Volume One, Chapter 11: The Pregnancy Is Already a Foregone Conclusion

Before leaving, he specially instructed Zhang Shunlai to take a delicate brocade box to Jingyang Palace.

“Your Highness, those ministers from the previous court always meddle in trivial matters, and His Majesty has been so vexed by them that he couldn’t come to see you today. But His Majesty has been thinking of you all along. See, he even sent a gift through your servant,” Zhang Shunlai said with a deep bow, his face blooming with a wide smile.

In the three years within the palace, he had never seen His Majesty so doting on any concubine. Considering Consort Chen’s background, His Majesty’s affection was clearly genuine.

The woman before him wore plain clothes but her graceful figure was unmistakable. Her jet-black hair was styled into a high chignon, adorned with a few simple jade hairpins angled delicately. Her eyebrows were like wisps of smoke, eyes clear and bright, her nose elegantly defined, lips tinted like vermilion, and her translucent, radiant skin seemed to glow.

She stood calmly beside a rack brimming with blossoms, holding a jade ladle. To an unsuspecting observer, she might have appeared as a fairy overseeing the hundred flowers.

Zhang Shunlai bit his tongue and hurriedly averted his gaze.

With such beauty, not to mention the emperor himself, which man in the world could resist doting on her?

Pei Yueshu nodded and told him to put the box down.

Zhang Shunlai handed the brocade box to Yanyi with a troubled expression. The consort hadn’t even opened it yet—how could he explain this to His Majesty?

Before leaving, Haitang slipped a heavy pouch into his sleeve.

Zhang Shunlai dared not accept it, pushing it away repeatedly as he hurried off.

“Your Highness, it seems those around His Majesty are extremely wary of us,” Yanyi said, holding the box while standing to one side.

Pei Yueshu continued tending to the flowers, a pastime she had enjoyed since her days in the boudoir.

Xiao Xuanyu knew her preferences well and had specially built a flower pavilion in Jingyang Palace, filled with rare and precious blooms.

“No rush,” she said.

Xiao Xuanyu was still young. When his vitality waned, no matter how loyal his attendants were, they would inevitably seek a way to secure their own futures.

“Have you thoroughly investigated those palace maids and eunuchs?” she asked.

“There are two second-class maidservants, one named Jin Lu and the other Jin Ju, and a eunuch called Xiao Luzi—all from the Huo family. They approached me on their own to reveal this; the rest remain unknown for now.”

Pei Yueshu understood Huo Chi’s intentions clearly. She had to rely on the Huo family to achieve her goals. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be able to tell friend from foe among those around her; one day, someone might tamper with her food or drink and she’d die without cause.

“Everything else can wait, but the nursing matron and Haitang must keep a close watch on my food and drink.”

“Also, what did you find out about the other consorts in the harem?”

Her monthly cycle had been delayed for more than twenty days—it was certain she was pregnant.

From then on, she wouldn’t have to attend the emperor’s bed, but this pregnancy was coveted not only by the Ji family but also by the Xiang family, and there was Huo Shufei’s power in the palace to consider.

The protection from Xiao Xuanyu and Huo Chi alone was insufficient. She needed another scapegoat.

“There’s a palace maid named Lin Yunu. Ever since she recovered from a serious illness half a month ago, her temperament changed drastically—she became very lively and cheerful, unlike a typical noble lady, and she’s quite beautiful.”

“Lin Yunu?” Pei Yueshu pondered carefully but couldn’t recall anyone by that name. She only faintly remembered palace servants discussing a maid who died shortly after entering the palace.

Could it be her?

But the one who was supposed to have died in her previous life was very much alive now.

Pei Yueshu found this strange and, thinking of her miraculous rebirth, remained silent for a long while.

“Let it be her, then.”

They had no grievances, but since she had entered the palace, it was only a matter of time before the emperor favored her. Pei Yueshu was merely giving her a helping hand.

The next day, Xiao Xuanyu came to Jingyang Palace for lunch.

The midday meal was prepared by Jingyang Palace’s own kitchen, with chefs carefully selecting ingredients to suit Pei Yueshu’s tastes.

As the weather grew warmer, her appetite waned.

Xiao Xuanyu thought she was unhappy because he hadn’t visited the previous night.

He put down his chopsticks and pulled her into his lap.

The maids and eunuchs attending them bowed their heads and quietly withdrew.

“Are you upset?” Xiao Xuanyu lifted her chin.

“What could I possibly be happy or unhappy about?” Pei Yueshu looked straight into his phoenix-like eyes.

In the previous life, her coldness had meant he only visited her occasionally, never as obsessively as now.

But she knew Xiao Xuanyu’s nature well.

He was suffocated by three women from powerful families.

Empress Ji was proud; Consort Xiang and Huo Shufei might flatter him, but deep down they looked down on him—all for family honor.

Consort Zhao had never wanted to enter the palace; she was forced by her clan.

That was why Xiao Xuanyu sought the thrill of conquest from her.

She was just easy prey.

Whether he liked her or not was uncertain, but love was surely absent. When she became like the other flattering women in the harem, that would be her downfall.

“And what about Me? I treat you well—does that make you happy?” Xiao Xuanyu studied her face earnestly, his eyes gentle.

Pei Yueshu sneered; her expression grew more alluring, but her words seemed designed to tear apart the facade they had both maintained.

These past two weeks had been too comfortable. It was time to douse cold water on Xiao Xuanyu’s heart, otherwise how could she satisfy his desire to conquer?

“Your Majesty, do not forget the means by which you brought me into the palace.”

Xiao Xuanyu released her face and took a deep breath.

He had thought her obedience was because she had come to terms with it, but it was only that she had given up hope.

Pei Yueshu seized the moment to slide off his lap.

Xiao Xuanyu stared at her profile, frowning deeply, but in the end said nothing and swept his sleeves as he left.

That night, he visited Consort Xiang, then Huo Shufei, and Consort Zhao—none were missed.

Afterward, he never again set foot in the harem, especially Jingyang Palace, as if he had forgotten it existed.

The palace whispered that once the emperor’s novelty wore off and with pressure from the previous court, Consort Chen was bound to lose favor.

Without the emperor’s protection, the dangers of the harem slowly unfolded.

Pei Yueshu did not leave Jingyang Palace, but the maids and eunuchs still had to go out to collect their rations and endure the old nursing matrons’ scoldings.

One day, a maid named Zhenzhu was made to kneel under the scorching sun for two hours as punishment after spilling peonies meant for Consort Xiang. She returned utterly exhausted.

Other palace workers were punished for various unfounded accusations.

Jin Lu, who went to fetch the rations, was not only harassed by Qingzhu from Huo Shufei’s entourage, but returned with inferior goods leftover from the other three consorts—fruits and melons that were all spoiled.

Pei Yueshu turned a blind eye; these people were not truly on her side.

As for the Huo family, once the emperor’s agents could no longer endure, they would surely act maliciously, giving her the excuse to clear them out.

Soon, a messenger from the Empress’s palace arrived, summoning Pei Yueshu to pay respects at the Kunning Palace the next day.

With Xiao Xuanyu no longer protecting her, refusal would only please Empress Ji, providing her with a legitimate reason to punish Pei Yueshu.

Pei Yueshu touched her abdomen; it had nearly been a month, but to further complicate matters, she planned to wait two months before revealing anything.

“Miss...” Yanyi’s face showed concern; going to Kunning Palace tomorrow was certainly fraught with danger.

Pei Yueshu shook her head, signaling her to rest assured.

This was Xiao Xuanyu’s usual tactic.

If she disobeyed, he would cease protecting her and allow the other consorts and palace servants to bully her.

But if they harmed her, he would not stand idly by.

His favorite was rescuing her from calamity when she was at her most vulnerable.

Pei Yueshu smiled coldly. He never expected to be played and calculated by this caged bird, so precisely attuned to his character.