The Lord's Heart Favors Her

In Ji Yuanting’s eyes, most women in his harem were there to ensure political stability. The daughter of an imperial merchant had little use to him, aside from the five hundred thousand taels the Xie family offered to the imperial treasury. It was a transaction, and he didn’t care about the woman who entered the palace because of it. He had seen her once when she first entered the palace. The next time he caught sight of her, she was fleeing. He remembered her face: an exceptionally enchanting beauty. Suddenly, he wanted to see her again, though only to strengthen the balance between the court and the harem, and to make her a second Yu Meiren, a target for everyone else. But later, he regretted it. He wanted to protect her and make sure no one could hurt her. He had seen countless beauties, and enchanting women like Xie Wanchu were hardly rare. Yet no one else stayed on his mind the way she did. Why? Perhaps because she called his name even in her dreams. Perhaps because of the heartfelt confessions she thought he never heard. Perhaps because she never hesitated to give him the wealth of her entire family. She was a woman who loved only him, and loved him wholeheartedly. Was it so strange that he thought of her? From the first day she entered the palace, Xie Wanchu had told herself that if she failed to win favor, she could still live freely with her money. If she did win favor, then the only way to survive in the harem was to rely on the emperor. She was willing to offer up the Xie family’s fortune because her family was rich enough to rival a nation. They wouldn’t miss a little of it. Whenever the emperor wasn’t around, she spoke of her love for him, because she knew his people were watching her. All she had ever wanted was to live her own life, acting devoted and obedient in front of the emperor. But someone was always secretly setting traps for her. Xie Wanchu did nothing but cling to the emperor’s leg, playing the concubine who understood and knew nothing, and asking only for His Majesty’s protection. But in the end, she could no longer tell whether she was acting or truly in love. Perhaps she loved him, but her heart would always belong to her. As the years went by, after more than a decade together, the lowly Talented Lady had become the only Noble Consort in the harem of the Great Hua Dynasty. They never told each other they were in love, but after years together, they both knew the truth.