The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

"Concubine Shi, it seems you've done far more than this."

Xi Que clapped her hands, and two matrons dragged in a familiar face, her head bowed low, emitting a soft, bitter laugh.

"Maidservant Tong Jia, you insisted on seeing our mistress in the Palace of Exile. Now that His Majesty is here, if you have any grievances, speak them to him!"

The appearance of Tong Jia instantly changed Concubine Shi's expression. Her tearful, pitiful face twisted momentarily.

Tong Jia stared at Concubine Shi with eyes full of hatred: "Shi Yanlan, I truly thought you were my closest friend. All these years in the palace, how many times have I helped you? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been exposed when I was pregnant, and I wouldn’t have fallen victim to that vile Consort De. Did I ever blame you? Why did you have to betray me like this?"

Concubine Shi's eyes darted around guiltily, refusing to meet Tong Jia's gaze. "What does this have to do with me? You were the foolish one. What did I do to you? Did I tell you to frame the Empress? You were the one with a wicked heart. Don’t use me as your scapegoat."

Tong Jia first shed tears: "I might as well have fed my sincerity to a dog. I was naive to think there could be genuine affection in this deep palace. It was indeed my own stupidity."

Then, her eyes hardened: "But back then, wasn’t it you who told me that your uncle accidentally discovered the Empress's affair with an actor? You even told me not to tell anyone, and that’s how I fell into your trap, didn’t I?"

Concubine Shi had thought the matter ended with Tong Jia being exiled to the Palace of Exile, but she didn’t know that Jiang Xinyue had secretly sent people to investigate outside the palace.

Not long ago, it was discovered that the witnesses had all been bribed by the Shi family, who had deliberately sent them to the Tong family to frame Tong Jia.

Jiang Xinyue immediately had the truth relayed to Tong Jia, who was struggling to survive in the Palace of Exile. Only then did Tong Jia realize that her closest friend had deceived her.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"It was... it was you... I..."

"Ah!"

The Emperor kicked Concubine Shi aside: "You vile woman! Jiang Xinyue is kind-hearted and gentle. Everyone in the palace praises her. With her managing the harem, I have no worries in the court. What could you possibly have against her?"

He sneered coldly: "Did you think that if something happened to Jiang Xinyue, I would make you Empress? Let me tell you this—if anything happens to Jiang Xinyue, I swear on my ancestors that the position of Empress will remain vacant forever. No one... will ever become my Empress again."

A hundred years from now, the only one who will rest beside him in the tomb will be Jiang Xinyue.

The weight of these words crashed over Concubine Shi like a thousand galloping horses. She half-collapsed on the ground, barely propping herself up: "Do you think... do you think I wanted to kill Jiang Xinyue just because I wanted to be your Empress?"

Concubine Shi laughed and cried at the same time: "Back then, when the late Emperor had only you as his heir, the Shen clan was filled with those coveting the throne. The late Emperor considered adopting several sons from the Shen clan to compete with you for the throne. It was the Empress Dowager herself who went to the Northern General's Mansion to propose the marriage, saying you would treat me well. My father disagreed, but I was blindly in love with you. I insisted on becoming your concubine. If it weren’t for the support of the late Empress, Concubine Li, and our Shi family, how could you have secured the throne with the help of that impoverished Wu Family?"

"They were all smart. Only I was foolish. When I could have sought power, I sought your love instead. After seeing your true nature, I tried to seek power again, but by then, the palace was filled with more and more beautiful concubines. I had already missed my chance. At first, I thought, since none of us could win your love, it would be fine to live out my days in peace."

"But... but why did you have to be so biased toward Jiang Xinyue? What does she have besides her looks? Is she as magnanimous as the late Empress? Does she have the noble background of Concubine Li? Does she love you as unconditionally as I do? She has nothing! Why did you have to kill the late Empress? Why her?"

The late Empress... was killed by the Emperor?

Tong Jia trembled as if she had heard some unspeakable secret.

Shi Yanlan...

She even knew such a thing, but she never told her. It was true—she had never truly considered her a friend.

The Emperor’s brow furrowed deeply, but Concubine Shi staggered to her feet: "Now it’s good. That vile Jiang Xinyue is about to die. You betrayed my sincerity, and now you deserve to lose the woman you love most. She deserves to die! She deserves it! Hahaha..."

If Jiang Xinyue weren’t on the brink of death, she wouldn’t have been able to wound the Emperor’s heart like this.

It was as if she was venting years of resentment: "Jiang Xinyue is kind-hearted? Which concubine entered the palace already wicked? It’s your harem that forces us to climb over each other, leaving those at the bottom to suffer endless abuse. Is it our fault for becoming cruel? No, the fault is yours! You’re the one who brought us into the palace, only to let us waste away in this deep, cold place, while we’re expected to bless your union with other women? What are we to you? Just background props?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Jiang Xinyue couldn’t take it anymore. She threw off the covers and got out of bed: "Entering the palace was your own choice. If you truly didn’t want to come, you could have feigned illness, arranged an early marriage, or found a way to fail the selection. Did the Emperor hold a knife to your throat and force you to enter? You wanted to seek a bright future, but now you’re blaming the Emperor for everything. Isn’t that unfair to him?"

Though in her heart, she also felt that this damned feudal society had buried too many women’s lives, the system itself was to blame, not the individual.

If this were modern times, no man would dare marry so many wives. Society and the law would punish him before any woman could.

But this wasn’t modern times. This was an era where polygamy was legal, a feudal empire ruled by imperial power.

Even wealthy commoners could have one wife and two concubines, let alone the Emperor.

Jiang Xinyue wasn’t being hypocritical. Even if she wanted the Emperor to love only her, she would have to use every trick in the book to make him fall for her. Otherwise, she herself would wonder why the Emperor should devote himself entirely to her.

All she could say was that she wouldn’t let herself become a bitter, resentful woman. She would do everything in her power to get what she wanted without actively harming others.

If she couldn’t get it, she wouldn’t chase after illusions. She would make the best of what she had and live as comfortably as possible.

"You... you..."

Concubine Shi took a few steps back, her voice shrill: "You’re not dead?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I won’t die even if you do."

Xi Que and Shuang Jiang stepped forward, one on each side, to dress Jiang Xinyue in her dark phoenix robe.

The aura of someone who ruled the world emanated from her, and Concubine Shi turned pale with fear, though she still tried to stand her ground: "You... you were faking it all along. You were never poisoned, were you?"

That wasn’t entirely true. She had indeed stood at the gates of the underworld, but realizing she couldn’t go back and with the responsibility of a child tying her to this world, she chose to return.

The Emperor had better treat her well, or else...