Palace Struggles Is Also Crazy - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Being the Empress is Not Easy (2)

-Section 3-

As soon as Noble Consort Xi left, the Emperor was unhappy.
Regarding Zhou Yuexi as a third wheel, he thought he had the most say in the entire Forbidden City.
Recalling the past when he and the Queen had only been married for three years, the Empress Dowager and the entire court pressured him to marry Zhou Yuexi.

On the night of the wedding, he walked into Changchun Palace with a black face, planning to just go through the motions. But upon entering, he saw a young girl with big eyes waving at him, “You’re the Emperor, right? Great, I’m relieved to finally meet you. I don’t want to get married or be controlled by my father, now I’m free.”

Dugu Xin thought to himself, if all the daughters of high-ranking officials were like this, the Great Yin dynasty would be close to a prosperous era.
However, he still had to maintain his dignity. He was about to say, “Don’t think that just because you’re married to me, I’ll like you. I’m the Empress’s man in life, and I’ll be the Empress’s husband in death. You’ll never have my body or my heart…”

But before he could finish, his newlywed wife, who was still warm from the wedding, quickly pulled out a small notebook from under the bed and excitedly asked, “Now that I’m in the palace, can I see Sister Wen? I’ve missed her for years since she entered the palace and gained your favor. Is she doing well? Can I go see her now? Is it right out the door and turn left to Kun Ning Palace?”

Dugu Xin thought to himself, “Good grief!”
Thus, Noble Consort Xi’s wedding night was spent with the Empress, while the Emperor himself spent the night alone in Changchun Palace.
From then on, every month, there would be a few days when she would monopolize the Empress’s time.
Whenever Dugu Xin thought of this, his jealousy would be as vast as the sky and as boundless as the earth.

Throwing the person to the ground, he hugged the Empress and vowed to regain his pride as the supreme ruler. “I want to send Zhou Yuexi to the cold palace to grow Chinese chives.”

The Empress thought from a long-term perspective, considering the Emperor’s personality, she feared that the cold palace would become the most popular residence in the Forbidden City.
She decided to nip this idea in the bud.

“It’s just a serving of spicy pot, isn’t it? It’s not worth it. Noble Consort Xi doesn’t know that Your Majesty doesn’t like spicy food, that’s all.”

“Is it just a serving of spicy pot?”
“…”
“It’s a serving of spicy pot that represents love.”
“……”

Dugu Xin said gloomily, “What relationship do you have with Zhou Yuexi? Why does she insist on liking you so stubbornly?”

The Empress herself didn’t know the answer to this question. In fact, her interactions with the concubine were limited to praising her artistic talent insincerely when they were eight years old, and later beating up a bully on her behalf on the way home.

She thought carefully and murmured, “Could it be because of that incident?”

-Section 4-

Wen Zhishan had seen Zhou Yuexi once before she entered the palace at the age of sixteen.

That incident was quite big.

The little girl who grew up in her mother’s loving care, the apple of her father’s eye, had thought her family was happy, but it turned out to be a fragile dream that shattered completely.

The thirteen-year-old girl had just lost her mother and was still in mourning when her stepmother brought her seven or eight-year-old brother to the door.

“This is a pity the child suffers, for the loving couple’s love didn’t last.”

Wen Zhishan came back from outside and heard her mother say this at home, so she went out again.

Her impression of Zhou Yuexi was still of a round-faced, big-eyed girl. When she pushed through the crowd at the door and saw the girl standing with her arms and legs spread out, futilely blocking the entrance, stubbornly raising her head, her small face thin and pointed, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

General Zhou’s mistress outside was a tough character, with top-notch skills in scolding people. No matter how Zhou Yuexi, who was just a young lady from a wealthy family, tried, she couldn’t say a word when faced with many unbearable words, her face turning red, tears welling up in her eyes.

However, Empress Wen was different. Apart from inheriting her father’s good looks, she didn’t inherit any of the refined temperament from her father, Prime Minister Wen. When she let loose, her eloquence was so good that people couldn’t help but think of her mother, who was from a humble background, and her rich experience of mixing with people from all walks of life in the capital.

Later, when she was lonely in the deep palace, she started to feel that being the Empress was a bit of a waste. Teaching Dugu Xin how to civilly argue with officials in court was really a waste of her talent.

Anyway, the mistress couldn’t have imagined that the young girl had strong explosive power and lasting energy. She was stunned by her, and when she came to her senses, she felt convinced.

When she found out that this young girl was the future Empress of the Great Yin dynasty, she knelt down in admiration.

That was the first time Wen Zhishan felt that power and status were really useful. Sometimes they could help you protect what you thought was right, or rather, what you thought was right at the moment.

As she grew older, her youthful passion faded away, and looking back, what she did might not have been right.
In fact, the mistress was General Zhou’s first love in the countryside when he was young. Due to various reasons, they missed each other. General Zhou married Lady Zhou, and the first love also got married and had children. Although there was regret, they didn’t bother each other for many years and lived well.

However, Zhou Yuexi didn’t know about this.

But the Empress didn’t think that “helping with scolding” was a reason for someone to be completely devoted to another person, especially after such a long time.

She chose a night with a full moon, suitable for opening up and chatting, and planned to have a good talk with Noble Consort Xi.

The Empress didn’t stand on ceremony with her and got straight to the point. “Xi Xi, why do you like me so much?”

Noble Consort Xi was surprised by this question, “Ah? I don’t like you. I’m not a lesbian.”

“Then you……”

In the hazy moonlight, her smile looked a bit miserable.
“I just regard you as an idol, you know, Sister Empress. I’m a person who is stubborn, timid, and not very clever. Even though my father is a general and I was granted the title of Noble Consort, but after so many years in the palace, I don’t know how to maintain my dignity or cause trouble. Apart from putting you on my mind, I haven’t done anything decent. As a result, all the concubines below me take advantage of me. Today, they ask me for something, tomorrow they borrow something from me. Someone took my big golden bracelet without asking and wore it without returning it. I can only smile and say nothing. I couldn’t say no.”

“Even the Empress Dowager, who claims to be a ‘Buddhist old lady’, teamed up with others to cheat me out of money when we played mahjong. Maybe I’m the typical foolish daughter of a wealthy family. If it weren’t for you, Sister Empress, protecting me all these years, I don’t know how many times I would have been bullied to tears.

“You’re different, Sister Empress. You’re decisive and know when to let go. You’re the person I’ve admired since I was a child. You’re my role model. You don’t know how happy I was when I found out I was going to enter the palace. Because of that, I could see you all the time.”

The Empress was speechless for a long time, then said, “I didn’t expect you to have a pretty good understanding of yourself. Um… did the Empress Dowager really cheat you out of money? Wait, I’ll get it back for you tomorrow. I’ll get it back in no time. I don’t believe it.”

Noble Consort Xi’s big eyes curved into crescent shapes, and she said softly, “Okay.”