Chapter 171

The martial arts stage became quite lively for a moment.

The martial official overseeing the martial arts stagecouldn’t stand it any longer and shouted, “Only two people can compete on the martial arts stage at the same time! Please wait your turn if you’ve just come up!”

Dou Siwu couldn’t wait any longer.

He had to act like an elder brother and scolded Dou Sixue, “You’ve already lost! Why are you still clinging to the stage? Aren’t you embarrassed for the Dou family?”

Dou Sixue, being young and hot-headed, had initially refused to admit defeat.

But after Dou Siwu’s scolding, he felt ashamed.

He clasped his fists and bowed to Bai Qian, saying, “Your martial skills are truly impressive. I sincerely admire you. When I have the chance, I’d like to learn from you.”

After saying this, he followed Dou Siwu off the stage.

Feng Liwu, seeing that many skilled young men had emerged over the past half-day, felt that the martial arts stage had served its purpose.

As the sun grew hotter, even staying under the canopy on the high platform became unbearable.

So, despite Jiang Xiurun’s reluctance, he insisted on taking her back to the palace.

When Feng Liwu personally escorted Jiang Xiuman back to her bedchamber, he made sure she ate braised pork with green onions and baked flatbread from the oven, along with a bowl of dried scallop and beet soup.

Seeing that she didn’t suffer from morning sickness, he felt relieved and told her to rest well in the afternoon.

He would handle the documents from Bo after discussing military matters with his ministers.

Thus, Jiang Xiurun, who was both the ruler of Bo and the Empress of Qi, found her main duties after the wedding to be eating well and sleeping well.

Taohua, who had always served Jiang Xiuman diligently, was promoted to a palace female official.

She knew Jiang Xiurun’s tastes well.

Recently, due to her pregnancy, Jiang Xiurun often woke up with a bland taste in her mouth, so Taohua always prepared a cup of preserved plums for her.

Jiang Xiurun, with her hair loose and her arms stretched out, allowed the maids to fan her as she fell into a sweet sleep.

She didn’t even notice when Bai Qian returned from the martial arts stage.

According to palace rules, on the first day after the new empress entered the palace, all the concubines were supposed to come and pay their respects.

However, the new empress had left the palace early in the morning with Emperor Shengwu to watch the martial arts competition, so the few scattered concubines of Qi Palace had missed her.

When the empress returned at noon, she had lunch and then took a nap.

By the time she was ready to receive them, it was already mid-afternoon.

Jiang Xiurun, feeling soft and relaxed from her nap, lay on the couch as Taohua fed her a few preserved plums.

Then she got up, changed her clothes, and went out to meet the concubines.

In truth, this formality of paying respects was meaningless.

After all, they were all old acquaintances, and there wasn’t much to talk about.

While the other concubines were relatively calm, Tian Ying and Cao Xi were filled with resentment.

Back when the three of them were hostage princesses, Yao had been the most destitute, far beneath them.

But somehow, she had managed to charm the crown prince, switching between male and female personas, and had never grown tiresome.

In the end, she had won the emperor’s favor, pretended to return to Bo, and come back wearing the lofty title of empress of Bo, now sitting proudly as the Empress of Qi.

Now, as they looked around the Fengming palace, its opulence far surpassed their own palaces.

They had to bow and kneel before Jiang Xiurun, and their hearts were filled with bitterness.

Tian Ying, at least, maintained a calm facade, but Cao Xi, who had always been less skilled at hiding her emotions, knelt with obvious reluctance.

When Jiang Xiurun looked at these women now, she felt a mix of emotions.

She had once told Feng Liwu that she wouldn’t make a good empress because she lacked the capacity to tolerate others.

This wasn’t a lie.

Back when she was a concubine, she had only been pretending to get along with Feng Liwu, thinking that as long as she was safe, he could dote on whoever he wanted.

But now, as Feng Liwu’s official wife, bound to him for life, she couldn’t tolerate other women coming between them.

Her mother had been virtuous, tolerating her father’s constant favor of new women, but what had it gotten her in the end?

Jiang Xiurun didn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps or share her husband with anyone else.

She had already made her stance clear to Feng Liwu.

What he chose to do was up to him.

If he couldn’t comply and his heart turned to someone else, she wouldn’t make a scene.

At most, she would take her dowry and return to Bo, taking their son with her to be the crown prince.

With this mindset, Jiang Xiurun had no intention of playing the role of a fair and just empress, worrying about how to distribute the emperor’s favors.

She didn’t hurry to let the kneeling concubines rise.

Instead, she spoke in a cool tone, “The emperor has been overwhelmed with state affairs recently. The harem concubine should not disturb his peace of mind. I won’t interfere if you bring tea or water to his study, but for the time being, please refrain from doing so. You may now kneel and take your leave.”

Jiang Xiurun’s blatant blocking of the concubines from receiving the emperor’s favor was unexpected, especially for Tian Ying and Cao Xi.

Cao Xi wanted to speak up, but Jiang Xiurun didn’t give her the chance.

She simply stood up and left gracefully.

However, as the concubines dispersed, it was said that one person lingered, kneeling and begging Taohua to relay a message.

When Taohua delivered the message to Jiang Xiurun, she learned that it was Tian Jing’er.

Tian Jing’er pleaded with the empress to strip her of her concubine title and allow her to serve as a close maid in Fengming Palace.

Jiang Xiurun was puzzled by this request.

Bringing her husband’s concubine into her inner circle didn’t seem wise.

Although Tian Jing’er had been friendly with her back in the crown prince’s residence and had even been kind to Jiang Herun, often sending her homemade soups and pastries, it was still important to be cautious.

She wasn’t like that Yang Ruxu, who had eagerly bought beautiful maid to secure her future husband’s favor even before marriage.

So when Taohua relayed the message, Jiang Xiurun simply had her comfort Tian Jing’er with a few words and send her away.

Meanwhile, the martial arts stage had been set up for three days, and three large baskets of tokens had been handed out.

But among these skilled young men, it was still unclear who would become true military talents.

They would need to be tested and trained in the military camps.

Reports from the frontlines had already come in.

The generals had quickly fortified Dong Island to prevent the rebel forces from the three counties from seizing the port.

However, with so many cities and counties to defend and a shortage of troops, it was an undeniable fact that new recruits were urgently needed.

Spring planting had ended, but it was difficult to recruit new soldiers during the busy summer season.

Therefore, the only option was to increase military pay to attract recruits.

New recruits would need to be trained before they could be of any use.

With the three counties declaring independence, a major war was imminent for Qi.

Although Feng Liwu was the emperor, he would also need to lead by example, overseeing the generals as they personally trained the soldiers in the military training ground.

The warriors selected from the martial arts stage would also join the military training ground.

According to Qi’s military regulations, family members were allowed to visit the military training ground once every seven days.

Although neither generals nor soldiers were allowed to leave the military training ground, their families could send them supplies.

Jiang Xiurun personally prepared a heat-relieving soup in the palace and, accompanied by her maid and General Bai Qian, led a grand procession to the military training ground.

As they approached the military training ground, they could hear the powerful shouts of the soldiers, rising and falling in waves.

The ground occasionally shook, though it was unclear what they were training.

When they arrived at the military training ground, many carriages were already parked there.

They belonged to the families of the generals, each accompanied by maid holding parasols and wiping sweat with handkerchiefs as they stepped out of their carriages.

Normally, noblewomen would be enjoying chilled drinks in their mansions at this time, not enduring the sweltering heat.

They were clearly uncomfortable under the midday sun.

When they saw the empress arrive, these ladies came forward to pay their respects.

Madam Dou, Dou Siwu’s mother, also came to greet her.

Although Jiang Xiurun didn’t particularly like Madam Dou, out of respect for Dou Siwu and his father, she maintained proper etiquette.

Madam Dou, with a stiff expression, paid her respects and then returned to her carriage.

As she left, she didn’t even glance at Bai Qian, who stood beside the empress.

Instead, she held her head high, exuding the air of a noblewoman, and hurried into the military training ground to deliver food and clean clothes to her husband and son.

Dou Siwu’s uncle and his son, Dou Sixue, were also in the military, so Dou Sixue’s mother, Madam Zhao, had brought two large food containers.

After paying her respects to the empress, Madam Zhao’s eyes lit up when she saw Bai Qian.

While the other ladies were chatting with the empress, she took Bai Qian’s hand and said, “After we returned that day, I scolded my son for his thoughtlessness. Even though it was a martial arts stage match, his opponent was a lady. How could he use such rough grappling techniques? After I reprimanded him, he felt guilty and wanted to find an opportunity to apologize to you!”

Bai Qian hadn’t expected Dou Sixue’s mother to be so forward.

She didn’t know how to respond and could only nod awkwardly.

But Madam Zhao became even more familiar, ordering someone to bring one of the food containers she had prepared.

She said to Bai Qian, “You serve the empress, which is a demanding job. You’ve come all the way here in the midday heat without eating or drinking. If you get hungry later, feel free to eat from this container. I’m not sure if you prefer sour or salty flavors, so please bear with it if it’s not to your taste.”

Bai Qian wasn’t used to this kind of attention and tried to decline several times, but Madam Zhao insisted.

In the end, Bai Qian could only mumble vague responses.

Madam Dou, who had walked some distance away, happened to glance back and saw her sister-in-law, Madam Zhao, eagerly chatting with Bai Qian.

Since Dou Siwu’s uncle was an illegitimate son, Madam Dou had always felt superior to Madam Zhao, the wife of an illegitimate son.

Now, seeing Madam Zhao fawning over Bai Qian, a former maid, Madam Dou sneered inwardly.

This is what happens when you come from an illegitimate household—no sense of propriety, no ability to distinguish good from bad.

Madam Zhao probably thought that Bai Qian, being close to the empress, was worth currying favor with.

Madam Dou decided she would have to lecture her sister-in-law at some point, warning her not to bring unwanted people into the family.

Although she thought this, Madam Dou couldn’t help but feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Watching Bai Qian let Madam Zhao hold her hand, she thought angrily, My son claims he’s made vows of eternal love to her, but she’s so casual about it. If Madam Zhao offers a few more sweet words, that rough girl might even start calling her ‘mother-in-law’!