Chapter 470

Chapter 470 Fangse was Concubine Yun's personal maidservant. As soon as Concubine Yun entered the household, the Princess Consort assigned her to serve. Through their long days together, Fangse became the head maidservant Concubine Yun trusted most. Recently, Concubine Yun's worries had grown heavier by the day. Fangse was anxious and heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do. Her mistress being pregnant should have been a joyous occasion. But ever since her mistress became pregnant, the Prince rarely visited her courtyard and never once mentioned promoting her rank. Her mistress could not help but fret. The household rules allowed for one Principal Consort, two Side Consorts, and four Concubine Consorts. Her mistress's status was lowly—even after giving birth to Princess Ruyi, she remained only a concubine. Now that she was pregnant again, she could only hope to be promoted to Concubine Consort. The Princess Consort's position in the household was secure, so her mistress dared not hope for the rank of Side Consort. But the position of Concubine Consort was worth fighting for. Yet there were only four Concubine Consort positions. The household already had Concubine Ning, and the newly arrived Concubine Fang and Concubine Xie were quite favored by the Prince. The Noble Consort in the palace was also about to bestow two Ladies of Beauty, who would surely be treated as Concubine Consorts. With only four Concubine Consort positions—one radish, one hole—once they were filled, no matter how favored those below were, the Prince would not break the rules to promote them beyond the norm. Her mistress had pride and refused to live as a lowly concubine forever, so she intended to gamble with the child in her belly. Fangse naturally disapproved. But she was only a maidservant. She could advise, but she could not stop her mistress's decision. Who would have thought Concubine Ning's heart was so cruel? She added a large amount of safflower to her mistress's pregnancy-preserving medicine, nearly costing her mistress her life. Fortunately, Concubine Fang had sent over a century-old ginseng in time, barely saving her life. In that ordeal, the little master in her belly was lost, and her mistress's body suffered severe damage—she would likely find it difficult to conceive again. Still, her mistress successfully earned promotion to Concubine Consort. Having followed her mistress for so long, Fangse naturally knew her mistress was not a good person. But in this rear courtyard, to live well and to be favored, one could not afford to be good. Concubine Fang and Concubine Xie in the household had both given birth one after another and both been promoted to Concubine Consort. Her mistress had interfered in both their deliveries, nearly costing them their lives. Fangse did not understand her mistress's intentions and grew uneasy day by day. No matter how secretive her mistress's methods, could she truly hide them from everyone's eyes and ears? Especially the Prince... who had never been one to feign deafness or blindness. She did not understand her mistress's ambition, nor her repeated schemes. After a long while, she could only sigh: "Why bother?" Sure enough, the Prince sensed something amiss and showed no intention of giving her mistress a way out. Her mistress knew it too, sensing her death was near, and wanted to push Fangcao to serve the Prince. Fangcao had received her mistress's kindness and would surely be loyal to her. Fangcao's features also bore some resemblance to Consort Fang and Concubine Xie. If she truly served the Prince and became a concubine, she would certainly vex Concubine Xie and Consort Fang. Moreover, Fangcao had been rescued from a brothel by her mistress and had just been forced to drink safflower—she could not bear children. Her mistress had calculated everything, except she could not calculate the Prince's intentions. That night, the Prince refused her mistress's offer of Fangcao's service and, with a casual gesture, pointed to Fangse instead. Fangse was instantly lost and at a loss. But her mistress hesitated only a moment before agreeing. She seemed to have guessed something, tightly gripping Fangse's hand and telling her: "When there is no other choice, you may tell the Prince everything, expose me to save your own life." Fangse instinctively refused, but her mistress said: "You must do this!" "For me, and for Ruyi." In that instant, her mistress's face took on an unnatural pallor, as if all her vitality had been drained in a moment. It was a long while before she recovered. Fangse accepted with tears in her eyes: "This servant obeys." Concubine Yun stroked Fangse's hand and instructed with deep earnestness: "From today onward, you are the Prince's woman." "Serve the Prince well. In all things... put the Prince first." After that day, Fangse became Concubine Fang and moved into the Fangfei Pavilion.