The Legend of Zhen Huan: Rebirth of Ling Rong

"The Empress has been in poor health, with frequent headaches, which worries me greatly. Please rest and recuperate in Jingren Palace for the next few days. I understand your hard work, and there is no need for you to leave unless necessary. The concubines are also excused from paying their respects. We will make arrangements once the Empress's health improves."

The emperor frowned slightly, feeling somewhat bothered by the queen's matter.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the trivial matters of the harem, they will be managed by Concubine Jing and Concubine Hui for the time being. Now Concubine Wan and Concubine Rong can also learn to take care of them. This way, the Queen can work less and focus on recuperating."

The emperor's gaze swept across everyone present, finally stopping on the queen, and a barely perceptible complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

When the Queen heard the Emperor say this, she was shocked. How could the Emperor do this? He just took away her power to assist the six palaces. How would the concubines feel about her as the Queen?

But the emperor’s words are golden, how can he take them back?

The Queen had no choice but to obey: "It was my fault for not disciplining my subordinates properly that I made the mistake. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

"Never mind. This is not the Queen's fault. The people under her did something wrong and were punished. Queen, don't mind. We will have to hold the canonization ceremony later. You go back first. I will accompany Concubine Wan and Concubine Rong here."

The emperor, considering the queen's face, finally stopped blaming her.

The Queen really shouldn't have such thoughts. Other things are fine, but the Emperor is well aware of all the private schemes and tricks.

But how could she have thought of using Queen Chunyuan's clothes to set up this trap? That was Queen Chunyuan!

She thought her plan was flawless. She was naturally aware of the emperor's deep affection for Queen Chunyuan. This plan was not to poison his body but only to poison his heart.

"Wanwan, how are you? Are you still feeling unwell?" The emperor asked with concern after the queen left.

"I was just a little dizzy just now, but I'm fine now. It's my fault for causing Your Majesty to worry."

"Wen Shichu, how is Concubine Wan's health?" the emperor asked Wen Shichu.

"Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong with the queen's health. Pregnant women should not have extreme mood swings. If they are emotionally unstable, it will affect the dragon fetus." Wen Shichu answered tremblingly.

"That's good. Now you are taking care of Concubine Wan and Concubine Rong's pregnancies. I hand them over to you. If anything goes wrong, you will be to blame." The emperor said with an indifferent expression and a cold tone.

"Yes, I will do my best to take good care of the two ladies!"

"Okay, you go down first!" The emperor asked Wen Shichu to leave.

"Your Majesty, since my sister is fine, it's time for her to go to the Empress' palace to receive instruction. However, my sister's ceremonial dress is damaged, this..."

I looked at the emperor worriedly and brought up this matter.

Upon hearing this, the emperor pondered for a moment.

"This auspicious dress is already damaged. It is a relic of Queen Chunyuan and cannot be used again. Su Peisheng, go tell the Queen to fetch the auspicious dress used when Concubine Duan was crowned as a concubine, and let Concubine Wan change into it first."

"Yes, I will send someone to get it from the Queen!" Su Peisheng hurriedly sent someone there.

Soon, Su Peisheng came in with clothes.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious dress used by Consort Duan for her consecration has been delivered."

"Wanwan, please change into this dress first, so as not to miss the auspicious time." The emperor looked at his sister gently and said.

Concubine Wan nodded gratefully: "Yes, I'll change it right away!" She took the clothes, turned around and walked into the inner room.

After a while, he changed his clothes and came out.

She was dressed in gorgeous auspicious clothes, with delicate makeup, and was very beautiful. The emperor looked at her with a glint of surprise and love in his eyes.

He walked to Concubine Wan, gently held her hand, and comforted her: "Okay, I will accompany you there, don't worry."

The Empress was already waiting in the palace. After the imperial edict was read, we had to pay our respects to the Empress, who looked at us with a beaming smile.

After listening to the Queen's instructions, the eunuch shouted, "The ceremony is over!"

"Okay, get up quickly. It hurts me to see you perform such a grand ceremony when you are pregnant. Now that you have been promoted to the position of concubines, it will be even better when you give birth to a prince." The queen said hypocritically, but her eyes revealed a hint of jealousy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" My sister and I knelt down and bowed respectfully to express our gratitude. I knew in my heart that the Queen was being hypocritical, but there was nothing I could do.

"Okay, let's help your young lady go back first and take good care of her." The emperor said to Jinxi and Baojuan.

Jinxi and Baojuan quickly helped us up and carefully escorted us back to the palace.

After returning to the palace, we sat on the soft couch, unable to calm down for a long time. Although being promoted to the rank of concubine was a joy, the pressure that came with it was also greater.

"Sister, today's incident has ruined the Queen's plan and temporarily deprived her of the power to manage the six palaces. She will definitely not accept this."

"Lingrong, I finally understand now that I am really just a substitute for Queen Chunyuan. If I wear that dress today, the emperor will definitely mistake me for Queen Chunyuan. When he finds out that I am not her, I will be extremely disrespectful to Queen Chunyuan." My sister said with a wry smile.

"I originally thought that the emperor still had some genuine affection for me, not for anything else, just for me as a person, but everything I have now is just because of Queen Chunyuan." My sister's voice was choked with sobs, tears streaming down her cheeks, and her heart felt as if it was torn apart.

I looked at her, a hint of helplessness and sympathy flashing in my eyes. "Sister, you should have understood long ago that in this harem, our honor and disgrace depend solely on the Emperor's favor. The Emperor treats you as a stand-in for Empress Chunyuan, and so am I? We may not look alike, but our voices are. Every time the Emperor speaks to me, he's looking at Empress Chunyuan, right?"

I sighed softly, feeling a bitterness welling up in my heart.

She raised her head, her eyes revealing determination and resoluteness: "Yes, we are just substitutes. How could the emperor be sincere to us?"

She wiped her tears and straightened herself up.

I nodded slightly, indicating my understanding of her determination. "Sister is right, so we must rely on the Emperor's favor to protect ourselves and our family."

She took a deep breath and calmed her emotions. "Lingrong, I have to thank you again for this matter. If you hadn't reminded me in time, I don't know what trouble would have happened today. Given the emperor's temper, if I wore Queen Chunyuan's clothes, it would be a blasphemy to Queen Chunyuan, and I would be confined by the emperor."

A wry smile appeared on her face and a hint of helplessness flashed in her eyes.

She gently stroked her belly, as if she could feel the presence of the fetus.

She knew that if she really wore that dress today, the consequences would be disastrous. Not only would she lose the emperor's favor, but her family might also be implicated. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a pang of fear.

I looked at her, feeling a little sorry, and softly comforted her, "Don't be sad, sister. Think more about your children and family. It's better to take the word 'affection' lightly."