The Empress pondered for a while, “The lowest rank of the Concubines in the harem that has birthed a royal child is at least bearing the Imperial Concubine rank, but Concubine Lan is a step away from that. The Fifth Princess is smart, whereas the Sixth Prince is pure and is deeply loved by the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty is a filial son, so you should know too— the Empress Dowager has practised the arts of Buddha very hard in her elderly years. Now, with the Sixth Prince accompanying her, it has fundamentally resolved the lingering regrets that gnawed at her heart for not being able to be affectionate and closer to her grandchildren. Concubine Lan had raised two excellent children for Your Majesty, so I think that it is only reasonable for her to be promoted to the rank.”
Although Emperor Lin now preferred Xiao Lan and was willing to give her a promotion, he was still a little surprised to hear such words from the Empress, “I promoted her from an Honourable Lady to a Concubine before, which was already skirting with the rules. If I promote her again, this time directly from a Concubine to a Consort, I am afraid it will attract criticism.”
The Empress smiled and took a piece of crystal dumplings for him and said warmly, “The rules were all set by the people, but this IS Your Majesty’s harem. Naturally, you should have the final say. What qualifications do the others have to criticise you? Your Majesty is the sky, an honoured Son of the Heaven—your words are the truth. Besides, this is just a promotion in rank. In this world, Your Majesty has the final say, let alone a mere Imperial Harem. With a stable harem, you will feel at ease to handle governing matters in court. Concubine Lan has a gentle and kind personality and treats people amiably. If she can place herself firmly with the rank of a Consort, not only will it raise the standards for the other Concubines, it would also put you at ease.”
As mentioned earlier, Emperor Lin was a domineering emperor. He was extremely arrogant and conceited as he felt that he was the best in the world— a true narcissist down to his very core.
The Empress had been with him since he was still the Crown Prince, so she had a clear understanding of his temperament. Therefore, she naturally knew what to say at such a time for things to proceed in her favour.
As soon as Emperor Lin heard this, he immediately felt that the Empress was worthy of being the Empress as her words truly made sense!!!
And he also knew in his heart that if it weren’t for the Little Fifth Princess that day, the Crown Prince would have definitely died. The Crown Prince was related to the stability of the foundation of the Great Lin Empire. Just like Noble Consort Xi said, if the Crown Prince was safe, then all of the Great Lin Empire would be safe. The gold, silver, and gems he rewarded them with were all external objects. However, this reward was the one true reward that must be implemented.
So at the beginning of autumn, taking advantage of the Ancestor Blessing Ceremony, Emperor Lin stated his intentions to promote a certain Concubine.
Concubine Lan was promoted to a Consort. As the new rank implied, the Mingyue Palace was also promoted to one of the main palaces that came with the perks of being one of the four Consorts.
As soon as the Imperial Decree was issued, the entire harem was shocked.
It was shocking enough for Xiao Lan to be promoted by four positions previously, but the positions were low at the time and the room for her promotion was large. So despite everyone’s initial shock, they accepted it after taking into account the years that she had to suffer beforehand.
Unexpectedly, it was only less than half a year after being promoted to a Concubine before she jumped another two positions and became one of the four Consorts! That was way too enviable to be true!