The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

But if one was a bit foolish, they would not deceive their birth mother and elder sister by claiming to send Jiang Xinyue to the palace to pave the way for Jiang Yutong.

He said it backwards--

Allowing Jiang Yutong and Jiang Xinyue to enter the palace together was to enable Jiang Xinyue to use her simple-minded birth sister to pave the way for herself, maximizing the value of her beauty.

The Deputy Minister of the Hong Chan Temple calculated everything, but he never expected that his own devastatingly beautiful illegitimate daughter would be so useless. After the Xuanwu Emperor favored her for two days and spoke some sweet words, she forgot her own surname and recklessly provoked Concubine Li.

Who was Concubine Li?

She was the granddaughter of the current chief minister, the supreme concubine who had reigned over the harem for ten years and held the Emperor's deepest affections.

Although the reincarnated Jiang Xinyue relied on her stunning beauty and cunning tricks to gain the Emperor's favor for a while, she ultimately ended up in the Palace of Exile.

Once again, it was because of Concubine Li.

"Rumble--"

The thunder roared. Fortunately, Xi Que had chirped to Jiang Xinyue about many things that happened in the Jiang Household, so she finally fell into a dazed sleep in the late night.

"There's a fire! There's a fire!"

Not long after she fell asleep, noisy footsteps could be heard outside. Jiang Xinyue sat up, and Xi Que rubbed her eyes: "Mistress, you rest. This servant will go check."

Before Xi Que could leave, Xiao Xuanzi knocked on the door from outside. After a while, he said, "Precious Consort, did I disturb your and Xi Que's sleep?"

Xi Que put on an outer robe and opened the door: "What happened?"

"The Xihuo Palace caught fire. A side palace was struck by lightning, and the eaves fell inside, igniting a blaze. Two palace maids were burned to death."

Jiang Xinyue heard this and frowned, thinking: "The Xihuo Palace again."

It seemed those two palace maids were the ones who secretly swapped Consort Jiang's laxative with arsenic.

How could there be such a coincidence?

It was simply a case of human malice taking advantage of a natural disaster to silence them.

"Never mind."

She lay back down: "Close the door, it has nothing to do with us."

The Xihuo Palace was in the direction of the Palace of Exile, but still some distance away. The Xuanwu Emperor glanced towards the cold, dark direction of the Palace of Exile, without even a glimmer of light.

The next day, Jiang Xinyue stretched lazily as she woke up from her slumber.

Outside, Xi Que's energetic voice rang out: "Here, here... and here, clean it all up."

"Didn't you eat? There's still dust here. My mistress sunbathes here every day, so the branches must be trimmed so they don't block the sunlight."

"You dare glare at me? Still think you're Consort Jiang? You're just a sinner in the Palace of Exile now. Anyone can order you around, understand? Don't act so high and mighty, or you won't get any food."

She had quite the arrogant servant's attitude.

Jiang Xinyue draped an outer robe over her shoulders. She didn't need Xi Que's assistance, as a basin of hot water would already be prepared for her expected waking time.

After washing her face, she stepped outside.

"Xi Que."

"Mistress, you're awake! Xiao Xuanzi went to get our breakfast."

Her quick change of demeanor was astonishing.

"Jiang Xinyue!"

Jiang Yuan, whose poor health often caused her to cough up blood, had been tormented all morning. Seeing Jiang Xinyue, she threw the broom in front of her: "I may be the daughter of the Ministry of Officials, but you let your maid humiliate me like this. Don't you..."

"Slap her mouth!"

"Slap!"

Jiang Yuan was struck dumb by the slap from none other than Jiang Xinyue's lowly maid: "Jiang Xinyue, you..."

"Hit her again."

Jiang Xinyue yawned and twisted her neck, saying nonchalantly: "Keep hitting her until this sinner in the Palace of Exile learns how to bow and address me properly."

"Slap! Slap! Slap..."

Xi Que had disliked Jiang Yuan for a long time. Now that she had her mistress's orders, she rolled up her sleeves and struck left and right: "For insulting my mistress! For trying to poison my mistress! For conspiring with Concubine Li! For scheming against my mistress!"

While Jiang Yuan was being beaten, Xiao Xuanzi returned with the breakfast. For Jiang Yuan, it was still two cold, hard plain buns. 𝒻𝑟𝑒𝓮𝔀ℯ𝓫𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝓸𝓶

Jiang Xinyue only drank half a bowl of porridge before her throat started hurting, so she shook her head and refused to eat more.

She never wasted food, as the leftovers would go into Xiao Xuanzi and Xi Que's stomachs.

The golden abalone and sea cucumber porridge emitted a tantalizing aroma. Xi Que's hand paused for a moment, giving Jiang Yuan a chance to catch her breath. Using her hand to shield her face, she weakly said: "Don't... don't hit me anymore. I... I'm... this sinner... greets the Precious Consort."

If Xi Que kept hitting, Jiang Yuan might have been killed by her fists instead of the arsenic poison.

Her mouth felt like some teeth had loosened, her lips were stinging painfully, and her throat burned incessantly. She spat out a mouthful of fresh, blackish-red blood.

It was truly a wretched scene.

When Consorts Jin and Wan arrived, they were startled by the brutal sight and couldn't move.

"You!"

After recovering, Consort Wan pulled Consort Jin and rushed forward: "Precious Consort, you're so domineering, even after being exiled to the Palace of Exile. Aren't you afraid the Emperor will punish you for such violence?"

Originally sitting under a tree and eating while enjoying Jiang Yuan's misery, Jiang Xinyue now weakly reclined on a noble chair when the two came: "Please forgive me, Sisters. This concubine is still quite frail and cannot bow to you both. I'm sure kindhearted Sisters will not blame me."

She reminded them that Jiang Yuan was the culprit who tried to poison her, nearly costing her life. She was merely disciplining Jiang Yuan, yet Consorts Jin and Wan rushed to defend her.

Well...

Since they were so kindhearted as to let the one who tried to kill her off lightly, they surely wouldn't blame a sick person like her for not greeting them properly.

Otherwise, it would be too hypocritical.

Consort Wan was briefly stunned, her face flushing: "The Emperor has already demoted her to a palace maid. She has received her due punishment. If you are dissatisfied, you can appeal to the Emperor."

Hinting that Jiang Xinyue was defying the Emperor's decree, laying a trap for her!

"Indeed!"

Jiang Xinyue said randomly: "She is already a sinner in the Palace of Exile."

Just as Consort Wan was puzzled by her meaning, [Consort Jin] suddenly looked at Consort Wan coldly: "For a mere concubine, a lowly prisoner has dared to point her nose at me and shout insults. Should I not punish her? This trivial matter also requires troubling His Majesty, but who knows whether he will punish my crime or the crime of you two sisters."

It is only natural for a master to punish her servants. Has Consort Wan never disciplined her errant maids before?

"Sharp tongue," Consort Jin glared at the nearly fainting Jiang Yuan. "Did you not greet me and Consort Wan upon seeing us? Should I not slap you as well?"

Jiang Xinyue stood up: "Since Consort Jin has deliberately come to the Palace of Exile to make trouble for this concubine, I have no choice but to pay my respects..."

Before she could kneel down, she swayed and collapsed onto Xi Que.