First Phoenix Lady - chapter 15

Chapter 15

What appeared in Shi Anxia’s mind was not the youthful, elegant figure of Prince Jin.

Instead, she remembered him as Emperor Rongguang, frail and bedridden, clutching her hand and saying, “Empress, to have your love in this life is enough for me.”

But by then, the national treasury was empty, many cities had fallen, and the people were destitute.

Her face was cold to the extreme as she pulled her hand away, replying with icy indifference, “Your Majesty overthinks. My love was worn away and exhausted years ago. Now, I do not love you anymore!”

Emperor Rongguang grew furious. “No! You clearly love me deeply! You admire me! You depend on me! No matter what happens, you never leave me! Why won’t you admit it? Admit it! If you admit it, I will pardon you!”

Shi Anxia stepped back and shook her head. “An incompetent ruler who cannot protect his wife and children, his ministers, or his people! Why don’t you get up and see for yourself what you’ve done to the Northern Wing? How do you have the face to meet your ancestors?”

“Silence! You shut up!”

She picked up the memorial on the desk and read aloud, “Mo Zhou has fallen, Jiang City has fallen, all towns along the Duan River have fallen…”

“Don’t read! Don’t! Don’t…”

She still remembered how her hand trembled as she held the memorial. To provoke the Emperor-such a crime was punishable by death!

At the time, she thought the Emperor would at least depose her as Empress, but he did not. Instead, a few days later, he summoned her to the palace again.

The imperial physician said the Emperor would not last much longer.

She entered the hall, standing before him with indifference.

He spoke to himself with a tenderness he had never shown before, “Xia’er, in the next life, I still want to be husband and wife with you.”

She quietly interrupted him, “In the next life, I will not marry you again.”

When Emperor Rongguang breathed his last, his eyes remained fixed on her, never closing.

……

Night had deepened, but Shi Anxia felt no sleepiness at all.

She wondered, why would Prince Jin send Shi Anrou back?

Shi Anrou was Concubine Wen’s biological daughter, half a year older than Shi Anxia.

A year ago, Concubine Wen had sent Shi Anrou back to Gan Zhou to visit relatives.

In her previous life, Shi Anrou returned to the Capital more than half a year later. Now, she had come back early, and was even sent to the Marquis Mansion by Prince Jin himself-how interesting.

Could it be that Shi Anrou, like her, had been reborn?

This thought made Shi Anxia’s heart pound heavily, but then she laughed.

In her previous life, she had been blind, falling in love with Prince Jin at first sight and scheming her way into becoming his secondary consort.

Later, when she was pregnant, Old Madam Shi, in order to secure favor, insisted on sending Shi Anrou into the prince’s residence as the lowest-ranking concubine.

Who would have thought that Shi Anrou, inexperienced and already jealous of her, would be easily manipulated by the women of Prince Jin’s residence, repeatedly becoming a tool to frame her.

After Prince Jin ascended the throne, Shi Anrou remained only a Night Attendant at the lowest rung of the harem, never once favored by the Emperor.

Shi Anxia was lost in thought, and only as dawn approached did she fall into a deep sleep on the couch, still in her clothes.

She had slept for barely two hours when she was awakened by Chen Mama, who served Old Madam Shi.

Outside, she heard Bei Hui trying to stop someone from barging in. “Chen Mama, please stop. Our young lady only fell asleep at dawn, and her health is poor. Please don’t disturb her.”

Chen Mama, with the imposing air of the main courtyard, replied, “What time do you call this? Old Madam Shi is already up, and your young lady is still sleeping-what sort of conduct is that? If word gets out, how embarrassing would that be?”

Shi Anxia sat up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She remembered Chen Mama well.

This woman had accompanied Concubine Wen from Gan Zhou to the Capital, skilled at flattery and currying favor. Not only was she Concubine Wen’s confidante, but she was also highly valued by Old Madam Shi.
But the reason why Shi Anxia remembered her was because she was Nan Yan’s mother-in-law in her previous life.

Nan Yan was deceived by Chen Jinfu, her son, with sweet words, so she didn’t follow Shi Anxia to the Prince Jin’s residence.

After Shi Anxia married into the Prince Jin’s household, nothing went smoothly for her. She was busy contending with the crowd of wives and concubines, with no time to care about Nan Yan’s life outside the mansion.

As a result, Nan Yan was gambled away by her gambling-addicted husband to another degenerate.

At that time, Nan Yan was pregnant. After being violated by others, she came back crying, seeking justice from her mother-in-law.

It was this Chen Mama, who, right in front of all the neighbors, pointed at Nan Yan’s nose and scolded her for being shameless. She said Nan Yan had just come out of another man’s bed-how dare she come and claim to be pregnant? She even said nobody knew whose child it was in her belly!

With this scene, the neighbors all learned of the scandal.

Chen Jinfu pretended to be kind, secretly arranged a place for Nan Yan to stay, but within a few days gambled her away to someone else again.

After being violated once more, Nan Yan was utterly hopeless. She hanged herself with a length of white silk from the beam above Chen Mama’s front gate.

…

Even now, when Shi Anxia recalled it, she felt a suffocating, stabbing pain.

Her eyes were clouded as she raised her voice and called, “Bei Hui!”

Bei Hui answered at once and hurried in, her face full of indignation.

Chen Mama followed her straight into the room, mumbling, “Miss, you really ought to change the maids in your quarters. They don’t respect their elders or understand hierarchy. If word gets out, it could ruin your reputation.”

Shi Anxia let Bei Hui help her dress and freshen up, then tilted her head and asked, “Chen Mama, who is superior, and who is inferior?”

Chen Mama’s old face turned pale at the question. “I… ”

Shi Anxia continued, “Chen Mama barged into my courtyard, pointing at my nose and scolding me-was that observing the hierarchy? Or do you believe you can take the place of the master of the Marquis Mansion?”

Chen Mama’s face alternated between green and white. “This old servant did not mean that. I am just passing on a message from the Old Madam, asking you to go to He’an Courtyard.”

Shi Anxia turned away coldly and said nothing more.

Only as she was leaving, she spoke lightly, “Since Chen Mama understands the rules so well, any mistake must be punished. Otherwise, people will think the Marquis Mansion is lax with its servants and ruin Old Madam’s reputation. Don’t be too hard on yourself; just kneel for three hours at Mingsong Hall. As for Grandmother, I will explain to her myself.”

With that, she gave Bei Hui a look.

Bei Hui couldn’t help but raise her brows, delighted. “Yes, Miss. I’ll escort Chen Mama to Mingsong Hall right away.”

Chen Mama’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, her whole body trembling with anger.

In He’an Courtyard, Shi Anxia paid respects to the Old Madam, and saw Shi Anrou standing behind her, kneading her shoulders.

After Shi Anxia finished her greeting, Shi Anrou quickly stepped forward from behind the Old Madam and gave a gentle curtsy. “Sister Anxia.”

Shi Anxia calmly returned a half-bow. “Sister Anrou, you’re back.”

She could see that Shi Anrou was different from before.

Based on her knowledge of Shi Anrou, the latter had always prided herself on being raised in the Marquis Mansion from a young age. She was more elegant and knowledgeable than Shi Anxia, and a bit older too, so she never acted this meek and submissive.

But this alone was not enough for Shi Anxia to be sure that Shi Anrou was also someone reborn.

She would wait and see. There was plenty of time ahead.

She turned her gaze to the Old Madam Shi. “Grandmother, did you want to see me?”