Consort Hua handed the bowl of chilled watermelon she was holding to Songzhi and wiped her slightly damp lips with a silk handkerchief.
Her lips, a vibrant red like watermelon juice, appeared both alluring and seductive in the candlelight. Even Songzhi couldn't help but be captivated, lowering her head to look away.
Consort Hua said lazily, "Doesn't His Majesty still remember Empress Chun Yuan? I'll give him an Empress Chun Yuan."
"While it's not easy to find one exactly the same, it's possible to find one that's five or six points similar."
"In addition to her voice, posture, and ambiguous temperament, she is even more outstanding than Zhen Huan."
"I refuse to believe that His Majesty will not be tempted!"
Songzhi said, "Your Majesty is right, but she is just a palace maid after all. She has never been to school and doesn't know many words."
"Unlike Consort Wan, who is well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she can chime in on anything the Emperor says."
"It won't be easy to maintain favor in the long run."
Consort Hua said, "If this one is gone, there will be another. There is such a living person standing in the palace. It serves as a reminder to others, and also to Consort Wan, that so-called favor is nothing more than this."
"I originally thought that she was arrogant and would definitely cause a huge fight with the Emperor after she found out why she was favored."
"But I never expected that Consort Wan would act as if she knew nothing and continue to live a very intimate life with the Emperor. Since that's the case, I'll make sure she can't pretend she doesn't know anything."
"I will make the Emperor taste what it feels like to be betrayed and abandoned by everyone."
Songzhi chuckled, "That's not all. With our carefully researched health-preserving recipes, His Majesty will surely enjoy both longevity and good fortune."
Consort Hua said smugly, "Everyone says that I only know how to use my power to suppress people, and that I am only where I am today because of Consort Cao's planning."
“In the past, I disdained to scheme about such things, but when I really start scheming, everyone else can only stand aside.”
"Tell the nanny to train them quickly. The ones Consort Cao chose are just the ones on the surface. She's never been favored, so how would she know what kind of people the Emperor likes?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Zhou Ninghai knows what to do and will certainly not disappoint you."
*
Peach Blossom Village
The empress was dressed in a monk's robe, her face without any makeup, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were much more noticeable than before.
She used to pretend to be virtuous and generous, but in reality, she was extremely strong-willed. Although she was old and her beauty had faded, the emperor rarely visited her.
But she never admitted defeat in front of the concubines, taking meticulous care of herself every day in an attempt to hold onto her fading youth.
Now that I've figured it out, I'm too lazy to bother with my appearance anymore. Things that aren't worth it aren't worth the effort to keep.
With one hand moving the prayer beads and the other striking the wooden fish, the Empress finished reciting the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Rebirth Sutra for the last time. Only then did she put her hands together in prayer, sincerely bow to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and conclude her daily practice.
As before, Jianqiu helped her out of the small Buddhist hall, and the two returned to the bedroom. The Empress sat on the couch by the window as usual.
Looking at the cool moonlight outside the window, the Empress calmly asked, "Is everything going smoothly with Zhilan? Has Consort Hua noticed anything?"
Jianqiu said, "As Your Majesty wished, everything went smoothly, and Consort Hua did not notice anything amiss."
"But even if Consort Hua discovered something, it doesn't matter. It's all her own idea, and Zhou Ninghai came to her. We just watched from the sidelines and didn't get involved."
The Empress sighed, "When I first learned about Consort Wan, before she even entered the palace, I had already planned what would happen next."
"Empress Chun Yuan has been dead for so many years. Only smart people still remember her. Knowing the Emperor's attitude, they will not take the initiative to mention the hidden story to Consort Wan."
"Before it's done, of course I have to keep it from Consort Hua so she won't find out. Now that I'm not interfering, and it's not some major military matter, Consort Hua can easily find out by checking."
"Zhou Ninghai found Zhilan, who had served his sister back then. I wonder what kind of beauty she can train."
Songzhi frowned and hesitated before saying, "I only saw the figure of that palace maid from afar, but from a distance, she really looked like Empress Chun Yuan back then."
"Although I haven't looked at her face closely, she must have some strengths to be chosen by Consort Hua."
"However, I discovered that in addition to training her posture and attire, they also taught her to cook medicinal cuisine and other foods."
“This servant finds it strange. No matter how open and honest Consort Hua was with the Emperor, she never cooked these things herself.”
"The other concubines all claimed to have made the soups themselves. In reality, they just went to the kitchen to watch people make them, and at most, they tasted them with their chopsticks after they were done."
The Empress turned her head, her gaze fixed intently on Jianqiu. "Do you think there's something fishy going on here?"
Jianqiu nodded and said, "This servant can't say for sure, but I always feel that this matter is different from Consort Hua's usual behavior."
"Last time, His Majesty fell ill because he ate too many tonics. Do you think Consort Hua might have learned something from this?"
After much thought, Jianqiu could only come up with this one reason. It couldn't be that Consort Hua deeply loved the Emperor and knew he was still attached to the woman from the past, so she specially trained a double.
They even taught this stand-in how to cook, so that the emperor could live a long and healthy life and enjoy the blessings of having multiple wives?
The Queen said, "It's not impossible..."
"But ever since that incident, His Majesty has been extremely cautious about his diet and medicine. It won't be so easy to make a fuss about it."
Jianqiu said, "Whether it's easy or not is Consort Hua's business. You just need to watch from the sidelines."
"The Emperor should bear the consequences of his own sins; it has nothing to do with anyone else."
The Empress told herself the same thing, but these days she had been sincerely worshipping Buddha, and she seemed to have really developed some compassion.
Although I didn't get involved, I felt a little uneasy seeing innocent people being dragged into this.
“I don’t feel guilty that Consort Hua wants to avenge herself. It’s just that the palace maid who was used as a substitute could have left the palace when she reached the appropriate age.”
"If you suddenly get involved in these things, you're likely to be reduced to ashes. No matter how things end, you're unlikely to have a good ending."
"Even if you are lucky enough to survive, you will die of old age in the palace."
"Amitabha Buddha, what a sin, what a sin..."
"If Honghui knew that I was observing this coldly, would he blame me for being too heartless?"
The empress grew increasingly panicked. She wanted to see the emperor get his just deserts, betrayed by everyone, and die a horrible death.
But she also feared that her hands would be stained with blood and tears again, so that Honghui would not rest in peace in the afterlife.
The Empress was caught between a rock and a hard place. She clutched her prayer beads tightly to her chest, praying for divine protection so that her child would not be implicated.
Jianqiu hurriedly said, "No, Your Highness, you did nothing. These things were all Consort Hua's own ideas, and you were unaware of them at first."
"Besides, if a palace maid leaves the palace at an older age, she probably won't be able to marry into a good family. If she doesn't do it willingly, Consort Hua wouldn't dare to make her do it."
"Your Majesty, don't you agree? This was something she wanted to do!"
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