Chapter 13 Your Majesty is a double standard

Chan Zhen and His Majesty were sent directly to the Purple Palace in the imperial sedan chair, and never appeared in front of the group of concubines from beginning to end.

His Majesty took pity on her because she was nervous and uneasy when she first entered the palace, and stayed with her in the palace for a long time until Guo Kai came in and announced that the three concubines wanted to see her. Then he had to leave. Before leaving, he left Lu Zhu and the chief palace maid Rong Ying to accompany her.

"Young lady, have some tea." While serving tea, Rong Ying discreetly glanced at the beautiful woman who had returned with His Majesty in the imperial chariot, and who had been soothed by His Majesty's gentle words. Seeing her expression of worry, as if restless, he thought to himself, no wonder His Majesty valued her so highly. Such a delicate beauty was unheard of, even in the glittering harem. He wondered what rank His Majesty would ultimately bestow upon her. Even if she was brought from the common people and held a lower status, a position of a talented person would still be worthy of her if His Majesty favored her.

Zen Zhen raised his eyes, carefully took the tea, and whispered, "Thank you."

However, she just held the tea in her hand and did not drink it, staring at the clear tea soup in a daze.

I just heard Eunuch Guo say that there were three concubines outside the palace asking to see her. Lu Zhu also told her on the way here that the palace affairs are now jointly managed by the three concubines. She will definitely have to make a living under these three concubines in the future. I wonder what the personalities of these three concubines are like and whether they are easy to get along with.

She was not selected by the emperor to enter the palace, and her status was far inferior to that of other concubines. She had no maternal family to rely on, and all she could count on was the favor of His Majesty. But could His Majesty's favor really last?

"What are you thinking about, young lady? If you have any questions, feel free to tell me." Rong Ying saw that she looked dazed, and remembered the instructions given by His Majesty before he left, so he took the initiative to ask.

Zen Zhen raised his head, pursed his lips and gave her a faint smile, but the sadness between his brows still remained.

"I'm just a little worried. I don't know what the three ladies want to discuss with Your Majesty."

She had been frowning with worry since she entered the room, but her fleeting smile instantly brightened people's eyes and made their hearts skip a beat.

Rongying finally recovered after a long sigh. She managed to maintain the dignity of a royal maid. At least she looked calm and composed without any loss of composure.

"Young lady, you may not know that the three ladies are probably here to ask His Majesty for permission regarding tonight's banquet. His Majesty has been away from the palace for a long time, so upon his return, the harem will naturally prepare a grand welcome for His Majesty."

When Chan Zhen passed through the middle gate earlier, he heard Concubine Xian mention this matter and asked her curiously, "Do I need to attend as well?"

Before leaving, His Majesty did not tell her about his arrangements and only let her sit in the Purple Palace.

Rong Ying suddenly felt a little embarrassed: "As usual, all concubines of high rank in the palace are required to attend the evening banquet. I don't know what arrangements Your Majesty has made for you, young lady."

After all, although His Majesty brought her back to the palace, he has not officially canonized her, so naturally Chan Zhen is not among the concubines with a rank.

"Is that so?" Zen Zhen lowered his eyes in disappointment.

What rank would His Majesty confer on her? Although His Majesty had said it before, she certainly wouldn't even dare to think about the position of Imperial Concubine. The title of Talented Lady would probably be the highest she could get.

The hall fell into silence for a moment.

Rong Ying waited carefully for instructions, but didn't dare to talk to her casually, for fear that he would say something wrong and hurt her again.

It was not until His Majesty came back from the front and saw her sitting quietly in the chair with her head bowed, holding a cup of tea in her hand and looking deep in thought that he strode forward and asked.

"Why are you so sad? Have these servants neglected you?"

He frowned and glanced at the palace maids serving beside him. When Rongying and Luzhu received his gaze, their faces suddenly turned pale. Without hesitation, they knelt down, trembling all over.

Chan Zhen looked at the two of them's frightened reactions and couldn't help but feel guilty: "Your Majesty, they didn't neglect me. Please don't scare them."

His Majesty took her hand, sat down beside her, and casually picked up the unfinished teacup on the table. Zen Zhen's eyes widened at his action, but before he could speak to stop him, he took a sip with a natural look and said calmly, "Everyone, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Rong Hua and the other man stood up as if they had been pardoned, and stepped aside to wait for the next order.

Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, Chan Zhen hesitated for a while before asking him, "Your Majesty, what did the three ladies say to you just now?"

Hearing this, His Majesty paused for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "It's just some arrangements for the dinner party."

But in my mind I recalled the previous conversations.

…

Since entering the palace, Concubine Xian has been talking non-stop about her arrangements for the dinner. He was a little annoyed by what he heard, so he interrupted directly: "Just do it as usual."

Hearing the impatience in His Majesty's tone, Concubine Xian stopped talking in dismay and dared not say anything more.

Unlike Concubine Shu, she was not once favored. His Majesty had not treated her with much affection since she was in the palace. If she had not been lucky enough to give birth to the eldest prince, she would not have been able to climb to the position of Concubine Xian. Therefore, she always lacked confidence in front of His Majesty, and was even more afraid that she would do something wrong and dislike His Majesty, which would drag down her son.

Concubine Shu couldn't help but sneer at her quail-like appearance in front of His Majesty. She knew His Majesty disliked long speeches, but after all these years, she still hadn't learned anything. No wonder the eldest son she gave birth to was not given a high position.

Although Defei raised the third prince, Prince Zhuang, he was not her biological son after all. Although she shared the same position as a concubine, she seemed to be inferior to him. At this moment, she had no room to interrupt.

Chen Dingyao was still worried about Chan Zhen who was left in the back hall. The discordant looks of the three people in front of him reminded him of the intrigues in the harem of his previous life, and he felt disgusted.

In his previous life, he had already changed Chan Zhen's status, allowing her to enter the palace as a concubine as a young lady, but unexpectedly, news of Chan Zhen's past as a concubine to the Prince of Jin suddenly leaked to the court, fueled by ulterior motives. This led to opposition from many senior officials when he appointed Chan Zhen as a noble concubine.

All three of them were involved in this matter to varying degrees. After Chan Zhen gave birth to Yuan Zhao, he attempted to seize the opportunity to establish Yuan Zhao as crown prince and enthrone Chan Zhen as empress. This was met with widespread opposition, particularly from supporters of Prince Yu, Prince Jin, and Prince Zhuang. Over the next two years, he launched a massive purge of the court, wiping out nearly all of the three princes' allies.

At that time, he had eliminated all obstacles to making Chan Zhen the queen, but unexpectedly, Yuan Zhao died of illness. Chan Zhen was devastated and fell ill. Until Chan Zhen's death, he was unable to make her the queen as he wished.

In this life, he has to clean up the court in advance and help Chan Zhen ascend to the throne.

"If there is nothing else, you can leave."

He closed his eyes, then opened them again with a firm resolve, his eyes betraying no emotion.

During his southern tour, he allowed Prince Yu to actively cultivate connections within the former dynasty, a perfect opportunity to round up all of Prince Yu's supporters and save him a lot of trouble. Prince Zhuang's mother was of low status and didn't possess the ability to aspire to the throne, only Prince Jin... Yun Yi's personality was very similar to his, though he was less sophisticated at this stage. Concubine Shu's mother's family was also quite powerful.

More importantly, although Yun Yi had no memory of his past life, he couldn't be sure whether Yun Yi would have any thoughts about Chan Zhen again after seeing him.

He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, as if he wanted Yun Yi to avoid entering the palace for the time being and delay meeting Chan Zhen.

At the very least, he wanted to ensure that Chan Zhen would let go of himself before meeting Yun Yi.

"Your Majesty, I heard that Your Majesty brought back a woman from the common people." Even if Your Majesty didn't like her, for the sake of her own Yun Che, Concubine Xian had to do everything she could to leave a good impression in front of His Majesty. Knowing that His Majesty didn't want to hear about her arrangements for the banquet, she wanted to pick out something he would like to talk about, "I wonder what position Your Majesty would like to arrange for this sister?"

His Majesty had never brought a woman from outside the palace back during his previous southern tours, so he must have been very fond of her. She had never been favored anyway, so she might as well follow His Majesty's wishes and say good things about her, thus causing trouble for Concubine Shu.

Sure enough, when Concubine Shu heard her mention this matter, her face turned ugly.

So the virtuous concubine spoke even more excitedly, "Although this sister is of a lower status due to her common origin, if Your Majesty likes her, it is not impossible to confer the title of Talented Lady on her."

Women from the common people, even if they entered the palace, would start as the lowest-ranking imperial concubines. Talented women were already concubines of a certain rank. She took the initiative to raise this woman's rank in order to please His Majesty.

After hearing her words, both Concubine Shu and Concubine De frowned simultaneously. Concubine De, in particular, looked at Concubine Xian with a hint of dissatisfaction. Prince Zhuang's biological mother was only a talented person. Was Concubine Xian crazy to be so flattering to a commoner woman from a merchant family?

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable." Concubine Shu didn't want Concubine Xian to get what she wanted and cause herself such trouble in the palace. "The appointment and promotion of concubines in the palace must follow ancestral rituals. How can it be arranged arbitrarily?"

The virtuous concubine even opposed her, "If Your Majesty likes it, what's wrong with that?"

Concubine Shu snorted coldly: "If Sister Xianfei has some free time, she might as well ask for a position of talent for An Yunu in her own palace. After all, An Yunu is also an old lady in the palace."

The two of them were arguing fiercely, but were interrupted by His Majesty's cold voice.

"That's enough. I have my own arrangements for this matter."

…

Back in the present, he couldn't help but feel pity for Zen Zhen when he saw the panic on his face.

How can a mere talent be worthy of his Zen truth?