Chapter 134: Becoming a Treacherous Consort
Nan Xun figured that a man in bed was the easiest to coax, so she struck while the iron was hot and voiced her thoughts. “Your Majesty, I think this—”
“Be good. Call me Brother Han,” Yan Mohan interrupted, correcting her form of address.
“Brother Han, I think the women in the harem really don’t have it easy. Could you maybe stop chopping off their hands and feet or cutting out their tongues at the slightest disagreement?”
Yan Mohan frowned when he heard this. “Yaoyao, they showed you disrespect. Naturally, I had to punish them. Otherwise, one after another would come looking for trouble with you. Just watching that makes my heart ache.”
Nan Xun: …
“Yaoyao, do you think I’m too brutal?”
Yan Mohan suddenly tightened his grip on her hand, squeezing it hard. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me either. I can’t stand seeing others bully you. The moment I see them speaking ill of you or tripping you up, I feel an overwhelming urge to kill. Perhaps I’m just born cruel—there’s no changing it. Are you disgusted by me now?”
Seeing Yan Mohan like this made Nan Xun feel uneasy. She quickly shook her head. “I don’t despise you. I’m just afraid that you’re killing too much. That wouldn’t be good for our descendants.”
Yan Mohan’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Descendants? Yaoyao, you want to have children with me?”
But the words had barely left his mouth when something seemed to occur to him. The light in his eyes quickly faded; his gaze flickered, then dropped, concealing the pain and regret within.
“Yaoyao, Yaoyao, let’s not have children, all right? I just want to be with you. Just the two of us—isn’t that good enough?”
Nan Xun looked shocked. “But I want children. Children are so cute. Brother Han, don’t you want a child that belongs to the two of us?”
“Let’s talk about this later. Yaoyao, didn’t you just ask me to spare the women in the harem? I promise you. Anyway, the ones left are those I’ve never touched. I was thinking of sending them all out of the palace. From now on, the harem will have only you. You’ll be my one and only beloved consort. Oh right, Yaoyao, do you want to be empress? I can hold the investiture ceremony for you on an auspicious day—how does that sound?”
In the past, he hadn’t rushed to establish an empress in order to balance court factions. Now, he couldn’t care less about that. He wanted Qin Buyao to be his empress, his only woman.
Yan Mohan acted the moment he decided. At the next day’s morning court, he announced the elevation of Qin Buyao to empress. Three days later, the investiture ceremony would be held, and at the same time, all the consorts in the harem would be dismissed, each granted countless gold, silver, and jewels.
The court erupted. Everyone felt the emperor might have gone mad.
Elevating Noble Consort Qin to empress was one thing—but why disband the entire harem?
Could it be that Qin Buyao truly was, as the rumors claimed, a treacherous consort?
Old General Qin’s feelings were complicated. His precious granddaughter had become empress, yet he felt no joy at all. With the emperor making such a move, wouldn’t all the ministers direct their spears at the Qin family?
Which woman who entered the harem wasn’t the daughter of a court official? The emperor could just dismiss them all with a single word?
All the other consorts were sent away, yet the emperor deliberately kept Qin Buyao and even made her empress. The Qin family became a living target, inviting envy and suspicion from all sides.
“Son, tell me—could Yaoyao really be the treacherous consort everyone’s talking about? The emperor has dealt with several consorts one after another because of her, and now he’s disbanded the harem. Is all of this really because of our Yaoyao?” Old General Qin asked.
General Qin’s expression was also complex, but he still shook his head in disbelief. “This girl may be a bit willful, but she wouldn’t turn into such a treacherous consort. These must all be rumors.”
“But… people do change,” Old General Qin sighed. “I only hope none of this is true.”
After a pause, General Qin suddenly said, “Find a chance to enter the palace and see the empress. Ask her face to face, and we’ll know what’s really going on.”
…
Nan Xun became empress, but she was a very lonely one. Every morning, there were no consorts coming to pay their respects. The entire harem was desolate and quiet.
Out of boredom, Nan Xun taught the young maids and eunuchs all kinds of games. Unfortunately, her “notorious reputation” now spread far and wide. Aside from Cui Huan, no one dared relax. Even playing games, they trembled with fear.
So Nan Xun grew lazy again. Taking advantage of the fine weather, she had the servants bring out a rocking chair. She lay on it while Cui Huan read her storybooks, and another little maid fed her fruit. Life was actually quite comfortable.
As soon as Yan Mohan finished morning court, he came to see her. He lightened his steps as he walked up to Nan Xun, took the fruit plate from the maid, peeled a longan, and stuffed it into her mouth, his fingers lingering mischievously over her pink lips.
Nan Xun cracked her eyes open slightly and said in disgust, “You didn’t even wash your hands. That’s dirty.”
Yan Mohan scooped the boneless Nan Xun into his arms and sat her up, laughing. “I knew you were particular, so I washed my hands earlier. Yaoyao, now that you’re empress, I’m not restricting you anymore. You can go wherever you want.”
Nan Xun yawned and said, puzzled, “Where would I even go? The Pengyue Palace has everything. Why would I go anywhere else?”
Although Nan Xun was now empress, she hadn’t moved to the empress’s residence, Phoenix Palace, and still stayed in Pengyue Palace. It wasn’t far from Dragon Palace anyway, and the emperor indulged her.
Yan Mohan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “I’ve heard your natal family misses you quite a bit. There’s no need for you to avoid anything—see them if you want to.”
Nan Xun was somewhat surprised. Because of matters from his previous life, Yan Mohan had always been wary of the Qin family. Since entering the palace, she hadn’t seen Qin Buyao’s family once.
Her family must be very worried about her. Since she had taken over Qin Buyao’s body, she should fulfill whatever filial duties she could.
That very afternoon, Nan Xun used her authority as empress to summon Qin Buyao’s mother into the palace.
Nan Xun had Qin Buyao’s memories, so she wasn’t afraid of giving herself away. With Little Eight as her cheat, she even replicated Qin Buyao’s small mannerisms perfectly.
Madam Qin wiped away tears as she looked at her. “My good child, this year in the palace must have been so hard on you.”
Nan Xun was a little bewildered. “Mother, I’m not suffering at all. Your daughter is the empress now—I have everything I could want.”
Who would have thought that hearing this would make Madam Qin cry even harder? “Child, tell your mother honestly—were those consorts the emperor executed really because of you? And was the disbanding of the harem also for your sake?”
Nan Xun paused, then said, “In a way, yes. It’s just that the emperor’s methods were too extreme. Those consorts didn’t deserve death. He shouldn’t have taken their lives.”
Hearing this, Madam Qin looked at her with a strange expression, staring until Nan Xun felt uncomfortable all over.
Nan Xun hurriedly asked Little Eight, “Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like Mother’s gaze is filled with endless complexity—like she wants to uphold righteousness by killing her own kin?”
Little Eight replied, “She thinks you’re a treacherous consort. Treacherous consorts are bad influence on the emperor, everyone has the right to execute them. The Qin family are all honest, straightforward people. Having a woman in the family who has thrown the harem into chaos makes them feel they’ve failed their ancestors and the world. They probably even considered killing you before coming.”
Nan Xun: …
