Chapter 357: Chapter 352: Imperial Concubine
"Alright, take a seat over there." Empress Dowager Wang said somewhat impatiently, "Today is not about discussing rules with the Imperial Concubine. Now that the Emperor has just ascended the throne, the harem is vacant. Does the Imperial Concubine have any regulations in place?"
After saying this, Empress Dowager Wang felt a bit of schadenfreude. Ye Qiu’s beauty was undeniable, but even the most beautiful person can become tiresome after a while. When the new concubines enter the palace, each one of them young and beautiful, fluttering like flowers, would the Emperor still cherish the Imperial Concubine as he does now?
However, Ye Qiu did not feel the loss and anxiety that Empress Dowager Wang imagined. Instead, she responded calmly and efficiently, "The Internal Affairs Office has also mentioned it. According to the ancestral rules, a grand selection should take place in October this year to fill the harem for Your Majesty. I have already reported it to His Majesty and am just waiting for His Majesty to issue the decree."
"That’s good. The renovation work of the harem will be entrusted to the Imperial Concubine, so as not to have chaos when the new concubines enter the palace," Empress Dowager Wang commanded in her tone.
Ye Qiu chuckled lightly, "Naturally, after all, the phoenix seal was personally entrusted to me by His Majesty. The affairs of the palace are my responsibility."
"Yes, since the Imperial Concubine is managing the harem, I’m relieved," Empress Dowager Wang said through gritted teeth.
Fang Pin and Consort Zhang, seated below, listened with trepidation. The clash between the Empress Dowager and Imperial Concubine was not something they could intervene in. However, thinking that new faces would soon enter the palace made both of them extremely worried.
For Consort Zhang, it was the trouble. She was getting older and had no prominent family background or children to rely on. Unless something unforeseen happened, she was likely to remain a mere talented woman for the rest of her life. At best, if the Emperor was in a good mood or during a grand ceremony, she might ascend one or two ranks, but she would still remain unnoticed in the palace. She feared that once the number of people in the harem increased, she would lose her peace, as the harem was never a tranquil place.
Fang Pin, however, had more concerns. She had good looks, and now in the palace, other than Ye Qiu, the Emperor spent the most time with her. But if new faces entered the harem, would the Emperor still hold her in his heart? Her family was unremarkable, and even with the Eldest Prince as her child, it may not be enough to compete against those wretched newcomers.
Fang Pin set her hopeful eyes on Ye Qiu. The Imperial Concubine was the Emperor’s Favored Concubine, and surely, she wouldn’t want the harem filled with young and pretty girls, right?
Unfortunately, Fang Pin guessed wrong this time. Not only would Ye Qiu not prevent the entrance of new concubines, but she would also deliberately select women with both good family backgrounds and looks. And even if she didn’t, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would certainly let the women they favor enter the palace.
Indeed, the Emperor had long had a beloved woman in his heart. Ye Qiu’s ascension was firstly to stabilize the Ye Family temporarily, and secondly, to reserve the place of Empress for his beloved woman by not allowing anyone else to take the position.
With Ye Qiu as a shield, his beloved woman would not be seen as a thorn in the eyes of the Empress Dowager and other concubines. When Ye Qiu and the Empress Dowager were both weakened from their struggle, it would be the perfect time for his beloved woman to take the position of the Empress.
"An Fu, take this letter to the house of Old Qiao," the young and handsome Emperor said with a smile on his lips while leafing through a thin book of poetry again and again, its elegant handwriting seemingly that of a girl.
An Fu took the envelope, astonished: Who would have thought that the Emperor’s beloved was not the highly favored Imperial Concubine but the granddaughter of Old Qiao? But on second thought, it made sense. Born into a Military General Family, the Imperial Concubine naturally couldn’t match Miss Qiao’s poetic talents, and only Miss Qiao truly understood the Emperor’s heart.
An hour later, Qiao Qingyue, secluded in her boudoir, received Ji Fei’s letter. Her delicate cheeks blushed slightly as she avoided the maid’s gaze and secretly opened the letter.
"Skillful clouds toy with their shapes, shooting stars carry the pangs of longing, while the vast Milky Way silently flows by. A solitary encounter during autumn’s golden wind and jade dew outshines countless others in the mortal world. Tenderness like water, a dreamlike rendezvous – hard to look back upon Magpie Bridge’s homeward path. If the two hearts endure through long-lasting love, then what does it matter if they meet at every dawn and dusk?"
This was a love poem called "Magpie Bridge Immortal," conveying that love must withstand the test of prolonged separation. True and sincere love is more precious than the commonplace attachment of constant companionship, even if lovers are worlds apart, and it compared them to Weaver and Niu Lang.
At the end of the poem, Ji Fei added a line in smaller characters: Little Moon, how can Niu Lang and Weaver compare to us? Wait for me.
Seeing the nickname "Little Moon," Qiao Qingyue felt both sweet and annoyed. She had told him many times not to call her that nickname anymore—why won’t he listen!
But does "wait for me" mean that they no longer have to be like Niu Lang and Weaver, separated at two ends, and that they are finally going to be together forever?
Qiao Qingyue understood Ji Fei’s pain. When he was still the Second Prince, he had no supporters other than the Empress Dowager, thus he had no choice but to marry a woman from the Ye Family. Now that he has ascended the throne and the Ye Family’s merits are immense, naturally, he cannot discard the Imperial Concubine.
Fortunately, he has said that he does not love the Imperial Concubine, nor will he ever make Ye Qiu the Empress, so she will just have to be understanding of him for now.
Yesterday, she overheard her grandfather mentioning that someone petitioned the Emperor at court to expand the harem to ensure the Imperial Family’s prosperity. So now, does Ji Fei mean to have her enter the palace to take part in the selection process? What title will he bestow upon her?
After some thought, Qiao Qingyue felt somewhat uneasy. Why must Ji Fei be the Emperor? Why couldn’t he belong to her alone?
But who could blame him for being an Emperor? Fortunately, he once promised her that she would always be the only one in his heart, whether it be the greatly favored Imperial Concubine, the Lady who has borne a prince, or the concubine Fang Pin – they were all just pawns to stabilize the harem from the previous dynasty, nothing more. She was different from those women.
Qiao Qingyue carefully put away the letter in a delicate box that was roughly the size of two palms. However, the box was now almost too full to contain all the letters.
After putting away the letters, she picked up a pen to write a reply. Along with the letter, she also sent back the wallet she had been embroidering for several days.
"Lady, shall I serve the meal now?" After returning to the palace, Ye Qiu took off her heavy palace dress and lazily lay on a couch. The palace maid Qing E fanned her while asking.
"The weather is getting hotter, and I don’t have much appetite. Just have the small kitchen serve a bowl of chilled bird’s nest. Hmm... And send a bowl to the Emperor in Yangxin Hall too."
"Yes."
"Xue Juan, did my younger brother come to the palace for duty today?"
"Not yet, the Third Young Master Ye is undergoing his ritual bath today, and he is scheduled for duty tomorrow."
"Then have him come to see me after his duty tomorrow, but remember to report to the Emperor first."
"Yes."
In Yangxin Hall, Ji Fei personally attached the wallet embroidered by Qiao Qingyue to his belt, and the smile on his lips never stopped.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has sent a bowl of chilled bird’s nest for you."
Listening to the little eunuch, Ji Fei’s smile at the bottom of his eyes faded, and he lightly furrowed his brows: "Your lady is considerate. Put it down!"
"Yes!"