Chapter 380

Chapter 380 Concubine Shen remarked, "This imperial beauty selection is bound to bring in many candidates from distinguished families with exceptional looks. I'm afraid the harem will become quite lively from now on." Xie Run recalled from the original plot that the Emperor's beauty selection had been quite an event—he had taken in nineteen women at once. But back then, the Empress was already gone, and many noblewomen had flocked to participate in the selection, all vying for the position of Empress. At that time, the Emperor's harem had few children and urgently needed new blood for reproduction. Moreover, the Emperor had just ascended the throne and needed to consolidate his power through taking consorts and concubines. For all these reasons, he had taken in so many women. In this lifetime, circumstances had changed too drastically, and she had no idea how many Selection Candidates the Emperor would choose to bring into the palace. But thinking about the power of the plot, Xie Run felt that the Emperor's "White Moonlight" would likely be selected as well. Xie Run suddenly sighed and remarked, "Thank goodness the Empress Dowager has no young ladies from her natal family now. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble she'd stir up again." Xie Run brought this up because she had suddenly remembered that at the beginning of the month, the Empress Dowager had wanted to bestow one of her own palace maids upon the Emperor. Concubine Shen said, "This... I have actually heard a bit of news about that." Xie Run looked at her quietly, her eyes full of confusion. Could the Empress Dowager truly not have given up, still wanting to place someone of her own by the Emperor's side? But the Empress Dowager's maternal clan had long been wiped out due to Prince Su's rebellion. She couldn't very well send her niece even if she wanted to, could she? Concubine Shen said with a mysterious look, "The Empress Dowager kept this tightly under wraps. It was only because Princess Ruyi happened to go to Cining Palace to pay her respects one day that she stumbled upon it." "They say she found a cousin's daughter from somewhere—a woman with a face like a celestial being and an elegant temperament to match. She's been hiding her away for several days." "Lady Fang doesn't like to pry, but the moment I heard about it, I knew the Empress Dowager had prepared this woman specifically for the Emperor." For some reason, upon hearing this news, Xie Run felt a moment of irritation. She felt the Emperor would feel the same way upon hearing it. As for his birth mother, all the Emperor wanted now was for her to stay quietly in Cining Palace and enjoy her old age, without causing more trouble. But of course... the Empress Dowager simply refused to accept her age. "The Empress Dowager's cousin's daughter... let's just hope she doesn't turn out like Lady Xian." The Empress Dowager was not a person of loyalty or sentiment. She had once propped up Lady Xian to spar with the Empress, but when Lady Xian was implicated later, the Empress Dowager hadn't sent so much as a single word of support. Before they knew it, the day of the beauty selection arrived. Xie Run was brought along by the Emperor to attend. She sat in a high position, her peripheral vision catching glimpses of the Selection Candidates standing below, and the feeling was rather strange. The silk canopy above swayed in the wind, and the sunlight hung overhead, casting down a wave of heat. Xie Run held a fan in her hand, idly waving it for breeze, her gaze drifting casually until it landed on a woman in the first row whose skin was exceptionally fair. They say fair skin hides a multitude of flaws. This woman's skin was as white as jade, standing out conspicuously under the blazing sun. Especially with the other Selection Candidates beside her as contrast, she was all the more striking. Xie Run recognized her at a glance—this was the Emperor's White Moonlight from the original script: Bai Fu. Bai Fu was originally Consort Ling's niece from her natal family, the eldest young lady of the third branch of the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness. As a child, she had once entered the palace to keep Consort Ling company for a time. During that period, the Emperor happened to be under Consort Ling's care. That was how the two became acquainted, forging a bond of childhood friendship. Later, Consort Ling fell out of favor, and the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness declined as well. A marriage was arranged for Bai Fu, and she was simply waiting to come of age to be wed. At that time, the Emperor was still a prince with neither father's love nor mother's affection, wandering aimlessly through the palace all day. By the time he was old enough to leave the palace and establish his own household, the Retired Emperor had bestowed a marriage upon him, cutting off any thoughts the Emperor might have had about the struggle for succession. As for contact between them, there had been little between the Emperor and Bai Fu over the years. Even in the original script, the bond between these two was something that developed only after she entered the palace. Xie Run had sent people to investigate, and the more she pondered it, the more she felt this "White Moonlight" was somewhat overrated. The Emperor was, in truth, a rather decisive and self-willed person. If he truly adored Bai Fu as the White Moonlight of his heart, he would have brought her into the palace and given her a high rank the moment he ascended the throne. When Lady Xian and Noble Lady Xi had entered the palace back then, the Emperor had been anything but stingy with their ranks. In the original script, when Bai Fu entered the palace through the beauty selection, her initial rank was Baolin. It was only after she had received imperial favor for some time that the Emperor promoted her twice in quick succession, making her a Lady of Beauty. During that period, Wan Linlang had failed to defeat Fang Yuan'er and was ordered by the Emperor to die. Calculating by the timeline, Bai Fu's rise to favor came after Wan Linlang's death—not even at the very beginning of her time in the palace. With that comparison, Bai Fu's status as the White Moonlight didn't seem to carry quite so much weight after all. In recent days, with nothing better to do, Xie Run had analyzed all the plot points concerning Bai Fu in the original script. She was more inclined to believe that Bai Fu's appearance in the original script was simply well-timed—she appeared precisely when the Emperor needed to elevate someone to spar with Fang Yuan'er. In the original script, the Emperor's throne was not yet secure, and he was troubled daily by matters of the court. The Empress's position sat vacant in the harem. Fang Yuan'er had defeated Wan Linlang, but her hands were stained with blood, and she had a prince to her name—she had begun to harbor ambitions she shouldn't have. The Emperor didn't want to expend the effort to handle harem affairs himself, so he needed to elevate someone to suppress Fang Yuan'er and calm the storm in the palace. Among the new Selection Candidates, the most outstanding ones were directly suppressed by Fang Yuan'er, and among the remaining batch, the one who stood out the most was Bai Fu. Bai Fu had family standing, was clever and quick-witted, and shared a childhood bond with the Emperor. From any angle, the Emperor could dote on her, and should dote on her. Later, she managed to escape Fang Yuan'er's schemes time and again, steadily turning the tide, earning more and more of the Emperor's regard, and rising step by step. Xie Run didn't know how the script ended, but she could see the whole picture. Fang Yuan'er toppled Wan Linlang, only to ultimately fall at Bai Fu's hands. And Bai Fu, having defeated Fang Yuan'er, now stood alone at the top of the harem—wasn't she just another Fang Yuan'er? Given the Emperor's temperament, could she truly enjoy sole favor for a lifetime, remaining the White Moonlight forever? Xie Run held her doubts. The more she analyzed it, the more Xie Run felt that Bai Fu's victory over Fang Yuan'er wasn't due to some so-called White Moonlight bond, but rather genuine intelligence and wit. This was truly a difficult opponent to handle. Back in the prince's residence, Xie Run had thought she'd play the coward for life. But when she actually encountered Bai Fu, she tucked her head and neck in, hiding in the harem as an invisible presence, raising her son until old age. Yet who would have thought that after entering the palace, the Emperor wouldn't lose interest in her so quickly—instead, he gradually elevated her to a high position. At her current standing, it wasn't a matter of simply not competing or snatching; others would still come after her regardless. The Empress's health clearly couldn't hold out much longer. Once the throne of the Empress sat vacant, even those in the harem without a shred of ambition would stir up a bit of fighting spirit.