Chapter 3584: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (3)
Chapter 3584: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (3)
Fu Min had realized the ultimate dream of a woman in ancient times: a lifetime of devotion to a single partner. Furthermore, that partner was an emperor of his generation, making it a feat of incredible capability.
This was something women in ancient times could only yearn for but never obtain. Yet, Ao Tianze had done it for Fu Min.
Nobody cared about the blood and tears shed by the other imperial consorts who relied on this man to survive. Their space for survival had already been squeezed down to virtually nothing. Whether they lived or died rested entirely on a single whim of the Emperor, and by extension, a man.
Foot binding emerged not only to satisfy the twisted and perverted psychology of men but also to force women to stay at home. Since women were considered so foolish, they had no need to leave the house, so they might as well have their feet bound.
It truly could be said that when an empire prospered, women suffered, and when an empire fell, women also suffered.
Tan Yuxin’s wish was to deal with Ao Tianze. A husband and wife could share boundless love, but they could also harbor an ocean of deep-seated hatred.
There was no longer a shred of marital affection between them.
Ning Shu rubbed the space between her eyebrows. Her body felt exceptionally unwell. That damp and heavy sensation made it impossible to muster any energy. She truly wished she could wring herself out like a piece of wet clothing to squeeze out all the dampness in her body.
Her head throbbed with a dull ache that made irritation flare up uncontrollably in her heart. Ning Shu pressed heavily on her temples.
The rather miserable part right now was that it seemed the entire inner palace, aside from Fu Min, had been defiled by the shadow guards. That included Tan Yuxin, the empress herself.
To avoid being discovered, Ao Tianze never stayed the night.
She had already ‘rolled around in bed’ with a shadow guard. Even if it was just for self-preservation, she had to destroy Ao Tianze. There was no room for negotiation on this.
Fu Min and all the other women in this inner palace lived by relying on Ao Tianze. Without Ao Tianze, Fu Min would be absolutely nothing.
As long as Ao Tianze did not depose her, she retained the authority to manage this inner palace.
Fu Min had never harmed anyone. She was incomparably clean in this inner palace, and Ao Tianze shielded her from the bloodless yet lethal blades and swords of inner palace schemes.
Not just anyone had the privilege of remaining clean and beautiful. Who could they blame for not being his true love?
Ning Shu rubbed the space between her eyebrows until it turned red. Her body felt incredibly uncomfortable.
Come to think of it, the current Tan Yuxin was not even twenty years old, yet she had the body of a forty-year-old.
The excessive pressure had caused her body to break down. She was trembling with fear every single day and constantly in a state of high mental tension. This was naturally followed by nervous exhaustion. She couldn’t eat well or sleep well, and she felt light-headed all day long, as if she were about to ascend to immortality at any moment.
With this kind of condition, she was basically cultivating immortality every single day. She was bound to drop dead sooner or later!
Being the empress was truly a miserable job. She had to manage her husband’s massive household of women, she couldn’t show jealousy, and she had to be magnanimous. Whatever went wrong was the Empress’s responsibility. It was a thankless task.
The little bit of power in her hands became completely useless and could be stripped away at any minute when facing the woman the emperor loved. Her shield of authority was currently on cooldown.
Motherfucker, her head hurt so much!
Her entire body was uncomfortable. She felt clammy and awful due to the heavy dampness in her body.
With a soft creak of the opening door, her personal palace maid Xi’er walked in. Seeing Ning Shu sitting up, she hurriedly set down the washbasin in her hands, wrung out a cloth, and handed it to Ning Shu to wipe her face. “Your Highness, wash your face to feel a bit more refreshed.”
Ning Shu hummed in response. To Xi’er, who was wiping her face, she said, “Summon a court physician for this empress. My body feels terribly fatigued.”
As the empress, she couldn’t exactly go for a run every day to exercise. She had to maintain a dignified, noble, and elegant demeanor. With such immense pressure and nowhere to vent it, how could her body not break down?
Moreover, Ning Shu realized that this body was severely lacking in qi, and its heart was beating very fast.
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere, Your Highness?” Xi’er asked hastily.
Ning Shu: Her entire body was uncomfortable, as if she were soaking in water.
“Could it be that Your Highness is pregnant?” Xi’er asked, beaming with joy.
Ning Shu: →_→
Anyone in this inner palace could get pregnant, but she was the least likely to do so. The pressure was simply too great, making getting pregnant highly improbable.
Furthermore, her fate would be more miserable if she did get pregnant. She might be rubbing your belly with a look of pure bliss one moment, and not long after, she might take a fall. With a thud, the child would be gone.
Gaining something only to lose it was an even more agonizing experience.
“Go summon a court physician. This empress is feeling unwell.” Ning Shu rubbed the space between her eyebrows, mobilizing the spiritual energy in her internal core to strengthen her body.
Xi’er quickly brought the court physician over. Ning Shu extended her wrist to let him check her pulse. “Court Physician Li, this empress feels dizzy and weak all day long. Please prescribe some medicine to boost my qi and replenish my blood.”
“Your Highness has injured your spleen and stomach from overthinking. This humble one will prescribe some medicine to be taken with hundred-flowers pills.” Court Physician Li cupped his hands in a respectful greeting.
Ning Shu hummed in acknowledgment. Xi’er looked conflicted as she asked Court Physician Li, “Court Physician, aside from this, is there anything else with Her Highness?”
Xi’er didn’t feel it was appropriate to directly ask if she was carrying a dragon heir.
“Your Highness has suffered a severe loss of qi and blood and needs to worry less and rest more,” Court Physician Li said.
Xi’er was somewhat disappointed. It seemed she wasn’t pregnant after all.
Xi’er saw Court Physician Li out and returned to say to Ning Shu, “Your Highness…”
“This kind of matter depends on fate. When fate arrives, it will happen. You cannot force these things.”
If I fucking let a shadow guard sleep with me again, my surname isn’t Ning!
Just what kind of mood was Ao Tianze in as he stood by and watched his own consorts doing the deed with a shadow guard?
Ning Shu wore an expression of total apathy. It was simply inconceivable!
An imperial consort having an illicit affair with an outsider was a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of her entire clan. Yet, all the women in this inner palace had been defiled by shadow guards, and it was even a scheme orchestrated by their own husband.
Right now, Ao Tianze was biding his time. Once the right opportunity arose, he would capture all of these women in one fell swoop.
“Your Highness, today is the first day of the lunar month. According to the rules, the Emperor will definitely visit our palace,” Xi’er said to Ning Shu. Ning Shu hummed in acknowledgment. “Have the imperial kitchens prepare some light dishes. Just keep it simple.”
Right now, Ning Shu didn’t want to eat anything greasy. Her body felt unwell.
As for Ao Tianze coming over tonight, Ning Shu didn’t take it to heart at all. Ning Shu said to Xi’er, “Go get the medicine.”
Instead of worrying about what Ao Tianze would eat tonight, she was better off gathering her energy to deal with him.
As for Fu Min, all this so-called doting and love were granted by a man. Both the thunder and the rain were the emperor’s grace.
He gave rain and dew to Fu Min, and thunder and wrath to everyone else. There was nothing that could be done about this, for both glory and matters of life and death rested entirely in Ao Tianze’s hands.
Once Ao Tianze was dealt with, Fu Min would be nothing more than an ordinary woman in the inner palace.
Therefore, she needed to focus all her efforts on dealing with Ao Tianze.
“Yes.” Xi’er withdrew from the room.
Ning Shu drank her water, pondering in her heart. Well, she was the empress now. She should minimize using tactics like scaling walls and carrying out assassinations.
It would be bad if she was mistaken for an assassin. Besides, the spiritual energy here was still very scarce compared to other worlds. Being able to use this spiritual energy to nurse her body back to health was already good enough, but trying to leap across roofs and vault over walls would be somewhat difficult.
Furthermore, the suppression of this plane was quite severe. This was merely an ordinary ancient plane. Even if there were martial arts heroes, their skills would just be amateurish at best.
Ning Shu constantly rubbed her forehead. This feeling of irritability made her want to smash things. She had to nurse her body back to health first.
Xi’er returned with the medicine and brewed it in the palace’s small kitchen. Even though there were people responsible for brewing medicine in the imperial kitchens, there were too many people and prying eyes over there.