In the spring of the nineteenth year of the Pingyuan era, the palace was holding its triennial selection of consorts.
The Crown Prince had been married for six years, yet had few children. This time, four new women were bestowed upon the Eastern Palace.
Shen Yanshui was one of them.
“Shen-jiejie, you’ve been bestowed upon His Highness the Crown Prince!”
Though the voice beside Shen Yanshui had been lowered, it still carried barely suppressed excitement. Shen Yanshui pressed down the disappointment in her heart, along with a trace of confusion.
How had she ended up in the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace?
Xu Qingle watched her expression and asked hesitantly in a soft voice, “Shen-jiejie, are you… unhappy?”
Shen Yanshui turned to her and smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “No. I’m simply too happy and didn’t know how to react for a moment.”
Forget it. The Crown Prince it was. The imperial edict had already been issued—what else could she do?
In her previous life, the apocalypse had arrived when she was in college.
Fortunately, she had been lucky enough to awaken a wood-element ability.
Even after transmigrating, her wood-element ability had remained with her.
It was just that the power she had once wielded as easily as her own limbs could now only be faintly sensed. Not only was it exceedingly weak, she could not use it at all.
Fortunately, in this life she had been reborn as a young lady of the Duke of Loyalty’s residence in the Great Yong Dynasty. She did not need an ability to get by.
Although she was a daughter born of a concubine, her stepmother was not particularly harsh. The legitimate and illegitimate children of the household were all provided with adequate food, clothing, and necessities.
Thus, she had spent sixteen years lying around peacefully at home, with plenty to eat and drink. Since the world around her was no longer filled with the dangers of the apocalypse, she had gradually let go of her obsession with her ability.
Some time ago, under her stepmother’s arrangements, she had begun meeting potential marriage candidates.
She had been exceptionally obedient and compliant about it.
The Great Yong Dynasty greatly valued lavish dowries.
Her biological father was, at any rate, the duke of a hereditary noble house, while her stepmother was the legitimate daughter of a marquis’s family. Both of them cared deeply about appearances.
They certainly would not shortchange her when it came to her dowry.
Only… she had never expected something to go awry midway.
Three years ago, her elder sister, who had entered the palace, had already become pregnant. Then, news suddenly came that she had miscarried.
The miscarriage had damaged her health, leaving her unable to conceive again.
After the household received the letter her elder sister had sent, it took only a few days for her stepmother to call off the marriage that had been verbally agreed upon for her.
Her stepmother had also summoned her for a private conversation. Her meaning, both explicit and implied, was that Shen Yanshui should enter the palace to help her elder sister compete for the Emperor’s favor and bear him a child. In return, she would enjoy a comfortable life in the future.
Shen Yanshui was naturally unwilling. Who would want to serve an old man? And not just any old man, but the old Emperor, who held the power of life and death over everyone.
But her refusal had been useless.
She did not particularly care.
Who said that entering the palace meant she had to enter the old Emperor’s harem?
So, during the period when she was learning palace etiquette, she had put some effort into finding out about the princes who had reached a suitable age but remained unmarried.
In the end, she had chosen the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince had been blind since birth, making it impossible for him to inherit the throne. He was destined to spend his life as a wealthy prince. No matter which prince eventually ascended the throne, none of them would target the Fifth Prince.
Wealth, good food, security—everything she wanted was guaranteed. It was practically perfect!
During this period, she had made two appearances before Consort Liang.
Judging by Consort Liang’s attitude toward her over the past few days, Shen Yanshui had thought she had succeeded.
She had never expected to end up in the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace.
Xu Qingle stared blankly for a moment at the faint smile on Shen Yanshui’s face.
Shen Yanshui wore a lotus-colored plain silk, narrow-sleeved top beneath a sky-blue half-sleeved robe. Her hair was arranged in a tassel coiffure. Her skin was as smooth and pale as jade, her brows like spring mountains, and her pair of bright, peach-blossom eyes seemed to brim with feeling. Even when she was not smiling, they were enough to make it difficult for anyone to look away.
Her crow-black lashes were long, thick, and elegantly curved. Her eyes were clear and luminous, as though washed by rain. Even as a woman herself, Xu Qingle could not help feeling her cheeks grow warm and her heart race as she looked at her.
Gazing at Shen Yanshui’s nearly flawless face, she blushed and said softly, “With Shen-jiejie’s beauty, His Highness the Crown Prince will surely value and favor you.”
Shen Yanshui gently squeezed her hand and smiled without replying for a moment.
Her elder sister currently lived in Consort Lan’s Jingfu Palace and was one of Noble Consort Lan’s people.
Noble Consort Lan and the Crown Prince’s birth mother—now Her Majesty the Empress—were mortal enemies.
It was said that after the Empress had fallen seriously ill two years ago, she had never truly recovered.
Even during this selection, the Empress had only appeared at the very beginning.
The rest of the proceedings had been handled jointly by Consorts Xian, Liang, Shu, and De, with Noble Consort Lan taking charge.
The Crown Prince was the Empress’s only son, while Noble Consort Lan’s two sons, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince, had both come of age.
The Fourth Prince was even only a year younger than the Crown Prince.
Shen Yanshui was beginning to wonder whether Noble Consort Lan had deliberately arranged for her to enter the Eastern Palace simply to disgust the Empress and the Crown Prince.
Or perhaps Noble Consort Lan intended to turn her into an informant and pawn later on?
She had no idea. At any rate, no one had secretly approached her so far.
Her elder sister had summoned her to Jingfu Palace twice.
But from what her elder sister had said, both explicitly and implicitly, she merely wished to reassure Shen Yanshui while turning her into a tool for bearing children.
In any case, to anyone watching, she was probably a pawn Noble Consort Lan had placed in the Eastern Palace.
Forget about receiving the Crown Prince’s favor. As long as the Crown Prince did not vent his anger on her—and preferably treated her as though she were invisible—she would be perfectly content.
Shen Yanshui raised her eyes to Xu Qingle and said with a smile, “I’ve heard that the Seventh Prince is known for his filial piety. In the future, you should simply serve Consort Wan together with His Highness the Seventh Prince.”
Xu Qingle’s delicate, lovely face flushed slightly. She nodded earnestly. “Yes. I’ll remember everything Shen-jiejie has told me.”
She had been bestowed upon the Seventh Prince as a secondary consort and would marry him at the end of the year.
“Have all of you young ladies finished packing?” a matron in the Palace of Gathered Elegance asked with a smile. Her voice and manner were noticeably more respectful than usual.
Before today, they had been candidates studying palace etiquette, their fates still uncertain.
But now, some had been eliminated, while others were future imperial princesses by marriage. There were also some who could already be addressed as “Young Lady.”
The imperial edict had been issued. All that remained was for the palace maids and eunuchs to lead them to their respective destinations.
*
“What did you say? Fourth Sister has entered the Eastern Palace?!”
A startled cry rang out from the rear hall of Jingfu Palace.
Lady Shen wore a plain silk robe, and her hair had not yet been arranged. Her originally lovely face was now pale and slightly gaunt. She had been reclining sideways against a cushioned couch, but at those words, she instinctively straightened.
She looked at her personal maid, Xiang Mo, in astonishment. “How could it be the Eastern Palace? Are you certain you didn’t hear incorrectly?”
Xiang Mo wore a maid’s narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe of green patterned fabric. A goose-yellow sash encircled her waist, and a pale-green ribbon tied her hair into twin hanging buns. At that moment, she furrowed her brows, bowed, and answered in a low voice, “In reply to Your Ladyship, this servant made careful inquiries. There is absolutely no mistake. Fourth Miss Shen was indeed bestowed upon the Crown Prince by His Majesty.”
The astonishment on Lady Shen’s face did not fade. Instead, it was joined by even greater pallor. She pressed one thin hand against the small table, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. As though she had lost her soul, she murmured, “How could it be the Crown Prince…?”
Two months ago, after her miscarriage, she had begun suffering one nightmare after another.
She dreamed that after her miscarriage, she gradually lost the Emperor’s favor.
She dreamed that the Emperor died suddenly.
She dreamed that the Crown Prince unexpectedly contracted an epidemic, beyond the help of medicine and unable to be saved.
In the end, it was the Sixth Prince who ascended the throne…
As a former imperial consort who had long since lost the Emperor’s favor and had no child to rely on, she was ultimately sent to a temple, where she endured half a lifetime beside the green lamps and ancient Buddha.
The legitimate younger sister who had been lazy and useless since childhood, Shen Yanshui, married a newly appointed Presented Scholar and ultimately received the rank of a First-Rank Lady of Imperial Mandate, gaining both honor and prestige.
A month ago, after comparing the events in her dreams with reality and confirming them one by one, she had begun to believe everything in that nightmare.
She had then sent a letter to her mother.
Why had she met such a miserable end in her previous life, while Fourth Sister could so effortlessly obtain wealth, honor, and glory?
Lady Shen’s expression grew uncontrollably ugly, revealing a jealousy of which she herself was unaware.
Lady Shen touched her lower abdomen. No matter what happened in the future, if she could raise a child of her own, it would serve as a safeguard—a way out for her later on.
Only with that reason would Father and Mother send Fourth Sister into the palace.
But she had clearly mentioned it to the Noble Consort, and Her Ladyship had not refused. Why, then, had Fourth Miss Shen ended up entering the Eastern Palace?
She remembered that after the Crown Prince died, the Sixth Prince had not ascended the throne immediately. The Crown Prince still had a legitimate son.
At the time, the court had been filled with calls to establish the Crown Prince’s eldest legitimate son as the Crown Heir, simply because the Crown Prince represented the orthodox line of succession.
But the Crown Prince’s eldest legitimate son had been in poor health. In the end, it was still the Sixth Prince who ascended the throne…
“...Mistress? Mistress?”
Xiang Mo’s face was full of concern.
Seeing her muttering as though possessed, her complexion growing paler by the moment, Xiang Mo hurried forward to support her.
Lady Shen clutched Xiang Mo’s sleeve tightly with one hand. Her chest heaved rapidly as she stared at her and asked in haste, “Do you know which consort selected Fourth Sister?”
Xiang Mo quickly replied, “To answer you, Mistress, it was the Noble Consort.”
Lady Shen’s hand suddenly tightened, and her expression became even more unpleasant.
Seeing this, Xiang Mo could not help frowning worriedly. She comforted her, “Mistress, please don’t worry. The imperial physicians said that as long as you take proper care of yourself, your health will gradually recover. It is not as though you are completely unable to bear children.”
“The child you give birth to yourself will naturally be far better than one born from Fourth Miss Shen. Why place all your hopes on Fourth Sister?”
“I heard that Consort Shu also injured her health after giving birth to the Sixth Prince. After recuperating for several years, did she not go on to give birth to the Seventh Princess? Mistress, your good days are still ahead of you.”
Lady Shen listened to her words, brows knitted as she pondered for a moment. At last, her expression gradually eased.
How could she have forgotten? Consort Shu and the still-unnoticed Sixth Prince were the truly crucial ones.
Besides, Xiang Mo was right. She was not entirely incapable of bearing children; in her dream, it was only after her miscarriage that she spent her days drowning in tears and gradually lost the Emperor’s favor.
She still had plenty of time. She could plan everything slowly.
It was just a pity about Fourth Sister…
After the Crown Prince died, Fourth Sister would probably meet the same fate she had suffered in her previous life, would she not?
Perhaps her fate would be even worse than Lady Shen’s.
