Chapter 21: In the Purple Palace
Purple Palace.
Concubine Zhang was talking to her personal maid Baocui.
"Your Majesty, the weather is getting warmer, why don't you go for a walk outside? It's not good to stay cooped up in the palace all day!" Bao Cui stood beside Concubine Zhang Shu and gently massaged her shoulders with a small hammer.
Her queen has never gone out since she came back from the Imperial Garden last time. She can still walk around the palace when she is not serving in the palace, but the queen is really in the Zichen Palace every day.
Concubine Zhang Shu smiled and shook her head: "I'm not feeling well to begin with, so I won't go out to get some fresh air."
Seeing that the Empress did not compete for favor, she was a little anxious. Not only because she was loyal to Concubine Zhang, but also because she was afraid that if the Empress was not in the eyes of the Emperor, the people in other palaces would look down on them, and she, as a personal maid in the Purple Palace, would not get any benefits.
After the emperor ascended the throne, he was busy with government affairs and had not set foot in the harem, nor was there any news that the emperor favored any concubine.
A second-class palace maid from the Zichen Palace hurried into the hall.
Bao Cui went over and said, "Baoying, what happened?"
Baoying, the second-class palace maid, bowed to Baocui and called out to her sister Baocui in a low voice, "The eunuch from Chengtian Palace is here."
Chengtian Palace? Baocui was delighted. Did the Emperor remember the Empress?
She hurried back with a happy look on her face and said to Concubine Zhang Shu: "Your Majesty, the eunuch from Chengtian Palace is here."
But after she finished speaking, she looked at Concubine Zhang's expression, and found that there was no joy on the Empress' face. Instead, she was stunned for a moment after she finished speaking.
"Please come in." Concubine Zhang Shufei said.
Why doesn't the queen look happy? This thought flashed through Bao Cui's mind, but she didn't think about it, just thinking she was seeing things.
The eunuch who came from Chengtian Palace to deliver the imperial edict was Xiao Xiaozi, a stranger to Zichen Palace.
When Bao Cui brought the people in, Xiao Xiaozi flattered Concubine Zhang Shu: "My Lady Zhang Shu, His Majesty is hosting a family banquet tomorrow. Please come."
Over the past few years, the Fourth Prince had never thought of them. The three of them seemed to have been forgotten by him in the harem. However, after witnessing the tragic death of the concubine, the three of them felt that it would be better for them not to be remembered by the Fourth Prince.
After all, I'm still alive.
Concubine Zhang's heart was pounding, but she didn't show it on her face. She picked up the blue and white vertically patterned cup beside her and took a sip of tea before saying, "Thank you, eunuch. Bao Cui, bring the silver ingot for your tea."
Bao Cui responded and was about to turn around to take it when she heard Xiao Xiaozi say with a smile, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am only delivering the Emperor's order and do not deserve such a generous reward."
This is a polite refusal.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, everyone inside and outside Chengtian Hall has been cleared out, and Li Zhongxian has even warned them not to accept rewards from the palaces.
Xiao Xiaozi still wanted to continue working in Chengtian Palace, so he certainly knew what was more important.
Concubine Zhang Shu had no choice but to say, "Then I'll trouble you, eunuch."
Xiao Xiaozi didn't stay long. He bowed and said he had to go and tell the other two ladies that he had something to tell them. Bao Cui then took him away.
Concubine Zhang leaned on the couch, wondering why the Fourth Prince... no, now he should be called the Emperor, asked them to come over. She didn't believe that this was just a simple family dinner.
Because of this incident, Concubine Zhang had no appetite for anything. She only had a bowl of Eight Treasures Porridge for lunch, which she drank without any taste.
Just moments after lunch was cleared away, a palace maid came in to announce that Concubine Wang Liang and Concubine Li Xian had arrived.
"Please come in." Concubine Zhang got up from the couch.
Bao Cui was watching in confusion. Since the Empress entered the palace, she had never seen her interact with the other two mistresses in the harem. Why did the other two come as soon as Chengtian Palace mentioned the family banquet today?
Concubine Wang Liang was wearing a bright palace dress. She was originally bright and beautiful. After entering the palace, she was allowed to choose all kinds of jewelry in the harem. Today, the skillful little palace maid beside Concubine Wang Liang drew upturned eyebrows for her. After dressing up, she looked even more bright and beautiful.
Concubine Li followed closely behind. Although Concubine Li's father was not prominent in the court, he was the head of a scholarly family in the capital. He now had a high status among the literati in the capital. However, this had nothing to do with Concubine Li, because Concubine Li was just a concubine's daughter abandoned by her family. If she had not been regarded as an abandoned child by her family, she would not have been sent to the Fourth Prince's Mansion at that time.
But who would have thought that in the end it was the fourth prince who ascended the throne and she became the empress in the palace.
Although the two of them maintained the dignity of palace concubines, their steps revealed their mood.
Bao Cui looked at the two people who were obviously difficult to deal with the Empress, and her face turned pale for a moment. She was afraid that they would do something bad to her own Empress.
But Concubine Zhang Shu said to Bao Cui, "Bao Cui, take them down first. I want to have a conversation with my two sisters."
Concubine Wang Liang and Concubine Li Xian also asked the palace maids around them to leave. For a moment, there were only three people left in the Zichen Hall. The three of them sat down on two soft couches and looked at each other. There was tension and fear in each other's eyes.
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