The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Lady Zhang stared blankly at the back of the man who turned and left without hesitation, and felt that her confidence in victory had become a complete joke.

It is true that she is pregnant.

It was true that harmful drugs were found in the residence, but the situation was not as serious as she and Imperial Physician Wu had said. On the contrary, in order to make her situation look even more dangerous, she had obtained some more drugs from Imperial Physician Wu a few days ago and quietly placed them in the house this morning.

As a former palace maid who had served in the Imperial Study, Concubine Zhang certainly wanted to establish good relations with the palace maids the Emperor trusted the most. However, most of those who could serve the Emperor closely were not stupid people, and even if Concubine Zhang was favored by the Emperor, they would not have too close contacts with her.

She tried hard for a long time, but she could only establish a connection with Feng Xiang.

However, those palace servants on the second tier were much easier to win over. Concubine Zhang did not need to conspire with them. She only needed to give them some benefits occasionally and use her status as a favorite concubine to say some good words. She did not need those palace servants to side with her. It was enough as long as they revealed some of the emperor's movements to her at the right time.

Although there was suspicion of spying on the emperor, it was just a few words with the favorite concubine, not a traitor trying to assassinate the emperor. Moreover, with so many palace maids coming and going in front of the emperor every day, the chance of being caught was very small.

Concubine Zhang carefully managed this network of contacts, and through the palace maids with whom she was on good terms, she had already learned that the emperor would come to the harem today.

When the emperor entered the harem, he would definitely visit Concubine Song Shu, who had been ill for a long time, and the Empress who was the central palace.

Although Concubine Song Shu was seriously ill, her status in the emperor's heart was not low. As a palace maid, Concubine Zhang even secretly regarded Concubine Song Shu as her role model. She had no intention of provoking Concubine Song Shu at this time; and the empress had always been respected by the emperor, but she was also a kind-hearted person. If something happened in her own palace, she would never stop the emperor.

Concubine Zhang calculated the time and asked the palace servants to inquire around Lefu Palace. However, she did not expect that the palace servants she sent did not go to Kunning Palace to see the empress immediately after seeing the emperor walk out of the gate of Lefu Palace. Instead, they turned around and walked towards Shouning Palace.

The emperor's actions disrupted Concubine Zhang's plan, making all the manpower she had arranged on the road to Kunning Palace useless, so she had to hurriedly send Pei'er alone to Shouning Palace to invite the emperor. However, she didn't expect that Pei'er, in order to take a shortcut, happened to run into the second princess.

Concubine Zhang was waiting for news at the palace gate so that she could put on a show, so she was the first to learn that Pei'er had bumped into the princess. After a moment of panic, she decisively decided to make Concubine Li and her daughter part of her plan.

Concubine Li was dull, mean and caustic, but she loved her daughter very much. When the second princess was injured, she would be furious and punish Pei'er, and vent her anger on Concubine Zhang. Concubine Zhang was an expert at pretending to be pitiful, and she used Concubine Li's meanness and anger as a stepping stone to let the emperor see how pitiful she was, as she was bullied by other concubines even when she was pregnant because of her humble birth.

She needs the emperor's mercy.

At the same time, the emperor's second visit to Shouning Palace to see Concubine Xie also made Concubine Zhang feel deeply uneasy.

When she was still in the imperial study, she already knew about the existence of Mrs. Xie, and she almost witnessed with her own eyes how the emperor made exceptions frequently for Xie Yuzhen and was infatuated with her.

Although Xie Yuzhen had made remarkable achievements after entering the palace, she became much more obedient after she became pregnant, and new favorites were gradually promoted. Concubine Zhang speculated that the emperor's favor with Xie was no longer as great as before, but the sense of crisis urged her to ask the emperor for a position to enter the palace. After entering the palace, Concubine Zhang visited Xie Yuzhen several times but failed. She also found that although the emperor did not often stay in Shouning Palace, he never forgot Xie and often accompanied her for meals. Only then did Concubine Zhang overturn her previous guess.

It’s not that Xie’s favor is fading from the emperor. On the contrary, the emperor really cares about her!

Concubine Zhang thought about how she had been so gentle and calculating, and how she had carefully tried to please the emperor for several years before she finally won the emperor's favor. However, Xie Yuzhen was so notorious, aggressive and arrogant, and she had won the emperor's heart without doing anything. From the way they got along, it seemed that the emperor was just trying to please and dote on her in every way.

How could Concubine Zhang bear such a gap?

She wanted to snatch the emperor back from Shouning Palace.

While scheming against Concubine Li and the Second Princess, this idea was growing wildly in Concubine Zhang's mind. She urgently needed a victory over Xie Yuzhen to stabilize her will. As long as she could use today's right and wrong to prove that the Emperor valued her more than Xie Yuzhen, Concubine Zhang's impatience would be soothed.

But she failed.

Even though she was pregnant with the royal heir, even though her palace was confirmed to be in danger, even though she had suffered injustice at the hands of Concubine Li in order to maintain the reputation of the royal family; the man who valued offspring, doted on her and pitied her, and was willing to give up his position as a concubine to save her reputation, still chose another safe and sound woman without any reluctance.

Lady Zhang's body was not injured, but she was so emotional that the scenery in front of her eyes was shaking. She took a deep breath to stabilize her consciousness, then exhaled slowly, trying to calm the heart that was beating so fast that it was about to jump out of her throat.

"Madam!" Pei'er, who had been kneeling in the snow for a long time, was helped to stand up by the palace maid. She limped over, worried and guilty: "It was all because of my failure to do a good job that Madam was wronged by Concubine Li."

Wronged?

Concubine Zhang smiled bitterly. She was indeed aggrieved, but this grievance was not given by Concubine Li. Concubine Li's harsh words were just stepping stones for her. What really made Concubine Zhang feel aggrieved was the emperor's attitude.

But she would never tell these to the palace maids: "It's not your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me for my humble background. I have to endure many hardships myself."

"Madam..." Pei'er pursed his lips, his expression somewhat moved.

Concubine Zhang was pregnant and was said to have a miscarriage, so she sat in the pavilion waiting for Concubine Deng to arrange a new residence. While she was surrounded by her own people, Pei'er hesitated for a long time before coming over and whispering, "My lady, the emperor obviously likes you, but we palace maids have a weak family background, and Eunuch Feng is just a eunuch. If... if you had promised that nanny to be your godmother, would you..."

Lady Zhang turned her head and looked at her: "She is just a nanny."

Pei'er looked around warily, her voice getting smaller and smaller: "I only found out recently that the nanny was originally a member of the Meng family, the same family as Meng Ronghua. She used to be a palace maid, but I don't know why she never left the palace at such an old age. I heard that she is now serving the nuns in the North Palace."

"Madam, Meng Ronghua has a good family background, but he offended the Empress. Now he has no successors and is about to fall out of favor. I don't have much knowledge, but if you can get in touch with the Meng family, wouldn't that be like adding wings to a tiger?"