As worthy of being the Ming Palace’s foremost female official, Shanggong Cao truly had divine foresight—Hu Shanwei felt inferior to her.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning had originally been the top suspect in Hu Shanwei’s mind, but judging from Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s performance when sparring with Shanggong Cao, she clearly lacked depth and was definitely not someone capable of arranging the intricate chain of schemes from before.
Was this deliberate disguise, or was the real culprit someone else? Hu Shanwei didn’t know.
But Hu Shanwei understood very clearly that working as an animal keeper at the Xiaoling Mausoleum would absolutely never uncover the truth. Whether Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s invitation was sincere or a deliberate trap to lure her away from the natural protective barrier of the Xiaoling Mausoleum, she couldn’t refuse. For the sake of the truth, even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, she had to wade through them.
Hu Shanwei remembered she was playing the role of Huang Gai and said, “Imperial Consort Ning is a straightforward person with sincere intentions in her invitation, but my three-year term isn’t complete—how can I abandon my post without permission?”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning said, “You’ve worked hard guarding the mausoleum this past year—that’s already serving the nation loyally. It’s like ministers of previous dynasties who wept sorrowfully during national mourning periods, but who among them resigned from office? You can still visit these birds and beasts frequently after returning to the palace—there’s no conflict. As long as you agree, I’ll speak to His Majesty. His Majesty knows how to employ good people and certainly wouldn’t waste excellent talent on feeding animals.”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning had repeatedly hit walls in managing the harem. Shanggong Cao didn’t submit to her, Shangyi Cui wouldn’t take the bait, Shanggong Song was simply Shanggong Cao’s lackey, Gongzheng Fan always acted aloof, and the other three shangguans all followed Shanggong Cao’s lead, not daring to get too close to Imperial Consort Guo Ning.
Now Imperial Consort Guo Ning felt she’d been sidelined by the Six Bureaus and One Department—she was just a puppet responsible for nodding and shaking her head. Imperial Consort Guo Ning had been suppressed for over ten years with grand ambitions—how could she be willing to accept this?
She also wanted to plant her people in the Six Bureaus and One Department, but this palace mini-court had too high a threshold with layer upon layer of selection examinations. Learning required long-term dedication to achieve even small success—it couldn’t be accomplished overnight. Moreover, newly selected female scholars could only assist and had to wait for female official positions to become vacant, then go through intensely competitive examinations and tests from the shangguans before taking office as new female officials.
By that time, it would be the year of the monkey and month of the horse. Her son Prince Lu would probably have long since gone to Shandong for his fief. Imperial Consort Guo Ning realized she could only work with existing female officials, seeking among them someone who could serve as a right-hand person to counterbalance Shanggong Cao.
Hu Shanwei was the best choice. First, her relationship with Shanggong Cao had been adversarial from the moment she entered the palace. Most recently, when Shanggong Cao came to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to mourn Empress Xiaoci, she reportedly smashed Hu Shanwei’s room to pieces, repeatedly making things difficult for her.
Second, her working style was bold and decisive with tough methods. Like Shanggong Cao, she was a hawk with deterrent power. Though she’d offended some people, she was also highly regarded by female officials like Gongzheng Fan and Shangyi Cui—especially Gongzheng Fan. Once Hu Shanwei was promoted, she could pull Gongzheng Fan to her side.
Third, she had steadfastly guarded the mausoleum for Empress Xiaoci for a full year, keeping the deer herd so robust. As a minister, her loyalty was unquestionable. This gave her a transcendent position in the palace where she could borrow Empress Xiaoci’s influence.
Finally, Imperial Consort Guo Ning felt that bringing Hu Shanwei out of the Xiaoling Mausoleum would make her grateful and certainly devoted to her service.
Both Imperial Consort Guo Ning and Hu Shanwei had their own calculations. Hu Shanwei pretended that Imperial Consort Guo Ning had stirred her grand ambitions, saying, “Your Ladyship should know I appreciate the southern opera ‘Pipa Ji.’ There’s a line in it: ‘Having learned both civil and military arts, I offer them to the imperial household.’ If Your Ladyship invites me and His Majesty agrees, I certainly won’t decline.”
Further refusal would be too hypocritical.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning was delighted. “Your eagle eye in recommending ‘Pipa Ji’ made your name known before the throne—clearly you’re destined to ascend to the Son of Heaven’s hall. After you left, the Siyan position has remained vacant. There’s no suitable candidate in the palace. After you return, you’ll still be a sixth-rank Siyan. Now that I manage the harem, I won’t hide it from you—truly everything goes against me. Previously, Empress Xiaoci’s word was final, but now my one word meets nine ‘objections’—everything I say faces opposition. Even sending a few people out of the palace was ruined by Shanggong Cao’s interference.”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s proposal to send people out of the palace had come to nothing.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning felt the enemy’s enemy was a friend. Hu Shanwei was ambitious and certainly wouldn’t be content to always be stepped on by Shanggong Cao.
Hu Shanwei secretly observed Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s expression—was she superficially shallow like Shanggong Cao, or was this her true nature? Someone with deep schemes couldn’t possibly reveal their feelings to outsiders from the start—speaking deeply when barely acquainted was a major taboo.
She had to board this ship whether she wanted to or not; overthinking was useless. Hu Shanwei straightened her plain clothes and bowed deeply. “I’m willing to assist Imperial Consort Ning.”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning helped her up. “Having Siyan Hu is like Liu Bei gaining Zhuge Liang.”
Hearing this, Hu Shanwei had an ominous feeling: The three kingdoms divided the realm, but Shu Han was ultimately destroyed…
Hu Shanwei became even more convinced that Imperial Consort Guo Ning lacked the mind of a mastermind.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s maternal family was so powerful with merit from following the dragon, and she’d borne a son, yet her palace position had never matched Li Guifei, who had ordinary family background and no children. Could this be the reason?
As Imperial Consort Guo Ning and Hu Shanwei were talking, Wet Nurse Guo arrived. “Your Ladyship, the little princess woke from her nap and seems to have had a nightmare. She’s crying inconsolably—please go take a look.”
After Noble Consort Li’s death, the little princess was given to Imperial Consort Guo Ning to raise. With Noble Consort Li Shu’s precedent, Emperor Hongwu despised consorts who didn’t cherish their children. Imperial Consort Guo Ning didn’t dare neglect her and quickly rose, saying, “Wait patiently for my good news.”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning hurried to the sleeping quarters but heard no crying from the little princess. Palace attendants said, “Just now Dianbao Jiang came to coax the little princess, mentioning feeding the little deer. The little princess stopped crying and went to play.”
Dianbao Jiang was Jiang Quan, also among the first lower-ranking female officials to align with Imperial Consort Guo Ning. Jiang Quan worked earnestly and solidly. At the advanced age of forty, she’d passed the palace examinations and was now a notable female official in the palace.
Previously, Jiang Quan was an eighth-rank Zhangbao. She offered peaches and plums, and Imperial Consort Guo Ning reciprocated with precious jade, promoting her to seventh-rank Zhangbao. The little princess got along very well with Jiang Quan. Under Noble Consorts Li Shu, Sun, and Li, Jiang Quan was always the “miracle cure” for stopping the little princess’s tears.
Legend had it that Noble Consort Li Shu lost the Emperor’s favor for neglecting the little princess, reported by Jiang Quan who witnessed it to Empress Xiaoci. To raise the little princess well, Imperial Consort Guo Ning first befriended Jiang Quan, who accepted her goodwill.
“Dianbao Jiang is reliable,” Imperial Consort Guo Ning said, putting her mind at ease upon hearing Jiang Quan had taken the princess out to play.
On the other side, hearing from Hai Tang that Jiang Quan had taken the little princess to feed deer, Hu Shanwei quickly rode over to supervise. Those young deer hadn’t yet grown harmful antlers and looked adorable, but they remained wild by nature—bullying the weak while fearing the strong. During feeding, any carelessness could result in bites or even being knocked over.
If anything happened, Hu Shanwei would be entirely responsible. Given Emperor Hongwu’s bad temper for finding fault where none existed, she might “die before her mission succeeded.”
Osmanthus flowers were fragrant. The little princess was over three years old now, her large eyes still wet from recent tears like a little deer’s, holding broken white flour cakes to feed newborn fawns about her size.
Jiang Quan was careful, keeping the large deer penned outside and allowing only five newborn fawns near to protect the little princess’s safety.
Seeing Jiang Quan there, Hu Shanwei immediately spurred her horse to retreat: What wasn’t reassuring about a grandmother watching her granddaughter?
But a female scholar beside Jiang Quan chased after her, saying, “Miss Hu, please wait—Dianbao Jiang requests your presence.”
Only upon hearing “Dianbao” did Hu Shanwei realize Jiang Quan had been promoted again.
Coincidentally, Jiang Quan always appeared when Hu Shanwei was at low points about to rebound, and she always managed to gain favor from the most prominent palace consorts—previously Noble Consort Hu, now Imperial Consort Guo Ning. This made Hu Shanwei’s expectations for Imperial Consort Guo Ning rather pessimistic.
As a commoner, Hu Shanwei should bow to officials, but Jiang Quan approached from afar and stopped her formal greeting. “Congratulations on your bitter ending turning sweet—you’re returning to the palace.”
Since Jiang Quan was close to Imperial Consort Guo Ning, knowing this was perfectly normal. Hu Shanwei’s feelings toward Jiang Quan were complex. They’d saved each other’s lives and helped each other, especially during the silkworm chamber crisis—without Jiang Quan running against the flow to stop the guards, she might have died in the silkworm chamber.
But during her year at the Xiaoling Mausoleum, neither Jiang Quan nor Huang Weide had inquired about her once. Though she said nothing outwardly, inwardly she minded.
Now that she was about to resume her original position, Jiang Quan came to curry favor again—of all things to play with the little princess, why choose feeding deer? Clearly she wanted to lure her out.
After exchanging pleasantries with her, Jiang Quan acted as if they were reuniting after long separation, pulling her under an osmanthus tree away from the crowd before changing her expression and saying, “In front of them, I naturally had to congratulate you—they’re all Imperial Consort Ning’s people. Privately, I suggest you not wade into muddy waters at this time. Guard the mausoleum for two more years, wait for the chaos to pass, then return to the palace.”
Indeed, ginger gets spicier with age. Regarding Noble Consort Li’s death, Jiang Quan also felt it wasn’t that simple.
Hu Shanwei said, “Some things aren’t for me to decide.”
Jiang Quan became anxious. “Are you trying to use Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s influence for self-protection because Shanggong Cao keeps finding fault with you? Shanggong Cao just scolds—she doesn’t use underhanded methods to harm people. Moreover, you’re at the Xiaoling Mausoleum while Shanggong Cao is in the harem. She can’t trouble you every few days. Why emerge at this time to serve as Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s weapon?”
“What about you?” Hu Shanwei asked in return. “Why are you doing this?”
Jiang Quan pointed at the little princess feeding deer. “Do I have a choice? I’m only for her. Imperial Consort Guo Ning is raising her, so I must follow through.”
Meeting old friends, Hu Shanwei harbored resentment and couldn’t trust Jiang Quan as before. Yes, she understood Jiang Quan—of course the little princess was more important than her. But what she planned to do was extremely dangerous. A wavering friend who might change sides at any time couldn’t be trusted with confidence.
Then they’d interact as ordinary colleagues. Hu Shanwei smiled faintly. “I’m like you—no choice. Whether to be a mausoleum guardian or palace female official depends entirely on His Majesty’s whim.”
Female officials in the palace had different goals. Jiang Quan acted for family, Shen Qionglian to prevent her talents from being buried, Siyao Ru to pursue medical arts, Huang Weide to escape the bottom ranks and climb upward step by step. The adult world had no pure black and white. When interests aligned, they were teammates; when interests conflicted, they were opponents. As long as one didn’t intentionally harm others, they could be considered good people.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning petitioned Emperor Hongwu eloquently: “…Hu Shanwei guarding the mausoleum served the nation loyally; returning to the palace to share Your Majesty’s worries would be even more loyal. She’s already guarded for a year, and Your subject truly lacks assistance. I beseech Your Majesty’s gracious permission to let Your subject bring her back to the palace.”
Emperor Hongwu was reminiscing about Empress Xiaoci and couldn’t help feeling annoyed upon hearing this, asking in return, “Without Hu Shanwei’s assistance, you cannot manage the harem?”
This was clearly questioning her ability—unable even to handle the harem, how could she be elevated to Noble Consort or even Empress in the future?
Imperial Consort Guo Ning was startled and quickly said, “The harem was always managed by Empress Xiaoci and the Six Bureaus and One Department, with Noble Consort Chengmu Sun occasionally assisting the Empress. Later, when the Empress became seriously ill, Noble Consort Li was given authority to manage affairs. Your subject never had opportunity to touch power. Taking over suddenly, indeed… there are areas where my strength doesn’t match my ambitions, disappointing Your Majesty’s great trust.”
Changing her tone: “However, Your subject has been seeking ways to learn, learning to get along with the Six Bureaus and One Department. Recalling Hu Shanwei is also to ease previous conflicts with the Six Bureaus and One Department. With her conveying messages up and down, we can avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and achieve the same effectiveness as Empress Xiaoci. I beseech Your Majesty to give Your subject another chance.”
Previously, Noble Consort Chengmu Sun and Noble Consort Li had some experience before taking power, but Imperial Consort Guo Ning was completely in the dark, so she stumbled right from the start.
For the sake of Imperial Consort Guo Ning’s maternal family, Emperor Hongwu decided to give her a chance to reform—truly, among current consort positions, only Imperial Consort Guo Ning was presentable. Now that the southern campaign had just ended and the national treasury was empty, Emperor Hongwu didn’t want to make a big production of selecting new consorts or establishing a new empress, which would waste resources and energy.
Emperor Hongwu said, “I can give you the person you want. Transmit my oral decree: Hu Shanwei is restored to her original position.”
Imperial Consort Guo Ning was delighted—her helper had arrived.
But Emperor Hongwu clearly didn’t trust Imperial Consort Guo Ning as before, feeling that whether in reading situations or ability, Imperial Consort Guo Ning couldn’t compare to even Empress Xiaoci’s toenail. She was acceptable as a consort, but once elevated to manage harem authority, her shortcomings were exposed.
Entrusting the harem to her was truly worrisome.
Emperor Hongwu summoned Imperial Consorts Guo Hui and Da Ding: “You two are veterans in the palace who’ve always been sensible and obedient. Though you haven’t managed harem affairs these past ten-plus years, you should have observed Empress Xiaoci handling various matters. You two assist Imperial Consort Guo Ning in managing the harem.”
Imperial Consort Guo Hui had a blood feud with Emperor Hongwu for killing her brother and destroying her family. Imperial Consort Da Ding had the hatred of her husband’s death and nation’s destruction with Emperor Hongwu. Both consorts usually wished they could shrink into ants, only knowing to bear children for the Zhu family. Imperial Consort Guo Hui bore three sons and two daughters; Imperial Consort Da Ding bore two sons.
Imperial Consorts Guo Hui and Da Ding had cried for Empress Xiaoci before her spirit tablet until their eyes swelled like peaches. Hearing this, they were shocked, thinking they’d misheard. Imperial Consort Guo Hui stammered, “Yes, Your subject… obeys the decree.”
The wooden beauty Imperial Consort Da Ding stood woodenly in place like a Buddhist statue, even forgetting to express gratitude and pledge loyalty.
Imperial Consort Guo Ning was immediately stunned. What was His Majesty doing? He’d just given her a good helper, then stuffed in two constraining consorts. Give a sweet date to eat, then deliver two slaps?