Chapter 49: The Shocked Zhang Chun

…

When Zhao Yu was secretly speaking with Empress Dowager Xiang, she bluntly asked: “Is this girl truly that skilled?”

“The first time I met her, she foretold: Jiaxu, an earthquake in Taiyuan; the Yellow River flowing north. Guisi, Venus visible in daylight. Gengzi, the Xia envoys came to apologize. All three came true,” Zhao Yu said.

“If so, this girl is no ordinary person. But where did she acquire such abilities?” Empress Dowager Xiang believed Zhao Yu would not deceive her, yet she could not help doubting Zhang Chun’s powers.

“She says a divine being entered her dreams and imparted to her the art of divination; she slept for three days, and when she awoke, she could know fate and foresee the future,” Zhao Yu told Empress Dowager Xiang, repeating Zhang Chun’s lie to him.

Empress Dowager Xiang still harbored some doubt about Zhang Chun’s abilities.

But when it came to something so mysterious and beyond her understanding, the wisest course was to believe it might be true rather than dismiss it—what if it were real?

So Empress Dowager Xiang ceased questioning Zhang Chun’s abilities.

“She told me that within ten days, a matter of great consequence to our Great Song’s fate will occur,” Zhao Yu added.

“What matter?” Empress Dowager Xiang asked.

“She said only that it is immense, concerning the rise or fall of our Great Song, and refuses to speak of anything else,” Zhao Yu said.

“I saw how grave she was, so I pressed her. She said this heavenly secret is too weighty—if revealed, she would suffer heavenly retribution, and it might turn our Great Song’s fortune from favorable to adverse. Hence, I dared not ask further,” Zhao Yu added.

“So serious?” Empress Dowager Xiang’s expression turned solemn.

“I also feel the situation is dire, which is why I wished to keep her near you.”

“I am merely a idle prince. If our Great Song truly faces a great crisis, I can offer no aid.”

“Mother is the pillar of our Great Song. Even if a great crisis strikes, you alone can turn the tide.”

Here, Zhao Yu’s tone shifted: “It’s only ten days away—let’s wait and see if her words come true.”

Empress Dowager Xiang agreed, and elevated Zhang Chun from a lowly palace maid to a Ji Hou attendant, granting her two silver ingots, two bolts of silk, a pair of porcelain bowls, and a single jade hairpin.

These promotions and gifts meant nothing to Zhang Chun; she cared nothing for them.

But from barely surviving in Cide Palace to now receiving honors and being secretly designated as Zhao Yu’s woman, this stunning reversal left Zhang Chun feeling utterly euphoric.

After receiving her rewards, Zhang Chun smiled as she accepted congratulations and flattery from the other maids, then walked over to Ma Xiao Jiao, staring at her in silence.

Seeing this, Ma Xiao Jiao gave Zhang Chun a perfunctory bow: “I was wrong. All along, Sister Chun, you’ve been the one who sacrificed the most for our group. I misunderstood you. You let me work to get near Zhao Yu—that was you giving me face. I judged you with a petty heart.”

Yet inwardly, Ma Xiao Jiao seethed: “If Zhao Yu hadn’t backed you, your face would’ve been a shoe insole long ago!”

Glancing at Zhang Chun’s flat chest, Ma Xiao Jiao, who knew Zhao Yu’s tastes, was puzzled: “Zhao Yu shouldn’t like you at all.”

Zhang Chun, basking in her advantage, feigned hurt: “Jiao Jiao, do you know what hurts me most? Without my guidance, you’d be just like those three—running around like headless flies, hitting walls, trapped in this palace your whole life, never rising, dying in despair. Yet you didn’t follow me—you listened to them. That breaks my heart.”

Ma Xiao Jiao’s priority was flawless apology; she had zero integrity: “Fine, I’ll listen to you from now on, okay?”

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao’s submission, Zhang Chun beamed, took her hand, and said: “That’s better. If you follow me, you won’t just live well in this era—you’ll fulfill your ambitions. Isn’t that what you want?”

Though Ma Xiao Jiao still felt nauseated inside, she had to admit: Zhang Chun understood this era better than any of them. Her current success was because Zhang Chun guided her.

So Ma Xiao Jiao said: “Yes. I want to advance technology in this era. Everything else? I don’t care.”

Zhang Chun loved that Ma Xiao Jiao had no political ambition: “Then listen to me. No matter what it takes, sleep with Zhao Yu as often as possible. Have as many children as you can. Don’t worry he can’t afford them or that you’ll waste time on their education. Even if you bear a hundred, he can support them—and others will raise and teach them.”

Ma Xiao Jiao rolled her eyes: “I’m not a pig. And even pigs can’t have that many.”

“I’m just using an analogy,” Zhang Chun said, shifting tone: “By the way, how many times have you slept with Zhao Yu?”

Ma Xiao Jiao blushed, saying nothing.

Zhang Chun guessed: “Once?”

Ma Xiao Jiao gave no reaction.

Zhang Chun guessed again: “Three times?”

Ma Xiao Jiao remained silent.

Zhang Chun’s eyes lit up: “Five times?”

Ma Xiao Jiao stammered: “N-no… more than that.”

Zhang Chun punched her playfully: “Good girl, Jiao Jiao! In such a short time, you’ve already slept with Zhao Yu so many times? I was worried you’d never get pregnant!”

Here, Zhang Chun grew genuinely curious: “So how many times exactly?”

Ma Xiao Jiao hesitated: “Six…”

“Six times?” Zhang Chun said.

“Six nights, two… twenty-something times,” Ma Xiao Jiao murmured shyly. “Pei Sui had seven nights, I had six, Wang Chuchu and Guo Wei each had four. But I think I’ve had the most encounters—I feel Zhao Yu especially likes me.”

For some reason, hearing this, Zhang Chun felt jealous—even though this was exactly what she wanted.

The more she imagined Zhao Yu and Ma Xiao Jiao in bed together, the more uncomfortable she became.

She even had the urge to slap Ma Xiao Jiao, this little homewrecker.

“Men are all big pig feet!”

“Jiao Jiao’s a green tea too—always seemed so innocent, yet she’s so good at seducing men!”

“Wait… Zhang Chun, don’t think like this. If you want to accomplish something, you must crush jealousy. You must actively send Zhao Yu women—otherwise, you’ll never amount to anything!”

Suppressing her jealousy, Zhang Chun touched Ma Xiao Jiao’s belly, hopeful: “Could you already be carrying Zhao Yu’s son?”

But Ma Xiao Jiao delivered a message that both thrilled and shattered Zhang Chun: “I don’t know… but my period hasn’t come this month. It might be late.”

“Already pregnant?!?!”

Zhang Chun could no longer suppress her jealousy! She couldn’t accept that Ma Xiao Jiao had effortlessly obtained what Zhang Chun had schemed, manipulated, and risked her reputation to win.

“If Jiao Jiao gives birth to Zhao Yu’s first son, isn’t that a direct blow to me?”

“Calm down! Calm down! If Jiao Jiao doesn’t bear Zhao Yu’s first son, someone else will. Compared to others, Jiao Jiao bearing his first son is better for me.”

“But why do all the good things go to Jiao Jiao first?”

Zhang Chun glanced at Ma Xiao Jiao’s noticeably fuller chest, then looked down and saw only her own feet. Her anger vanished. She could only mutter bitterly: “Men are all shallow—Zhao Yu is no exception!”

Seeing Zhang Chun silent, Ma Xiao Jiao asked: “Sister Chun, are you alright?”

Zhang Chun took a deep breath, forcing rationality: “Even if you might already be pregnant, don’t slack off. Keep pushing. Have you watched those little films? Use the thousand-year-advanced techniques in them to make Zhao Yu utterly addicted. You must become the first woman to bear him a son!”

Ma Xiao Jiao rolled her eyes, thinking: “What do you take me for?”

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao’s indifference, Zhang Chun grew angrier: “Don’t be like Li Lin and the others. You’ve been here so long and still don’t understand the situation—you think being a transmigrator makes you superior, not realizing you’re slowly losing your advantage, surrendering your edge, and will one day be forced to beg for scraps from us…”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, and Yuan Qing Cheng were walking toward them from afar.

But Zhang Chun’s gaze did not rest on the three women—instead, it fixed on Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu ahead of them, especially the former…

…

(End of Chapter)