Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Opportunity to Fly onto the Branch and Become a Phoenix

Translator: 549690339

Concubine Xian went back and cried, resenting the Emperor’s cold-heartedness. But thinking of her son imprisoned in the dungeon, as a mother, she could not just watch and do nothing.

She sat in front of the mirror, looking at her own face.

In her forties, she was no longer young, with wrinkles already appearing at the corners of her eyes.

In the past two years, she had hardly spent the night with the Emperor.

To seduce the Emperor to come here with her beauty was no longer possible.

She sighed faintly.

The palace maid, attending to her, whispered, “Why does Your Highness sigh?” “Women age too easily,” Concubine Xian felt frustrated, “I just wonder why Concubine Jin is still so beautiful? She is only a few years younger than me, but look at her, with her jet-black hair, and bright face. Where does she look like she’s in her forties? It’s no surprise that His Majesty still favors her the most.” “But she doesn’t serve the Emperor at night either.”

“Her not serving is different from mine. She chooses not to serve him. His Majesty just spoils her, indulging her. Others beg for the opportunity to serve him but can’t.”

“People are different,” the palace maid said.

From the mirror, Concubine Xian glanced at the maid’s 17-year-old delicate face, and an idea formed in her mind.

She pulled the maid closer and smiled, “You’ve been with me for two years and are extremely clever and agile. How do you think I treat you?”

“Your Highness treats me well. Last year, when my father was sick, it was Your Highness who gave me money so that my father could seek treatment and get better. I will serve Your Highness for a lifetime.”

“I don’t want you to serve me, but I want to give you the chance to fly to the top and become a phoenix.”

The palace maid lowered her head, “Your Highness…”

“Go dress up properly.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The palace maid turned around and left.

When she returned, she had changed into a gorgeous palace dress. Although she was not an exceptional beauty, she was young and charmingly attractive. Concubine Xian was satisfied.

In the evening, just as the Emperor had finished his work, he received news that Concubine Xian had fallen ill.

The Emperor had originally planned to go to the Splendid Palace but changed his route to visit Concubine Xian instead.

Concubine Xian was lying in bed, saying she could not get up and wanted some water to drink.

The Emperor looked around and saw no one attending to her. Despite his anger, he poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

As a result, the glass tilted, spilling water all over the Emperor’s clothes.

Concubine Xian hurried to get up, looking both frightened and sick, coughing non-stop.

The Emperor could not say more.

Concubine Xian called out, “Is there no one here to help the Emperor change his clothes?”

Hongling came in and attended to the Emperor to change clothes in the next room.

As they changed, Hongling’s gentle fingers wound themselves around the Emperor’s body, her eyes seductive and mesmerizing.

The Emperor was a man, and he understood her intentions.

But he couldn’t just give in here in Concubine Xian’s room.

In any case, he remembered her.

The next day, he summoned her to serve him in bed.

In the harem, such tactics were common. Consorts who were no longer youthful would choose palace maids with good looks to serve the Emperor.

Firstly, even if such maids served the Emperor, they could not be promoted too high due to their lowly status; secondly, they were easier to control since they belonged to the consort.

Everyone knew this unspoken rule, and no one interfered.

As long as the girl could make the Emperor happy, it was enough.

However, Concubine Xian’s arrangement for Hongling to serve the Emperor was not to win his heart but to save her son, the Prince of Huai, who was still in the dungeon.

This conflicted with the interests of another person in the palace.

To be precise, it was the son of Concubine Jin from the Splendid Palace.

As for why it was not Concubine Jin herself, it was because she had always been cold and indifferent, caring only about herself..