Fengyi Palace
Here, the queen dismissed the palace officials who had come to pay their respects and returned to the inner room, where she ordered tea to be served by the southern servant.
The queen received tea on the reclining chair and asked, "What is your opinion of today's affairs?"
Ruo Nan thought for a moment and said truthfully, "Your Majesty, I cannot fathom it. Isn't Consort Ruo the emperor's true love? Even if Lin Cai Nü is favored, she cannot compare to Consort Ruo. Yet it is strange that when she went to request the emperor's presence, he did not go."
The matter of the hot springs has not been spread outside, and the palace officials who serve in front of the court are very tight-lipped. They naturally dared not speak recklessly.
The queen laughed, "This means that the emperor has begun to be bored with Consort Ruo!"
"Be tired of Consort Ruo?" Ruo Nan was taken aback, her expression disbelief.
The emperor's attachment to Consort Ruo is palpable to everyone in the entire palace.
In the face of Consort Ruo, even Empress Niuniang and Zhaogui are forced to retreat.
Even to retreat threefold.
The queen laughed, "A person's emotions will not remain unchanged forever, especially for the emperor. Consort Ruo acts so recklessly that she dares to defy the emperor's face even when she is angry, and at even more extreme times, she dares not let the emperor enter her permanent happiness palace..."
Ruo Nan also smiled, "In the entire palace, only Consort Ruo dare to do this. Even Zhaogui, when facing the emperor, must carefully please him. Only Consort Ruo is different."
The queen ran her fingers through her hair, laughing, "Consort Ruo is indeed different; true love is always special. However, a few times can be seen as a quaint delight, but if it happens too often, even the emperor might not be able to bear it. And if there's someone he takes to by his side..."
The queen did not continue, but Ruo Nan understood the meaning behind her words.
"Madam, Lin Cai Nü is the someone the emperor takes to his heart..."
Ruo Nan looked at the queen, her expression showing some concern.
The queen furrowed her brow, "I do not know if Lin Cai Nü is the one the emperor takes to heart. She has been favored recently, but there seems to be something strange about it."
"Where is the strangeness? Where is it peculiar?"
Ruo Nan looked at the queen with an expression of confusion.
The queen looked at her and smiled, "If the emperor truly likes Lin Cai Nü, her position would not be so low. Even if she is a palace maid, the emperor would find a way to improve her status, rather than allowing the other women in the palace to bully her."
"Like this morning, Lin Cai Nü was so upset by last night's incident that she couldn't speak back to the other concubines in the palace, and her eyes were filled with tears..."
Ruo Nan also smiled, "It seems that too much favor can't be all good."
She seemed to think of something and felt odd again, "Madam, the emperor didn't seem to have given Lin Cai Nü any gifts this morning. Is it because he forgot?"
In theory, even if the service was poor, as long as a concubine had slept with the emperor, he would usually make a customary reward.
As for the amount of reward, it depends entirely on the emperor's whim.
The queen glanced at Ruo Nan, "Even if the emperor forgot, Fu Gonggong would never forget either. He would surely remind him. No reward means that Lin Cai Nü has displeased the emperor, and the emperor doesn't want to give a reward."
"Aroused the emperor's dislike?" Ruo Nan looked at the queen, "Is it because of last night when Lin Cai Nü blocked the emperor from going to Consort Ruo's place?"
"Perhaps!" The queen's tone was somewhat uncertain.
But then, thinking of something, she saw a glimpse of despondency in her eyes, "It seems that Consort Ruo is still different in the emperor's heart."
"Madam..." Ruo Nan sounded concerned.
However, the queen waved her hand and smiled, "I was 15 years old when I entered the palace and married the emperor. From a princess to a queen, it's been a decade. If I can't bear people, how could I have occupied this position!"
The queen spoke and got up to walk to the window, looking out at the newly arranged pots of lotus flowers by the palace servants. It was early summer, the best time to enjoy lotus flowers.
"This harem is like a garden, with all kinds of colorful flowers blooming brilliantly and beautifully. But no matter how beautiful the flowers, there will always be a day when they wither."
As she said that, the queen smiled. The love and favor are fleeting, but status is the only thing that is real.
No matter how favored those women are, or how much the emperor loves them, when they see me, don't they still have to be respectful and call me: "Empress Niuniang?"
Whether it is performing rituals at the ancestral temple or participating in royal ceremonies, only she has the qualifications to be by the emperor's side. Even after a hundred years, she will still be buried in the same tomb as the emperor.
Her only regret is that she cannot bear the emperor a heir, which also means that her position as empress is not stable.
Even though she hasn't done anything wrong and has managed the harem well, as a queen, not having any offspring is her biggest mistake.
......
Yaohua Palace!
Inside the hall, the bronzed incense burner emitted a wisp of blue smoke. Just as Jinse's feet stepped in, she saw the smoke change direction, and she subconsciously clutched her handkerchief tighter.
The next moment, she suddenly experienced a sharp pain in her forehead, and a broken vase and flowers lay scattered on the ground.
"Lowly woman, all of them are lowly women!"
Holding back the pain, Jinse knelt down with a thud, perfectly positioning herself away from the broken shards on the ground, then bowed her head to the floor, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
"I truly regret it. Why did I push Hongyu that lowly woman into the emperor's hands? If I had known, I should have let Yuyao that lowborn servant be chosen. At least, if her appearance is ruined, the emperor would only be interested for a while. She would not be as favored as Hongyu."
Zhaogui was so angry that she clapped her hand over her chest and fell onto the bed. It was clear that she was more upset than Consort Ruo because she didn't get to see the emperor last night.
That's because, Hongyu was pushed by her, and she couldn't bear for a lowborn servant to climb above her.
Consort Ruo's favor she could understand. The emperor's true love, the two had feelings for each other, naturally different from others.
But what is Hongyu anyway?
"Lowly woman... Damnable lowborn!" Another furious cursing.
In the hall, everyone was silent like a frozen snake, no one dared to respond.
...
Yebai Cheng just finished attending the morning court, and he instructed Fu Gonggong to investigate Yuyao's affairs. The main thing he wanted to know was who had attacked her at the laundry, and who was behind it.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Your majesty," Fu Gonggong respectfully replied, and was about to withdraw.
Just then, Yebai Cheng continued asking, "How is Consort Ruo doing?"
Thinking of Consort Ruo's illness last night, even though he knew there would be no problems, he still couldn't help but worry. He was about to go and check it out.
Fu Gonggong had already heard the news and had been waiting for the emperor to ask.
At this moment, he wouldn't dare to withhold the truth. He quickly replied, "Your Majesty, when Consort Ruo went to pay her respects this morning, her eyes were swollen, clearly she had cried."
"I heard that she didn't even have breakfast and sent away the people in Yongfu Palace. She shut herself in her bedroom, not allowing anyone to enter."
Yebai Cheng tightly pursed his eyebrows, a sense of unease began to swirl in his heart. Although he was slightly dissatisfied with Consort Ruo's abuse of herself, he couldn't help but walk towards Yongfu Palace.
Fu Gonggong knew perfectly well that the emperor was going to visit Consort Ruo, so he quickly followed.
The emperor rushed to the Yongfu Palace in a hurry, and soon, the entire palace knew about it.
Some people secretly cursed Consort Ruo, while others thought that indeed, she was different from others in the emperor's heart. Although the emperor didn't go last night, he couldn't help but go and visit her right after finishing his morning court.
Just as the whole palace was beginning to think that Consort Ruo was indeed different.
The emperor turned around and left Yongfu Palace, taking less than half an hour.
It was said that when the emperor left Yongfu Palace, his face was very ugly, and he was full of anger. Even from a distance, the palace people could tell.
Various concubines quickly received the news. As soon as they got the message, they immediately sent people to inquire.
Upon inquiring, they found out that the emperor had gone to see Consort Ruo right after the morning court session. However, Consort Ruo was again angry with the emperor because of last night's incident.
This made Consort Ruo angry, and she kept the emperor outside the door of Yongfu Palace, not letting him in.
It was said that the emperor waited outside the door for a while, trying to persuade Consort Ruo to open the door, but she refused to let her servants do so.
The emperor, in a fit of anger, turned around and went back to his imperial study.
When various palaces heard this news, they were all shocked. No concubine faces the emperor without being careful, afraid of angering the emperor and causing his displeasure.
But Consort Ruo was different. She didn't serve well, which was fine. But she dared to keep the emperor outside the palace gate, which was truly shocking and unbelievable.
But thinking of who that person was, Consort Ruo, it seemed very normal. After all, Consort Ruo had done such things before, and the emperor had still forgiven her in no time.
Although so, gossiping was inevitable among the private quarters.
