Princess Chaohua hosted a flower-viewing banquet in the imperial garden to welcome Jiang Shuyue.
The moment Jiang Shuyue arrived, she saw Her Highness, all rosy pink and glittering gold, staring straight at her.
Her huge eyes were like light bulbs, all but shooting sparks at her.
Jiang Shuyue: [As expected of Great Zhou's Grand Princess-gold on legs! Beautiful and rich, but there seems to be something wrong with her eyes. Why is she opening them so wide? Does she have dry eyes?]
Princess Chaohua immediately blinked. She had simply been so surprised and curious that she had stared at Jiang Shuyue.
She had never expected to be mistaken for having something wrong with her.
Shen Zhiyi smiled. "Your Highness, this is the wife of the Marquis of Zhennan whom I mentioned to you."
"I have long heard that the lady of the Marquis's Residence is innocent, radiant, and straightforward. Hearing about you a hundred times truly cannot compare to meeting you once. I only wish we had met sooner!"
"You flatter me, Princess. I'm not really that wonderful!"
Jiang Shuyue: [I thought the Imperial Palace was full of scheming fake-sweet monsters and faux-innocent demons. Who knew there would actually be someone so genuine here!]
[And she looks so soft. She must feel wonderful to hug. Girl, I really want to snuggle up to you!]
A blush spread across Princess Chaohua's face.
Wanting to snuggle up to her in front of everyone... well, it was not entirely out of the question.
Jiang Shuyue was only a few years older than her. Although she was too thin and looked rather bony, she made up for it by being beautiful!
Princess Chaohua took her hand and smiled. "Things went so smoothly for Shen Lang and me today thanks in no small part to the Marquis of Zhennan speaking up for us."
"I will remember that kindness. From now on, we are close friends. Whenever you need anything, just ask. I, Chaohua, will not shirk my duty."
Jiang Shuyue: [Was Princess Chaohua really this beautiful and kind in the original novel? Reality is slapping me right across the face!]
Shen Zhiyi nodded inwardly. In his heart, Chaohua was the most beautiful and kindhearted person in the world.
[System: Princess Chaohua is indeed beautiful and kind, which is why she attracts quite a flock of admirers.]
Sensing some juicy gossip coming, Jiang Shuyue immediately sat up straight, adopting the proper attitude for a gossip feast.
Chaohua and Shen Zhiyi also found comfortable seats.
[System: The Imperial Palace is one great dye vat. Every sort of person and creature can be found there, and nothing that happens is new. Still, two incidents stand out in particular.]
[The first concerns Consort Xian, who entered the palace three years ago. She took the initiative to seduce the emperor, climbed into his dragon bed, and had a child. Now she is already on her second pregnancy.]
[But!]
Jiang Shuyue perked up. Here came the important part! She made a note in the little notebook in her mind.
The system chuckled. [Consort Xian entered the palace neither for the emperor nor for her family. She did it for someone whose name she could never speak aloud!]
Jiang Shuyue pricked up her ears. Not far away, the emperor and the others hiding behind the rockery pricked up theirs as well.
The system announced loudly, [Consort Xian's beloved is Her Highness the princess!]
Pfft!
Princess Chaohua sprayed an entire mouthful of tea over Shen Zhiyi's face. "Shen Lang, are you all right? I didn't mean to! I-I..."
"I'm fine. Did you choke, Princess?"
"No."
"Good. As long as you're all right."
"Shen Lang~~"
"Princess~~"
Their hands clasped tightly and their eyes met, sparks flying both ways.
Jiang Shuyue cracked sunflower seeds in her mouth while savoring the sweetness in her heart. The system gave her a tap. [Focus on the gossip! I haven't finished yet!]
Jiang Shuyue: [All right, all right. Go on, go on.]
[System: Princess Chaohua met Consort Xian at a riding meet when she was ten. Consort Xian was only eleven herself, and suddenly felt her heart pounding wildly. Her longing grew by the day until there was no stopping it.]
[But they were both women, and the other woman was a princess. Even Consort Xian could not keep her confined at her side, so she came up with an idea.]
Jiang Shuyue: [If you can't have her, at least you can look at her. You have to get either tangible benefits or a feast for the eyes.]
[System: Exactly. So she offered herself to the emperor and became Princess Chaohua's stepmother.]
Jiang Shuyue was so moved she nearly cried.
The highest form of love: companionship.
What a declaration of enduring devotion-enough to shake heaven and earth and move ghosts and gods to tears!
The emperor's face went through a rainbow of colors before turning black.
His consort liked his daughter, so she had entered the palace and borne his children.
That sounded wrong no matter how he looked at it, didn't it?
This gossip left him caught halfway up and halfway down, an unbearable lump lodged in his chest.
Prince Huai whispered, "Look on the bright side, Imperial Brother. At least you got a son out of it, and Consort Xian is carrying your second child, due any day now. You haven't lost out."
Haven't lost out, my ass!
For the first time, the emperor felt an urge to beat up his own younger brother.
As Chaohua listened, she felt Consort Xian was rather pitiable.
But on closer reflection, something seemed wrong. If Consort Xian liked her, why was she always so snide whenever they met? She had even framed Chaohua several times, nearly causing serious trouble.
Jiang Shuyue also remembered the original plot. [That's not right. In the original novel, Chaohua returned to the palace for help after getting married, but whenever the emperor was about to intervene, Consort Xian stopped him. Was that love or hatred?]
[System: Love turned to hatred!]
[Consort Xian was never any innocent lamb. Think about why I said she actively seduced the emperor. Does he look like someone who would let beauty cloud his judgment?]
Jiang Shuyue shook her head. [No. I think he's a wise ruler.]
Just for feeding her alone, Jiang Shuyue had decided he was a good emperor.
The emperor's face went from black to red. He raised his eyebrows provocatively at Zhou Yunshen. "Second Brother, your wife truly has a discerning eye!"
Zhou Yunshen felt a simmering irritation and dearly wanted to yank out the emperor's hair.
[System: Consort Xian's father is a third-rank circuit intendant. Originally, her elder sister was supposed to enter the palace. To take her sister's place, she pushed her own sister off the second floor, breaking her legs. Then she drugged the emperor, and that was how she climbed into his dragon bed.]
[Her original plan was to develop a deep bond with Chaohua after entering the palace. Unfortunately, there were many consorts in the harem, and Chaohua treated her as neither a mother nor a friend. Consort Xian began to grow twisted.]
[If I can't get you this way, I'll try another. Aren't you looking down on me because you're a princess? Once you're no longer a princess, you won't be able to resist, will you?]
Jiang Shuyue sorted through her thoughts.
So it was not a matter of watching someone she could not have. It was finding another way to possess her.
And that method was to destroy Princess Chaohua!
A fallen phoenix was worth less than a chicken. By then, wouldn't she be putty in Consort Xian's hands?
Ah, women could be truly terrifying when they fell in love!
[System: Actually, that marriage arrangement with the Duke of Qi's family was also made at Consort Xian's direction. Do you know how Chaohua originally died of despair?]
Jiang Shuyue shook her head, but she already had a dim inkling.
A sickening chill rose from the soles of her feet, and she could not help rubbing her arms.
The system sighed. [It was Consort Xian. Chaohua would rather die than become her lover. In a rage, she had that nephew of hers torment Chaohua to death. She even sat nearby cracking sunflower seeds and enjoying the show.]
Chaohua's face turned ashen, and her stomach churned like rivers and seas overturning.
Shen Zhiyi hated Consort Xian to the marrow.
He had thought something felt strange about Consort Xian when they met before. So that was why.
That venomous woman. How dare she!
Before you continue