"I’m willing, Zhenzhen is willing," Shen Yizhen quickly responded with joy. She knew that as an illegitimate daughter, she couldn’t become the Prince’s principal wife, but still, to become a consort was also fine. "Zhenzhen is willing to follow the Prince for a lifetime, never to leave or forsake..."
"But I cannot grant you the status of the principal wife," Qi Jingrong sighed, "It would be an injustice to you."
In the Great Xuan Dynasty, the Imperial Family had clear regulations for the wives and concubines of its members.
For example, the Emperor’s principal wife was the Empress, a super-first-rank position, followed by a regular first-rank Imperial Noble Consort. Then came two second-rank Noble Consorts, and after them were four second-rank Consorts, virtuous and wise. Next were the third-rank nine Concubines, and so on. The lowest rank was the ninth-rank Talents, all of them belonging to the Emperor, all with salaries and court attire.
Moreover, there were countless palace maids without rank, but if they were favored by the Emperor, they would generally be granted a rank.
Below the Emperor was the Crown Prince, with a first-rank Crown Princess Consort, followed by two third-rank Consorts, and four fifth-rank Consorts... and so on, not to be listed in full here.
Beneath the Crown Prince were the members of the Imperial Family and their kin. For instance, the Emperor’s brothers and sons were all princes, and one step further were the Commandery Princes. Their wives and concubines were also regulated; the ancestral system stipulated one principal wife, one noble consort for the prince, and four Consorts. These five needed to be registered in the royal family’s Jiabao Register, and would enter and leave with formal escorts and court attire, so they had ranks. Their ranks were determined by their husbands’ titles; in other words, they could draw a salary from the Imperial Family every month.
The only difference was that the principal wife could wear bright red clothes, while the Consort could not.
Remaining were the concubines, whose numbers had no set limit. As long as a man had the means, even if there were hundreds or thousands, nobody would interfere. However, these concubines were also ranked, divided into Noble Concubines and lesser concubines. The status of a Noble Concubine was slightly higher, and they were limited to a maximum of nine; these women were eligible to bear children and could not be sold at will, but they did not have ranks and depended financially on the men they served.
The lesser concubines were even lower, treated merely as playthings; the master could toy with them when pleased, discard them, gift them, sell them, or even kill them with no one to question it.
Of course, if you had the means to make the master truly favor you, allowing you to bear children, then it wasn’t impossible. Essentially, life, wealth, and status all depended on a single word from the master.
Qi Jingrong was the Emperor’s own son, a true Prince, and his Wang Residence was even established by imperial decree.
However, the Emperor had not yet designated a principal wife for him, so to this day, there was only one consort in the Wang Residence, reportedly his childhood sweetheart, a cousin or something.
Shen Yizhen had also heard that Qi Jingrong was lascivious, with many concubines, apparently over a dozen. But in her view, a man being lascivious was not a fault; which man wasn’t? It was precisely because of this lasciviousness that a beautiful woman like her had a chance to soar to the higher branches.
"Zhenzhen is not afraid of being wronged, as long as I can be by the Prince’s side, even being a concubine is acceptable," Shen Yizhen eagerly professed her feelings. Of course, she was just saying this; she would not really accept being a concubine, but she believed Qi Jingrong would not truly make her one—it was merely a way to convince him of her determination.
This Miss Shen was very confident that she could hook the Prince and become his exclusive beloved. Then, status wouldn’t be an issue any longer.