The Job Of An Imperial Concubine

120: extra 3: virtuous imperial concubine jiang

Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang was an inconspicuous imperial concubine in the harem. Whether they were the new arrivals or the imperial concubines who had been around for a long time, they saw her as bland as water. The sole thing worthy of praise was that Noble Consort Zhao would occasionally treat her with affection. However, because of this, no one in the palace dared to make things difficult for her. Rather, they would treat her with courtesy.

Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang did not care how others saw her. Every day, she kept to the working routine. Sometimes, she would have a chat with Miss Kong, who had already been promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine.

The two were women from the harem that the emperor had forgotten. The sole thing worthy of rejoicing was that they had once relied on Zhuang Laoyan for help, who was now Noble Consort Zhao, a woman who stood above all except one.

Imperial Concubine Kong's elder sister was even less fortunate than the two of them. She passed away in the deep, deep palace after giving birth to a prince, and said prince passed away as well. In the end, she disappeared from the memory of others.

Imperial Concubine Kong hated the person who had caused her elder sister's death, hated Consort Xian who had failed to take care of Third Prince properly. In the imperial harem, no one's hands were clean. Someone had a hand in the death of Imperial Concubine Kong's elder sister. However, at the end, what was discovered was the following: Imperial Concubine Kong's elder sister suffered a serious hemorrhage during labor and insisted on preserving the newborn's life over her own. Ultimately, she lost her life.

The truth of the matter had long since been lost, never to be found. Yet, after Imperial Concubine Kong had lived in the imperial harem for so many years, the hatred in her heart gradually wore down until her heart died. Now that Consort Xian had passed away from illness, Imperial Concubine Kong seemed to have grown relaxed and no longer cared what happened in the harem.

Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang had never imagined that Imperial Concubine Kong's insistence on allying with Zhuang Laoyan back then would bring upon the following: the obtaining of a supporter like Noble Consort Zhao. Perhaps the reason she could approve of Imperial Concubine Kong's actions back then, and covertly informed Noble Consort Zhao about some of the palace's secrets, was because in the deepest part of her heart, she believed that a woman like Zhuang Laoyan was different from other women, could stand higher than the rest.

Although Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang did not understand how a woman who sincerely loved the emperor could pass her days so comfortably in the imperial harem, she thought that was perhaps another thing that set Noble Consort Zhao apart from other women.

Another spring arrived. Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang took a stroll in the imperial gardens. As she passed through the thick shade of a tree, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Looked at an unremarkable flower at the tree roots.

"Master, what's wrong?" said a palace maid behind her, looking at her in a worried manner. The court eunuch, who was also behind her, moved the flower pot in his hands a bit away.

"It's nothing. I merely saw a cluster of Golden-edged June Snow." Following that, Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang averted her gaze from the flowers. Back then, she and Noble Consort Zhao had their first encounter around June. The heat made people agitated. Indeed, it was during that time that they had a chance encounter with the emperor.

"In this concubine's opinion, Your Majesty is a tree reaching toward the heavens, a girder holding up the heavens."

"This concubine is a little flower relying on the tree to survive. Perhaps it will never know the full extent of the cypress tree's ability. However, it will still rely on the cypress to survive."