Chapter 778: All Thanks to a Thick Skin

They’re all in the Imperial Concubine’s faction. With that many people, how could they possibly fail to protect the two Princes?

Now *that* would be a real joke.

“The real priority is to name a Crown Prince soon,” Princess Consort Zhuang said softly. “Once the heir is established, the Imperial Concubine’s position will be completely secure. It wouldn’t even be out of the question for her to be named Empress.”

In any case, she wouldn’t accept anyone but the Imperial Concubine as Empress.

At the mention of this, Consort Shu also fell silent.

“Appointing a Crown Prince is a momentous affair. We shouldn’t interfere rashly,” Consort Shu said, looking at Princess Consort Zhuang. “If the Emperor were to mistakenly believe it was the Imperial Concubine’s idea, it would only backfire.”

Princess Consort Zhuang looked at her, a little surprised. She hadn’t expected her to say that. “You have a point, but we can’t just do nothing at all.”

Consort Shu recalled what her mother had told her during their last visit. Conflict was already brewing in court over the matter of the Crown Prince. Both of the Emperor’s sons were born to the Imperial Concubine, and His Majesty often kept the Eldest Prince by his side. Sometimes, when courtiers were presenting their reports, he would even have the Eldest Prince listen in.

‘It was clear he was grooming an heir.’

‘And that was making some people anxious.’

The Right Minister had stumbled in his position for many years, and the Left Minister—her own father—had suffered considerable losses these past two years. Since he had one foot in the Imperial Concubine’s faction because of his daughter, he had managed to narrowly avoid disaster every time. Because of that, he had some insight into the Emperor’s intentions.

So now that talk of establishing the Crown Prince had surfaced in court, he had his wife warn their daughter to, under no circumstances, make any rash moves.

‘He knows I have a good relationship with the Imperial Concubine. The closer we are, the more important it is not to act.’

‘Otherwise, it wouldn’t be helping, it would be a hindrance.’

“Doing nothing *is* the right move. We should still ask the Imperial Concubine’s opinion later. But from what I know of her, our Imperial Concubine definitely won’t want us meddling.” After dealing with Yun Zhao for so many years, Consort Shu had a decent grasp of her personality.

Princess Consort Zhuang nodded slightly. “You have a point. The Imperial Concubine is a very decisive person; we can’t act on our own authority. It’s just… I get so annoyed seeing that Zhao woman jumping up and down, trying to make a scene.”

Consort Shu looked at her, puzzled. “Are you perhaps underestimating the Imperial Concubine? What’s there to be annoyed about? Wasn’t Grand Tutor Qin far more powerful than the Zhao Family back in the day?”

‘And he still fell in the end.’

“It’s different,” Princess Consort Zhuang told Consort Shu. “Back then, Grand Tutor Qin had already incurred the Emperor’s displeasure. Plus, he was part of the court and secretly formed factions for his own gain, which is how they got a handle on him. The Zhao Family isn’t in the court; they hold influence among the populace. Their reputation is widespread, and their students are all over Great Chu. They can’t be underestimated.”

‘A scholar can kill without a blade.’

Consort Shu’s expression soured as well. She turned slightly to look toward Zhao Ling’e in the distance.

As she looked, her eyebrows shot up. She saw Zhao Ling’e talking with An Pin.

“Well, look at that,” Consort Shu said to Princess Consort Zhuang with a sarcastic smile. “Perhaps your worries aren’t entirely baseless.”

Princess Consort Zhuang followed Consort Shu’s gaze and was stunned. She remembered An Pin saying she and Zhao Ling’e didn’t get along. So what was this?

‘Have they buried the hatchet?’

The two exchanged a look. Princess Consort Zhuang said thoughtfully, “After what happened, do you think Lady Zhao has given up on the Empress Dowager and is trying to mend fences with An Shutong?”

“What good terms did they ever have to begin with?” Consort Shu asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Princess Consort Zhuang fell silent. ‘She has a point.’

“Then what’s going on here?” Princess Consort Zhuang asked, eyeing the beaming An Pin with suspicion.

“Who the hell knows,” Consort Shu said, her expression cold. ‘She’s not that old, but she’s full of schemes.’ “Whatever. Let’s ignore them. As long as they don’t bring their drama to us, we’re fine.”

“There’s always a motive. They must be after something. I still think you should be careful,” Princess Consort Zhuang said, shaking her head.

“Having you keep an eye on them is enough. I can’t be bothered.” Annoyed, Consort Shu turned and led her horse over. She put her foot in the stirrup, swung a long leg over the saddle, and shot off like the wind.

Princess Consort Zhuang was speechless.

Feng Yunjin rode over, smiling at the displeased Princess Consort Zhuang. “Princess Consort Zhuang, care for a race?”

Princess Consort Zhuang was speechless.

Princess Consort Zhuang waved for someone to bring her horse. After mounting, she said to Feng Yunjin, “You come from a line of generals. I’m not about to compete with you. Let’s just go for a casual ride.”

Feng Yunjin grinned. “I do need the practice. I want to place well in the horse race later.”

“Let’s race,” Princess Consort Zhuang said, her competitive spirit suddenly sparked.

“Alright!”

The two spurred their horses into a gallop. Before long, they caught up to Consort Shu, and in the blink of an eye, they had left her in their dust.

Consort Shu’s face darkened with anger. ‘Why you…! Wang Yunyi!’

As the horses began to gallop, everyone’s spirits lifted. Many others mounted up and joined the chase, filling the entire meadow with cheerful laughter.

Lu Zhixue pulled Han Jinyi down from her horse, and the two sat on the grass, panting for breath. They hadn’t ridden in a long time and couldn’t handle such a sudden, fast ride.

Both were drenched in sweat. Their personal palace maids quickly brought them some tea to quench their thirst.

As they rested, they saw Qin Xiaoyin and Du Wanneng together in the distance. Du Wanneng, a Grand Scholar’s daughter, wasn’t skilled at riding, so Qin Xiaoyin, being a good friend, was patiently helping her get comfortable on horseback.

Watching them, Han Jinyi laughed and said, “I was just thinking, back when we first entered the palace, none of us were ever that friendly with each other.”

Lu Zhixue heard her and replied casually, “Isn’t that the truth? Back then, none of us were willing to concede. Everyone wanted to be number one.”

‘And what was the result?’

‘We all lost to Song Yunzhao.’

This thought prompted Lu Zhixue to tilt her head toward Han Jinyi. “The Imperial Concubine has such a fierce and aggressive personality. Who would have thought the Emperor would be into that?”

‘Back then, all of us were putting on an act: pretending to be gentle, to be scholars, to be generous, to be the best of sisters, to be a united, loving family. Who knows how many masks each of us wore.’

‘But Song Yunzhao, with nothing but her thick skin, drove a sword straight into the Emperor’s heart.’

‘You had to hand it to her.’

‘In any case, she could have never done that back then.’

Han Jinyi couldn’t agree. “I don’t see it that way. I think it’s because of who she is that the Emperor loves her, no matter what her personality is like.”

Lu Zhixue stared at Han Jinyi, dumbfounded. “Now that’s some impressive bootlicking. I concede defeat.”

Han Jinyi gave Lu Zhixue a playful slap on the shoulder. “Don’t think I won’t smack you.”

“Rank has its privileges. You win,” Lu Zhixue said, flopping back onto the grass with her arms spread wide. “Ah, this is so nice.”

It couldn’t be helped. While they were both third-rank concubines, Han Jinyi’s title of Wanyi ranked higher than her own Fen Yi.

Han Jinyi burst out laughing. “You’re just spouting nonsense.” She followed suit, lying down and cradling her head in her hands. “This really is nice.”

Lu Zhixue closed her eyes. The sunlight warmed her skin as a summer breeze caressed her face. It was utterly blissful.

“What did An Pin want with you earlier?” Lu Zhixue asked, her eyes still closed.

“You’ve got sharp eyes to have seen that,” Han Jinyi laughed. An Pin had specifically picked the moment when everyone was busy choosing horses to approach her.

“I have eyes in the back of my head, of course I’m sharp. What did she want? A moment ago, I saw her all smiles and laughter with Lady Zhao,” Lu Zhixue said, frowning.