Chapter 224 - 193: Katydid

Jiang Xian rarely asked him for anything, so Xie Che wanted to arrange a good position for Jiang Yi.

"Your Majesty honors me too much. My cousin hasn’t even come of age; he’s just a boy. The Jiang family has no connections in the Capital, so I could only turn to Your Majesty for help. There’s no need to give him special treatment. Let him start as a common soldier, running errands and training from the ground up. If he can’t endure the hardship, he should return home and find another trade sooner rather than later. We mustn’t let him interfere with important military affairs."

Seeing how sensible she was, Xie Che felt a surge of tenderness. "The Jiang family has few members, so it’s only right for you to be concerned. I will arrange everything. I won’t let talent go to waste. Now, now, didn’t I tell you not to use such formal titles when we’re alone? You’re usually so eager to speak informally with me, yet now every other word is a respectful address."

He finished speaking, then asked with a probing smile, "Xian’er, you’re on good terms with the Noble Consort, and your father visited the Rong Mansion after arriving in the Capital. If it was just a matter of joining the army, a word with General Rong would have sufficed. Why take the long way around and send a letter to the Imperial Palace? I’m afraid you’ve delayed the boy’s start."

"That’s where Your Majesty is mistaken. To my father and me, Your Majesty is the one who is close to us."

Jiang Xian leaned against him with a smile.

Getting carried away is a natural human weakness, especially with those one is close to. What people call ’becoming arrogant from favor’ is simply forgetting that the person beside you in bed is also the King who holds the world’s power in his hands.

But for Jiang Xian, this was clearly not a concern.

In her previous life, her father had constantly drilled one thing into her and her mother’s heads: "I give you food to eat and clothes to wear, so you’d better remember whose orders to follow!" This formed Jiang Xian’s understanding of close relationships. She would never lose her sense of proportion out of happiness or a feeling of security.

"If there’s something I can’t do for you, then no one else can."

Xie Che wrapped an arm around her shoulder, making a solemn promise. It was his way of endorsing her words.

「Three years passed in the blink of an eye.」

In that time, Ma Ronghua gave birth to a healthy Third Prince, named Xie Qi. When her pregnancy was first confirmed, she was barred from entering Zhaoyang Palace. After the birth, as soon as her month of confinement ended, Ma Ronghua rushed to visit Noble Princess Consort Rong, offering countless flustered apologies until she finally earned her forgiveness.

While she was pregnant with the Third Prince, Ma Ronghua told Jiang Xian, "The Noble Consort threw a huge tantrum at me, but honestly, I was relieved."

Jiang Xian nodded. "That’s just how the Noble Consort is."

’If Noble Princess Consort Rong had remained silent, that would have meant a true falling out.’

This was one of Noble Princess Consort Rong’s character flaws. The high-ranking concubines in the harem mostly fell into two categories. The first was like Princess Consort Zhang: virtuous, gentle, and peaceful, never getting into arguments. If trouble arose, no one would ever suspect her. The second type was aggressive and ruthless; anyone who crossed her would be skinned alive. Noble Princess Consort Rong was a master of the latter category.

She had no intention of harming Ma Ronghua’s unborn child, yet she openly displayed her displeasure toward the pregnant woman. ’If anything were to happen to Ma Ronghua’s pregnancy... if someone had truly caused it, that would be one thing; they could just find the culprit. But if she were to miscarry through some simple accident, all eyes of suspicion would fall on Noble Princess Consort Rong.’

’What was the point of it all?’

Jiang Xian knew what she was after. Pure satisfaction.

If life in the harem were a novel, she would be the protagonist of *Jiang Daying’s Promotion Story*, Chen Guiren would star in *Those Years of Holding Legs and Winning in the Harem*, and Noble Princess Consort Rong would be the lead in *Records of Revenge and Enmity in the Palace*.

"From what I know of the Noble Consort, just forbidding me from visiting Zhaoyang Palace... well, it was practically her way of pouting."

Ma Ronghua gently caressed her swelling belly.

Perhaps it was due to the pregnancy, but even her words about Noble Princess Consort Rong seemed to glow with a Motherly Love Aura. If the Noble Princess Consort ever found out Ma Ronghua was speaking of her in such a doting tone, she probably wouldn’t be able to resist kicking her.

The Third Prince, Xie Qi, had barely grown in all his teeth, but he had already become his two older brothers’ little shadow. His speech was still unclear, so he often mispronounced "brother," making it sound like "cricket." One time, he ran up and hugged the Emperor’s leg, crying, "My big cricket was eaten by a chicken!"

Standing nearby, Xie Zhao’s brow twitched.

The Emperor scooped him up. "Did you run off to play in the imperial kitchens?"

The Imperial Palace wasn’t a public market; it was highly unlikely for live chickens to be running around. He assumed his son had a craving and had gone to the kitchens to ask for pastries. Xie Qi shook his head, his big eyes welling with tears. "It was the Lady’s chicken."

’Live chickens in Noble Princess Consort Rong’s Zhaoyang Palace? How could that be?’

’Even if there were live chickens, they’d be in a coop in the small kitchen. A woman as delicate as her would never be able to stand the smell.’