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

Chapter 57: Chapter 49: Little Pitiful Halo

The Luanqi Library was in a remote location, so people rarely passed by.

Ma Wanyi, however, had been confined for some time and was going stir-crazy in the palace, so she brought a palace maid out for a stroll. She had originally intended to go to the Imperial Garden, where the scenery was lovely. But then she recalled that the Emperor had only just released her. If she were to run into other concubines and stir up trouble, she would inevitably give the Emperor the bad impression that she was "unrepentant." So, she wandered toward a more deserted area instead.

She never expected to run into anyone.

’What is she doing here?’ Ma Wanyi only needed one glance from afar to confirm it was Jiang Xian. ’Zhenqiu, the maid beside her, is holding so many things. Did the Emperor give her gifts?’ Noticing the familiar way the Palace Attendants from the Luanqi Library were chatting with Jiang Xian’s group, she could tell it clearly wasn’t their first meeting. A seed of suspicion was planted.

Ma Wanyi immediately went and told the Noble Consort what she had seen.

Noble Princess Consort Rong was having her midday meal. A picky eater with a small appetite, she had no desire for a full meal and instead used her chopsticks to sample lychee-sized buns made of tofu skin and shrimp. The plump shrimp was minced with pork, then wrapped in tofu skin, creating a delightful, bite-sized morsel. She ate five before setting down her chopsticks, leaving a full table of delicacies untouched. "Take the rest and share it among yourselves."

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Ladyship."

Qiu Tang said in gratitude.

Only after eating her fill did Noble Princess Consort Rong have the patience to give Ma Wanyi a proper look. "Perhaps the Emperor has bestowed gifts upon her again and let her choose them herself. There is no need to report such a trivial matter to me. It’s tiresome to hear. With all this spare time, you’d be better off figuring out how to get the Emperor to visit your palace more often. Look at her, skipping ranks with her promotions. What’s the matter? Have you taken root in the position of Wanyi, never to budge again?"

’The last thing I want to hear about is what new treasures Jiang Xian has gotten from the Emperor.’

Ma Wanyi’s face flushed so red it looked like it might bleed.

It was true that the Emperor hadn’t summoned her to his bed for quite some time.

But the Noble Consort’s reaction to this intelligence was lukewarm, leaving Ma Wanyi feeling resentful.

If she wanted to take down Jiang Xian, she had to rely on the Noble Consort. If the Noble Consort wouldn’t act, there was nothing she could do.

With nothing else to do anyway, Ma Wanyi had her people keep an eye on Yizhu Pavilion.

Unexpectedly, her surveillance actually turned something up.

It turned out Jiang Xian didn’t just go to the Luanqi Library on that one day—she went every day. ’Does the Emperor give her gifts every single day? But I haven’t heard of him summoning her to his chambers lately.’ After being so thoroughly rebuked by the Noble Consort last time, Ma Wanyi didn’t dare mention it again until she had some concrete leverage against Yizhu Pavilion. So, she could only mull it over in secret.

Si Qin racked her brains alongside her mistress.

After a moment, Ma Wanyi asked, "Do any of you know what’s kept in the building next to the Luanqi Library?"

The palace maids had no idea; after all, it wasn’t as if the Imperial Palace handed out maps to everyone, and they had never been assigned duties in that area. Fortunately, it was an easy question to ask. Ma Wanyi soon had her answer—medicinal herbs were stored next to the Luanqi Library.

*

Behind the closed doors of Yizhu Pavilion, they were working tirelessly. The Emperor hadn’t summoned Jiang Xian for a full seven days, but she wasn’t worried.

After all, with so many women in the harem, the favor each concubine received was doled out sparingly.

Besides, while the Emperor hadn’t visited Yizhu Pavilion, he hadn’t been lingering in any other concubine’s palace either. The New Year was fast approaching, and the Yan Chi people had a tradition that no business should be carried over into the next year. The new year was meant for new beginnings. All the nation’s old accounts from the past year had to be settled, and all outstanding cases closed. Even after his subordinates finished balancing the books, the Emperor couldn’t just take their reports at face value; he still had to verify the figures himself.

When the Emperor was busy, he chose a concubine for the night far less often.

The concubines of the harem waited with bated breath, hoping that on one of those rare occasions, their own name would be chosen.

This was especially true for the new arrivals who had yet to receive the Holy Favor.

At first, the newcomers, unfamiliar with the palace’s layout and customs, hadn’t dared to wander. Aside from going to Jianzhang Palace to pay their respects, they obediently stayed in their own residences. But after several months, they had slowly grown bold enough to start exploring.

To the veteran concubines, however, this was a completely pointless effort.

’The Emperor is swamped with work,’ they thought. ’What time does he have to leisurely stroll through the Imperial Garden?’

But for all their amusement, their own tactics weren’t much more sophisticated. They simply sent a constant stream of soups and desserts to Qiankun Palace, hoping to make their faces more familiar and increase their chances of being chosen.

Jiang Xian saw that many others were sending food. Since Yizhu Pavilion didn’t have its own kitchen, there was no way for her to compete on that front, so she decided not to send anything at all.

She asked her friend, "You aren’t sending anything either?"

"I barely have enough to eat myself," she replied. "Anything I send to Qiankun Palace will just end up in the mouths of those eunuchs anyway."

Under Jiang Xian’s care, Chen Daying had visibly put on some weight.

Jiang Xian told her she was overthinking. "The Palace Attendants who serve in the imperial court wouldn’t deign to look at the snacks and soups from your rations." She then shot her a look. "What? Now that you’ve heard my little jab, has the honey-glazed lotus root in your hand lost its flavor?"