Chapter 456

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

August 15th, Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet.

At this time Shen Yao was already four months pregnant; diagnosed by the Imperial Physicians, she could engage in appropriate activity.

Therefore at this Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet Shen Yao not only attended in full ceremonial dress, but also sat at the Emperor's right hand.

At the left hand sat the sole remaining Noble Consort among the Four Consorts, her face stiff with hatred, wishing she could kill Shen Yao with her gaze.

Shen Yao paid it no mind, eating the food on the table leisurely and at ease.

"Host, that one can't be touched, the cup can't be used, and the chopsticks……"

The System grew angrier the more it spoke; how could there be so many taboos just to eat a meal — what exactly do the Imperial Kitchen slaves do for a living.

"Don't be impatient; the more anxious you are, the more you fall into those people's trap," Shen Yao put down her bowl and chopsticks without changing expression, picked up her handkerchief herself and wiped her palm.

"Going out of their way to target my belly, and quite a few of them even relieved themselves in it."

Shen Yao hooked her lip corners, raised her head and smiled sweetly at the Emperor beside her, "Just right the Imperial Physicians are here today; since they don't want to spend the festival comfortably, then let everyone feel stifled."

As her inner words fell, Shen Yao heard the Emperor's concerned tone.

She shook her head to indicate she was a bit tired from being out so long; Shen Yao picked up the soup at her side, dropped the problematic spoon into it and stirred it back and forth.

When the music and dance below started, lightly clad dancing girls appeared gracefully; a crisp sound of porcelain rang out from above, and Shen Yao clutched her belly with a pained face and wailed.

The originally harmonious and beautiful banquet vanished suddenly; with the Emperor's roaring rage, people knelt in a carpet on the ground, awaiting the violent storm about to descend on them.

Naturally, some were apprehensive and some excited; those who had previously chosen sides could not turn back — the only thing they could do was eliminate the unexpected Imperial heir.

"Niangniang"

Lian Xiang looked at her master beside her with a face full of nervousness; the Noble Consort's hand was trembling, her whole body bowed, the surrounding light and figures concealing her slightly excited, manic facial expression.

"Lian Xiang, do you think Consort Xin can keep this child?"

Lian Xiang shook her head, said a sentence of "don't know," and immediately drew the Noble Consort's furious glare as she turned her head.

Lian Xiang: ……

Lian Xiang was frightened so her heart skipped a beat; she tugged at her mouth corners, not knowing what to say.

"She definitely cannot keep this child; an Imperial heir should never be born from her womb," no, an Imperial heir should not exist at all; without an Imperial heir the Emperor would be willing to come to Yongning Palace — it must not be born!

The Noble Consort's eyes alternated between sharp and muddled; her whole person spoke incoherently.

Were it not for the Noble Consort's high rank, and with no one else beside her (the Emperor had already taken Shen Yao away), those words alone would have spelled disaster for her.

"So you're saying the Zhou Family is involved in this matter? Yong Prince and Jin Prince are already deposed; the Zhou Family isn't deeply implicated — why go to such trouble?"

Lying on the bed in Qianqing Palace with eyes closed, feeling the Emperor's worry and the Imperial Physicians' tension, Shen Yao chatted idly with the System.

Anyway with the System's protection, that little bit she drank had zero effect.

But this time certain people in the Imperial Hospital and Imperial Kitchen are in for misery — who let everything she ate and drank pass through both their hands, yet they still couldn't detect anything.

"Host, a chasm is hard to level; once a person harbors intentions, it's very hard to suppress them again — if the Zhou Family wants to stay wealthy and honored, they must choose a strong backer."

Previously the Zhou Family invested in the Emperor; ultimately the Emperor's ascension exchanged for the Zhou Family's position of First-Rank Grand Preceptor; now the Zhou Family invests in several princes who have heirs — certainly to preserve their original wealth and let the clan continue.

Before the Host entered the palace, the Zhou Family had also invested in harem consorts, but unfortunately these people were disappointing (including the Noble Consort) — not a shred of possibility of an Imperial heir being born.

The Zhou Family had no choice but to entangle themselves with several high-profile princes; now Shen Yao jumps out again to tell all the families who invested early that she can bear children — their path went crooked; slapped in the face and made unable to accept it, they will certainly eliminate the disruptive factor.

The System's theory can actually explain most of the forces that still dare to act; because the longer Shen Yao lives, the more disadvantageous it is for them.

No retreat — only one road to the bitter end; even regret is of no avail.

"Consort Xin, what exactly happened? What do you people eat for a living!"

The Emperor couldn't hold back his anger, pointing at the kneeling expanse of Imperial Physicians, extremely dissatisfied — taking everything he gave them, yet in turn letting his interests suffer.

The Emperor spoke several "good" words in succession, called in a low voice for Li Guiquan to investigate thoroughly — anyone connected to this incident must not be let off.

"Host, the Emperor is about to launch a great slaughter again — what a sin."

An Emperor's rage, a million corpses prostrate.

Every time the Emperor flies into a rage is a moment of massive bloodletting inside and outside the palace; many people get dragged in, and many people seize the chance to climb up.

"Among these people, one cannot say there are no innocents, but as far as we're concerned there's nothing we can do either" — not striking proactively means passively meeting the enemy; does Shen Yao want to create this killing karma? What can be done — you die or I live; there are innocents behind her too.

"Host, perhaps we should accelerate the plan, minimize the occurrence of today's kind of events as much as possible."

Can't avoid it completely, then do the utmost; as long as we have a clear conscience.

No saintly heart demanding the Host be this or that; the System knows some things don't shift by their will — all they can do well is themselves.

"Before the system, individual power is minuscule; the fact we're unharmed now is merely superior skill" — if one day they fall into a desperate situation, then the trouble that landed on others' heads today will turn around and clamp onto themselves.

Because she has the System at her side, Shen Yao sometimes feels a God's-eye view, but more often she secretly stays vigilant, reminding herself not to get complacent and capsize — humans are the most controllable yet most uncontrollable creatures; no one knows how a person will act if they don't follow common sense — still must be cautious, steady and solid.

"You must keep watch over the Front Court and Huang Hou for me; our mission cannot afford any mistake."

Post-hoc mending is far less effective than prior prevention; Shen Yao slowly stretched her body, her closed eyes beginning to dimly awaken.

"Beloved Consort"

"Your, Your Majesty"

Shen Yao opened her mouth; tears came before words; a pair of eyes carrying misty moisture looked toward Yu Yu at her side.

Yu Yu immediately felt heartache beyond measure; he strode to the bedside, gathered Shen Yao into his embrace, both soothing in a low voice and promising gently, striving to ease the other's frightened tension so as not to affect the Imperial heir in her belly.

Shen Yao buried her head in Yu Yu's embrace; the tears in her eyes surged tumultuously.

Yu Yu felt a wet patch on his chest; his large hand stroked Shen Yao's hair strands, "Beloved Consort rest assured, this time We absolutely will not let off those evil people who moved against you and the Imperial Son!"

In his heart he had already placed certain people on the execution list; Yu Yu gritted his teeth, feeling his previous actions had been too gentle — killing a chicken to warn the monkeys? Seems the chickens killed weren't enough; the monkeys aren't afraid at all.

The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet ended in a hurry, and all the consorts in the palace were ordered by the Emperor not to go out without an oral decree.

Simply overbearing and unreasonable; for consorts of noble birth, this was a slap in the face.

"What face can we have? Once we enter the palace and become consorts at the mercy of others," it is even rare to be able to be ourselves.

Zheng Xiurong fiddled with the book before her, turning a page with an indifferent expression as she spoke.

The maidservant attending her looked heartbroken; her mistress used to occasionally show some joy before entering the palace, but after entering she became like a doll, always wearing a perfectly proper smile on her face, with no great emotional fluctuations, as if her heart were dead.

"There's no need to be like this; I am doing very well in the palace, and the Emperor gives face to the Zheng family. Moreover, even if it is a slap in the face, all consorts are treated equally, so what does Zheng Xiurong have to be sad about? As for not being able to compare with the pregnant Consort Xinzhao? If she were the emperor, she would probably be even more excessive than the Emperor; all of this is only human nature."

Maidservant:...

What else could she say? Everything she wanted to say had already been said by her mistress; the maidservant turned around and silently brought the pastries and beverages her mistress loved to eat and drink, devoting herself entirely to taking care of her mistress.

In fact, there are not a few consorts in the entire imperial harem who can let things go like Zheng Xiurong.

Of course, there are also a few typical ones who cannot let things go, such as the Noble Consort and Deng Chongyuan.

The Noble Consort is agitated and unable to restrain herself because she has a guilty conscience; Deng Chongyuan is worried and fearful of being disliked as troublesome.

Two people, two mindsets; the result is that the Noble Consort is becoming more and more mad, while Deng Chongyuan is becoming more and more seriously ill.

When Shen Yao was sent back from Qianqing Palace to Furong Palace for confinement to nurture her fetus, Deng Chongyuan was barely hanging on by a breath, and the Noble Consort was also secretly breaking with the Zhou Family.

"The Emperor is busy gathering evidence against Prince Cheng and several others; the Imperial Physicians of the Imperial Hospital and the palace servants of the Imperial Kitchen have been purged in a batch, and the Imperial Household Department is selecting new recruits. Has the Shen Family inserted people according to our plan on their end?"

This is the best opportunity to enter the palace; the slaves in the palace have a fixed quota for entering and leaving the imperial harem every year, and the Imperial Household Department does not select people every year.

These two times the Emperor lost control in his anger, causing many additional casualties, and the shortage of palace servants is severe.

The Imperial Household Department is taking the opportunity to select new recruits; this is a chance to place people.

The Shen Family confirmed these contents with Shen Yao when Shen Rong entered the palace; now it has been less than half a month since Shen Rong entered the palace, and they probably have not forgotten.

"Preparing according to the Host's plan, but there are many families outside the palace who want to do this, and there are also limits on the number of people selected by the Imperial Household Department; the Host must not place too much hope." As the proverb says, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The system feels that with the Shen Family's current standing, it is very difficult to deal with this Pangran Giant of the Imperial Household Department, after all, it is a department serving the imperial family.

"If it works, good; there will be other opportunities in the future." Shen Yao kept her mindset very calm.

This time, relying on the Emperor's influence, Shen Yao cleansed Furong Palace once again.

Now there are no spies inserted by others within Furong Palace; at least her safety on her own turf can be temporarily assured.

"The meal before one's eyes must be eaten bite by bite, and the road ahead must be walked step by step." Shen Yao smiled and cheered herself on.

"Mistress."

Xiao Fu bent her body and entered from outside the door, "Manager Li has sent some rewards; Mistress, do you want to go out and take a look?"

These days, rewards from Qianqing Palace have been ceaseless, large ones like porcelain ornaments, small ones like jewelry and cosmetics, all flowing into Furong Palace like running water.

Who doesn't say Furong Palace is the most favored, a unique portion both inside and outside the palace!