Chapter 048: Zheng Bao

From the moment she was selected to enter the palace, things had gone wrong: she hadn’t even submitted her name, yet she was chosen, making people suspect she had someone backing her. This not only put her in the spotlight but also drew hatred. Once in the palace, she thought she could hide her abilities and fail the selection, but too many people wanted her in the palace, making others think she was unworthy and a thorn in their side. Now that she was truly in the palace, others had already formed opinions about her, making it impossible for her to blend in.

Falling out with Chen Shuyi wasn’t a big deal.

It merely brought the undercurrents to the surface.

After returning to her room and thinking it over, Jiang Xuening clearly realized the predicament she was in: she had to stay in the palace for another six months. Although Princess Leyang liked her, the palace was vast, and who knew what might happen in the future?

In these heavily guarded palace walls, harming someone was the easiest thing.

Conflicts had already arisen.

Although she had no intention of harming others, who knew if others had intentions of harming her?

In this life, she originally didn’t plan to get involved in palace intrigues, just waiting for six months to pass so she could pack up and leave. But even leaving required a premise: “I have to be alive by then…”

Closing the door, she threw herself onto the couch and lay flat, her eyes calmly watching the light and shadow cast on the embroidered canopy from the window. Jiang Xuening felt she had to do something.

First, compared to those who didn’t like her, did she have any advantages?

Family background?

She was only middle-class, neither high nor low.

Favor from influential people?

She had Shen Zhiyi, but Shen Zhiyi wasn’t the only influential person in the palace.

Intelligence?

She was good at reading people and acted more appropriately than in her previous life, but compared to truly wise people, she only had quick wit and small cleverness, not much more than others.

So, her real and greatest advantage was only one: rebirth, foresight.

She knew many things others didn’t, knew many things that hadn’t happened yet, and even knew many people she hadn’t met yet.

This meant she had more opportunities than others.

To seek benefits and avoid harm, to recognize and judge people, to seize the initiative!

So, based on what she knew from her previous life, was there anything or anyone in the palace now that she could use?

Jiang Xuening counted on her fingers: “The future top scholar Wei Liang should still be studying in Yangzhou; Xiao Dingfei, the rogue pretending to be a young master, is probably still plotting his appearance somewhere; Sun Shangong is a trustworthy person, but where was she at this time in the previous life?”

The Imperial Household Department?

Or in the palace of some neglected concubine?

After calculating, she felt a bit confused and couldn’t remember who could be useful at this time. Human memory is chaotic and disordered, and even after rebirth, she might not remember all the details of her previous life. She felt she was missing something important and had no clear thoughts, feeling a bit dizzy.

It was already afternoon, so Jiang Xuening simply closed her eyes and took a nap.

At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), a palace servant gently knocked on the door and called her, “Miss Jiang, it’s time to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress.”

She woke up from her sleep and sat up.

*

In the front court, the Emperor was in charge.

In the harem, naturally, the Empress was in charge.

.

According to the rules, the companions should have paid their respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress on their first day in the palace. However, the schedule was too tight last time, so no one insisted. This time, they entered the palace in the afternoon and evening, and had to go to Fengchen Hall early the next morning, so the visit was postponed to this afternoon.

After freshening up in her room, Jiang Xuening went to the hall where the others were also coming out one by one. Due to her earlier blunt words with Chen Shuyi, everyone looked at her strangely, and no one approached her to chat.

Only Fang Miao made faces at her when no one was looking.

You Yue pulled Yao Xi to talk with the others, deliberately excluding Jiang Xuening. Chen Shuyi, after dressing up, came out and gave her a cold, hostile look, though she didn’t speak, the tension was palpable.

Even the palace servants who came to lead them to pay their respects sensed the awkward atmosphere and spoke softly, “The Empress Dowager has caught a cold these past two days, and the Empress is currently attending to her in Kunning Palace. So, you can go directly to Kunning Palace to pay your respects, saving you a trip. Please follow me.”

Yangzhi Zhai was closer to the outer court, but Kunning Palace was deep within the inner palace, almost requiring them to pass through most of the harem, with the East and West Six Palaces behind high walls along the way.

Kunning Palace was behind Qianqing Palace, also on the central axis of the entire imperial palace.

Among the eight companions, Fang Miao, You Yue, and Yao Rongrong had rarely entered the palace before and didn’t dare to wander around last time, so they were still unfamiliar with the palace. Jiang Xuening, although she hadn’t officially entered the palace before, was reborn and knew the complex palace layout well, so she wasn’t curious.

You Yue, however, lowered her voice and curiously asked Yao Xi, who was walking beside her, “Yao Xi, is that Kunning Palace ahead?”

Yao Xi glanced in the direction she pointed and said, “Yes, the Empresses of our dynasty have all lived in Kunning Palace. The current Empress is from the Zheng family of Henan. However, she usually keeps a low profile. When we entered the palace to pay respects before, she exempted us and told us to visit the Empress Dowager more often, saying the Empress Dowager enjoys lively company.”

You Yue nodded, “I see.”

Jiang Xuening, walking at the back, raised an eyebrow at Yao Xi’s words and sneered inwardly.

Enjoys lively company?

That old witch would love for the entire palace to revolve around her.

The previous Emperor died too early, and she hadn’t enjoyed being Empress long enough before moving to the secluded Kunning Palace. How could she be content?

The old witch, from the Xiao family, was the sister of Duke Dingguo Xiao Yuan, and thus Xiao Shu’s aunt. Her powerful maternal family gave her significant influence in the harem, and even after the previous Emperor’s death, she never relaxed her control over the harem.

In her previous life, after Shen Lang’s death, his younger brother Shen Jie succeeded him.

As the Princess Consort of Linzi, Jiang Xuening should have been made Empress, but the old witch interfered, saying, “Jiang’s virtue is unworthy, her conduct improper, she lacks the demeanor of an Empress. The Emperor should leave the position vacant and make her one of the four consorts.”

When she heard this, she was almost furious.

Fortunately, the old ministers of the previous dynasty were sensible.

How could a Crown Prince ascend the throne without making his original wife Empress? Doing so would invite ridicule and violate the rules and regulations.

So they all submitted petitions.

Moreover, in her previous life, she had a pure and innocent demeanor, never making mistakes, and the more she was bullied, the more protective people felt towards her. Shen Jie, being a man, couldn’t let her be bullied.

So she eventually became Empress.

However, the conflict over her enthronement made her and Empress Dowager Xiao enemies.

Even the royal family had its domestic squabbles.

Empress Dowager Xiao, as her mother-in-law, constantly criticized her and used filial piety to oppress her, making her life unpleasant.

It wasn’t until Xiao Shu entered the palace and was made a noble consort with a grander ceremony than hers that Jiang Xuening realized: the old witch wanted to support her family’s descendants and make her niece Xiao Shu the Empress.

Thus, the harem became a battlefield.

Jiang Xuening had a weak foundation. To avoid being ousted by this aunt and niece duo, she had to accept anyone willing to be loyal to her, offering benefits in return. Using her skills in reading people and pleasing them, she gathered a group of supporters, barely maintaining her position.

However, using people without discerning their loyalty naturally led to a mix of good and bad.

In the eyes of outsiders and the upright ministers, she was undoubtedly seen as forming cliques for personal gain, akin to a cancer in the court, even being accused of meddling in politics from the harem.

Later, when she was imprisoned in the palace by the rebel faction led by Xie Wei and Yan Lin, memorials from former court officials demanding she be buried with Shen Jie piled up like snowflakes. Her tragic end was partly due to her own actions.

Therefore, Jiang Xuening’s hatred for Empress Dowager Xiao far exceeded her hatred for Xiao Shu in her previous life.

Now, being reborn and having to pay respects to this old witch…

Just thinking about it made Jiang Xuening’s molars itch, and she had to clench her teeth to restrain the urge to curse out loud.

Walking ahead, Yao Xi, unaware of the deep-seated hatred behind her, steered the conversation towards Xiao Shu, smiling, “I had the honor of entering the palace with my parents during the Lantern Festival two years ago to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. I’m a bit nervous about seeing her again. Sister Shu, you must help us. You are the Empress Dowager’s favorite niece. If our manners are lacking and displease her, we’ll rely on you to speak for us.”

Xiao Shu’s smile faded slightly as she glanced at Yao Xi, saying, “We are all just the princess’s companions now. The Empress Dowager has always liked you, Sister Xi. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Jiang Xuening immediately understood that Xiao Shu was well aware of the dangers of standing out.

Although she was the Empress Dowager’s niece and a cousin to Shen Zhiyi, she kept a low profile, never mentioning her relationship with the Empress Dowager since entering the palace. She clearly didn’t want to become a target. However…

How could such a thing be kept low-key?

Sure enough, after Yao Xi’s words and Xiao Shu’s response, everyone’s expressions changed.

As they spoke, they got closer to Kunning Palace, and strange sounds gradually became clearer.

Slap, slap.

One after another, crisp and clear.

The others looked curiously towards the source of the sound, but Jiang Xuening, who had spent several years in the palace in her previous life, immediately recognized it as the sound of someone slapping their own face, and heavily at that!

Turning a corner, Chen Shuyi, walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

Yao Rongrong, seeing the scene ahead, gasped softly, “Ah.”

Realizing her mistake, she quickly covered her mouth.

By the gate of Kunning Palace, a eunuch was kneeling, his hat askew on the ground, held by a simple wooden hairpin. He was slapping his own face hard, without holding back.

His once fair face was now covered in overlapping finger marks, even his mouth was bleeding slightly.

The newly arrived companions had never seen such a scene and didn’t dare to move forward.

Everyone stopped.

Jiang Xuening’s gaze passed over the others and fell on the eunuch, recognizing him instantly. A flash of memory brought a resolute face and splattered blood to her mind.

Zheng Bao!

In her previous life, Zheng Bao, a eunuch serving Shen Jie, was fiercely loyal. Despite being a eunuch, he had a strong character. When Shen Jie was poisoned by Yan Lin and Xie Wei, he cursed them as rebels to their faces and, laughing three times, refused to join them, choosing to commit suicide by sword to follow Shen Jie in death.

At that time, someone mocked that among all the civil and military officials, it was a eunuch who had the most courage.

Jiang Xuening finally realized what she had missed when considering who could be useful to her—

She had overlooked Zheng Bao.

If she remembered correctly, Zheng Bao was currently a low-ranking eunuch in Kunning Palace, but had already been noticed by the chief eunuch Wang Xinyi, who wanted to take him as a disciple. He ended up serving Shen Jie because one year, while being punished outside Kunning Palace, Shen Jie saw him and pleaded for him, leading the Empress to spare him. From then on, he was fiercely loyal to Shen Jie, never betraying him even in the direst circumstances…

What if, in this life, it was she who saved Zheng Bao instead of Shen Jie?

But the problem was—

Shen Jie was the Prince of Linzi, his words carried weight; she was just a companion, how could she save him?