The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 2)

Chapter 386 - Consequences

The consequence of Ye Yun's displeasure was Ning Chen's headache, as he had to appease her. And the root cause of all this was that imitation, Xu Cairen, which directly led to Ning Chen's frustration.

Yuan Jiu had already gone to investigate layer by layer, but the person involved hadn't noticed anything unusual yet.

Back at her residence, Xu Cairen was staring closely at herself in the mirror.

"You know, I used to only compare myself to that portrait, but now that I've met the real person, the resemblance is indeed striking."

Aside from her voice, which was naturally unchangeable, every movement and gesture was almost identical.

Her maid, Jingzhe, was a bit worried. "Miss, earlier today I noticed Ming Zhaoyi's gaze was icy cold. I've heard that she has a bad temper. Do you think she'll deliberately make things difficult for you?"

"Now that I'm in the palace, you should call me Cairen. Don't make that mistake again," Xu Shi glanced at her.

Realizing her error, Jingzhe quickly lowered her head. "Yes, I'll remember."

Only then did Xu Cairen retract her gaze, letting out a light chuckle.

"It's good if she makes things difficult for me. How else can I make the Emperor pity me? After all, she's already given birth to a child. No matter how beautiful she may be, can she compare to me?"

"The more the Emperor favors her, the more he'll wish for her to stay youthful, but alas, she can't do that anymore. However, I can. Remember what Momo said—my eyes and mouth resemble Ming Zhaoyi the most."

Speaking in a soft voice, Xu Shi raised her hand, gently brushing her cheek, her eyes filled with determination.

Last year, she and her mother came to the capital for a visit, naturally going to see her cousin, the Princess Consort of Prince Kang, at Prince Kang's residence.

During that visit, the Princess Consort remarked that she resembled Ye Yun in the palace. With just that one sentence, her mother began to harbor ambitions. Naturally, she did too.

Her cousin, as a princess consort, was already living in such luxury, with clothes of silk and brocades, far surpassing the already wealthy Xu family a hundredfold. How much more prosperous must the palace be?

If she could enter the palace as a consort, one of the Emperor's concubines, she would surely be even more distinguished than her cousin, the princess consort.

With mother and daughter both harboring such thoughts, they informed her father, and the whole family set things in motion. They sought out many people who had once served Ye Yun and had her practice every day, learning how to mimic Ye Yun's mannerisms more naturally.

The person who knew Ye Yun best was her wet nurse, Momo Jin. After Ye Yun entered the palace, Jin Momo had little to do at the Ye residence. Since the Xu family offered her a high price, she resigned from the Ye family and went to serve the Xu family instead.

Thus, Xu Shi had spent the past year learning, but she had a significant limitation—she only knew what Ye Yun was like before entering the palace, not how she was after.

However, Xu Shi wasn't worried. After all, she would have plenty of time to study in the future. Or perhaps she might forge her own path—it wasn't impossible.

In any case, as long as she entered the palace, she was confident that her face alone would allow her to rise to prominence.

But her confidence would eventually amount to nothing.