Model worker and his little darling

Yun Baolin and her roommate Yao Baolin arrived at Fengyi Palace, neither too early nor too late.

The two of them were just Baolin, and not favored by the emperor. Everyone greeted them politely, and they accepted the gifts they were entitled to and returned the gifts as appropriate.

It wasn't until Li Xiuyuan and Song Xiurong, who held the rank of Ninth Consort, arrived that things truly became lively.

Li Xiuyuan was so talkative that Yun Baolin suspected it was because her constant chatter was so annoying that the Emperor only treated her so indifferently. Otherwise, given that she had given birth to the eldest princess, and that the princess had grown up well, she should have been made a concubine by now. Instead, she was only one of the Nine Concubines, and not even the head of the Nine Concubines.

"Oh, I'm not late today," Li Xiuyuan said with a smile.

Everyone stood up to greet her.

"Li Jieyu, did you sleep well last night?" Li Xiuyuan asked one of the main characters of the day as soon as she sat down.

This was truly a case of bringing up the very thing that shouldn't be brought up; no one else had said it directly, but she just blurted it out.

However, the people who arrived earlier were all of lower rank than Li Jieyu, so she didn't dare to say it directly.

"Thank you for your concern, Consort Xiu. I am fine." Consort Li also looked down on Consort Xiu.

Speaking of which, there are currently three most favored concubines in the harem. Everyone envies Consort Lan, who is the only one with a title and a second-rank imperial concubine status. Next are Consort Li and Consort Ning.

Someone spotted a figure: "Consort Shu has arrived."

Everyone quickly stood up to pay their respects.

Consort Shu held the rank of First-Rank Consort, second only to the Empress in the imperial harem. However, she had the Emperor's only son, the Eldest Prince.

However, when it comes to being pampered, he's just as spoiled as Li Xiuyuan.

Following closely behind, Consort Lan, the most favored concubine in the harem, arrived.

Consort Lan was extremely beautiful, with bright eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, and a slender figure. She was also an excellent zither player, truly a beautiful woman of outstanding talent.

Xia Yue, who was in the inner room, heard from a palace maid that the concubines had almost all arrived, so she took Bai Zhi's hand and walked out.

Upon seeing the Empress, everyone quickly paid their respects.

After Xia Yue sat down, she looked at the beautiful women below, which was a feast for the eyes.

"No need for formalities, please sit down. Today is not the first or fifteenth of the month, so there's no need to go to the Empress Dowagers' palaces. Just sit here with me and have a chat. Consort Chu is having a hard time during her pregnancy, and she was uncomfortable with fetal movement last night, so she has taken leave today."

Everyone was taken aback. Well, the other main character hadn't come today.

Li Xiuyuan began to speak: "Logically speaking, it's a good thing that Consort Chu is pregnant, but making such a commotion in the middle of the night is really inconsiderate."

They were just making fun of Consort Li, and now they're talking about Consort Chu. That's the reason she's disliked.

Xia Yue was speechless: "Li Xiuyuan, Chu Meiren's pregnancy is a merit, this is a small matter. If you are pregnant, you can also take leave."

As soon as Xia Yue finished speaking, the crowd below began to chuckle. Everyone knew that Li Xiuyuan was out of favor and would be waiting forever to get pregnant.

Li Xiuyuan looked embarrassed and stopped talking.

Xia Yue looked at Consort Li: "Consort Li, you've been wronged too. I have a bracelet for you to wear and play with."

Consort Li rose and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your gift. My sister Chu is pregnant, so it is naturally a joyous occasion. I am happy for her too."

Xia Yue smiled and said, "That's good. There are few heirs in the palace now. The emperor has been on the throne for four years and has been out of mourning for a year. Finally, there is some good news."

Consort Shu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled, "Her Majesty the Empress is the most virtuous, and this is our blessing. We concubines also hope that Her Majesty the Empress will give birth to a legitimate son soon, as that is the hope of our Great Qi."

Xia Yue just wanted to laugh. If I were pregnant, you'd probably be the first one to get restless.

Xia Yue smiled faintly: "Whether I give birth or not is not important. The children you give birth to are all my children."

Hmph, as the Empress Dowager, all the children will call me Mother anyway. No matter who the future emperor is, I will always be the Empress Dowager.

Consort Shu was embarrassed for a moment.

Having just been mocked, Li Xiuyuan turned her attention to Consort Lan upon hearing about the pregnancy: "Speaking of which, Consort Lan has been serving the Emperor for six years now, so why is there still no sign of pregnancy?"

Consort Lan retorted without hesitation: "Aren't you quite happy that I'm not giving birth? Next time you're promoted, Consort Li should be Consort Li, right?"

Everyone laughed. Now that she had a child, she should at least be a second-rank imperial concubine.

Consort Lan is wicked; she even wants Consort Li to remain untouched among the Nine Consorts.

Xia Yue looked around for a while and then decided it wasn't interesting anymore: "Alright, nothing else to do today, let's call it a day."

The group took their leave and departed from Fengyi Palace.

Xia Yue returned indoors, feeling a headache coming on. Three women make a drama; while watching the gossip was fun, managing the situation was exhausting.

Bai Zhi was massaging Xia Yue: "Master, you must have been tired last night, why don't you take a nap?"

"Never mind, sleeping too much will give me a headache."

Xia Yue recalled the events of the previous night. The Emperor had stayed overnight at Consort Li's Bailu Pavilion. In the middle of the night, Consort Chu reported to her that she had abdominal pain and needed to summon the imperial physician. Xia Yue had just arrived at Qiushui Pavilion late at night when the imperial physician came to deliver the good news that Consort Chu was pregnant. Just as Xia Yue was about to tell the Emperor the good news, the Emperor unexpectedly arrived.

That Consort Chu is truly formidable; she managed to lure the Emperor to Qiushui Pavilion in the middle of the night. I was hoping for a good show today, but Consort Chu didn't show up.

Bai Zhi thought for a moment and said, "My lady, the feud between Consort Chu and Consort Li has already begun."

Xia Yue nodded: "Yes, there'll be plenty of drama later. We can just watch the show. Consort Chu's child will only be honored if it is born, but it's not easy to give birth to a healthy child in the palace. Didn't Consort Ning miscarry before?"

Although pregnancy is a big deal, being robbed of one's place in the harem is also a big deal, and Consort Li was directly humiliated.

Jieyu was a fourth-rank official, and Meiren was a fifth-rank official; both could live in pavilions.

However, a beauty is still considered inferior to others. Even if she is pregnant, it is not right to disturb the emperor in the middle of the night. This would be taking advantage of his favor and becoming spoiled.

However, the Emperor has very few children. Now that Consort Chu is pregnant, as long as she gives birth, she will be promoted to the rank of Jieyu. For the sake of the child, the Emperor will ensure that Consort Chu's life won't be too difficult.

"My lord, it would be wonderful if you could give birth to a legitimate son."

"No rush. The situation is unclear right now, and the Emperor is still young. He seems to like children now. But when the Emperor gets old and the children grow up, the older the children will be, the greater the threat to his throne."

Xia Yue thought of the struggle for the throne among the nine princes in her previous life. Every son was very outstanding, but their fates were all more tragic than the last.

"Besides, I am a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty. The emperor will not allow my child to ascend the throne. Even if I give birth to a legitimate son, I may not survive."

Bai Zhi thought about it and realized that made sense; her master really had it tough.

Xia Yue also sighed, thinking that when she was sent to marry a foreign ruler, she thought she would only ever be a princess, but she never expected to become an empress.