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

Chapter 242

Xiefang Hall.

Hu Baolin was pleasantly surprised by Jiang Cairen's arrival.

"Sister, what brings you here?"

"I haven't spoken to you for a while, and I finally had some free time today, so I came to see you." Consort Jiang was as enthusiastic as when she stayed at the imperial palace. "You're as carefree as ever. I see that all the new concubines are thinking about winning the emperor's favor as soon as possible, but you still have the mind to make trinkets."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the pile of small straw woven items on the table. One grasshopper was only half-woven and had obviously just been put down by Hu Baolin.

Hearing what Jiang Cairen said, Hu Baolin smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's just to pass the time. There's no rush to serve the emperor. Even if I wanted to, the emperor would have to see me. Consort Chen is pregnant and about to give birth. We need to keep things quiet in the Xiefang Palace so as not to disturb her. I'm too impulsive, so it's best for me to stay home as much as possible and avoid causing any trouble."

Consort Jiang lowered her eyes slightly. "Hasn't Consort Chen treated you well? Why are you so cautious?"

"No."

Hu Baolin shook his head, then said seriously.

"Consort Chen is very kind to me. She even reminded me that Consort Guo is not a kind person and that I should be careful. However, the nanny next to me also reminded me that Consort Chen's pregnancy is too conspicuous. If anyone wants to harm her, I am the closest to her and I am the first one who is easily plotted to become a scapegoat and used as a pawn. So it is right for me to be careful so as not to harm others or myself."

Jiang Cairen was quite surprised to find that there was such a clear-headed person by Hu Baolin's side, and asked where the old woman came from.

Hu Baolin said, “She’s an old woman who served in the palace since the previous dynasty. She’s seen a lot of infighting in the harem. She’s told me some of it these past few days. I’m very scared, but Granny Wang is a very kind person and treats me very well.”

Hearing these words, Consort Jiang nodded with a relieved expression.

"That's good. I feel relieved to have reliable people taking care of you. I was just worried that you were too naive and would be deceived. I came here today to tell you that you have to put your heart into it when it's time to perform."

Jiang Cairen spoke with the intention of doing what was best for Hu Baolin, took her hand, and spoke earnestly.

"When the Emperor was selecting concubines, he had a good impression of you. Your rank was also higher than the other two. So, it should be your turn to serve the Emperor next. But I'm afraid the Emperor will be preoccupied with other things and forget that there are still new concubines to meet. If this is delayed for too long, the Emperor will have less of an impression of you, and who knows when you will be able to serve the Emperor."

"Would that be?" Hu Baolin felt a little nervous, then remembered what Consort Chen had said, "Consort Chen also suggested that I find an opportunity to serve the emperor as soon as possible, but I'm afraid. My family told me before I came that if I am selected and enter the palace, I must always follow the rules."

Consort Jiang chuckled lightly, "Silly girl, the rules don't say that concubines are not allowed to take the initiative to see the Emperor."

“But I haven’t yet served the emperor, so I can’t go to Chengming Hall by myself.” Hu Baolin’s thinking was very limited.

He never considered deliberately creating a chance encounter; his plan was to proactively go to the Chengming Hall to meet the Emperor.

Consort Jiang felt somewhat helpless, but she still patiently said, "Although we can't go to Chengming Palace, the Emperor doesn't always stay there. Just wait for my news. The Emperor goes to Fukang Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager every two or three days. I'll take you there then, and you'll be able to see him."

He paused, then reached out and pinched Hu Baolin's nose, teasingly saying, "But if you're lucky enough to be summoned to the Emperor's bedchamber tonight, then I won't have to bother!"

"Oh dear, sister, don't laugh at me!" Hu Baolin blushed instantly, but bit her lip and asked in a low voice, "Sister, how is the Emperor?"

She had seen him once from afar during the selection process, but she was so nervous that she didn't dare to look up. All she knew was that he was a tall and slender young man with handsome features. After entering the palace, she never saw him again, so she had no idea what he looked like.

Consort Jiang smiled gently. "Don't worry, the Emperor doesn't hold his concubines to much criticism. As long as you behave politely and don't make any mistakes, that's fine."

Hu Baolin listened and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It was as if she really was going to serve the emperor tonight.

Meanwhile, Lu Cai Nu was also preoccupied with the matter of serving the emperor.

After returning from Weiyang Palace, Consort Lu began copying the palace rules. Consort Zhuang had said that she should keep copying until she was satisfied, and Consort Zhuang had not made her stop yet.

Lu Cainu's slender, white fingers were calloused from rubbing so much, and she looked incredibly aggrieved. She would often start arguing and then burst into tears.

Tears dripped down and soaked the paper, rendering it unusable again.

The maidservant Yinzhu, who served her closely, had no choice but to fold a handkerchief and place it underneath to catch the tears. Even so, Lu Cainu still cried, her eyes swollen like red lanterns.

"Don't cry, Cai Nu, you'll hurt yourself," Yin Zhu whispered to her.

“I don’t want to cry either, but I can’t help it.” Lu Cai Nu took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. “Ever since I entered the palace, I have offended Consort Zhuang. At first, Pei Zhu, who was by the consort’s side, would come and comfort me, but now she doesn’t even pretend anymore. She also dislikes me. The palace rules have been copied since I entered the palace. How many days has it been? Did I enter the palace just to copy these rules?”

Yinzhu pursed her lips. "Of course not. The concubines are beautiful. They must be jealous of your looks and afraid that you will gain favor and rise to prominence after serving the emperor. So they are all suppressing you and not allowing you to stand out."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cainu cried even harder.

"Yes, they all bully me. It's all because of my humble background and lack of support from my maternal family. If I had a better background, even if I were like Consort Hu, I wouldn't be treated like this. The Empress does care for me, but I'm in Yanqing Palace, and Consort Zhuang is in front of me, so the Empress can't reach me. This time, because of the matter of accompanying the Emperor on the autumn hunt, Consort Zhuang got angry and tormented me. How innocent I am!"

Yinzhu felt very sorry for her, but she also had a headache about Lu Cainu's personality, which was prone to crying.

Before, outside the palace, she would cry no matter what happened, and then someone would rush to solve her problems, and she would get through everything smoothly. But now that she's in the palace, who will stand up for her?
Thinking of all this, Yinzhu was about to try to persuade her again when she saw Lu Cainu suddenly go limp and faint. She collapsed onto the table like a rag doll, still clutching the half-copied palace rules in her hand. The ink was still wet and had stained Lu Cainu's sleeve.

"Cainü, Cainü, wake up!" Yinzhu anxiously pushed Lu Cainü, but there was no response.

She was about to send someone to fetch the imperial physician, but then she thought that since Consort Zhuang disliked Consort Lu so much, she might not even allow the imperial physician to come and treat Consort Lu.

"Empress!" Yinzhu remembered what Lu Cainu had just said.

He then immediately pretended to be calm, went outside and claimed that Lady Lu was copying palace rules and that no one was allowed to disturb her. He then left Yanqing Palace and headed straight for Weiyang Palace.