Chapter 159 - 139: Cultural Class Material
As the Noble Consort hesitantly shifted her feet, Jiang Xian said:
"I’m just teasing you, My Lady! With your ankle sprained, would I really ask you to practice dancing? What kind of person would do something like that?"
Noble Princess Consort Rong replied, "Other people wouldn’t, but with you, I can’t be sure."
No one else dared to rush her, either.
Jiang Xian wasn’t surprised she’d say that. "There are many things we can do. There’s no need to blindly cling to something that’s unsuitable right now. You’ll get half the results for twice the effort... Please, come in!"
Jiang Xian hadn’t been present for the move into Bihua Palace. The Emperor, however, had been very attentive, repeatedly sending Liang Yuyin to oversee the Imperial Household, so they hadn’t dared to be careless. Noble Princess Consort Rong surveyed the room and remarked, "It can’t compare to Zhaoyang Palace, but it’s far more presentable than your old Yizhu Pavilion. Hmm, I suppose it’s barely acceptable!"
Jiang Xian was showing the Noble Consort around Bihua Palace, hoping she could help spot any details that violated protocol.
The Noble Consort said, "There are no forbidden items at the moment."
Jiang Xian asked, "At the moment?"
The Noble Consort replied, "I’ll send some over for you later."
...
The Noble Consort was true to her word. After strolling through Bihua Palace and voicing her critiques about no fewer than ten areas, she paused in the East Wing. "This will be a good place for the Prince to live after you give birth. Raising a royal son is never a quiet affair. You’ll have a whole retinue of wet nurses, nannies, palace maids, and eunuchs, and they can all be placed here."
"How do you know it will be a Prince? What if it’s a Princess?"
"The Emperor’s first child, even a Princess, will be revered," Noble Princess Consort Rong said, misinterpreting her and offering comfort. "The Empress Dowager might prefer a grandson, but the Emperor surely thinks differently. You can just relax and wait for your good fortune. As long as this child is born safely, your prosperity for the rest of your life will be assured."
Jiang Xian heard the sorrow in her voice.
’How desperately the Noble Consort must want a child of her own!’
’And yet, judging by the state of the court, the fact that the highly favored Noble Consort remained childless was likely by the Emperor’s design. She thought that perhaps only when the other princes were grown—when a young prince would automatically lose any claim to the throne—might the Emperor allow her to have a child of her own.’
"Do not despair, My Lady," Jiang Xian said comfortingly. "I’ve started things off. I’m sure there will be more joyous news in the palace soon."
Seeing her trying to offer comfort, the Noble Consort glanced over and said, "It’s nothing. Even without children, my life of wealth and honor is already a certainty. The Emperor has promised that if I am still childless by thirty, he will give me an adopted son so that I will not be without support."
"The Emperor is remarkably self-assured."
"What do you mean by that?"
"To date, I’m the only one he’s managed to get pregnant, yet he already thinks he’ll have sons to spare. What astonishing confidence."
The Noble Consort said, "Don’t you dare say that in front of the Emperor."
Shortly after the Noble Consort’s departure, a steady stream of rewards and congratulatory gifts flowed into Bihua Palace. The eunuch announcing the gift list called out until his throat was raw. Qiu Yun, who had come with the gifts, said with a smile, "Our mistress says that if there’s not enough room for the gifts, you should just place them in the West Wing. She says she likes the feng shui over there, that it’s a suitable place for gifts!"
’Since when was feng shui a factor in where you store gifts?’
Soon enough, Jiang Xian understood.
When Chen Changzai arrived at Bihua Palace with all her bags, she found the West Wing, her designated quarters, already stuffed with priceless treasures—many of them finer than anything found even in Jianzhang Palace.
The only reason Gu Wan Yi was allowed to use such items was because the Palace Rules had never anticipated a Wanyi possessing such finery, and thus didn’t forbid it. This, coupled with the Empress’s own frugal nature, allowed for such extravagance elsewhere.
Filled with fear and trepidation, Chen Changzai went to ask Jiang Xian what was happening.
Jiang Xian knew this was all due to the Noble Consort’s domineering style, but she could only comfort Chen Changzai. "Think of it as a luxury suite, ready for move-in. The Noble Consort specifically requested they be put here. If they don’t get in your way, just let them be."
"I don’t mind! In the future, the West Wing will be so radiant with jewels I won’t even need to light candles. I’ll save a fortune on wax!"
After getting Jiang Xian’s reassurance, Chen Changzai returned to her West Wing, giddy with joy.
She stroked this and patted that, and a strange thought suddenly occurred to her. "He Xiang, do you think the Noble Consort is trying to win me over? Is that why she told Gu Wan Yi to put the gifts here ahead of time?"
He Xiang: ...
’If she could just learn from her mistress’s optimism,’ she thought, ’her worries in the palace would be cut in half.’
※
Regarding Jiang Xian’s pregnancy and promotion, the various concubines, after a brief bout of envy, jealousy, and despair, pulled themselves together. After all, pregnant concubines were forbidden from attending the Emperor. If Gu Wan Yi had the audacity to seek favor while with child, and wasn’t afraid the Emperor’s vigor might... dislodge it, then they encouraged her to go right ahead. For them, it would be a happy occasion indeed.
Besides, every pregnant woman eventually lost her beauty. They were all waiting for Jiang Xian to get fat and haggard, for her looks to fade and the Emperor’s affection to cool. Ten months of pregnancy meant ten months in the cold. She was lucky to have been promoted to the concubine rank before her pregnancy; at least she wouldn’t have to fear her child being taken from her.
Some even laughed at how the Empress and the Noble Consort had wasted their efforts on her.
Gu Wan Yi’s background was humble. A prince born to her would surely be more willing to rely on an adoptive mother’s powerful family. Hadn’t the Empress and the Noble Consort been kind to Jiang Xian simply to win her over and use her as a surrogate? Now that she was flying high and going it alone, they must be kicking themselves.
No one believed their affection was genuine.
With this pregnancy, Jiang Xian was once again getting a look at the true nature of the harem’s inhabitants.
In her second month of pregnancy, Princess Consort Zhang paid her a visit.
She said, "I’ve come with a shameless request. I’d like to ask you, Gu Wan Yi, for some of your personal items to bask in your good fortune. Don’t worry, I won’t take them for free. This bolt of Ten Thousand Colors Silk was a birthday gift from my family some years ago. I happen to have a full, untouched bolt left. It should be perfect for you, as you’ll be needing many new clothes soon enough."
Ten Thousand Colors Silk was incredibly expensive and rare. Besides truly hoping to catch some of the pregnancy luck, Princess Consort Zhang’s gesture was also a clear sign of goodwill.
She could afford to ignore a favored concubine. But the mother of a future Prince was someone worth investing in and befriending ahead of time.
After thanking her, Jiang Xian said, "As for borrowing pregnancy luck and good fortune, I confess I don’t know much about it. But since you’re keen on it, Lady Xianfei, please, feel free to choose whatever you’d like! Zhenqiu, bring my personal clothes and jewelry."
Her forthright and generous response took Princess Consort Zhang by surprise. She asked if Jiang Xian wasn’t afraid that she might take the items and use them for witchcraft.
But Princess Consort Zhang received an answer she had never expected.
Jiang Xian replied, "I’m a tough one."
Jiang Xian added, "A few needles in a doll of me would be a great way to loosen up my joints."
"...If you find yourself in need of anything, you can come to me."
Princess Consort Zhang decided to change the subject.
"That’s wonderful, because there is indeed something I was hoping to ask of you, My Lady."
Princess Consort Zhang’s eyebrows shot up in surprise again.
’She hated to admit it, but in the harem, besides the three great powers at the top, the Noble Consort’s word was law. Why take the long way around and ask her? Could it be that Gu Wan Yi’s relationship with the Noble Consort wasn’t as good as it seemed...?’
"I have always known that Lady Xianfei comes from a scholarly aristocratic family. I was hoping to ask if you, My Lady, might have any books not available in the palace that I could borrow."
’Oh, just borrowing books.’
’That explained it. Asking the Noble Consort would have been pointless; she doesn’t read.’
"So you have your eyes on my private collection of original manuscripts," Princess Consort Zhang said. "I can lend them to you, provided you promise to take good care of them and return them. Are you very fond of poetry and literature, Gu Wan Yi?"
Jiang Xian explained she was giving her unborn child cultural lessons, to make sure the baby got a head start in life.
Princess Consort Zhang glanced at Gu Wan Yi’s still-flat stomach, then left with a look of utter disbelief on her face.
And besides giving her baby "cultural lessons," the pregnant Gu Wan Yi was not nearly as idle as the other concubines had imagined.