Female Consort Chapter 74: War

“Your Grace,” Cui Wenshen’s shadow appeared beneath the eaves of the palace, his tone cold.

“His Majesty will not see you. Please return.”

Snow fluttered down outside Jingyang Palace.

Consort Xu stood in the snow with only a cloak draped over her shoulders. Her figure was thin, and she trembled from the cold.

The palace maid beside her held an umbrella and pleaded softly, “Your Grace… the snow is heavy. Your health is most important. Let’s return to the palace.”

Consort Xu brushed off the maid’s helping hand, exhaled warm breath onto her hands to keep them from freezing, and looked up at Cui Wenshen under the eaves.

“Is His Majesty unable to see me, or unwilling to see me?”

Cui Wenshen said nothing.

Still unwilling to give up, Consort Xu raised her voice. “If His Majesty refuses to see me, then I’ll wait here. I will remain until he’s willing to grant me an audience!”

“If you continue waiting like this, even if your body freezes, it will only anger His Majesty,” Cui said.

Consort Xu gritted her teeth. “Please inform His Majesty that I am carrying the dragon heir. I beg him to show mercy and grant me an audience.”

Cui Wenshen’s eyes flickered with surprise, though he quickly resumed his expressionless face and turned to enter the hall.

Moments later, Fuzi came out with a smile. “Your Grace, His Majesty will see you now.”

Relieved, Consort Xu stepped into the hall, her heart still uneasy.

The emperor sat upon the dragon throne. A faint fragrance wafted from the incense burner nearby. Li Shi looked pale and sickly, visibly exhausted, coughing now and then as he read over memorials in his hands.

When he looked up and saw Consort Xu, his expression turned slightly odd.

She offered her salute and quickly asked, “Your Majesty, I heard that you intend to send Pingyi to the northern Xiongnu for a marriage alliance. Is this true?”

She had always been direct and bold in temperament, never one to mince words. The emperor had once admired her for it, praising her innocence and candor.

But this time, Li Shi gave an unrelated answer. “You said you’re pregnant?”

Consort Xu hesitated but did not allow herself to be sidetracked. Instead, she pressed firmly, “Your Majesty, I asked you, was sending Pingyi away in marriage your idea?”

The second time she asked, it cut much sharper than the first.

Li Shi gave her a glance of surprise, but he did not grow angry. If what she said was false, she wouldn’t have confronted him head-on. She would have avoided the subject, acted guilty.

Her confidence in questioning him only proved she wasn’t lying.

Li Shi considered for a moment, then nodded. “It’s true.”

He knew this couldn’t be hidden from her. Even if he tried, she would find out eventually. Better to tell her directly than deal with her wrath later.

As expected, Consort Xu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Your Majesty, have you gone mad? Pingyi is just a child!”

“She’s ten. I know.”

Li Shi sighed. “But the northern Xiongnu came with overwhelming force. The urgent dispatch arrived just yesterday, and the proposal for peace talks has already been carried back to their borders this morning. It’s too late to stop it now.”

Consort Xu took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “…Was this decision yours alone, or were the ministers informed?”

Li Shi coughed, then replied with a hint of defensiveness and irritation, “I am the emperor. Whatever I choose to do, I don’t need their approval.”

Consort Xu frowned deeply, as if looking at someone she no longer recognized. “But… but haven’t you always loved Pingyi the most? She’s still so young, how could you send her away for a political marriage?”

Li Shi responded patiently, “Pingyi is the only unmarried princess left in our Great Xia. Who else can we send? And there have been precedents for marriage at ten. If she marries the Xiongnu king, for the sake of Great Xia’s honor, he will surely not mistreat her…”

“I don’t want to hear another word!” Consort Xu cut him off sharply. “Your Majesty, must we pursue peace? And even if we must, is marriage the only way? When the late emperor still lived, he fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Prince Zhao on the battlefield. He carved out this great empire with blood and iron, was it only so his descendants could offer their daughters up for peace?”

“Xu Fei!” Li Shi was furious.

He slammed the table, the loud crack making Consort Xu flinch instinctively. She placed a hand over her slightly rounded belly.

Seeing this, Li Shi’s expression softened slightly, though his tone remained stern. “Peace negotiations are a necessity. You’re a woman, long hair, short sight. I don’t blame you, but you must understand, Great Xia’s treasury is depleted. Much has been invested in public welfare. We cannot sustain a costly war.”

“And war only brings suffering to the people,” Li Shi continued resolutely. “If one life can bring peace to the nation, why not? Xu Fei, one must not be selfish. A marriage alliance is an honor, something to be remembered in the annals of history. You should be happy for Pingyi… Don’t make this harder for me.”

Consort Xu stared at him for a long time.

Her lips twitched, as if trying to force the joy he spoke of, 

But she couldn’t summon even a trace of it.

Seeing that she had been silenced, Li Shi paused, then spoke more gently. “Now that you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t trouble yourself with these trivial matters… Besides, once Pingyi leaves, won’t we have another child? The Empress’ seat is still vacant, if you give me a prince, I may consider elevating you to Empress…”

Consort Xu couldn’t help but ask, “If I give birth to a prince… can Pingyi stay?”

Li Shi paused again.

Then looked at her with an unspoken, faintly reproachful expression, without answering.

That was already the answer.

Consort Xu lowered her eyes for a long time. In a low voice, she said, “If even giving you a prince and becoming Empress cannot save Pingyi… does that mean that one day, if you decide to sacrifice my second child too, if you send him to his death, I still won’t be able to protect him?”

“If that’s the case, then what use do I have for the position of Empress?”

She should be grateful just to be granted it. Countless concubines dreamed of such a title, and yet she was still dissatisfied?

Li Shi frowned, his expression turning cold.

Just as he was about to speak further, Fuzhi hurried in at the palace gates and bowed. “Your Majesty, Lord Qiu has entered the palace and is waiting outside.”

Li Shi thought for a moment. “What about Lehe?”

“Her Highness the Eldest Princess is unwell, she seems to have fallen unconscious again.”

Li Shi frowned, waved his hand, and instructed Consort Xian to wait in the side hall. Then he said, “Forget it… Let her in.”

When Qiu Che entered the hall, what she saw was an empty imperial study, with Li Shi seated at the desk, brow deeply furrowed.

She bowed calmly and with perfect decorum. Hearing no order to rise, she straightened up anyway as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I do not know why Your Majesty has summoned me to the palace. May I ask the reason?”

“Qiu…” Li Shi paused, seemingly unsure for a moment how to address her. After some hesitation, he finally called her by her name. “The reason I released you was out of consideration for your past service and merits. It does not mean your earlier offense of deceiving your ruler has been forgiven. Do you understand?”

A cold glint flickered in Qiu Che’s eyes, but her voice remained calm. “Your Majesty is right to remind me.”

Li Shi nodded in satisfaction. “Lehe was supposed to come with you, but since she’s indisposed, I’ll speak to you alone, it makes no difference. The two of you conspired to deceive me. I will let that go. But starting today, you two are to be officially separated.”

“…What does Your Majesty mean by that?” Qiu Che asked.

“Don’t you understand?” Li Shi looked surprised. “You were never a real couple. You’re both women. There’s no reason to keep up the pretense anymore. If this gets out, what will the people think of my royal children?”

Qiu Che fell silent for a moment. Torn between agreeing first and consulting Li Qingwu later or rejecting outright, she ultimately chose the latter. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I cannot accept this.”

Li Shi was visibly taken aback. “Why not?”

“Her Highness the Eldest Princess and I share the same heart and mind. I already see her as my one and only wife in this lifetime,” Qiu Che said firmly, bowing with crisp formality. “I believe she feels the same.”

“If she does not consent, then I will never part from her.”

Li Shi looked at her, bewildered, unable to grasp what she meant. He blurted out, “And if she does consent?”

“She won’t.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

Qiu Che glanced at him, a flicker of exasperation in her eyes.

Still, for the Emperor’s sake, she patiently replied, “I already said, Her Highness and I are of one heart and one mind.”

“Ha.”

Li Shi scoffed, as if he’d just heard the most absurd joke in the world. “You’re telling me, two women? Sharing a heart? Don’t be ridiculous. How can a woman be with another woman? Are you lying to me again?”

Qiu Che knew reason would never reach a man like him. She also knew that in this society, what she was saying was difficult to accept. So she straightened up again and replied coolly, “I’ve heard the Northern Xiongnu have declared war, yet instead of worrying about national defense, Your Majesty is interfering in your children’s private lives. Have you lost sight of what truly matters?”

“How I govern is not for you to lecture me on,” Li Shi snapped, glaring at her.

He erupted into a violent coughing fit, only calming down after Fuzhi silently handed him a cup of tea.

“I have strategies in place for dealing with the Northern Xiongnu.”

“Does Your Majesty’s ‘strategy’ involve sending the Princess of Pingyi off for a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu?”

In the side hall, Consort Xian clenched her handkerchief tightly.

Li Shi detected the subtle scorn in her voice and scowled. “And what’s wrong with that?”

“Everything is wrong with it,” Qiu Che replied flatly. Before Li Shi could erupt in anger, she continued, “Sending a ten-year-old girl to marry into the Xiongnu, never mind whether the Xiongnu king has a taste for such youth, what will the common people say about Your Majesty?”

Her words were growing more and more blunt.

As if unaware of how dark Li Shi’s expression had become, Qiu Che went on serenely, “Feeble, cowardly, selling off your own child in hopes of peace? Your Majesty, that’s a disgraceful way to govern.”

Li Shi snapped, “Then divorce Lehe! Let her be the one to go!”

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment idea. His earlier demand that Qiu Che separate from Li Qingwu had already been laying the groundwork for it. If the Xiongnu king rejected the young girl, then Li Qingwu would be the backup bride.

But Li Qingwu had been married before, even if it was to a woman in disguise. If the Xiongnu king heard the rumors and refused her, it would be difficult to resolve.

, Which is why she was merely the contingency plan.

Qiu Che saw right through him and sneered inwardly. On the surface, though, she remained upright and dignified. “That would be even worse. Her Highness the Eldest Princess is deeply favored by Your Majesty. For many years she has been the most exemplary of all royal children, a symbol of imperial pride. Sending her to marry into the Xiongnu would stir immense dissent.”

Li Shi thought for a moment and begrudgingly admitted that she had a point. He gritted his teeth. “…Then find a few common girls, bring them into the palace, bestow them titles as princesses, and send them instead.”

It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had been done.

But if the Xiongnu king found out, the consequences would be dire.

Qiu Che let out a long, weary sigh. “At this point, does Your Majesty still not understand what I’m trying to say?”

“The Northern Xiongnu have likely allied with the Southern Yi. This declaration of war is only the beginning. Does Your Majesty truly believe that sending women into marriage alliances will make them show mercy?”

“That’s just speculation. There’s no definitive proof.”

“By the time there is, it’ll be too late.”

“You reject everything, ” Li Shi slammed the desk and stood in fury. “So what do you suggest we do?! If peace talks won’t work, are you saying we should go to war?!”