Chapter 423

Chapter 423 "I guessed you were ambitious, but I never imagined you would go so far as to harm the Empress." The Empress was going to die sooner or later anyway—Consort Jingshu truly couldn't understand what Noble Lady Xi hoped to gain by making this move. Noble Lady Xi's expression was exceedingly strange. "You don't understand. None of you understand." "Of course, I thought you of all people ought to." Consort Jingshu: "..." She truly did not understand the thoughts of fools. The anger in Noble Lady Xi's demeanor dissipated, and a hint of reminiscence seemed to creep into her eyes. "When the Emperor and Empress wed, we witnessed it with our own eyes—do you still remember?" Consort Jingshu was taken aback, then realized that the wedding Noble Lady Xi spoke of was the one in which the Empress, then a princess of the Xia Dynasty, had married the Emperor when he was still Prince Jing. Noble Lady Xi: "From the capital's main gate all the way to the Prince Jing manor, the entire thoroughfare was guarded by the Imperial Guard. Countless people came to watch the ceremony. Drums and gongs resounded all around, and congratulations filled the air. The procession escorting the bride took over half a shichen to pass completely." At that time, the Xia Dynasty was powerful, and when they married their princess to the Yu Dynasty, the Yu Dynasty naturally received her with the highest honors. Later, when other princes and imperial princes took wives, none ever had such a grand and lively ceremony. That was also the one thing Prince Jing had over the other princes. "We were still young then, and we agreed to watch the wedding procession together from the Zhezhi Tower, gazing at that lively scene from afar... Do you still remember what I said back then?" It had been so long ago that Consort Jingshu barely remembered the wedding itself, let alone what Noble Lady Xi had said. Seeing that Consort Jingshu remained silent, Noble Lady Xi gave a faint, self-deprecating smile. "You are different from me, so of course you wouldn't remember." She raised her head to look out the window, her slender jawline outlined with a hint of pride and arrogance in the pale sunlight. Noble Lady Xi said haughtily: "I said back then—if I ever married, my ceremony should be just as grand!" Consort Jingshu raised an eyebrow slightly, as if somewhat stunned, but she instantly understood what Noble Lady Xi was trying to say. At that time, the Duke of Su's household was at the height of its power. Noble Lady Xi was a noble lady of the capital, raised by thousands of admirers. Even when facing the late Emperor's princesses, she showed not the slightest sign of inferiority. Princesses could only marry down when they wed, but noble ladies of the capital could marry up. Consort Jingshu had also lived through those times, so she could best understand Noble Lady Xi's pride and ambition. Noble Lady Xi: "Watching the bridal procession, I thought to myself—how could an unloved princess of the Xia Dynasty deserve such honor and favor?!" "If she could have such a grand ceremony when she married, I should do even better than her!" The young Noble Lady Xi had carried a proud spirit in her chest. She was the daughter of the Duke of Su's household, a descendant of nobility—surely she would marry better and live better than the woman in that bridal sedan chair. Noble Lady Xi thought of the bright, proud spirit of her youth, then thought of the Duke of Su's household, now fallen into such ruin, and her eyes instantly reddened. "Who would have thought that later, my elder brother and father would die on the battlefield, and this unloved princess of the Xia Dynasty would instead become Empress?!" "Because of the decline of the Duke of Su's household, I was sent into the palace to curry favor, becoming nothing more than a lowly Imperial Concubine." "How ridiculous?!" The border between the Xia Dynasty and the Yu Dynasty had never been peaceful, and wars had been frequent over the years. It was only after the Emperor ascended the throne and launched large-scale campaigns that the flames of war between the two sides burned ever more fiercely. But even before that, many soldiers had fallen defending the realm. Noble Lady Xi's father and brother had both died on the front lines. Consort Jingshu pondered for a long while before saying: "I have vaguely heard that it was the Second Prince of the Xia Dynasty who slew your elder brother?" "Yes! Isn't that ridiculous?!" Noble Lady Xi's reddened eyes brimmed with tears and hatred. "My father and brother died at the hands of her own brother, yet she sits securely on the throne of our Yu Dynasty's Empress?!" "Don't tell me that the Empress and the Xia Dynasty are on bad terms!" "If not for soldiers like the Second Prince of the Xia Dynasty fighting and dying on the front lines, how could she have earned her position as Empress?!" "No matter how strained their relations, her status and glory were all given to her by the Xia Dynasty. Everything she has was climbed upon the blood of our Yu Dynasty's soldiers!" So even knowing the Empress was going to die sooner or later, Noble Lady Xi still had to push her along! First, to vent her own resentment and cry out against the injustice of the fate she should have had! Second, to avenge her father and brother who died on the front lines! But what had already happened would never change because of the Empress's death. The resentment in Noble Lady Xi's chest had never dissipated. She stared hard at Consort Jingshu: "The Duke of Ying was fortunate—he managed to survive on the battlefield all his life, and at his old age still shields you Sun family descendants." "It's only my Duke of Su's household that was unlucky. Our young men died on the front lines, our family gradually declined, and we could only rely on selling off our daughters to seek favor." "If one day our situations were reversed—if your Duke of Ying's household had no one to support its legacy, and you fell from being a noble lady of the capital to a thing that clings to power, scorned by others, picked over and chosen, while watching the one who harmed you sit high on the Empress's throne and be suppressed by her—if you could still smile then, I would truly admire you!" This was the greatest resentment and fury in Noble Lady Xi's heart. Consort Jingshu's words, in her eyes, were nothing more than someone standing comfortably and speaking without feeling the ache. The Duke of Ying's household had meticulously cultivated Consort Jingshu, treating her as a rare commodity to be held for a higher price. They had long planned to marry her to one of the princes, and so kept her for several extra years, still raising her in gold and jade. When Consort Jingshu entered the prince's household, she was already considered late in marrying. But Noble Lady Xi had entered the palace even later than she had. It was not because the Duke of Suguo's household had far-sighted vision and deliberately kept her to be sent into the palace for advancement, but rather because the Duke of Suguo's household intended to use Noble Lady Xi's marriage to forge a connection with a distinguished family, so as to support the Duke of Suguo's household in the future! Unfortunately, those whom the Duke of Suguo's household looked up to did not look favorably upon them in return. After years of picking and choosing, Noble Lady Xi's marriage was delayed, and in the end, entering the palace became the best option. Originally, Noble Lady Xi was unwilling to enter the palace. First, she was unwilling to be a concubine, subordinate to the Empress. Second, she knew that the Duke of Suguo's household had declined, and even if they sent her into the palace, she would not receive a high rank. An Imperial Concubine position might be considered a high rank for Selection Candidates. But how could Noble Lady Xi, who had once looked down even on princesses, be content with that? Yet she could not defy her family's decision! Hearing Noble Lady Xi's inner resentment and unwillingness, Consort Jingshu sighed: "Even so, you have a prince, you have become a Chongrong, and the Duke of Suguo's household is flourishing—this is precisely a time of promising future..." "But I cannot let it go!" Noble Lady Xi roared. "I once thought of marrying a good man of equal standing, bearing children, managing the household—I didn't even ask for perfect harmony between husband and wife, just mutual respect and understanding... With my abilities, I could still support the Duke's household!" "Now outsiders say I have become one of the Nine Concubines, with a prince by my side, and count me as a blessed woman. But living deep in the palace, without the Emperor's affection, being ignored, being looked down upon, never seeing an end to these days—I have had enough!" Noble Lady Xi shouted hysterically, then looked at Consort Jingshu with a mocking smile. "Have you never resented or hated?" "With your appearance marred, rarely earning a glance from the Emperor in this lifetime, and even your son not being your own—feeling the cold pillow beside you every night, tell me you have never regretted it?!" "Tell me you wanted this kind of life?!" "I am only twenty-three. I do not want to live this kind of life for the rest of my days!" The husband she wanted to marry would either give her respect and affection, or give her power and status. If she could have neither, then what was she living for in this life?! Where was she supposed to put the pride that had been cultivated in her all those years?!