why Xie Shang had so many women in his harem in her previous life. It turned out that it was all thanks to the Empress Dowager's tireless efforts in selecting women for him.
She learned that the Empress Dowager simply disliked that her son favored a particular woman, but Xie Shang was beyond her control, so she could only resort to disgusting women.
The Empress Dowager spoke with her for a while longer before leaving.
After the Empress Dowager left, Hongxiu and Granny Wang went to Jiang Fenghua's bedroom. Both of them were filled with worry and anxiety. Granny Wang said, "Now all the young ladies are busy moving to other palaces. Only our Chenxi Palace is quiet. According to the ancestral rules, the Empress should move to Kunning Palace."
After a moment of contemplation, Granny Wang said, "I have been in the palace for seventeen years and have searched through all the books on the investiture ceremonies of empresses throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. There is no such thing as the emperor wanting to remarry the empress. The empress was His Majesty's principal wife, and they were husband and wife who had performed the wedding ceremony in accordance with the rules."
Hongxiu said, "The Empress's coronation ceremony has also been postponed, and there is no definite date for the coronation. How long are we supposed to wait?"
Jiang Fenghua thought: Xie Shang is now preparing a wedding for her too. He is only moved by himself, and all she needs to do is cooperate.
In his previous life, Xie Shang abandoned his legal wife and then held a grand coronation ceremony for Su Tingwan. In the end, they completed a whole set of wedding rituals, and only then did people realize what it meant to be the envy of everyone.
Jiang Fenghua said, "What's even worse is that the Empress Dowager came to Chenxi Palace actually to try and sideline me."
Granny Wang looked worried. "Does Your Majesty mean that you don't have any real power right now, and all the power in the harem is in the hands of the Empress Dowager? The Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Kitchen, the six Shanggong Bureaus and the twenty-four Departments have all fallen into Your Majesty's hands? According to the rules, these should all be under the control of Your Majesty the Empress."
Hongxiu was a lady-in-waiting at Chenxi Palace, so she naturally knew the importance of this matter. The Imperial Household Department was in charge of all income, expenditure, and procurement in the harem, and those who worked there were naturally very wealthy. Everyone was eager to get in.
Once the Empress loses control of the Imperial Household Department, she cannot place her own people in, and other concubines from other palaces may even take advantage of this to plant their own people.
The Imperial Household Department also fell into the hands of the Empress Dowager. Given her temperament, she would likely arrange for even more women to vie for the Emperor's favor.
Other departments are also very important, including the Shanggong, Shangyi, Shangfu, Shangshi, Shangqin, and Shanggong; each one is crucial.
Previously, when Consort Su was acting as Empress, she promoted many people in various palaces to become her people.
Hongxiu said, "When Your Majesty was still the Crown Princess, you could still be the master of the Eastern Palace, but now that you are the Empress, you have no power at all."
Seeing the two looking worried, Jiang Fenghua remained calm. "It's not necessarily a bad thing that the Empress Dowager is so eager to seize power. This family isn't so easy to manage."
After thinking for a moment, Granny Wang said, "Your Majesty is right. Ever since Consort Su was imprisoned in the Cold Palace and Empress Cheng regained the late Emperor's favor, the power in the harem has completely fallen into her hands again. However, she has managed the harem in a terrible state. Now that the Empress has become the Empress Dowager, I don't know if she can still manage the new Emperor's harem."
Jiang Fenghua said calmly, "The most important thing right now is indeed the child in my belly."
However, Xie Shang was quite keen on remarrying her, and she couldn't understand Xie Shang's recent behavior. From the time she fainted until now, Xie Shang had acted like a deeply affectionate husband.
Hongxiu said, "However, His Majesty truly dotes on His Majesty. No matter how busy he is, he will always make time to dine with His Majesty at Chenxi Palace and play with the eldest prince and princess. Now the whole palace is saying that His Majesty truly loves His Majesty. Moreover, His Majesty is not an ordinary man in this world; he is the Son of Heaven."
Jiang Fenghua always insisted that she should not believe in the deep affection of an emperor. Once a woman is immersed in love, her brain is almost unable to think. A life filled with sweetness will make her feel satisfied and at the same time let down all her defenses. However, once the sky falls and the earth collapses, a brain filled with sweetness will not be able to help her in the slightest. She cannot bear being defenseless. Therefore, she will not let Xie Shang fill her brain with sweetness.
Jiang Fenghua firmly believes that one must be useful in order to be used by others; if one is too dull, one is not even worthy of being a pawn.
Consort Su was also favored by the late emperor, but in the end, she was just a pawn in his hands.
At this moment, she was thinking about something else. After Xie Shang returned to the palace, he secretly summoned Imperial Censor Zhu. In the entire imperial study, only Xie Shang and Imperial Censor Zhu were present, and even Wu Xin did not attend to him.
From the moment Xie Shang showed her the memorial from Imperial Censor Zhu, he had already accepted Imperial Censor Zhu's story. Xie Shang believed that the Zhu family would not rebel against him, so he trusted the accomplice Su Xuan that Xie Shang had found.
That's why she allowed Zhu Zhenzhen to enter the palace, and she didn't mind what happened to Zhu Zhenzhen in Hengyang City.
He probably wanted to keep Zhu Zhenzhen as a pawn, imprisoning her in the palace forever. Her body was already tainted, and he would never touch her again. That day, Xie Shang even had Granny Wang give Zhu Zhenzhen a contraceptive. This shows how deep and unfathomable this emperor's thoughts are.
It turns out that when he made her drink the contraceptive medicine, he didn't intend to depose Zhu Zhenzhen. Xie Shang kept Zhu Zhenzhen around to prevent Zhu Yiyi from entering the palace, meaning that he wouldn't indulge the Imperial Censor Zhu either.
What she wanted to know was what Zhu Yiyi would do once she realized that she had no hope of entering the palace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
