Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As expected, my face was left with a scar.

During the morning audience, His Majesty the Emperor asked me what had happened.

I replied calmly, “I forgot to remove my finger guards before I slept, and I accidentally scratched myself in my dreams.”

The young maid accompanying me couldn’t hold her tongue. “It was clearly Bi-”

I silenced her with a sharp look, then whispered, “I did it to myself.”

Bi Tao sat beside His Majesty, idly fiddling with her nails. She had changed into a new set of finger guards, their luster even more brilliant than before.

“Noble Lady Qi is far too careless,” she said, her lips curling into a malicious smile. “To be so dull-witted that you’d scratch your own face… how could you possibly serve His Majesty well? It would be better to remove her name tag from the rotation for now.”

The little maid beside me trembled with rage, but I merely lowered my head in a placid manner. “Noble Concubine Bi is right to lecture me. I shall follow whatever Noble Concubine Bi commands.”

After returning to our palace, the little maid asked me with reddened eyes, “My Lady, why didn’t you tell His Majesty the truth? Noble Concubine Bi has been bullying our palace relentlessly.”

I shook my head and smiled. “It would be useless.”

Bi Tao thought I didn’t report her to the Emperor because I was afraid of her, but that wasn’t the case.

I kept silent because I understood one simple truth: His Majesty doesn’t truly care about the infighting among the Imperial Consorts.

It makes sense if you think about it. He grew up in the palace as a prince and was used to seeing women crush one another. As long as it didn’t harm his interests, he couldn’t be bothered to intervene.

Bi Tao and I were nothing more than two pretty little lapdogs. Now that one had been bitten and scarred by the other, he wasn’t going to kill the only beautiful one left. At most, he would offer a few words of reprimand before doting on her even more.

Sure enough, after I was scarred, His Majesty sent the Imperial Medical Academy over a few times and provided two doses of medicine. After that, he grew completely cold toward me.

Meanwhile, Bi Tao became even more favored.

The wooden tally I had exchanged for took effect. Within a month, Bi Tao was pregnant.

His Majesty was overjoyed and promoted her from a third-rank Noble Concubine to the second-rank Consort Bi.

It had been a long time since an imperial heir had been born in the palace. Bi Tao’s pregnancy received unprecedented attention, and gifts from every palace flowed into her residence like a river.

In stark contrast, my side of the palace grew increasingly desolate.

His Majesty hadn’t visited me for a very long time. Everyone knew that while the younger sister was enjoying a meteoric rise, the elder sister had fallen completely out of favor.

In the palace, losing favor meant losing everything.

Even though I still held the rank of Noble Lady, even the servants felt they could trample over me. The winter charcoal was withheld for a long time. Pei’er went to the Imperial Household Department three times to urge them, only to receive an impatient reply from a young eunuch:

“Consort Bi is carrying the dragon seed and is sensitive to the cold. His Majesty has instructed that the fires in her palace must be kept burning bright. Therefore, the Imperial Household Department truly has no charcoal to spare. We must ask My Lady to find her own way!”

When Pei’er returned, she silently reached for her own silver.

I saw this and quickly asked, “What are you doing?”

Pei’er gritted her teeth. “My Lady’s hands are covered in chilblains. I plan to use my monthly allowance to find a familiar eunuch and buy some charcoal from outside.”

I smiled. “My dear Pei’er is no longer the little girl who only knew how to cry when things went wrong. But this silver isn’t for you to provide.”

I stood up and put on a small padded jacket. “I am going to beg Consort Bi to give our palace some charcoal.”

Pei’er was frantic the moment she heard this. “My Lady is going to beg Consort Bi? How could she possibly give you charcoal!”

I laughed. “I am her elder sister, after all.”

Pei’er was so angry she became incoherent. “My Lady, do you still not understand your sister? Even if she does give you charcoal, she’ll torture you half to death first!”

I glanced at Fu Shouqian. He stepped forward, and after we exchanged a look, I leaned on his arm for support.

A faint, imperceptible smile touched the corners of my mouth.

Torture me?

Then by all means, let it begin.