“Nothing to do, just act like Old Eight has come to you. Remember, after you enter King Xuan’s Manor, you must be generous, dignified, and do everything with Mo Xuetong at the top. No matter what she says, you should agree. Let Old Eight know that you are a smart and gentle woman, so that you can slowly walk into his heart and replace Mo Xuetong.”
“Your Highness, will, will it work?” He Yufen asked in surprise. Hadn’t they told her that when she saw King Xuan, she should do her best to seduce him?
“Yes, it will work. As long as you can hold on to that, everything will be yours in the future. Yufen, remember, you need to always be gentle and stand behind Feng Yuran. No matter how many women he has or what kind of woman he likes, you can’t be suspicious or jealous. Then years later, you will be the successful one.”
Just like herself, once she was like another Consort Xian. Although they were both in the palace, the Emperor did not take her into his heart. Even though she was very similar to Consort Xian and even gentler than the latter, Emperor still didn’t see her, but now everything was different!
A little complacent sneer flashed in Consort Zhao’s eyes. Consort Xian, who was once an enchanting woman, was already dead. Now even her son was in Consort Zhao’s hands. She owned all this because of her great endurance. The top part of the Chinese character “endurance” was a knife. Of course, she once felt that she couldn’t bear it, but fortunately, fortunately, she gave Consort Xian a fatal blow at the end.
The woman may think that she was killed by the Empress when she was dying.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid Consort Xuan would find me pretending, and do something unfavorable to me…” He Yufen was a little uneasy and moved a little. Of course, she thought that she would endure as soon as she entered King Xuan’s Manor. But when she remembered Mo Xuetong’s seemingly clear eyes, a chill rose in her heart. Consort Xuan was not like a woman who did not understand anything.
“You’re my niece and cousin of Old Eight. Mo Xuetong dislikes you in the worst. There will be some slanderous gossip, but she won’t deal with you. She now has a gulf with Old Eight and needs someone to help her mediate their relationship. However, there is no elder in King Xuan’s Manor, and she has no one to ask for help. The first thing you do after entering the manor is to pretend to help her to negotiate with Old Eight, and then you can have a chance to get along with Old Eight privately. As long as you can seize the opportunity and get pregnant in one fell swoop, I have a way to help you get rid of Mo Xuetong and become the first consort of Old Eight.”
“But if Mo Xuetong doesn’t like me to help her to persuade King Xuan, I won’t have a chance to see King Xuan. Isn’t it?” He Yufen was still a little uneasy.
“She will accept your help. With so many concubines, on your special identity, even if Old Eight doesn’t like you, he has to remember that you’re from the He family and his mother’s niece,” Consort Zhao said and especially deepened the tone, a little ridicule appearing on her face. Her niece? If Consort Xian knew the truth, would she get out of the ground angrily and come to her and the He family to get revenge?
The stupid woman had always regarded her as a sister who was not related to her by blood, but didn’t know that her genetic sister was trapped now.
Hearing Consort Zhao’s words, He Yufen sighed with relief. Then she thought for a moment, and nodded to flatter Consort Zhao, “You’re right, Your Highness. I’ll listen to your instructions.”
Consort Zhao rubbed the rubies inlaid on the long nail coat, stopped for a moment, and said to the confidant maid standing behind her, “Go and take the nanmu wood-glazed lady screen in my warehouse, and give it to Miss He, as the marriage dowry.”
“Your Highness?” He Yufen stood up excitedly, and she knew that the lady screen of nanmu wood inlaid with glaze was a precious thing. She heard that glaze was from a foreign country. He Yufen had never heard such a good thing until she grew up and came to the capital, and now Consort Zhao was going to give it to her. How could she not feel excited when her eyes lit up.
Consort Zhao waved her hand, indicating that it was nothing, and said with a half-smile, “Since you are my niece, I have to support you when you marry into King Xuan’s Manor. Now among the concubines in King Xuan’s Manor, only you and the daughter of Duke Wanping have a position. I heard that she is a proud woman, and her parents’ family has a better status than your family. So someone might compare you to her. I have to make her not dare to provoke you.”
He Yufen had a low position because of the daughter of Duke Wanping. If Mo Xuetong finished and He Yufen wanted to become Consort Xuan in the future, some people might use her as an excuse to disagree. After she had listened to and learned a lesson, at least she had to suppress Duke Wanping’s daughter first. As the Emperor’s doting consort, she gave He Yufen a gift and that was able to suppress Duke Wanping’s daughter and make her afraid to speak at will.
He Yufen was sent to King Xuan’s Manor by a sedan chair from the side door in the afternoon. The two masters of the He family wanted to follow in, but was stopped by the guards.
A manservant of the He family rushed over and shouted, “How dare you! Our masters are King Xuan’s uncles.” But when the guards cast a cold glance at him, he winced his neck in fear and did not dare say anything. He just felt that all the guards of King Xuan’s Manor were not simple. As they just shot him a glance, he felt chilly in the neck.
“His Highness is injured, and is recovering in the manor. He won’t see anybody,” a guard replied unkindly. He didn’t treat the two masters of the He family as guests. King Xuan had told them that people of the He family were just Concubine He’s family, and were not his serious relatives.
“Is His Highness hurt seriously? How’s he doing?” Senior Master He coughed slightly and came over as no one dared to go up. He pretended to care for King Xuan.
“It’s no big deal. You can go now, just go.” The guards impatiently asked them to leave and closed the side door.
Helpless, the two masters of the He family could only turn around and leave in anger. Now they could do nothing to the guards, but in the future when Consort Zhao controlled King Xuan, and helped him to take the throne, they would be the Emperor’s uncles, and could kill the guards with an order.
He Yufen’s little sedan chair took the side door, and the little path. She lifted the curtain slightly along the way and saw the empty garden outside. Although it was beautiful, there was no sign of marriage here. He Yufen flew into a rage, and almost crushed the handkerchief into crumbs. Fortunately, she was ready in her heart, and finally contained her emotion and put down the curtain.
One day, she would be the owner of this manor, and then all the people who despised her would be trampled underfoot. The first one was of course Mo Xuetong.
“Concubine He, here we are, please get off.” Finally, the sedan chair stopped, and a respectful voice sounded. She could tell the attitude in the words, and she felt satisfied. At least the people in this manor knew she had a special identity, and dared not to slight her.
Then, she held the hand of a maidservant and slowly walked out of the sedan chair. As she clearly saw the big yard in front of her, a burst of rejoicing rose in her heart, and a smile appeared on her face. Just as Consort Zhao had said, Mo Xuetong didn’t dare to stir up trouble. After all, she was King Xuan’s cousin. Mo Xuetong had to consider their relationship. King Xuan didn’t like the He family very much, but their blood relationship would not disappear.
Of course, her yard in the side garden could not compare with the one in front of her. Was such a large yard her own? Thinking of this, she was in a better mood. Then she lifted her dress slightly to walk in, while instructing the accompanying maidservants to carry her dowry to the central house. This courtyard should not be worse than the central courtyard where Mo Xuetong lived.
“Wow, who is this? How dare you put those stupid things in our yard? You should ask if our master needs it or not!” A sharp female voice came over. He Yufen didn’t expect that there would be someone who dared to talk to himself like this. When she looked up in confusion, she saw a little maidservant leaning against the front door. While spitting out the melon seed shells, the maidservant looked at her sideways mockingly. Her words were harsh.
“Who are you?” The maidservant who followed He Yufen did not show weakness, and stepped forward, hands on her hips, and saying, “Look at who this is. This is your new master, Concubine He. Come to greet her.”
“Greet a new master? I dare not have any new master. Our master has always been very noble, and the concubine from a corner can’t compare with her.” The maidservant looked at He Yufen up and down, as if just watching a piece of goods in general. She was extremely disrespectful.
Was there another master in this yard? He Yufen was surprised, and then she immediately thought of Duke Wanping’s daughter Consort Zhao had mentioned. Knowing that she first came to the manor and could not offend her, she hurriedly walked forward, smiled, and asked, “Does Sister Qin also live here…”
Before she finished, a maidservant hurried out from the inside, carrying a basin of water in her hand. The water was a little muddy. Without looking out, she lifted her hands and poured the basin of water all over He Yufen. The latter’s pink wedding dress was wet through, and adhered to her body. The powder had been washed away from her face, forming streaks of lines. Her beautiful face became colorful at once.
“Oh, who is this? Why are you so careless to stand right before the door? Look at you, you’re covered in water. You’re not discerning.” The maidservant who came out later was also fierce and tough. Looking at He Yufen, who was drizzled like a drenched chicken, she laughed.
As soon as she came to the manor, she was soaked through by a basin of water, which was done by a concubine’s maidservant. He Yufen’s face darkened, and she was about to lose her temper immediately. A nanny standing behind her noticed it. She came over and gave her a pull, and smiled at the two maidservants, saying, “This is Concubine He, the cousin of King Xuan. The Emperor deliberately sent our concubine into the manor, asking her to take good care of His Highness. Anyway, they are relatives, and can talk about anything.”
He Yufen gritted her teeth to suppress her anger. This nanny was sent by Consort Zhao with her gift yesterday, representing Consort Zhao, so she did not dare to offend her.
“Oh, Concubine He, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you here. You see, His Highness has given the central house to our concubine. Since your concubine has also been sent here, of course, you can live here. You can live in the rooms on the right now that we have taken those on the left. If we move to the rooms on the right, I don’t think we can finish it in one day. Concubine He can’t wait just like this now.”
The maidservant, who was leaning against the door, clapped her hands as if what she said was good for He Yufen.
