Chapter 57: For twenty years, right and wrong have been discerned; where pomegranate flowers bloom, they illuminate the inner court.

Jia Yuanchun stood outside the palace gates of the Linjing Hall, watching her younger brother Lian descend the steps and walk step by step toward the outer court, until his figure vanished entirely through the door on the west side of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"With this parting, I know not when we shall meet again."

"Today I was still able to see Brother Lian, but Baoyu I can never see again..."

Jia Yuanchun reluctantly withdrew her gaze and instructed a palace maid to bring a mirror. She arranged her appearance before the glass before stepping back into the Linjing Hall.

Inside the hall, the tall and robust King Qian—so vastly different from the former Emperor of the Shun Dynasty—had just finished summoning another official. Jia Yuanchun had no choice but to wait in the room on the west side of the main hall. After about half an hour, Xia Shouzhong came to report, "Her Ladyship, His Highness the Prince summons you."

Jia Yuanchun emerged from the room and entered the main hall, intending to prostrate herself, express her gratitude for his favor, and take her leave, but King Qian simply said, "No need."

With her brows lowered and her voice clear and melodious, Jia Yuanchun said respectfully:

"Your humble concubine has finished speaking with Jia Lian, and kowtows to thank Your Highness for your grace."

Pausing slightly, and seeing that King Qian remained silent, she continued, "Your concubine takes her leave of Your Highness, and wishes to return to the inner palace."

King Qian, seated upon the sandalwood throne carved with dragon patterns, seemed to raise his head and glance at her a few times. Yuanchun did not dare meet his gaze directly. In the past, she had rarely looked her imperial husband directly in the eyes either, always keeping her head bowed with downcast eyes. Only when replying to the emperor would she lift her head slightly, yet she never dared to gaze straight into her imperial husband's eyes.

Now, she had a new... husband, and it was the same as before.

King Qian chuckled. "You seem rather nervous?"

Flustered in her heart, Yuanchun hurriedly replied, "Your concubine is awed by Your Highness's mighty presence... and thus feels trepidation." Realizing upon reflection that this phrasing was not entirely appropriate, she added, "Your Highness carries out the Mandate of Heaven, soaring like a dragon from the Hao River, achieving imperial enterprise from the status of a commoner. Your concubine has long dwelt deep within the palace and has never beheld a sovereign of such heroic stature, hence my feelings of both reverence and fear toward Your Highness. I pray Your Highness will forgive me."

King Qian laughed. "That is not incorrectly spoken. I have spent many years killing and fighting on the battlefield, so the baleful aura about me is rather heavy... Very well, you may return."

Yuanchun quietly breathed a sigh of relief. After offering a bow, she gracefully withdrew.

Once outside the Linjing Hall, passing ministers glanced at her from afar. Yuanchun covered her face with her sleeve and hurried away. The palace maids and eunuchs who had accompanied her came forward to meet her, and together they returned from the Gate of Celestial Purity to the inner palace.

Hardly had she returned to the Changchun Palace when a eunuch came to report on palace affairs.

The relocation of the imperial consorts to the Eastern Palace had been largely completed, but many miscellaneous matters remained within the palace. Since King Qian had not yet designated anyone to manage the inner court, everyone in the palace had pushed her and Empress Zhang forward. Some regarded her as the head, while others still looked up to Empress Zhang as supreme.

"Procurement outside the palace?"

Jia Yuanchun frowned slightly and asked the steward eunuch, "Have you consulted Her Ladyship the Empress?"

The eunuch hurriedly replied, "Not yet. This slave assumed that Your Ladyship was the one His Highness intended to manage the inner court!"

Knowing full well the stakes involved and not daring to act arbitrarily, Jia Yuanchun rose and said, "Accompany me to see Her Ladyship the Empress."

The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids—such as Baoqin, together with Palace Consort Zhaorong and Lady Cai—all wore expressions of slight disappointment. It was a pity that the Noble Consort Yuan had not taken the opportunity to vie for King Qian's favor before Empress Zhang had begun attending to him.

Otherwise, given the Consort's beauty, how would it ever have come to Consort Wu and that Noble Lady Zhou?

Everyone followed Jia Yuanchun to the Kunning Palace. Now that her status was revered, the entourage accompanying her was even larger than when she had held the title of Virtuous Consort. The palace maids and eunuchs encountered along the way all fell silent and stepped aside.

Moreover, upon the Noble Consort's entry into the Kunning Palace, a eunuch even called out in a loud voice, "Her Ladyship the Virtuous Consort has arrived!!"

Her status was nearly equal to that of Empress Zhang.

When Jia Yuanchun entered the Kunning Palace, the seated Empress Zhang and Princess Qinghe both stood up to show their respect. On the contrary, Noble Lady Zhou, who was visiting for reasons unknown, remained seated right where she was.

"Please be seated, Your Majesty. How could your humble concubine dare to have Your Majesty greet me?" Jia Yuanchun said hastily.

Empress Zhang retained her dignified and radiant appearance, her expression calm as if she had already walked out of the upheaval of the dynasty's fall. She smiled and said, "Until King Qian issues a decree, you, Consort Jia, are the 'Empress' who governs the six palaces; Qinghe and I are merely remnants of the previous dynasty."

"Hmph." Noble Lady Zhou let out a laugh and said to Jia Yuanchun, "Pay no heed to her. I saw through what kind of person she is long ago. She sits in the Kunning Palace as steady as Mount Tai, but in reality, she is worried that you might actually snatch her position as Empress!"

Empress Zhang cast a cold glance in her direction.

Princess Qinghe remained silent. When her former sister-in-law had been the legitimate Empress, when would Noble Lady Zhou ever have dared to provoke her? Though Noble Lady Zhou was spoiled by favor, she would never have dared utter such words in the presence of the Empress!

Now that the inner palace was without a master, it could truly be described as a chaotic dance of all demons!

Had it not been for King Qian's personal guards patrolling the imperial palace, there was no telling how chaotic the six palaces would have become.

"Noble Lady Zhou is overthinking." Empress Zhang sat down again, her expression still detached.

Noble Lady Zhou smiled. "Do not misunderstand my good intentions, Empress. You both know what the current situation is like. If you serve His Highness sooner rather than later, you can set your minds at ease, and His Highness will also be pleased."

With a coquettish smile, she continued, "I came this time to ask Her Ladyship the Empress, and incidentally Her Ladyship the Consort Yuan as well, to go and serve His Highness tonight in place of Consort Wu and myself!"

"What?"

Empress Zhang was startled, and Jia Yuanchun's face also flushed with embarrassment as she silently drank her tea.

Although Qinghe was not well-versed in worldly matters between men and women, she knew that palace concubines all regarded serving the Emperor in bed as an honor; the more one served, the greater the favor received.

Why was Noble Lady Zhou making a special trip today to give away her opportunity to attend the Emperor?

Noble Lady Zhou's face also blushed. Glancing at Qinghe and knowing that she too would have to serve King Qian in the future, she lowered her voice and spoke bluntly: "The previous rumors were not false. King Qian possesses divine and boundless strength; not only is he peerlessly brave on the battlefield, but even... even in matters of the bedchamber, he is... he is simply more than we can withstand."

By the end, even she felt embarrassed.

Four of them attacking together could not defeat him, and they had only managed to hold out for three nights before collapsing.

Hearing this, Jia Yuanchun felt both ashamed and fearful, sitting somewhat on pins and needles.

She too would... have to serve King Qian in the future.

She was completely unfamiliar with such matters, having only experienced it a few times with the Yongning Emperor, both of which had ended hastily and left her too ashamed to recall.

Now, hearing Noble Lady Zhou's uninhibited words, she found them difficult to bear.

"Heh, heh, heh."

Empress Zhang emitted a laugh that sounded part mocking, part mortified. She turned her head, intending to send Qinghe back, but then remembered that Qinghe was also destined to be wedded to King Qian in the future.

That King Qian was tall and robust, possessed of such boundless vigor—how could a gentle, delicate princess raised deep within the palace ever withstand him?

Even she herself...

"Absurd."

Empress Zhang sat upright in her chair, her face expressionless as she said, "I am the Empress of the Shun Dynasty. Though I am now a captive of King Qian and forced by him into this state, you expect me to proactively go and serve him?! Are you attempting to humiliate me!"

The few palace maids and eunuchs once again felt the majesty of the Empress, but alas, she was no longer the Empress.

Noble Lady Zhou smiled. "Why fly into a rage over nothing? You are the Empress of the Shun Dynasty, and you can never be the Empress of the new dynasty again, yet you cherish your life... I advise you to think it over carefully. Do you still expect King Qian to proactively come to your Kunning Palace? Who knows when you might be moved out to make room for the new Empress of the new dynasty to dwell in, and what will become of you then?"

With that, she turned and left of her own accord. She did not bother asking Jia Yuanchun, finding this Virtuous Consort far too dull; even with her beauty, she would find it hard to please the Emperor well.

Qinghe hurriedly said, "There are still young consorts in the palace..."

As she uttered these words, her delicate face was filled with shame.

Those consorts had originally been the wives of her own imperial brother.

Noble Lady Zhou turned back, looked Qinghe over for a moment, and smiled with a hint of helplessness. "You really have not yet been wed, Princess, and you understand nothing at all. While you are still young and an untainted maiden of the boudoir, learn well the arts of winning His Highness's favor, lest you later find yourself alone in the Cold Palace lamenting with no one to ask."

Having spoken her piece, she departed.

Jia Yuanchun suddenly realized that Noble Lady Zhou was not actually a bad person at all...

"For what purpose has the Noble Consort come to see me?"

With the bothersome person gone, Empress Zhang finally asked about official matters. Upon learning the purpose of her visit, she smiled and said, "This is easily done. Simply have your people conduct procurements outside the palace according to past rules. When the time comes to draw silver from the inner treasury, tally up the required funds and report them to King Qian."

Jia Yuanchun understood immediately: minor matters did not require disturbing King Qian, and affairs should be consolidated before presenting them to him together.

After expressing her gratitude, Yuanchun gave orders in accordance with these instructions.

She sat there a while longer to converse with her former aunt-in-law and sister-in-law before taking her leave.

Upon returning to the Changchun Palace, having some leisure time, she inevitably began to dwell on her family affairs. Baoyu, her father, her uncles—they were about to be driven out of the Jia household and subjected to corvée labor in the capital.

Baoyu had been pampered since childhood; could he possibly endure until King Qian showed mercy and restored him to the status of a commoner?

Unable to dispel the sorrow in her heart, she found evening approaching. Just as Yuanchun was about to partake in her evening meal, she suddenly heard a eunuch shout from outside: "His Highness King Qian has arrived!"

"Ah, Your Highness..."

Yuanchun hurriedly ordered her people to go out and welcome him, but before she, Baoqin, and the palace attendants could even form up a welcoming procession, King Qian's tall figure had already appeared before her.