Shoutout to Tachibanaswife for the commission!
“Here, look. If this is Qi Sheng, and this is Lady Jiang, then this one is me. The three of us form a triangle within the harem. Remove one, and the harem becomes unstable.” I used chopsticks to form a triangle and set it in front of Lord Toilet, then grabbed three more. “And these three, Qi Sheng, you the Ninth Prince, Chu Wang, and the Zhang family, are the triangle in the court before us. Remove any one, and there will surely be bloodshed.”
Lord Toilet glanced at me and asked, “What about Zhao Wang? Which corner is he?”
I couldn’t help smacking my lips. “Can we not bring up that unlucky kid?”
Lord Toilet looked at me without speaking.
Helpless, I added another chopstick, gesturing over both triangles on the ground. “A four-corner relationship, now, that’s the most unstable thing in the world. See? It could tip in any direction. And Zhao Wang, right now he’s the fourth side. Whether in the harem or the court, he’s an unstable factor. Let’s not talk about him for now!”
Lord Toilet nodded in understanding. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Did the human trafficker teach you this too?”
I smacked my lips again and sighed. “Fine! Let’s talk about Zhao Wang then!”
Lord Toilet raised his brows and smiled, sweeping the chopsticks on the ground together. “Mm, I understand all that. But why are you telling me this?”
I had been squatting on the ground for a while and my legs were numb, so I simply sat down. Taking three chopsticks back from his hand, I looked at him and said, “Because I still have one more triangle to tell you about. This is what I really want to talk about. The first two were just examples.”
Lord Toilet said nothing, quietly watching me.
I met his gaze, placing the three chopsticks one by one on the ground, and said in a low voice, “This is you, Chu Wang, Qi Han. This is me, the Zhang behind the Empress. And this one…” I placed the last chopstick down, “is one of Qi Sheng’s sons.”
Lord Toilet didn’t speak for a long time, just looked at me.
I met his eyes calmly, waiting for his reply.
After who knows how long, Lord Toilet finally asked softly, “You want to become Empress Dowager?”
I nodded solemnly. “An empress who doesn’t want to be Empress Dowager is not a good empress!”
Lord Toilet chuckled softly.
I smiled as well, stood up from the ground, and kicked the chopsticks aside. “Go back and think it over. Give me an answer when you’ve decided.”
Unexpectedly, Lord Toilet was quite straightforward. Within a couple of days, he sent someone to deliver me a golden triangle.
Luli, however, was a bit displeased, muttering, “I’ve never seen anyone give such a thing as a gift. It’s clearly disrespectful to Your Majesty!”
I advised her, “Instead of complaining, you’d better keep an eye on Huang Shuyuan and the others. Don’t let them seize an opportunity, we absolutely cannot let them bear a child before us.”
Hearing this, Luli perked right up and rushed out of Xingsheng Palace full of energy. Following the principle of “a well-built fence keeps out stray dogs,” she placed people along all the small paths leading to Chengqian Palace. With high standards and strict requirements, the moment any concubine attempted to approach Qi Sheng, or Qi Sheng attempted to approach any concubine, the news had to be delivered to Xingsheng Palace immediately.
I gave Luli’s work ability high praise. At the same time, I admired her diligent work ethic immensely.
However, it didn’t take long to realize that while this operation looked lively, it was actually useless.
Because Qi Sheng didn’t get close to any beauty at all. Aside from occasionally visiting Youlan Hall in the northeast corner, he didn’t come to the harem at all! And as for who lived in Youlan Hall, no one knew!
Once the harem realized this, Chengqian Palace grew much quieter. At the same time, my Xingsheng Palace became lively, with concubines from all palaces coming to complain one after another, nearly wearing down the threshold.
In response to their tearful grievances, I could only express deep sympathy, and helplessness. If heaven doesn’t send rain, what can you do?
In truth, I was anxious too. As long as Qi Sheng didn’t produce a son, I couldn’t ascend to the position of Empress Dowager.
Since Qi Sheng only occasionally went to Youlan Hall, I had no choice but to focus my efforts on Lady Jiang. I kept sending all kinds of nourishing tonics to Youlan Hall, wishing she’d recover quickly so that she and Qi Sheng could rekindle their feelings, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, a long-starved man meeting a long-parched woman!
But during that polo match, Lady Jiang had been seriously injured. Her arms and legs had suffered at least three fractures. As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from broken bones. On top of that, her health had always been weak. Now she would faint every few days, and even after winter began, imperial physicians were still frequently summoned.
I was extremely irritated. When I saw Zhao Wang again at the Lantern Festival family banquet, I couldn’t help showing a hint of disdain on my face.
Zhao Wang met my gaze and gave a mocking smile, raising his cup toward me from afar before downing it in one go.
I was furious. Signaling Luli behind me, I quietly instructed, “Switch Zhao Wang’s wine, make it as strong as possible!”
Although Luli didn’t understand why I had suddenly developed a grudge against Zhao Wang, she still carried out my orders without hesitation. Before long, Zhao Wang was clearly drunk. He staggered to his feet and headed out. The attendant behind him tried to support him, but he shoved him away and stumbled out alone.
I was overjoyed. Glancing secretly at Qi Sheng beside me and seeing that he wasn’t paying any attention, I quickly rose with Luli and slipped out as well.
Behind the hall, I bounced a bit to loosen up and warm up, then took off my cloak and handed it to Luli, instructing, “In a moment, aim carefully and throw it over his head. Hold his head down tightly.”
Luli was extremely nervous, clutching the cloak and stammering, “Your Majesty, I, I, I’m not as tall as Zhao Wang. I’m afraid I can’t reach him!”
“Idiot! Just jump and pounce forward! He’s already drunk like that, what are you afraid of?”
Luli still hesitated. “How about we get two young eunuchs to do it? It’ll definitely succeed.”
I couldn’t help smacking her on the head. “If we involve others, it’ll be exposed sooner or later. Besides, doing it ourselves is more satisfying! I’ve long found that brat unpleasant, today I’ve finally got the chance!”
Luli still looked uncertain, so I tried to inspire her. “Just imagine he’s Huang Liangyuan!”
Luli’s face brightened a bit, though she still looked timid.
I thought for a moment, then added, “How about this, you can think of him as Lady Jiang. After all, they were once husband and wife. Husband and wife are one body, it’s not that different.”
Luli immediately perked up, bounced on the spot, and whispered excitedly, “Niang Niang, shall we go find a stick too?”
