farming girl revenge to become noble consort

Cough, cough, cough

Xi Que pushed open the door to the room assigned to her by the eunuch and was immediately caught in a fit of coughing from the dust

The eunuch guarding the Palace of Exile came over with a bucket of water obsequiously, "Oh dear Lady Xi Que, please step back, you mustn't trouble yourself with such menial tasks. This humble servant Xiao Xuanzi will clean it up right away

Jiang Xinyue took two steps back to avoid getting her clothes soiled by the dust, for if nothing went amiss, she would be wearing this outfit for a long time

She took a few broken silver pieces from her sleeve and gave Xiao Xuanzi a sweet smile, "Xiao Xuanzi, you give me too much credit. We are both servants attending to our master. There is no high or low, noble or base. Thank you for your hard work. Let us quickly clean up so our master may move in

Xiao Xuanzi was stunned as he accepted the reward, and under Jiang Xinyue's gentle smile, he joined Xi Que in cleaning the room

To be honest, he only tried to curry favor with Consort Zhen in front of the various imperial consorts to gain some benefits

He had expected the ladies demoted to the Palace of Exile to arrive haughty and arrogant, looking down upon him at first

They would either beat him, scold him, or verbally abuse him as a dog of a servant, which he was long accustomed to

In the end, those ladies would either go mad or die, kneeling at his feet begging him to seek the Emperor's pardon

He had seen all manner of human nature

But never before had a lady treated him with such evenness, gentleness, and warmth as Consort Zhen

Even her palace maids were courteous, showing no disdain for him as a eunuch of the Palace of Exile

Now he understood why even the Empress and other consorts had come to bid farewell to Consort Zhen

Who would not adore such a disposition

There was little to clean, just some dusting and sweeping

The rooms of the Palace of Exile were bare, containing only a bed, a table, and two stools

The bed was nothing but bare boards with not even proper bedding

Xiao Xuanzi laughed awkwardly, "My lady, the Internal Affairs Department rarely sends provisions to the Palace of Exile, maybe two or three times a year

In other words, the provisions meant for the Palace of Exile were likely being pocketed by corrupt officials

Jiang Xinyue nodded, "Then please trouble Xiao Xuanzi to make another trip to the Internal Affairs Department. I will have Xi Que write you a list of what I need. Do you have any paper and ink

"Yes, yes, yes

Xiao Xuanzi did not expect the Internal Affairs Department to provide, but he clung to a slim hope

What if they did

Then he would have done a service for Consort Zhen

At Changxin Palace

In the evening, Concubine Li indeed came down with a high fever. The Xuanwu Emperor personally wiped the sweat from her brow, attending to her until late into the night before her condition finally improved

The Emperor had not eaten all day

Although Xia He had been slapped, the Emperor had already demoted Consort Zhen to the Palace of Exile, so she bore no resentment toward him. Instead, she could not help but advise, "If the Consort knew how worried the Emperor is about her health, she would surely wake up soon. Please take care of your imperial body as well, Your Majesty, lest the Consort be saddened upon learning of your distress

The Xuanwu Emperor stood up but was momentarily dizzy, fortunately Wang Dequan supported him. Xia He was startled and nearly reached out to help before retracting her hands

The emperor looked haggard, "We shall return to Chengqian Palace to dine first, then come back later. Take good care of the Consort, the imperial physicians are waiting outside. Summon Us if anything arises."0

Xia He nodded, "This servant will see Your Majesty off.

After leaving Changxin Palace, the weariness on the Emperor's face vanished, and his steps quickened, "Zhen Fang... Did Consort Zhen go to the Palace of Exile

Wang Dequan had to jog to keep up, "In response to Your Majesty, she went there this afternoon

The Emperor's footsteps faltered for a moment, and the atmosphere grew quiet

Wang Dequan carefully studied his expression, gauging the Emperor's thoughts, "Consort Zhen comes from a scholarly family and likely never experienced such hardship growing up. The Palace of Exile is dilapidated. Should this servant arrange for the Internal Affairs Department to prepare it properly

In truth, the Emperor had already investigated Consort Zhen's background. Although from a scholarly family, she was the daughter of a concubine, and her birth mother had been a famous dancer in the mansion of the Marquis of Ruyang of rather lowly origins

Consort Zhen was not valued by the Vice Minister of Rites as a child, and her official mother viewed her birth mother as a thorn in her side, constantly mistreating the two

This abusive life continued until Consort Zhen was eleven and her extraordinary beauty blossomed, finally improving their circumstances

The Vice Minister of Rites had sent her to the palace to pave the way for his official daughter Jiang Yutong to gain the Emperor's favor

"As you see fit.

The Emperor's reply indicated to Wang Dequan that he still cared for Consort Zhen

He wondered if the Vice Minister of Rites regretted using his lowborn daughter as a stepping stone, only for her to capture the Emperor's heart while his official daughter met an early grave, her prime years buried within the depths of the palace

When Xiao Xuanzi returned to the Palace of Exile, he was dumbfounded

Never had he imagined a day when he could command the officials of the Internal Affairs Department who typically looked down on everyone

Yet they politely brought everything Consort Zhen requested

A wooden bed frame, gauze canopy, dressing table, charcoal brazier, wardrobes, folding screens, bathtub, and all necessary living provisions were delivered in full

The cold, bare room was instantly filled to the brim with furnishings, taking on the semblance of a lady's chambers

Xiao Xuanzi was in awe of Jiang Xinyue

At the first light of dawn, Concubine Li groggily awoke from her unconscious state to find the Xuanwu Emperor dozing at her bedside

"Your... cough, cough

She managed to utter one word before her hoarse throat failed her, coughing heavily twice to clear the obstruction

The Emperor instantly woke, "My love, you're awake

Concubine Li closed her eyes and sat up with the Emperor's assistance, "Your Majesty, what happened to this concubine

The Emperor instructed Qing He to bring warm nourishing porridge, "My love fell into the water and lost consciousness, giving Us quite a fright

Concubine Li seemed to recall and embraced the Emperor's waist, tears streaming down, "This concubine... thought she would never see Your Majesty again

"Silly girl, how could that be

The Xuanwu Emperor patted her back, "We would never let any harm come to you

He took the porridge from Xia He, blew on a spoonful to cool it, and fed it to Concubine Li, "You were unconscious for over a day without a single grain of rice. Quickly drink this porridge

Gazing across the entire imperial harem, the only consort who could make the Emperor stay with her for an entire night, and personally feed her porridge, was Consort Jiang

That Xi Que... oh no... even if Consort Zhen was favored, she could not compare to the preciousness of Consort Jiang's little finger

In the Xihuo Palace, Consort Jiang let out a hearty laugh: "Tomorrow, shall we go visit Consort Zhen in the Palace of Exile? After all, we are like sisters; we cannot let her be disheartened, can we

She did not yet know that Jiang Xinyue had not neglected herself even in the Palace of Exile