The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Yun Niang's arms were broken, her face pale with pain as she knelt on the ground, curled up in agony.

"No... I didn't..."

She repeatedly denied, but she couldn't explain why she had been hiding on the roof beam in the dead of night, waiting to assassinate Her Majesty, the Empress.

Jiang Xinyue stepped out of the emperor's embrace, took the hot water handed to her by Shuang Jiang to "calm her nerves," and said slowly, "Did Concubine Shi send you?"

Concubine Shi?

Yun Niang glanced at her in surprise, then lowered her head, trying to conceal the person behind her with silence.

Soon, Wang Dequan arrived at Yanxi Palace with his men: "Concubine Shi, His Majesty requests your presence in Kunning Palace for questioning."

The nails digging into her palm snapped with a sharp crack, and blood seeped from the torn flesh.

Concubine Shi forced a smile: "I've already retired for the night. I'm not properly dressed to meet His Majesty. Eunuch Wang, would you allow me to change my clothes first?"

"Concubine Shi, please make it quick. His Majesty is waiting," Wang Dequan replied.

Concubine Shi changed into a stone-blue dress, her hair loose and without any adornments, and quickly emerged: "Thank you for waiting, Eunuch Wang."

The night was silent as Concubine Shi followed behind Wang Dequan, glaring at the back of his head, finding him utterly detestable.

"Eunuch Wang, you've served His Majesty for many years and have never accepted bribes. I'm curious, what did Her Majesty, the Empress, offer you? My family is far more powerful than the Jiang family. Whatever she can give, I can surely match. Why did you choose to side with her?"

In this palace, which concubine didn't want to win over Wang Dequan?

But Wang Dequan was the emperor's confidant, and without absolute certainty, no one dared to broach the subject.

What if he reported everything to the emperor? One could lose favor before even gaining it.

What exactly did Jiang Xinyue promise this old eunuch?

Wang Dequan didn't even turn his head: "This servant has never accepted any bribes from Her Majesty, nor has she ever promised me anything. Everything I do is in accordance with His Majesty's wishes. Whoever His Majesty wishes to protect, I protect. Whoever His Majesty wishes to help, I help. Concubine Shi, it's best not to speculate recklessly. As the saying goes, 'trouble comes from the mouth.'"

How times have changed. Even a mere eunuch dares to threaten a concubine now.

Did they think the Northern General's Mansion was an easy target?

Concubine Shi snorted coldly, pushed past Wang Dequan, and quickened her pace to leave him behind.

If he didn't want to say, then so be it. Why hide behind such lofty excuses?

The world is driven by profit. Without gain, there is no reason for help.

"Eunuch!"

A young eunuch beside Wang Dequan looked indignant: "Her Majesty, the Empress, treats you with such respect, yet she..."

"Enough!"

Wang Dequan raised his hand to stop him: "If she's rushing to her doom, why should we stop her?"

Why did he side with Her Majesty, the Empress?

Wasn't she the answer herself?

Because Her Majesty treated him like a normal human being, giving him the respect and dignity he had never received before.

He was already the emperor's closest attendant. He lacked nothing except for a sense of respect.

He didn't need others to look up to him, but at the very least, he wouldn't tolerate anyone looking down on him.

Her Majesty treated every palace servant equally, never considering maids or eunuchs inferior. As long as everyone did their job, life was good.

Which servant in Chengqian Palace didn't envy Xi Que and Shuang Jiang? Who didn't want to be like Jiang Chuan and Xiao Xiangzi?

Her Majesty was fiercely protective of her own.

Once you became her confidant, you could even afford to be a bit more audacious in front of the emperor.

And yet, the emperor often praised the servants of Kunning Palace for being livelier and more spirited than those in other palaces.

Other palaces would love to be lively too!

But the emperor would see it as an affront, and with just a few words, he'd have them dragged out and beaten to death.

When Concubine Shi arrived at Kunning Palace, she saw Jiang Xinyue still lying in bed, with the emperor seated beside her.

"Your servant greets His Majesty..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

*Crack!*

*Hiss—*

Concubine Shi's curtsy was interrupted as a small porcelain bottle shattered at her feet, shards flying up and cutting her cheek.

Meng Qingyu shoved Yun Niang to her knees: "Your Majesty, she has confessed. She was sent by Concubine Shi to harm Her Majesty in Kunning Palace."

Concubine Shi looked both shocked and confused: "What? I sent her? I don't even know who she is. How could I have sent her?"

Yun Niang looked up at her: "Concubine Shi, how can you deny it now? You said that if I killed Her Majesty, you would take her place as empress. You even complained that the poison I used wasn't strong enough to make her bleed to death, and you ordered me to finish the job. Isn't that right?"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand a word of this," Concubine Shi said, kneeling at the emperor's feet, tears streaming down her face. "Your Majesty, I truly don't know her. I have no idea who she is!"

Xi Que pulled a young maid forward: "Then, Concubine Shi, why did you bribe Eunuch Hong from the Palace Eunuch Office to beat the tea-serving maid from Kunning Palace?"

The maid's mouth was bruised, and her cheeks and eyes were swollen and discolored.

She had clearly been beaten severely.

Eunuch Hong was also pushed to the ground and, without daring to lift his head, threw out a bag of silver: "Your Majesty, spare me! I'll never do it again! Concubine Shi ordered me to teach the maid from Kunning Palace a lesson. I was blinded by greed. I deserve punishment, but I only agreed because I feared offending Concubine Shi. Please, Your Majesty, have mercy!"

After his plea, he finally dared to look up, only to freeze in shock when he saw the maid's face: "No..."

The maid covered her face and sobbed: "I deserve to die. Her Majesty is unconscious, and yet I've caused such trouble. I deserve punishment, Your Majesty. Please punish me..."

The perpetrator begged for mercy, while the victim asked for punishment. What kind of world was this?

Concubine Shi clutched the emperor's pant leg: "No... it's not like that, Your Majesty... I only wanted to teach that maid a lesson for spilling water on my shoes. I didn't..."

"If Concubine Shi hadn't already harbored hatred for Her Majesty, why would she beat a maid over such a trivial mistake? It's clear that her hatred extends to all the servants of Kunning Palace!"

Shuang Jiang's words painted Concubine Shi's actions in the worst possible light.

Her hatred had driven her to harm even the palace servants, all because of her desire to kill Jiang Xinyue.