Chapter 483 I Understand These Tricks Too
Consort Liu, whose original name was Liu Ming'er, was a young woman selected from Hangzhou Prefecture to enter the palace in the sixth year of the Zhaowu reign. After entering the palace, she was assigned to serve the late emperor's concubine in Cien Palace.
Five years after entering the palace, the once vibrant young woman of sixteen has now passed her twenties. The boundless aspirations she had at the beginning of her journey have vanished like smoke, and her once burgeoning heart has long since turned cold and lifeless. Every day, she listlessly estimates how long it will take before she can be released from the palace and regain her freedom.
That day, Liu Ming'er was sitting idly in the garden when she was summoned by the palace steward to the outside of the emperor's bedroom.
Liu Ming'er served a concubine who had no children. The aging concubine was not usually strict with her, and Liu Ming'er usually didn't care about dressing up. That day, she was pushed in front of Emperor Zhaowu with her face bare.
Liu Ming'er hated herself. She hated herself for not wearing the new clothes for the New Year, and she hated herself for not borrowing a decent piece of gold and jade jewelry from Consort Yi.
Having been in the palace for five years, she had only seen the Emperor once from afar. All the wisdom and strategies her family had spent a fortune to learn from her had no chance to be put to use. But now that the opportunity had finally come, she was in the most disheveled and worst state of being.
Liu Ming'er stared blankly at Emperor Zhaowu. She wanted to remember what this man looked like. She had already passed the best years of her life and would be leaving the palace in a few years. If she still didn't know what the man who had attracted her to the palace looked like after so many years in the palace, how much of a loss would she have?
What Liu Ming'er didn't know was that when she stared intently at Emperor Zhaowu, her image in his eyes overlapped with the image of someone in his heart. Liu Ming'er had a pair of standard phoenix eyes, and at this moment she was staring fearlessly at Emperor Zhaowu, just like that slightly disheveled female warrior in the suicide squad back then.
"You, stay here!"
The chief steward, Li Ji, had chosen Liu Ming'er, making her feel as if she were in a dream. She felt that she was the happiest woman in the world at that moment.
But this happiness lasted only a few hours before she discovered that she was at most one-seventh of the happiest.
Seven trembling girls were given a harsh temporary "training" before being sent to the enormous dragon bed, where they awkwardly awaited Emperor Zhaowu's favor.
Liu Ming'er was the first to shyly respond, followed by a tearing pain and an indescribable satisfaction.
Liu Ming'er's family spent a lot of money to hire a former courtesan from Hangzhou to train her for a long time. She had a complete set of methods to deal with everything from arousing men's interest to various ways of vying for favor and how to get pregnant quickly.
A woman who doesn't know how to please men, no matter how talented, can never become a top courtesan. Stubborn and dull talented women are usually destined to be played to death by the first wife.
Therefore, having mastered the true skills of the courtesan, Liu Ming'er quickly won over Emperor Zhaowu. After more than two months of revelry, she finally became pregnant with the emperor's child, just one step away from the pinnacle of her life.
Liu Ming'er is nearly a month pregnant, and the news has spread throughout the palace and even the entire capital. The only person in the palace who might not know is Wang Yushi in Fengning Palace. Today, Liu Ming'er suddenly came to Fengning Palace, and only she knows her intentions.
Having just faced the murderous Wang Yushi, Liu Ming'er's face turned pale with fright. She hadn't expected Wang Yushi to be so arrogant and domineering. This was the imperial palace! How dare someone commit such a taboo act? Even the Empress wouldn't allow it!
Liu Ming'er quickly threw out her protective talisman and shouted that she was pregnant. Sure enough, the murderous aura on Wang Yushi disappeared, which greatly encouraged Liu Ming'er.
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician instructed my sister to move around more to benefit the fetus. Today, I came to Fengning Palace hoping to borrow the fortune of Your Majesty's palace so that His Majesty can give birth to a son soon. I came in a bit of a hurry and lacked some etiquette. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Liu Ming'er squatted down symbolically, placed her hands on her stomach, muttered something to herself, and then stared at Wang Yushi's face to see her reaction. She wanted to judge what she should do based on Wang Yushi's reaction. She had tried the tricks taught by the teacher at home many times and they had never failed her. Today, she wanted to try them again.
Wang Yushi suddenly smiled, a smile as beautiful as a blooming peony that startled Liu Ming'er. She suddenly realized she shouldn't have come today. She wasn't afraid of an angry empress, but Wang Yushi's smile left her feeling completely at a loss.
"You are pregnant? That is truly wonderful news. Consort Liu, please rest assured, I will raise the child well after he is born."
"...Your Majesty is busy with worldly affairs, so please don't trouble yourself. My sister can raise her herself..."
"Consort Liu, you are mistaken. The ancestral rites and laws must not be abandoned. It is my duty, how can I entrust this to others?"
According to the rules of the Great Xia Imperial Family, no matter which concubine gave birth to the child, the child must be raised by the Empress from a young age and respectfully addressed as "Mother". Of course, if the Empress herself has many children, she may let the concubines raise their own children. However, if the Empress has no children like Wang Yushi, she will definitely bring Consort Liu's child to Fengning Palace to raise.
"In that case, I thank Your Majesty the Empress in advance..."
"My sister has been bestowed the title of Imperial Concubine by His Majesty, and now she is pregnant. Aren't the other concubines green with envy?"
"Sister, you probably don't know this, but right now I'm the only one who's a Noble Consort! The rest of you are still just palace maids!"
"Oh! So, my sister is lucky to have conceived a child! Otherwise, she would still be just a palace maid?"
“…”
Liu Ming'er chatted with Wang Yushi for a few more minutes, but gradually she couldn't contain her anger and got up to take her leave. When she was almost at the palace gate, she suddenly slipped and fell. Although the palace maid beside her quickly caught her, Liu Ming'er still slowly fell to the ground.
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