Rong Fei is not honored

Chapter 638 A Ruined Opportunity

“It was the Imperial Concubine’s idea for Uya to live in the rear palace, and it was also officially approved by His Majesty and the Empress.”

The implication is that His Majesty knows that Lady Uya lives in the rear palace, and it's none of your business whether she's worthy or not.

Moreover, even if Lady Wuya is a lowly servant, she is now pregnant with the imperial heir, and both the Emperor and the Empress know this. You, a mere concubine, have no right to interfere with Lady Wuya's affairs.

Consort Shen calmed down a bit after being blinded by anger, realizing that she had missed the best opportunity to strike. If she continued to act recklessly against Uya, even the Empress Dowager might not be able to protect her.

"Even if the Tong family rose to prominence thanks to Empress Dowager Cihe, they still have some foundation. How could the daughter of the Tong family act so filthyly, dragging all sorts of dirty and smelly things onto the dragon bed? Aren't they afraid of defiling His Majesty!"

"you!"

"Did I say something wrong? The Empress, as the head of the harem, hasn't said anything yet, but the Consort is already getting restless. I've heard many stories of wives helping their husbands take concubines, but this is the first time I've heard of a concubine helping to take concubines."

After saying that, Consort Shen ignored how cold Tong Mama's eyes were and turned to leave.

Who can be blamed? It's all because Consort Tongjia was unconscious. No matter how harsh her insults were, or how angry she was at the humiliation of her mistress, the servants around the Noble Consort could not utter a word in response.

Inside the house, Uya, who had been hiding and had not shown herself, clutched her stomach and clenched her fists so tightly that she was unaware that her nails were digging into her head.

Consort Shen rushed to Cining Palace with her entourage. Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, she burst into tears and rushed to her side, startling the Empress Dowager.

What an injustice they suffered!

The Empress Dowager looked anxiously at the Grand Empress Dowager, only to see that her mother remained calm and composed, clearly aware of the whole story.

The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief.

"Grandmother, you must stand up for me! You have no idea how outrageous Tongjia Shi is; she's practically riding on my head!"

"Given your temper, didn't you cause a scene at Chengqian Palace?"

Consort Shen's crying stopped. "Does Grandmother already know what happened?"

"The news that a palace maid serving Lady Tongjia is pregnant has spread throughout the palace. How could I not know?"

The Empress Dowager's eyes widened. A palace maid serving Consort Tongjia was pregnant? Whose child? Could it be the Emperor?

This… she thought that even if the Emperor stayed overnight at Chengqian Palace, he would sleep alone, or just chat under the covers. She never expected that something would actually happen, and the person involved was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.

"Even if I make a scene, what's the use? Tongjia and that lowly maid are completely unharmed. How can I swallow this insult!"

"Then what can I do? Am I supposed to issue an edict to punish someone just because the Emperor visited you first and then favored a maidservant who served the Consort?"

"But if it weren't for Lady Tongjia's machinations that pulled His Majesty away, the one pregnant with the imperial heir now would be my granddaughter. Lady Tongjia ruined my chance, won't my great-aunt take responsibility?"

The Empress Dowager's smile vanished, and she asked coldly, "Explain yourself clearly, what do you mean by ruining your opportunity?"

"I……"

"Say!"

“On that day, His Majesty visited me and we had dinner together… I had some warm wine served.”

"You are presumptuous!"

Consort Shen quickly knelt down and explained, "That was just a common aphrodisiac wine in the palace, nothing else was added. And... and His Majesty also knew about it; he tasted it the first time he took the first sip."

Consort Shen blushed, recalling the day His Majesty drank the first cup and then looked at her meaningfully. Consort Shen knew that His Majesty had already tasted it. She forced herself not to kneel down and beg for forgiveness, but instead boldly asked him if he wanted to drink another cup.

The Emperor agreed and even let her pour the wine herself. Overwhelmed with joy, Consort Shen forgot her manners and looked up at the Emperor, only to be met with his ambiguous gaze.

Consort Shen felt like she was about to drown in it.

After half a pot of warm wine was drunk, just when everything was about to fall into place, that damned Tongjia woman came out to ruin things.

That wretched woman knelt at the door, sobbing and lamenting that His Majesty had said in front of so many people that he would never touch her, making her, and even the entire Tong family, a laughingstock. Even though she had been granted the title of Imperial Concubine, no one respected her.

The Emperor stormed out, warning Lady Tongjia to stop her nonsense and that his mind would never change.

Tongjia said that she would not dare to insult the Empress Dowager Cihe. She only asked that His Majesty rest alone in the main hall of Chengqian Palace for one night, as a way to cover up the shame for her and the Tong family.

Otherwise, if His Majesty comes to Chengqian Palace today but favors Consort Shen in the side hall, rumors will surely spread throughout the palace tomorrow, and that matter will be brought up again.

At that time, the Tong family would be disgraced, and Empress Dowager Cihe would also be implicated, leaving her with no choice but to atone with her death.

This is a threat.

Although both the Emperor and Consort Shen knew very well that Lady Tongjia would not commit suicide, this whole incident had ruined the romantic atmosphere. Consort Shen wanted to keep the Emperor around, even if he didn't do anything.

But the Emperor softened his heart. Consort Shen saw it clearly; besides anger, the Emperor's eyes also held reluctance and guilt. In the end, Consort Shen couldn't keep him.

At the time, she thought that Lady Tongjia was just angry and deliberately ruined her plans. As for the Emperor, he must not want to see Lady Tongjia causing trouble anymore, so she never stayed overnight at Chengqian Palace again.

Consort Shen never imagined that Lady Tongjia had come prepared. She didn't believe that the stingy Lady Tongjia could get a palace maid to climb into her bed, and she didn't believe that Lady Tongjia had just put forward a servant at the last minute.

The "warming wine" ultimately worked, but it benefited someone else entirely. That night felt like a dream for Consort Shen.

Why didn't you tell me about this?

The Empress Dowager only knew that the Tongjia clan wanted to use the Uya clan's womb, and that they might have used some secret medicine, which is why the Uya clan was able to conceive on the first try.

She had no idea that so much had happened the day the Emperor stayed overnight at Chengqian Palace. The opportunity to serve him was originally Naren's? And there was even a "warming wine" (a traditional Chinese medicine for arousing affection)? Didn't that mean she had created an opportunity for someone else for nothing?

"I……"

Being outmaneuvered is hardly a glorious thing, so Consort Shen kept it a secret, even from the Cining Palace. The Tongjia clan member, who had benefited from the deal, was also planning to make a name for herself, so naturally she wouldn't tell anyone.

As a result, it actually brought about the rise of the Uya clan.

The Empress Dowager felt the same way as Consort Shen. They could tolerate others getting opportunities, but they couldn't tolerate the opportunity slipping through their fingers.

If the Empress Dowager had known earlier, how could she have allowed Uya to have a stable pregnancy? Even if she didn't cause trouble for Tongjia, she would have found a way to benefit Naren from it.