The Emperor carried Jiang Lingye back to Shenlong Hall. Afterward, it was said that Consort Xian went to see Empress Dowager Xue, crying and making a scene, asking the Empress Dowager to uphold justice for her. After hearing the whole story, Empress Dowager Xue laughed: “It’s just a plaything—is it worth such a fuss?”
Consort Xian sobbed: “But His Majesty made her an Imperial Concubine…”
“What’s an Imperial Concubine? He didn’t make her Empress.”
“But she’s so base—what right does she have to be an Imperial Concubine?”
Empress Dowager Xue smiled: “Who says those of base origins can’t be Imperial Concubines? Among the late Emperor’s consorts, many were of humble birth.”
“But… but she’s bewitching! She dared to seduce His Majesty at my bedside! And with His Majesty in the Hibiscus Forest… in the Hibiscus Forest…”
Consort Xian covered her face and cried: “She’s so debased I can’t even bring myself to say it!”
Empress Dowager Xue said, “For a palace maid wanting to change her fate, isn’t seduction her only option? How can one be noble while seducing? This isn’t a serious matter.”
“But Aunt, she’s so calculating! She’ll throw the imperial harem into chaos!”
Empress Dowager Xue didn’t want to continue the conversation. She yawned: “Enough. A mere palace maid doesn’t have such abilities. I’m tired—you may leave.”
Empress Dowager Xue dismissively sent Consort Xian away and expressed no opposition to the Emperor’s appointment of Jiang Lingye. After all, the Emperor was her son, while Consort Xian was only her niece. She knew clearly who was closer to her.
Even though this son wasn’t her flesh and blood, what did it matter? She was now the Emperor’s mother, and with this identity, she could wield great power and do as she pleased. So, regarding the small matter of the Emperor appointing a servant, she couldn’t be bothered to interfere. She didn’t want to pressure the Emperor too much.
Jiang Lingye was thus smoothly appointed as Imperial Concubine and given residence in Fengyang Pavilion. Standing in Fengyang Pavilion, looking around at the luxurious furnishings, she felt as if she were in another world.
Just days ago, she had been a servant who could be beaten and punished at will. Her master could decide whether she lived or died, her life as insignificant as a blade of grass. But now, she had become a master herself. In the inner chamber, knelt a group of servants waiting to attend to her. And she could now decide whether they lived or died.
Was this the taste of power?
Jiang Lingye stared at those submissive servants, then suddenly came to her senses. She quickly stepped forward and helped them up one by one. The servants had never seen such a master and were all stunned.
Jiang Lingye said kindly, “Everyone, I too was once a servant. I know the hardships of being a servant. I dare not promise anything else, but I can promise that I will treat you as human beings.”
The servants looked at each other in confusion. No one had ever told them they would be treated as human beings. They didn’t know how to respond. But in the days that followed, Jiang Lingye kept her word through her actions.
Unlike other consorts who treated servants harshly, she was generous. She would share the gifts the Emperor gave her with her servants instead of keeping everything for herself. Sometimes, when a servant’s family member fell ill, she would grant them a substantial sum of money. In time, the servants of Fengyang Pavilion became deeply grateful to her and unwaveringly loyal.
After Jiang Lingye was appointed Imperial Concubine, the Emperor showed her great favor. Even when reviewing and responding to memorials in Shenlong Hall, he would have her accompany him.
Jiang Lingye had become very skilled at grinding ink. While grinding, she occasionally looked up at the Emperor’s memorials. The Emperor smiled: “Can you read?”
Jiang Lingye shook her head, rare disappointment flashing in her eyes: “No.”
Her family had been too poor; being able to eat their fill was already fortunate—how could they afford the luxury of learning to read?
“Then why do you keep looking at our memorials?”
“This concubine isn’t looking at the memorials, but at the brush Your Majesty is holding.”
“Oh?” The Emperor glanced at the wolf-hair brush in his hand. “What’s so interesting about the brush?”
“This concubine feels that this brush is very heavy.”
“Heavy?” The Emperor curiously weighed his brush. “How is it heavy?”
Jiang Lingye pressed her lips together, then boldly said: “Your Majesty, my grandfather ran a spice business in Chang’an. He was diligent and honest, working hard for many years to accumulate some wealth. At that time, the Western regions were eager for Chinese musk, and the price had risen sharply. Selling musk to the Western regions could bring considerable profit.”
“So my grandfather invested all his wealth in purchasing musk, preparing to transport it to the Western regions for sale. Unexpectedly, the court suddenly issued an edict prohibiting the private sale of musk to the Western regions, just like silk and metals. But my grandfather had already bought ox carts and hired workers. With the edict issued, he could no longer go to the Western regions.”
The Emperor seemed thoughtful: “What happened later?”
“Later… a year later, the edict was rescinded. Musk could be sold to the Western regions as before. But my grandfather, overcome with anxiety, had already died of illness, leaving my father and mother with a multitude of creditors. From then on, our family had no surplus rice.”
A hastily changed edict could cause a family to lose everything.
Jiang Lingye’s voice choked slightly. She sniffed and lowered her gaze, continuing to grind the ink: “Therefore, this concubine feels that Your Majesty’s brush is very heavy—heavy enough to determine the survival of countless common people.”
The Emperor stared at the brush in his hand for a long time before saying: “That edict was issued by Our grandfather.”
The Emperor’s grandfather was a notoriously dissolute ruler who did whatever his favored consort wanted. That edict was issued because his favored consort complained that musk prices had risen so high that her family sisters could barely afford them. So the Emperor’s grandfather casually issued the edict that ruined Jiang Lingye’s family.
The Emperor silently gripped his brush, writing on the memorial stroke by stroke. After a while, he suddenly said, “We will not follow our grandfather’s example.”
Jiang Lingye looked up. The Emperor said, “Rest assured, from now on, every stroke we write will be carefully considered.”
Jiang Lingye’s eyes grew hot. She put down the ink stone, bowed her head, and sincerely knelt in salutation: “This concubine, on behalf of all common people, thanks Your Majesty.”
The Emperor stopped writing and looked at her. After a moment, he calmly averted his eyes. He dipped his wolf-hair brush in the ink: “The ink is running low. Why aren’t you grinding more?”
Jiang Lingye hurriedly replied: “This concubine will grind it immediately.”
Jiang Lingye ground ink, and the Emperor reviewed memorials. Before they knew it, it was almost noon. Outside Shenlong Hall, the weather was fine and sunny. Inside, the atmosphere was warm and sweet.
When the Emperor came to a particular memorial, he looked at her and laughed. Jiang Lingye bit her lip, curiously stealing a glance at the Emperor. The Emperor said, “Are you wondering why we’re laughing?”
Jiang Lingye nodded. The Emperor picked up the memorial and read it to her. It turned out to be a memorial urging the Emperor not to favor Jiang Lingye.
The memorial was submitted by the Governor of Qu Prefecture, who was elderly. Having heard that the Emperor recently favored a merchant’s daughter, he was deeply concerned. In the memorial, he compared Jiang Lingye to Da Ji and Bao Si, and advised the Emperor to stay away from her and spend more time with noble consorts like Consort Xian. At the end of the memorial, the Governor of Qu Prefecture even mentioned that commoners were saying Jiang Lingye was transformed from a fox. Perhaps, he suggested, Imperial Concubine Jiang was a demon, and His Majesty should invite Taoist priests to examine her.
Hearing this, Jiang Lingye couldn’t help but laugh. The Emperor said, “He slanders you like this, yet you can still laugh?”
Jiang Lingye blinked and asked: “So is Your Majesty going to invite Taoist priests to see if this concubine is a demon?”
Her eyes now held a mischievous look not usually present. The Emperor’s heart stirred. He pulled her into his embrace, his chin resting on her fair neck: “To die beneath a peony flower—even as a ghost, one remains elegant. Even if you are a demon, we accept it.”
He said: “As for the person who submitted this memorial—whether to beat him or punish him, you decide.”
Jiang Lingye smiled. She picked up the memorial and threw it into the sandalwood incense burner on the desk. The memorial burst into orange flames, instantly turning to ashes. Jiang Lingye said, “This concubine has dealt with it.”
The Emperor raised his eyebrows: “You’re not angry?”
“If this concubine were to be angry at everything in the world, there wouldn’t be enough anger to go around.”
Jiang Lingye continued: “Besides, it was this concubine’s choice to come before Your Majesty. The jealousy and slander that come with it, this concubine naturally must endure. Otherwise, wouldn’t all the good things in the world belong to this concubine? How could there be such a principle?”
Hearing this, the Emperor laughed. He embraced Jiang Lingye and said, “We now look forward to having a child with you.”
“Why does Your Majesty say so?”
“We want to see what kind of child you would raise.”
Jiang Lingye also laughed. The Emperor held her on his lap, using the blue stubble on his chin to rub her neck. She found it ticklish and laughed, trying to dodge. After playing for a while, she glanced at the memorials on the table and paused in her dodging. The Emperor gently inhaled the faint fragrance of her neck: “Do you want to learn to read?”
A trace of delight flashed in Jiang Lingye’s eyes: “May this concubine?”
“Of course.” The Emperor said, “We will teach you personally.”
Jiang Lingye quickly expressed her gratitude: “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor tightened his arms around her and smiled: “But We don’t easily become a teacher.”
Jiang Lingye said coquettishly: “Then what would make Your Majesty willing to be this concubine’s teacher?”
“We require payment.” The Emperor thought for a moment, then said: “A payment that’s unique in this world.”
“Everything this concubine has was given by Your Majesty. What unique payment could this concubine offer?”
The Emperor laughed heartily, swept the memorials on the rosewood desk aside, and amid Jiang Lingye’s surprised cry, pressed her onto the desk. His voice grew husky: “If you don’t have anything, then offer yourself as payment.”
In Shenlong Hall, they made passionate love. The Emperor was no longer as rough as he had been in the Hibiscus Forest, but much gentler. Jiang Lingye trembled, finally experiencing feelings beyond pain—a feeling of ultimate pleasure.
Looking at the handsome Emperor pressing down on her, she vaguely felt something unusual in her heart. Her fingers, resting on the rosewood desk, tightened and loosened, wanting to grasp something but not daring to.
The Emperor’s eyes were deep, so deep she couldn’t discern the emotions within them. Suddenly, the Emperor’s hand covered her pure white fingers, intertwining with them, tightly clasping, like the most intimate of lovers.
Jiang Lingye stared at the Emperor. Biting her lip, trembling, her fingers began to try, slowly tightening around the Emperor’s hand.
After their lovemaking, Jiang Lingye’s face was flushed. She nestled in the Emperor’s embrace, her disheveled hair sticking to her face. She half-complained: “This concubine’s hair is a mess. When we go out, people will surely laugh.”
“Isn’t that perfect?” The Emperor kissed her earlobe. “An Emperor indulging in daytime pleasure, a bewitching concubine seducing her master—a perfect match.”
Jiang Lingye suddenly understood. She said with mild reproach: “So Your Majesty is using this concubine to put on a show.”
A show for Empress Dowager Xue, to make her believe the Emperor was easily swayed by female beauty and unfit for major responsibilities.
The Emperor laughed softly: “How do you know it’s a show and not sincere?”
Jiang Lingye’s heart suddenly stirred, but she quickly said with a smile: “This concubine knows her place.”
She didn’t believe that an Emperor with profound schemes and great ambition would develop feelings for her.
Hearing this, the Emperor smiled. He didn’t deny it but said, “Let’s go out like this.”
Jiang Lingye wore an expression that said she had expected this. She smiled: “This concubine obeys Your Majesty’s command.”
As she was about to rise, the Emperor pulled her back into his embrace. She asked, puzzled: “Your Majesty?”
The Emperor didn’t answer. He merely lifted her chin gently, looking down at her, his eyes filled with indescribable emotions. Suddenly, he said: “Jiang Lingye.”
“This concubine is here.”
He didn’t say anything further but suddenly bent down and kissed her lips.
He kissed her lips? This was the first time he had kissed her lips.
Jiang Lingye was stunned.
The Emperor smiled slightly and patted the back of her hand: “You may go now.”