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

The sedan chair proceeded at a leisurely pace.

Zhao’er sat in his Imperial Father’s lap. Unlike Xie Sheng, he wasn’t afraid of the Emperor. While others saw Xie Che as the Venerable Emperor who held the power of life and death, Jiang Xian trusted that he would never kill his own son. If she didn’t believe he possessed at least a shred of humanity and a moral compass, she would have been adamant about using contraception, even if it meant being constantly criticized for being favored yet childless.

In fact, within the harem, Xie Che was a relatively soft-hearted man, lenient with women and children.

Harem politics were best left to the adults.

And so, she didn’t have Zhao’er try to ingratiate himself with the Emperor.

She let him act as any child would with an ordinary father.

"I know."

"If you knew, then why lie? You’ve never been one to forget old lessons after learning new ones."

Zhao’er had grown up under his very eyes, so Xie Che knew exactly how clever the boy was. His intelligence wasn’t just a matter of a photographic memory; he could quickly grasp and integrate any text he read or principle he heard. Once he understood the underlying logic—the "skeleton" of a piece—memorizing it became twice as effective, and he rarely forgot what he learned.

As he thought, Xie Che subconsciously went to fiddle with the jade thumb ring on his thumb, only to grasp at empty air. He had stopped wearing such accessories ever since the ring he wore had left an imprint on Zhao’er’s cheek.

"Imperial Father, you once taught me to cherish my younger brother. Just now, my second brother and I were reciting the same text. He couldn’t recite it, but I could do so fluently, and I worried that would make him feel even worse. I intended to recite it for you again once I returned to Bihua Palace."

Realizing this was more than just a casual chat between father and son, Zhao’er set aside his playful mood and answered seriously.

"You don’t want to outshine your younger brother?"

Xie Che’s first thought was that Jiang Xian had taught him to conceal his sharpness.

But he immediately dismissed the idea. That wasn’t Jiang Xian’s style.

She was more likely to be sharpening her blade daily, wishing its brilliance would blind the entire Capital.

"That was just a casual tea break with you and Second Brother, Imperial Father, not an examination. If we were in the Upper Study Room, I would naturally give it my all."

He was still just a child, after all. After speaking with such clarity, Zhao’er grew hesitant when he received no reply from his father. "If you don’t approve, Imperial Father, I won’t do it again. I know I was wrong."

But Xie Che laughed and patted his head. "Excellent. To know how to cherish your younger brother at such a young age... your mother has taught you well."

Only then did Zhao’er relax and break into a smile.

Once at Bihua Palace, Xie Che stayed for dinner. After their son was taken by a nanny to be put to bed, he took Jiang Xian’s hand and told her what had happened that day. While praising her, he also asked how she raised their son. "Let me be blunt, Xian’er. It’s not in your nature to conceal your sharpness to spare others’ feelings. And it is precisely that exceptional quality that I love about you."

"We call each other ’sisters’ in the harem. Does that actually make us sisters?"

Jiang Xian countered with a question of her own.

"Princes and Princesses who do not share the same mother have little affection for one another, unless they form a special bond."

"Affection is something that must be cultivated. I want Zhao’er to become a better person, not just be better than other people." Jiang Xian was reminded of her own misguided past. ’When I first started out, all I could think about was crushing my colleagues. But that’s not how it works. You just need to perform well in front of the one doing the grading. As for your competitors, saving them a bit of face is part of the game.’ "Besides," she added, "would you, the Emperor, have blamed Zhao’er today if he had been the one unable to recite the *Thousand Character Classic*?"

Xie Che’s eyes filled with undisguised delight. "I was overjoyed! I could see that his concern for his second brother came from the heart. It shows he is inherently kind and brotherly. In the future, even if he gains power, he won’t harm his own kin."

"Your Majesty, you’re thinking so far into the future."

"My worries used to be about consolidating power. But since becoming a father, I can’t help but think about things a decade or so from now... To be honest with you, just yesterday I was thinking about what titles I should bestow upon them when they leave the palace to establish their own residences."

"That’s much too far off. Your Majesty should think about something more immediate."

"Such as?"

"Why don’t you start by thinking about my title for my promotion to Concubine?"

"..."

The Emperor pulled the covers over himself, deciding to go to sleep and ignore this impertinent, wicked woman.

※

Ever since the Emperor had taken him on that trip to Zhongcui Palace, Zhao’er had developed an unprecedented enthusiasm for his little brother.

Bihua Palace’s child-rearing style was semi-free-range. As long as Zhao’er finished the lessons Jiang Xian arranged and ate his meals on time, he was free to go wherever he pleased. In any case, a whole entourage of palace maids, eunuchs, and nannies followed him everywhere, their eyes glued to him the entire time, terrified the precious Eldest Prince might get so much as a scratch. His safety, therefore, was well assured.

Jiang Xian had also exchanged for some Universal Antidote Pills, which she tucked into the small brocade bag Zhao’er carried with him, instructing him to take one if ever necessary.

Any remaining threat to the Prince’s life would have to be a physical attack.

"Can’t you assign me a more dangerous mission? Something like assassinating a favored concubine or a key court official? Isn’t having me babysit a bit of a waste of my talents?"

Sikong Rui would grumble to her whenever they were alone.

He clearly resented her for using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—that is, making him a babysitter.

After all, the Dark Guard Card was created to do dirty work. To ensure the host could use it without guilt, the character himself viewed killing as a trivial matter. In fact, if he didn’t receive an assassination order, he felt a certain emptiness, as if he were an idle freeloader.

"Hmm..."

Jiang Xian pondered this.

The Hidden Guard card came with a passive buff that made him easy to ignore, and his muttering from some dark corner was like a kind of hypnotic white noise. Since her subordinate was dissatisfied with his post, she casually dangled a carrot. "Don’t you call me ’Mom’? Look how loving Zhao’er is toward his little brother. The fact that I’m letting you, the big brother, take care of the little brother is a sign of how highly I regard you. In the future, all the dirty work—murder, arson, every evil deed imaginable—will surely fall to you."

Sikong Rui considered this, decided it made sense, and went off to babysit, overjoyed.

Zhao’er’s routine wasn’t complicated. In the morning, he would first read for an hour, then happily trot over to Zhongcui Palace to find his little brother to play, study, and make progress together.

Seeing this, Guo Xiao Yi was initially displeased.

But the nanny her family had sent over persuaded her, "It’s a good thing for our young master to be close with the Eldest Prince. With Zhaoyi Jiang’s son being so fond of him, she should be the one to worry. The Emperor visits Bihua Palace often, so our young master will also get more time in the spotlight."

With that thought, Guo Xiao Yi was no longer anxious and even welcomed Zhao’er’s visits. She only reminded her own son that even when he wasn’t in Zhongcui Palace with nannies and palace maids watching, he must not neglect his studies for play.

"I know. I’m not interested in playing at all."

"Don’t just say you know and then forget it all. That Zhaoyi Jiang will definitely pull out a pile of new toys for you to play with and an endless supply of delicious pastries. There’s just one thing you must remember: she doesn’t have good intentions. She just wants you to slack off so you become nothing but a foil for the Eldest Prince. Think about it, do you want to be a mere foil?"

...

Guo Xiao Yi had overestimated the ideological awareness of a human child.

’So many new toys.’

’So many delicious pastries.’

At three and a half years old, Xie Sheng couldn’t help but be captivated by the idea... ’I so want to go to Bihua Palace and be a foil!’

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