Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 221

After finishing his dinner, Zhao Xingjin drank a cup of digestive tea at the Empress Dowager's place before leaving.

"Tan Hui, help me go outside for some fresh air," the Empress Dowager said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, please put on a cloak." Tan Hui quickly went to the clothes rack and took out a dark green lotus and gold patterned cloak, which was the one that Consort Chen had made for her. "The night wind is chilly, don't catch a cold."

The Empress Dowager glanced at the cloak she was wearing and couldn't help but sigh, "They're all quite clever, but why is it that their own families are always so unsettling?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Hui smiled and, while helping the person outside, began to tease them.

"I wonder if the Empress Dowager is referring to Consort Chen, or one of the other concubines?"

"Getting old, getting cunning," the Empress Dowager said with a smile.

After standing still under the corridor, I looked up at the sky, which was already as black as ink, and felt a little lost.

"Xie is better in appearance and intelligence than Chen Meiren. No one in the palace can please the Emperor as much as she does now. No wonder the Emperor has gradually become more fond of her."

Tan Hui was puzzled. "How does the Empress Dowager know this? Didn't the Emperor say today that he would keep the Xie family around to control all the scholars in the country?"

"That was the excuse to keep Xie Wei and the Xie family." The Empress Dowager withdrew her gaze. "Didn't you hear? The Emperor also said that Xie was just a young woman, and if he took her in, he wouldn't make things difficult for her. The key is that he could say such a thing."

These words already demonstrate Zhao Xingjin's protection of Xie Jiu, portraying Xie Jiu as weak and frail, incapable of causing any trouble.

Why?

In order to stop the Empress Dowager from keeping a close eye on Xie Jiu, who was seen as a ticking time bomb.

"Even heroes have found it hard to resist the charms of a beautiful woman since ancient times," Tan Hui sighed.

The Empress Dowager's eyes flickered, revealing a certainty in them. "That's true, but the palace has never lacked beauties. It's still uncertain whether the Emperor will be stopped by her."

Of course, Xie Jiu couldn't say for sure about this, but at least Zhao Xingjin stayed at Jingming Palace tonight.

The next day.

I pay my respects at Weiyang Palace this morning.

During this time, many people in the palace were naturally looking forward to seeing the excitement at Jingming Palace, but unfortunately, their wishes were not fulfilled.

Therefore, when Xie Jiu calmly walked into the hall, she immediately sensed the unfriendly gaze from Consort Zhuang.

But she only looked and didn't open her mouth, which made Xie Jiu not care much.

The number of concubines who can come to Weiyang Palace to pay their respects right now can be counted on one hand, it's pitifully small. Among them, Consort Liu and Consort Wei can be considered her teammates, so apart from Consort Zhuang, Xie Jiu won't engage in verbal battles with anyone.

However, she still overlooked the most important person: the Queen.

Sure enough, the moment the Empress appeared, her words were offensive.

"Now that Princess Heyi's marriage is complete, as per His Majesty's instructions, the next step is to prepare for the imperial concubine selection. Consort Zhuang and Consort Jin, His Majesty has ordered you two to assist me. Please stay behind for a while, and I will explain the rules and regulations of this selection to you."

He paused here, his gaze sweeping over Xie Jiu.

"After all, Consort Zhuang is an old servant of the Prince's residence and has never participated in the selection. Consort Jin did not enter the palace through the selection process either. I'm afraid there are many things you don't understand. Recently, there have been many things happening in the court, such as falsely claiming military merits and Consort Chen's father accepting bribes. Right now, the Emperor is already troubled by Consort Jin's father. Therefore, the selection process must not be allowed to go wrong again."

The Empress sighed, her brows furrowing slightly, looking somewhat worried.

Whether she was truly troubled, Xie Jiu didn't know. Xie Jiu only knew that the Empress's words had effectively triggered some tension among the concubines present. Sure enough, Consort Zhuang, whose face was the least discerning, immediately darkened and glared at Xie Jiu.

That's right. It was Xie Jiu who exposed the fact that Consort Zhuang's cousin had fraudulently claimed military merits, all in order to seek justice for Du Qian.

Xie Jiu endured Consort Zhuang's piercing gaze and thought to herself, "It's a good thing Consort Chen isn't here, otherwise the combined stares of Consort Chen and Consort Zhuang would have turned me into a hornet's nest."

However, Xie Jiu didn't care about Consort Zhuang or even Consort Chen at this moment. She couldn't understand why the Empress was so determined to make things difficult for her.

So she took the initiative to say, “Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will do my best to assist you in selecting several young, healthy, and talented new sisters to enter the palace, so that Your Majesty may have more children and produce more healthy princes.”

She can also touch on people's sore spots.

The Empress's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, before she regained her composure and said, "It's good that you're sensible. There are fewer people in the palace now, and the Emperor often visits Jingming Palace, so you've had a hard time serving him. Now that new people have entered the palace, they can help share the burden with you in the future."

"Your Majesty, I have never felt tired serving you. Last night, Your Majesty told me that Consort Sun is about to give birth, and Consort Chen's pregnancy is also due at the end of the year. Although this year has been somewhat bumpy, there is also the joy of adding a new member to the family. It is still a good year."

Xie Jiu smiled gently, seemingly genuinely happy, and said considerately.

"It will be hard on Your Majesty the Empress. With more children in the palace, Your Majesty, as the Empress's legal mother, will have to put in a lot more effort in raising them."

The Empress couldn't stand hearing about childbirth, and finally lost her temper, unwilling to argue with Xie Jiu any further.

"I still have many things to attend to today, so let's call it a day."

Xie Jiu lowered her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips, and stood up to bow with the others.

The Empress had just told her and Consort Zhuang to stay a little longer so she could talk to them about the selection of concubines, but now the Empress felt sullen and didn't want to look at Xie Jiu's face, so she simply told them to leave as well.

As soon as they left Weiyang Palace, Chunrong whispered, "Is Your Majesty really not worried at all about the selection of concubines and the addition of new women to the palace?"

“What’s the use of worrying? The Emperor is so young, how could he not choose?” Xie Jiu said calmly. “Instead of thinking about things that cannot be changed, we should do something else useful. On the day Xie Mingshen is executed, go out of the palace and see him off for me.”

Chunrong responded without saying anything more.

The palace remained peaceful for the next few days.

It wasn't until early March, just past midnight, that commotion was heard from Sun Baolin's residence in Yanqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, Consort Sun is about to give birth. The Emperor and Empress have already been notified. Would you like to get up and go to Yanqing Palace to see her?" Chunrong woke Xie Jiu up.

Xie Jiu's drowsiness immediately subsided, and she sat up. "Since they've already gone, I can't just ignore them. Let's go."

Chunrong nodded, quickly helped her get dressed, and then simply combed her hair before hurrying off to Yanqing Palace.

When she arrived, Zhao Xingjin and the Empress were already seated inside, and Consort Zhuang, as the head of Yanqing Palace, was naturally also there.

Xie Jiu bowed respectfully before asking about the situation.

"Sun Baolin has only recently gone into labor, and it's her first pregnancy, so it should be a bit slow. She might not give birth until dawn. However, the midwife just examined Baolin, and if things go well, she could give birth within two hours," the imperial physician replied.

As Xie Jiu spoke, he heard Sun Baolin's suppressed and painful groans coming from inside the room, and he couldn't help but frown, feeling somewhat worried.

She remembered that when her sister-in-law, Fang, gave birth to her first child, she was in pain for a whole day and night before finally giving birth. Even such a dignified and composed person lost her mind because of the pain and said many outrageous things.

Since ancient times, childbirth has been a life-threatening experience for women, posing an immense challenge both physically and mentally.