Truly, the domineering son inherits the domineering mother’s flair—what domineering behavior through and through!

Grinding her teeth, Hua Chun suppressed her temper and nodded. “This concubine won’t take it to heart.”

Yuwen Jie paused, his gaze wandering over her face, then extended a slender finger and poked her puffed-out cheek.

“Is that what not taking it to heart looks like?”

Swatting his hand away with a claw-like gesture, Hua Chun wriggled free and jumped down from his lap, then set about tidying up the memorials on the table. “Boss, let’s settle up—it’s two hundred today too.”

“You’re so vulgar.” Wrinkling his nose, Yuwen Jie handed her two hundred-tael banknotes.

What was wrong with being vulgar? Taking the notes, she bowed and turned to leave. Having money was what really mattered—when angry, at least she could go spend some to blow off steam. There was nothing else she could really demand of him anyway, so she might as well fall headlong into the money pit and stay there.

“Hua Chun.” Just as she was about to walk out the door, Yuwen Jie called out after all.

Her steps paused, and she turned back, looking at him expressionlessly.

The sovereign pressed his lips together, deliberating for a moment before saying something with rather deep implications. “In this palace, you can’t afford to be angry over everything. Some matters are better left until the outcome is known before you get upset.”

Hua Chun frowned and gave a cold laugh. “So you mean this concubine should wait until the child’s first-month celebration before getting angry? That’s quite the nerve.”

Closing his mouth and saying no more, Yuwen Jie simply sat at the head of the room and watched her storm off with a flick of her sleeves.

“Mistress?” Qing Niao was waiting outside; seeing her come out, she hurried to catch up. “Is it true or false that Consort Huo is pregnant?”

“True,” Hua Chun said irritably. “Eunuch Qin already reported it to His Majesty, meaning the imperial physicians have confirmed it.”

Qing Niao frowned. “By rights, Consort Huo has been in the palace for some time now, so getting pregnant isn’t really strange. It’s just… this palace is about to get lively.”

“Who cares.” Hua Chun felt stifled inside; she pulled out a banknote and stuffed it into Qing Niao’s hand. “Go find a way to buy some food. Let’s shut ourselves in Yangxin Hall and eat to our hearts’ content!”

“This—” Glancing at her, Qing Niao said quietly, “It’s easy to gain weight that way.”

“Isn’t eating meant to put on flesh anyway?” Hua Chun glared. “Otherwise it’d all be wasted!”

Seemingly unable to argue with that, Qing Niao fell silent, then nodded.

News of Consort Huo’s pregnancy quickly reached the Empress Dowager, who valued the imperial bloodline above all else. She personally rode over to Yongfu Hall at once, and after having the elderly imperial physician diagnose her again, happily bestowed on her the rank of Noble Consort and had her moved back to Wanbao Palace.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Under the envious gazes of the whole room, Huo Xianrou smiled with her face flushed pink, both hands cupping her belly as though guarding a treasure.

“This old one is delighted today—extra dishes for every palace!” the Empress Dowager said with a beaming smile. “This evening we’ll go to Furong Palace to watch opera. Let everyone share in the joy!”

“Yes.” Everyone forced smiles in response; Consort Shu stood off to the side too, head lowered.

Huo Xianrou wasn’t foolish—she knew that the moment she became pregnant, she’d become a target for envy from all sides, so she clung tightly to the Empress Dowager, counting on the Dowager’s devotion to the imperial bloodline to ensure she’d be treated well and protected.

She’d found the right patron. The Empress Dowager not only granted her a rank and a palace, but even added two strong, capable maidservants to guard her, so that no one could get near her.

Yangxin Hall naturally also received an invitation to the evening opera. Hua Chun let out a satisfied burp and muttered, “Don’t want to go.”

“Mistress.” Qing Niao tried to persuade her. “This is a matter of the Empress Dowager’s face—there’s no way you can refuse. Besides… quite a few people are probably waiting to see how you react. If you seem petty about it, you might displease the Empress Dowager.”

That was true. At the very least, she was a “former favorite,” and now that someone else was pregnant, she ought to at least put on a show of graciousness and offer congratulations, if only to avoid suspicion of harboring ill will toward the imperial offspring.

Sighing, Hua Chun resigned herself to getting up, patted her round, well-fed belly, changed into palace attire, and had Rui’er style her hair into an elaborate updo.

Although it was just an opera stage the Empress Dowager had casually ordered set up, quite a number of people in the rear palace would be attending, and even the Emperor would be there, which instantly raised the stakes. The various out-of-favor consorts and concubines all vied to compete for attention before the Emperor, so naturally they put a great deal of thought into their appearances.

By evening, Hua Chun thought the towering “flying immortal” updo Rui’er had styled for her was already quite extravagant, but she hadn’t expected that once out on the palace path, everyone around her had even more exaggerated hairstyles. The fake hairpieces piled up so high no one seemed to mind the weight, gold and silver ornaments crammed onto every head, and the strangest sight of all was someone with a single chrysanthemum stuck right on top—from a distance, the whole scene looked oddly beautiful.

Hua Chun grabbed Qing Niao’s hand, her feelings mixed. “I’m a little nervous.”

Qing Niao looked at her, puzzled. “What are you nervous about? When we’re seated by rank, you won’t even be anywhere near His Majesty or the Empress Dowager.”

“No.” Hua Chun looked ahead at the several ladies’ hairstyles with a grave expression. “I’m worried that if theirs isn’t tied on securely, it’ll come crashing down and hit me.”

Blinking, Qing Niao looked and had to admit that with hairstyles piled that high, if one did topple over, it really could hit whoever was standing nearby—though…

“Don’t worry, that thing on your own head could double as a safety helmet.”

Huh? Good point. Hua Chun nodded, suddenly feeling reassured, patted her own head, and continued following the crowd toward Furong Palace.

Tonight’s star, naturally, was Noble Consort Huo, striking in palace robes of alternating yellow and green, wearing the jade jewelry the Empress Dowager had just bestowed on her—said to be good for the fetus—her face lit with a smile brighter than the stage lights themselves.

Hua Chun sat far off, glancing around at the mostly unfamiliar faces; a few people nodded politely to her in greeting, and she nodded back in kind. The sovereign and the Empress Dowager had both arrived, sitting together chatting; the Dowager would glance fondly at Consort Huo every couple of sentences, and the Emperor would nod along too—the mood was excellent.

“Has Your Ladyship also gotten a taste of what it’s like to be left out in the cold?” someone beside her turned and said. “If you were still in favor, you’d surely be seated beside the Emperor as well.”

She didn’t recognize the speaker and couldn’t be bothered to make her acquaintance, so she simply nodded along perfunctorily.

The woman turned out to be quite the talker and rambled on. “Whoever the Emperor favors is the happiest person under heaven. But the coldness that follows that happiness—not everyone can bear it. There are plenty of madwomen in the cold palace, and many of them were driven there by the Emperor himself.”

Oh? Hua Chun raised an eyebrow, finally sparing her a glance. “That bad?”

“I wouldn’t dare say this to just anyone, but telling you should be fine,” the woman said in a low voice. “The higher you climb, the harder you fall. I’ve never gone through it myself, but as an outside observer, in all these years, no one in the rear palace has ever successfully risen to the position of Empress—and that’s not without reason.”

Was she implying the Emperor was heartless? Hua Chun shrugged. Yuwen Jie was simply that sort of person—she’d more or less seen through him not long after entering the palace. There was no such thing as genuine affection from him. Still, being favored by him truly did feel wonderful, which was no wonder so many women fought tooth and nail over it.

The show began. Noble Consort Huo sat right beside the Emperor, reaching for pastries on the low table, chatting quietly with him as she ate.

“Your Ladyship!”

Halfway through the show, as the tea was being changed, a palace maid suddenly screamed.

Hua Chun, who’d been dozing off, was jolted awake and looked up in a daze to see a crowd rushing toward Noble Consort Huo’s seat, followed by the Empress Dowager’s furious shout: “Such audacity!”

“What happened?” Hua Chun tugged the sleeve of the person next to her, asking curiously.

“I’ll go take a look.” The person beside her darted off into the crowd like a shot.

Hua Chun watched as everyone began rising to leave, and saw the Emperor supporting Noble Consort Huo with both hands, treating her like a treasure, not letting go the entire way.

“Guess who’s in trouble today?” The gossip-loving woman shot back over just as fast, her big eyes wide, asking with gleeful anticipation of shared schadenfreude.

In trouble? Hua Chun was puzzled. “Why would anyone be in trouble?”

“Noble Consort Huo is pregnant and very particular about what she eats. Just now a maid brought over a plate of melon seed pastries, and luckily one of Noble Consort Huo’s own maids stopped her in time—Noble Consort Huo is allergic to melon seeds, and eating them could have been disastrous.”

I see, Hua Chun nodded. “Just an accident, then. Why would that get someone in trouble?”

“The maid who brought the melon seed pastries was from Worthy Consort Xi’s palace.” She said this last bit, then gave Hua Chun a meaningful look, hoping to strike a chord and share in the schadenfreude together.

But Hua Chun still looked puzzled, failing to grasp the point of her excitement, and simply said “Oh” before standing up and leaving with Qing Niao.

“We were too far to see clearly what happened—missed a good show,” Qing Niao sighed. “Noble Consort Huo is precious as gold now, and no one dares touch her. Did you see the Empress Dowager’s expression just now? Worthy Consort Xi is probably in for punishment.”

Hua Chun thought about it and found it strange. “Wasn’t Worthy Consort Xi in the same boat as Noble Consort Huo? Why would she suddenly want to go for broke like that?”

“Who knows,” Qing Niao said. “There are no permanent friends in the rear palace, only permanent interests.”

Shrugging, Hua Chun suddenly felt a bit grateful to just be an outsider looking in. Given the way things were heading, this group of women wasn’t going to settle down anytime soon.

After returning to her palace, Noble Consort Huo began complaining of feeling unwell, which frightened the Empress Dowager into having the physicians brew medicine at once, and also had Worthy Consort Xi punished with a month of wall-facing reflection and all her stipend withheld, to appease Noble Consort Huo.

“Worthy Consort Xi surely didn’t do it on purpose, did she?” Hua Xunyue frowned. “She probably just saw something tasty and wanted to share it with Noble Consort Huo.”

“No need to say more,” the Empress Dowager said. “Just do as this old one instructs.”

She had once failed to protect her own grandchild still in the womb, letting harm come to it, and now the current Empress Dowager wished she could grant Noble Consort Huo every possible protection—making it plainly clear that whoever crossed her would face death, even the slightest ill intent unacceptable. Only this way could she guarantee her imperial grandchild’s safety.

Huo Xianrou had originally wanted to speak up for Worthy Consort Xi, but on reflection, she wasn’t even sure whether the melon seed pastries had truly been Worthy Consort Xi’s doing or not—alliances between women were far too fragile. Since the Empress Dowager was protecting her so fiercely, she decided to focus on nurturing her pregnancy in peace and let the rest go.

Hua Xunyue withdrew and sent someone to inform Worthy Consort Xi of the situation.

Worthy Consort Xi’s eyes turned red with fury. “That maid wasn’t sent by me.”

“There’s no use saying that now,” Attendant Xu frowned. “The Empress Dowager won’t listen. Anyone who poses a threat to Noble Consort Huo, the Empress Dowager will show no mercy toward.”

“Huo Xianrou clearly knows this concubine was wronged, and yet she didn’t even speak up for me?” Worthy Consort Xi said, mildly irritated.

Attendant Xu sneered. “Have you still not seen through that person? She’s clearly the type to side with whoever’s winning. Now that she’s risen to such heights overnight, why would she still remember any old favor owed to you?”

“What an ingrate!” Slamming her hand on the table, Worthy Consort Xi said, “If that’s how she wants it, then she can forget about ever getting this concubine’s help again!”

“Do calm yourself.” Attendant Xu sighed.

In this palace, whoever carried a child in her belly was the one who called the shots—no matter how much resentment there was, no one could touch Noble Consort Huo now.

The Emperor spent that night at Noble Consort Huo’s palace again. Hua Chun lay in bed, watching the shadows of trees cast by the moonlight on the window, lost in thought, when the shadows were suddenly disrupted by a soft thump—someone had climbed in through the window again, panting as they collapsed beside her.

Used to it by now, Hua Chun didn’t even have the energy to ask why he kept doing this. She shifted over to make space for him, then turned and went back to sleep facing the inner wall.

Yuwen Jie, breathless from running, took a while to calm down before reaching out to embrace her from behind.

A warmth spread across her back, and Hua Chun inexplicably felt a slight sting in her nose, but she still gritted her teeth and said nothing.

This man was probably just trying to win her over, wanting her to keep serving him, so every time he dealt her a blow, he’d offer some small comfort afterward, soothing her to keep her from having any thoughts of leaving.

But what was the point of this kind of deliberate comforting, really?

Shifting slightly, Hua Chun hugged the blanket and buried her face, falling into a deep sleep.

The person behind her tucked the corner of the blanket around her properly, held her fully in his arms, and without another word, also fell peacefully asleep.

The next day, Hua Chun went to Zichen Hall as usual to revise memorials, and the Emperor went as usual to keep Noble Consort Huo company.

“Consort Hua.”

He Chang’an looked at her, his eyes full of concern. “How have you been lately?”

Slightly startled, Hua Chun quickly looked up and smiled at him. “I’ve been fine.”

His gaze darkened, and He Chang’an said, “I heard Noble Consort Huo is pregnant.”

“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded, still looking at the memorial in her hands. “It’s good news.”

Walking over to sit in a nearby chair, He Chang’an sighed. “The palace has gone a long time without news of an heir. It’s good this way—it’ll set many minds at court at ease. The Huo family isn’t a particularly powerful clan either, so there’s no great threat there.”

“Mm.”

“Oh, right. Madam Wan asked me to bring this to you, my lady.” Reaching into his robe, He Chang’an pulled out a small packet of dried fish and looked at her gently. “She worries about you a great deal, but I told her you’d surely be doing just fine.”

Her eyes brightening slightly, Hua Chun took the paper packet from him and opened it, and the familiar spicy fragrance wafted out at once.

“Ah, that’s the taste!” Feeling a little better, Hua Chun immediately popped one into her mouth, narrowing her eyes. “She’s still the one who dotes on me most.”

Not even bothering with chopsticks, He Chang’an watched her pinch out and eat most of the packet with just two fingers, then lick her fingers clean before wrapping up the rest. “I’ll save the leftovers for myself.”

“Seeing you like this makes me feel like the Emperor’s mistreating you in this palace,” He Chang’an said, pressing his lips together. “How long has it been since you’ve had meat?”

Hua Chun pouted. “There’s meat, just not that much of it, and it’s nowhere near as good as Mother’s cooking.”

“When you’re free to leave the palace again, Second Brother will treat you to something good,” He Chang’an said, looking at her with sympathy. “For now, just bear with it a little longer.”

“Thank you, Second Brother!” Smiling at him, Hua Chun picked up a memorial and began discussing business with him. “His Majesty’s a little busy. I can’t decide on all these matters alone—Second Brother, help me take a look.”