Yu Fu Palace.
The sunlight shines through the carved window lattice, falling on the Empress Dowager who is sitting gracefully on a soft divan, embroidering a silk square.
When the maiden Qing's loyal scented girl came to report that Qing concubine had been made the concubine, her needlework in Lady Shu's hand slightly paused.
Then, she continued to move about in an orderly manner.
"The palace is truly producing new people. Soon, new people will be admitted, and then, will the emperor remember this concubine?"
Lady Shu sighed softly, with a touch of contemplation in her tone.
At the same time, news from various palaces kept coming in, and the people in the rear palace were all discussing the newly promoted Qing Concubine.
Some were calculating how to befriend her in order to gain the emperor's greater attention.
Others, however, harbored envy in the shadows, scheming on how to trip her up in the future.
The east wing of Yihe Palace.
Yu Yao's mood was very calm. Besides the necessary greetings, she basically didn't go out, just staying in her room to nurture the baby, and the news was kept a secret.
Everything that comes in is handled with great caution. Those unclean items have long been cleared out by her.
Even if someone came to invite her out, she would use the excuse that her body wasn't feeling well to decline.
This made those who wanted to get some of her, or those who wanted to hurt her, furious.
Although Yu Yao is pregnant, Emperor Jing still comes to see her frequently, but at night, there's nothing of that sort; it's just chatting under the blanket.
Shu Concubine initially thought that attracting the emperor's attention meant that the emperor would remember her and one day would summon her to attend him.
But after waiting and waiting, the news she received was that Concubine Qing had been promoted to a Consort.
Even if Shu Concubine had a good attitude, she couldn't help but feel jealous.
Once she gets jealous, her actions will inevitably lose balance. She often appears when Emperor Jing comes to the Yihewu Palace.
Not by chance encounters on the way, but also when she goes to the east wing to chat with Yu Yao and runs into the emperor.
Shu Concubine's speech is gentle and considerate. When speaking in front of the emperor, she always mentions Yu Yao's concerns.
This has left a bit of impression on Emperor Jing.
Yu Yao saw it all, but said nothing.
Shu Concubine's feelings, she can understand, and she doesn't care who the dog emperor sleeps with at night.
But Shu Concubine always appeared when she was getting close to the dog emperor, which was too much and annoyed her.
Liu Liu was so angry she cursed out loud in the room, "Madam, Shu Concubine is too much. She's even trying to poach people from us."
She furrowed her brow, but it was completely indifferent, "Liu Liu, don't be so hasty. I'm not in the best of health now, who serves the emperor is who serves the emperor. Shu Concubine is just eager for favor."
Liu Liu was still very angry, "Madam, her behavior is really annoying."
Yu Yao shook her head slightly, "She's a pitiful person too. In the palace, it's hard to get by when not favored, but more so if she doesn't have any children. After the emperor passes away, she could be buried with him. Shu Concubine is like this only because she's trying to survive."
That's also the reason why Yu Yao can tolerate her being in her house, and didn't retaliate.
If it were in another universe, she would have taken action to teach her a lesson.
Shu Concubine continued her behavior unchanged, and Yu Yao remained very calm, watching with a cold eye but doing nothing.
This night, Emperor Jing finally favored Shu Concubine, and he went to her east wing in the middle of the night.
Perhaps the dog emperor couldn't hold it in at night, but he was concerned about her pregnancy and could not move her, so he quietly went to the west wing to favor Shu Concubine.
Yu Yao was very alert; as soon as the dog emperor left, she woke up.
At the time, she thought the dog emperor was going back to the Taihe Palace, but after hearing Liu Liu report, she found out he had gone to Shu Concubine's place.
Liu Liu was so angry that her face turned red and she cursed the west wing loudly:
"What a shameless woman Shu Concubine is, seducing the emperor in the middle of the night! The madam is pregnant, and how can the emperor do this? Shu Concubine is so eager; doesn't she care about being laughed at by others?"
Yu Yao furrowed her brow, watching Liu Liu's outburst, and quietly said, "Alright, stop cursing. You know the emperor's character well enough. I'm pregnant and cannot serve him, but for him to come visit me at night is already rare."
She really thinks this way. The dog emperor is very promiscuous. It's more painful for him than killing him to have one day without women.
He can't help but sneak into the west wing in the middle of the night; it's perfectly normal.
Liu Liu was still angry, "Madam, though what you say is true, Shu Concubine's actions are still overbearing. Why should you just endure this?"
Upon hearing this, she glanced at Liu Liu and smirked mockingly, "What am I waiting for? Just wait and see. The dog emperor will soon be rolling back in."
"Oh? What does your ladyship mean by that? Why don't I understand?"
Liu Liu looked at her with a confused expression, truly not understanding.
How can the emperor quickly return if he's currently enjoying himself with Shu Concubine in the west wing?
Yu Yao, however, smiled mischievously, "Shu Concubine is an old friend from the Eastern Palace period. If she had any talent, why wouldn't she have been favored? In fact, the emperor probably doesn't even remember Shu Concubine's existence?"
"How can the madam be certain that the emperor will definitely return later?"
Liu Liu asked again with confusion.
Hearing Liu Liu's question, she laughed, a laugh that carried deep meaning, "Because... Shu Concubine doesn't know how to please a man."
The dog emperor plays around very well, and Shu Concubine's introverted and shy personality couldn't handle it. She might be too embarrassed to serve him properly.
"Oh"
Liu Liu's face flushed instantly, and she seemed to have understood what was going on.
"Alright, go to bed."
Yu Yao glanced at Liu Liu's flushed face, happily smiled, and then let her go down.
"Yes, madam."
Liu Liu didn't say anything else or continue cursing Shu Concubine. Instead, she quickly left.
Indeed, not long after, the dog emperor came out from the west wing, with a dark expression and a face full of dissatisfaction.
He just doesn't understand why, as women, there is such a big difference between them?
When favoring Shu Concubine, he was like a dead fish lying down, and even didn't dare to make a sound. It was too boring.
What a waste of such a beautiful face.
Emperor Jing's face was dark, and he wanted to go back to the Taihe Palace directly or go somewhere else to vent his anger.
But thinking of the woman sleeping in the east wing, he didn't know why, suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Thinking about her pregnancy, he quietly returned, forbidding the palace attendants from making any noise all along the way.
He returned to the inner room of the east wing with gentle steps, took off his outer robe, and lay next to her.
He carried the pleasant scent of dragon's breath and the coldness of the night.
Yu Yao had not fallen asleep, but she pretends to be woken up by a startle, her eyes fluttering open in confusion, "Your Majesty, where did you go just now? I thought you had left?"
In her heart, she was very dissatisfied, like a rotten cucumber. But she couldn't show it.
Emperor Jing's face stiffened, and he coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, "I just went to relieve myself at night. Did I wake you up?"
Yu Yao smiled coldly in her heart but showed concern on her face, "Is there anything wrong with Your Majesty? It's important to be careful not to catch a cold when going to the bathroom at night."
Emperor Jing looked at her concerned appearance and felt touched in his heart, reaching out to embrace her, "Yao'er, don't worry. I'm fine."
She leaned on the dog emperor's chest, feeling disgusted and resistant in her heart, but she had to pretend to be gentle, "Your Majesty, with your night and day governance of the state, you must take care of your dragon body. If you catch a cold, I will feel heartbroken."
Emperor Jing was instantly moved, squeezing her tighter in his arms, "Yao'er is pregnant and still cares for me like this. I'm very happy."
Yu Yao smiled gently, "Your Majesty, you bestowed so much on me, and I regard it as my fortune. As your servant, I naturally care for you."
She could say it without even thinking, completely un-heartfelt.
It's become a habit.
Emperor Jing gently rubbed her nose with his thumb, his heart seem to be stirred as he looked at her with a smile, "You're so good at making people happy with your words. You've truly made me overjoyed."
"I haven't been flattering you, Your Majesty. Everything I've said is the truth."
She smiled and curled up against Emperor Jing's chest, soon falling asleep.
The next morning, the morning sunlight shone through the window lattice into the east wing.
Yu Yao woke up drowsily, only to find that Emperor Jing had already left her side.
She sighed slightly in relief, secretly grateful for the moment of tranquility.
Liu Liu carried the cleaning supplies and walked in, seeing that the master was awake, she whispered, "Your Majesty has already gone to attend the morning meeting."
She nodded and got up to wash her face.
There are never any secrets in the harem. The news of Emperor Jing leaving her room to go to the west wing in the middle of the night spread quickly among the palace women.
When she went to pay respects to the Fengyi Palace in the morning, Yu Yao was unsurprisingly teased and ridiculed by all the concubines in the palace.
The Fengyi Palace, with its carved beams and painted walls, glittered with gold and jade.
The concubines were either sitting or standing, their eyes filled with sarcasm or jealousy.
Li Fei, the queen dowager, spoke first, her voice sharp and piercing, "How resourceful this Qin Jieyuan is. The emperor left to go somewhere else in the middle of the night."
Zhen concubine laughed softly to one side, not speaking, but her disdain was evident in her eyes.
Shu Concubine had already been ridiculed and mocked by everyone before coming, with teary eyes. Now, she was shrinking into a quail egg, trying to minimize her presence and dared not make a sound.
Yu Yao maintained her calm demeanor, bowing respectfully, "Ladies, please don't take it the wrong way. In this harem, it is not something we can control."
The dog emperor loves where he goes, and she truly doesn't care.
Seeing her calm demeanor, the other concubines became even more dissatisfied in their hearts.
Li Fei snorted coldly, "Hmph, you know how to pretend."
Yu Yao was too tired to bother with Li Fei's provocation and went back to her place to stand.
The empress watched the disputes among the other concubines and faintly frowned, opening her mouth and saying, "Alright, stop arguing. What kind of order is this in the Fengyi Palace?"
The concubines fell silent, but the undercurrents of ill intent in their eyes did not cease.
After the morning respect visits, Yu Yao returned to the East Wing of the Yihe Palace.
Liu Liu angrily said, "Madam, those people are too much. It's clearly the emperor's own behavior, and yet they all come to blame you."
Yu Yao shook her head slightly: "Liu Liu, don't worry about it. In this harem, such things will happen again. We just need to do our best and protect ourselves and the baby in our wombs."
