The Fearless Empress - Chapter 1

The young queen squinted her eyes, her lips trembling as she let out her ninety-ninth yawn before her eyelids finally drooped heavily shut.

Last night was the grand wedding, yet she hadn’t even seen whether the empress was round or flat-faced.

On the wedding night, it was said the empress had sat across from that old man from the Ministry of War, talking through the night. If not for the empress’s preference for women, one might have thought she fancied the minister, who was old enough to be her grandfather.

Just as her eyes closed, a court lady hurried in. “Your Highness, Your Highness, Lady Zhang, the Bedchamber Instructor, is here.”

“Zhang Siqin?” The young queen blinked, her eyes growing even more drowsy and unfocused. “Siqin? Thinking about whether to be affectionate?”

The court lady sighed in resignation. “She’s the Bedchamber Instructor, responsible for teaching matters of the bedchamber. She could be considered the empress’s first woman, though Her Majesty has never summoned her.”

At that moment, Lady Zhang entered like a wisp of rosy cloud, stopping before the queen.

The queen looked up at her. The woman’s eyes shimmered, her features delicate. “Zhang Siqin?”

“I am the Bedchamber Instructor, here to instruct Your Highness on certain matters.” The instructor bowed gracefully before straightening, her posture elegant.

Once she arrived, the other court ladies withdrew. The young queen subtly observed her. Judging by this glimpse, all the empress’s attendants were beautiful especially this one.

“What will you teach me?” The queen sat up straight, listening attentively.

The instructor lifted her gaze to the queen. The court officials had recommended a dignified and virtuous bride, but the girl before her still carried a childlike air beneath her piled-up hair, with a touch of sweetness.

The eager young queen showed no trace of shyness. Her eyes, reflecting the candlelight, brimmed with curiosity.

The instructor lowered her lashes and presented a booklet. “Your Highness.”

The queen hesitated, then extended her slender arms to take it. She glanced at the cover, ah, she couldn’t read.

She nodded solemnly, clutching it tightly. “Understood.”

“Your Highness may look through it,” the instructor murmured, bowing her head.

Obediently, the queen flipped open a page with her jade-like fingers, her eyes widening at the sight of two figures lying together, stark naked.

Hmm, no clothes. How embarrassing.

After studying it carefully, she turned to the instructor. “Are they very poor?”

The chamber was adorned with overwhelming wedding decorations, the red hues casting a rosy glow on the queen’s delicate face.

The instructor frowned, puzzled. The queen pointed at the figures in the booklet. “They have no clothes to wear they must be poor!”

The instructor: “…” How was she supposed to teach this?

“Your Highness, they are not poor. They are engaging in intimacy.” The instructor stumbled over her words before hastily turning to the next page.

On the second page, a sheer gauze robe draped over one shoulder while the rest clung to a slender waist.

The queen studied it earnestly, then nodded as if enlightened. Afraid the instructor might notice her confusion, she nodded again, feigning comprehension. “I understand.”

“You understand?” The instructor didn’t believe it, not one bit. The queen’s studious expression resembled that of a diligent student in a classroom, devoid of any bashfulness.

The instructor was at her wit’s end. “Are you sure you’ve looked carefully? Do you truly understand?”

The last two words carried a hint of exasperation. She inwardly cursed the Marquess of Yong’an’s wife for failing to teach the girl anything.

The queen nodded again. “I understand. Should I explain it to you?”

“No, no need.” The bedchamber attendant stuttered in fright. Having the Empress explain such matters to her would surely cost her head if the Emperor found out later.

Stealthily, the attendant flipped another page of the book.

This page revealed bare figures amidst lush foliage and blooming flowers.

Now the young Empress understood, they weren’t poor after all. She didn’t say anything, studying the images intently, as if memorizing combat techniques.

Tilting her head, she noticed how the poses changed with perspective. She turned the book upside down to examine it.

“Hmm,” she remarked disdainfully, “They’re so thin, no meat on them at all.”

The attendant’s scalp prickled, her face flushing with embarrassment. “Your Majesty, don’t focus on their weight look at the positions instead.”

“No, they’re too skinny. Find me another book with plump figures. These ones are so thin it hurts my eyes.” The young Empress looked up at the attendant with an expression that said she simply couldn’t bear to look at them any longer.

Silently, the attendant took back the book, her face a picture of mortification.

The Empress, ever approachable, grinned at her and tilted her head, urging, “Hurry up. You’re too thin yourself.”

That last remark, “You’re too thin yourself”, sent the attendant fleeing in embarrassment.

The maids waiting outside exchanged puzzled glances before hurrying in to check on the Empress, who merely giggled, still tilting her head playfully.

When they didn’t press further, the young Empress lowered her gaze, absently tracing the silver bracelet on her wrist.

The real Empress, the eldest daughter of the Gu family had died saving her, a little fox, from a hunter’s arrow.

With her last breath, the girl had confessed her worries for her parents. In gratitude, the fox had taken on her form and entered the Marquis’s household.

Yet, within days, she had been sent into the palace.

Now, she had to care for her benefactor’s parents and live on in her stead.

She was afraid.

Gazing at the unfamiliar palace halls, she sighed deeply. How she longed to go home.

Breakfast was lavish, dozens of dishes, a dazzling spread.

Being a fox, the young Empress only ate meat, her eyes fixed on the savory dishes as she licked her lips.

A maid explained at her side, “His Majesty has eleven consorts beneath you, including the Noble, Virtuous, Wise, and Enlightened Concubines.”

The young Empress: “…” So many women!

“However, His Majesty has never touched them not even a finger, it’s said.”

The Empress frowned deeply. If the Emperor was so ascetic, he might as well become a monk.

The maid didn’t dare raise her head, continuing to explain the palace’s affairs while the Empress focused on the meat, lending only half an ear.

Including her, there were twelve consorts, one for every month of the year!

But the Emperor never touched them. Wait. The Empress suddenly perked up, turning to the maid with a sly smile. “Does His Majesty have some sort of condition?”

Even foxes sought mates when they came of age, let alone an Emperor.

He must have some hidden ailment.

“N-no, Your Majesty mustn’t say such things! His Majesty would be displeased.” The maid was beside herself, casting nervous glances at the other palace maids, praying the Emperor hadn’t sent spies to watch the Empress.

The young Empress smirked knowingly, as if to say: No need to explain, I get it.

Curious, she asked, “Did His Majesty marry them because he liked them?”

“The Noble Consort is His Majesty’s cousin. She was already betrothed, but the Emperor fancied her, so he summoned her to the palace.”

“The Virtuous Consort was twice married her husband died. The Emperor took a liking to her and brought her into the palace as well.”

“The Virtuous Consort was His Majesty’s elder brother’s betrothed. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he married her.”

“The Noble Consort is the general’s illegitimate daughter. His Majesty visited the general’s residence and reportedly fell in love at first sight. Shortly after returning, he summoned her into the palace.”

The young empress: “…” How very broad-minded of him!

Wait, she frowned in confusion. “If he married them out of affection, why hasn’t he touched them since they entered the palace?”

Most likely, there’s some hidden ailment!

The palace matron couldn’t answer, so the young empress whispered, “Does His Majesty really have some illness? When summoned.”

Before she could finish, the matron clamped a hand over the empress’s restless mouth, her face paling in horror. “Please, don’t say such things. His Majesty will be furious.”

The young empress grinned, her large eyes curving into crescents, radiating innocence.

The matron dared not speak further, lest the empress blurt out something even more shocking. If His Majesty took offense, they would all be punished alongside her.

“Then when can I see Mother?” the young empress asked with a frown, turning to the elderly maid who had accompanied her into the palace. She had come to repay a favor, not to be some useless empress to the emperor.

The maid shook her head sternly, and the empress immediately covered her mouth, falling silent.

The maid said, “Your Highness should be thinking of how to please His Majesty instead.”

“He avoids women and has some illness, what exactly am I supposed to do?” The young empress couldn’t suppress her frustration.

Didn’t you hear earlier?

He’s sick!

He avoids women eleven of them, and not a single one has been touched. What makes you think he’ll touch me?

The maid dropped to her knees with a thud, terrified. The palace matron stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering which beam would be best for hanging herself.

After breakfast, the four consorts came to pay their respects.

The emperor was now twenty-five, in the prime of youth, and the four consorts had been in the palace for three or four years.

They arrived together. The Noble Consort, the eldest among them, wore a bamboo-green palace gown. Behind her was the Virtuous Consort, whose misty-green attire accentuated her snow-white complexion.

The Virtuous Consort stood third, clad in an emerald-green gown, her waist slender, her hair elegantly coiled.

Last was the Bright Consort, the youngest, dressed in a pale smoke-blue gown, refined and dignified.

From a distance, it was all green. The young empress felt as though she had stepped into a vast grassland, an endless expanse of green stretching to the horizon.

The four consorts took their seats with smiles. The Noble Consort spoke first, adjusting the hairpin in her bun. “Your Highness is new to the inner palace and may not yet understand His Majesty’s temperament. He never visits the rear court. If you find it dull, you may seek our company for amusement.”

Translation: Don’t go looking for His Majesty, he won’t pay you any attention!

The young empress was lost in the boundless grassland, breathing in the scent of fresh grass. She rubbed her nose there was no grass here, so where was the fragrance coming from?

The Virtuous Consort said, “When Your Highness has time, you might teach us poetry, and we shall instruct you in the ways of the inner palace.”

The Virtuous Consort added, “With the Empress Dowager absent, you may relax and not stand on ceremony.”

The little fox had spent three days learning court etiquette in the Guo household back straight, chin up, shoulders practically reaching the heavens.

The Guo family was strict. The little fox had been drilled in over a dozen ways of walking alone. Looking back now, those rules had been downright inhumane.

Finally, the Bright Consort smiled and said, “His Majesty favors those who know their place.”

Translation: We know our place and live a leisurely, retired life.

The little fox was bewildered. Before coming, the marchioness had told her to maintain decorum, win His Majesty’s favor, and stay away from the eleven beauties in the palace.

But it seemed the marchioness’s advice didn’t quite match reality!

The four concubines chattered endlessly about palace affairs, treating the Empress as if she were one of their own.

Finally, the Noble Consort handed the Empress a piece of paper covered in dense writing, which the Empress couldn’t make sense of.

The four concubines then took their leave, arriving in haste and departing just as quickly, leaving behind only that single sheet of paper.

The young Empress, being illiterate, turned the paper this way and that, unable to decipher its contents. She had no choice but to ask her lady-in-waiting, “What does it say?”

The lady-in-waiting took one glance and nearly fainted on the spot.

Written on it was:

1st day of the month: Tea party.
2nd day: Mahjong.
3rd day: Tea party.
4th day: Mahjong.
5th day: Tea party.
6th day: Mahjong.
…

“What did you say? She claimed I have an illness?” Empress Cheng Sangyi reflexively rubbed her ears, had she misheard?

The dignified and virtuous Empress, recommended by the court officials, had insinuated that she had a hidden ailment?

Outside, winter snow fell silently, the cold seeping into the bones, while inside the hall, the braziers burned fiercely.

The palace maid who had delivered the message trembled in fear, kowtowing repeatedly. “That is indeed what Her Majesty the Empress said and she repeated it three times.”

Cheng Sangyi: ???

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