Raising My Rival‘s Son to Be Emperor

I have been in the palace for ten years, always an unfavored Noble Lady.

Unable to compete for favor, and lacking the ability to keep my own child by my side, I could only follow the crowd and choose a side, just to preserve my life.

When the Imperial Consort was deposed and banished from the palace, everyone piled on her, and I too was forced to bully her Third Prince.

But in this palace, it was always others who bullied me; I had no idea how to bully anyone.

Scratching my head, I could only give the Third Prince the Jujube Flower Cake I had made myself:

“You’re only fit to eat this lowly pastry!”

The nine-year-old Third Prince clutched the Jujube Flower Cake, standing quietly in the shadow of the trees. His dark eyes stared at me for a long time, as if he saw through my blustering, inept nature.

Bullying the Third Prince was the right move, because that very night, His Majesty turned his favor to me.

After half a year without favor, I was both surprised and delighted, hastily tidying up my dusty dressing table.

When Pei Rong came in the evening, he didn’t notice the pearl hairpins I had carefully polished, nor did he care about my old, fraying gauze dress, and he paid no attention to the handkerchief I was twisting to shreds in my hands.

He closed his book wearily and rubbed his brow.

The emperor, who rarely showed emotion, gave me a gentle smile:

“You have been in the palace all these years, never fighting or competing, gentle and well-behaved. Very good.

“Let me ask you, do you want to raise a child?”