Just a few days ago, she was bedridden—how could she be up and moving about so soon?
Both the Longqing Emperor and Empress Chen found it hard to believe their ears. The Emperor even rushed out of the hall to greet his favored consort. With so many fields in the palace yielding no harvest, Li Jiubao was his most fertile land—she must not be damaged and needed careful protection.
Of course, Li Jiubao lacked the strength to walk such a distance. She arrived seated in the Phoenix palanquin reserved for imperial consorts, carried by twelve sturdy eunuchs. The palanquin featured a gold-and-copper beaded canopy, with gilded bronze phoenixes on each side and crimson gold-embroidered curtains.
Beyond the palanquin, a full ceremonial procession accompanied her: a pair of Processional screens ahead, one Sitting screen, a pair of Red staffs, Road-clearing banners, Ge covers, Halberd covers, Ceremonial swords, Round embroidered red umbrellas, Round embroidered green fans, and more—all trailed by nearly a hundred attendants.
The grand procession arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity. When it was time to alight, Chen the Agent placed a gold and silver inlaid footstool on the ground and assisted Li Jiubao down from the palanquin.
Even after descending, Li Jiubao did not take a single step. Instead, she settled into a gold and silver inlaid folding chair, carried by four eunuchs into the palace, with another eunuch holding a Canopy above to shield her from the sun.
The massive entourage halted at the palace gates, remaining outside while pairs of palace maids and eunuchs filed in, bearing items Consort Li might need: spittoons, spittoon incense burners, water jugs, water basins, fly-whisks, and more.
Empress Chen, virtuous and frugal, kept her outings simple and never employed such lavish ceremonies. Aside from the Empress, Consort Li held the highest status in the palace. Thus, Li Jiubao’s display today stunned the entire court. Recent whispers had claimed Consort Li was refusing food and drink, nearing death. Today’s spectacle made it clear: not only was she not critically ill—she had recovered!
Carried in her folding chair right up to the Longqing Emperor, Li Jiubao appeared as thin as paper, seemingly liable to be blown away by a gust of wind in the spacious seat. Yet, with her brows penciled, cheeks rouged, and lips tinted, she looked in good spirits.
Supported by Chen the Agent, Li Jiubao rose to perform the ceremonial greeting, but the Emperor stepped forward and lifted her up. "Beloved Consort, there is no need for formalities. The wind is strong out here—do not catch a chill. Come inside and rest."
Leaning against the Emperor, Li Jiubao let out a soft groan. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her steady to prevent a fall. "What troubles you, my love?"
Pressing a hand to her forehead, she replied, "Sitting in the Phoenix palanquin for so long, I felt dizzy when I stood up suddenly."
So frail she seemed to float in her robes, the Emperor effortlessly scooped her up and carried her into the hall. Li Jiubao knew Empress Chen was inside but pretended otherwise, closing her eyes and burying her face in the Emperor’s chest without offering the Empress the customary salute.
Empress Chen had been in the midst of lodging a complaint—never expecting the "accused" to deliver herself to the scene. She did not love the Emperor; she cherished her position as Empress. The intimate embrace between the Emperor and Li Jiubao did not faze her, but Li Jiubao’s failure to pay respects deeply irritated her.
After the Emperor laid Li Jiubao on the couch, she opened her eyes and saw Empress Chen. Still, she did not bow. Instead, she inclined her head slightly and said, "Sister has just recovered from a severe illness and remains unwell. I beg Empress to forgive my discourtesy in being unable to offer proper greetings."Li Jiubao had always been gentle and obedient, never daring to overstep her bounds, and her etiquette was always impeccable. As long as she had breath in her, she would rise to pay her respects. Today, however, was highly unusual—she was practically flaunting her favor and acting arrogantly, relying on the Longqing Emperor's affection to show disrespect to Empress Chen.
Empress Chen, having reached her current position, was certainly no pushover. She retorted with a tone that was neither soft nor harsh, "Since you are unwell, sister, you should not venture out. It would be better to rest and recuperate peacefully in the Palace of Celestial Favor. Why deliberately act against this?"
Li Jiubao replied, "I have missed His Majesty, Your Majesty, and my five children. It has been so long since we last met, and I have been longing to see them. Now that I have recovered, I wished to take a stroll and see everyone. Though my body feels somewhat weary, my spirits are quite uplifted. In this joyful mood, I fear I may even eat half a bowl more rice today."
The Longqing Emperor was generally an accomplished and wise ruler, preoccupied with affairs of the court. After attending to state matters, he still had to tend to his duties among the imperial consorts, leaving him little time to pay attention to Li Jiubao.
As the empress, Empress Chen could not lower her status by visiting the quarters of a mere consort.
As for the five children, Empress Chen had used the excuse of fearing they might catch Li Jiubao's illness to prevent them from visiting their birth mother.
Li Jiubao's grand appearance on this occasion was intended to convey a clear message to all: she was still alive, she was a noble consort, she was the birth mother of the crown prince and four other children, she was a consort of significance, and she had recovered. There was no longer any reason to use "fear of illness" as an excuse to keep her from seeing the five children she had borne.
Worried that his beloved consort might overexert herself, the Longqing Emperor said, "Stay here with me and do not go anywhere. Empress, summon the crown prince and the children today for a family reunion. Let us all sit down and dine together so we can see everyone at once."
Apart from Princess Ruian, who was still nursing, the other four children were old enough to join them at the table.
While Empress Chen went to make the arrangements, Li Jiubao presented lotus seed cakes and other delicacies, saying, "Your Majesty, these were prepared by my private kitchen. Doctor Wei has forbidden me from eating overly sweet or greasy foods, fearing they might harm my recently recovered stomach. Craving a taste, I had the private kitchen reduce the sugar and oil by more than half. After repeated attempts, they finally succeeded. I find them quite palatable and easy to digest, so I brought some to offer to Your Majesty."
The Longqing Emperor took a bite and found it rather bland. With so little sugar and oil, it could hardly be called a proper pastry. It was evident that the tastes of someone recently recovered from a serious illness differed greatly from those of a healthy person.
Yet, seeing the expectant look in Li Jiubao's eyes, the emperor graciously praised, "The flavor is quite good. Your private kitchen has put in great effort. I shall reward them handsomely."
With this reward, the existence of the private kitchen in the Palace of Celestial Favor was tacitly approved. The Longqing Emperor even looked forward to Li Jiubao's "field" yielding another bountiful harvest.
Li Jiubao did not particularly care about indulging her appetite. To her, the private kitchen symbolized her unique favor. For a concubine, a man's affection was power. Even the principal wife had to show some respect, and she was determined to preserve this privilege.
According to palace rules, the empress held the highest status, and a noble consort was merely a concubine of higher rank. Yet, above these rules lay another, more fundamental one: the supremacy of men over women. This was the ultimate rule. In essence, the emperor and the empress were not equals—the empress had to submit to the emperor's will and preferences.
The emperor's favor bolstered the position of his beloved consort, compensating for her inherent disadvantage when facing the empress. And this "favor" had to be demonstrated through the consort's willfulness and arrogance.Therefore, as a concubine, a consort, a mere tool for bearing children, if she wished to leverage the emperor’s influence to grow stronger and prevent others from bullying her, she must act willfully, arrogantly, and even repeatedly test the empress’s authority to demonstrate her “favor.” This “favor” was a symbol of power.
Being gentle, virtuous, and kind—this was the mask that a principal wife or an empress ought to wear.
As a concubine, a tool for reproduction, if she were to wear this same mask—not acting out, not contending, not occasionally provoking the empress—she would plunge herself into an abyss of ruin.
She would allow the emperor to exploit her fertility, let the empress trample over her, and permit the children she had painstakingly carried and birthed to be taken away as someone else’s. All the palace servants would think her easy to bully because she showed no aggression, as pliable as a lump of dough to be kneaded at will.
There is a saying among the common folk: “Better to offend a gentleman than a petty person.” This is the reasoning behind it. A person who is too reasonable, under the law of the jungle, will be overlooked and even bullied by everyone. After all, offending her brings no retribution—why not step on her when there’s no cost?
Li Jiubao only grasped this truth when she had lost five children, her spleen and stomach weakened, her appetite gone, nearly starving herself to death, and teetering on the brink of demise.
She had failed to transform the emperor’s favor into power, failed to borrow the emperor’s authority. By emulating the model of a virtuous consort and confining herself within the bounds of rules, she had dug her own grave, willingly becoming an emotionless tool for bearing children.
No one respects an object.
At the evening imperial family banquet, the seven-year-old crown prince, upon seeing his long-ill birth mother appear, had a faint glimmer in his youthful eyes, showing that he still held some affection for Li Jiubao.
The other four children, however, had been taken to Empress Chen for rearing before they were old enough to form memories and were still naive and unfamiliar with their birth mother. Though their natural blood ties drew them to Li Jiubao, bound by etiquette, they merely bowed and greeted her formally, without any intimate gestures like acting spoiled.
The youngest, Princess Ruian, had just learned to crawl. Having never seen her birth mother since leaving the womb, she cried at the sight of Li Jiubao, clutching Empress Chen’s clothes tightly and refusing to let Li Jiubao hold her.
Empress Chen handed the crying Princess Ruian to a wet nurse to be fed.
Though heartbroken, Li Jiubao maintained a smile on her face. “The Empress truly knows how to raise children—each one plump and fair. You have worked hard, Empress.”
Empress Chen replied, “Raising one’s own children is no hardship.”
Empress Chen regarded the children as her own, nurturing them with care. In an environment of one wife and multiple concubines, both law and custom held that the grace of birth was inferior to the grace of rearing—the legal mother was the true mother of the children born of concubines, while the concubines were merely borrowed wombs for bearing children.
After dinner, Li Jiubao returned to the Palace of Celestial Favor, utterly exhausted. Her grand outing today was like a declaration of war. Though physically weak, she had to maintain the appearance of strength, relying on sheer willpower to persevere.
Wei Caiwei had prepared ginseng soup to replenish her energy well in advance. After drinking it, Li Jiubao said, “Empress Chen has already ordered the Recorder of court lady to reinscribe my name, awaiting the emperor’s summons for favor. But I do not wish to bear any more children. Prepare a medicine for me to prevent pregnancy.”
Li Jiubao was determined to become a powerful favored consort, not a docile tool for reproduction. Enough was enough!Resuming bedchamber duties so soon? What a beast! And Li Jiubao actually chose to destroy her own fertility—this shows how deeply she fears childbirth at this moment.
Wei Caiwei said, "The medicine does exist, but given the Noble Consort's current physical condition, she cannot take such potent medication. It would ruin the health we've painstakingly restored. I will speak with the Recorder of court lady. The Noble Consort must first restore her Monthly Tidings until they become regular before she can conceive again. Until then, she may only accompany His Majesty, not serve in the bedchamber."
OpenNovel