Concubine Jin carefully selected the jewelry and clothes in order to create the effect of a human face and a night-blooming cereus.
She wasn't entirely confident in her looks, always worried that as she aged and her beauty faded, the emperor's favor would fade away. Tonight's Epiphyllum Banquet was the perfect opportunity. To solidify her position in the emperor's heart, she had even arranged incense near the courtyard.
After Qian Wei finished setting up the last hidden prop, she couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty, let alone the Emperor who dotes on you like a treasure. Even I, seeing your thoughtfulness, feel deeply moved. It's feasible to promote you to Imperial Noble Consort!"
"loquacious!"
Concubine Jin was very pleased to hear this.
That woman had taken the initiative before, and due to the situation, I let her show off for a few days.
Today, we must keep the emperor here no matter what!
"By the way, I've already instructed the kitchen to prepare the Emperor's favorite pastries. You should keep an eye on them and make sure nothing goes wrong! Especially things like walnut powder must not be mixed in!"
"Yes, I will check it right away."
Concubine Jin wandered around the courtyard and only returned to the main hall after confirming that everything was correct.
At this time, the palace servants had already brought the food to the sandalwood table. The food was delicious and the dishes she had carefully considered were also paired with it.
On the day when Wei Shuyi regained favor, the anxious Concubine Jin sent someone to ask the astrologer and learned that tonight was a good day to sleep with the emperor. She hurriedly ordered the gardener to arrange for the Epiphyllum to bloom.
"The new concubine is nothing to be feared, the new concubine is nothing to be feared..." She kept muttering to herself, Yu Huai's instructions flashing through her mind again, "I was born to be a phoenix, I don't want to compete on the same stage with such a small character!"
So, everyone in Chengqian Palace stayed at their respective posts, waiting for Xie Yanci's arrival.
It was clearly dinner time, but there was still no sign of greeting, which made her anxious.
"Qianwei, go to the palace gate and keep an eye on it. If you see the emperor's guard of honor, come and inform me immediately."
"yes!"
However, as dusk fell and she was starving, Qianwei still hadn't shown up.
Concubine Jin forced herself to walk out and asked loudly, "Has the Emperor not arrived yet?"
"No, I haven't seen it yet!"
This is really strange!
I heard that no important ministers were visiting Changsheng Palace, so there was no state affairs holding him back. There was no rush to review the memorials, so what else could be the reason?
She suddenly remembered Wei Shuyi's face: "Has Jia Wanrong been to the Changsheng Palace?!"
"Your Majesty, she left early this morning. However, she came out alone, and her expression was very unhappy. I guess she asked the Emperor for something, but was rejected."
"Then what?!"
"After that, she never came to Changsheng Palace again, and the emperor never went to Sangyuxuan to visit her. I stopped watching her..."
Qianwei hurried back with an extremely ugly look on her face. Seeing that the two were in a stalemate, she stopped a few steps away.
Concubine Jin shifted her attention to Qian Wei: "What's going on? Is the Emperor here?!"
"Your Highness, the Imperial Court has sent a message..."
Hearing this, she was afraid of hearing some bad news again, and her voice became uncontrollably sharp: "What?! The emperor is breaking his promise again?!"
"No, that's not the case." Qian Wei quickly denied, "The Emperor said that he would go to Lin'an Palace first to accompany Jia Wanrong to do some work, and then come to Chengqian Palace to appreciate the amazing sight of the Epiphyllum."
Absolutely not! That woman is a monster!
If I go to Lin'an Palace, will the emperor still have a chance to come over? Definitely not!
Concubine Jin's heart was filled with alarm bells: "Hurry! I want to go to Sangyuxuan too! I can't be late even a moment!"
——
If you want to take a shortcut from Chengqian Palace to Lin'an Palace and arrive as quickly as possible, you must pass through the Imperial Garden.
Wei Shuyi chose to release the river lanterns for her daughter here: "Your Majesty, the maids from Sang Yuxuan and I worked hard all afternoon and finally finished these. They are enough."
"Thank you for your hard work. Come, I'll take a few too."
Xie Yanci and she stood by the river bank, and just as he was about to light a white candle, she stopped him.
"Your Majesty, Taoist Yu said that this requires certain prerequisites."
"Oh? What?"
"First, a sincere heart is required. Only relatives of the deceased are permitted to be present. This is not a concern for me. Secondly, we must avoid arguments, quarrels, and similar matters. According to Taoist Yu, these are all negative influences that are detrimental to Zhaohua's afterlife and should be avoided as much as possible. With Your Majesty here, I am reassured. Finally, Your Majesty, please look at this formation Taoist Yu drew. We need to light the river lanterns in this order and place them in the water."
Xie Yanci looked at the drawings carefully, fearing that if he made a mistake in any link, his deceased daughter would suffer.
Wei Shuyi studied his expression, then stole a glance at Wen Yu, who nodded in response.
"How is it going? Your Majesty, how about you just watch while I and they string the river lanterns together with the string?"
"Alright." The emperor turned and instructed Eunuch Yang, "Yang Mingrui, bring the chair over so Jia Wanrong doesn't get tired."
"yes!"
Yang Mingrui immediately turned back to the nearby bushes and brought out the two chairs he had prepared in advance. At the same time, he saw the palace servants trotting over, and on the sedan chair was the figure of Concubine Jin. He secretly cried out in his heart, "Oh no!"
"Go, take the chair to the Emperor!"
He immediately handed the task to his apprentice, and then went to greet him respectfully: "Your servant pays respects to the Imperial Concubine!"
"Eunuch Yang? Why are you here? Is the Emperor also in the Imperial Garden?"
"Exactly! That... right now, the Emperor has something to discuss with Jia Wanrong, so Your Majesty, please..."
Imperial Concubine Jin smiled nonchalantly, "Since we're all in the Imperial Garden, not in a tent, is there any reason why I can't join? The Emperor will be having dinner at Chengqian Palace later anyway. So, get out of the way and let me accompany him."
"Well, this is really inconvenient!" Eunuch Yang stood in front of them in embarrassment. "This old servant is not someone who doesn't understand people's expressions. When have I ever stopped you from entering the Hall of Eternal Life? It's because the situation is special this time. Your Majesty, please listen to my advice and don't..."
"Even if she's promoted, she's still only a Wanrong. She still can't get a rank among the Nine Concubines. Eunuch Yang, are you saying that with her here, I'm not qualified to go?!"
"No, no, that's not what I meant!"
"Then get out of the way!"
The eunuchs were caught in a dilemma and could only pretend to stop her and let Concubine Jin break in!
The noise near the bushes reached Wei Shuyi's ears. She pretended to be surprised: "Your Majesty! What's going on? Taoist Yu said that no one is allowed to make noise tonight!"
Xie Yanci also frowned and was about to scold when he saw Concubine Jin walking towards him with a happy face.
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