Yet instead, after all this time back at his fief, there had been no movement at all — quite the opposite, he was obediently reducing his troops. It felt just like letting a weasel into the henhouse, only for it to turn vegetarian instead.

No matter how she looked at it, something felt off.

Hua Chun thought it over and asked, “Does anyone report on the situation at the fief to His Majesty regularly?”

“Yes, once a season,” He Chang’an said. “The distance is great, so a lot of the news comes in delayed.”

There was no solving that problem — it wasn’t as though they could just invent a pager for them. Hua Chun shrugged. “We’ll just have to keep a closer watch. I can’t think of any other way either.”

He Chang’an lowered his eyes and gave a soft laugh. “You really ought to be enjoying a life of comfort and glory in the harem, yet His Majesty and I have both grown so used to consulting you on everything.”

“That’s a good thing,” Hua Chun said with a smile. “The capable shoulder more burdens, as they say. It proves that besides being a consort, I’ve got a side hustle too — double the social value.”

Talking in a way he couldn’t quite follow again, He Chang’an shook his head, his eyes full of doting affection.

“By the way, how’s my mother doing?” Hua Chun asked. “Has her house been arranged yet?”

“You don’t need to worry about it, I’ve taken care of everything,” He Chang’an said. “I found a quiet residence, with servants and everything provided. Madam Wan wouldn’t accept my gift outright, so it had to be given in your name instead, to help support her household.”

Nodding, Hua Chun got up and went to the inner chamber, took out a stack of banknotes hidden in her jewelry box, and brought them out, placing them into Marquis Gongyu’s hands. “This is my private savings. Please trouble you, Second Brother, to pass it along to Mother — it should be enough to support her for several years.”

He Chang’an raised an eyebrow and counted the stack — over a thousand taels.

“Where did you get all this money?”

Puffing out her chest, Hua Chun said with great pride, “Earned it from a side job.”

“A side job?” He Chang’an frowned. “Who’s been making you do manual labor?”

“Second Brother, please — what kind of manual labor pays this much silver?” Hua Chun said. “It’s from helping His Majesty review memorials — a reward from him.”

He Chang’an’s heart gave a small jolt, and he lowered his eyes.

Yuwen Jie, a man so stingy he never rewarded the harem, funneling every spare tael into the army instead — and yet he’d give her such a generous reward?

He’d heard from palace staff that the emperor had been neglecting Consort Hua, which was why he’d come to check on her — but instead she hadn’t lost any weight at all, had actually filled out a bit, looked to be in excellent spirits, and could even produce this much silver.

Where in any of this was there a hint of neglect?

“This subject will take good care of Madam Wan. Your Highness may rest at ease.” He rose and bowed, glanced at her a few more times, then took his leave from Yangxin Hall.

“Farewell, Second Brother.” Hua Chun saw him off, then turned to Qing Niao, smacking her lips. “I want some sour plums.”

“This servant will have someone fetch them right away,” Qing Niao nodded.

Walking down the palace path, He Chang’an made inquiries with the palace attendant leading the way. “How has Consort Hua been faring lately?”

“This… she’s doing quite well,” the attendant said in a low voice.

He Chang’an stopped in his tracks, grabbed the attendant, and said sternly, “Tell me the truth.”

Startled, the attendant hastily said, “Please don’t be angry, my lord. His Majesty has been busy with state affairs lately and hasn’t visited Yangxin Hall in quite some time. The most favored right now are Consort Wu and Noble Consort Xu — even Consort Shu hasn’t seen His Majesty in a while.”

Raising an eyebrow slightly, He Chang’an released him and continued walking.

So the outwardly cold Yuwen Jie perhaps wasn’t treating Hua Chun as badly as he’d thought — but rather… had been keeping her protected?

The safest person in the palace was the one who’d been set aside — posing no threat to anyone, and thus facing no danger. Was that how the emperor was thinking?

He pursed his lips and closed his eyes. If Yuwen Jie truly had that level of awareness, then he wouldn’t need to worry so much after all.

Yangxin Hall.

Hua Chun held a jar of sour plums, eating as she spoke. “Something feels off. I never used to like sour things much, but now I do — and my monthly courses, they haven’t come in over a month, have they?”

Qing Niao frowned, her expression turning serious. “Should we have the physician come take another look?”

“No need.” Waving a hand, Hua Chun narrowed her eyes. “I think this might be a trap!”

Huh? Qing Niao was stunned. “What kind of trap?”

Sitting up straight, Hua Chun said, “Learning from Noble Consort Huo’s cautionary example — what if someone’s got their eye on me, trying to make me believe I’m pregnant, so I’ll end up following in her footsteps!”

Qing Niao paused, then clapped her hands. “You truly are someone who’s watched a hundred and eighty TV dramas — your imagination… no, your vigilance is really something.”

“Right?” Hua Chun nodded. “The possibility is there, better safe than sorry. Besides, Physician Feng already said I’m not pregnant, and with someone as high-status as the head of the Imperial Physician Bureau, who would dare make him lie?”

The emperor, that’s who — Qing Niao silently answered in her head, then nodded along. “Mistress is right.”

“Let’s just hole up in Yangxin Hall and get through the winter properly,” Hua Chun said earnestly. “Watch how things develop, and keep anything that happens under wraps, so as not to give anyone a handle to use against us.”

“Mm.” This actually aligned perfectly with the emperor’s own thinking, and Qing Niao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the long stretch of time that followed, Hua Chun quietly watched from the sidelines as various factions schemed against each other in the harem — first Consort Shu was accused of bribing an imperial physician to frame Noble Consort Huo, and the enraged emperor demoted her to a lower consort rank; then Consort Wu rose in favor and was promoted to Noble Consort De.

“Your Majesty, this palace has never before seen someone leap several ranks in position all at once,” Noble Consort Xu said with a frown. “Although many consort positions are currently vacant, doing this might still stir discontent among the rest of the harem.”

The emperor set down his memorial and looked at her flatly. “In your view, then, what should be done?”

“To raise a rank, why not raise all the other sisters in the harem together instead? As for the position of Noble Consort De, leave it for someone else currently at consort rank — that would be more fair.”

Best of all if it were left for herself — going from consort to noble consort would suit her best of all.

He glanced at her a couple of times. “I’ve only favored two or three people lately. If you want fairness, why not have the Empress Dowager decide — draw lots at random, and whoever draws it gets promoted.”

This truly was the most whimsical method of conferring rank since the founding of the dynasty, but something was better than nothing, so Noble Consort Xu went to discuss it with the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager had no objection to this either, only adding, “Whoever manages to conceive an imperial heir — forget the rank of Noble Consort De, this widow will even raise her up to the position of Empress!”

This statement sent shockwaves through the harem, and all sorts of folk remedies suddenly sprang up, selling briskly for a time. Hua Chun seized the opportunity and had a batch of jade fertility Guanyin statues made, claiming they’d been blessed by an enlightened monk and were miraculously effective. She sold them secretly within the harem and made herself a tidy little profit.

When the emperor went to her palace late one night and saw the fertility Guanyin statue sitting on the low table, he felt rather gratified, thinking she too was making an effort for the sake of an heir. But upon getting closer, he saw a note stuck to it: “Reserved by Noble Consort Xu. Deposit of twenty taels received. Balance of one hundred eighty taels due.”

Yuwen Jie: “…”