Chapter 18: Queen of Female Competition

Sun Miaoqing’s true depths remained unknown, and rashly probing would only alert the enemy and expose oneself. Consort Hua clearly hadn’t considered this yet, but the Empress couldn’t allow her to act recklessly.

Just as the Empress was about to speak, Consort Qi spoke first.

“I heard that Attendant Sun’s family and Consort Hua’s family are related by marriage. I wonder if Attendant Sun has visited the palace to express her gratitude since entering?”

Sun Miaoqing lowered her head, a trace of mockery flashing in her eyes.

The insignificant Qi Erha held no sway before the Emperor, the Empress, or even the Empress Dowager. Aside from causing trouble for others, she was utterly useless.

She replied unhurriedly, “In response to Consort Qi, my entry into the palace was by the Emperor’s decree. If Your Highness has any objections, I am willing to accompany you to discuss the matter directly with His Majesty.”

“You…” Consort Qi had intended to use this to provoke Nian Shilan, but she hadn’t expected to be left speechless by a newcomer. Filled with indignation, she retorted, “Don’t think that just because you have Consort Hua’s favor, I can’t do anything to you.”

“Your Highness misunderstands. The Nian family, the Sun family, and even the families of all the sisters present here are all subjects of the Emperor, loyal only to His Majesty. No one dares to form private alliances. My entry into the palace is solely to serve the Emperor and the Empress, with no other intentions.”

Who in the palace didn’t know of the rivalry between the Empress and Consort Hua?

By openly declaring her service to the Empress, wasn’t Sun Miaoqing trampling on Consort Hua’s dignity?

Not only did the newcomers fall silent, but even the veterans dared not interject.

[Hmph, serving the Empress? Fine. A future without prospects, a fate of childlessness—what a wonderful path. I’ll just wait and see how you end up.]

Sun Miaoqing’s intention to distance herself from the Nian family was clear. In an instant, the Empress connected all her speculations.

Although the Empress didn’t know how this woman, who had never entered the palace in her previous life, was so well-informed about the affairs of the inner court, it was evident that she intended to replace Zhen Huan.

Replacing Zhen Huan meant that she aimed to eliminate both herself and Consort Hua in one fell swoop.

In simple terms, an enemy!

Hmph, does she think she’s capable?

The Empress’s hands were already stained with so much royal blood; one more wouldn’t matter. Since Consort Hua had said she had “no future and would be childless,” why not let Consort Hua have her way?

For now, however, appearances had to be maintained.

The Empress took over the conversation, praising Sun Miaoqing for her gentleness and grace, and even bestowed some rewards upon her.

It still seemed as though she was opposing Consort Hua.

[Rewards? I won’t give any this time, not to anyone. Don’t ask—just know that everything is to be kept simple. It’s the Emperor’s order. If you have any complaints, take them up with His Majesty.]

Hearing this, the Empress shook her head slightly: Sigh, without me, how many years would she last?

Sun Miaoqing expressed her gratitude and returned to her place, her half-closed eyelids concealing the delight in her eyes.

Nian Shilan had guessed wrong.

Sun Miaoqing was not reborn.

She had transmigrated, and she had been reborn into this world from infancy.

Before transmigrating, she was an employee at a major corporation, a manager who commanded authority in her department—reporting to the director above and overseeing employees below. It was the 996 Blessing that had brought her here.

She didn’t care for men, so their looks and physique meant nothing to her.

She preferred making friends with career-driven women like herself, but unfortunately, the people she had encountered throughout her life—whether in school or at work—were all chattering, affected, and fussy.

It took them two hours just to put on makeup before going out, and they constantly demanded gifts from men.

They couldn’t even afford a cup of milk tea—a bunch of gold diggers.

And they were all petty, holding grudges over the smallest things and crying at the drop of a hat.

She didn’t want to work with men either, but she had to admit that men were more straightforward and generous.

Usually, when she was with those men, they would curse at each other back and forth, and no matter what was said, no one would get angry.

Although she couldn’t recite The Story of Zhen Huan from memory, the women in the company were all like Zhen Huan come to life—it was impossible for her not to know.

From the moment she was born, she knew she would face this ordeal at sixteen, so she had been trying hard to recall all the plot details of The Story of Zhen Huan.

Naturally, she didn’t love the Emperor, but if she were to lose her composure in front of the palace and be sent back, she would have to spend the rest of her life with a solitary lamp and Buddhist scriptures.

The original Sun Miaoqing had already been dragged down for a lifetime.

The current Sun Miaoqing would never let that happen!

To prepare for the Palace Selection and life in the harem, she asked her brother to find ways to inquire about Empress Chunyuan’s preferences and skills, and even sought out the female tutor who had taught Chunyuan in her maiden days to instruct herself.

Facial features were innate, and she couldn’t change them, so she focused her efforts on song and dance, and worked hard on poetry and literature.

Although she couldn’t achieve perfection, she thought she could manage seventy or eighty percent.

Based on her understanding of the plot and analysis of the characters, Sun Miaoqing’s failure in the selection wasn’t because of that cat or that cup of tea, but because the Sun family had curried favor with Nian Shilan.

How could one tolerate someone snoring beside their bed?

The petty-minded Emperor was wary of the Nian family—how could he possibly allow the Sun family, who had shown intentions to align with the Nian family, to rise?

Now that she had finally entered the palace, if she were to follow the same old path and attach herself to Nian Shilan, at best, she would only become a Noble Lady in the future, and like Nian Shilan, she would never have children.

Not only that, but when the Nian family fell from power in the future, she would also suffer along with them.

The Nian family was destined to fall, so rather than fading away silently, it was better to use them as her stepping stone.

If they could be used by someone like her, chosen by fate, it would be their family’s fortune.

The Emperor loved to play the balancing game—afraid that Consort Duan’s family was too powerful, he used Consort Hua to counterbalance her; afraid that Consort Hua was gaining too much influence, he brought in Consort Jing, and later Shen Meizhuang.

Everyone thought he loved Chunyuan, but in reality, he was just using Chunyuan to craft a persona of a devoted lover, masking his own cold-blooded ruthlessness.

This man loved himself, loved the throne, loved the empire, loved his thirteenth brother, loved his Zhang Tingyu—he just didn’t love women.

Pitiful those foolish women in the harem, throwing themselves at him one after another.

Especially Consort Hua!

The Queen of Female Competition!

For the sake of a man, she wished she could kill every woman in the world.

Yet she was extremely foolish—only when Zhen Green Tea spelled it out for her on her deathbed did she realize she had been deceived her whole life.

Though not as sinister as the Empress, openly committing evil deeds was no less malicious.

Despicable!

Sun Miaoqing was no foolish woman. She wanted to build a career, gain favor, have children, and become Empress Dowager. By publicly stating her stance now, she was extending an olive branch to the Emperor—

volunteering to be his pawn so he could better deal with the Nian family. In fact, the Sun family had already acted accordingly, refraining from offering tribute or currying favor.

Nian Shilan, don’t blame me. You have a brother who dotes on you, and so do I!

If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself and your brother for courting disaster. I just want to save the Sun family.

As for Zhen Huan, Shen Meizhuang, An Lingrong… these harem women who seemed unable to live without a man, these love-struck fools—she would make good use of them, but once their usefulness ran out, they couldn’t blame her.

To quote Huanbi, the maid by Zhen Huan’s side: “In this palace, only those with value to be used can survive. Be a useful person, content with being used, and only then can you use others.”

The Palace Selection was like the imperial examination.

Sun Miaoqing had prepared for sixteen years. She feared that any change in the characters might affect her own selection outcome, so before successfully being chosen—even while waiting for the Palace Selection—she did not interact with any members of the main group.

She only watched from afar as Zhen Huan helped An Lingrong out of trouble and heard that she had taken An Lingrong to stay at the Zhen residence…

Just as Sun Miaoqing’s mind was buzzing with activity, Nian Shilan once again singled out Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang as usual.

Shen Meizhuang had originally intended to flatter with a phrase like “Consort Hua is a peerless beauty,” but she was so shocked by Consort Hua’s ability to speak without opening her mouth that she felt flustered and said nothing.

As it turned out, she inadvertently “avoided a disaster.”

[Wait, if Sun Miaoqing is reborn, in her previous life she wasn’t in the palace either, so she wouldn’t know what happened in the palace at all. Why am I wasting my breath?]

The Empress pinched the bridge of her nose: Had she only just realized this?