What does this mean? What does "give him a push" mean? Is my host not wanting to live anymore! Who would actively seek to be taken away?
This is about life! Life!
Besides, given my host's personality, leaving on her own initiative is possible, but being taken away? Impossible!
The system couldn't help but jump around anxiously:
"Host, what are you thinking? Can't you just say some polite empty words? This emperor is different from the men you encountered in other worlds! He's truly ruthless and would really take people with him to the grave!"
"Look at what you're saying, as if if I don't provoke him today, this person wouldn't suddenly have a moment of irrational thinking and take me along with him before departing."
Facing the frantically jumping dog-like system before her, An Ning couldn't help but roll her eyes in speechless exasperation.
Polite empty words? After all these years, what kind of personality did she have? Did this petty-minded emperor really not know?
Although this scumbag emperor was utterly terrible himself, he watched over our host extremely tightly. If someone casually glanced at her too much, or if she accidentally looked at a handsome guard nearby, this petty-minded person could throw a fit for quite a while.
Even things she had touched, he wouldn't easily let other men touch them.
With this pettiness combined with terrifying possessiveness, even without this situation, it wouldn't be surprising if he took our host with him before dying to keep her by his side.
By the way, isn't there a saying in this era called "the humble cannot disturb the noble"? Which means, unless our host dies before him, there's no way for them to be buried in the same tomb.
Didn't ancient times emphasize "sharing the same bed in life, sharing the same grave in death"?
The more it thought about it, the more the system couldn't hold back.
"Then how about host, you strike first and take him out!"
"Take him out, and then have your host spend the second half of her life in the palace as a constrained, subservient grand imperial consort who has to watch others' moods?"
The Imperial Noble Grand Consort was, after all, still just a consort.
If things went badly, she might even have to squeeze into the same palace with a group of grand imperial consorts - how disgusting that would be.
Soaking in the comfortable warm water, An Ning inwardly chuckled twice.
"But... but, I see that whether it's the crown prince or those imperial princes, they all have quite good impressions of you! Host, you've managed the rear palace for so many years and haven't treated them poorly!"
Moreover, according to its years of secretly gossiping—no, observing—almost no one completely escaped the devastating beauty of its host. On the surface, they appeared proper and avoided looking directly, but privately, tsk!
Since its host was also an elder, half a legal mother, she probably wouldn't be too constrained... right?
"See, even you yourself aren't confident anymore!"
Did they really think these people at the very top of the Imperial Aristocracy had much conscience?
Glancing at it amusedly, An Ning then said softly:
"Yes, so far those imperial princes have indeed shown me extreme respect, perhaps even carrying some other thoughts. But all of this is built upon me being Consort Chen who holds harem authority, the Imperial Noble Consort, and even now the highly elevated Imperial Noble Consort."
"If your host were now just a small Noble Lady, even with peerless beauty, in these people's eyes, there definitely wouldn't be any thoughts of admiration, but rather an instinct to plunder like a plaything!"
"Believe it or not, by then those hidden thoughts would only be countless times more disrespectful and casual than now."
The bright moon only remains the bright moon when hanging high in the sky. Otherwise, in this dynasty with strict hierarchical systems, it would merely be a beautiful speck of dust.
When she truly became a grand imperial consort who could be manipulated at will...
Feeling the palace servants behind her extremely gently lifting her long hair, placing it in their palms and washing it bit by bit, An Ning soon relaxed and closed her eyes.
After a long while, within her spiritual sea, came the system's suddenly enlightened voice:
"Oh, so if host doesn't want to be a grand imperial consort, could it be you want to become the Empress Dowager?"
"But... but Scumbag Kang probably wouldn't agree, right? Not to mention status, if the Imperial Noble Consort follows in death, that's one thing, but if it's the Empress..."
Wouldn't that be harder to manage?
"Um, following in death..."
Hearing this, An Ning fell into an oddly silent moment:
"How is that possible? Don't you know that not long after Kangxi began personal rule, in the twelfth year of Kangxi's reign, he already explicitly completely abolished the funeral sacrifice system?"
Given this person's concern for face, how could he possibly slap his own face like that.
"Hmm..." An Ning pondered for a moment: "At most, when nearing death, he would order someone to send me off, to be buried together with him."
As for the reason, naturally it would be excessive grief, "voluntarily" following the Late Emperor in death.
"Rather than waiting until this person's old age when his possessiveness acts up and he drags me down, by then even if there's some guilt and heartache, I won't get any benefits at all. It's better to help him make up his mind early." Leaning against the bath pool, An Ning's tone carried some coldness.
Admittedly her background might be somewhat problematic, but to be honest, was establishing her as Empress really that difficult?
If she were just a pure Han Chinese woman, that would be one thing, but the key point is that not only was she early promoted to the Upper Three Banners, but this identity of the original host, from beginning to end, was a proper Banner family member, one that had submitted early since ancestral times—what these people call so-called "one of our own."
Manchu and Han don't intermarry? Accurate should be Banner people and commoners don't intermarry—in recent years there have been many marriages between Manchu and Han Banners. Wasn't Nian Gengyao the grandson-in-law of Mingzhu!
Even in the court, at most they would criticize her for humble origins, and they couldn't even easily mention her father's crimes since the case had already been "overturned." Moreover, on the surface, towards Banner people, they still emphasized Manchu-Han unity.
Of course, in An Ning's view, probably there wouldn't even be much opposition. As an Imperial Noble Consort destined to have no children, even if enfeoffed as Empress, so what? It wouldn't affect these people's interests in the slightest.
Coupled with it being the critical period of the succession struggle, most ministers more or less supported certain princes, so there was no need to offend her, and certainly no need to deliberately make trouble for an emperor holding great power.
As for if it really succeeded, whether to die or not then—what a joke! Who knows what remote corner she might end up in next time? If she could beautifully sit as the Empress Dowager above ten thousand people, why would she want to die?
She still had her dear dear sister to take care of!
Amid the steaming mist, An Ning comfortably closed her eyes again.
"Then, that, if the scumbag emperor truly goes all the way scummy, both planning to take host away and not giving compensation, then what to do?"
Stealing a glance at its host, the system then spoke weakly.
What answered it was its host's increasingly radiant smile:
"It doesn't matter, system. Perhaps you should also know that in this world, there's something called a posthumous edict."
It's just that by then, it would inevitably become somewhat more troublesome.
Moreover, if this person really dared to be that scummy to her...
"Ah... that's true too..."
Feeling that certain person's increasingly dangerous gaze, the system hurriedly spoke up.