Chapter 46: Gathering in the Palace
Baocui discovered that her queen seemed to have something on her mind when she returned to the palace.
Eunuch Li from Chengtian Hall came quietly to announce the decree, so only the master and servant knew that Concubine Zhang followed His Majesty out of the palace.
Originally, the Empress was not competitive, and seeing that she was ignored by many people, Bao Cui could only feel anxious. This time, His Majesty remembered her Empress, and Bao Cui was ecstatic.
The harem is now almost entirely ruled by Concubine Shen. His Majesty will satisfy whatever Concubine Shen desires. Anyone who opposes Concubine Shen will inevitably face a disastrous end.
A few days ago, Concubine Wang and Concubine Shen had an argument in the Imperial Garden for some reason, and His Majesty actually put Concubine Wang under house arrest.
Each and every incident frightened Bao Cui. She was afraid that her madam would confront Concubine Shen, and she was also afraid that her madam would be bullied by others.
That's why Baocui was so happy when Eunuch Li came this time. But what worried her was that her queen seemed to be worried since she returned to the palace.
"Baocui, is Concubine Wang released from house arrest today?"
Baocui was thinking about it when she heard Concubine Zhang ask a question.
She hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Majesty, do you want to go see Concubine Wang? Concubine Wang is currently displeasing His Majesty, so why not..."
"It's okay, you go and prepare the sedan chair. After all, we are sisters." Zhang Yuezhi said.
Bao Cui had no choice but to nod and go down.
...
Zhang Yuezhi sat in the sedan chair and thought carefully about the past. His Majesty was not a lustful person - at least in her opinion, His Majesty's temperament changed drastically after he ascended the throne.
However, it was unbelievable that the emperor favored a woman brought from the common people.
The problem lies with that woman; she must be carrying some secret.
Zhang Yuezhi had met her before. Although she was beautiful, she didn't like the pity in her eyes. It was as if she felt sorry for them. Zhang Yuezhi didn't care about her condescending tone. Instead, she felt that she was too naive.
It is impossible for Concubine Wang, who has always been impulsive, not to care.
While he was thinking, the sedan chair arrived in front of Concubine Wang's palace.
Zhang Yuezhi asked the young eunuch to go in and inform them. The senior palace maid beside Concubine Wang quickly came out to bow and led them in with a smile.
"Your Majesty won't come, but the Imperial Concubine has been craving for a long time."
When the senior palace maid said this, Zhang Yuezhi couldn't help but start to reflect on herself. Was she really a little late?
But the scene after entering was completely different from what she had imagined.
There was no such thing as the distraught and increasingly emaciated Concubine Wang. All she saw was Concubine Wang sitting at a square table, playing square cards with Concubine Li and two palace maids.
This set of tiles was given to Concubine Wang by the Emperor. They were made entirely of jade and she loved them immensely. Zhang Yuezhi had heard her call it "mahjong," but she wasn't particularly interested and had never participated.
Seeing her come in, Concubine Li and two palace maids stood up and saluted. Concubine Wang took a bite of the crispy fruit at hand and wiped her hands with a handkerchief. "Sister Zhang, what brings you here today?"
Although they are not close sisters, their relationship is closer than others.
After a round of mahjong, Concubine Wang had the room cleaned up and asked everyone in the palace to leave. Zhang Yuezhi and Concubine Li knew that she had something to say, so they asked the palace servants around her to go somewhere else to warm up.
"I thought she was so miserable, but today I took a quick look and found that she was living a better life than anyone else." Concubine Li said with a smile.
Zhang Yuezhi also laughed, "We don't have these crispy fruits in our palace."
They all knew that Concubine Wang loved fine clothes and delicious food, so they were just teasing her.
Concubine Wang curled her lips, and her already beautiful face became more lively, "It's all because of Shen Lian that I was harmed."
Concubine Li picked up a few storybooks and said, "Don't pretend when we're all here. These are new books published outside the palace. How can you get them when you're confined to the palace every day?"
Concubine Wang then said, "Your Majesty asked Eunuch Li to send them here."
"He punished me by making me copy a volume of 'Meditation'. I hadn't finished yet when my two sisters happened to come..."
"We're not helping you copy, so why is Concubine Shen picking on you?" Concubine Li asked, "Everyone knows that we've been avoiding her for a while, but you don't know that she's favored by His Majesty. Why should we confront her?"
Concubine Wang was about to say, "Why is she favored by His Majesty?" but she quickly stopped and said casually, "I was wrong."
Zhang Yuezhi remained silent. She was thinking about the day when she returned to the palace with the emperor and asked if Concubine Li and Concubine Wang could also go out of the palace to see the hot pot restaurant when it opened. The emperor only said, "The token is in your hand, so you can use it as you like." After the emperor said that, she felt a little afraid.
According to what the emperor said, she felt that the power in her hands was a little too great.
But when she came to see Concubine Wang today, she suddenly came to her senses.
Concubine Wang should also know something. Judging from her food and daily expenses, she is obviously much more adept at dealing with the emperor than herself.
Yes, she was too cautious. Concubine Wang’s attitude made the emperor feel more at ease.
Thinking this way, it seemed like she had been trapped in her own web in the past few days.
"His Majesty has given me a pass to leave the palace. I wonder if my two sisters will be free in a few days? Would you like to leave the palace with me?" Zhang Yuezhi suddenly spoke.
Concubine Wang and Concubine Li looked at her at the same time: "What did you just say?"
The emperor gave me a pass to leave the palace?!
"Yes." Zhang Yuezhi calmly drank the sweet dairy product from Concubine Wang's palace. "But you can't use it casually. It's just that I had to leave the palace to do something for His Majesty that day."
"Oh my god, I'm so suffocated staying in the palace every day."
Concubine Li glared at her. After staying in the palace for such a long time, although Concubine Wang had not improved in other aspects, she had improved in her ability to talk nonsense. She didn't know who she learned it from.
"Let's go to the Jixiang Theater to listen to another play." Concubine Wang said excitedly again.
Concubine Li said from the side: "If you want to listen to the opera, why not let them into the palace?"
"I heard that the theater is very lively, but I haven't been there yet." As she spoke, Concubine Wang looked at Zhang Yuezhi.
Zhang Yuezhi nodded: "Then it's settled."
The three of them talked for a while, and then Concubine Li and Zhang Yuezhi prepared to get up and leave.
Bao Cui saw her madam go to Noble Consort Wang's palace and come out with a smile on her face. She thought that her madam was worried about Noble Consort Wang and that was why she had been worried for the past few days. So she said to Zhang Yuezhi, "If your madam was worried about Noble Consort Wang, she should have told you earlier. Why keep it so secret?"
Zhang Yuezhi smiled and shook her head. She had learned from Concubine Wang how to get along with the emperor.
After Concubine Li and Concubine Zhang left, Concubine Wang pulled out a book from under the storybook and opened it, with an extremely serious and pious look on her face.
One can vaguely see words like "make things difficult", "fall into the water", and "smash her mouth" among the densely packed words on the notebook.
..
However, Yan Xuanyu received a letter from Su An, who had not appeared for a long time.
Su An was the official he sent to secretly select teenagers from the refugees for training, and then select the best ones to form an inspection department.
As usual, the letter stated what the young men had trained for recently and what progress they had made.
Their training location is a hidden abandoned village. They not only have to train, but also have the task of reclaiming wasteland.
The amount of training is undoubtedly huge, ranging from reading and writing to martial arts, but this seemingly inhumane arrangement is a wonderful life that the young man never dreamed of.
They have full meals to eat every day, including thick rice porridge and steaming hot meals, which are things that ordinary people in the Great Zhou cannot eat now.
Zhuangzi's treatment of them can be said to be extremely good.
Su An also mentioned a person in his letter this time. There was an orphan named "Er Gouzi" in his youth. Now he has taken Su An's surname and changed his name to "Su Er".
Su Er is very hardworking in both reading and practicing martial arts, and is the most outstanding one among this group of teenagers.
Su An also said in the letter that although they have not yet reached the strength to come before His Majesty, they are constantly growing.
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