After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 176 In the harem, it's either me or her; it's either her or me!

Yang Tingyue has not yet served the emperor. She was among the last group to do so, but she only slept in Yanxi Hall for one night. People outside thought that the emperor had asked her to serve him and even kept her overnight.

After all, other concubines were returned to where they came from after they had served the emperor.

Only she knew that she hadn't slept a wink all night.

At this moment, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"Your Majesty, this is a grave disrespect by Lady Shen. It's the first time she's been to pay her respects since the New Year, and she dares to skip it! The Emperor must find out about this, and she should be severely punished!"

Consort Jin scoffed, "Oh dear, so you're jealous. If the Emperor were in your palace today, would you come here? Would you throw the Emperor into your palace and then come to pay your respects?"

In this palace, the Emperor truly calls the shots! But then again, you're not so lucky. You're just a lowly servant in a pavilion, yet you're worrying about the affairs of the Phoenix Palace. Besides, the Emperor won't even let you serve him in bed!

"You... Jin Chongrong, don't forget, you can't even have children!" Yang Tingyue said.

Unfortunately, Jin Chongrong had already been brainwashed by Shen Shixi and thought that not having children was no big deal.

"I can't have children, but you can. Go ahead and have one! Let me see if you have the ability. You've always wanted to climb into the Emperor's bed; the door's been opened for you, so go ahead and climb in!"

Yang Tingyue was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.

The Empress was very impatient, mainly because she was unwell. "Alright, all of you, stop arguing! Consort Li, the Third Prince is doing well in Fengyi Palace. You can go and see him in a little while. There's no need to worry."

"Your Majesty, I thank you. You are the mother of the Third Prince. It is his blessing to have you by his side. I have nothing to worry about."

The Empress did not intend to raise the Third Prince as her son for long; she still wanted to have a legitimate son, mainly because the Emperor also wanted one.

When the palace maids served tea and snacks, Su Fuying suddenly vomited. Everyone was a little confused. It was Consort Li who said, "Consort Su, are you pregnant with the emperor's child?"

The Empress's feelings were truly complex.

But at this point, they had no choice but to summon the imperial physician.

The physician in charge of Fengyi Palace now is Physician Zhang, who is in his forties and very cautious. After taking Su Fuying's pulse, he said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. The young lady is pregnant. She is just full term, and her pulse is not very obvious yet. I will take her pulse again in half a month."

That means it's practically a sure thing.

She was conceived during the pre-New Year's military review.

The unexpected joy was so overwhelming that Su Fuying was stunned with happiness, and everyone else was envious.

The Empress was also delighted, smiling and saying, "That's wonderful! It's the New Year, and this is the first joyous occasion in the harem. My other sisters, you should all work harder and try to conceive a royal heir as soon as possible. The Emperor and I will reward you handsomely!"

When the message reached the emperor, Shen Shixi and the emperor were having breakfast. Shen Shixi acted as if she hadn't heard it, and the emperor simply said, "I know."

After finishing his meal, he seemed to suddenly remember something and instructed Li Fude, "Once it's confirmed, remember to send a reward!"

"yes!"

The rewards are all given according to custom.

Shen Shixi then remembered, "Your Majesty, you still owe me a reward."

"What do you want?"

She hung around the emperor's neck, pulling him so much that he had to lower his head, so he had to lift her up a little.

"I told you last time I could pick whatever I wanted from your private stash, does that still stand?"

"It doesn't count anymore. The New Year is over, what's the point of counting it?" Li Yuanke's eyes were smiling. He released her, turned around, and went to Qian Yuan Palace to attend to his business.

Shen Shixi was furious and jumped up, clinging to his back. "You dare go back on your word?"

Li Yuanke stumbled forward, and Li Fude was so frightened he almost lost his soul, barely managing to rush forward to save the emperor.

Fortunately, Li Yuanke steadied himself and supported her bottom as they walked out. "Come with me to Qianyuan Palace."

"I'm not going!"

Shen Shixi struggled to get down, but he carried her to the palace gate and pulled her onto the imperial carriage. When they arrived at Qian Yuan Palace, Li Yuanke said, "Li Fude, take Consort Chen to choose."

It means she can go to the private store to choose.

Since Shen Shixi had nothing better to do, she decided to go and take a look.

The emperor's private treasury was naturally quite large, with several floors above and below ground, filled with a dazzling array of items. It was not dusty, which must have been kept clean, but there were just too many things.

Shen Shixi spent a long time looking around, but only managed to see less than a tenth of it.

She found a dusty Hetian jade pillow in a corner. The jade was warm and lustrous, dignified and delicate, and carved into the shape of a reclining child holding a jade ruyi in his arms, which also had a good symbolic meaning.

"This!" Shen Shixi thought it would be great as a pillow in the summer.

Li Fude thought to himself, "You really have a good eye. This piece of jade is so big, not only is the quality of the jade excellent, but the carving is also very good."

Li Fude thought that Consort Chen should be satisfied with such a large piece of jade, but no, she continued to pick and choose, picking out quite a few more pieces. Li Fude's legs went weak, but he didn't dare to say anything.

He now understood that offending His Majesty might save his life, but offending Consort Chen meant he wouldn't even know how he died.

But Consort Chen has a good eye; she picked out all the good items from the Emperor's private treasury. Among them was a dragon pendant that His Majesty really liked, and it was also coveted. What should we do?

Shen Shixi was hungry, so she came out of the private storeroom. "There's nothing good there, just some gold and jade."

There's a coral tree that's about half a person tall among them, but it's hard to say.

Li Fude had no choice but to agree, saying, "Yes, yes!"

Upon returning to Qianyuan Palace, Li Fude knelt down with a thud.

Li Yuanke wasn't surprised at all. "Did that bastard pick all the good ones?"

"This servant is incompetent! This servant failed to protect His Majesty's private treasury! This servant deserves to die!"

"Get up, you worthless wretch! You've taken so much good from me, and you haven't even offered to thank me!"

Shen Shixi finally arrived, and as soon as she did, she snuggled into Li Yuanke's arms, saying, "Your Majesty's treasures are mine, and mine are still mine. Your Majesty's private treasury has so many wonderful things. I only had time today and could only look at one corner."

Li Yuanke put his arm around her and said, "Still thinking about it? What's good? Pick it yourself if you want."

"Let's talk about it later. It looked alright at the time, but after taking it back, it just didn't seem that great." She cupped Li Yuanke's face and kissed him. "Mmm, I'm hungry. I want to eat Your Majesty!"

"Have they come to express their gratitude?" Li Yuanke chuckled.

"Are you dreaming? Can't you just think about it?" Shen Shixi's hand pressed against hers. "Hmph, didn't you think about it yourself? What is this?"

Li Yuanke hissed, "Gently!"

"Then why are you still being stubborn? Do you think I don't know? The moment I arrived, you were like this, and you still wanted to hide it from me? What a hypocrite!"

Li Yuanke was speechless. "What the hell am I so high and mighty? Look at the way you're looking at me, like a dog seeing a bone!"

His body then relaxed.

"Oh, where are your hands now? Where are you grabbing?"

Shen Shixi rolled her eyes, took off the jade crown from his head and threw it away. She felt a tingling sensation all over her body, ran her fingers through his hair, and pressed his face against her chest.

When I'm in the mood, doing this is quite enjoyable.

Shen Shixi did it on a whim.

Li Yuanke is completely susceptible to being teased, and since there's really nothing else to do today, it's quite suitable to use this opportunity.

The main reason was that the two of them hadn't been very active last night and were both quite tired.

After a good night's rest, I've regained all my energy.

His shoulders and back were strong and powerful; looking up at him, the lines resembled undulating mountains, and fingertips seemed to dig into his skin.

She pulled him down to bend over.

With a flip, Shen Shixi pinned him down.

Li Yuanke held her leg, his face contorted with rage.

Shen Shixi felt quite excited whenever she saw him on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Li Yuanke looked like a wronged wife, his eyes even reddening.

His face was already stunningly beautiful, like a mountain of jade, and like a noble gentleman; at this moment, he looked even more like a bewitching male fox spirit.

The male fox spirit collapsed.

Li Fude, who was guarding outside the door, was startled when he heard the Emperor's muffled roar coming from inside.

What has Consort Chen done to His Majesty this time?

The eunuch, who had never seen anything like this before, couldn't help but call out, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Shen Shixi was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe while lying on his chest, and Li Yuanke felt like killing the two of them.

He breathed heavily, his blood surging and roaring like the tides. Once he calmed down a bit, he shouted outside, "Get out!"

His voice was extremely hoarse.

This was an absolutely magnificent feast.

A thoroughly enjoyable experience from the inside out.

Soon, the news spread throughout the palace that the Emperor had actually allowed Lady Shen to choose whatever she wanted from the private treasury. Lady Shen returned to Zhaoyang Palace carrying a jade stone the size of half a pillow, without any attempt to conceal it along the way. Who could be blind enough not to see it?

Yang Tingyue smashed all the teacups, shouting, "It's either me or her in the harem!"

Aunt Qingzheng overheard this. She was sent by the Empress Dowager to keep an eye on Yang Tingyue. She wanted to advise her, but felt it would be useless.

She turned around and told the Empress Dowager what she had said.

The Empress Dowager sighed deeply.

She could get her son to make her niece a concubine, but could she tie her son to her niece's bed?

"You just watch over her. There's no need to try to persuade her any further. Just make sure she doesn't hurt Consort Chen or lose her life. As for anything else, I can't control that!"

She never expected her niece to be so unreliable. Although the eldest prince would die sooner or later, her niece was capable of causing the eldest prince to die by her own hand.

The emperor used this incident to severely punish the empress dowager. The empress dowager herself understood that if Yang Tingyue was not punished, she would never be able to hold her head high in front of the emperor for the rest of her life.

To say that royalty is heartless!

There's always a lot of scheming between mothers and sons.

Even though he was the eldest son, the emperor didn't seem to care much about him.

Yang Tingyue then plotted how to kill Shen Shixi. She was quite self-aware, knowing that she could not defeat Shen Shixi alone, so she sought allies.

The Empress was the first, but she wasn't stupid. She wanted nothing more than to devour Shen Shixi, but she also knew that if she dared to touch Shen Shixi, whether openly or secretly, the Emperor would not spare her.

As long as the Pei family remains in power, Shen Shixi will never fall out of favor.

The Empress only agreed with Yang Tingyue's approach to dealing with Shen Shixi. It's normal for the harem to compete for the emperor's favor, and using such methods is commonplace. However, she refused to help Yang Tingyue.

The second is Consort Xue.

Consort Xue is a madwoman. She was abnormal before, and now she's even more abnormal. Yang Tingyue is also a bit of a nutcase. The two hit it off and started figuring out how to kill Shen Shixi.

After much thought, the first solution was to work on her colorful banners.

The moment they discussed cutting the ropes on the palanquin, Shen Shixi found out and instructed Lan Ying, "Go to Cining Palace and tell the Empress Dowager about this!"