Flames of Ambition

46: A Woman in Imperial Harem

Chapter 46: A Woman in the Imperial Harem

After marrying a prince, Zexel gained the power and access needed to discreetly infiltrate the Imperial Palace with her own people.

Within just five months, she managed to replace many unworthy officials and servants inside the palace with her trusted subordinates—from the Imperial Guards to the palace maids. Even the Imperial Kitchen was now under her command. However, all of them remained low-profile, as the plan was to strike only after they graduated from Scarlet Academy.

She couldn’t help but smirk, amused by how she toyed with the Emperor without him even realizing it.

Sneaky and cunning, Zexel had almost fully grasped control of the Imperial Palace’s internal affairs.

It had been five months since she married Feng Zhengying, and the Empress remained confident that she had Zexel under her thumb. What she didn’t know was that the exact opposite was true.

In the eyes of the Emperor and the Empress, Zexel was worthless and useless—just like how they branded Feng Zhengying.

After marrying him, the first thing she did was gain the trust of everyone inside Ming Wangfu. And she succeeded. Even her husband, the infamous general in his prime, was now under her command.

Imagine: Feng Zhengying, once the feared general of the Pingjing Dynasty, the Ming Wangye, the Seventh Prince—powerful, yet pretending to be a crippled, discarded man—was now willingly obedient to his wife. The entire Ming Wangfu was stunned when he acted like a puppy whenever she was angry.

He had grown so soft that he didn’t mind her overruling him, even when it came to matters that defied the traditional rules of the dynasty. As a result, the people of Ming Wangfu sought Zexel’s favor above all else, as anyone who pleased her would be heavily rewarded by the prince himself.

--*--

"Are we still not going to attack? It’s been a year," Feng Ming Li asked irritably, leaning back in his chair.

"You know, Ming Li, when you’re attacking an enemy more powerful than you, patience is essential," Fan Yaoli replied, unbothered. She knew very well how Zexel dealt with her enemies.

"You need to wait for the least expected moment to strike. First, we’ll cripple their foundation, then attack. That way, we outsmart them in every direction. Don’t worry, Feng Ming Li, I assure you—success is certain." Zexel smirked, imagining how her despicable father would react once they revealed their true strength.

--*--

"They already hold 65% of the Imperial power," a shadowed figure reported from the dark.

Inside one of the Emperor’s concubine’s chambers, the woman in question gently sipped her tea, a smirk forming on her lips as she listened to the report.

"Indeed, those two girls are smart. I wonder how Fan Xuan Yan will react when he learns that his daughter is the mysterious founder of ZUGC. It’ll be a good show, don’t you think?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Indeed, Your Grace," the person in the shadows replied.

"Let them clash with the Imperial Royalties first. Let them handle the hard part. Once both sides are exhausted, we’ll sweep in and clean up the rest. I’m expecting a good show out of this confrontation—ZUGC versus the throne. I can’t believe I married such a foolish ruler who only knows how to indulge himself." She rolled her eyes and sipped her tea again.

"Your Grace..." The tone of the shadowed figure showed concern.

"I’ll be fine. Go investigate their movements further. Make sure they don’t detect your presence. They’re far too clever and their people are sharp. I still can’t wrap my head around how those two girls became so skilled overnight. It’s suspicious. Were they pretending all along? I want you to dig deeper into their past."

"Yes, Your Grace." The figure vanished into the shadows.

The concubine walked to her table, where detailed profiles of Fan Yaoli and Fan Lihua lay. Their names were written in elegant vertical Mandarin script. She read them over and over, looking for answers.

How did these two manage to rise to such heights? Even she—who had spent years surviving the Imperial Palace’s web of schemes, backstabbing, and deadly politics—had never accomplished what they had. In just five months, these two women had silently taken control of the palace’s core structure—and no one, save for her, had even noticed.

If she hadn’t overheard that conversation by accident, she would never have known how much power they had already seized.

"Foolish husband," she muttered under her breath.

She glanced at the confidential reports on her desk. Seeing the content made her question everything. How did this happen?

That midnight, she burned the reports using her power, leaving not even ashes behind. She knew she had to be extremely cautious—one misstep, and she would be finished.

She couldn’t trust anyone. Not her husband. Not even her own family. Even if their combined power were mustered, she estimated they only had a 30% chance of victory.

Those two girls planned from A to Z. They were always at least three steps ahead—and that scared her.

"I can’t let it happen again. Never again..." she murmured.

She sighed and called for her maids to change her clothes. Due to her severe insomnia, she still hadn’t changed into sleeping garments, even though it was already midnight.

"Your Grace, you should rest more. We’re all worried about your health," one of her maids said gently.

She gave the girl a tired smile. "I’ll be fine."

But in her heart, she knew—if these two women got in her way, if they dared to interfere with her goals—she would fight back with everything she had.

No matter what.

--*--

Next update: Sunday (April 5, 2020, any time I want)

Ybrehl