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

Chapter 69: Chapter 56: Bootleg Xizi Pongxin

Seeing the Emperor was actually about to leave, Lu Ronghua could no longer sit still.

She hurriedly grabbed the Emperor’s hand. "Your Majesty, I am a little unwell, but it won’t affect my ability to serve you tonight."

The Emperor was even more surprised. "In my dear consort’s eyes, am I some kind of brute who cannot wait a single moment? You should rest easy. I will come see you again when you’ve recovered."

The Emperor clearly hadn’t understood Lu Ronghua’s true meaning.

Lu Ronghua was dumbfounded. ’This isn’t how I thought it would go!’ If the Emperor really left her residence tonight, not only would she have to endure sarcastic remarks during tomorrow’s morning greetings, but others would also think she had lost the Holy Favor. Besides, the Emperor hadn’t been visiting the harem much recently. This "come see you again" was clearly an empty promise, and Lu Ronghua didn’t dare to take it seriously.

She said in a small voice, "I feel much better now. There’s no need to summon an Imperial Physician. Your Majesty, please stay and rest with me."

Lu Ronghua’s face was beet red from embarrassment.

Ordinarily, seeing a Beauty with flushed cheeks under the lamplight would have been an alluring sight. However, that same rosy complexion completely dispelled the sickly appearance she had just been feigning. The Emperor understood instantly. A little annoyed, he didn’t expose her outright but sat down to wait for the Imperial Physician to check her pulse. "Doctor Xin, what have you found in Lu Ronghua’s pulse?"

He asked so urgently that Doctor Xin hadn’t even finished taking her pulse.

Doctor Xin only knew one thing: ’My luck must be terrible. Trouble always finds me when I’m on duty.’

"This... In my humble opinion, Her Ladyship’s pulse is steady and strong... there is nothing abnormal," Doctor Xin said, quickly glancing at the expressions of the Emperor and Lu Ronghua before pre-emptively admitting fault. "I am incompetent. If Her Ladyship is feeling restless, I can prescribe a calming soup for her. It may help with sleep."

’Her pulse shows no illness, but the client seems to want to be sick. I’ll just steer it toward insomnia.’

This was a survival skill Doctor Xin had honed over many years of practicing medicine in the palace.

The Emperor’s expression became indifferent. "Go and write the prescription."

He didn’t even spare Doctor Xin a glance.

Doctor Xin couldn’t be happier to be treated as if he were invisible. He scurried out to write the prescription and have the medicine prepared. The moment he was gone, Lu Ronghua dropped to her knees with a THUD. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please let me explain..."

The concept of imperial authority was deeply ingrained in the minds of the concubines from a young age. It would have been fine if the Emperor hadn’t brought it up, but now that he was suspicious and had a bit of evidence, Lu Ronghua panicked. "I was only hoping for Your Majesty’s pity."

Now the Emperor was even more baffled. "Do I not treat you well?" For her to use a word like ’pity’.

Lu Ronghua had both rank and family background in the palace. Even if she couldn’t compare to those of concubine rank or the Empress, she was in a class that allowed for a very comfortable life. Seeing her stammer, unable to give a proper explanation, the Emperor’s face turned cold. "You are my Rong Hua, the mistress of a palace. How could you resort to feigning illness to vie for favor? If the Dayings and Changzais start imitating you, the Imperial Hospital will never have a moment’s rest! When someone in the palace is truly sick, there won’t be an Imperial Physician available for them."

’So she’s here wasting medical resources.’

The court was in a critical period where every person was needed, and the Emperor wasn’t in the habit of executing Imperial Physicians on a whim. He was willing to indulge his concubines when they threw tantrums to vie for favor, but toying with court officials was unacceptable. The Imperial Physicians referred to themselves as his subjects; they were his officials, too. Having them summoned over a fake illness by a concubine—how was that any different from the king who cried wolf with the signal beacons? He immediately gave Lu Ronghua a severe lecture.

Lu Ronghua was stunned by his words and on the verge of tears. "Doesn’t Your Majesty like Noble Lady Gu’s ways? I was only copying her. I never intended to summon an Imperial Physician; I just wanted Your Majesty’s compassion."

"How did this get dragged back to Noble Lady Gu?"

"Noble Lady Gu loves to do this," she said, "and complains that her heart is uncomfortable. It’s very endearing and pitiful."

Lu Ronghua then gave the Emperor a live demonstration of the Xizi Pongxin pose.

But without Xi Shi’s personal guidance, her imitation was clumsy. The Emperor only found it artificial. "Stop this imitation. Faking an illness to seem pitiful? It’s more likely to make you a laughingstock!" The Emperor added, "Noble Lady Gu was truly suffering from fright-induced palpitations. An Imperial Physician examined her pulse. Or are you suggesting Doctor Xin is her man and gave a false diagnosis for her?"

Outside the door, Doctor Xin, who had just finished writing the prescription for a palace maid, was so frightened he nearly fainted.

The straightforward Emperor felt he was in the right. Jiang Xian’s palpitations had a logical cause: she had been terrified after the Guo Family severely punished Chen Daying, and Chen Daying had looked half-dead. In these Six Palaces, who could easily force Lu Ronghua to her knees?

A noble mistress acting like a pitiful victim... it couldn’t help but remind the Emperor of the old ministers who would cry to the heavens and feign fainting spells whenever he tried to implement reforms.

Lu Ronghua was hurt by the criticism. "If Noble Lady Gu was truly unwell, then why did Your Majesty stay the night at Yizhu Pavilion?"

’It’s not about having little, but about it being unfair.’

If it weren’t for the precedent set by Noble Lady Gu, she might have let it go. But she truly couldn’t swallow her indignation and felt deeply wronged.

"I intended to leave as well, but she said her body could handle it and that she couldn’t bear to be without me."

"Then when I asked Your Majesty to stay just now, why wouldn’t you?"

A good question.

But questioning the Emperor to get to the bottom of things was the most foolish thing one could do in this world.

Faced with such a question, the Emperor would not reflect on his own actions. He only felt Lu Ronghua was being unreasonable, driven mad by her desire for favor. His face grew cold. "If you like being sick so much, then stay sick! Liang Yuyin, have the Service Room remove Lu Ronghua’s name plate. They can hang it back up when she has fully recovered."

This time, Lu Ronghua’s face turned truly pale. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong!"

"Since you know you were wrong, you should reflect on it properly!"

With that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

The Emperor had actually been considerate of Lu Ronghua. He’d thought that if he went to another concubine’s palace, it would surely cause conflict between the two, so he had planned to return to Weiyang Palace to sleep alone and perhaps review some state affairs before bed. But now, thoroughly annoyed, he changed course and went to Feng Liangyuan’s palace instead.

The result? He witnessed the third bootleg version of the Xizi Pongxin.

Feng Liangyuan’s performance was even worse than Lu Ronghua’s.

The Emperor looked utterly exasperated and instantly felt deflated. This time, he couldn’t even be bothered to scold her. ’A Rong Hua is worth a few words of admonishment—at least she’s the mistress of a palace and should act as a role model. But a mere Liang Yuan? I’ll just see less of her in the future.’ And so, he had her name plate removed as well, granting her an indefinite sick leave. After being messed with twice, the Emperor had no desire to visit any other palaces. He returned to Weiyang Palace, growing more displeased the more he thought about it. He sat up. "Go summon Noble Lady Gu. Be quick about it."

Liang Yuyin bowed his head. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The night dew was heavy, and they naturally couldn’t keep the Emperor waiting, so the eunuchs carrying the sedan chair walked especially fast.

However, Liang Yuyin felt that Jiang Xian’s luck had taken a turn for the worse.

After dealing with two foolish concubines, the Emperor was now furious. He even complained that the tea served by a palace maid was too hot, a clear sign he was in such a foul mood that he would kick a passing dog. If Jiang Xian handled this poorly, she might well become the target of his redirected anger.

In the harem, a concubine’s rise and fall from favor was often completely beyond her control.

Besides, those two had insisted they were only copying Noble Lady Gu.

Even if Jiang Xian had no such intention, it would inevitably influence the Emperor’s judgment.