Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Promotion to Noble Lady

In a corner of the Longevity Festival banquet, He Siyuan, son-in-law of the Xia Family, was staring distractedly into the distance.

"Lady Guo dances so well, don’t you think, Linzhi?"

Only after Consort Guo received the Emperor’s reward and gracefully withdrew did Xia Rongzhi finally look away, asking with a smile.

To attend the palace today, Xia Rongzhi had put on her finest head ornaments. She took after her father, with a plump, prosperous look that was somewhat lacking in true beauty. Had she worn fewer heavy accessories and chosen the right makeup, she could have appeared as a dashing and refined lady from a great family. However, the thought of seeing her husband’s old acquaintance in the palace made her go all out. She’d had her brows shaped in advance, transforming her distinctive, thick eyebrows into cliché, willow-leaf thin brows. The result was an overwrought, incongruous look.

Linzhi was He Siyuan’s courtesy name.

"I wouldn’t dare to look too closely at a Noble Lady’s dance," He Siyuan said, taking her hand. "If Rongzhi says it’s good, then it must be exceptional."

As he held her hand, his gaze shifted, avoiding her face.

He Siyuan found it hard to control himself. He couldn’t help but compare the woman before him with the one from his past.

Back in Meize County, Mrs. Jiang had been a renowned beauty. Even though the women of the gentry rarely went out, there were always gatherings for the madams and young ladies, and her stunning looks could not be hidden. His budding youthful admiration had been genuine. He felt his devotion to Jiang Xian had been sincere; a shame it was no match for the harshness of reality.

’A beauty she was, but what could be done...’

He was just too outstanding.

After passing the provincial exams, he caught the eye of an examiner and became the prized son-in-law of the Xia Mansion.

It wasn’t that He Siyuan hadn’t struggled with the decision. But after witnessing the splendor of the Capital, he understood just how much a father-in-law who was a third-rank official could help his career—things Jiang Xian, the daughter of a lowly Meize County Magistrate, could never provide.

"When choosing a wife, one should seek virtue, not just beauty." He Siyuan thought he understood this principle well. Yet, when he heard that Jiang Xian had entered the palace for the concubine selection, he couldn’t help but burn with indignation. ’How could she be so shameless!’

In truth, their relationship had been very proper. They had never met alone; at most, they chatted about poetry and books at gatherings, their interactions frequent only due to the friendship between their families. But just as she had once set her heart on the young master of the He Family, He Siyuan, in turn, had taken it for granted that she was his property. ’She is my woman,’ he thought. ’Even if I was forced to betray her, she should have remained chaste for me.’

There was another thought that He Siyuan didn’t dare voice in front of his wife.

’I’m a palace graduate, brilliantly talented, and I have the Xia Family’s backing. I’ll surely be recognized and promoted quickly. My future is limitless; I might even surpass my father-in-law one day. Once I’ve established myself in the Capital, I’ll send for Jiang Xian. She’ll have been waiting obediently for me in Meize County. I’ll bring her to the Capital and make her my concubine.’

’A virtuous wife and a lovely concubine—what a blissful life!’

’With my lingering guilt and youthful affection for her, Jiang Xian would surely not suffer after I brought her into my home.’

But Jiang Xian’s willful decision to enter the palace had completely erased He Siyuan’s guilt and affection!

’How could she be so restless and discontent!’

He Siyuan was both pained and furious.

He felt as though he’d been made a cuckold.

Xia Rongzhi adored her handsome, literary husband and was a keen observer of his moods. She noticed that right after the palace held its concubine selection, her husband had sunk into a depression. What was there not to understand?

It was her husband who was being fickle, yet she didn’t blame him.

When she had accompanied her husband back to his hometown, she had caught a glimpse of the Jiang family’s daughter from afar. That single glance had been enough to fill her with a potent sourness. ’Even if her family background is unremarkable, she has *that face*!’ Seeing her husband in this state now, her jealousy toward Jiang Xian intensified, curdling into resentment. As this couple attended the celebratory banquet in the palace today, both husband and wife had the very same person on their minds.

"Linzhi, Shu Changzai is performing next," Xia Rongzhi said in a low, silken voice. "I had no idea she possessed such a talent."

Since they weren’t in their own home and ears were everywhere, Xia Rongzhi didn’t dare to be too obvious, nor did she presume to gossip about one of the Emperor’s women.

When they were first married, He Siyuan had used the ultimate move to please her: slandering his ex. Whenever Xia Rongzhi mentioned Jiang Xian in a passive-aggressive tone, he would do his utmost to belittle the other woman. The more he denigrated Jiang Xian, the happier his wife became.

Thus, in Xia Rongzhi’s mind, Mrs. Jiang was just a beautiful fool.

Today, however, He Siyuan didn’t play along, merely forcing a smile.

Xia Rongzhi’s expression flickered.

After a moment, it occurred to her that they were in the palace; it wouldn’t be proper for her husband to discuss the women of the Heavenly Family. Once she came to this realization, she curved her lips into a sweet smile and looked up at the stage. But then she saw several eunuchs carrying out six pillars, each as tall as three men, and securing them to the stage floor.