tallest building

Chapter 349 Determining the Candidate

The Empress was now in a dilemma.

Even after Qingxuzi left, she remained sitting there lost in thought.

Are we going to select a suitable person from outside the palace?
But how do we resolve the issue of our son? We can't just take the blame, can we?
But Qingxuzi said that this person was already in the palace. Could it be that some concubine had given birth to a prince but kept it from him?

Then I thought it was impossible; I always eradicated problems completely.

Just as he was pondering this, Wen Mingqian arrived to offer incense.

"Your Majesty, this is a newly made incense. Please burn a little bit and see if you like it." Wen Mingqian was dressed in a lilac and moon-white embroidered robe, elegant and appropriate.

When the Empress saw her, she first frowned slightly, then relaxed.

I asked her, "How old are you this year?"

Wen Mingqian was taken aback by the question, then replied, "This servant is twenty-nine years old this year, born in the year of Guihai."

“You’re exactly one cycle younger than me,” the Queen said. “When was your birthday?”

“I was born on the ninth day of the tenth month,” Wen Mingqian said.

"So you belong to the water element," the Empress said with a smile. "You also share the same zodiac sign as me, and your birthdays are only half a month apart."

"This servant is terrified. Your Majesty the Empress is as vast as the heavens and as immeasurable as the earth. How can this servant possibly compare to you?" Wen Mingqian knelt on the ground.

"Don't be afraid," the Empress helped her up. "I only ask you, are you loyal to me?"

Wen Mingqian looked at the Empress and replied sincerely, "I am only here today because of Your Majesty's grace. How could I dare to be disloyal?"

"That's good. I know you're loyal. Now that I'm going to promote you, are you willing?" the Empress asked with a smile.

"Her Majesty the Empress has already bestowed upon me enough favors. How could I possibly ask for further praise?" Wen Mingqian shook his head. "Her Majesty, please just give me your orders."

"When I said I would promote you, I meant it. I wasn't joking." The Empress now had absolute faith in Qingxuzi because he was recommended by her family.

Moreover, Qingxuzi was able to discover that someone had cursed him and practiced witchcraft as soon as he entered the palace, which clearly shows that he has real skills.

Besides, he said that the person who could save him was in the palace, so who else could it be but Wen Mingqian?
She was the only one in the palace with a son, and coincidentally, all other conditions were met as well.

"I have decided to have the Emperor take you as a concubine. What do you say?" the Empress asked with a smile.

Wen Mingqian was terrified and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. He said, "Your Majesty, I only want to serve you and have no improper thoughts about His Majesty. Has someone slandered me to you and framed me? I swear to Heaven that if I had such thoughts, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"

Seeing her like this, the Empress laughed even more heartily, pulled her up and said, "Look at you, so frightened. Let me tell you! No one has slandered you. It is I who want to promote you, so don't be afraid."

Wen Mingqian was still surprised and doubtful: "This servant is of humble appearance and has already faded like a withered flower. How could I be worthy to serve in the harem? I beg Your Majesty to reconsider."

"Let me tell you the truth! Master Qingxuzi and his men dug out the curse Chen cursed me from the Mingjing. It turns out that all my suffering and torment over the years stemmed from this. The Master also said that if I want to have peace of mind and body from now on, and for everyone in the harem to be at peace, a concubine with a water element in her birth chart must move into that palace. She must have the same zodiac sign as me, and her birthday cannot be more than a hundred days apart. Most importantly, this person must have a son. After all these considerations, you are the most suitable one in the palace."

“But…” Wen Mingqian looked troubled, “This servant is of lowly status and of poor character…”

"You don't need to belittle yourself. I only ask you, are you willing to be loyal to me?" The Empress's expression turned serious at this moment.

"I'd be willing to be torn to pieces," Wen Mingqian said hastily.

The Empress smiled again: "That's it. No matter what your status is in this palace, you serve me. Elevating you to the rank of concubine is surely a good thing for you."
Your two elder brothers will be coming to the capital soon. Now that you have a title in the inner palace, won't they have something to rely on in the court?

Besides, going back further, several emperors of our Great Xia Dynasty have taken women from their ancestral clans as concubines; it's not unusual. Don't be ashamed."

Wen Mingqian bit his lip, and after a long while, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the Empress: "This servant's heart belongs only to Your Majesty the Empress. Whatever Your Majesty commands, this servant will do without hesitation."

"Mingqian, I know you are the most loyal and considerate. Although you have only been in the palace for a little over a year, you have served more diligently than anyone else." The Empress said with satisfaction, "Don't worry! Now that you have entered the harem, I will never mistreat you. Besides, only with a legitimate title can you speak with authority. In the future, when you manage palace affairs, no one will dare to say anything against you."

At this moment, the Empress was single-mindedly focused on getting rid of the disaster and had no doubt whatsoever that there was some conspiracy behind the matter.

When the Emperor came to her palace for dinner, he found the Empress sitting there with tears streaming down her face.

The Emperor asked, "What's wrong, Empress? Are you still grieving over what happened during the day? Chen has already been punished, and the root of the problem has been found. Let it go!"

"Your Majesty!" The Empress grabbed the Emperor's sleeve. "I have suffered so much at her hands all these years! It is thanks to Qingxuzi for exposing me that I have endured this torment for who knows how long."

"That's right, I will definitely reward him handsomely later," the Emperor said.

"Your Majesty, I have a request to make today, and I beg Your Majesty to grant it."

"Your Majesty, please speak freely. We are husband and wife, not strangers," the Emperor said gently.

"Your Majesty, the Immortal Master said that if I wish to live a peaceful and safe life in the future, and for the harem to be peaceful and harmonious, I must find a concubine whose destiny is associated with water, whose zodiac sign is the same as mine, and who must also bear me a son. Only by living in the Bright Mirror Palace can the feng shui of the harem be preserved." The Empress said while wiping away her tears.

"Are there such people in the palace?" the Emperor asked in surprise. "How could there be a concubine for one's son?"

“Yes,” the Queen said, “as long as the Emperor will accept her into the harem.”

"Who is the Empress referring to?" the Emperor asked, his eyes full of questions.

"It's Wen Mingqian. Doesn't she have a son, Chang'an?" The Empress laughed. "When I told her about it, she was terrified. I had to tell her that it was just a temporary measure for the sake of the bigger picture."

"This..." The Emperor hesitated for a moment, "This seems rather abrupt."

"Your Majesty, can you bear to let me live in constant fear and anxiety, unable to eat or sleep?" the Empress said. "Anyway, Your Majesty's harem is not very large to begin with, adding her would just be to make up the numbers."

"Alright, alright, don't get angry. Since you've already made up your mind, then let's do it this way," the Emperor said understandingly.