THE IMPERIAL CONSORT'S RISE TO POWER

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Translator's note: Finally there are advance chapters availaible on Kofi

Chapter 92

Gu Han looked up in a daze. The Emperor at the head seat was looking in her direction. Liu An stood respectfully beside her:

"Noble Lady Zhao, His Majesty has sent this servant to invite you over."

Noble Lady Lin cast her an envious glance. Under many such gazes, Gu Han was helped up by Jiu Nian and walked toward the head seat. She bowed slightly, seeming somewhat nervous:

"Your Majesty."

Lu Yu pointed to the seat beside him, telling her to sit.

Gu Han didn't decline but was still puzzled: "Is it appropriate for me to sit here?"

Gu Han glanced at the Xiūyís and Xiūróngs who were casting appraising looks her way, including Yè Xiūróng. Though they were currently out of favor, their ranks were still higher than Gu Han's. For her to leap ahead and sit before all the Xiūyís and Xiūróngs was indeed somewhat against protocol.

Below, the Marchioness saw Noble Lady Zhao receiving such favor and dealt with the flattery from the surrounding madams, but her eyes kept looking toward Noble Lady Zhao, full of unstoppable worry.

Closer now, Lu Yu could see more clearly, the woman's eyes were indeed somewhat red. He frowned:

"There's nothing improper. Just sit down and be at ease."

The Emperor's word was law. She had already declined once, but the Emperor still told her to sit. Gu Han could only accept with peace of mind. Palace servants hurriedly brought tea, fruit, and pastries, with expensive lychees arranged on a plate.

Knowing her preferences, Jiu Nian knelt down to peel the lychee flesh for her. In low spirits, Gu Han only ate two or three before waving them away.

Lu Yu glanced at her and asked, seemingly casually:

"Who has made you unhappy?"

Gu Han was confused and shook her head, not understanding.

Lu Yu stopped beating around the bush and asked directly: "Since no one has offended you, why do you look so downcast?"

He glanced toward where Gu Han had been sitting originally and repeated:

"If someone truly has affronted you, I will naturally handle it for you."

Only then did Gu Han realize why the Emperor had moved her seat. She said with a mixture of tears and laughter:

"Your Majesty misunderstands. I haven't had any conflict with anyone, I was just speaking with Mother earlier."

Lu Yu paused, uncomfortably lifting his cup to drink some wine. The woman beside him smiled at this misunderstanding, her almond eyes containing a light, gentle laugh like scattered stars. She raised her cup toward him:

"I substitute soup for wine to thank Your Majesty for your concern."

The latter half of her sentence seemed to roll around her lips and tongue several times before being spoken, indescribably soft and tender, as if containing endless affection. Lu Yu's throat tightened slightly. After a long moment, he somehow shook his head and raised his wine cup with dark eyes, draining it in one gulp.

Consort Shu sat to the side, watching the entire interaction between the Emperor and Noble Lady Zhao. She gripped the cup in her hand tightly. At this moment, she suddenly understood the Empress's feelings somewhat.

Clearly sitting shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor, yet having to watch helplessly as he bestowed his favor on other consorts, jealousy and rationality constantly pulling at each other, tormenting her day and night. No wonder when she looked at the Emperor, she could never muster any expectation.

No matter how deep the affection, it would be completely consumed by such torment.

Outside, daylight gradually darkened. Lotus lanterns were lit one by one. Gu Han leaned forward, and seeing this, Lu Yu also leaned in, listening as the woman bent to his ear and asked softly: "During our time at the vacation palace, may I have Mother come to Yuqing Court to keep me company?"

Whether it was the excellent atmosphere on the pleasure boat or the wine being too intoxicating, Lu Yu felt that today every word the woman spoke seemed to carry a hook, making him somewhat restless. He hadn't really heard what she said clearly, his gaze lingering imperceptibly on the woman's lower abdomen.

That area was slightly rounded, showing her pregnancy somewhat. This not-so-obvious bulge pulled Lu Yu's rationality back a bit. He withdrew his gaze, lifting his cup to take a sip of wine as if to cover his reaction, and replied distractedly:

"If it can make you happy, having the Marchioness accompany you daily is not impossible."

Gu Han looked at him strangely. The Emperor had not put down his cup all day, could the wine at the vacation palace be better than that in the palace?

But Lu Yu's answer quickly made her forget about this. Her almond eyes curved with joy, and just as she was about to thank the Emperor, she saw him avoid her gaze and even scold her:

"Sit properly."

His mood changed so quickly that Gu Han was somewhat bewildered.

Consort Shu composed her emotions and said with a hint of complaint: "What secrets is Your Majesty whispering to Noble Lady Zhao that you won't spare me even half your attention?"

On the surface, Consort Shu was still the first lady of the harem after the Empress. Being favored, she had always appeared arrogant and willful in others' eyes. Nothing she did seemed strange, and such jealous pettiness was perfectly normal.

Lu Yu didn't raise his eyes, his expression unchanged as if teasing:

"The pleasure boat is swaying, and she keeps moving about carelessly without fear of falling. I merely scolded her. Must you take issue with even this?"

Noble Consort Shu covered her mouth: "Your Majesty is clearly worried about Noble Lady Zhao and is just saying these things to placate me."

Just as her words fell, the pleasure boat truly shook violently. Caught off guard, Gu Han pitched forward. The table was very low, just at the height of her abdomen.

Lu Yu's heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment. His mind went blank, and he didn't even know what he had done. When he came to his senses, he had already caught Gu Han in his arms, preventing her abdomen from colliding with the table.

The pleasure boat fell into some disorder from this accident. Lu Yu frowned at the woman in his arms:

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Still shaken, Gu Han clutched his robe, her face deathly pale, one hand pressed to her chest. Her heart was beating violently. After a long while, she finally came to her senses enough to say: "I'm fine. Was Your Majesty injured?"

Lu Yu moved the hand that had caught her behind his back, saying as if nothing had happened:

"I'm fine."

But Liu An, behind Lu Yu, saw clearly, the Emperor's hand had been struck by the table and was bruised. As his sleeve slid down, it happened to conceal the bruise.

On the other side, Consort Shu was helped up by Ya Luo. She looked somewhat dazedly at the Emperor, feeling pain in her palm.

The accident happened too suddenly. The instant the pleasure boat swayed, she had turned to look at the Emperor, not noticing that her cup had fallen and shattered into several pieces. In her urgency, she had pressed down on the broken shards. Only now did she feel something sticky and wet in her palm.

When she came to her senses, she saw the Emperor comforting Noble Lady Zhao, then turning to berate the palace servants angrily:

"What happened?!"

Noble Lady Zhao was clearly frightened, lying motionless in the Emperor's arms. Consort Shu only felt the scene before her eyes was particularly painful to watch. She couldn't help thinking, in the past years, whenever the Empress could only watch her being triumphantly protected in the Emperor's embrace, was her mood the same as hers now?

No wonder the Empress, even knowing she was merely a shield the Emperor had erected in the harem, still resented her deeply.

Consort Shu barely withdrew her gaze, involuntarily clenching her palm. Ya Luo cried out in alarm: "Your Ladyship's hand?!"

Lu Yu's attention was drawn by the commotion. He looked up and noticed the crimson drops falling from Consort Shu's hand. His expression immediately changed:

"Where's the physician!"

Lu Yu released Gu Han and stood in the middle. He glanced coldly at Consort Shu's hand, his expression dark for a moment. No one knew what he was thinking at that instant. Consort Shu had long since regained her composure. She glanced at her hand, then raised her eyes and said:

"It's just a minor injury. Your Majesty needn't worry."

Gu Han carefully observed Consort Shu's expression. She smiled brightly, seemingly completely unaffected by the injury to her palm. Gu Han's eyelashes trembled imperceptibly. But the calmer Consort Shu appeared, the more wrong it seemed.

She was the Emperor's favored consort, usually accustomed to luxury and delicacy. Now that she was injured, how could she not show even a trace of vulnerability?

This could only mean one thing, Consort Shu's heart was in turmoil.

The Empress's words from that day of morning greetings floated back into her mind. Gu Han barely lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions in them, shocked beyond measure by that guess.

Could Consort Shu truly have developed feelings for the Emperor?

The pleasure boat had physicians on standby. The physician arrived quickly and, after cleaning Consort Shu's wound, breathed a sigh of relief and reported:

"Your Majesty, Consort Shu's injury is not serious. Some medicine will suffice."

During this delay, the helmsman came in drenched in sweat and dropped to his knees with a thud:

"Your Majesty, forgive us! A corpse floated up in the lake ahead. We servants were frightened and momentarily lost control. Please forgive us, Your Majesty!"

At the mention of a corpse, the pleasure boat immediately erupted in an uproar.

What ill fortune had befallen Panting Lake that people kept drowning in it for days on end?

Gu Han immediately looked back at the Emperor and indeed saw his expression darken. Feeling that troubles were coming one after another, she pressed her slightly dry lips tight, suppressing the constant nausea in her stomach.

The pleasure boat docked at the shore. The group disembarked, and the body was fished out and carried to the bank.

Lanterns hung from the tree branches, originally meant for illumination, but now also allowing everyone to see the corpse's appearance clearly. Dressed as a palace maid, no one knew how long she'd been soaking in the lake. Her entire body was bloated white, her limbs swollen beyond recognition, with a faint, unpleasant odor spreading.

Retching sounds continuously rose around them. Gu Han gripped Jiu Nian's wrist tightly. Finally, she turned her back to the crowd, walked a few quick steps, and bent over to dry heave while covering her mouth.

Lu Yu looked toward her and saw her leaning in Jiu Nian's embrace, far from the corpse. He immediately ordered someone to cover the body.

As the servants moved, the corpse's arm fell from the stretcher, and a silver bracelet on the wrist caught everyone's eye. Jiu Nian suddenly cried out, and realizing her impropriety, immediately lowered her head and swallowed her voice.

But even so, Gu Han heard the commotion. She looked up at Jiu Nian in confusion.

Jiu Nian lowered her voice, disbelieving:

"That's Jiang Zi."

Jiang Zi, Song Baolin's personal maid.

Jiu Nian thought of something and was about to look in a certain direction when Gu Han grabbed her wrist. Jiu Nian immediately understood and barely lowered her head.

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Author's Note:

Kunning Palace: Empress

Yi'an Palace: Consort Shu

Xianleng Palace: Imperial Consort De

Zhaoyang Palace → Main Hall: Xiuyi He

Zhaoyang Palace → Side Hall: Rong Baolin

Yihe Palace → Changchun Pavilion: Female Lead

Rongcui Hall: Beauty Miao

Cuizhu Pavilion: Beauty Lin

Changning Courtyard: Zhou Meiren

Hanleng Palace → (Main Hall transferred to Side Hall): Talented Lady Yuan

Also appearing: Noble Lady Lin, Liu Baolin

Here are the ranks of imperial consorts:

- Empress (皇后 Huánghoù) — Head of the Imperial Harem

- Imperial Noble Consort (皇贵妃 Huáng Guìfēi) — Rank 1

- Noble Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort, Worthy Consort (贵妃、淑妃、德妃、贤妃 Guìfēi, Shūfēi, Défēi, Xiánfēi)** — Senior Rank 1 (The Four Consorts, with Noble Consort as the highest)

- Consort (妃 Fēi) — Junior Rank 2

- Bright Deportment, Bright Countenance (昭仪、昭容 Zhāoyí, Zhāoróng) — Senior Rank 3

- Cultivated Deportment, Cultivated Countenance (修仪、修容 Xiūyí, Xiūróng) — Junior Rank 3

- Noble Lady (贵嫔 Guìpín) — Senior Rank 4

- Imperial Concubine (嫔 Pín) — Junior Rank 4

- Beauty (美人 Měirén) — Senior Rank 5

- Talented Lady (才人 Cáirén) — Junior Rank 5

- Precious Grove (宝林 Bǎolín) — Senior Rank 6

- Imperial Woman (御女 Yùnǚ) — Junior Rank 6

- Palace Maid (宫女子 Gōngnǚzǐ) — Senior Rank 7

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