Chapter 9
Sitting across from Noble Consort Meng was Consort Yao.
Consort Yao was strikingly beautiful and blunt by nature. Aside from her somewhat troublesome personality, the Emperor doted on her.
Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. Noble Consort Meng was startled and hurried to stop her. “Younger Sister Yao! Don’t say such things.”
“Sisters, please don’t argue.”
The girl speaking was seated beside Consort Yao. She was none other than Consort Miao.
Miao Ke’er had been born a commoner.
Three years ago, the Emperor was attacked in the wilderness and saved by Miao Ke’er. After spending some time together, he fell sincerely in love with her and brought her into the harem.
Miao Ke’er was made a consort as soon as she entered the palace and received unprecedented favor.
Later, Sheng Yanhuan arrived, and Consort Miao’s standing was completely eclipsed.
Noble Consort Meng, Consort Yao, and Consort Miao were all among the Emperor’s most favored women.
Lady Liu had been the Emperor’s new favorite before he fell into a coma.
Apart from those four, no one else would dare to interrupt.
“What are you talking about?”
The consorts were startled and looked up.
They were even more stunned.
Sheng Yanhuan wore a scarlet gown embroidered with peonies, fine gold threads winding across the hem of her skirt. Though three months pregnant, her waist showed no sign of it and was still so slender it seemed small enough to fit in a palm.
Two golden phoenix hairpins swayed in her hair, chiming softly as she walked. Her skin was as white as snow, and her bright eyes shimmered with color whenever they moved. Her lips were red, her complexion porcelain-white, and her beauty dazzling beyond compare.
Gathered together, dozens of beauties could not match even a tenth of her.
Especially in that brilliant scarlet.
So bright it stung the eyes, so red it pierced the heart.
In the harem, no one but the Empress and the Empress Dowager dared to wear true red.
They were all jealous, but no matter how unwilling they were, they had to rise and greet her.
“Your Highness.”
Sheng Yanhuan slowly took her seat at the head of the room without telling them to rise.
Noble Consort Meng’s eyebrows arched as she stepped over to Sheng Yanhuan.
“Your Highness, this outfit looks wonderful on you.”
There was no woman who didn’t enjoy being flattered.
Sheng Yanhuan raised an eyebrow. Gently stroking her belly with one hand, she tugged at the corner of Noble Consort Meng’s moon-white robe with the other and eyed it critically, her expression full of disdain.
“That outfit is hideous. Who are you?”
Noble Consort Meng’s lips stiffened. Her clothes were hideous?
She had spent all morning carefully choosing that new outfit!
Her stiffness lasted only an instant. Noble Consort Meng quickly regained her smile, though her eyes had turned noticeably colder.
“Your Highness, this consort’s name is Meng Siyu.”
Sheng Yanhuan lowered her eyes and took a small sip of tea. “So you’re Meng Siyu, the Chancellor’s legitimate daughter and Noble Consort Meng.”
In her previous life, she had occasionally heard the Emperor mention Meng Siyu, saying she was gentle and considerate and that Sheng Yanhuan should spend more time with her after entering the palace.
A glimmer of tears crossed Meng Siyu’s eyes. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees and began to sob softly. “This consort wasn’t trying to show off. I only... I only...”
The consorts exchanged glances. The new Empress was certainly making her presence felt.
“Empress, you’re going too far!” Consort Yao’s face turned livid. She immediately stood and strode forward to help Meng Siyu up, but Meng Siyu stubbornly remained on her knees.
“Younger Sister Yao, I’m fine...” Meng Siyu lowered her eyes as tears streamed from them and fell to the ground. The tears seemed to bring a little more color to her pretty face.
Sheng Yanhuan set down her teacup, the corner of her lips curling in a faint, mocking smile.
“Then keep kneeling.”
Noble Consort Meng was truly a master of palace intrigue. Just by kneeling, she had somehow made Sheng Yanhuan out to be a vicious Empress. By tomorrow, rumors would probably be spreading that the Empress was overbearing and had made a consort kneel on her very first day.
Wouldn’t it be a shame not to live up to the reputation?
“You!” Consort Yao had a fiery temper and was quick to anger. Just as she was about to curse without a care, a small voice stopped her.
“Your Highness, Big Sister Yao, please don’t argue. It’s bad for the baby...”
Consort Miao had a small voice and a small frame. Her skin was fair with a rosy glow, and her chubby little face made her look as cute as a doll, hardly threatening at all.
That single mention of the Empress cleared Consort Yao’s head at once.
That was the Empress! Not some random, low-ranking concubine. If she really cursed at her, she’d be in for serious trouble.
Sheng Yanhuan lifted her brows slightly and looked Consort Miao up and down.
The Emperor had often mentioned Consort Miao, saying she was innocent and kind-hearted and that Sheng Yanhuan should be more accommodating toward her.
Now that she saw her, she didn’t seem all that innocent and kind-hearted.
The others, whom Sheng Yanhuan hadn’t told to rise, remained in their respectful positions, motionless and silent, their heads bowed.
Those with such low ranks wouldn’t have been able to bribe anyone in the Empress Dowager’s kitchens.
The most likely suspects were the high-ranking Noble Consort Meng, Consort Yao, Consort Miao, and the Emperor’s new favorite, Lady Liu.
Consort Yao was blunt by nature, and her father was the upright Great General Weiyuan, who had raised her strictly. She could almost certainly be ruled out.
“Consort Yao, were you really hoping to curse me?” Sheng Yanhuan set down her teacup, lifting one eyebrow as she looked at her lazily.
Consort Yao held back her anger and replied coldly, “Your Highness, you must have mistaken me.”
Sheng Yanhuan looked away and ordered, “The rest of you may return. You... four, stay and keep me company.”
“Yes.”
The consorts relaxed, genuine smiles appearing on their faces. They took their leave one after another, leaving only the four highest-ranking consorts behind to suffer.
Some were kneeling, others standing, but every one of them looked tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
A faint, inscrutable smile flickered in Sheng Yanhuan’s eyes. “Noble Consort Meng, you may rise.”
Meng Siyu wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and slowly stood. Then she took a step back, looking every bit like someone who had truly been wronged.
Consort Yao’s face was dark. Afraid she might lose her temper and start shouting, she found an excuse to take her leave.
Lady Liu’s eyes lit up, and she wanted to leave with Consort Yao.
Sheng Yanhuan glanced at her coolly. “Sit down, all of you, and chat with me.”
Lady Liu’s lips stiffened, but she obediently sat down.
Sheng Yanhuan’s gaze was calm, lingering a second longer on the faces of two of them.
Either of those two could very well have been behind the poisoning.
Why not let them turn on each other?
“Consort Miao, even before I entered the palace, I had heard that His Majesty favored you greatly.”
A flicker of panic crossed Miao Ke’er’s eyes, and she replied in a trembling voice, “Not at all. His Majesty favors Your Highness the most.”
That wasn’t untrue. Being made Empress as soon as she entered the palace was unprecedented in a hundred years.
Sheng Yanhuan shook her head and chuckled. “Before the wedding ceremony, His Majesty specifically told me to take good care of you. Though he’s out of danger now, no one knows when he’ll wake. From today onward, I’ll allow you to stay by his side and help him regain consciousness as soon as possible.”
Meng Siyu’s expression changed drastically. Her usually gentle face crumpled in an instant, turning so dark she could barely keep control of herself.
At Sheng Yanhuan’s words, Miao Ke’er immediately looked up, her eyes shining brightly. She was nothing like the timid girl she’d seemed moments before.
“Thank you, Your Highness. This consort will serve His Majesty well.”
Sheng Yanhuan smiled faintly and looked around at the others.
Lady Liu looked dazed, as if sleepwalking.
Happiness practically spilled from Miao Ke’er’s face.
Meng Siyu lowered her head and said nothing.
With the Emperor unconscious, only his personal eunuchs, the imperial physicians, and the palace’s three most powerful figures—the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Regent—could attend to him.
Consorts like them had no right to visit him.
And yet...
What would become of the one who received this favor?
And what of the one who didn’t?