Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 941: Chapter 852: Unwilling to Be Enslaved

So much information was selected and summarized, and Nangong Shuangshuang immediately came to a precise conclusion. She looked at Lady Jing, who was still wondering why the Emperor had suddenly chosen the daughters of high officials to enter the palace as concubines, and said, ”Empress, the Emperor is going to wage war against the Northwest.”

Lady Jing was slightly taken aback, blinking in confusion, not understanding why Nangong Shuangshuang had come to such a conclusion, especially since they had just been discussing the daughters of high officials entering the palace.

Nangong Shuangshuang felt a bit helpless. Lady Jing was very clever, but there was one thing—her vision was always limited, confined to the harem, to the Emperor’s favor within this small realm, never considering looking at the world beyond.

It still required gradual guidance. Once power was achieved, the vision would naturally expand. Thinking this, Nangong Shuangshuang continued to explain to Lady Jing, ”The fathers of those concubines entering the palace are all involved in matters related to war.

For example, the Minister of Revenue who manages the collection of grain and military funds, the Minister of War responsible for conscription, and the military general responsible for warfare, among others. The Emperor’s primary aim in selecting the daughters of these families is not to choose an Empress, although he does plan to select an Empress from among these concubines.

But the Emperor’s true goal is to use the position of Empress to keep those officials coveting the Empress’s position in check, so that when he wages war against the Northwest, they will wholeheartedly work for him without harboring ulterior motives.”

Nangong Shuangshuang had also been unaware of why the Emperor suddenly changed his mind, but she did not believe the Emperor was someone who would casually change his mind. There had to be a reason for his actions. Therefore, Nangong Shuangshuang read the letters sent by Gao Yan to the palace for several days and finally figured out the Emperor’s intention.

It must be said, this was a strategy characteristic of the Emperor’s personality, going to any lengths to achieve his goal, even if it meant using a few innocent women. Truly cold-blooded and goal-oriented as always.

Lady Jing was equally astonished after hearing Nangong Shuangshuang’s analysis, her eyes widening in surprise. She never doubted Nangong Shuangshuang’s words; she was just shocked that the Emperor would make such a shameless decision for this reason.

The Emperor was completely using these girls. If they were favored upon entering the palace, it would be fine, but if they didn’t please the Emperor, their future days would be hard to endure.

The Emperor was not one to wrong himself. Even if he wanted to use these concubines’ fathers, at most, he would bring them into the palace and promote them to high-ranking concubines. Whether he favored them or not depended entirely on his own preferences.

”Why does my beloved concubine look so surprised?” With a deep male voice, the Emperor entered, dressed in casual attire. Lately, the Emperor had taken a liking to making surprise visits to the Yingyue Palace.

Lady Jing quickly composed herself, and Nangong Shuangshuang hastily stood up from behind the desk. The two of them greeted and paid their respects to the Emperor. The Emperor motioned for them to dispense with formalities, sat in the main seat, and continued to ask Lady Jing, ”My beloved concubine hasn’t said why she was so surprised just now.”

Lady Jing, calm and with a faint smile, replied, ”Wasn’t it just that Shuangshuang was reading my father’s letter to me? One thing surprised me so much—a group of about ten shrews actually had a gang fight at the market, which I found quite unbelievable.”

”Oh, a gang fight by ten shrews, how incredible. When did this happen? Let me see.” The Emperor, piqued by Lady Jing’s words, expressed curiosity. Nangong Shuangshuang immediately brought that page of the letter over for the Emperor to read.

The Emperor had seen the letters sent to Lady Jing by Gao Yan many times, knowing they were full of trivial, everyday matters, and hadn’t been suspicious of anything, assuming that Lady Jing merely wished to hear about the outside world to relieve the monotony of harem life.

The Emperor considered Lady Jing’s hobby quite nice, and her way of handling affairs was very similar to the Empress’s, which satisfied the Emperor greatly.

Though he had entrusted palace duties to Lady Jing and Lady Shufei, the Emperor had never felt fully at ease, fearing they would mishandle relationships within the harem or do something while managing palace affairs, so he had someone secretly monitor them.

The Emperor discovered that while Lady Shufei’s ability to handle palace affairs was mediocre—she wouldn’t use the opportunity to manage palace affairs to stir up trouble, yet often couldn’t handle conflicts among harem concubines—

Lady Jing was different. Her approach to managing palace affairs was just like the Empress’s, firm yet gentle, and whenever there was something she couldn’t handle, she would refer to the Empress’s way of handling it, greatly satisfying the Emperor.

What pleased the Emperor most was how Lady Jing properly arranged for the palace maids, eunuchs, nannies, and aunts who originally belonged to the Empress at Fengchen Palace. This arrangement of Lady Jing was particularly in line with the Emperor’s wishes.

Although the Emperor himself was cold-hearted, he disliked others being cold-hearted and preferred his ministers and concubines to be loyal and righteous. Lady Jing’s previous kindness to the Empress had already made the Emperor consider her to be on the Empress’s side.

When the Empress died, Lady Jing’s father also encountered trouble, and since the Emperor had ordered Fengchen Palace to be sealed off, forbidding any concubines to enter, Lady Jing hadn’t gone to visit the Empress. The Emperor did not think much of it.

But after the Empress’s death, not a single concubine, including Lady Shufei—despite being treated kindly by the Empress for years to ensure her palace status was not harsh—cared to look after those around the Empress. They all avoided Fengchen Palace, as if fearing to offend themselves.

Lady Shufei’s behavior greatly dissatisfied the Emperor, while Lady Jing’s willingness to care for the Empress’s people without fear of retaliation was especially noticeable in the Emperor’s view.

Moreover, Lady Jing was indeed more capable than Lady Shufei, handling palace affairs in an orderly manner. So in the past six months, most powers over palace affairs had been consolidated in Lady Jing’s hands.

The Emperor’s visit to the Yingyue Palace this time was merely on a whim, and as it was still daytime, it was impossible to spend the entire day at the Yingyue Palace with Lady Jing. After sharing a royal meal with her, the Emperor left.

After the Emperor left, Nangong Shuangshuang continued reading the letters in her hand, with the doors and windows wide open, showing the entire room clearly. When Nangong Shuangshuang and Lady Jing read the letters, they always did it openly without pretense, so although the Emperor had come across them many times, he had never been suspicious.

If the person reading the letters were a Prince, the Emperor might have been wary and speculated, but since it was two women reading them, the Emperor never thought much of it. In his mind, how much insight could women have?

Even if women had thoughts, they were only about whether the man favored them, or watching how other women were favored. As for court politics, several confidantes had already shown the Emperor that women simply didn’t fathom it.

Due to this underestimation of women, the Emperor never realized that his intentions were being clearly seen by Nangong Shuangshuang through these seemingly trivial letters.