After Transmigration, Her Whole Family Are Villains

The Emperor was too cruel.

On the seventh day after the death of the Seventh Prince's primary consort, he bestowed a Secondary Consort upon the Seventh Prince.

To be honest, none of those who served the Emperor were ugly.

Even Eunuch Liu, who was known for his cunning and self-deprecating nature, was a handsome man.

The standards for male beauty had already become competitive.

And the beauty standards for Palace Maids had reached new heights.

This Palace Maid wasn't just not ugly - she was extraordinarily beautiful.

With an oval face, tall stature, fair skin, and delicately painted eyebrows, she was quite remarkable.

But this also showed how much the Emperor despised the Seventh Prince - truly despised him.

For a dignified Imperial Prince to be given a Palace Maid as a Secondary Consort.

No matter how beautiful a Palace Maid was, she was still a servant.

The Emperor's dislike for the Seventh Prince was said to be because his mother was of low birth.

But that wasn't really it. In the Emperor's eyes, officials and servants weren't much different - they were all under his command, all serving him.

He disliked the Seventh Prince because he was conceived through deception, and that despicable woman had disguised herself as Princess Huiyun, making the Emperor sick every time he remembered it. He was disgusted with that lowborn woman and with himself.

Because he would never have had such improper, terrible thoughts otherwise.

The earthquake didn't last long.

There were no aftershocks.

After all, this was the imperial palace.

The construction was solid.

The other Imperial Princes were disgusted by Jiang Er's behavior.

But they were also pleased to see the Seventh Prince's misfortune.

If it weren't for Jiang Er, this good person would have been fooled by the Seventh Prince, who wasn't even sitting close by but reacted so quickly.

The Seventh Prince's scholarship, literary talent, and martial skills were no worse than the Sixth Prince's, but he remained unremarkable simply because the Emperor naturally disliked him.

Having Jiang Er in favor was better than the Seventh Prince being in favor.

No matter what, Jiang Er was just a nephew - surely the Emperor wouldn't be so absurd as to pass the throne to a nephew.

The Imperial Princes might have been disgusted, but they still found time to mock the Seventh Prince.

At least we're all in the same boat of being disliked.

Father Emperor dislikes us all, but having someone he dislikes the most makes us seem less dislikeable.

All the Imperial Princes returned empty-handed.

Only the Seventh Prince brought someone back.

The Seventh Prince appeared grateful and fearful on the surface - whether genuine or not was unclear - but he was truly anxious inside because this Palace Maid was actually his person.

He had carefully and painstakingly arranged, through various channels and great deception, to place her by the Emperor's side, without even exchanging glances. The Palace Maid herself probably didn't know he was behind it all.

But what rotten luck.

After all his effort to place someone near the Emperor, a mere earthquake had caused the Emperor to give her back to him.

A mere servant was to become his Secondary Consort.

This Jiang Er was truly his nemesis.

The Seventh Prince felt stifled inside.

He could only try to see the bright side - at least this servant was his own person, which was better than having someone else's spy by his side.

But he was also terrified by the Emperor's final glance at him, which contained more than just the usual disgust. Could he have noticed something off about this Palace Maid?

It couldn't be.

His plan had been flawless, and even the Palace Maid herself didn't know he was behind it.

It must be that this servant had her own agenda, which the Emperor happened to notice.

So at the Seventh Prince's Mansion, with the Seventh Prince's primary consort ill, his niece Jiang Wan unexpectedly injured, and now news of him bringing back a Secondary Consort, things were quite lively indeed.

After the Emperor's mood settled.

He finally remembered his role as Emperor.

An earthquake in the Capital City was a major event.

It happened once in a hundred years.

Previously, earthquakes had occurred elsewhere, with the Capital City barely feeling a tremor.

This time it was in the Capital City itself, and during winter.

While the wealthy households with their grand mansions might be fine,

the poor families with their fragile houses might have collapsed, and many could freeze to death in winter.

To the Emperor, both nobles and commoners were his subjects, all his employees or their families, and all needed attention.

The officials couldn't afford to continue their internal feuds.

Whether it was an earthquake or a knife falling, they had to rush to the palace.

The Emperor called an emergency meeting.

To discuss disaster management and post-disaster reconstruction.

This time, the Emperor was pleasantly surprised to discover that Jiang Er was not only sincere but also extremely capable.

While others were still dazed, he had already systematically listed and arranged everything.

An earthquake couldn't have been predicted - it was a natural disaster.

So the Emperor believed this was all Jiang Er's true nature and heart.

Previously, Minister Lu had dominated such matters, and others dared not oppose him, fearing retaliation like demotion or property confiscation.

Now, with no strong figure to take charge,

everyone was watching each other, which allowed Jiang Er to shine.

Before, even if Jiang Er had spoken brilliantly, others would have opposed him.

These civil officials might not be good at getting things done, but they excelled at obstruction.

All it took was for a senior official to raise their hand and say: "I object!"

And nothing would get done.

But now Jiang Er was the Emperor's nephew.

He was essentially part of the royal family.

The civil officials' psychology was subtle.

Royal relatives were different.

It was as if Jiang Er had previously been a regular employee like them, but now he was the boss's nephew - whether he did well or poorly was the boss's family matter, and they had no need to interfere.

So Jiang Er stood out.

And it must be said, even as an imperial relative, Jiang Er was truly capable. If Heir Apparent Han had been there, he couldn't have listed even basic points, just stammering "uh."

With timing, circumstances, and people all aligned, Jiang Er thus entered the eyes of the Emperor and his officials.

Since arriving in the Capital City, Jiang Er had already accomplished one thing: making everyone memorize laws and regulations.

Now he was handling his second task.

Managing earthquake relief efforts.

Jiang Er spoke with such detail and thoroughness, as if he had experienced countless earthquakes or earthquake drills. He considered every aspect, leaving other officials unable to find any fault even if they tried.

The Emperor was greatly pleased.

Good, good, good.

In previous natural disasters, those officials would only have the Emperor admit fault, issue some self-blame edict, always shifting responsibility.

But Jiang Er didn't think about shifting blame at all, only carefully considering how to act and minimize losses.

Indeed, no wonder even the upright Inspector He praised Jiang Er as someone who cared for the common people.

The Emperor hadn't believed it before.

But now, hearing Jiang Er's comprehensive plans, he realized that someone without concern for the people wouldn't consider things so thoroughly.

The Emperor put Jiang Er in charge of the work.

The ministers had no objections.

They withdrew to begin their tasks.

Eunuch Yan returned to the palace.

The moment he saw the Emperor, his eyes reddened.

Thinking of seeing his sister sitting by the window earlier that day, tears began to flow.

"Your Majesty, are you well? I was terrified, thinking I might not return today, might never see you again."

The Emperor, seeing Wenxin, only then felt the aftershock of fear.

His mind had been blank at the time, but now the fear returned.

Seeing Wenxin's return, he felt exhausted enough to collapse.

Eunuch Yan quickly helped the Emperor calm down, drink water, and take medicine.

He sat beside him, chattering companionably.

The other eunuchs and Palace Maids in the room also breathed sighs of relief.

Eunuch Liu had been punished for standing in the wrong position.

Palace Maid Song He had been given away on a whim - the Emperor's moods were unpredictable.

Fortunately, Eunuch Yan had returned; if he hadn't, they feared the Emperor might have started executing people.

Eunuch Yan watched as the Emperor leaned back on his couch, closed his eyes, and fell asleep with gentle breathing, before falling silent.

He sat nearby, thinking about seeing his sister earlier that day.

The thought made him happy again.

His sister hadn't changed at all.

It meant she was living well.

Jiang Er hadn't lied to him.

Sitting in the deep palace, looking at the dark window patterns, he was filled with fighting spirit again.

When one person looks into darkness long enough, they can see sparks within it.