Chapter 255: Part 3

Chapter 255: Chapter 206: Part 3

This move sparked some controversy in the imperial court.

But Xie Che was no longer the new emperor he was at his ascension. After several purges, he had subtly amassed the same absolute authority in the imperial court as the late Emperor. It was widely known that the Pure Consort was unlike other women. She was sharp and eager to learn, but she cared for neither poetry nor painting. Instead, she was well-versed in the classics and history, possessing a talent for statecraft.

In the past, when a favored concubine dominated the harem, it simply meant the other concubines were suppressed.

The Pure Consort’s favor, however, affected even the court officials.

The reason was simple: with the help of a top-notch special assistant, the number of memorials the Emperor reviewed and edicts he issued had tripled since Noble Princess Consort Rong fell from favor.

And keep in mind, Xie Che had already been a very diligent emperor to begin with.

After half a month of this frantic pace, Jiang Xian felt that, as a senior assistant, she ought to have subordinates. But Xie Che was reluctant to have other female officials at his side, knowing it would only provoke criticism from his ministers. And, according to the old rules of Yan Chi, eunuchs weren’t allowed to be literate…

In the end, however, Jiang Xian managed to devise a solution.

Thus, after finishing his regular studies, Zhao’er no longer had to attend the Pure Consort’s tutoring sessions. Instead, he started a ‘part-time job’ at his Imperial Father’s Qiankun Palace.

Originally, the Second Prince had this opportunity as well.

Although Xie Che believed the saying that the child is father to the man and felt that Sheng’er was not suited to be his successor, he by no means looked down on his second son. Instead, he tried everything to help him find a future calling. ‘After all,’ he thought, ‘is fighting for the throne the only way to use one’s knowledge to serve Yan Chi?’

Interest is the best teacher.

Whether it was leading troops, overseeing public works, or presiding over cases at the Ministry of Justice, as long as Sheng’er showed an interest, that talent could be cultivated.

Xie Che knew he was too busy with state affairs to give every one of his children his full attention, but he was determined to at least give them an equal opportunity to compete and to choose their own paths.

The Second Prince, however, recoiled from this opportunity. No matter how Guo Xiao Yi urged or even struck him, he refused to listen.

Having shot up in height, Xie Sheng was no longer the scrawny child he once was. Guo Xiao Yi hoped he would develop a will of his own, like a man should, and he did—only, his will was firmly set on not working, on “lying flat” and just coasting through life.

The Emperor felt both affection and exasperation toward him.

As for the Third Prince, Xie Qi, he had always been his two older brothers’ shadow. Ma Ronghua only prayed for him to grow up safely; as long as he didn’t die young and could be raised to adulthood, that was enough. The Ma Family had originally been dependents of the Rong Family. After the Rong Family fell, their family lost its patron and was not what it once was, leaving Ma Ronghua afraid to hope for too much.

—————–

Jiang Xian had been in the palace for twelve years.

Xie Che fulfilled his promise. From the day he acknowledged that nothing in the harem held any interest for Jiang Xian, he not only recruited a wide circle of female scholars for her but also kept her constantly by his side. He discussed matters of state in her presence and gave her open access to the documents of the Six Ministries.

The imperial couple worked year-round without a day off, and their relentless pace drove the civil and military officials of the court to misery.

The Emperor’s favorite refrain was: “The Pure Consort has yet to speak of resting, yet you, my dear ministers, often claim your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak. You must be joking with Us.”

‘Weren’t you the ones who impeached me for listening only to a woman, for allowing the hen to crow at dawn, for letting a woman usurp power and disrupt the government?’

‘Didn’t you claim women were too fragile and unfit for great responsibility?’

‘So how is it you can’t even outwork a woman?’

When it came to pulling all-nighters and working to the point of exhaustion, the ancients could certainly give modern people a run for their money. One only had to consider waking up at two in the morning to prepare for court, then lining up at the palace gates, and on top of that, not being allowed to be late.

The only problem was, even among modern people, Jiang Xian was in the top tier of grinders.

Now, with the boost from her system, she was like a tiger that had grown wings.

The civil and military officials, sweating with shame from the mockery, had no choice but to roll up their sleeves and join the grind.

‘What happened to the beautiful woman who would lead the nation to ruin? The one who was supposed to bewitch the Emperor until he lost all interest in governing… Why is this not at all what we imagined?’

This wasn’t quite what Xie Che had imagined, either.

His beloved concubine seemed to possess an inexhaustible vitality in the face of the endless stream of work. Every day, she sat in Qiankun Palace, so radiant and glowing it was almost intimidating. Xie Che often had a thousand things he wanted to say to her, but he would forget them all the moment she glanced over at him with a smile.

He couldn’t help but say with some chagrin, “We have failed to change you, yet you have completely changed Us.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Your Majesty. I’ve already changed a great deal.”

‘At least, in her past life, she never would have imagined being able to enjoy material comforts with a clear conscience. Even with a high salary, she’d always had a strong sense of “unworthiness”—a compulsion to save all her income to build a buffer against risk.’

It was the Emperor who had brought her cartloads of fine things and urged her to use them.

The imperial cuisine was truly delicious, fine fabrics and quilts were simply more comfortable, and the spacious, bright rooms had been decorated to feel like a home.

[Accompanied the Emperor for one hour. Palace Fighting Points +10]

[Made the Emperor reprimand an important official for your sake. Palace Fighting Points +30]

Because the harem was so calm and peaceful, the only remaining opportunity for Jiang Xian to earn a large number of points every three years was the concubine selection.

[During a concubine selection held while the Host is favored, the Emperor does not choose a single new person for the harem. Palace Fighting Points +1000]

Ever since the Emperor and Noble Princess Consort Rong’s romance ended, leaving only a sense of duty between them, no new concubines had entered the harem.

Any candidates chosen during the selection were now only for the purpose of arranging marriages for members of the imperial clan.

This particular outcome, though it allowed her to happily pocket a thousand Palace Fighting Points, was not something Jiang Xian had ever suggested or even mentioned; Xie Che had done it entirely of his own accord.

When his ministers inquired about it, he couldn’t be bothered to respond. Only when Prince Xie asked did he give a serious answer: “We already have three healthy sons. The Xie family has never been blessed with an abundance of heirs, so We are quite content. We wish to focus all Our energy on matters of state. Even if We were to accept new women, We would have no time to dote on them. It would feel more like a torment.”

“The opportunity to take the most beautiful young women in the land into your possession every three years, and Your Majesty calls it a torment?”

“You don’t understand,”

Xie Che scoffed, his voice filled with smug satisfaction. “When you truly love one woman, visiting any other’s chambers is nothing but torment.”

“…”

Prince Xie was truly not envious in the slightest.