The Fertility Bracelet

By the time I arrived at Seraphina’s palace, all the other consorts were already present.

After greeting her according to protocol, I stayed behind.

Seraphina looked at me with mild confusion.

She and I could not have been more different.

I was bright, sharp, and flamboyant, like a blooming peony.

She was quiet and restrained, like a night-blooming flower no one dared touch.

“Does Noble Consort have something else to say?”

“Your Majesty,” I said after bowing, “did His Majesty gift you a pair of fertility bracelets?”

Her brows moved.

“Yes.”

“May I see them?”

Soon, the bracelet lay in my palm.

Exactly like mine.

No one would expect that inside this delicate fertility bracelet hid medicine that caused infertility.

Gideon.

What careful scheming.

“Your Majesty,” I said, “His Majesty also gifted me a pair. Yesterday, I accidentally dropped one, and something fell out.”

As I spoke, I used a hairpin to cut open Seraphina’s bracelet.

Inside was a row of small black pills.

I returned the bracelet to her.

She was smart.

I did not need to say the rest.

She would investigate.

And I had more important work to do.

In my previous life, Gideon made Seraphina and me moving targets.

But Selena, his white moonlight, remained hidden and protected.

He had been patient.

Only when everything settled did he make Selena empress and dismiss the six palaces for her.

Now, Selena was still a low-ranking lady.

So low-profile that no one targeted her.

But Selena had also helped destroy my general’s manor.

How could I let her go?

Not long after, I used a walk as an excuse to visit her quarters.

From outside, I saw her.

Plain robes.

Gentle face.

A beauty that made people want to protect her.

Unlike my thorned beauty.

Unlike Seraphina’s untouchable elegance.

No wonder Gideon kept her in his heart.

But I alone knew how much calculation lay beneath that soft skin.

So I twisted my ankle on the spot.

My cry brought Selena out.

“Greetings, Noble Consort.”

I ignored the greeting and rubbed my ankle.

Selena reacted quickly.

She had servants help me inside and called the imperial physician.

Naturally, I owed her a favor.

To thank her, I placed Gideon’s fertility bracelet on her wrist.

I wondered what expression Gideon would have when he saw the object he used to trap Seraphina and me hanging on his beloved Selena.

Just thinking about it made me happy.

That night, Gideon came again.

This time, I had an even better excuse.

“Your Majesty, I twisted my ankle today. I’m afraid I cannot…”

“How were you so careless?”

He lifted me and removed my shoe and sock.

When he saw the swollen ankle, his face filled with pain.

“How did it get this bad?”

“I walked too quickly,” I said, leaning into him. “Fortunately, Lady Selena helped call the physician. Otherwise, it might have been worse.”

“Speaking of which,” I continued, “Selena is beautiful, well-mannered, and from a good family. Why is she only a low-ranking lady?”

Gideon’s body stiffened.

“In my heart,” he said, “no one compares to Yangyang.”

Look at him.

Such talent for pretending.

“Then may I ask Your Majesty for a favor?” I smiled. “Promote Selena to Beauty, and let her move into my Chaoyang Palace. I live alone. It would be nice to have company.”

Chaoyang Palace had once housed an empress.

By placing me there, Gideon had made me a target.

Such honor should not belong only to me.

His beloved should taste it too.

My words were reasonable.

Gideon could not refuse.

The next day, Selena was promoted and moved into my side palace.

From that day on, I would make the entire harem know:

Selena Song belonged to me.

And then she could taste what it meant to become a thorn in everyone’s eye.