Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"I was made Empress only nine days after Lady Zhang was deposed!"

Empress Fang sighed deeply.

"Since I entered the palace, I have been secretly afraid that one day I will repeat the mistakes of Empress Chen and the deposed Empress Zhang."

Therefore, I have always been cautious and prudent, never interfering in politics, and only thinking about living a peaceful life in the position of Empress.

To be honest, I never thought of monopolizing Your Majesty's favor; I only wish that Your Majesty would bestow your affections equally upon all.

Anyway, ever since I entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection, I have never seen the emperor show any particular favor to any of the concubines in the harem.

However, ever since Lady Cao was favored by the Emperor and made a concubine, the situation in the harem began to change.

Lady Cao gave birth to two princesses, making her the only concubine in the palace to have given birth to imperial offspring twice.

In the past two years, this vixen has spent more time accompanying the emperor and has been summoned by him more times than all the other concubines in the palace combined.

It is no exaggeration to say that she was the most favored concubine in the harem.

What I am worried about is by no means unfounded.

The Emperor's affection for her was completely different from that for the other concubines.

I am unwilling to accept this fate and do not wish to end up like the deposed Empress Zhang.

"Granny Wei, is there any way to relieve my worries?"

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, since the Emperor favors Consort Cao so much, we must find a way to make him dislike her!"

Granny Wei thought for a moment,

"Chen Furong, the head servant of Yikun Palace, followed me when she first entered the palace. I taught her how to make a living in the palace step by step."

Chen Furong is a grateful person who often treats her servants with respect in private, saying that she owes her current position as a head servant entirely to the guidance and support she received from her servants back then.

The palace maid that the Empress placed in Yikun Palace was of too low a rank; she could only pass on messages and could not play a significant role. But Chen Furong was different.

This woman came from a poor family and had been using her own money to support her family for many years after entering the palace.

The last time we met, I heard her mention that her younger brother had caused trouble back in their hometown, seriously injuring someone, and it took a lot of money to resolve the situation.

This made things even worse for the already impoverished family.

If Her Majesty the Empress could give her a large sum of money and promise to protect her life and property afterward...

Based on my understanding of Chen Furong, she would be willing to serve Her Majesty the Empress.

As the head of Yikun Palace, in charge of all the palace maids around Consort Cao, she has the ability to make the Emperor completely despise Consort Cao if she can get rid of Chen Furong's worries.

However, this woman is meticulous and suspicious; she is definitely not the kind of person who would risk everything and her life for her master.

Since they're going to such lengths to serve the Empress, they'll definitely have a backup plan!

If the Empress truly keeps her promise to protect her afterward, that's fine. But if she wants to use her to her advantage and silence her, this woman will definitely find a way to drag the Empress down with her.

That's why, when they sent that little palace maid to Yikun Palace as a spy, they only used the excuse that she was a distant relative of the servants to send her to Yikun Palace, hoping that Chen Furong would take care of her.

They never mentioned that the little palace maid was the Empress's person, nor did they dare to directly ask Chen Furong to inquire about information for the Empress.

"Trying to win over Chen Furong to deal with Consort Cao carries certain risks. Whether or not to do so is up to Your Majesty the Empress to decide."

"The Emperor is selfish and cold-hearted by nature, especially towards the harem."

After a moment of silence, Empress Fang finally made up her mind.

"The last time I served the Emperor was almost two years ago, and I have long since lost the Emperor's favor."

The fact that she can continue to sit in the position of Empress in the central palace is only because the Emperor has special favor for that vixen Cao, and it has not yet reached the point where he absolutely has to make her Empress.

The emperor secluded himself in the Western Garden to cultivate the Great Dao of Immortality. He not only abstained from women, but also paid special attention to the method of dual cultivation.

During his seclusion, the emperor often summoned multiple women at the same time, but apart from that vixen, no one was ever summoned consecutively in a short period of time.

The emperor never bestowed any title upon any woman.

And Cao, that vixen, was almost always among the women the emperor summoned.

Such exclusive favor is even greater than it was before the Emperor went into seclusion!

I'm afraid the Emperor has already decided to make her his Empress.

There has been no movement so far, simply because the Emperor is still in seclusion and does not want worldly affairs to interfere with his path to immortality.

When His Majesty emerges from seclusion after two years, whether or not he has attained the immortality he so desires, I fear I will not be able to retain my position as Empress.

Chen Furong was the head maid in Consort Cao's palace, and the maids around that vixen were all her subordinates.

Since you, Granny Wei, have a past with Chen Furong, this is Heaven giving me one last chance.

It is indeed risky to bribe Chen Furong to work for me, but I have no choice but to take that risk!

Since I can't silence her afterward, I'll keep my promise and protect her!

. . .

Several days later, at the West Garden, in the Renshou Palace.

"Consort Yang, I have some discomfort in my lower abdomen; I may have eaten something bad."

Chen Furong called a palace maid to her side.

"I need to find a place to rest. You'll have to take care of things for me today."

"Aunt Chen, please go and rest. I will take care of things here."

The palace maid whispered in Chen Furong's ear.

"Consort Cao and three palace maids went into the inner palace to serve the Emperor in his dual cultivation, and they won't be out for at least two hours."

. . .

Half an hour later, in a side room next to the Thunder Altar.

"Did that Wei, the old nanny who serves Empress Fang, really say that?"

On a messy bed, Wang Ziyan held Chen Furong in his arms and whispered in her ear.

"Would I dare lie to you about something like this?"

Chen Furong pinched Wang Ziyan hard.

"When I first entered the palace, I was assigned to work by Granny Wei's side."

I flattered her and catered to her preferences, and often gave her small gifts, lying that I had saved them from my meager monthly allowance.

She also took good care of me, not only teaching me the various rules of the palace, but also privately telling me about the personalities, preferences, and taboos of the concubines, eunuchs, and female officials in the palace.

Having this information, I had the opportunity to climb step by step to the position of head maid of Yikun Palace.

When Empress Fang was still Consort De, Wei Mama was her confidante. After she became Empress, she naturally promoted Wei Mama to be the head nanny of Kunning Palace.

Over the years, I have maintained private contact with Granny Wei and often send her gifts to show my respect.

To make it seem more authentic, I would often talk to her about my family's private affairs.

"Your family matters?"

Wang Ziyan lifted Chen Furong's chin with his hand.

"That mouth of hers really knows how to lie!"

"You're an orphan the cult leader picked up from the roadside and raised; where did you get any family from?"

"When I entered the palace as a maid, didn't the Left Protector fabricate my background for me?"

Chen Furong slapped Wang Ziyan's hand away.

"When the Left Protector does something, he always goes all the way."

My "family" members, whom I've never met, have been sending me messages all these years.

As instructed by the cult leader before entering the palace, these things could be revealed within the palace to gain people's trust.