Chapter 110 - 91: Wanting to Be a Noble Consort
The Emperor was moved, but not entirely.
To put it in modern terms, he felt his beloved concubine had gone a little crazy. He wasn’t sure, so he decided to wait and see. He was a man who valued attitude, and those who valued attitude were prone to getting swept up in romance; they ate up these kinds of extreme displays of affection.
His reason told him his beloved concubine was unhinged.
His heart told him, ’Being loved by a crazy person is such a thrill!’
He summoned an Imperial Physician to take Jiang Xian’s pulse, prescribed a nourishing soup to drive out the cold, and scheduled seven days of wellness checks. "I want to see a healthy and whole Noble Lady Gu. Do you understand?"
The situation Doctor Sun now faced was like a text-based game with very little freedom—
The Emperor asks, "Do you understand?"
[Understood.]
[Very much understood.]
[Perfectly understood.]
There were three options, yet it felt like there was no choice at all.
Doctor Sun decisively said he understood.
"The Noble Lady’s pulse is steady and her constitution is excellent. The chill will have a hard time taking hold. With the aid of the tonic I’ve prescribed, there should be no problems. Your Majesty may rest assured." Doctor Sun replied from his knees. It was a good thing it was Noble Lady Gu who had fallen into the water; both times he had taken her pulse, he found it possessed a strength he had rarely encountered in his entire medical career.
"Just because the Noble Lady is in good health doesn’t mean you can be negligent," the Emperor said coldly.
"I understand."
The Emperor grunted, dismissing him.
"The Empress Dowager will be summoning you for prayers tomorrow, so it wouldn’t be proper for me to spend the night at Yizhu Pavilion. But I’ll stay and keep you company for a while." They sat side by side. The Emperor couldn’t be bothered to change, letting the damp spots on his robes slowly dry by the fire. "These past few days, seeing only your notes and not you in person has been agonizing. Were you missing me terribly back in Changle Palace?"
"There isn’t a moment I’m not thinking of Your Majesty."
This was the honest truth.
’When the Emperor visits, he brings money and raises my allowance.’
The Emperor heaved a long sigh. "If you missed me so much, why suggest to the Empress Dowager that you pray for a month?"
"Does Your Majesty want to hear the truth?"
"Of course."
"My rank is low. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t even be qualified to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager alone. The opportunity to accompany her in prayer brings me great honor, a distinction I am eager to earn. It’s also a chance to make myself a familiar face to her, so she doesn’t just think of Noble Lady Gu as some clingy seductress who only knows how to stick to the Emperor... Once she meets me in person, her opinion might change."
Jiang Xian had guessed correctly.
Thanks to her shocking display, the Empress Dowager was so stunned that her only remaining impression of Jiang Xian was that of a "master rice-picker."
Her words took the Emperor by surprise. After all, this little thing of his was incredibly clingy, always acting spoiled to win his favor. He never expected she would have such filial thoughts for the Empress Dowager. The Emperor wasn’t particularly close to his mother, but any concubine in the harem who wanted to rise through the ranks had to get past her. "Aren’t you afraid that after your month of prayer, I’ll cast you to the back of my mind and never visit Yizhu Pavilion again? It’s so remote, after all. It’s not as if I’d just happen to be passing by."
Jiang Xian said she wasn’t afraid.
’It would just be like having another interview, wouldn’t it?’
"Then I would simply find another way to win Your Majesty’s heart."
Besides, leaving aside the ceaseless stream of notes she sent, there was still the Xihua Garden design. As long as the project was unfinished, their connection couldn’t be severed. If the Emperor truly forgot her, she could use that as a pretext to remind him of her when he visited Xihua Garden.
Jiang Xian always planned three steps ahead for every one she took.
She had multiple backup plans for everything.
"You have a comeback for everything I say. Other women would do anything to keep me tied to their side, yet you’re so composed."
"Can you really tie a person to your side?"
Jiang Xian feigned curiosity and asked the Emperor if he had the ’Treasure Mirror’ she drew for him on his person.
With a single glance from the Emperor, Liang Yuyin presented the Treasure Mirror.
Jiang Xian flipped to a page with a drawing of a Heavenly Sphere.
The "hun" in Heavenly Sphere implies roundness, as the Yan Chi Ren believed the heavens were round like an eggshell, with the stars embedded within. Consequently, most Astrological Instruments were spherical. However, this particular Heavenly Sphere—an exquisite piece small enough to be a paperweight—was flat and square. It was engraved with the constellation patterns observed by astronomers, and long grooves were carved into it to simulate the trajectories of celestial bodies.
She had drawn this Heavenly Sphere in great detail, making even the stars upon it clearly visible.
Her fingertip rested on one of the stars.
"Your Majesty and I are like these two stars. No matter how far apart we drift, we will always be drawn back to one another."
The Emperor’s heart softened a little at her words.
But though his heart was moved, his lips still said, "Me, run toward you? What a high opinion you have of yourself. You are overstepping your bounds."
"I have overstepped my bounds, but I also have the ability to make Your Majesty forgive me for it."
Jiang Xian leaned toward him, her sweet, alluring fragrance wafting over.
True to form, the Emperor didn’t rebuke her. He even tucked a stray wisp of her hair behind her ear. "And I suppose it’s my fault for always indulging your little tantrums."
Jiang Xian lowered her gaze, her eyes shining with cool clarity.
In truth, she was an easygoing person who rarely lost her temper. These so-called tantrums were merely a performance, a way to express her needs and fight for privileges, both deserved and undeserved. The more sweet nothings the Emperor whispered, the more clear-headed she became.
"I don’t just have little tantrums. I also have great ambitions."
Jiang Xian said, seizing the opportunity.
The Emperor replied, "Is that so? How great? Let me hear them."
"According to palace regulations, there can be two Noble Consorts. Surely that empty position is being saved for me!"
The Emperor was taken aback.
The system was startled, too. [Host, are you allowed to say that? Couldn’t you be a little more subtle?]
Jiang Xian: [I was being subtle.]
The unsubtle version was wanting to be the Empress Dowager.
"So you want to be a Noble Consort..."
The Emperor pondered for a moment before saying tactfully, "Promotions in the harem must be handled with measure. Otherwise, it causes unrest, and the court will raise objections, which would be... unpleasant. It’s a shame, Xian’er, that you entered the palace at such a low rank. To rise level by level without a child or a great contribution... it would take a very long time."
"A Noble Consort enjoys the honor of receiving greetings from Princesses, Princess Consorts, and other noblewomen. It’s not a title that can be granted lightly. If I made the wives of high-ranking court officials kneel to a young woman with no background and no great merits, I fear Qiankun Palace would be buried in memorials of protest by the next morning." Fearing she would be disappointed, he coaxed her in a gentle voice, "Rising in rank is difficult, but you have me to look after you. In many ways, your treatment can already rival a Noble Consort’s. If there’s anything others have that you desire, just ask me for it. I will do my best to grant it to you."
Liang Yuyin, head bowed at their side, was nearly numb from shock.
’Your Majesty, do you have any idea what you’re saying? Promising a Noble Lady the treatment of a Noble Consort?’
Based on his understanding of the Emperor, he was generally good-natured with his concubines, but he detested insatiable demands. If any other concubine had dared to so brazenly lay claim to the position of Noble Consort, it would have been a sign of great restraint on the Emperor’s part not to ask her on the spot, "And what makes you think you’re worthy?"—let alone actually agree.
However, the human heart is biased.
But Jiang Xian had just foolishly fallen into the water while picking a flower for him. So when she said this now, he didn’t see her as vain at all. ’Xian’er’s background is a bit humble,’ he thought. ’It pains me to see her having to kneel to everyone she meets. If I could truly do as I pleased, I’d grant her the title of Noble Consort in a heartbeat. But alas, the harem is tied to the court, and even an Emperor cannot act on impulse.’
Liang Yuyin strongly felt that Noble Lady Gu should take the win and quit while she was ahead. But to his surprise, Jiang Xian’s eyes lit up. "I ask for nothing else, then. Could Your Majesty grant me an opportunity to earn some merit?"
Once the Emperor agreed, she’d go back and squeeze her system for all it was worth, wringing out something that would help her achieve a great merit.
System: [...Host?]