Chapter 510 Consort Han
“Only during the time I was training in the military camp were you unable to reach me, and I was temporarily free from your control. I also grew to like military life more and more, and I found what I truly wanted to do. Did you ever really care what your son liked? You don’t know, but your father does. Your father doesn’t care about me either; at least he never stopped me from going to the military camp.”
The Empress Dowager couldn't utter a single word. She thought they were on the same side, that they hated the late emperor together, and that her son was standing up for her. The more ruthless and heartless the late emperor was, the better she wanted to be to her son, so that he would always stand with her.
Xie Shang left Cining Palace with eyes full of anger.
Empress Dowager Cheng wept uncontrollably in her bedchamber, her son never acknowledging her sacrifices and hard work.
She and her cousin were deeply in love, but the late emperor took a liking to her and married her to become his empress. In the end, the late emperor stripped the Cheng family of their power, leaving her without support, and her only son hated her so much.
If she hadn't entered the palace, her cousin wouldn't have died, and she wouldn't have been neglected her whole life, giving birth to such an ungrateful son. I am not wrong; the one who is wrong is Xie Jing. Now even his son is bullying her.
Empress Dowager Cheng smashed up Cining Palace. Granny Xi, along with the palace maids and eunuchs, watched her go crazy, waiting for her to tire herself out before cleaning up.
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No matter how tightly the news from Cining Palace was kept under wraps, it still reached Jiang Fenghua's ears.
Granny Wang whispered, "In my opinion, the Empress Dowager deserves it. She's already this old and she still makes such a mistake. She was even caught in the act by the Emperor, which made the Emperor lose face. Strangely, the Emperor actually ordered Guard Lin to release that person out of the palace."
Granny Wang asked in confusion, "Guard Lin only saw off the men of the Bai family, why didn't he see off Bai Yuhan?"
Jiang Fenghua was now completely calm. How could Xie Shang possibly let go of a man who dared to lay a finger on the Empress Dowager? In her past life, he was cold-blooded and ruthless towards the Empress Dowager. In this life, the Empress Dowager would not escape the fate she deserved.
As for why he left Yu Han in the palace, Jiang Fenghua didn't want to guess. Xie Shang in his previous life had far more women than he does now, so one more or one less wouldn't make much difference.
The next morning, Wuxin arrived at Chenxi Palace with the Emperor's decree: "The Emperor has instructed the Empress to make proper arrangements for the palace where Miss Bai will be staying."
Wu Xin quickly explained, "Fortunately, the Emperor did not summon Bai Yuhan to his bedchamber. Last night, the Emperor went straight back to the Imperial Study after leaving the Cining Palace. He reviewed memorials all night and only rested for two hours in the side hall of the Imperial Study before going to court."
Jiang Fenghua then asked Granny Wang to find a suitable palace for Bai Yuhan, and also sent palace maids, eunuchs, and nannies to serve her.
Jiang Fenghua thought: Xie Shang might be doing this on purpose. She said she didn't like him, and he acted like a child throwing a tantrum. She didn't like other women always chasing after him.
Xie Shang's intention in asking her to arrange the palace was quite clear. As the empress, it was her job to help the emperor find concubines, but deciding on a title for her was proving difficult.
After the Empress Dowager was stripped of her power, the Imperial Household Department returned to Jiang Fenghua's hands, and the task of arranging the concubines' nights with the emperor fell to her.
At this moment, when Eunuch An from the Imperial Household Department handed the plaques for the concubines to serve the emperor to Jiang Fenghua, she caught a glimpse of Bai Yuhan's plaque—Consort Han.
Jiang Fenghua never expected that Xie Shang would directly bestow upon her the title of concubine.
Jiang Fenghua had met Bai Yuhan before. She was not a power-hungry person; in fact, she longed for freedom.
At that time, she was quite envious of Bai Yuhan, who was both beautiful and rich.
She never expected that Bai Yuhan would become a guest of honor of the Empress Dowager, and that Xie Shang would even take a liking to her.
In her previous life, Qin Yunyan was favored by Xie Shang. At least Qin Yunyan entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection and became a concubine in the harem. She was also the daughter of an official. After the Qin family was investigated, the money they embezzled went into the national treasury.
Jiang Fenghua's mind worked quickly. Perhaps her rebirth only changed herself. She couldn't change anything else, nor could she change Xie Shang. Just like now, even if he didn't marry Qin Yunyan, he would still marry Bai Yuhan, and she herself would still live in Chenxi Palace.
Jiang Fenghua directly instructed Eunuch An to send the list of those to serve the emperor to the emperor every day, so that he could choose for himself.
As soon as Eunuch An left, Lin Yu squeezed in front of Jiang Fenghua and said, "The Emperor is so busy with state affairs that he personally bestowed the title of Consort Han upon Bai Yuhan. If the Bai family knew that she had become a concubine in the harem after just one trip to the capital, I wonder if they would hold a month-long banquet. I think that given the Bai family's love of showing off, they would definitely publicize it extensively."
“Not this time,” Jiang Fenghua said.
Lin Yu asked in bewilderment, "Why not?"
"Because the Emperor found out that Bai Shangwen wanted to get into Empress Dowager Cheng's bed."
Lin Yu's pupils changed color in shock. "She really did have an affair. I was still worried about this, but I never expected that the Empress Dowager would find a strange man herself."
"Based on your understanding of Bai Yuhan, do you think she would enter the palace to become the emperor's concubine?" Jiang Fenghua asked with some doubt. "Bai Yuhan is not stupid, and she even has some ability. The Bai family business has a good reputation in the business world. She is a young lady who doesn't have to worry about food or clothing and lives a life of luxury. Why would she enter the palace to compete for the emperor's favor with so many women? I find this strange!"
Lin Yu retorted, "You're not stupid. If you didn't have a grudge to settle, would you have entered the palace? Would you have schemed and plotted for power? Now that he knows everything, he still treats you like this. Is it really worth staying in the palace?"
"How could it not be worth it? As long as he doesn't issue an edict to depose me, I am the Empress. Everything is developing in the direction I expected." Jiang Fenghua said this with some trepidation, because her position as Empress was in danger at any moment.
Lin Yu started blaming herself again, "It's all because of me, I'm sorry."
Jiang Fenghua comforted her, "It has nothing to do with you. My relationship with Xie Shang was built on falsehood. Falsehoods will be exposed sooner or later. I was just too resentful. But I don't regret it, because eliminating the Su family at least protected my family. Nothing is more important than the safety of my family."
“But the person you’ve offended is the emperor. If he wants to deal with the Jiang family, it’s easier for him than for anyone else,” Lin Yu said worriedly.
“The Su family is bad because they are insidious and evil to the core. That’s why they will think of all sorts of underhanded tricks to drive others to a dead end. But Xie Shang is not like that. At least he is a good person and a good emperor. Even if he hates me, he will not frame the Jiang family. I am not worried about that. Besides, my father and elder brother have high prestige and have always helped him. He is not stupid.” Jiang Fenghua said calmly, “He is only angry at me.”
Now that she's laid it all out on him, he has nothing to doubt anymore.
"Could it be that the Emperor deliberately made Bai Yuhan a concubine to spite you?" Lin Yu asked. "The more he does that, the more he likes you."
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "So what? He also likes other people. No matter what his purpose is, Bai Yuhan has become Consort Han."
"That's true."
Lin Yu thought: Now that she's in the palace guarding Jiang Fenghua, the Emperor hasn't kicked her out. She plans to stay here. Besides protecting the Empress's safety, they also need to protect the safety of her three children.
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