Chapter 243: Part 3

Chapter 243: Chapter 200: Part 3

What a pity. With such a perfect opportunity, Noble Princess Consort Rong had actually fallen ill.

The only question was whether she was truly sick or just pretending.

The Pure Consort was excused from paying her daily respects while in postpartum confinement, and the Noble Consort was absent as well. With the two main players off the stage, the crowd discussed the matter for a while. Everyone felt something was lacking, so they tried to make up for the disappointment with a few more words of gossip.

But the Empress gave them no such opportunity to kick someone while they were down. Collecting herself, she said coolly, “The Noble Consort is of noble birth. How can she be subject to your idle gossip? I have already sent the Imperial Physician to attend to her. If anyone else forgets their place and runs their mouth again, I will not be lenient!”

The crowd fell into an embarrassed silence.

Unexpectedly, the usually lenient Empress singled out Lu Ronghua and Guo Xiao Yi. “Especially you two. Lu Ronghua, you have repeatedly angered the Emperor while attending to him; you should spend more time reflecting on how to serve him properly. And Guo Xiao Yi, as the Second Prince’s mother, you should be a role model for him. If the Second Prince were to parrot your behavior and start gossiping, would that make you happy?”

Their faces flushed so red it looked as if they might start bleeding.

The Empress’s words weren’t harsh, but her voice was like a tolling evening bell, each sound striking a chord in the hearts of all present.

‘That’s right. Even if the Rong Family was in trouble, a Noble Consort was still a Noble Consort—not someone they could afford to offend. Jianzhang Palace was certainly not a place for them to gather and compete with one another. The Empress would not be pleased by hearing them ridicule a favored concubine.’

Presiding over the Central Palace, the Empress firmly maintained an air of integrity within the harem.

…

For Jiang Xian, Princess Yongping’s birth was perfectly timed.

First, with the recent victory in the war, the Emperor would have some leisure time to spend with his daughter. People would also associate the good news with the good fortune brought by the new princess. If the war had remained fraught, her third-day washing ceremony and one-month celebration surely couldn’t have been held on a grand scale, and might not have been held at all. Even though Yongping, still blowing bubbles in her mother’s arms, wouldn’t care about such things, Jiang Xian wanted her daughter to have everything she was entitled to.

Second, too large an age gap between siblings would inevitably create a divide. Yongping was only slightly younger than Zhao’er, so she would have her older brother to look after her, and he in turn would have a playmate.

Third, and this was the point Jiang Xian found most difficult to admit…

‘She was terrible at comforting friends.’

‘A person can’t excel at something beyond their own experience. In her past life, she had been a “small-town try-hard” who aced tests, a “work-study fiend,” and a “9-to-9, six-days-a-week wage slave”—fully maxed out on all the wrong stats. She’d never had the luxury of “friends,” which required time and energy to maintain. After all, how could a cog on a corporate assembly line possibly have a social life?’

‘The Blame Template had only taught her how to comfort men.’

A concubine’s postpartum confinement was equivalent to house arrest, which gave her time to think about how to handle her relationship with Noble Princess Consort Rong…

The system’s voice piped up, “Host, didn’t you say you didn’t consider her a friend?”

Jiang Xian: “…”

Jiang Xian: “It seems she became my friend before I even realized it.”

‘The most foolish thing in the world, Jiang Xian believed, was an office romance.’

‘A close second was treating colleagues as friends, or turning friends into colleagues.’

‘Since she didn’t have any friends, the latter had never been a concern.’

“Mother, everyone is saying the Lady is sick. Should I go to Zhaoyang Palace to visit Nanny Rong in your place?”

As Jiang Xian was lost in a rare moment of thought, Zhao’er tugged at her sleeve.

Noble Princess Consort Rong treated Zhao’er like her own son and was exceptionally good to him. Seeing that his mother was in confinement and unable to go out, he had thought of visiting in her stead.

Jiang Xian found herself in a difficult position.

‘Children don’t understand the affairs of adults.’ She feared Zhao’er would be hurt if Nanny Rong refused to see him. Sighing, she stroked his head. “The Noble Consort is ill and can’t receive visitors. It’s best if we wait until I’m out of confinement. I’ll go visit her then.”

“But everyone says Nanny Rong isn’t really sick. They say she doesn’t want to see anyone because of what happened with General Rong.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xian’s heart sank.

‘Of course. How could I have been so foolish as to treat Zhao’er like an ordinary child? A favored Prince is never short on sources of information. If Zhao’er is anxious or curious about something, there will always be people scrambling to tell him just to curry his favor. He goes to the Upper Study Room every day; he’s probably better informed about news from outside the palace than I am.’

“I wasn’t thinking straight,”

Jiang Xian said as she picked him up.

The palace maids and nannies could no longer lift him. If Zhao’er wanted to be held, he had to seek out the Emperor or his mother. “How much have you heard about what’s going on outside the palace?”

“I heard that memorials impeaching the Rong Family are being submitted daily, and the Emperor’s position is starting to waver. They say General Rong is in a tough spot, and the Noble Consort is in an awkward position, too. General Rong suffered a defeat during the war, and now that he’s back in the capital, they say he’s going to be called to account for old failures. They also say a godsent general appeared and put an end to General Rong’s arrogance…”

Jiang Xian nodded slowly. “That godsent general… he’s your uncle. My younger cousin.”

Zhao’er’s eyes went wide as saucers.