The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 1065 Winning Over the Yang Family

When she first targeted Consort Qian, she was already prepared to oppose the Qian family, so she wasn't surprised by their current actions.

When her biological father, Cui Ling, was still alive, he could lend her a hand and help her restrain some of the court officials.

Now that Cui Ling is dead, there is no capable person in the family to take her place. It is really difficult for her, a weak woman in the harem, to support the family alone.

As an empress without a powerful family to back her up, her greatest source of power and reliance was still the emperor. Therefore, no matter how much Cui Rong disliked Zhou Pu, she could not let Zhou Pu remain in such a passive position.

At that moment, she thought of someone.

"Peony, please go and invite Consort Yang over for a chat tonight."

"Consort Yang?" Peony's mind was a little slow to catch up with Cui Rong's thoughts, and she didn't understand what Cui Rong meant. "Your Majesty, weren't we just talking about the Qian family? They've been making things difficult for His Majesty and you behind his back, and His Majesty needs to punish them. Why did you call Consort Yang here at this time?"

"Just go when I tell you to, stop with all the nonsense!" Cui Rong said, her face displeased.

Upon seeing this, Peony unconsciously shrank her shoulders, quickly agreed, and dared not ask any more questions.

Just as he turned around, Cui Rong called him back, "Wait a minute, and while you're at it, go and send a message to our people, asking the Imperial Brother-in-law to come to the palace to see me tomorrow."

"Yes!" Peony bowed and replied. Only after confirming that Cui Rong had no other instructions did she leave. Now Cui Rong was becoming more and more unpredictable, and even she couldn't figure out what Cui Rong was planning every day.

Since her miscarriage, Consort Yang has lived a secluded life, with a very low profile in the harem. She no longer tries to compete for the emperor's favor and has become a mere decoration in the harem, almost invisible. Her bedchamber is also very quiet, with only a dozen or so palace servants attending to her.

When she heard Cui Rong invite her to Yonghe Palace for a chat, she was genuinely surprised. Instead of feeling flattered, she felt that the other party must have some ulterior motive.

So she made it clear beforehand: "Go back and tell the Empress that I will definitely keep our appointment tonight. However, I am no longer favored by the Emperor and have no children. I do not wish to get involved in the intrigues of the harem for the rest of my life. I only wish to live out my remaining days peacefully in the harem. If Your Majesty has any other plans, please do not ask!"

Upon hearing this, Peony smiled somewhat awkwardly, bowed, and replied, "This servant will certainly convey the message."

He then curtsied again, took his men, and left, making a detour to deliver a message to the Cui family along the way.

Upon returning to the palace, Shaoyao relayed Yang Fei's words verbatim to Cui Rong. Cui Rong smiled dismissively, put down her teacup, and said indifferently:

"She thought she could live a life of her own in the inner palace? How wishful thinking! It's a good thing we spared her life back then; it seems it was worth it now."

Peony didn't know what Cui Rong was planning, so she didn't know how to respond. She just gently squatted down and helped massage Cui Rong's legs.

Evening arrived quickly, and Consort Yang arrived as promised. She was very low-key and made no grand entrance, only bringing a maid and a eunuch with her.

Cui Rong was already waiting in the flower hall. As soon as the person arrived, she stood up, took Yang Fei's hand affectionately, and pulled her to sit down on the couch, behaving very intimately.

She then dismissed all the palace servants in the hall, saying, "You may all leave. I need to have a proper talk with Consort Yang."

"Yes!" the palace servants replied in unison, and slowly withdrew.

The maids and eunuchs accompanying Consort Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly in agreement before leaving with the others.

This scene caught Cui Rong's eye, making her smile and say meaningfully, "Hehe, the servants in Consort Yang's palace are truly loyal. They don't even respect the words of the Empress, and only obey your orders, Consort Yang."

"Your Majesty is joking. They are all very foolish and don't know how to read people's expressions. If they have done anything to displease Your Majesty, I will punish them when I return," Consort Yang replied cautiously.

Cui Rong glanced at her, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and simply invited her to have some snacks.

In this silent atmosphere, Consort Yang had no appetite and stopped eating after taking only a small bite.

Cui Rong remained silent, sitting calmly to one side. She gently blew away the foam in her teacup, took a small sip, and then put the teacup down before looking at Consort Yang.

"Oh, Consort Yang, you seem very nervous. Is there something unpleasant about me that makes you uncomfortable?"

"Back when I first entered the palace, Consort Yang, you helped me a lot. I have always kept this kindness in my heart. However, there have been many things going on in the palace recently, and I have neglected to visit you. We should visit each other more often."

Consort Yang knew in her heart that this was just a polite remark, and the real purpose of inviting her here today was yet to come. So she smiled and said politely, "Your Majesty is now the mother of the nation, a model for the world, and also the head of the harem. It is inevitable that there are many trivial matters that need to be taken care of. Unfortunately, my health is not good enough to help Your Majesty."

This means that no matter what your requests or ideas are, don't come to me. The rejection isn't subtle; it's practically a direct statement.

Cui Rong had already anticipated this, and calmly asked, "Oh, is that so? Could it be because of your miscarriage last time?"

"The miscarriage was one aspect, but on the other hand, my health had never been very good since I was a child."

As she spoke, she even covered her chest with a handkerchief and coughed lightly twice, then picked up her teacup to rinse her mouth and lowered her head to hide the expression on her face.

Cui Rong sneered inwardly, but outwardly she casually let out a thunderous roar.

"You're in poor health yet you dare to have an affair with a man outside the palace, defiling the bloodline of the court. Do you think what the consequences will be for you, Consort Yang, and your family if His Majesty finds out? Exterminating three generations of your family wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?!"

With a "crash," the teacup in Consort Yang's hand slipped and fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces.

Even if she denied it at this point, it would seem like she was trying to cover something up, but Consort Yang had no choice but to deny it.

Before she could speak, Cui Rong raised her hand to stop her, "Think carefully before you speak. Since I was able to invite you here, it wasn't without reason."

Consort Yang pursed her lips and remained silent, her hands gripping the handkerchief tightly.

"Actually, I've known about this for a long time, but I haven't said anything. I even kept it a secret for you because I remembered the kindness you showed me when I first entered the palace. Aren't you from a noble family the most particular about rules and etiquette? Shouldn't you return the favor now?"

What do you want?

"My idea is very simple: to get your Yang family on His Majesty's side!" Cui Rong finally revealed her purpose.

Upon hearing this, Consort Yang turned pale and shook her head, saying, "You overestimate my influence in the family."

“I know how you aristocratic women behave. Are you thinking of simply dying to end this and make sure there are no witnesses, so you can repay your family’s kindness? Let me tell you, it’s not that simple. If you don’t want to follow in Consort Qian’s footsteps, you’d better do as I say!”

"You've finally stopped acting," Consort Yang thought to herself, feeling that she had expected this, as Cui Rong pressed her relentlessly.

"Your Yang family thought that you could get away with it by secretly silencing that person, but little do you know, if you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. That person is still alive now," Cui Rong said with a faint smile, dropping another bombshell.

Consort Yang was stunned. "Impossible!"

"Believe it or not, he wasn't completely dead at first. I arranged for someone to save him," Cui Rong replied, her expression unchanged.