Chapter 4: The Year We Saved the Marquis's Daughter

Unexpectedly, two assassins had slipped into the candidates' ranks.

When they drew the short swords hidden in their sleeves, maids and eunuchs screamed in terror.

"Assassins!"

The Emperor recoiled in alarm.

I thought he wasn't a bad sovereign. He treated the duke generously and valued the marquis. I couldn't let him die like this.

So I couldn't help stepping in.

I hadn't let my pig-slaughtering skills grow rusty over the years.

Seeing how much I liked blades and martial arts, the marquis had even hired an armed escort master to teach me. He'd only hoped I could use those skills to keep the old madam's cruelty in check.

Who would have thought they'd be useful today?

I pulled a gold hairpin from my bun and hurled it at the assassin closest to the Emperor.

It struck the back of her neck.

She fell at once. Blood splashed onto the dragon robe.

The Emperor retreated several more steps, his eyes full of fear.

I stepped forward and pulled him behind me.

"Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. I'll protect you!"

The remaining assassin was quickly captured.

With the danger past, I withdrew from his side and returned to the candidates.

I wondered what reward I would get for saving him.

Gold and silver? A token exempting its bearer from death?

Either would be a fine thing for our household.

But never in my wildest dreams had I expected the Empress Dowager to speak.

"I hear your mother is blessed and has borne many children. I imagine you too would bear children easily. You certainly look stronger than those limp, frail girls. What do you think, Emperor?"

His Majesty was still shaken by the fright I'd given him.

The sight of me killing an assassin with a hairpin remained vivid in his mind.

He meant to refuse, but the Empress Dowager spoke again.

"A life-saving kindness must be repaid generously. Make her Consort De."

Me?

Consort De?

I'd only come to the selection to go through the motions. How had I suddenly become Consort De?

I was about to refuse. But as I raised a hand to straighten my hair, the Emperor swallowed and hurriedly said,

"Don't come any closer! Consort De, then! I agree!"

What?

Why?

I didn't understand. I didn't need to.

He'd already agreed. How could I keep refusing?

For the safety of all nine degrees of my kin, I could only kneel, kowtow, and thank him.

When the news reached home, the marquis was dumbfounded.

"Lingyi, you've actually been chosen as Consort De!"

Mother was just as astonished.

"Just like that?"

I nodded with a rueful smile.

"Just like that."

Besides, although His Majesty was more than ten years older than me, he seemed a little afraid of me.

Perhaps he wouldn't touch me for now.

I'd merely be an ornament in the palace.

That wasn't bad.

I thought it over carefully.

With me in the palace as Consort De, however unreasonable the old madam became, she wouldn't dare bully Lingjia, Mother, or my two little brothers again.

There would be fine food and clothes. The Empress would bear the responsibilities above me.

I wouldn't have to worry about palace administration. I'd only have to eat, drink, and wear pretty clothes every day.

That counted as a comfortable life.

On hearing the news, the old madam fainted at once.

When she woke, she kept muttering,

"It's over! Now she'll be above me forever!"

That night, Mother held my hand and sighed again and again.

"I hear His Majesty and the Empress are very close. The Empress Dowager has long been dissatisfied with her. She's raised you to Consort De so you'll compete with the Empress for favor. Once you've both hurt each other, she'll reap the benefits."

If even Mother could see through it, how could I fail to understand?

The Empress Dowager was another old madam.

I simply wasn't as foolish as she thought.

Compete for favor?

With so many consorts in the harem, who could possibly beat the Empress?

I'd heard that Consort Rou, who had once been capable of threatening her position, already had grass three feet high on her grave.

So I had no intention of competing.

I would occupy my position, eat well, drink well, and live at ease.

Whether His Majesty visited me didn't matter.

What mattered was securing the Empress's protection.

The Empress was General Chen's daughter.

The Chens had helped the Emperor gain the throne.

General Chen commanded five hundred thousand soldiers.

I'd have to be mad to oppose his daughter.

I'd always known how to read the situation.

On my first day in the palace, the Emperor came to my chambers.

Sitting a long way from me, he said,

"Let's retire."

He reached out to embrace me.

I moved faster, pressed him down onto the bed, and said,

"Your Majesty works so hard on affairs of state every day. Let me give you a massage. I used to massage my parents at home."

Without waiting for him to refuse, I earnestly began kneading his muscles and working the pressure points.

Whether my technique made him comfortable, or it was because I deliberately pressed the sleep point a few extra times…