Chapter 1029 - 13: I Can See All the Cheats

Concubine Rong bowed respectfully to send off Tianmiao. After Tianmiao’s figure disappeared, she turned her head to look at Noble Qing, sneering coldly: "Someone, slap her!"

The Chief Palace Maid beside Concubine Rong stepped forward, giving Noble Qing a dozen or so slaps in quick succession, leaving her dizzy and her face swelling instantly.

"Kneel here for an hour. Reflect well on what should be said and what should not be said." Concubine Rong looked down at Noble Qing, her voice cold.

Noble Qing held her own face, her head lowered, her eyes filled with malice. That bitch! One day, she would rise higher than her, and she would repay today’s humiliation tenfold, a hundredfold!

...

The Emperor began to spend nights with various concubines. This was also his right and duty.

That day, after the morning assembly, the Emperor hurried to Tianmiao’s place, with a worried expression, he told Tianmiao something.

"Mother, is that Concubine Shu a demon? Didn’t I mention to you before, she doesn’t have that little sphere, instead, there’s a valley-like place connected to her body. When I was at her place, she brewed tea for me, I saw her finger drip two drops of water into the tea, and after drinking it, it tasted completely different. It was better than many teas I’ve had before. And the fruits she gave me to eat, the dishes at her place, all taste better than at other concubines’ places. It’s not because of better cooking skills, but because of the ingredients themselves." As a seasoned gourmet, the Emperor could easily discern the true essence of good food.

"But all the concubines receive the same ingredients. Only Concubine Shu’s are different, you mean her ingredients are not supplied by the palace, but replaced by produce from her own valley?" Tianmiao speculated following the Emperor’s words.

"Yes, yes, Mother, it’s too eerie. Wouldn’t the products from there be poisonous?" the Emperor asked, somewhat horrified.

Tianmiao looked at the Emperor without answering his question, instead suddenly saying: "Does my son find it delicious?"

"Delicious," the Emperor replied honestly with a silly smile, and then couldn’t help but chuckle, "If it were poisonous, she wouldn’t dare give it to me, she even ate it herself. However, I still feel a bit uneasy about it."

"Well, if my son feels uneasy, then don’t eat it." Concubine Shu nourishes that space’s produce with herself; in reality, the Emperor is consuming Concubine Shu herself. One wonders if the Emperor would feel disgusted if he knew about this exchange. It’s like someone shedding blood and cutting meat to feed the Emperor; it would probably make him uncomfortable, right? So it’s better not to reveal this truth to the Emperor.

"Hmm, I won’t eat at her place in the future," the Emperor said seriously, then the tone shifted, and he proudly announced, "Mother, I’ve figured out how to play with those spheres."

"Hmm?" Tianmiao cooperatively responded with a look of confused curiosity, "How do you play with them?"

"To increase favorability, all I have to do is slightly praise Noble Qing’s clothes or her tea-making skills, and the sphere shows increased favorability. If I scold her or show dissatisfaction, the sphere shows decreased favorability. Wasn’t Noble Qing punished by Concubine Rong the other day? She even tried to reverse right and wrong, demanding I support her. I reprimanded her, confined her for a month, and the sphere showed a significant decrease in favorability. That foolish thing, not knowing her place, considering Concubine Rong’s fathers and brothers work so hard guarding the border for me, I’m grateful enough, and yet she dared to speak disrespectfully of the old General," the Emperor huffed.