Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Out of consideration for Jiang Xian’s feelings, the Empress Dowager had originally intended to keep the news of Consort Guo’s pregnancy from her.

But there was no stopping Jiang Xian from going to Jianzhang Palace to pay her respects every day, putting her on the front lines of harem gossip.

Lu Ronghua practically ground her back teeth to dust. "Consort Guo certainly hid it well! She missed her period for three months and didn’t even call an Imperial Physician to take a look? Her servants are so careless. Or perhaps an Imperial Physician did see her, but couldn’t detect a pregnancy pulse? It truly worries me to think such incompetent physicians are just filling spots in the Imperial Hospital."

"Your Ladyship’s criticism is just, but I only recently learned of my good fortune and am in high spirits, so I have already fined them some silver," Consort Guo replied with a placid smile, stroking her slightly rounded belly. For the past while, she had been wearing loose-fitting clothes, only switching to form-fitting attire after the pregnancy was stable and the news was announced. "Besides, it was too early before. Even if an Imperial Physician had come, they wouldn’t have been able to detect anything. Without a definitive word, I dared not disturb my sisters with the news."

Consort Guo’s personal palace maids certainly knew about her pregnancy.

She only said this to prevent Lu Ronghua from going over her head and asking the Empress to punish her palace maids.

The gazes of the others turned even more envious.

After palace maids, Imperial Physicians were the best channel for sending news to the front court, but that only worked if you had family to pull the right strings for you. Consort Guo was a prime example of having a good family background: she entered the palace with a high rank, was the first to serve the Emperor, and even when she fell out of favor, she was promoted back during the New Year. Now, with her pregnancy, she could have an Imperial Physician familiar with her family keep it a secret until the fetus was stable at three months...

’Ah, having a good family background is just so nice!’

Don’t just look at the endlessly glorious Gu Wan Yi, who is currently favored. How long can that last? And even if it does, how many "Gu Wan Yis" are there? Someone like Consort Guo, on the other hand, could court death until she lost the Holy Favor, yet not only keep her rank but also find a way to protect her child when she was lucky enough to conceive. This was the bare minimum of protection a powerful family could offer.

It’s no wonder the concubines weren’t all single-mindedly devoted to the Emperor.

If there was anyone to blame, it was the Emperor, who failed to provide the concubines with any sense of security.

Lu Ronghua covered her mouth and laughed. "It is a bit of a shock. After all, Consort Guo doesn’t receive much Holy Favor, yet she still managed to get pregnant. What good fortune."

The assembled concubines glanced at her sideways.

’As expected of the troublemaker who dares to act up in front of the Noble Consort and Gu Wan Yi!’

Lu Ronghua was like a feather duster come to life; whenever her feathers got ruffled, she’d start swatting at people. The Noble Consort, in turn, would just pluck her bald. But in front of a lower-ranking concubine like Consort Guo, the feather duster flapped brazenly in her face.

She continued, "I’ve heard that when carrying a girl, the mother’s complexion improves and her skin becomes more delicate. Someone like Gu Wan Yi, with skin as smooth as fine cream, is probably carrying a Princess. Half a month ago when Consort Guo came to pay respects, I was about to ask if her servants were being careless. They’d let their mistress’s skin become so coarse and wrinkled. But looking at you now, I suppose you must be carrying a Prince!"

Jiang Xian glanced over.

’Dragging two people in just to step on them both. She really is a double-headed feather duster.’

Lu Ronghua had used similar tactics the last time she visited Bihua Palace. The woman had an obsessive passion for predicting the sex of unborn babies. She should be packaged up and sent to the countryside to be a barefoot doctor for some family that heavily favored sons.

Consort Guo’s expression soured as well.

Although she prayed day and night for the child in her womb to be a Prince, no woman would be happy to hear herself described as "coarse and wrinkled." Lu Ronghua had all but pointed at her nose and called her ugly!

Jiang Xian paid no mind to Consort Guo’s expression.

Her first instinct was to look at Noble Princess Consort Rong.

Sure enough, Noble Princess Consort Rong was cupping one of her fragrant cheeks, her phoenix eyes narrowed. She was clearly on the verge of losing her patience.

Just then, a soft sigh was heard, and everyone turned to look. Jiang Xian frowned slightly, not with a pained expression, but one of distress. "I was already more beautiful than Consort Guo to begin with; it has nothing to do with bearing children... Even the Imperial Physicians cannot determine the sex of a child, yet Lu Ronghua speaks with such authority. She stares at my belly all day, and it’s making me quite nervous and frightened. Your Majesty the Empress, you must stand up for me."

As she said this, Jiang Xian activated her Little Pitiful Halo.

Her acting coach had been Xi Shi. She had studied diligently back then. While her improvisational skills might not match Xi Shi’s, unleashing fifty percent of her power was more than enough for this.

Her words weren’t necessarily brilliant, but they were overflowing with the aroma of green tea.

As expected, the Empress’s expression turned stern. "The Dragon Successor is precious. How can you speak so casually, speculating on the sex as if it were a game? Whether a Prince or a Princess, they bring a bit of life to the harem, which is always a joyous occasion. Pregnant women are prone to overthinking. Consort Guo is new and doesn’t know better, but Lu Ronghua, you have been here for many years. Have you also lost your sense of propriety?"

This is where the feather duster’s other characteristic came into play—

It puffed up against the weak, but got plucked by the strong.

Lu Ronghua instantly became as docile as could be.

"The Empress’s lesson is well-received. I was merely too concerned for Consort Guo and Gu Wan Yi and lost my sense of proportion for a moment."

’The Empress really knows how to play favorites!’ the crowd thought again.

’Just listen to what the Empress said!’

’There were clearly three people in a catfight—two pregnant women and a feather-duster-come-to-life—yet the Empress said, "Consort Guo is new and doesn’t know better," and "Lu Ronghua... have you also lost your sense of propriety?" Did that mean Gu Wan Yi was the only one who was sensible and proper?!’

As the concubines were thinking this, they saw Gu Wan Yi rise and curtsy to the Empress, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress, for standing up for me. With you here, there is nothing left in the harem to make us sisters feel uneasy."

The Empress told her to sit back down and added that if she felt unwell at all, she was excused from paying her respects for the rest of the month.

Jiang Xian smiled. "Thinking of giving the Emperor a strong and healthy little prince or princess, I am taking very good care of this pregnancy. It is a stable one, and I feel no discomfort. In fact, I wish to come to Jianzhang Palace every day to pay my respects, to bask in Your Majesty’s good fortune, and also to be close to his Mother Empress."

The Six Palace Concubines collectively broke out in goosebumps.

But the Empress’s expression remained unchanged.

The Emperor and Empress had similar but not identical personalities. The Empress was not particularly fond of flattery; she sought to avoid trouble. And all of Jiang Xian’s actions saved her trouble. Not to mention the goodwill built from Jiang Xian’s consistent help with harem affairs, as the leader of the harem, the Empress needed a "middle manager" to step up and set the tone. Jiang Xian filled that role.

The Empress hated trouble and hoped for peace in the harem, but she knew even better that failing to distinguish between friend and foe was an invitation for chaos. Jiang Xian was on the Empress’s team. When the Empress gave her face, she was smart enough to return the favor by acting as a model for the Empress.

It wasn’t as if the Empress wanted to snatch anyone’s child to raise as her own.

But the respect due to her status as "Mother Empress" had to be properly arranged by those beneath her.

The favored and pregnant Lady Wan Yi still showed the utmost respect to the Empress.

Consort Guo and Lu Ronghua were even less worthy of mention.

Real people aren’t NPCs in a game where you can raise affection levels with daily conversations and gifts. Just as visiting relatives during holidays doesn’t build a real network, the only way to truly establish a web of relationships revolves around two words: "being useful."

It was both cold and unbreakable.

***

Her relationship with the CEO of the harem was now unbreakable, but after getting off work, Jiang Xian had to go appease her little sister.

She didn’t get into her own palanquin, instead following directly behind the Noble Consort’s.

The foul-tempered Noble Princess Consort Rong stared straight ahead, her cheeks puffed out in anger, so she naturally didn’t notice the little tail that had appeared behind her palanquin. Ma Wan Yi, once the Noble Consort’s number one follower, sat in a palanquin one step behind the Noble Consort’s, constantly and anxiously looking back at Jiang Xian, who was walking behind them.

To be honest, Ma Wan Yi despised Jiang Xian.

She had stolen her man, and she had stolen her woman.

But Jiang Xian was pregnant, yet she wasn’t riding in a palanquin, choosing instead to walk behind their two palanquins. If something were to happen to her... The Emperor certainly wouldn’t blame the Noble Consort, which meant she would be the one and only divinely chosen scapegoat.

Ma Wan Yi beckoned her personal palace maid to her ear. "Do you see Gu Wan Yi?"

"I see her, Your Ladyship. Don’t tell me you want to push..."

"Shut up! Do you have a death wish for your clan, or for mine?" Ma Wan Yi’s thoughts shifted. This was a servant born into her own household; if they were to die, they would die together. "Go and support her. Don’t you dare let her fall. Just ask her if her palanquin is broken or something. If it comes to it, I’ll get out and let her ride. I’ll walk."

Ma Wan Yi could still tell the difference between walking a short distance and being exiled to the frontier on foot.

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