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

Chapter 98 Seeking Suicide

Shen Shixi didn't want to get involved in anything, but unfortunately, she was stopped before she could.

"Consort Yuan, I beg you, please help me! My mistress is contemplating suicide, please persuade her to stop! I beg you!"

Shen Shixi didn't move her feet after all.

It was Lin Guiyou who went mad; she must have known she couldn't have children, hence her suicidal thoughts.

But if something really happens to her, even if she dies or is even crippled, those around her will be punished. Those who are close to her will be executed, and the rest will be sent to do manual labor, never to have the chance to serve another master again.

Few masters are willing to use people who have been used by others.

This is also why Shen Shixi couldn't move her feet.

She walked up to Lin Guiyou. "What's wrong with you?"

She said to the people around Lin Guiyou, "Let her go. I'm here. Let her die if she wants to. Her death has nothing to do with any of you. I will plead with the Emperor to pardon you!"

Everyone knelt down, weeping and expressing their gratitude, "Thank you, Consort Yuan."

Lin Guiyou stopped ramming the car and roared, "This is none of your business! Get out! Get out! I don't want you here!"

"Do you think I'd want to send you to the underworld? If you die, I'll have one less rival in this harem. I've always disliked you anyway, I'd love for you to die right now. Go ahead and die! Why don't you just ram your head against that sharp corner? It'll hurt!"

Lin Guiyou glanced at the sharp corner, a sense of fear rising in her heart. "You want me to die and I'll die? I won't die, I'll defy your wishes."

She covered her face and burst into tears, then gradually squatted down, looking utterly helpless.

Shen Shixi lifted her foot to leave, but she shouted again, "Shen Shixi, where are you going? You're not allowed to leave! You stop right there and stay here!"

Shen Shixi turned to look at her. "What are you going to do? Threaten me?"

She suddenly lunged at Shen Shixi and grabbed her in a hug. Bai Ping and the others were caught off guard and it was too late to stop her.

Shen Shixi was also startled and struggled, but she did nothing but cry.

"Shen Shixi, why don't you just die? If you died, I would be so happy. If you died, I wouldn't be sad that I can't have children."

Shen Shixi pushed her away forcefully, "Are you out of your mind?"

Unable to push her away, Bai Ping and the others tried to pull her, but she stubbornly refused to let go, clinging to Shen Shixi's skirt. Shen Shixi was afraid that she would tear her skirt. Seeing that she meant no harm, she told Bai Ping and the others not to use force, and simply surrounded the two of them to prevent Lin Guiyou from having a chance to hurt herself.

"Shen Shixi, you knew all along, didn't you? I can't have children anymore. I can never have children again. In this harem, if I can't have children, I'm a useless person. You can laugh at me, you can bully me, waaaaah!"

Shen Shixi let her hug him, and after a long while, he finally said, "Lin Guiyou, do you want to have your own child, or do you just want to be a mother?"

Lin Guiyou was put on pause; she had never thought about this issue before.

However, when people asked her about it, she no longer needed to consider it; she had already lost the right to have children.

If given a choice, who would want to raise someone else's child?

Taking the opportunity, Shen Shixi pushed her away, straightened her clothes, and said, "Everyone says childbirth is very painful and dangerous, like stepping into the gates of hell. If you were asked to give birth, would you be afraid?"

Lin Guiyou shivered. Of course she was scared. She tried to hold Shen Shixi's hand, but Shen Shixi avoided her.

"A child born through a near-death experience may not necessarily be filial to you. Look at you, how much filial piety have you shown to your parents? You always think more about yourself: beautiful clothes, delicious food, a suitable husband, and your father and brothers doing good deeds to protect you and let you act like a tyrant. How much have you thought about your parents?"

When you were contemplating suicide, did you even think of them, not even for a second?

Of course she hadn't thought about it; if she had, she wouldn't have been so determined to die.

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is, if you want to establish yourself in the palace by having children, you don't necessarily have to give birth yourself. Childbirth is so painful and dangerous, and the child will most likely be an ungrateful wretch. It'll be too late to regret it later. If you want a child, you might as well adopt one."

Lin Guiyou thought this method was really good, "but I'm not the head of the palace now."

Shen Shixi said, "Strive for it! You're only one step away from becoming the head of the palace."

"I can't have children anymore, how can I fight for it? What do I have to offer?"

"If you can't achieve merit, then let your father and brothers do it. You don't know how to achieve merit, but your father and brothers do!"

Lin Guiyou's words were cut off.

Shen Shixi smiled at her, "Think carefully about how to thank me. I don't help just anyone! And I don't really want to help you!"

"Shen Shixi, I didn't ask you to help me. You helped me voluntarily. You can forget about me thanking you. I'll owe you this for the rest of my life, and I won't repay you in the next life, and the life after that. I'll always owe you this debt."

Lin Guiyou had tears in her eyes, but a smile appeared in them. She laughed even more when she saw Shen Shixi was angry.

Shen Shixi said, "How could you say such shameless things? You're truly something else!"

After Shen Shixi left, Yunluo stepped forward to support her. "My lady, why did Consort Yuan give you guidance?"

"She is inherently upright and honest, which is why she is so unrestrained and flamboyant, making her particularly annoying to look at."

However, even though she was threatening to die here, only Shen Shixi was willing to take a step forward.

"My lady, please think carefully about what Consort Shen said. I think it would be a good thing for you to adopt a child born to a low-ranking concubine. I've heard that Consort Xue has a criminal record, and the Emperor will certainly not spare her life. Isn't that perfect?"

"I understand. Pass the message to my father and tell him to find a way to perform meritorious service as soon as possible so that the Emperor can promote me to a higher rank."

Meanwhile, Shen Shixi was also asking, "Have someone investigate who told Jin Jieyu that she can't have children?"

Soon, Chao En came to report, "Your Highness, Consort Jin encountered Consort Yuan in the Imperial Garden."

Shen Shixi was puzzled. "How is she still alive?"

Bai Ping rolled her eyes at her. "Consort Yuan was only demoted to the rank of Consort, not thrown into the Cold Palace. Even Consort Chen is still alive in the Cold Palace. Life may be a bit tough, but she's not that easy to die in!"

Shen Shixi said, "The Empress is keeping Chen Shi as a pawn to use against me!"

Those inside the hall were terrified.

Shen Shixi only sighed, "Alas, the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease!"

Li Yuanyin had a lot of high-quality stone powder transported to the palace, and Shen Shixi had some clay brought in, mixed it with the stone powder, and used wooden tools to make it into perforated coal balls.

She then asked the people from the Imperial Household Department to make several coal stoves. Once they were all dried, she used them to boil tea, which was very convenient.

The two people from the Imperial Household Department who came were the same two who had helped her make the crabapple paper and the golden dragon paper last time. This time, Shen Shixi asked for their names: one was Qiu Xingyan and the other was Guo Youming.

These two really admire Shen Shixi.

There are plenty of stone nuggets; there's a large area of ​​exposed mines just outside Beijing.

I've never known how to use it. It can be burned, but when people burn it, some get poisoned, so everyone thinks it's a poison.

Now, looking at how Shen Xiaozhu burns this, it seems particularly convenient to use, and it burns for a long time.

This thing is definitely more practical than burning charcoal.

Falling down the trees, burning most of them, and then simmering them to make charcoal—isn't that a huge waste?

Shen Shixi couldn't stand the fact that logging and deforestation harmed future generations.

She also taught them how to make a three-burner coal stove, which had a much stronger firepower and could be used in the imperial kitchen. It was very convenient for steaming things, boiling water, and it was also powerful enough for stir-frying.

Two or three were placed in Zhaoyang Palace. Shen Shixi had one sent to the tea room of Qianyuan Palace, one to the Empress Dowager's palace, and one to the Empress's palace. Some honeycomb briquettes were also sent there. She was just making a show of it. If she was willing to use them, she would definitely ask the Imperial Household Department for more in the future.

The people below were delighted. From now on, they wouldn't need to keep an eye on the teapot while it was boiling. They could just put the kettle on the stove, leave it partially sealed, and not have to worry about it all day. They could get water whenever they needed it.

The Empress stared at the stove and coal that Shen Shixi had sent over, speechless for a long time.

"Where did she learn all this? I heard that the Emperor plans to promote the crops she grows next year, saying that if they are promoted, there will be no more famines."

The Empress was very uneasy. "Tell me, could this be some of the things she's seen all these years outside, which she then brought into the palace?"