Free Web NovelChapter 70: Chapter 46: Then You’re Really Unlucky
As expected, Song Qinghan went to knock on Song Yexi’s door, wanting to find out what was really going on. Following Song Yunzhao’s instructions, Song Yexi explained everything to her in detail, making sure to emphasize the fawning, respectful way the nursemaid had behaved upon seeing Chief Steward Zhang.
Seeing Song Qinghan’s sour expression as she forced herself to look happy for Song Yunzhao, Song Yexi let out a cold laugh after closing the door. ’Song Qinghan’s misery is my delight.’
Song Qinghan returned to her room and tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her face dark and sullen. ’How could Song Yunzaho be so lucky? If only that luck had been mine.’
The more she thought about it, the less she could sleep. But, afraid she would look terrible the next day, she forced her eyes shut and tried to drift off. Her heart burned with anxiety, as if it were being seared in hot oil.
Song Yunzhao was also having trouble falling asleep. Having napped during the day, her sleepiness had faded by nightfall. She carefully recalled the plot of the book, truly unable to fathom what had possessed the Emperor to intervene in the matter of her fainting.
She had never even met the Emperor, and he had no idea how beautiful she was. There was no way he was motivated by lust...
The thought of him being "motivated by lust" made Song Yunzhao laugh out loud.
’Tsk, the Emperor is probably still a virgin.’
Despite his harem teeming with beauties, the Emperor had a bizarre personality—he simply wouldn’t touch them.
Speaking of which, back when she was reading the book, the comment section had absolutely erupted over this. Some said the author’s premise was unreasonable, some claimed the Emperor had no choice, and others insisted he was psychologically twisted. For her, the comment section was a source of endless amusement; sometimes, reading the readers’ comments was even more interesting than the story itself. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Only after she finished the book did she learn why the Emperor never touched those women. It was because he was vengeful to a fault, so petty his mind was smaller than the eye of a needle.
The late Emperor had numerous sons. There was the Empress’s heir, the favored concubine’s beloved child, and other Princes whose mothers, though unfavored, had powerful families to rely on. The current Emperor, however, was the exception.
His birth mother, a woman of the An family, was named a Beauty upon entering the palace for her looks. Unfortunately, her dull and reserved personality wasn’t very endearing. After she became pregnant, the late Emperor’s affections shifted elsewhere. Beauty An didn’t know how to compete for favor, so in a harem overflowing with beauties, she was quickly cast aside and forgotten.
Even giving birth to a son failed to recapture the late Emperor’s interest. Beauty An had lost favor, and the son she bore was neglected along with her.
For the decade or so before he lucked into the throne, you could say the Emperor was a complete nobody in the harem. Having lost favor herself, Beauty An took her frustration out on her own son for failing to gain the late Emperor’s esteem. Besides, Beauty An’s father was only an Assistant Governor; how could he possibly contend with the high-ranking concubines from powerful, established families?
That An Tongpan had originally hoped that his daughter, once chosen to be by the Emperor’s side, would elevate his own status. Instead, he received news of her falling from grace. And so, he completely abandoned the mother and son to their fate.
The late Emperor’s sons fought to the death over the throne, wiping each other out in the process. As a result, the current Emperor lucked into his position. Only then did the great noble families finally take notice of him, and the quickest way to forge a connection was, of course, through marriage alliances.
When the Emperor first took the throne, he had no connections and no authority at court. He was only fifteen—the age of a middle schooler, for crying out loud!—so he had no choice but to let those powerful families stuff their daughters into his harem.
But the Emperor was a man of immense pride. He perfectly embodied the dark, vengeful mindset of ’today you ignore me, tomorrow you won’t be able to reach me.’
Using the excuse that he was too young and didn’t know which concubine was fit to be Empress, the Emperor let the ladies fight it out amongst themselves. Dangling the tantalizing bait of the Empress’s position, he sat back and calmly watched the show.
How did Consort Chu die?
She was a casualty of the infighting, of course.
The young Emperor was a master of pretense. When the courtiers stuffed beauties into his harem, he couldn’t refuse, so he put on a delighted act. But then he would turn around, kneel before the late Emperor’s memorial tablet, and weep, proclaiming that out of filial piety, he would observe a three-year mourning period.
The beauties were sent into the palace, but he insisted on observing the mourning period and refused to sleep with them, letting them languish in solitude.
The courtiers were helpless. They couldn’t very well tell the Emperor to stop being a filial son, so they all had no choice but to wait for three long years.
After three years, the mourning period was finally over. The Emperor was also getting a better handle on court affairs, so he began making his rounds in the harem. He’d have tea with one concubine one day and dine with another the next, diligently visiting every corner of the harem. But what no one knew was that every night, this Emperor would either challenge a concubine to a game of chess or make her read classics to him. If all else failed, he would just yawn, declare, "I’m so tired today, let’s get some rest," wrap himself in his quilt, and fall asleep instantly.
