bayedsolid Chapter 305: The Palace Greetings
Chapter 305: The Palace Greetings
Everyone turned their eyes towards the door.
I'm not curious about Concubine Jing, but about this Xian Zhaoyuan.
First she saved the retired emperor, and now she has become Xian Zhaoyuan, the third among the concubines in the harem.
So many old people in the palace would call her sister when they saw her.
Before the women from the backyard of Prince Jing's mansion moved into the palace, it was this Xian Zhaoyuan who had been serving them. It was said that she was quite favored by the emperor.
Only Concubine Jing and a beautiful woman with picturesque eyebrows, red lips and black hair walked in slowly.
This beauty has a little red dot of cinnabar between her eyebrows, and with her otherworldly temperament, she looks like a fairy who has fallen into the mortal world, elegant and pure.
The appearance of Concubine Jing who was traveling with them was not particularly outstanding. After being disfigured by the eldest son, she even had a scar on her face.
Nowadays, when you go out, you have to put on thick powder.
A 70% appearance was compressed to 50%.
Standing next to this beauty today, I suddenly seem much more mediocre.
The two of them saluted the queen at the same time, and another set of salutes was followed.
The queen asked calmly, "Why are the two sisters here together?"
Xian Zhaoyuan: "I met Sister Jingfei on the way, and we came together to pay our respects to the Empress."
The Queen said: "That's right. The Bicui Palace where you live is on the same road as the Yongning Palace where Concubine Jing lives. I'm afraid we'll run into each other every day when we come to pay our respects."
Concubine Jing raised her hand and touched her hair, pretending to be nonchalant and said, "I like to sleep in, and I'm not as diligent as Xian Zhaoyuan. I'm afraid it won't be easy to meet her."
Her words clearly showed that she didn't want to have anything to do with Xian Zhaoyuan, and she even seemed a little displeased with her.
But then again.
Concubine Jing's appearance is damaged, so how could she be willing to walk with the beautiful Xian Zhaoyuan every day?
If the emperor were to see the two of them standing together in Fengyi Palace one day, he would probably become more satisfied with Xian Zhaoyuan and more indifferent to Concubine Jing.
Xian Zhaoyuan lowered her head, looking very good-tempered: "If I can see Sister Jingfei every day, that would naturally be a good thing. If not, it is because I am not yet so blessed."
The Queen showed no interest in their lawsuit and simply asked, "Are you satisfied with your Jade Palace? If there's anything missing, just let me know."
"Thank you, Empress, for your kindness. I grew up in the countryside, and I am fortunate to be able to enter the palace and broaden my horizons. I feel that everything is good and I am satisfied with it."
"That's a good thing."
The Queen just asked as a routine question.
Not long after, Yangpin also hurried over, her face full of shame: "I am late, please punish me, Your Majesty."
This was the first grand day for King Jing to have a palace audience with the Queen after he ascended the throne.
Concubine Yang was late on the first day, either because she was very arrogant or something unexpected happened.
The Queen was not a domineering or unreasonable person, so she asked calmly, "But what happened on the way?"
Yangpin said helplessly: "I encountered something when I was passing by Chonghua Palace, and my dress got dirty, so I had to go back and change halfway."
Many people turned their eyes to Hua Chongyi.
After all, Chonghua Palace is her residence.
Everyone subconsciously suspected that it was related to Hua Chongyi.
But in fact, Concubine Yang was just unlucky.
There is a group of trees planted outside Chonghua Palace. The retired emperor's concubine Yi loved raising birds, so when she was in favor, she raised a flock of birds outside Chonghua Palace.
Huayu moved in and no one was allowed to take care of it.
When Concubine Yang was passing by Chonghua Palace, a flock of birds flew over her head, and her newly made clothes were stained with a lot of bird droppings.
Because the new clothes were brightly colored and the dirt was very obvious, I could only consider myself unlucky and go back to change.
The Queen nodded slightly: "You are not too late, it's not a big deal."
Concubine Yang's eyes showed gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your tolerance."
Since it was the first time they paid their respects together, no one said anything offensive.
The queen first asked several princes and princesses.
This is also common practice.
The princesses were all well taken care of. They stood in a row and were led by their wet nurses to pay their respects, which was a very festive occasion.
As for the princes... now there are only the slow-moving eldest prince and the fat and pale fifth prince left, which is really unbearable to look at.
The Queen looked worried. "The Emperor has few children. I only hope that you sisters will bear more children for him. I will certainly ask the Emperor to confer titles on you."
"The Emperor's abundant offspring is a blessing to the Great Yu Dynasty and also to our harem."
A group of people stood up and saluted, "Thank you very much for your guidance, Queen."
Among them, Fang Yuaner, who lost her son, was extremely heartbroken.
Wu Cairen, who is now pregnant, secretly covers her belly, full of expectations but not daring to show a single bit on her face.
After asking about the child, the Queen asked Concubine Wu, "Are you feeling well now?"
Wu Cairen: "Replying to the Queen, I am less than three months pregnant and have no symptoms of discomfort. The imperial physician also said that I am in good health and just need to take good care of myself."
The Queen said with satisfaction, "Now that you are the only one in the harem who is pregnant, you deserve extra attention. I will have the imperial physician check your pulse every other day to ensure that the little prince is safe and sound."
Wu Cairen lowered her head shyly and said, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for your consideration and care."
The Queen was always generous and willing to give benefits to her subordinates: "As long as you give birth to the child safely, I will ask the Emperor to promote you."
Wu Cairen suppressed her excitement and thanked him.
Then the queen greeted everyone else one by one.
Seeing that the time was almost up, he took them to the Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
According to the rules, concubines below the rank of concubine were not qualified to pay their respects in the Cining Palace.
Today is a big day, so we can make an exception and go to the Cining Palace to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager and get some blessings.
When the group arrived at the Cining Palace, they saw Aunt Liu, who was beside the Empress Dowager, come out and say, "The Empress Dowager was unwell yesterday and slept late. She hasn't woken up yet. I'm afraid we'll have to ask the Empress Dowager to wait for a while."
When the others heard this, they were all a little surprised and confused.
The first day when the concubines of the six palaces paid their respects to the empress dowager after the emperor ascended the throne was always on an auspicious day.
The time for everyone to pay their respects to the Queen and the Empress Dowager was agreed upon in advance, so there was no mistake.
But on such an important day, the Queen Mother just happened to sleep late.
As the daughter-in-law, the Queen certainly couldn't say anything, and she also understood the Queen Mother's temperament.
The Queen was not at all surprised by what happened today.
A group of people stood at the gate of the Cining Palace with bated breath, waiting for the empress dowager to wake up.
When the Empress Dowager was Consort Rou, she hoped to become the most honorable woman in the harem and be worshipped by thousands of people.
She had been out of favor for many years and had been suppressed by the former Concubine Chen, and had been holding her anger for many years.
Now that he has finally become successful, the first thing he does is to suppress the queen's prestige and let her know who owns the harem.
What happened today is not just a conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but also the first battle between the Queen Mother and the Queen for the position in the harem.
There will be more and more such incidents in the future.
The longer she waited, the calmer the queen became.
She was now thinking about how to spread the news of her filial piety to the Queen Mother throughout the six palaces tomorrow.
The other concubines didn't know the empress dowager very well, and they immediately fell into deep thought.
The Queen Mother is like this today. Is she dissatisfied with someone?
The queen was thinking about tomorrow's affairs when she suddenly noticed some movement around her.
Ting He whispered, "Empress, the Emperor is here!"
The queen glanced sideways and saw the emperor wearing a dragon robe and a crown, and she quickly bowed to greet him.
Xie Run and others who were following the queen also followed suit to pay their respects.
With so many people present, Xie Run just quietly lowered her eyes and counted ants, and did not look at the emperor specifically to show how different she was.
In contrast to him, Hua Chongyi and Xian Zhaoyuan both looked at the emperor with their watery eyes.
Hua Chongyi had suffered a lot of hardship in Prince Jing's Mansion and no longer dared to overstep the line.
Xian Zhaoyuan is still a newcomer, and she holds a high position, so she is favored and does not have so many concerns.
Before the Queen could speak, she softly asked, "It's cold this morning, Your Majesty, why don't you put on more clothes?"
As soon as she asked the question, she noticed many people looking at her, and then she realized that her behavior was a bit offensive.
It’s different in the past.
In the past, when there was no one in the palace, she could express her concern to the emperor and no one could say anything.
There are so many concubines in the harem now, and she instantly became the first to be criticized when she asked this question.
Moreover, the Queen did not give any order, and her behavior seemed arrogant because she did not mention whether it was in accordance with the rules.
The emperor glanced around casually, finally landing on Xian Zhaoyuan who was walking in front. "I don't feel cold, but you, remember to put on two more clothes."
Xian Zhaoyuan slowly responded, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
In the past, the emperor would definitely talk to her a few more words, asking her why she stayed outside, why she didn't wear more clothes, and whether she was living happily in the Bicui Palace... Such words were meaningless, but they were also the emperor's love for her.
Now that there are more people in the harem, the emperor naturally cannot show such careful care for her in front of others.
Xian Zhaoyuan knew it in her heart, but she couldn't adapt to it for a while, so she lowered her head in disappointment.
The emperor paid no attention to her small disappointment. His gaze fell on Xie Run again, and he couldn't help but remind her: "Concubine Zhao Shu, you have just been ill twice recently, and you are weak. Remember to dress warmly."
When Xie Run heard the emperor calling her Concubine Zhao Shu, he felt strange and couldn't get used to it.
She said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will."
Xie Run's attitude was neither overly enthusiastic nor cold, just as she usually behaved in public.
After asking this, the emperor looked at the empress and said, "I remember that it's time to pay my respects to my mother. Why is the empress still standing outside the door with others?"
The queen glanced at him, knowing that the emperor was asking questions even though he knew the answer, and now she had to play along with him.
"Just now, Aunt Liu beside my mother said that she didn't sleep well last night and is still sleeping. I didn't dare to disturb her, so I waited outside the door for a while."
The emperor nodded slightly: "In that case, I will wait with you."
"No matter how serious the matter is, we cannot delay the Queen Mother's rest."
Xie Run lowered his eyes and almost laughed out loud when he heard the emperor's words.
The Queen Mother asked the Queen to wait outside the Cining Palace with the six concubines. It was a battle between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, and she wanted to suppress the Queen's momentum.
But if the emperor goes to this station, he may gain some reputation tomorrow. At the same time, the news that the empress dowager asked the emperor and empress to wait outside the Cining Palace will definitely spread throughout the court and the harem.
At that time, everyone will talk about how the Queen Mother was mean and deliberately tormented the new emperor and empress.
It just so happened that the Empress Dowager also had a criminal record and had repeatedly troubled the Emperor for the former Prince Su.
All the old guys with some experience inside and outside the court knew that the emperor was not liked by the empress dowager at the beginning.
This would make people more suspicious that the Queen Mother wanted to deliberately torment the Emperor and Empress.
She got a bad reputation just after becoming the Queen Mother. How could she compete with the Queen for power?
The emperor clearly saw through the empress dowager's thoughts and deliberately helped the queen.
The couple also had a tacit understanding, so they stood together outside the gate of the Cining Palace waiting.
When the gatekeeper saw the emperor waiting outside, he panicked instantly and hurried to report.
The Queen Mother hadn't done her makeup yet. She was lying lazily on the couch with her hair loose. She snorted and said, "Let the Queen wait outside until I finish my makeup."
Madam Liu advised, "Empress Dowager, if you keep waiting like this, you might miss the auspicious time."
"It's not a big deal to ask the Queen to wait a little longer, but it would be bad for you, the Queen Mother, if we miss the auspicious time."
The Queen Mother hesitated for only a moment before perfunctorily saying, "I understand."
But there was no mention of dressing.
She finally became the empress dowager and the most honorable woman in the harem, so naturally she wanted to enjoy the rights of the empress dowager.
The first thing to do was to suppress the queen's prestige and take over the management of the six palaces from her.
When she was still Concubine Rou, she dreamed of becoming the empress dowager.
But she became the empress dowager not to stay in the Cining Palace to retire, but to enjoy the worship of the six palaces and the feeling that no one in the front court or the back yard dared to disobey her.
Today's visit is just the beginning. The Queen Mother has already thought of countless ways to torment the Queen, and is just waiting for the Queen to beg for mercy and respectfully ask her to take over the affairs of the harem.
The Queen Mother was feeling happy when she heard a message from a palace maid.
"The Emperor came to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. Seeing that she was still unconscious, he and the Empress waited outside the palace gate."
When Concubine Rou heard this, she gritted her teeth and said, "He really has forgotten his mother after getting a wife. He always protected the Queen, but now that he has become the Emperor, he is helping the Queen to deal with me!"
Concubine Rou was not very smart, but she knew that as a mother-in-law, she could make trouble for her daughter-in-law, but as an empress dowager, she must never make trouble for the emperor.
All her honor and disgrace now come from the emperor.
Imperial Concubine Rou forced a smile: "Idiots, you're just going to let the Emperor wait outside like this?!"
"The dew is heavy this morning. If the emperor catches a cold, ten of your heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"
After being scolded by her, the servants around were frightened and fell to their knees.
Imperial Concubine Rou: "Why don't you invite the Emperor in?!"
The maid who reported the news wasn't very smart either, and now she was even more panicked. She subconsciously asked, "If we invite the emperor to the Cining Palace, do we also need to invite the empress?"
Concubine Rou couldn't hold back her smile and asked coldly, "What do you think?"
The palace maid who was asked lowered her head and trembled: "Your servant, your servant does not know."
Concubine Rou pointed at the maid and said, "You don't need to serve in the Cining Palace anymore. I don't keep fools around me."
Before the palace maid could beg for mercy, she was dragged away.
Nanny Liu hurried forward to stop her.
"Your Majesty, no!"
The Queen Mother: "You want to plead for mercy for this fool?"
Nanny Liu explained, "The Emperor and Empress just came to pay their respects to you today, and right after that, you sent the palace maid away. If word got out, they'd probably think you were unhappy with the Emperor."