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

Chapter 75: Chapter 61: Hot-Blooded Second Blooming

Workplace Survival Guide, Rule #1:

Back the right person, join the right team.

Looking across the harem, all the other concubines were her competitors, each pursuing the Emperor’s favor and ready to backstab her at a moment’s notice. But the Empress was different. She managed the imperial household for the Emperor, her position as unshakable as a mountain. So what if she was sonless? Any child born into the harem would have to address her respectfully as "Mother Empress."

Jiang Xian hadn’t made a move before because she was too far removed, unclear on what the Empress truly needed.

Now, it was crystal clear.

What the Empress needed was a capable assistant.

This was a need Jiang Xian could absolutely fulfill, so she made her move, eagerly offering her services. A capable subordinate is like a right and left arm to a superior. ’Once she has a taste of how good I am,’ she thought, ’I guarantee Her Majesty will never be able to do without me.’

The Empress’s Chief Palace Maid, Nan Juan, was a little displeased to hear this.

’How can the dignified mother of the nation be compared to a mere Chen Daying?’

But after hearing this, the Empress thought more highly of Jiang Xian.

The Empress could see that Jiang Xian intended to win her over. This wasn’t a bad thing; it was normal for relationships to be founded on mutual interest. The fact that, while pledging her allegiance, Jiang Xian hadn’t completely forgotten Chen Daying, showed that she valued her connections and was someone who could be dealt with. "Not everyone thinks the way you do," she said. "Nan Juan, go and fetch that Bixi Bracelet."

A short while later, Nan Juan returned, carrying a brocade box.

Opening the box revealed a vibrant pink Bixi Bracelet. It had a carved gold clasp, and its color was translucent and captivating. The craftsmanship of the gold clasp was also incredibly exquisite. This was something one would only receive at the rank of consort or higher, or if one had a family as wealthy as Guo Cairen’s.

The Empress personally fastened it on her wrist. "Consider this a greeting gift from me. Come and visit Jianzhang Palace more often in the future. You’re a beautiful woman; it’s a crime to waste such looks by dressing so plainly. If you dress more lavishly, the Emperor will be pleased to see it as well."

Ultimately, this was a relationship between the Empress and a concubine. Even though the Empress knew Jiang Xian was short on silver, she couldn’t just say bluntly, "Come work at Jianzhang Palace, the pay is excellent." If she visited her palace often, how could she lack for rewards? Jianzhang Palace had too many fine things, many of which the Empress herself had little use for.

She was, after all, the mother of the nation, a favored daughter of heaven born into nobility.

Noble Princess Consort Rong, who was of equal birth to the Empress, would never wear an outfit more than twice. Yet the Empress’s own daily attire was a somewhat worn, light purple palace dress with a dark cloud pattern. She wore a single East Pearl Hairpin in her hair and plain silver earrings, looking simple and elegant.

East Pearls were a symbol of the Empress’s status.

Even so, one could tell from the details that none of the Empress’s accessories were newly made. In contrast, Noble Princess Consort Rong was always a glittering spectacle, her hair so crammed with ornaments that there was no space for more. In terms of value, it was as if she wore a Beijing courtyard house on her head and a Tangchen Yipin luxury apartment on each wrist every day. A single piece of her jewelry, plucked at random, could grant a common person financial freedom.

Jiang Xian took all of this in.

Was it because the Empress couldn’t afford it?

No. It was that the Empress no longer needed such things to prove her noble status. The Emperor and Empress were one. The Empress’s simplicity and frugality, when spoken of, would only add to the Emperor’s good name.

"If Your Majesty doesn’t mind, then I will come and trouble you more often."

Jiang Xian took the Bixi Bracelet and put it on with delight.

※

At Jianzhang Palace for the morning greetings today, many eyes were glancing toward Jiang Xian.

Many of the concubines already knew that she had stayed the night in Jianzhang Palace.

Noble Princess Consort Rong in particular had been craning her neck, hoping the Emperor would go to Jianzhang Palace and have a huge fight with the Empress. Unexpectedly, all she heard was that the Emperor had slept alone in Weiyang Palace. Everything was calm and peaceful.

And seeing the Empress again today...

She was unexpectedly radiant! Even the dark circles under her eyes were gone!

In the past, when the Empress received the morning greetings, even if she wore a faint smile, the exhaustion in her eyes was unconcealable. For anyone else, it might have been the lonely haggardness of one long out of favor. But for the Empress? The day after the Emperor stayed at Jianzhang Palace on the first or fifteenth of the month, she wasn’t just tired—her whole expression would collapse.

Working double overtime was simply inhuman.

But after Jiang Xian came and slept in her palace for a day, the Empress was no longer tired. She was full of spirit and even had the energy to properly receive the concubines’ greetings.

"I hear that Noble Lady Gu stayed in the Empress’s Jianzhang Palace yesterday. I’m afraid that’s against the rules, is it not?" Noble Princess Consort Rong was the first to attack.

"Only the main hall is forbidden for other concubines to reside in. I had a side hall prepared long ago. The Noble Consort need not worry herself over it."

This rule existed to prevent the scandalous affair of the Emperor sleeping with another concubine in the Empress’s own main hall.

Noble Princess Consort Rong was relentless. She turned her glare on Jiang Xian. "The Empress is magnanimous, but that doesn’t mean you, Noble Lady Gu, can take advantage of her kindness to behave so wantonly, committing an act as outrageous as staying overnight in the Empress’s own Jianzhang Palace."