Here, Jinxuan hurriedly returns to the Fengyi Palace, her steps bypassing the garden corridor directly into the main hall.
The Queen is leaning on the sofa to take a nap, with two little palace maids standing behind her, fanning her gently.
Upon hearing the noise, the queen opened her eyes slightly and looked at Jinxuan who came in, asking: "Has the reward been sent to Qin Guiren?"
Jinxuan bowed slightly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the reward has been delivered."
She hesitated for a moment, thinking of Yu Yao's attitude, and a wave of dissatisfaction rose in her heart. She added fuel to the fire and continued: "Madam, Qin Guiren, relying on her somewhat attractive appearance, is overconfident. My good intentions were to remind her to be careful in the palace, but she acted like a little master and even seemed to be dissatisfied with Your Majesty."
The queen, upon hearing this, her eyes suddenly became fierce. Her voice was slightly cold, "What else did she say?"
Jinxuan was frightened and knelt to the ground, but in her heart, she was very happy, thinking that the Concubine Qin was about to have a big misfortune.
So, she added more fuel to the fire and continued: "She also said that although Your Majesty is the master of the six courts, she is also subject to the erosion of time, and cannot compare with the beauty of new people who are young and beautiful."
"Did she really say that?"
The queen frowned and stared fiercely at Jinxuan, who was kneeling on the ground. She couldn't believe there would be such a foolish woman in the palace.
Even though she might indeed think that in her heart, she wouldn't say it out loud, especially in front of Jinxuan.
Jinxuan was shaken to the core by the queen's piercing gaze, but she still managed to speak with determination: "Your Majesty, everything I've said is true. The Concubine Qin did indeed say those words."
Upon hearing this, the queen did not lose her temper at all; instead, she pulled back her fierce gaze, tilted her mouth into a smile, and that smile held a touch of depth and calculation.
"Newcomers? Beautiful women are like flowers that fade easily. Jinxuan, you'll see how far she can go in this palace."
Jinxuan was taken aback, never expecting the queen's reaction would be this way. Her heart couldn't help but feel regretful, but she had to forcefully say, "Yes, my lady. My ignorance has prevented me from understanding Your Majesty's profound meaning."
The queen slowly sat up, waved her hand to dismiss the palace maid behind her, and her gaze locked onto Jinxuan, "Tell me, how does Concubine Qin's appearance compare to that of the Consorts Lì and Zhēn?"
Jinxuan dared not continue to lie, and spoke carefully, "Compared to Concubine Lì and Concubine Zhēn, she is even more beautiful by threefold."
"Even more by threefold?"
The queen repeated these words in her mouth several times before suddenly laughing, "Beautiful but foolish—such a woman, if she can be used to her advantage, would indeed be a clever move."
Jinxuan immediately understood the queen's plan from those words and felt remorseful to the point that her intestines turned green.
She only wanted the queen to despise Concubine Qin, making her unable to move forward in the palace in the future. How could the queen actually plan to use her instead?
"Your Majesty, Concubine Qin..."
Jinxuan's expression was urgent. She wanted to say that Concubine Qin wasn't really foolish, but her words stuck in her throat and couldn't be said.
She had just said bad things about Concubine Qin in front of the queen, leading her to mistakenly believe that Concubine Qin has no brain. Now, if she says Concubine Qin is not foolish, isn't she slapping herself in the face?
"What's wrong?"
The queen furrowed her brow and looked at her, "Speak out, what are you hesitant about?"
Jinxuan's face turned pale, and she hastily said, "Your Majesty, I want to say that it is still unknown whether Concubine Qin is truly foolish. Perhaps she pretends to be like this on purpose, just to distract Your Majesty's attention."
The queen nodded slightly, "You're right. This matter does indeed need some observation."
Guāng Jū Gōng.
Thin silk dance, fragrance surrounds, yet can't cover an inexplicable agitation.
The afternoon sun filtered through the carved window lattices, casting patchy light on the delicate makeup of Consort Yu, adding a touch of anger to her face.
"This queen is really getting good at playing drama."
Consort Yu held a delicate fan, lightly slapping her palm, her tone full of disdain, "A mere upstairs maid deserves such a gesture from her, and what's the point of gifting anything?"
The personal palace maid, Fú Róng, upon hearing this, dared not breathe a word, fearing she might anger Consort Yu's bad luck.
Consort Yu's beautiful eyes flashed with a touch of ruthlessness as she coldly instructed, "Go to the storehouse and select some fine things to be sent to the Eryue Hall. Remember to give them thicker rewards than the queen's, or else Concubine Qin might show favoritism towards the queen."
If it were not for the late emperor's arranged marriage, the position of the empress would never have fallen on her head.
It resulted in her entering the Eastern Palace as only a secondary concubine, forcibly lowering her status by one level compared to that old woman.
Even after her cousin ascended the throne and promoted her to the position of Consort Yu, regardless of how exalted the title, she remained a concubine, ultimately still a mistress.
"Yes, Consort Yu."
Fú Róng answered respectfully, and quickly received the order to deliver the rewards.
Just as Fú Róng was about to go out, she heard a quick sound of footsteps entering the hall.
"Your Majesty, something's wrong."
A little eunuch rushed in and knelt down, "Madam, the people from the Department of Internal Affairs said that Queen Mother has ordered that in the future, if any of the palaces break a vase, it will no longer be compensated for, and they must buy it themselves."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Yu's face turned an iron gray, and she slammed the fan she was holding down on the table with a loud "thud."
"Changsun Ningyan, you filthy woman, thinking that a feather stick is an edict and assuming that this palace can't treat you properly?"
She bit her teeth together, stood up, and paced back and forth in the hall, continuously cursing: "That old woman is deliberately targeting me. She's truly a menace."
Consort Yu is filled with anger, and she instructed the nearby palace maid, Hailian, "Go, go to the Xianfu Palace and find the empress dowager. I'll seek fairness from her."
"Yes, Consort Yu."
Hailian dared not say more, answered respectfully, and followed closely behind.
At the same time, in both the Ningcao Palace and the Yingyue Palace, Consorts Zhen and Lili also received news that the Queen had sent rewards to Concubine Qin.
So she also ordered to send rewards to Yu Yao.
However, they were not as bold as Consort Yu, and dared not openly challenge the queen.
Instead, they entrusted their palace maids to deliver the rewards. The rewards given to Yu Yao would be three times thinner than those given by the Queen, and nothing could be more than the Queen's rewards.
With the Queen, Consort Yu, Consort Zhen, and Consort Lili all sending rewards, other concubines in the palace also sent gifts to Yu Yao one after another.
Of course, those with lower ranks than Yu Yao couldn't call it "rewards"; they could only refer to it as "sending gifts."
In the Eryue Hall, Yu Yao received gifts one after another, and although she didn't feel happy, she felt more and more irritated.
She dared not use the gifts sent by these women, who knew if there was something added.
She also didn't have the leisure to inspect each one individually.
"Su Hū, put these things in the corner of the storehouse and separate them with something. Don't bring them out for use without reason."
Yu Yao instructed Hongzi, who was busy beside her.
Although Hongzi felt some regret that these were good things, she thought that as a concubine, it was better to be cautious.
She was even afraid to touch those things, wrapping them with a clean cloth and placing them in the storehouse. She blocked her breathing throughout the process, afraid of inhaling any bad things.
The Imperial Study.
Upon hearing that all the women in the concubinage had sent gifts to Yu Yao, with Queen Consort leading the way, Emperor Jǐng was very satisfied in his heart.
Although this was a palace custom, at least the surface seemed harmonious.
"Send someone to the storehouse to pick out some fine things to send to Concubine Qin, and tell her that I will visit her tonight."
Emperor Jǐng sat at the imperial desk, handling imperial decrees, and suddenly spoke to the waiting Lu Xi.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Xi received the order and went down.
However, in his heart, he thought that although the emperor seemed to favor Concubine Qin, he also pushed her into the eye of the storm. This is certainly not a good thing for Concubine Qin.
He arrived at the storehouse, selected some precious and beautiful jewelry and fabrics according to Concubine Qin's preferences, ordered the young eunuchs to pack them carefully, and then led a group of people to deliver the rewards to the Eryue Hall.
The east wing of the Eryue Hall.
Yu Yao closed her eyes and lay on the bed sluggishly, the room quiet.
Just then, Luli hurried in and glanced at the mistress sleeping on the bed, said respectfully, "Miss, Eunuch Lu Xi from Your Majesty's side has come."
Yu Yao opened her eyes and looked at Luli, asking, "Where is it?"
Luli looked at her and said respectfully, "He is already at the gate of Eryue Hall."
She nodded slightly, got up from the bed, and straightened her clothes. Seeing nothing amiss, she walked out.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Eunuch Lu Xi and several young eunuchs entering with a tray each, covered with red silk. She couldn't see what was inside.
"How come Grandpa Lu has time to come over today? Is there any order from His Majesty?"
Yu Yao smiled with her eyebrows, stepping forward to greet him.
Lu Xi's steps stopped in front of her, bowing respectfully and smiling brightly, "Consort Qin, Your Majesty remembers you and has ordered me to bring some fine things for you from the storehouse."
Speaking, he let the young eunuchs behind him take off the red silk, revealing sparkling jewelry and exquisite fabrics, all of which were precious and vibrant.
She quickly glanced at them and then quickly looked away. Her mood was quite good, and she bowed slightly, "Thank you, Grandpa Lu. Please convey my thanks to His Majesty for me."
Lu Xi smiled and said, "The consort can rest assured that I will convey it to His Majesty."
After speaking, he suddenly leaned in close to Yu Yao and whispered in her ear, "Consort Qin, His Majesty said that he would come to see you tonight. Please prepare yourself as soon as possible."
Her face flushed slightly, and she played along, showing a timely joy and excitement. "Thank you for the news, Grandpa Lu. I understand."
She gave a subtle nod to Hongpo.
Hongpo understood and smiled, offering a money pouch with a smile, "Grandpa Lu, you must be tired after your long journey. Please have some tea with these."
Lu Xi knew this was the palace's custom and did not refuse, accepting it naturally.
He talked with Yu Yao for a while before leaving with his people.
