Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

The scene described by Granny Meng was horrifying.

Shen Jiayu's heart started racing. She had a premonition that this matter might be the key to clarifying everything.

"So what exactly happened back then?"

Granny Meng began by saying, "Consort Hui's entry into the palace was a mistake from the very beginning."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiayu's eyes sharpened, and she became extremely attentive, listening intently.

Granny Meng recounted the story in detail.

"After His Majesty ascended the throne, because none of the concubines in the harem had children, in the first year of Zhaoqi, under the care of the Empress Dowager, a group of young women were selected to enter the palace."

Of these young ladies selected for the imperial concubine examination, only two have risen to high positions over the years: Consort Zhu and Consort Lu, who is still recuperating in the imperial palace.

Both empresses were greatly favored by His Majesty in their later years. Unfortunately, they were not blessed with good fortune and neither had children.

On the contrary, Consort Lan, who was unknown at the time, suddenly became pregnant.

Consort Lan is considered an old servant in the palace. She has served His Majesty since the time of the Prince's residence, but her favor has always been mediocre, and she is just an ordinary concubine.

When His Majesty ascended the throne, she was only granted the title of Jieyu and remained inconspicuous in the palace.

Unexpectedly, she became pregnant one day, receiving an immense blessing.

Consort Lan gave birth to a prince in the tenth month of her pregnancy.

Although the Crown Prince is not the legitimate son, he is the eldest son and therefore enjoys a special kind of prestige.

Consort Lan thus rose to the rank of Consort through her son's influence.

At that time, in the harem, Consort Lan had a son, Consort Li had power, and the Empress, who had never had a child, could no longer sit still.

The Empress had also encouraged several concubines to serve her in bed, hoping they would bear children and raise them under her care, but none of them became pregnant.

With no hope for the concubines in the palace and no more selections being held, the Empress turned her attention outside the palace—to the Luo family mansion, where she still had several sisters.

But after careful consideration, only Consort Hui was chosen.

The Empress, under the pretext of missing her sisters, invited Consort Hui to stay in the palace for a while.

The concubines in the palace all knew perfectly well what the Empress was up to; she simply wanted to have a child through surrogacy.

But at that time, His Majesty seemed unaware of it.

The Empress brought Consort Hui to the Emperor's presence several times, but His Majesty remained unmoved and showed no intention of favoring her.

Just when the six palaces thought that the Empress's wishful thinking was about to fail, something happened.

At a palace banquet not long after, His Majesty, drunk, favored Consort Hui.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiayu immediately realized what was happening.

This incident of the emperor getting drunk is definitely not that simple, otherwise why would there have been such a major reshuffle in the imperial court, resulting in so many deaths?

That only means someone tampered with the drink. As for who it was, the answer is obvious.

Shen Jiayu stared intently at Granny Meng.

Granny Meng shook her head: "It's all just speculation, there's no concrete evidence. This matter was handled cleanly and efficiently, leaving no trace. It seems like it really was just an accident."

Granny Meng then recounted some events that had caused turmoil in the imperial court and shocked the six palaces.

Shen Jiayu listened, but her mind was still immersed in what had just been said.

It turns out that Empress Luo's actions were not limited to the previous miscarriage of Lady Ruan, but also included this current situation, where she dared to take action in front of the emperor.

This is the truth behind the chess game that the emperor personally set up for her.

Shen Jiayu finally understood.

After Granny Meng left, she mentally went through all the details.

Years ago, Empress Luo brought her sisters into the palace to have a child through surrogacy. When the Emperor refused, she became incredibly audacious and orchestrated that drunken incident.

No evidence was found, but the emperor's subsequent actions were almost more heartbreaking and humiliating for her than killing the empress.

He deliberately elevated Consort Hui's status and had her raise the second prince herself, all in an attempt to destroy Empress Luo's heart.

He made Empress Luo watch as Consort Hui rose to power and became increasingly influential, and as this sister whom she had personally brought into the palace became a weapon that suppressed her, causing her to regret her actions and suffer sleepless nights.

This can be considered a double torment of mind and body.

He executed Empress Luo by slow slicing.

Therefore, after Empress Luo plotted this scheme, the emperor did not hesitate to seize the opportunity to launch an attack and imprisoned Empress Luo, whom he had long disliked, in the palace.

Shen Jiayu raised her hand, picked up a brush, dipped it in a little cinnabar, and drew a new circle over the words "Your Majesty".

She gazed at him for a long time, then sighed softly, "Your Majesty, you really are vindictive, even towards your own wife. Tsk tsk tsk, how can you be so heartless?"

So, I ask you, did such a cold-hearted and heartless emperor ever fall for her?

Shen Jiayu felt that the emperor's feelings for her at present could not be described as love.

But there are others.

For example, an overflowing desire for control, possessiveness, and a little bit of caring and pampering.

These can all be traced back to certain patterns.

Furthermore, Shen Jiayu felt that she was different in the emperor's heart.

Compared to the other concubines in the harem, even Empress Luo was different.

In fact, she could be considered one of the emperor's "own people".

Shen Jiayu raised her hand, gently stroking the vermilion ink on the paper, and murmured, "His Majesty is so heartless, when will Ayu become the exception?"

She was even more excited.

What would it be like to tame such an aloof and cold emperor?

*

Night was falling.

Xianchun Palace.

Consort Lan was dressed in a sky-blue dress, looking gentle and graceful. At this moment, she was teaching the eldest prince to write in a side hall.

Her personal maid, Wan Yu, quietly entered and whispered something in her ear.

Upon hearing this, Consort Lan rose from behind her desk, walked to the side, and lowered her voice, "Pretend nothing happened. After some time, find a pretext to transfer these people out of our palace."

The "people" she referred to were the spies that Empress Luo and the Emperor had planted in her palace.

From beginning to end, she knew what was happening in her palace, but she did not make a fuss or expose it, instead letting these people do as they pleased.

Why do it yourself?

Someone will solve it for her.

Wouldn't it be better for her to stay out of it, remain innocent and do nothing, and reap the benefits without lifting a finger?

Didn't a portion of the palace power end up in her hands?

Wan Yu nodded slightly: "This servant understands."

Consort Lan gave a casual "hmm" and went back behind the long table to teach the eldest prince to write, stroke by stroke.

The eldest prince looked serious, his eyes shining. "Mother, you write so well. I will practice until I can write like this."

His eloquent manner was completely different from the timid and uneasy child he had been at the palace banquet a few days ago.

Consort Lan gently stroked his head and said earnestly, "You must be more outstanding than your mother for us to have a chance to rise in the world. But before that..."

Consort Lan gazed silently at the four large characters on the table. "Zhan'er, do you understand?"

The eldest prince followed her gaze and looked at the words on the desk. His tone was unusually calm for someone his age: "When in a weak position, one must be patient."