When she was still a maiden, she was the most famous beauty in the capital.
After she married into the palace, that title passed to her younger sister, Zhu Sanniang.
She had an excellent background, stunning looks, and impeccable character.
If not for her untimely death, her life could have been considered perfect.
From outside, the greetings of palace attendants could be heard, followed by the sound of light footsteps.
The curtains of the birthing chamber were lifted, and Empress Zhu stepped inside.
Like a jade goddess, she illuminated the entire hall with her presence.
Ruan Rensui looked at her calm and composed face, and for some inexplicable reason, he suddenly recalled a piece of information he had come across in his previous life.
Someone had once secretly told him that when Empress Zhu gave birth, she had not delivered a stillborn child—the baby had survived…
That was far too strange.
Why would the imperial family hide the existence of a legitimate heir?
Furthermore, Empress Zhu’s mother, the Lady of the Duke of Dingguo, had been in the palace at the time of the birth.
If this were true, there must have been some kind of agreement between the imperial family and the Duke of Dingguo’s household.
In his past life, Ruan Rensui had tried to investigate this matter, but he found nothing.
Since he had no ambition to compete for the throne, he eventually pushed the matter to the back of his mind.
Now, seeing the young Empress Zhu again, he was reminded of this unresolved mystery from his past life.
Consort De had just given birth and had secured the position of mother to the eldest imperial son.
Upon seeing Empress Zhu, she carried herself with an air of arrogance, as if finally being able to hold her head high.
She did not rise, nor did she apologize, merely smiling and calling out, “Your Majesty, come take a look at Dalang. See if he resembles me more or His Majesty more?”
Lady Jia Zhen, standing nearby, bowed deeply and smoothed things over.
“Consort De has just given birth and finds it inconvenient to rise. We hope Your Majesty will forgive her.”
Empress Zhu smiled and shook her head, not taking the matter to heart.
She leaned forward slightly and glanced at the newborn prince, a flicker of surprise flashing across her eyes.
No one else noticed, but from his low vantage point, Ruan Rensui did.
In that instant, his heart skipped a beat.
The way Empress Zhu looked at him… there was a hint of unexpected astonishment in her eyes.
Why?
Did he look strange?
As an adult, his appearance had resembled Consort De more, and he had inherited features from his maternal uncle of the Xiahou family.
Perhaps traces of that were already evident at birth.
But no matter how he looked at it, there was nothing about his appearance that should have warranted such a reaction.
He couldn’t figure it out.
This unexpected little episode left him feeling uneasy.
Empress Zhu did not stay long.
She came and went in less than fifteen minutes.
Given her tense relationship with Consort De, a brief courtesy visit was enough to maintain appearances.
Consort De, for her part, had little patience for Empress Zhu either.
Seeing that she left so quickly, she immediately found an excuse to gloat.
“She’s jealous! She couldn’t even keep up the act any longer!”
She adjusted the windproof headscarf on her forehead and confidently told Lady Xiahou, “When His Majesty comes, I’m going to file a complaint against her. She’s just bitter that I have a son while she doesn’t!”
Ruan Rensui watched as Lady Jia Zhen, standing beside Lady Xiahou, once again displayed the expression of someone who wanted to die.
Before Lady Xiahou could say anything, Lady Jia Zhen spoke up first.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty has always treated the imperial children equally. She treats the Grand Princess born to Consort Xian this way, and she will treat your son, the eldest imperial prince, the same way.”
Knowing that Consort De never thought deeply about such matters, Lady Jia Zhen made sure to explain it clearly.
“Consort Xian never took offense over this. His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have never expressed dissatisfaction either. This shows that the court has no objections on the matter. Why trouble yourself over this?”
Consort De raised her eyebrows sharply.
“You are not Consort Xian, so how do you know she isn’t dissatisfied?”
After thinking for a moment, she smirked triumphantly.
“And how can Consort Xian compare to me? I gave birth to the eldest imperial son!”
Ruan Rensui, listening from the side: “…”
Lady Jia Zhen once again put on a pained expression.
She truly did not want to deal with any of this.
But as she was already aboard Consort De’s ship, she had no choice but to intervene.
In a gentle tone, she advised, “Your Highness, His Majesty does not show favoritism among his children. It’s fine to say such things in private, but you must never bring them up in public—and ideally, not even in private.”
Consort De had not even responded yet when Lady Xiahou frowned and interjected.
“How could the eldest imperial son and a mere princess carry the same weight?”
Consort De had endured Lady Jia Zhen’s lectures throughout her ten-month pregnancy, leaving both of them utterly exhausted.
She couldn’t understand why His Majesty had placed such a person in charge of overseeing her affairs.
During her pregnancy, she had tolerated it because Lady Jia Zhen managed palace matters.
But now that the child was born, she had no intention of holding back anymore.
Hearing Lady Jia Zhen contradict her once again, Consort De couldn’t help but lash out in a passive-aggressive tone.
“Thinking about Her Majesty the Empress, thinking about dear Consort Xian… Lady Jia Zhen, it seems your heart still belongs elsewhere. How exhausting it must be for you.”
Lady Jia Zhen’s face turned pale as her gaze wandered.
‘I’m so done! Can someone please assassinate my boss for me?! Who goes to work without losing their mind?!
What are the Empress and Consort Xian even doing? Why hasn’t anyone tried to contact me in secret?! I swear I’d be willing to switch sides right now!!!’