Chapter 7: After Binding the Childbearing System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 7: Cannon Fodder Minor Imperial Consort (7)

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Successfully infuriated by her natal family's ability to hold her back, Wei Jingyi calmed down again and again, but still couldn't help complaining to the nainai beside her.

The nainai was Wei Jingyi's wet nurse, having served by her side since birth.

Don't look at how unpleasant Wei Jingyi's words are right now; when the Guogong Fu truly gets into trouble, she will be the most anxious one, because in this world, a woman's reliance, besides her natal family, is her husband's family and offspring.

This is the upbringing women accept from birth; it cannot be easily changed.

Zhou Guifei, the one being muttered about by Wei Jingyi, was currently lying in the main hall of Chaoyang Palace eating fruit washed clean by palace maids.

Zhou Guifei's original name was Zhou Ningyan; although a concubine-born daughter, her family background was outstanding, her father being the current Right Prime Minister of the first rank.

On the premise that neither the Left Prime Minister of equal official rank nor the Taishi Fu had sent anyone into the palace, Zhou Ningyan, relying on her own family background, counted as the number one person in the Huang Hou; even the Empress's Guogong Fu could not compare with her.

Zhou Ningyan was very beautiful, surrounded by a faint, clear, and cold aura.

She was the kind of woman with a scholarly air; although her status as a concubine-born daughter might make people look down on her, Zhou Ningyan had been raised by her birth mother since childhood, so her upbringing was absolutely flawless. Added to that, she participated in the Imperial Selection in the second year of the Yuanhe Emperor's ascension to the throne, which was also the first year of the Yuanhe Emperor's reign title change. Upon entering the palace she became an Imperial Consort, and after one year was directly promoted to Noble Consort, enjoying exclusive favor ever since.

Like now, whether food or drink, Zhou Ningyan was on par with the Empress, and occasionally the Yuanhe Emperor would even specially bestow tribute items that even the Empress did not have. Examining closely, who was higher in status between her and the Empress was still debatable.

"Niangniang, this fruit was produced from the estate in the suburbs; although the taste is good, eating too much harms the body.

Niangniang has recently been taking medicine beneficial for offspring; the Imperial Physician instructed that Niangniang must not eat too many of these cold-natured things."

Seeing her master's hands not idle, the attending palace maid couldn't help but quietly remind her.

Slap—

"Niangniang, forgive this servant; this servant knows her mistake."

The delicate fruit platter fell directly to the ground with a crisp sound, round, plump, and juicy fruits instantly covering the entire main hall floor.

Zhou Ningyan's pair of beautiful water-cut eyes narrowed slightly; she had a jade nose and cherry lips, skin surpassing snow. When not speaking she appeared very easy to get along with, but once she opened her mouth, a sharp aura would instantly destroy the originally gentle scene completely.

"Wenhe, you have overstepped."

Some words, whether they should be said or not, isn't that the self-cultivation of a palace maid herself?

Zhou Ningyan hated most when others talked about her body; she had been in the palace for six years and still had no pregnancy news — this was the greatest pain in her heart.

"This servant knows her mistake; please Niangniang forgive this servant."

Wenhe dared not explain further, only lowering her head and kneeling on the ground, repeatedly admitting fault and apologizing.

Zhou Ningyan didn't say anything more; she just looked at Wenhe kneeling before her.

Until Wenhe's forehead was bruised purple and green from kowtowing, she then casually waved her hand.

"Get up; this time it's forgiven. If there's a next time, you don't need to stay by this palace's side to serve."

Tsk, such a consequence was only slightly less severe than being sent out of the Imperial Palace.

Wenhe hurriedly thanked for the grace; after getting up she didn't forget to gather the fruit scattered all over the floor, afraid that doing it slowly would affect her master's mood.

Zhou Ningyan, her mood ruined by a single sentence, threw down the book she had half-read and got up from the couch herself.

"Recently the family sent in a few more fertility prescriptions; take them to the Imperial Physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau to examine. If the prescriptions have no problem, continue using them."

Now the Empress's legitimate son is already two years old; if she doesn't seize the time, once the newly entered Imperial Consorts become pregnant, she will only be able to adopt other people's offspring.

Zhou Ningyan clenched her palm, fingernails digging deep into the flesh, yet she didn't care.

In the end, she didn't want to reach the last resort.

……

May I ask, what is the feeling of being carried into the Imperial Palace sitting in a sedan chair?

Shen Yao would definitely answer: dizziness, nausea, and turning the world upside down are nothing.

It was only after Shen Yao came to this interface that she discovered she actually had the bad habit of getting sedan-sick.

Uh, it doesn't count as sedan-sickness exactly; it's just that Shen Yao isn't used to it. The sedan chair jolted back and forth, and by the time she arrived at the palace where Shen Yao would live, her head was still dizzy and not very clear.

"Shen Changzai, we've arrived."

A sharp, somewhat ear-piercing voice came from outside the sedan.

Shen Yao first steadied her spirit, then placed her hand on Qiu Yue's arm and walked out.

Looking up, it was a beautiful small garden.

Although it was already the ninth month and the weather had turned cool, the garden was full of blooming flowers, the air fragrant and assaulting the nose.

【46】 Shen Yao raised a smiling face, looking at the leading eunuch dressed as a Inner Room beside her.

Shen Yao raised her smiling face, looking at the eunuch in attendant attire who was leading the way beside her.

"Gonggong, peace."

"Shen Changzai is courteous."

The leading gonggong had already accepted the purse Qiu Yue slipped him before entering.

Right now, this person's gaze toward Shen Yao was quite pleasing.

"Shen Changzai, this is Weiyang Palace where you will reside from now on.

The main hall of Weiyang Palace still has no mistress; not far from the side halls, Fu Rong Guan houses two Imperial Concubines who entered the palace three years ago. Both are masters who usually like to keep a low profile and rarely go out."

The leading gonggong led Shen Yao inside while quietly introducing the layout of Weiyang Palace.

Besides those two Imperial Concubines just mentioned, Hai Tang Guan in the rear hall of Weiyang Palace houses Answering Ladies and Xuan Shi who entered the palace even earlier.

Shen Yao's residence is Hehuan Palace, right next to Weiyang Palace, closest to Weiyang Palace. One can occasionally come to Weiyang Palace for a stroll, after all, Weiyang Palace still has no mistress.

Connected to Shen Yao's Hehuan Palace is Song Xue Ju, where Wu Guiren, who entered in the same Imperial Selection as Shen Yao, resides. She is one rank higher than Shen Yao, the reason being Wu Guiren's birth father is a fourth-rank official.

All this information was revealed to Shen Yao by this leading gonggong.

And the leading gonggong took money to do the job; conveniently, he also introduced the remaining six people who entered at the same time as Shen Yao, one by one.

Shen Yao didn't remember much, but she knew that the show girl titled Chen Pin lived in Fu Yang Palace, some distance from her, and that it was said to be even more chaotic there, with more consorts below her rank.

Shen Yao:... This surely won't be quiet.

They say three women make a drama, but just around Weiyang Palace where Shen Yao lived, there were seven altogether—tut tut, there really are many women in the Huang Hou.

She had Qiu Yue give the eunuch leading the way a large packet of silver.

Shen Yao entered Hehuan Palace and met the two eunuchs and four palace maids who originally served there.

Smiling, she briefly asked the six people some questions, noted down their names, had Qiu Yue take people to the Imperial Household Department to retrieve her luggage and dowry, while she herself entered the hall to rest.

Before Shen Yao moved in, Hehuan Palace had long stood vacant.

So the air in the rooms carried a faint musty smell.

Shen Yao felt that once the dowry was retrieved, she would have Qiu Yue bring out some spices to use.

Not only that, the decorations inside the rooms were too empty and lifeless; Shen Yao felt it was not good and needed rearranging.

Calculating carefully, she still had many things to do; having only three days to adjust after entering the palace, she feared she would have to make tight use of them.

But there was no rush—take them one by one, and they would all be finished in time.

Shen Yao's mindset was very good; even though Hehuan Palace did not suit her taste, she simply noted it silently, waiting to make changes later.

Unlike other show girls entering the palace, who made trouble and expressed dissatisfaction, exposing all their shortcomings.

"Mistress"

Qiu Yue held the account book in her hands and respectfully delivered it before Shen Yao with a respectful expression.

Shen Yao took it casually and at the same time handed a Purple Sandalwood Box to Qiu Yue.

"You are the maid I brought in; in the whole palace, the person I trust most is you.

The keys to the Ku Fang are with you; keep an eye on everything related to the Ku Fang at all times.

This wooden box contains three thousand taels of banknotes and some scattered gold and silver, for our daily expenses.

Once you enter the palace, you will probably find it hard to leave in the future; you only need to remember that we, mistress and servant, share life and death—if you betray me for profit, you won't live long either."

The two of them were bound together; neither could leave the other.

Shen Yao put some harsh words out in advance, also fearing that Qiu Yue would lose her senses after entering the palace and do something stupid.

After listening, Qiu Yue hurriedly knelt to express loyalty to Shen Yao; she was a house-born servant of the Shen Family, her whole family lived in the Shen Family, and she absolutely dared not have such thoughts.

"... No matter what happens in the future, this servant will never betray my mistress."

"Get up"

Shen Yao was not really afraid Qiu Yue would betray her; at worst she would just replace her with another, anyway the Huang Hou was never short of ambitious slaves.

Qiu Yue stood up, holding the wooden box in her arms, and then spoke with Shen Yao again about the situation in Hehuan Palace.

She had just taken people to the Imperial Household Department to retrieve the dowry, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Everything that should be said, asked, and investigated on the road was not missed.

Shen Yao was satisfied with Qiu Yue's mindset and felt it was good to have brought Qiu Yue into the palace.

It seemed her Cheap Grandmother still had some ability; Shen Yao didn't mind that the maid by her side was connected to the Shen Family, as long as she didn't betray her—Shen Yao's tolerance was surprisingly high.

"Carefully feel out the background of Hehuan Palace; it has been unoccupied for a long time, so the possibility of spies is not great, but we cannot relax our vigilance."

Now that Shen Yao had moved in, who knew if Hehuan Palace would become chaotic later.

Furthermore, Hehuan Palace belonged to the Weiyang Palace area, and around Weiyang Palace were mostly other palaces; Shen Yao didn't know the tempers of the people living inside, so taking precautions in advance was no harm to her.

Qiu Yue nodded in agreement, and following Shen Yao's arrangements, she led the palace servants of Hehuan Palace to begin redecorating the rooms Shen Yao lived in.

In a flash, three days passed.

During this period, Shen Yao did not leave the bounds of Hehuan Palace, but stayed wholeheartedly in the rooms, and used the time of bathing at night to regulate her body and maintain her condition.

In this Imperial Selection, Shen Yao was not the most outstanding one.

So she could not guarantee that the Emperor would soon summon her for Bedchamber Service.

In order to conceive offspring as soon as possible and live a life relying on her offspring to support her, Shen Yao felt she could try a little harder, striving for a one-shot success, which would save trouble and give peace of mind.

"Mistress"

Qiu Yue hurriedly entered from the doorway, walked nervously to Shen Yao's side, and made a curtsy.

Shen Yao looked up, put down the painting album in her hand, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qiu Yue hesitated, "Mistress, the Emperor today summoned consorts for favor," but the choice was not her own mistress.

The latter half of the sentence, Qiu Yue did not say, but who was Shen Yao? She could tell at a glance.