As soon as the words fell.

All the concubines lowered their heads and tried their best not to laugh out loud.

Concubine Mi did not expect that Concubine Xi would be so disrespectful to her. Her fair face suddenly turned purple. She was so angry that she wanted to refute her immediately.

Fu Qianyu tried to smooth things over at the right time: "Well, the weather is hot, and everyone is bound to be a little angry. I prepared lotus seed soup, everyone should drink a bowl to calm down."

Since the Imperial Noble Consort had spoken, Concubine Mi could only swallow her anger.

As they were talking, Fu Qianyu mentioned that the palace was going to hold a dinner party for the Qixi Festival in a few days. "The palace is not as restrictive as living in the capital, and there are no outsiders here this time. The Queen Mother is old and doesn't want to come out. I thought that since all of you sisters have talents, you should come up with some serious performances. It will be lively for us to sit together."

Although these people were able to come out with them, many of them had not seen the emperor for a long time.

Fu Qianyu asked them to prepare a program in order to give them a chance to show themselves in front of the emperor.

At the age of blooming flowers, who doesn’t want to live a life of passion?

Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, everyone was eager to try it.

Fu Qianyu smiled: "Okay, it's getting late, you all should go back first."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

After a while, everyone in the room dispersed. Peirong came in with freshly brewed tonic medicine and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you haven't seen the joy on their faces. The Qixi Festival banquet in ten days will definitely be very lively."

"We are all in our prime years, why should we live our whole lives in obscurity and die in the harem?"

Fu Qianyu drank the tonic with her head tilted back, then quickly took a bite of preserved fruit, finally suppressing the bitterness in her mouth. "In the past few years, people in the palace have died or become disabled. There are only a few people serving the emperor. The emperor is unwilling to hold a selection, so I can only think of these methods."

"Among the concubines selected in the first year of the selection, there are many concubines with good family backgrounds and good looks. However, some of them were forgotten by the emperor after a night of favor. Your Majesty's move can be regarded as giving them a chance, but whether they can win the emperor's favor depends on their own ability."

After coming out of Sifeng Palace, Concubine Xi was about to get on the sedan chair when she was stopped by Concubine Mi. Since they were all equals in the position of concubine, Concubine Xi was naturally not afraid of her: "What advice do you have, sister?"

Concubine Mi looked at Concubine Xi coldly, then changed her expression in an instant, as if deliberately provoking Concubine Xi: "By the way, the Emperor came to me last night. Do you know what he said to me?"

Concubine Xi didn't say anything, but just looked at Concubine Mi quietly.

Concubine Mi took a step forward and spoke in a charming tone, "The Emperor said that he chose you to enter the palace because of your Yun family's military power. In his eyes, you are nothing more than an insignificant chess piece."

Everyone thought Concubine Xi would be angry, but she only smiled faintly and said slowly, "I am a chess piece. Your father did everything he could to send you to the palace to serve the emperor. What are you?"

Concubine Mi was startled, and Concubine Xi continued, "To put it nicely, you are a princess married to a foreign country. To put it bluntly, what's the difference between you and those tributes?"

This is really harsh to say.

A dark color gradually emerged in Mi Fei's beautiful eyes, "How dare you humiliate me?"

As she spoke, Concubine Mi raised her hand and hit Concubine Xi.

Although Concubine Xi's temperament has changed since the rebellion in the hunting ground, she is the daughter of a general after all, so how could she easily accept a slap in the face?

Before Mi Fei's slap landed, the crisp sound of flesh touching each other was heard in the air. Amid the exclamations of the crowd, Mi Fei's left face swelled up visibly.

Concubine Xi rubbed her numb palms and said disdainfully, "If you want to hit someone, don't you consider whether you are strong enough to hit me?"

Mi Fei's chest heaved violently, and her fierce aura seemed to tear the person in front of her into pieces.

Concubine Xi took a deep breath and said solemnly, "If you want to complain, go ahead. I'll be waiting."

After saying this, he left without looking back.

Concubine Mi stared at her back intently, her sharp eyes falling on Concubine Xi like a knife, and she said viciously: "I will not let you go, I will never let you go!"

What happened in Sifeng Palace was soon heard by Zhao Yuancheng.

Zhao Yuancheng's face was full of displeasure, "There's not a single day of peace."

Zhu Yu brought up tea and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort just sent word that Concubine Xi was the first to strike. Your Majesty has already confined Concubine Xi to her house for three days and ordered her to copy the palace rules a hundred times. As for Concubine Mi, it takes two to tango, so she has also been punished."

Zhao Yuancheng hummed, "The Imperial Concubine punished appropriately, well done."

Then, he asked about Concubine Rou's condition. Zhu Yu smiled and said, "Someone from the palace just came to report that Concubine Rou has recovered."

Then he asked tentatively, "The Qixi Festival is coming soon. Does the Emperor intend to bring Concubine Rou to the palace?"

"No, I've finally recovered. If I get sick again, it won't be worth it."

Zhu Yu sighed, "The Emperor truly dotes on Concubine Rou."

Speaking of this, Zhao Yuancheng put down the imperial brush in his hand and said with emotion: "Although she is not from a high family, she has a gentle temperament. She is sincere and obedient to me. It is normal for me to favor her a little."

"Yes, except for the Imperial Concubine, I have never seen you favor others like this."

Zhao Yuancheng smiled faintly: "The Imperial Concubine has gradually grown up over the years and has the ability to stand on her own, but every time I am with her, I can't feel the same feeling as before when I was with her."

"But Concubine Rou is different. She is timid and relies on me in everything. In front of her, I sometimes feel that I am not the emperor, but just an ordinary husband who is relied upon."

Zhu Yu smiled leisurely: "The Imperial Concubine is what she is today because of your training."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuancheng was slightly stunned, and then sighed again: "Yes, in the past, the Imperial Noble Consort also relied on me in everything."

Out of guilt or perhaps because he was remembering the past, the emperor turned and told Zhu Yu, "Go and pass on the decree. I will have lunch at Sifeng Palace at noon."

“Yeah.”

——

Haining returned to the palace in the evening of the second day, and the news he brought back confirmed their previous speculation.

"I've already made inquiries. Madam Ming's distant relative gave birth to a son the day before Consort Wan gave birth. However, due to congenital defects, the child died at birth. The strangest thing is that all the people who attended to the woman during the birth were sold off."

Fu Qianyu's whole body tensed up, and she said solemnly, "She really is faking her pregnancy!"

Haining took another step forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Before I came back, I happened to meet Doctor Qin. Doctor Qin told me that before he returned home last night, he accidentally saved an old woman. Can you guess who Doctor Qin saved?"

Fu Qianyu tapped the tabletop slowly with her fingers, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly smiled and said, "Could it be that the person he saved was the midwife who delivered Concubine Wan?"

"Your Majesty, you guessed it right! It's the palace midwife, Granny Liu!"