The Daily Life of a Concubine

Chapter 6 - Of No Concern

"Lan Guifei, please have some tea."

"Li Liangdi, please have some tea."

...

After the formal greetings, the Empress exchanged a few polite words and then dismissed everyone.

The concubines dispersed, and Kun Ning Palace was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. The head maidservant who served the Empress helped her change out of her heavy palace attire. "Your Majesty, should we..."

Before she could finish, the Empress interrupted, "No need. It's just a trivial matter. The Emperor is indeed mischievous. It seems the Honorable Consort Li Liandi has caught his eye. Over the years, Consort Lan has monopolized his favor. Now that she's entered the harem, let her fend for herself. I won't dirty my hands with this."

Looking at her reflection in the bronze mirror, the Empress saw her youthful appearance fading. Seven years in the harem had drained the light from her eyes and the warmth from her heart.

Her face now bore signs of aging.

"The Bai family's legitimate daughter is a fool. Without needing others to say more, would she really let her illegitimate half-sister go? There's no need for further testing; just send a congratulatory gift."

Her position as Empress was secure, and she disregarded the other concubines, except for...

Shihua looked at the troubled expression on her lady's face and felt deeply distressed. "Although it may not make a big difference, it would at least put some pressure on Consort Lan's favor."

The Empress chuckled softly. "Lan guifei always prides herself on her beauty. Now that there's someone more exquisite, she'll surely be frustrated. We don't need to get our hands dirty."

Let them compete. I hope that in the end, they can all face it with a smile.

Meanwhile, the person discussed by the Empress and her maid was soon found fault with by Lan Guifei who had her punished by kneeling in the palace walkway.

Passersby couldn't help but mock her.

"Lan Guifei is indeed kind-hearted. Such an unruly person gets only a kneeling punishment. If it were me, I would teach that vixen a proper lesson." Zhang Liangyuan sneered.

Wen Jieyu commented, "Indeed. Otherwise, how could the Emperor favor Lan Guifei so much? It's because she is kind-hearted. Only someone so lacking in manners would provoke her."

As soon as they spoke, those who disliked Bai Jingxian—no, not disliked, but feared her face—joined in condemning her.

Everyone praised Lan Guifei's kindness, noting that an Honorable Consort who offended her was only punished with kneeling.

One hour of kneeling, and they were sure Lan Guifei was indeed kind-hearted?

Do they misunderstand kindness?

She would have to endure this loss for now.

The trouble began right after she left Kun Ning Palace.

There were many people in the palace, so after the Empress said to disperse, she moved towards the door, planning to let everyone exit first before she left.

Unexpectedly, she was pushed aside and ended up leaving Kun Ning Palace's main gate before Lan Guifei. This led to Wen Jieyu catching her and reporting it to Lan Guifei, who stated that rules cannot be broken and etiquette cannot be disregarded, so she was punished by kneeling in the walkway for an hour.

Indeed, so kind-hearted.

Bai Jingyan foolishly spread her background again, using her position to plead, saying that such a person raised by such a mother indeed lacked manners.

How ridiculous. Bai Jingyan was also a Bai family girl.

If she can't get anything good, how can she get anything good?

Truly brainless.

After an hour, Bai Jingxian was helped back to her residence by her maid.

Unbeknownst to her, De Fu was waiting there.

Bai Jingxian, not daring to delay, quickly entered her courtyard. However, after kneeling for an hour, her legs were numb, and after walking this distance, she had lost all strength in her legs.

She couldn't walk quickly and ended up falling to the ground. This was not an act.

She truly fell.

"Li Liangdi, what happened?" De Fu hurried over to help her up. "Did Li Liangdi get injured?"

Bai Jingxian wasn't foolish. Since he had seen her, she knew he had investigated. Since he hadn't pointed it out, she naturally wouldn't elaborate.

"It's nothing. I'm just not well and tripped over a stone. I'm sorry to trouble you, De Fu."

Her voice was very soft, almost inaudible if not for De Fu being so close.

"Let me help you up."

De Fu was there to deliver rewards and brought the Emperor's message that he would come for dinner tonight.

"Thank you, De Fu." After speaking, Bai Jingxian gave Chun Feng a look. Chun Feng, always efficient, had already prepared everything.

De Fu accepted the reward and then took his leave.

Soon after, rewards from the Empress arrived, followed by those from Consort Lan.

Looking at the silks and satins, Bai Jingxian's eyes lit up. Forgive her, a working-class girl, for not having seen such fine things before.

She was thinking about how she could make the emperor less wary of her and gradually make him accept her as his consort.

She understood that the Emperor's favor was currently out of spite against the officials.

Once this phase passed, if she couldn't win the Emperor's favor, she would be torn apart by the women in the harem.

To transform from a pawn to a person of significance, she needed to work harder with the Emperor. Mere beauty wouldn't suffice; she had to approach it from other aspects.

After much thought, she considered having children, but in the absence of a legitimate child in the Empress's position, having her own would be difficult.

She didn't have Consort Zhen's ambitions to raise a child to power. If possible, she preferred her child to be a carefree prince. The world is so vast; where couldn't they go?

By then, will she be able to...

She was getting off track.

To change the Emperor's perception of her, her priority now was to have children. The original's age was suitable for childbirth. At seventeen, her body was capable of bearing children.

But discussing this now was premature. For now, she should focus on captivating the Emperor with her beauty and body.

Desire is innate.

The Emperor's performance was good. She hadn't enjoyed it enough. Since he was coming tonight, she would give him a different kind of night.

I'm quite skilled at this, Emperor. Don't surrender too quickly.

Lost in her excitement, Bai Jingxian was jolted awake by Chun Feng's call.

"Your Ladyship, what should we do with these items?"

Looking at the items piled on a small table, Bai Jingxian sighed. Chun Feng and Chun Yu were diligent but lacked ability.

"Sort and list them, noting their origins. Do either of you know how to read?" These items could be important or not, depending on how she used them.

Hearing this, both shook their heads. "Replying to Your Ladyship, we cannot read." They had entered the palace at a young age and had not learned to read.

Indeed, upon hearing this, Bai Jingxian envied Consort Zhen even more.

"I'll write. You two list each item by name."