Chapter 122 - The Unfeeling Emperor

Chapter 122: Chapter 117: The Unfeeling Emperor"Father, Rong Jieyu’s family will enter the capital tomorrow." Xiao Fu frowned deeply, his expression grim.

Xiao Bairen was also frustrated at heart, having planned to send two women of their own family through the selection to vie for favor, it had backfired and inadvertently became a dowry for someone else.

"Rong Jieyu monopolizes favor, does Empress Dowager have no opinion on this?"

"Empress Dowager has taken the Third Prince to the hot springs palace to avoid the cold."

Xiao Bairen’s face grew even darker. It’s not even Mid-Autumn yet, what cold is there to avoid? Ever since five years ago when the Emperor entrusted the Third Prince to the Empress Dowager, who knows what he said, from then on Empress Dowager has become much more estranged from the Xiao family. Now the old inmates of the harem have all been released, and Noble Consort Xiao is useless, they have actually lost their eyes and control in the harem just like that.

"Leak the news to those Imperial Censors; aren’t they the ones who love meddling the most? Make it sound more serious."

Xiao Fu nodded his head, even if the Emperor dotes on Rong Jieyu to the extreme, he cannot ignore the opposition of the courtiers and award her family members for no reason, right?

But the fact proved that Ye Qiu was indeed "blinded" by beauty at this moment. A seventh-rank official with neither merit, labor, nor background was surprisingly granted the title of Earl, causing an uproar in the court. Countless courtiers filed petitions in opposition, but Ye Qiu remained unmoved. Not only did he forcefully confer the title, but he also bestowed upon Rong Jieyu’s family the task of repairing palaces.

This was a lucrative, no-lose, risk-free task, taking advantage of Rong Jieyu’s favor and arrogance, the Li family could very well skim substantial benefits! Ye Qiu performed the image of a muddleheaded ruler to perfection.

"Your Majesty, you are the best to me." Li Wan snuggled into Ye Qiu’s embrace, her face full of pride and satisfaction. But then she immediately looked up at Ye Qiu with concern in her eyes.

Ye Qiu, considering himself a muddleheaded ruler, immediately started to console the beauty with soft and gentle words: "What’s wrong, is there someone in the harem daring to bully you?"

"It’s nothing, I’m just thinking about my useless brother."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu understood her hint, holding the beauty and taking care: "Fujian is in need of people, I think your brother is not bad."

After hearing this, Li Wan giggled tenderly: "My maternal family doesn’t have much backing, those people are waiting to see my family’s jokes, Your Majesty, you must protect him."

"With me here, my beloved, you have nothing to worry about!"

Following the task given to Rong Jieyu’s family to repair the palaces, the news that Ye Qiu had sent Rong Jieyu’s elder brother to Fujian spread quickly throughout both the previous dynasty’s court and harem. Not only Prime Minister Xiao but even Prince Qing became anxious.

Military forces have been assembled in both Fujian and Guangdong, and plans for building a sea port were drafted. Suddenly a favored concubine’s brother arrives; isn’t this stealing their credit? Instantly, the hat of the Evil Concubine was firmly placed on Rong Jieyu’s head.

Ministers pleaded earnestly, but Ye Qiu just wouldn’t listen, favoring only Rong Jieyu.

With Rong Jieyu being so ostentatious, naturally, it led to increasing discontent among the people of the harem. And now, taking advantage of Mid-Autumn Festival evening when Ye Qiu was drinking with the ministers of the previous dynasty, someone thought of playing dirty.

"Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, no need to be restrained, come, I propose a toast to everyone." Li Yanlan raised her cup, and the people of the harem followed suit, giving face except for Rong Jieyu who hesitated.

Noble Consort Xiao noticed Rong Jieyu’s odd behavior and said with malicious intent, "Why is Rong Jieyu not raising her cup? Could it be that she doesn’t see our Empress in her eyes?"

"Exactly, Rong Jieyu, even if His Majesty dotes on you, you cannot ignore the rules," Xiao Ke immediately echoed.

Rong Jieyu’s hesitation was for no other reason than her monthly period being two days late; she feared she was pregnant. But on second thought, it was just a child. Sooner or later, she would leave this world, and whether she gave birth or not was not a big deal. If something really were to happen, these women would not escape involvement; she would be one step closer to her goal!

Having thought through the implications, Li Wan unhesitatingly picked up her wine cup and chuckled, "It’s nothing but a slight delay on my sister’s part, and here the noble concubine is making a mountain out of a molehill. The Empress hasn’t blamed me yet. Don’t you think you’re overstepping your bounds?"

"You..." Noble Consort Xiao choked with anger, while Li Yanlan shook her head in disapproval. Rong Jieyu was currently enjoying great favor; regardless of whether she was rude today, having the Emperor as her backer, she would not gain any advantage.

"Enough, it’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, why argue about this." Li Yanlan gave Rong Jieyu a fleeting glance and met Li Wan’s fearless gaze, which was met with a challenging smile.

As the rounds of drinks continued, the concubines all got a bit tipsy. Xiao Ke rolled her eyes and suggested with a light laugh, "When I just came, I saw that the imperial garden had many lanterns. Why don’t we take a look as well?"

"That sounds great! I heard there are also lantern riddles to guess. Shall we try and maybe add some bets for fun?" Deng Jieyu, who entered the palace at the same time, agreed.

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Li Yanlan rose with the help of a palace maid, "If that’s the case, let’s all go have a look!"

Li Wan caught a glimpse of Xiao Ke and Noble Consort Xiao exchanging a look and immediately understood that this was a trap aimed at her. But who was she, Li Wan? No one in all her lives could outwit her.

Thanks to the ample National Treasury in recent years, the palace attendants had put a lot of thought into the preparations. The imperial garden was truly a sight to behold tonight, and even Xiao Zi, who usually kept to herself and remained aloof from crowds, began to take great interest in the palace lanterns.

"Empress," Xiao Ke pointed ahead, "that pavilion over there is spacious and has a nice view. Let’s go there." Li Yanlan looked up and saw that it was indeed a nice spot, but to get there, one must cross a bridge over a man-made lake. With so many people going over, she hoped nothing would happen.

Before she could speak, Noble Consort Xiao piped up, "I think it’s a good idea."

What could the Empress say? She could only signal her palace maid to stay alert.

Li Wan shook her head secretly, suspecting that a ’fall into the water’ scene was about to unfold. The women of the harem really lacked originality.

Still, whether there was originality or not, if the plan succeeded, it would be a good plan. The night was growing cold, darkness had fallen, and the lake was deep. No one could guarantee the safety of a delicate woman tumbling into the water.

It was unclear who stumbled, but in an instant, the group of concubines crossing the bridge fell into disarray, and screams echoed from all sides.

Li Wan felt a strong hand grip her arm, momentarily rendering her unable to break free. Xiao Ke, somehow squeezing close to her side, gave a fierce push.

Li Wan, catching Noble Consort Xiao’s triumphant gaze, suddenly turned fierce and, leveraging Xiao Ke’s force, lunged forward. Xiao Rou, seeing Li Wan’s ferocious expression, panicked and struggled with flailing hands. Li Wan "accidentally" fell from the bridge, plunging into the water below.