Jiang Yunshu was muddled when she was called to the main courtyard and equally muddled when she returned to her small courtyard.
She still didn't know what had happened until now.
Her nominal father had said to do as the eldest sister had suggested; her stepmother had claimed it was a great blessing; and the eldest sister had stared at her with venomous eyes...
These were all the pieces of information Jiang Yunshu had obtained.
She knew that her father, stepmother, and eldest sister had made a decision that was extremely important and closely related to her...
Yet she knew nothing about it.
This feeling of having her fate held in others' hands was truly awful!
Thankfully, Jiang Yunshu was good at distracting herself.
When in a bad mood, she needed to have some delicious food!
"Taoye, go and ask if Concubine Qiao is free. I'm inviting her to have barbecue!"
"Zhezhi, go and tell the kitchen that they don't need to prepare our meals tonight. Ask them to cut several kinds of meat and match them with some vegetables. We'll go and pick them up later."
"Make sure there's pork! I want streaky pork with a good mix of fat and lean. Let the kitchen decide on the rest."
Hearing Jiang Yunshu's instructions, Taoye and Zhezhi immediately went to make arrangements. They were already very familiar with this routine. The young lady had barbecue twice a month, which she called "roasted meat".
Especially during the pleasant spring and autumn seasons, the young lady preferred to have barbecue in the yard. She had already had it several times this month.
When the kitchen staff heard that the second young lady wanted barbecue again, they happily agreed. All they had to do was cut the meat and vegetables and send them over. It was the easiest task for them.
Just as they set up the stove and put the iron plate on it, Concubine Qiao arrived with the drink she had made herself.
Concubine Qiao examined Jiang Yunshu's expression. Seeing her as relaxed and carefree as usual, she sighed, "The Marquis's Mansion is full of turmoil, yet you're really calm and still have the leisure to have barbecue."
Jiang Yunshu replied, "The weather is so nice today, and the yard is so comfortable. It's the perfect time for barbecue."
The yard! It was something she had never even dared to dream of when she lived in a shared apartment. Of course, she had to have more courtyard barbecues to make it worthwhile!
Concubine Qiao looked at Jiang Yunshu admiringly and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't be able to eat at all."
Jiang Yunshu, who was turning over the sizzling streaky pork, said upon hearing this, "Then you're more likely to lose weight."
Thin people can't eat when they're in a bad mood! Fat people have a big meal when they're in a bad mood!
Jiang Yunshu belonged to the latter type. She wanted to eat when she was unhappy, and also when she was happy. When she was busy, she treated herself to good food. When she was idle... well, since there was nothing else to do, she might as well have a good meal!
In her previous life, she had controlled her diet for too long in the dance troupe. In this life, she was extremely greedy. Fortunately, the habit of eating until she was 70% full was deeply ingrained, and she burned a lot of calories from dancing. So, she still had a slender and graceful figure in this life.
Concubine Qiao lowered her voice and asked Jiang Yunshu, "Is it true what's being spread in the mansion... that you're going to enter the palace as a concubine in place of the eldest miss?"
Jiang Yunshu was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know either."
When she first heard this rumor, she thought it was 100% false!
But after going to the main courtyard, Jiang Yunshu wasn't so sure. Judging from what the marquis and the madam had implied... she even thought there was a 50% chance it was true!
"Auntie, I can't figure it out. How could such a good thing as entering the palace as a concubine fall from the eldest sister to me?" Jiang Yunshu asked.
Jiang Yunshu regarded Concubine Qiao as an older sister, and Concubine Qiao treated Jiang Yunshu as her own daughter. There were some things she shouldn't have said, but she had to make her "daughter" understand.
Concubine Qiao lowered her voice even more and said, "You're so naive. If it falls to you, it means it's not a good thing!"
Jiang Yunshu had, of course, thought about it, but in the eyes of the ancients, entering the palace as a concubine was a great blessing!
Seeing that Jiang Yunshu still frowned in confusion, Concubine Qiao leaned close to her ear and said, "The emperor has many concubines in the harem, but none of them have been pregnant for so many years..."
Jiang Yunshu stared at her in shock. What was Concubine Qiao implying?
The emperor was infertile?
What good news!
Jiang Yunshu immediately began to hope that it was true. It didn't really matter whether he was the emperor or not. Her biggest dream in ancient times was to marry a man who was infertile!
Jiang Yunshu had only lived to be twenty in modern times and hadn't had the chance to think about whether to have children or not.
But in ancient times, Jiang Yunshu had no hesitation about the issue of child - bearing. She didn't want to give birth! She really didn't want to! She would definitely not give birth if she could avoid it!
Memories came flooding back.
The alluring smell of the barbecue turned into a strong smell of blood...
Aunt Su had died from difficult childbirth. She didn't die right after giving birth to her but seven days after the delivery.
A seven - day - old baby wouldn't remember anything... but Jiang Yunshu was a time - traveler.
She clearly remembered being held in a warm, milky - scented embrace.
That overly young girl already had the tenderness of a new mother in her voice as she hummed a hometown tune to lull her to sleep.
Suddenly, the sharp pain made her wail. She endured the great pain and placed Jiang Yunshu beside the bed.
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yunshu smelled a strong smell of blood.
She was extremely scared and wanted to turn her head to look, but her neck was too weak to move.
After a long period of chaos, a maid picked her up from the bed. Jiang Yunshu finally saw the woman who had given birth to her in this life.
A newly - born baby saw the world as if through a film, and everything was blurry.
Jiang Yunshu saw large patches of red.
She was stunned for a moment before she realized.
It wasn't a red dress or a red curtain.
... It was a whole bed full of blood.
"Yunshu? Yunshu!" Concubine Qiao's call brought Jiang Yunshu back to her senses.
"Ah! The barbecue is almost burnt!"
Jiang Yunshu fumbled to turn over the barbecue.
Concubine Qiao let out a sigh of relief. Just now, when Jiang Yunshu was in a daze, her expression had looked so sad...
Seeing Jiang Yunshu's focus on the barbecue now, Concubine Qiao thought that she must have been mistaken.
Seeing Jiang Yunshu's carefree appearance, Concubine Qiao was really worried about her and explained in more detail.
"A concubine has a noble status, but if she has no children, her life will be difficult when she gets old and loses her beauty."
"Moreover, there has always been a rule in this dynasty that concubines without children have to be buried alive with the emperor. If the new emperor doesn't grant amnesty, childless concubines will have to be buried alive!"
Concubine Qiao thought that the marquis must have found out that the emperor was infertile and didn't want the eldest miss to enter the palace, so he had replaced her with the second miss.
Hearing Concubine Qiao's words, Jiang Yunshu didn't care at all.
"The emperor is only twenty years old, not an old man in his seventies or eighties."
If she were to marry an old emperor, Jiang Yunshu would naturally be worried about being buried alive. But the emperor was only a few years older than her. Who knew who would outlive whom!
"Auntie, think positively. Maybe I'll die before the emperor."
Concubine Qiao: "…………"
Anyway, Jiang Yunshu thought that dying from being buried alive when old was more cost - effective than dying from childbirth when young!
Jiang Yunshu really began to look forward to it. An infertile young emperor... Oh, what a perfect match!
Soon, her expectation came true.
The Marquis's Mansion received another imperial edict from the palace. This time, the person who was going to enter the palace as a concubine was changed from Jiang Zhaohua to Jiang Yunshu.
The official explanation was that Jiang Zhaohua had fallen seriously ill after receiving the imperial decree. The Imperial Astronomers calculated the birth characters and found that Jiang Zhaohua's were incompatible with the Emperor's—if she entered the palace as a concubine, it would bring harm to both.
At the same time, the Imperial Astronomers also examined the birth characters of the other Jiang daughters and discovered that Jiang Yunshu's were exceptionally harmonious with the Emperor's. If she became an imperial consort, it would greatly benefit the Emperor.
Jiang Yunshu couldn't help but grumble in private: "Birth characters are like bricks—they get moved wherever they're needed!"
The Imperial Astronomers also selected an auspicious date. One month later would be Jiang Yunshu's day to enter the palace.
