Chapter 377: Chapter 372: Imperial Concubine
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking care of my brother’s matter." Ye Qiu bowed gracefully to Ji Fei; a gentle breeze brushed past the strands of hair at her forehead, making her incomparably beautiful.
"Noble Consort need not be so formal; all this is what I should do." Ji Fei quickly helped Ye Qiu up, his gaze unintentionally following her every move, his eyes filled with infatuation.
An Fu glanced up briefly before quickly lowering his head again. He originally thought that the Emperor’s favorite was Yue Zhaoyi, but now it seems that Noble Consort holds a significant place in the Emperor’s heart as well, and the Emperor’s reluctance to admit it is nothing more than the proverbial blindness of those involved.
He sighed, thinking that every woman in the harem has her own unique charm, no wonder the Emperor was so captivated by them.
"Emperor, I have reviewed all these memorials. Would you like to check if there is anything that needs to be changed?" Ye Qiu led Ji Fei to the study in Changchun Palace, where memorials were sorted and placed on the desk after being reviewed.
Ji Fei casually picked up a couple and looked them over, once again astounded by the Noble Consort’s intelligence. Not only were the affairs on the memorials managed in an orderly manner, but even the handwriting mimicked his own.
Ji Fei was very pleased: "Noble Consort, I have always had full confidence in you handling affairs. An Fu."
"This servant is here."
"Have someone move these memorials to the Imperial Study Room."
"Yes!" An Fu had already calmed down by now. On the first day he learned that the Noble Consort was reviewing memorials for the Emperor, he had been nervous for quite a while, but neither the Emperor nor the Noble Consort seemed to care about it.
He watched as the memorials reviewed by the Noble Consort went from empty praises to official promotions and National Treasury expenses. Outsiders only knew that the Noble Consort had great influence in the harem, but who would have thought she had already begun to manage the affairs of the World?
As someone who accompanied the Emperor to court every time, whenever he heard the courtiers praising the Emperor’s decisions, his admiration for the Noble Consort only grew. Who among the officials of the previous dynasty could have imagined that those sound and beneficial policies all originated from the hands of the Noble Consort?
"Emperor, this is a memorial submitted by the Governor of Zhejiang, saying that the Salt Inspection Imperial Censor is suspected of corruption and bribery. And this one is from the Salt Inspection Imperial Censor himself, saying the Governor of Zhejiang is colluding with pirates and oppressing the people. I have already sent people to investigate, and the results should be in within the next couple of days. Please review it carefully, Your Majesty, to avoid being unable to make decisions when the courtiers inquire."
Ji Fei looked at Ye Qiu with gratitude: "Noble Consort, you truly are a pillar of the state; I cannot manage without you."
Ye Qiu smiled lightly in response: "Your Majesty jests; everything I do is my duty."
Ji Fei simply skimmed through the two memorials and Ye Qiu’s comments, certainly brief with interspersed evidence that seemed both true and false. It was indeed challenging to clearly distinguish truth from fiction, but as an Emperor, distinguishing right from wrong was the most fundamental skill. Nevertheless, Ji Fei yawned three times in just a fleeting quarter of an hour and drank a whole cup of strong tea.
His energy was dwindling, Ye Qiu guessed it was a side effect of the Illusion Pill.
Her System had mentioned before that the "Conquer Emperor" system was originally an imperfect, rudimentary system with unkind intentions. This System was indeed powerful in some aspects, but its flaws were equally substantial.
The Illusion Pill could keep Ji Fei immersed in the Illusion Realm all night and absolutely exhilarated, undoubtedly causing adverse effects to his body. But so what? Ye Qiu was not willing to personally attend to him, and anyway, he was always happy afterward, wasn’t he?
"The night is getting deep, Noble Consort, let us rest," Ji Fei said impatiently.
Yet Ye Qiu looked at the memorials on the other desk with difficulty and said, "Emperor, I still have so many memorials to review. What if it causes a delay in national affairs?"
Ji Fei’s face showed a look of hesitation. After all, what if it delayed state affairs?
"Why not visit the other sisters tonight?" Ye Qiu suggested "generously."
An Fu looked at Ye Qiu with surprise and doubt. Was this still the Imperial Concubine he knew? The Imperial Concubine used to dislike the Emperor visiting other concubines the most, but now she was actively suggesting the Emperor to go?
An Fu suddenly felt that the world was unpredictable; in the past, the Imperial Concubine wanted to keep the Emperor, who wished to leave, but now it was completely the other way around.
"Your Majesty, where shall we go now?" An Fu never expected that one day the Emperor would be sent out by Imperial Concubine using the excuse of being busy with state affairs.
Upon leaving Changchun Palace, Ji Fei’s mind became somewhat clearer, and when he looked up, he saw a full moon in the sky. He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he last visited Xianyue Pavilion. He wondered if his Little Moon would blame him!
"To Xianyue Pavilion."
"Chirp!"
"Why is Your Majesty here today?" Qiao Qingyue greeted him in the courtyard of Xianyue Pavilion.
The night sky was clear, with the bright moon overhead, casting its luminous white light in Xianyue Pavilion, which looked even more like the Immortal Realm; and Qiao Qingyue standing under the moonlight looked like the Fairy herself.
Today she was wearing a wide-sleeved flying fairy dress, with a gauze skirt so thin, yet layered like a blossom of unfolding epiphyllum, adorned only with a Jade hairpin on her head, highlighting her hair that was both shiny and black.
"My beloved princess, why didn’t you wear your favorite white jade hairpin today? The quality of this Qinghai Jade is not bad, but it still tarnishes your beauty," Ji Fei said, frowning.
"Your Majesty, you don’t know yet, Imperial Concubine said that Consort Hui is carrying the precious Heir, so all this year’s nephrite jade has been sent to Yijing Palace," without waiting for Qiao Qingyue to speak, her maid Ying Chun was already complaining.
Qiao Qingyue glared at her: "Nosy girl, get down immediately. Are Imperial Concubine and Consort Hui people you can talk about? I’m just a Zhaoyi, it’s only natural for me to receive the lesser things."
Seeing that Qiao Qingyue did not truly blame her, Ying Chun grew bolder: "This servant dares not, it’s just that I feel it’s unfair for my Lady, in the past, Your Majesty had ordered that nephrite jade should first be given to my Lady, who knew it would suddenly change."
"I know about this, Imperial Concubine has already told me," Qiao Qingyue was waiting for Ji Fei to stand up for her, but instead he said this.
"There was an uprising in Xinjiang, so the tribute of nephrite jade is scanty. After rewarding the Imperial Mandate women of courtiers who have rendered great service to the court, there was little left for the harem. It just so happened that the Imperial Physician said that a woman with pregnancy should not wear gemstone jewelry, so Imperial Concubine decided to send it first to Yijing Palace and Changxin Palace. Even that was not enough; it’s said that Consort Wang liked pearls, so all the nephrite jade ended up with Consort Hui."
While explaining, Ji Fei’s guilt towards Qiao Qingyue grew: "Qingyue, it’s my fault you have been wronged, but as you know, Consort Hui’s father is Marquis Weiyuan, in charge of the troops in the capital, and I must show favor to Marquis Weiyuan."
So this was the reason for her grievances? Because her family had no real power, not only must she hide her feelings, but she also couldn’t have the things that others had?
For that faint promise, Qiao Qingyue felt that she had endured too many humiliations, yet she couldn’t help but continue to tolerate them, otherwise, wouldn’t all her previous efforts have been in vain?