The Plan to Raise a Poisonous Woman - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When the Empress arrived, I was at the entrance to the courtyard with Fu’an, basking in the sun.

The child was far too pale. One look and you could tell she wasn’t healthy.

Children ought to get more sunlight.

With a cry of “The Empress has arrived,” a woman in a sapphire-blue palace gown entered, supported by palace attendants.

Behind her trailed a crowd of concubines who had clearly come to watch the spectacle.

Every last one of them was dressed to the nines.

I lazily rose and gave a perfunctory curtsy.

The Empress still wore that dignified, gentle smile.

“No need for such formalities, Imperial Consort.” As she spoke, she turned her head as if only just noticing Fu’an, and exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh my, why is Fu’an here?”

Fu’an obediently bowed to the Empress.

“Greetings to Imperial Mother.”

“Fu’an, hurry and get up. Come give Imperial Mother a hug.”

Watching her atrocious acting, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.

“If the Empress has something to say, you may as well say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

“What are you saying, little sister? I was only thinking that this must be fate between Fu’an and you.”

“Why not raise her under your name, then?”

Now it was my turn to lose my composure.

But the Empress gave me no chance to refuse. She turned straight to Fu’an and asked, “Fu’an, do you like the Imperial Consort?”

“Fu’an likes Consort Wan.”

“Then from now on, Fu’an will stay with Noble Consort Wan. How does that sound?”

As expected of the Empress. With just a few words, she settled whether Fu’an would stay or go, and she did it right in front of all the concubines.

That way, if anything happened to Fu’an in the future, the blame would never fall on her, the Empress.

After the Empress left, I rubbed my chin and looked at Fu’an.

I couldn’t help letting a hint of threat creep into my tone.

“Kid, since you want to stay in my Zhaohua Palace, you have to follow the rules of my Zhaohua Palace!”

“Rule number one: stay ten meters away from me.”

With that, I lifted my skirts and ran, as if some ravenous beast were chasing me from behind.

Raising a child? As long as I fed her three meals a day, she probably wouldn’t die.

Chapter 6

Fu’an and I spent a very long time living as… two people who treated each other with distant courtesy.

She was very well-behaved. After realizing I didn’t like her, she never took the initiative to appear in front of me.

Cuizhu, on the other hand, often looked at me and sighed.

“This servant has never seen a child as obedient as Princess Fu’an.”

“She’s such a tiny little thing. Just looking at her makes one’s heart melt. Your Highness, how can you bear it?”

I spat out a grape skin without a care and said casually, “What, did you expect me to worship Xie Shuran’s child like an honored ancestor?”

“I’m a poisonous woman. The fact that I’m even giving her food is already a burst of extraordinary kindness.”

Cuizhu couldn’t help muttering, “Your Highness is always like this, ruining your own reputation so badly. Even His Majesty hasn’t come to our palace in ages.”

“Good riddance. If he came, I’d still have to wait on that dog-”

Before I could finish, Cuizhu clapped a hand over my mouth.

“Your Highness, mind your words!”

There weren’t any outsiders in this palace.

What, was she expecting the birds in the sky to fly off and inform His Majesty that I had cursed him?

That girl Cuizhu had been with me for so many years, yet the longer she lived, the more she resembled some fusty old relic.