jdhmnovel Chapter 290 Do You Know? Lin Yitang 4
Chapter 290 Do You Know? Lin Yitang 4
Everything fell into place. Before dawn, Lin Yitang noticed the noise around her, groggily got up, and saw the Emperor standing in the middle of the inner room, with palace maids and eunuchs serving him in an orderly manner.
The official turned around and saw Lin Yitang sitting blankly on the bed. His gaze swept over the spots on Lin Yitang's body, and his expression darkened slightly.
Walking to the bedside, the Emperor covered Lin Yitang with a quilt and said, "You're not feeling well, sleep a little longer. Get up when it's time to pay your respects to the Empress."
Lin Yitang lay down on the bed and waited for the sounds in her ears to disappear before taking out a recovery pill from her spatial storage and swallowing it. Although the official's sexual performance was not outstanding, it was not bad either, just average. So why didn't he have a healthy son?
If the emperor has no healthy children, it's either because the emperor is weak-sperm or because of the machinations of the concubines or members of the imperial clan.
Lin Yitang did not want to conceive a son first. Firstly, because of her low status, if she gave birth to a son, the Emperor might give him to Consort Zhang to raise, as Consort Zhang was currently the most favored. Secondly, she did not yet have control over the people around her, and she might be targeted by others.
After thinking it through, Lin Yitang decided that she would take the Pregnancy Pill the next time the Emperor visited Wutong Pavilion.
"Lady Lin, it's time to get up. You should pay your respects to Her Majesty the Empress." Lian Yun whispered to wake Lin Yitang.
Lin Yitang stood up, and Lian Yun immediately helped her up. After Lin Yitang stood up, Lian Yun knelt down, his face full of joy: "Congratulations, Madam Lin! Congratulations, Madam Lin! The Emperor has bestowed upon you the title of Fifth-Rank Talent."
Her wife is truly remarkable. Every "adopted daughter" in the harem who was promoted started as a Lady of the State or a Lady of the County. Even Consort Zhu, the mother of the Emperor's third son, was promoted in the same way. However, Consort Zhu was foolish. The Emperor pitied her for giving birth to a son and wanted to promote her, but Consort Zhu refused.
"Alright, everyone will be rewarded. Lian Yun, you will receive three months' salary, and the other maids and eunuchs who served you will receive two months' salary." Lin Yitang's face was full of joy. She had been planning for so long, and it had finally come to fruition. It had been almost half a year since she entered the palace.
After receiving the reward, Lian Yun became even more loyal to Lin Yitang and took meticulous care of her. After they were all ready, Lin Yitang took Lian Yun to the Kunning Palace to pay her respects to the Empress.
……
"I heard that the Emperor has favored a new concubine. It's true that nothing lasts forever," said Consort Feng sourly. She entered the palace in the first year of the Jingyou era and gave birth to two princesses for the Emperor. It took her many years to finally obtain the title of Consort, but now a new concubine has surpassed her.
"Why be so sour, Lady Feng? A new concubine has entered the harem; it's just another sister," Consort Shang mocked.
"Alright, we're all sisters, harmony is the best policy in the harem," Consort Miao said, trying to smooth things over.
Consort Yu looked depressed. In May of the second year of the Qingli era, her Princess Chongqing died young. Not long after, the Emperor first took Zhou as a concubine, and now he has another concubine, Lin.
Zhou was given a low position because of Consort Zhang, but unexpectedly, Lin appeared out of nowhere.
When Lin Yitang arrived, all the other concubines, except for Consort Zhang and Consort Rong, were there. Naturally, the Empress would wait until all the concubines arrived before coming out.
As soon as she arrived at Kunning Palace, all the concubines in the harem looked at Lin Yitang, a peerless beauty whose appearance was no less than that of Consort Zhang and Consort Rong. Upon seeing Lin Yitang, the concubines understood why she was favored by the emperor.
Lin Yitang knew them, but she only slowly bowed. After all, she had to introduce the concubines to the Empress when she came out, and she couldn't take away the Empress's job.
Guided by a palace maid, she sat at the end of the chair. It should be noted that only those of the rank of Cai Ren or above could pay their respects to the Empress. However, there were quite a few people in the hall, such as Consort Miao, Consort Yu, Consort Lian, Consort Shang, Cai Ren Feng, and Cai Ren Zhu, as well as Consort Zhang and Consort Rong who had not yet appeared.
Not long after Lin Yitang sat down, Consort Rong arrived. She gave Consort Miao a perfunctory greeting and sat down directly without waiting for Consort Miao to tell her to get up.
Rong Xiuyi was appointed last year. It is said that the emperor took a liking to her during a private visit and directly bestowed upon her the title of beauty and brought her into the harem. Rong Xiuyi came from a family of bricklayers. The empress was happy to give Rong Xiuyi a respectable position and let her compete with Consort Zhang for the emperor's favor. In less than a year, she became a Xiuyi of the second rank.
After Consort Rong arrived, Empress Cao soon appeared, and Lin Yitang followed the other concubines to pay their respects to the Empress.
Empress Cao was plain-looking and looked rather ugly among a group of beauties. No wonder the Emperor disliked her and I heard that he only came to Kunning Palace once a month.
"As you all probably know, we have another younger sister to serve Your Majesty today," Empress Cao said.
The concubines each had their own expressions. Under the guidance of Huan'er (Cao's personal maid in Qing Ping Yue), Lin Yitang respectfully knelt and bowed to Empress Cao.
In the Song Dynasty, tea was still served by whisking, so Lin Yitang did not need to serve tea. After serving the emperor, the concubines were required to perform a grand ceremony to the empress the following day.
Lin Yitang did not see Consort Zhang even after she finished her ceremony, which suggests that Consort Zhang was indeed as arrogant and domineering as rumored.
Empress Cao did not make things difficult for her, at least on the surface she was very kind, but Lin Yitang keenly noticed that the Empress would glance at her face from time to time.
"Lady Lin is indeed stunningly beautiful. However, once you enter the palace, you must abide by its rules, and most importantly, bear children for the Emperor." The Empress glanced at Lin Yitang.
Consort Miao and the other concubines rose to their feet: "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress."
"Alright, I'm fine, you may all leave now," the Empress said calmly.
Even after Lin Yitang left Kunning Palace, Consort Zhang did not come to pay her respects to the Empress. Judging from the behavior of the other concubines, they were clearly used to it.
Back at Wutong Pavilion, Lin Yitang changed into a comfortable dress and removed her makeup. She had just paid her respects, and worried that her appearance was too stunning, so she had toned it down a bit. She could rival Consort Zhang and Consort Rong in beauty, but she didn't want them to think she was too much better than them.
But Consort Rong didn't care about her, probably because she was confident in herself. After all, she had risen from a humble bricklayer to become a second-rank consort in just one year.
……
The Empress doesn't pay her respects every day. If she did, Consort Zhang would be acting out of line, which would damage the Empress's dignity. Paying respects on the first and fifteenth of the month is usually sufficient.
The Emperor favored Lin Yitang, and the following night he came to Wutong Pavilion again, continuing to favor her for three days before being summoned away by Consort Zhang.
Lin Yitang currently lives in the east wing of Wutong Pavilion. The main pavilion and the west wing are empty. The back room is occupied by several princesses and imperial attendants who were favored by the emperor a few years ago. They are trapped in the palace their whole lives and can only see the emperor a few times a year.
Lin Yitang maintained a good balance, ensuring the emperor visited her three or four times a month. This prevented her from being overly favored and causing resentment, while also avoiding the possibility of her being neglected by the eunuchs and palace maids.
In December of the second year of the Qingli era, the Emperor's third son, Zhao Xi, fell ill. By the way, Zhao Xi had been kept in the Empress's palace because the previous court officials impeached him, saying that Consort Zhu's rank was too low to raise a prince.
This is why Lin Yitang planned to give birth to a little princess first. The princess could be raised by her birth mother, like Princess Fukang, who was born to Consort Miao and is now five years old; and Princess Chongqing, who was born to Consort Yu, but unfortunately died in May of this year.
After giving birth to the princess, Lin Yitang's status will naturally rise. In the Song Dynasty, the only way for concubines to advance in rank, besides accumulating seniority, was to have children. It was a tragedy of the times.