Nibbling on the calligraphy brush handle, Moyan felt her brain heat up as she struggled to recall the chapters last night.
In the original novel, Nangong Tanxiang didn't appear physically in person. Much of what the readers came to know were told through a combination of the Crown Prince's investigations and the Second Prince's flashbacks.
She was the youngest daughter of the Nangong clan, one of the three ducal families in the Qi Empire. To balance out the political landscape of the imperial court, she was selected at the tender age of 9 to become a vice consort of Prince Jing of the First Rank.
Innocent and childlike, Tanxiang became close friends with the Princess Consort Jing, and they viewed each other as sisters. Within a year, one after another, the two of them gave birth to sons. The first child, a legitimate son, became the First and later, Crown Prince. The other child, a concubine-born, became the Second Prince, oldest of the concubine-born imperial children.
Two years passed, and Prince Jing still only had two male heirs. Thus, under pressure from the imperial court, a third concubine was selected and conferred the rank of Concubine Bai.
Within a matter of months, the newcomer overtook both Princess Consort Jing and Tanxiang to become the most favored woman of the Prince Jing Manor.
Then, in the 34th year of the Auspice of the White Tiger, Emperor Róngqìng abdicated from the throne to become Emperor Emeritus. In accordance with imperial decree, Prince Jing became the new emperor and was conferred the era name Xuānyè.
Now members of the imperial harem, the three wives of the new emperor received new titles. Without question, as the main wife and mother to the legitimate heir, the Princess Consort Jing was given the greatest honor being crowned the new Empress. As mother to the oldest concubine-born heir, Vice Consort Nanggong, the first of the concubines with many years of service, was elevated as Consort Ning (宁妃 níngfēi) .
But Concubine Bai, who had only served the emperor barely a year and had yet to produce an heir, was elevated as Noble Consort Chun (淳贵妃 chúnguìfēi) . The second of the four Great Consorts.
Like a forgotten toy, Consort Ning was tossed away into Wàngxīgé, one of the furthest palaces away from the emperor's residence.
Within the claustrophobic walls of the imperial city, the favor of the emperor decided everything. To survive, the women of the harem must seduce, comply, and bend to the emperor's every whim.
But Tanxiang did not. Her conscience would not allow her so.
Yet even without favor, a Consort is a lofty position. And there were only four.
Like a juicy steak tossed towards a pack of wolves, Tanxiang was slowly stripped of her prestige, her dignity, and even the right to raise her own son. So she withered away, withdrawing ever deeper into the confines of her little corner of the imperial palace until...
She died alone, abandoned by the very people who snatched her away in the first place.
The question is when. Moyan murmured, tapping her fingers on the lacquered table surface. From what she knew, it all started when Tanxiang was demoted to guìpín despite saving the First Princess.
The reason was obvious. Someone was after her previous rank. And that someone needed an excuse. Failing to care for a legitimate heir was perfect enough to allow the officials to stir up a storm in the imperial court. Who cared whether or not it was true?
Understandeable. Moyan mused. In the imperial palace, only victory matters.
'My lady. I've brought the cookies.' Xiaoli's voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she set her brush aside.
YOU ARE READING
Reincarnated as A Concubine
General Fiction(UPDATES INTERMITTENTLY) A regular guy gets reincarnated into a palace intrigue novel that he's been reading as a background character. Yes, you've heard it right. Man to woman transition. Introducing Imperial Noble Concubine Ning, mother of a who...
