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n“They’re going too far in bullying others!” said Liangyi Hu lowly through clenched teeth, angered to the point where eyes were bloodshot, causing her to look haggard.

n“Master, you mustn’t get angry,” said her palace maid Yuzhu as she poured a hot cup of tea for her. “Second Prince has now been given to Her Highness Noble Consort Xian to raise. It’s useless even if you get angry, and you would only be harming your health in vain.”

nCovering her mouth with a handkerchief to control her cough, Liangyi Hu coughed until it didn’t hurt as much anymore. “Although Second Prince has a straightforward personality, he’s unlikely to go as far as being so impulsively stupid. It seems there are people with intentions instigating him. Otherwise, why would he do something like this?”

n“Could it be Noble Consort Xian…?” said Yuzhu with hesitation. “She doesn’t seem to like Second Prince.”

n“Although she’s not the most intelligent person in the harem, she has always used her brain when doing things. It’s unlikely that she would use such a stupid method. No matter how it’s said, right now Second Prince is being raised under her. For something like this to have happened isn’t beneficial for her either.” Liangyi Hu sneered. “At this moment, who would benefit the most from this?”

n“It’s… Xianrong Zhao,” cried out Yuzhu, before rushing to hold her tongue. Then she said, “But why would Xianrong Zhao do this?”

n“This harem never lacks women who seek revenge for the smallest grievances.” Liangyi Hu revealed a bleak smile. “When I was a consort, I schemed against her. Now that I am down and out, she schemed against me. It’s only natural. She truly can keep her composure, not causing me trouble on the surface this whole time. Even her methods are so careful. One would fear that in the emperor’s heart right now, she is an injured party.”

nAs master and servant were talking, knocks sounded on the door. Yuzhu rushed to open it. At the doorway stood a court eunuch in blue carrying a meal box, impatience painting his face. Seeing her open the door, he said, “This is Master Hu’s noon meal.”

nYuzhu carefully received it and opened the lid for a look. Yet what entered her field of view were only two kinds of overly stir-fried side dishes, and a bowl of rice that didn’t have any steam. She could not help but ask, “Gonggong, why is it only these things?”

n“You still think your master is Her Highness Consort Ning?” The eunuch glanced at her in disdain. “She’s only an imperial concubine who committed a crime now. What’s she thinking she’s still a favored concubine for?”

nFollowing that, he turned around and left, not sparing a look at Yuzhu’s expression.

nYuzhu looked at the eunuch’s back figure, anger stuck in her heart. She was also worried that Liangyi Hu had heard his words, so could only carry the meal box back inside.

nBut Liangyi Hu had in fact heard their conversation clearly. She could not help but smile bitterly. The imperial harem was like so: the winners took all. Whoever lost would be bullied by even the servants.

nWhat a pity that she had underestimated Zhuang Laoyan in the past. With such an able-to-endure personality paired with such great means, she would naturally have a place in the imperial harem.

n“Today’s sheep tripe and bamboo shoots are a bit overcooked,” said Zhuang Laoyan, setting down her chopsticks. A bit regretful, she added, “It’s rare to have such fresh bamboo shoots. What a pity.”

n“Shangshi Bureau sent these dishes.” Tingzhu scooped up a bowl of pigeon soup. “Although it’s a normal dish, this slave thought that Your Highness would definitely like the bamboo shoots, so kept these dishes.”

nBecause Xihe Palace had a little personal kitchen, it did not rely on Shangshi Bureau for meals. However, the head of Shangshi Bureau was an intelligent person. Whenever there were any new dishes to present, there would always be some to Zhuang Laoyan’s taste.”

n“Thank the people at Shangshi Bureau for me for their hard work. Tell them I really like these dishes.” Zhuang Laoyan picked up the bowl of soup and drank from it. She looked at the brilliant sunlight outside. The sunlight after the rain was always especially splendid.

n“This slave has already thanked them,” said Tingzhu with a smile. “It’s originally them showing filial respect to Your Highness. A thanks from Your Highness will bring them great joy.”

nIt’s merely the saying “if there’s no benefit to it, no one would wake early.” If it wasn’t for the fact that she was favored, who would want her thanks?

n“In a few days, the emperor will make for the farms to demonstrate transplanting rice seedlings. Who knows which of the imperial concubines can attend other than the empress?” said Tingzhu, suddenly recalling this. She could not help but say, “This slave heard that the road from the capital to the suburbs is flourishing and bustling.”

nThe moment Zhuang Laoyan had heard those words, she smiled. This demonstration was merely an act to increase the commoners’ good will toward them. On that day, the emperor and empress would dress like commoners and personally transplant rice seedlings, all in order to show that the imperial family attached the same importance to foodstuffs like the common folk did.

n“Even if Your Highness can go, we can only stay inside the carriage well-behavedly. What excitement can we even see?” said Yunxi, entering the room with a tray. On it sat a bowl of congee with greens in it.

n“Before one stroke of the 八 character is written, you people are already blabbering so much?” Zhuang Laoyan blew at the bowl of congee Yunxi had placed before her. “Hurry up and serve your master in her meal.”

nDon’t support theft; read this at sleepchaser’s wordpress.

nAs every master waited anxiously for the event’s participant list to arrive, said list had already arrived at Jingyang Palace. The empress read through it and said, “Just these few?”

nGao Dezhong replied in a respectful manner, “Reporting to Your Majesty the empress, His Majesty said that this event greatly involved the people’s livelihood. As such, it’s unnecessary for many masters to attend.”

n“His Majesty is wise. This palace understands.” The empress set down the list of names. Smiled. “Thank you, Gongong, for the trouble.”

nAfter Gao Dezhong had left, the empress’ smile dimmed. “Heyu, have Anqing Palace, Hele Palace, Xihe Palace, and Changtian House prepare for Noble Consort Shu, Consort Rou, Xianrong Zhao, and Noble Lady Qian’s trip.”

nWhen news broke out that the one preparing to leave from Changtian House was Noble Lady Qian and not Zhaorong Xu, every imperial concubine waited to see the joke that was her. When Zhaorong Xu had still been favored, she would act so pretentious in front of the other imperial concubines. Now that she had fallen from favor, many people wanted to see how she’d react.

nZhuang Laoyan wasn’t interested in watching that show. Rather, she was more curious about why the emperor would bring Noble Lady Qian along, when the other imperial concubines were so high ranked. If one said the emperor favored her a lot, it didn’t seem like it. After all, after a period of interest in Noble Lady Qian, the emperor treated her coldly. Now, he suddenly brought her along to the demonstration event. Could it be that he was interested in her again?

nThat evening, the emperor flipped the name tag of Hele Palace’s Consort Rou, disappointing those imperial concubines that had thought he would spend the night with Noble Lady Qian. What a pity they could not witness a good show.

nThe next day, when Zhuang Laoyan went to pay respects to the empress, she noticed the radiant-with-delight Consort Rou and then thin and pallid Zhaorong Xu. She was happy to watch this show, though also noticed many others’ expressions. The most unperturbed belonged to Noble Consort Shu.

nOnce she had finished paying respects and returned to her residence, Zhuang Laoyan smiled and sighed. “I never expected the emperor to have Noble Consort Xian stay behind to supervise the palace. Who knows if she is happy right now or disappointed?”

n“This slave thinks that Noble Consort Xian would be a bit happy.” Tingzhu inserted a few flowers into a tall-necked vase. “These past years, the emperor’s favor toward Noble Consort Shu has gradually faded. Even if she was allowed to come along to the event, she wouldn’t be able to get much of the emperor’s attention. She might as well stay in the inner palace and consolidate her power.”

nA smile graced Zhuang Laoyan’s lips. She did not refute Tingzhu’s words. For this matter, when it came to Noble Consort Xian, her benefits outweighed her losses.

nIn this imperial harem, the person most able to endure perhaps was not Hu Caixuan, but Noble Consort Xian. This person had been by the emperor’s side very early on, yet after so many years, still did not have her own children. Nor was she the most favored woman in the harem. For her to climb to the rank of noble consort stood as a testament to her temperament and patience.

nIn the imperial harem, the act of paying respects involved looking at and considering the status and identity of both parties involved. Noble Consort Xian always seemed inconspicuous, yet what she ought to have, she would never lack one bit.

nJust when everyone thought the emperor would visit Noble Lady Qian after visiting Consort Rou, news spread: the emperor had flipped the name tag of Xihe Palace’s Xianrong Zhao.

nThank you for my patrons in January and February, and all the sweet ko-fi givers! I will be shouting out all of you properly on the next release (I’ve been swamped lately so didn’t have the time.)

nFor those of you still interested in advanced chapters, please wait until March 1st Pacific Standard Time to make a pledge. Otherwise, you may be charged twice! Read this post for more information.

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nTwentieth chapter of The Times Spent in Pretense is out! You can read it here. It’s weekly now!

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