Chapter 5: The Year We Saved the Marquis's Daughter

Before long, he was fast asleep.

The next morning, once he'd left for court, I dressed properly and went to pay my respects to the Empress.

She looked unenthusiastic when she saw me.

"Consort De must be tired after last night. There's nothing today. You may all go back and rest."

But I refused to leave.

Rubbing my aching arm, I walked toward her.

"I hear Your Majesty slept poorly last night. I'd like to give you a massage."

She paused in surprise.

I was Consort De now. Why would I deliberately lower myself and act so deferentially?

I went over, pressed her into her chair, and began massaging her temples.

By then, the other consorts had all left.

I leaned toward her ear and whispered,

"I did this for His Majesty last night too. He soon fell asleep. We haven't consummated the marriage."

Her body gradually relaxed.

"Why are you unwilling? Every consort in the harem hopes to bear his child."

I answered honestly, close to her ear.

"His Majesty is old enough to be my father. I was forced into the palace. I only want to live quietly, not compete for favor.

"If Your Majesty will allow it, I will follow your lead and obey you in everything."

She studied me carefully for a while.

"Truly?"

I nodded.

"My birth father was only a pig butcher. With a background like mine, how could I compete with Your Majesty?

"You've already borne His Majesty the Crown Prince. Many other consorts have given him children too.

"The future emperor could never come from my womb anyway. Competing would be pointless. Better not to compete, listen to Your Majesty, and live a few peaceful years."

The Empress laughed.

She took a gem-set gold bracelet from her wrist and handed it to me.

I accepted and put it straight on.

She sighed.

"From now on, we'll appear to be at odds in public. Privately, I won't treat you poorly. His Majesty and I aren't as loving as we seem."

She was frank indeed.

In truth, I'd already seen it.

If the imperial couple were truly so devoted, how could the harem have produced so many children?

The Emperor was simply wary of her family and putting on an affectionate show.

The next day, while we paid our respects, the Empress handed me responsibility for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet before everyone.

With her head held high, she said haughtily,

"I hear Consort De comes from an illustrious family. Surely you're capable of sharing some palace duties."

I looked deeply reluctant.

"But I've only just entered the palace. How can two thousand taels of silver be enough for Her Majesty's birthday banquet? Are you joking with me?"

The Empress said,

"His Majesty advocates frugality. That's all the silver there is. If you can't manage, that's your own lack of ability."

I accepted the task and stormed out in a fury.

Inside, I was deeply grateful.

She wanted to test my ability. She was also giving me a chance to rise.

Hearing of it, the Empress Dowager summoned me.

She rewarded me with a pair of coral hairpins, pressed a two-thousand-tael banknote on me, and told me to do what I could without making the celebration too shabby.

Moved to tears, I thanked her repeatedly.

This banquet had been the Empress Dowager's test for the Empress.

She had deliberately stopped the Imperial Household Department from providing more silver, hoping a badly organized banquet would give her grounds to attack.

Now the hot potato had landed in my hands.

To draw me to her side, naturally, she wouldn't keep making things difficult.

I earnestly set about organizing the banquet.

I put in all the extra silver she'd given me, making it a grand and splendid occasion.

I'd always had a quick temper.

If any palace servant was lazy or dishonest, I dealt with them on the spot.

So none of those beneath me dared misbehave.

At the banquet, the Empress Dowager praised my intelligence and skill to the skies, while scarcely bothering to acknowledge the Empress.

I won her favor and often went to her palace to copy sutras and talk.

In the days that followed, the Emperor occasionally visited my palace too.

Sometimes I couldn't avoid sharing his bed.

Most of the time, though, I gave him a massage. Once the calming incense was lit, he soon fell asleep.

I didn't want him to touch me. It disgusted me.

On nights when I had to serve him, I immediately ordered a contraceptive draught afterward.

I didn't want to bear his child.

Then the Empress Dowager brought several more noblewomen into the palace as consorts.

They were better at pleasing the Emperor than I was.

He still spent seven or eight nights a month at the Empress's palace. The rest he spent with those consorts.

Before long, Beauty Xu and Jieyu Li, became pregnant in turn. One after another, they went to provoke the Empress.