Chapter 280 - Concubine Fu (2)

When the crown prince and Jian Xubai were discussing the backup plan, in the Xifu Palace…

Concubine Fu grabbed the branch of orange osmanthus and walked into the inner hall with a smile. “Cui, you don’t take me as your friend. You are a consort. Even though you have been degraded recently, you are of a higher rank than me. You are ill, and why didn’t you tell me but hide here and rest quietly to recuperate? If I didn’t meet the crown prince outside and get the news from him just now, perhaps I would be still unclear about it now.”

While speaking, she motioned for her maid to bring a stool for embroidering from the distance and move it next to Consort Cui’s bed. Then she walked over gracefully and sat down. Nobody knew if she did it intentionally or unintentionally, yet she didn’t bow to Consort Cui since she entered the hall. She looked at Consort Cui’s pale face and laughed more loudly, tut-tutting, “Look at your face. It really makes me feel sad after I see it. You are so ill, but you don’t send for a royal doctor or tell the empress. You just asked the crown prince in private to come and talk with you. If the news spreads, people will think that the empress treats you unfairly.”

“Who doesn’t know that the empress’ grandnephew had an accident not long ago?” Consort Cui was laid up because she was too anxious, yet after all, she was a side concubine of Emperor Xianjia when he was a prince and became an old hand after experiencing a lot. Even though she was weak, she wouldn’t fear Concubine Fu who was about ten years younger than her.

After hearing that, she didn’t get angry but stated impassively, “In the past few days, even the Empress Dowager sent people to comfort the empress in the Palace of Weiyang almost every day. Under the situation, how can I disturb the empress when I suffer from a minor illness? Fu, you often go to see the Empress Dowager. She is always gentle and affable. I think that you are influenced by what you constantly see and hear, so you should learn to be considerate anyway, but I never expect that you don’t even know such a simple reason. You are so disappointing.”

“Cui, you are wrong.” Concubine Fu couldn’t be coped with easily. After she heard that, her eyes rolled, and she snorted. “Now all people at the imperial court and harem system know that the empress’ grandnephew was ruined by your biological son, the crown prince. You are ill now. No matter what caused your illness, if you send somebody to report to the empress, you can express your guilt and regret, right? But you didn’t say anything. If others know that, they will think that…”

She intentionally prolonged her tone. “You just have a guilty conscience.”

“The first emperor made it clear that the people in the imperial harem system can’t interfere in politics.” Consort Cui put on a cold face and said sternly, “As imperial concubines, how can we comment on the state affairs? Fu, you have crossed the line.”

“Is it to interfere in politics?” Concubine Fu retorted with disdain. “I just feel pity for the empress’ grandnephew. He is a young master from an aristocratic family, but whom did he offend? He is so young yet his future was ruined. Editor Su is so talented, and his legitimate nephew will probably be like him after growing up, but the boy suffered from such a disaster. Anybody with a conscience can’t bear to see that.”

Consort Cui sneered and glanced at Concubine Fu’s face, with her stabbing eyes. She didn’t conceal the sarcasm in her tone. “I think that although we are never friends, there is no enmity between us. Why did you come to add insult to injury today? You think that the crown prince is in imminent danger, so you fear that after Prince of Zhao takes the throne, the empress will blame you as you were long-tongued in the Qingxi Hall? Do you plan to take me and my son as a stepping-stone to atone for a crime by meritorious actions?”

Concubine Fu was just a Jieyu at the beginning of this year. The Empress Dowager still supported the crown prince then and didn’t hope that the Su Family would incite Prince of Zhao to fight for the title of heir to the throne, so she summoned all the imperial concubines to the Qingxi Hall and suggested in public making Prince of Zhao be fostered. When nobody dared to echo the Empress Dowager, Concubine Fu stepped forward and said something to satisfy her, so she attracted the Empress Dowager’s attention and was promoted to be one of the Nine Concubines.

Although she flattered the Empress Dowager after doing that, she offended the empress greatly.

After all, no matter how broad-minded Empress Su was, how would she like an imperial concubine who wanted to have her only biological son fostered?

In the past, Concubine Fu knew this, but she didn’t fear anything. After all, she supported the Empress Dowager, who was the empress’ mother-in-law, and even the empress should serve her cautiously. Moreover, the crown prince’s position was steady, and his biological mother was not Empress Su. When Concubine Fu spoke for the Empress Dowager, it meant that she also helped the crown prince. So even if the Empress Dowager passed away, as long as the crown prince took the throne, the empress couldn’t get back at Concubine Fu.

Concubine Fu had been in the imperial palace for several years and favored by the emperor for a period. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been a Jieyu, with a title in the imperial palace even before she openly supported the Empress Dowager.

The problem was that she didn’t give birth to a child. Emperor Xianjia’s situation as a patient went from bad to worse, and this year, he even entrusted the state affairs to the crown prince and all the civil and military officials and mainly rested quietly to recuperate. When he rested quietly, he didn’t ask Concubine Fu to serve him but just often summoned the peerless beauty Beautiful Lady Nuan.

Under the situation, Concubine Fu was clear that even though she was still young, she couldn’t hope to have a child to protect her.

So she had to consider for her future.

The first emperor conquered the country under the banner of expelling the minority nationality and rebuilding the country. So after he established Great Rui, he copied the rules in the Yong Dynasty to express his determination to rebuild the country.

According to the imperial harem system in the Yong Dynasty, after the late emperor passed away, his concubines who had children would be taken out of the imperial palace and supported by the children, and the concubines who didn’t have children would be sent to the temporary palace near the royal mausoleum to “live an easy life in old age”.

The former would be happy as they would go to their children’s mansions to reunite with the title of dowager consort or dowager concubine and enjoy their old age in peace with their children and grandchildren, but the latter were not so happy, or they were miserable. To be frank, they would wait for death in the temporary palace.

They would await their doom, and their food and clothes must be not so good. After all, even in society, the widows couldn’t wear beautiful clothes, not to mention that they would preserve chastity after the death of their husband, the late emperor.

They must lead a simple life to show that they missed the late emperor and didn’t want to leave him.

Concubine Fu was still at the prime of youth and was healthy. If there was no accident, she could live for decades more. If she had to bear the ordeal in the temporary palace for decades, even at this thought, she knew that it would be boring.

So when she stepped out and spoke for the Empress Dowager then, she didn’t consider being promoted but wanted to flatter the Empress Dowager and the crown prince, so she could be given preferential treatment after Emperor Xianjia passed away. It was the best if the new Empress Dowager would say something and let her stay in the side hall of the Palace of Mingren to accompany her, so she wouldn’t be driven to the temporary palace and then die without outside interference.

Unexpectedly, only half a year had passed, and the situation at the imperial court and harem system changed sharply. The crown prince who had been the heir to the throne for nearly twenty years was suddenly charged of killing the innocent, disrespecting the empress, being cruel and so on. It appeared that his future was uncertain, while the empress’ son, Prince of Zhao had the most chances to be the new heir to the throne.

Concubine Fu still remembered that when she served the Empress Dowager in the Palace of Mingren, she occasionally heard some maids gossiping in private. “It’s said that the murder case in Jianling was investigated by a follower of Prince of Wei. If the crown prince is in trouble, the new heir to the throne must be Prince of Wei, right?”

“Are you stupid?” That maid’s companion spat at her. “All people know that Prince of Wei is just a pretense that Grand Princess Daiguo pushed out to fight for the title of heir to the throne. If this prince takes the throne, the state affairs will probably be decided by the Ji Family in the future. His Majesty is so wise and brave. How can he endure something like this? Moreover, when the Empress Dowager talked with Maid Yuguo about the current situation the other day, she sighed with emotion and said that all of them are her descendants. If Prince of Wei takes the throne, how would Grand Princess Daiguo spare the crown prince and the woman in the Xifu Palace?”

“So you mean…”

“If another prince should be selected as the heir to the throne now, it must be Prince of Zhao. After all, although the Su Family always supports him in fighting for the title of heir to the throne, they don’t plan to take this prince as a puppet. Moreover, if Prince of Zhao takes the throne, both the crown prince and Grand Princess Daiguo have the chance to be saved. Do you think so?”

“Right. However, the woman who often comes here these months will have a difficult time, right? When the Empress Dowager suggested letting Prince of Zhao be fostered by Prince of Su or Prince of Xiang, nobody in the hall dared to speak, and only she stood out. Later she was promoted to be one of the Nine Concubines, but how many days has she been complacent? If she is in the hands of the empress in the future, who knows how the empress will torture her?”

While talking, the two maids laughed indifferently. They had never talked with Concubine Fu, so they didn’t bear a grudge against her. They talked about her with no hostility and just thought that they would watch a play.

But how would Concubine Fu hidden in the dark not feel downhearted after hearing that?

Unfortunately, it had happened. She had offended the empress and it couldn’t change. Under the situation, even if she was willing to kowtow and humbly apologize in the Palace of Weiyang regardless of her dignity, the empress could certainly guess why, and how would she forgive this concubine?

Since Concubine Fu couldn’t apologize directly, and she was reluctant to await her doom, she should prove her guilt by doing something to ask for the empress’ forgiveness.

For example, she could add insult to injury in front of Consort Cui and her son.

At the moment, since her intention was exposed by Consort Cui openly, shame and anger flashed in Concubine Fu’s eyes. She sneered. “Cui, it turns out that you know that the crown prince is in imminent danger. No wonder that you are so anxious that you fell sick at night. However, under the situation, why are you still too obstinate to be awakened? The empress is always tolerant and broad-minded. If you…”

“Pah!” Before Concubine Fu finished her words, Consort Cui shouted furiously and interrupted her. “Who are you? You are just one of the Nine Concubines. Even though I am not a noble consort anymore, I am still superior to you. You are just a nobody at the imperial harem system. You want to flatter the empress crazily and even dream about convincing me and the crown prince to surrender to the Palace of Weiyang.”

Consort Cui was really in a rage. She had tried to persuade the crown prince to support Prince of Zhao in taking the throne if he couldn’t succeed, and anyway, they couldn’t let Prince of Wei have his way. Even Prince of Liang doubted her words, so she naturally just said that.

Moreover, even if she really wanted to support Prince of Zhao, how would she let Concubine Fu take the credit?

While cursing, Consort Cui was more resentful. Although she was ill, she almost jumped up and beat up Concubine Fu. “Bitch, you don’t know the immensity of the universe. Do you qualify to get involved in something like this?”

Concubine Fu just thought that she didn’t need to fear Consort Cui as the crown prince was in a desperate situation, so she didn’t bow to Consort Cui after entering the inner hall, nor did she take her seriously while speaking. She was petrified after Consort Cui cursed her severely. Then she reacted and got angry and ashamed, saying in a sharp voice, “I came to give instructions to you out of kindness, but you don’t listen to me. Great. I am going to see how miserable you and your son will be in the future.”

She waved her sleeve resentfully and threw the branch of orange osmanthus which she had played with for a long time to Consort Cui’s quilt. Then she sneered. “The orange Osmanthus stands for being noble. You and the crown prince are just like this branch of orange Osmanthus which was broken. Even though it’s vigorous and fragrant when it’s in the tree, and it’s the metaphor of the word ‘noble’, after it’s broken, the glory is merely the scene of yesterday. Later, it will be more and more withered gradually, and at last…”

She laughed evilly. “It will become dust and mud stepped by the passers-by.”

“Bitch!” Consort Cui looked at Concubine Fu’s figure swaggering out, with hatred in her eyes. She punched the bedside and gritted her teeth. “No matter what will happen to me and my son in the future, you won’t have a good ending, bitch!”