Concubine Jin lost face in front of Concubine Wen, but still did not want to admit the fact that the emperor broke his promise again and instead summoned other concubines.
It would be fine if it was someone who was favored recently, but it happened to be the unknown Concubine Zhen!
"Everyone, get out of my way! I'm going to the Hall of Eternal Life to take a closer look!"
"Sister, do you really want to humiliate yourself?" Noble Lady Wen stood still. "Looking at the time, I think... the emperor has already gone to bed with someone else. If Sister is determined to destroy herself and drag the Qu family into this, then I will have to resort to other countermeasures."
"what are you up to?!"
"If you want your family to be free from your influence, you have no choice but to break away. Sister, by then, without your maternal family behind you, you will be all alone. Are you sure your life will be smoother than it is now?"
Imperial Concubine Jin's breath caught in her throat, and her momentum weakened. "I'll just take a look at the palace entrance, and I won't rush in."
"So you don't believe what I say? Then please do as you please."
Without hesitation, she rushed out of Chengqian Palace with Qianwei.
When they rushed to the emperor's bedroom, they saw from a distance that there were maids standing outside, guarding the door with Yang Mingrui on either side.
"Who is that?"
Qian Wei took a closer look and replied softly, "She is Noble Zhen's personal maid. I have seen her more than once during the morning and evening visits. She looks familiar."
"So, Noble Lady Wen didn't lie to me?" Her voice began to tremble, a feeling of dejection filling her body and mind. "Is it because I'm old? The Emperor no longer holds me dear to his heart. Instead, he's neglecting me for this newcomer!"
Qian Wei immediately comforted her, "That's not the case. The Emperor is not a heartless person. Your Majesty, please do not doubt yourself. Don't forget, Concubine Zhen suddenly jumped from the rank of Concubine to a concubine. Who did she get close to? Who knows, what happened tonight might be related to her."
“Jia Wanrong!!”
Concubine Jin gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear this man into pieces.
However, the candles in the Hall of Eternal Life had gone out. No matter how angry she was, she could not do anything to displease Xie Yanci.
"Your Highness, Jia Wanrong has had a long-standing grudge against you. She must have heard rumors from somewhere and is taking advantage of the Qixi Festival banquet to promote her ally. This Concubine Zhen is just her pawn."
"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory says that tonight, at midnight, is a good time for me to change my fate. I pretend not to care, but deep down I know everyone is laughing at me behind my back, calling me a barren woman! The Emperor knows how much I want a child, but he...he still breaks my heart!"
Qian Wei supported her and said, "Your Highness, your good days are still to come! This month's good opportunity is gone, but there will be another time. We can go to the Imperial Observatory to calculate a new one."
"You don't understand, you don't understand..."
Concubine Jin stumbled back, feeling a sense of loss in her heart.
She suddenly remembered the "usurpative" words Yu Huai said at Yiqingtai, including the last sentence that predicted that she would set foot there again to seek help.
Could it be that from that moment on, Yu Huai could see that her attempt to have a child was doomed to fail?
——
When Concubine Zhen walked out of the Changsheng Palace, she felt sore in her back and waist and was extremely sleepy.
Tong Jun accompanied her back to the palace. Seeing her young lady's absent-minded appearance, she couldn't help but worry: "My lady, the emperor didn't say anything else, did he? From what I see, I always feel that you are not very happy."
"Ah? No."
She looked dazed, and her heart skipped a beat when she thought about what happened last night.
She still remembered the first time she was sent to the Changsheng Palace to sleep with the emperor. She felt that both she and the emperor were following a fixed pattern. After carefully carrying out each procedure, they were wrapped in quilts and sent out by the eunuchs.
Just like...
A very ordinary item.
But after a brief exchange on the stone bridge, she followed Xie Yan back to the inner chambers, where they opened up to each other again regarding their previous misunderstandings. She felt a different feeling when she once again experienced physical intimacy with the emperor, his thoughtfulness and gentleness, and his sometimes perfectly timed behavior.
But unfortunately, all this was the bonus given to her by the girl.
"My lady, I will prepare hot water for your bath. Wait a moment..."
"You guys go and do other things first, I just want to be alone."
Tong Jun became more and more uneasy: "But my lady, I still have to help you bathe."
"I can do it myself."
Not long after.
Concubine Zhen soaked in the wooden barrel, staring at the marks on her body in a daze: "Your Majesty, in your heart, you must have treated me as someone else, right? Or perhaps, you would be happy as long as you were associated with her. My father sent me to the palace to find the whereabouts of Miss Wei, but I didn't expect that you also had a history with her. Sometimes I wonder, as the daughter of an important official, why is my past so dull and boring?"
For the first time, she had the urge to re-examine the emperor, but she was also conflicted because she had deliberately imitated the old man to gain favor.
Tong Jun was waiting outside, but she didn't come out for a long time. Just as he was about to go in to ask, he saw Wei Shuyi.
"This servant greets Jia Wanrong, may the young lady be blessed."
"Get up, where's Sister Zhen?"
"After returning to the palace, my young lady was busy bathing and changing clothes. She is not ready yet. Please wait a moment."
Wei Shuyi glanced at the inner room and nodded: "Okay, you can go in and serve! I will be waiting outside, don't worry."
Things went just as she expected.
Xie Yanci did not go to Chengqian Palace, and Concubine Jin's plan to have an heir to the throne was also destroyed. It was not a bad thing for her to once again support an ally who was ruthless and loveless to the king.
When Concubine Zhen heard that a guest was coming, she quickly packed her clothes to greet him: "Your concubine greets Jia Wanrong."
"Sister, how many times have I told you this? Meet me in private. There's no need to do this." Wei Shuyi turned to look at Wen Yu and said, "I brought a gift to congratulate you on your wedding."
"Eh? What's the good news?"
"The Emperor has abandoned the Imperial Concubine for his younger sister. Could it be that there is no happy event coming?"
Concubine Zhen looked at Mr. Tong suspiciously, and the other party just shook his head in embarrassment.
As luck would have it, Yang Mingrui was ordered to deliver the imperial edict: "So Jia Wanrong is here too! My lady, how happy I am! The Emperor drafted the imperial edict early in the morning and asked me to read it out!"
Seeing this, Tong Jun was overjoyed and quickly reminded Zhen Guiren: "My lady, this should be the decree of promotion. Go and receive it quickly!"
She was still confused and walked to the front and knelt down in a restless mood, then listened to Eunuch Yang's long speech in a daze.
By the time she reached out and grasped the bright yellow imperial edict in her hand, her status had already risen from a noble lady to a fifth-rank Shunyi.
Not only that, her title was also changed from "Zhen" to "Shu".
"Oh, I am here to congratulate Shu Shunyi!"
Tong Jun quickly rewarded his master with a handful of golden melon seeds, but was slightly stunned when he caught a glimpse of his master's daydreaming expression.
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