It's not that the queen didn't hear what Su Juan said, but she was already over fifty years old, and was not one of the new concubines in the harem.

The ladies who were competing all stood beside their paintings, and when they saw the emperor and the empress coming, they all bowed.

The empress, accompanied by the emperor, walked up to the noble ladies, her eyes fell on the paintings, and she commented and praised the noble ladies in front of her one by one.

Those people were delighted.

When she gave her comments later, she praised everyone one by one and even asked the emperor for his opinion. The flattered old emperor naturally agreed with her.

No one expected that the Queen would be so approachable.

The ladies in the back row were all very nervous. Even if they couldn't win first place, it would be a great thing to be praised by the Queen Mother and His Majesty.

Many ladies who did not participate in the competition regretted it. If they had known this would happen, they would have gone up to paint a picture!

Su Juan was surprised, "I didn't expect that the Empress was more tolerant than the old Emperor."

The old emperor was the first to change his attitude. Is this how you treat everyone equally?

Xie Xun was drinking and almost burst out laughing when he heard Su Juan's words, but he managed to hold it back.

The ministers drank to cover up and pretended not to hear.

At this time, the queen, who was very considerate, walked up to Mei Ying. Mei Ying was suddenly nervous and expectant. She even thought of the words to thank her. However, the queen just glanced at the painting and then walked away.

Mei Ying was stunned, and so were many others.

Isn't it... that everyone gets the same treatment?

The queen praised the remaining two noble ladies again, and then gave them some insignificant items. The golden hairpin as a prize was naturally given to Liu Miaoqing.

Mei Ying got the bracelet, but her face looked very ugly.

At this time, everyone noticed that the queen praised everyone except Mei Ying, but she didn't say a word to Mei Ying.

No one is a fool. They don't know how the girl from the Mei family offended the Queen that she would be targeted in such a situation.

The emperor looked displeased. The empress had always been of a calm disposition and had never said harsh words to any of the palace maids. This girl from the Mei family must have done something to displease the empress.

How did Mei He teach his children?

Liu Miaoqing is a thoughtful person. The queen lives deep in the harem and never steps out, but she has been making things difficult for people over the past six months. First it was Song Qianfan, and now it's Mei Ying. They seem to have no connection, but they are all connected to a person who seems insignificant to outsiders - Su Juan.

Mei Ying clenched the jade bracelet tightly, met her mother's expression, lowered her head, and bit her lips tightly. She didn't know why the queen praised everyone else but ignored herself.

She believes that although her painting skills are not as good as Liu Miaoqing's, they are not inferior to others.

The Queen's move slapped her hard in the face.

At this time, Minister Mei's face looked even uglier.

Everyone knows that the Queen is not happy, so those families who were originally planning to go to the Mei family to propose marriage and make friends with them will probably have to think twice.

The queen personally went down with the brocade box containing the golden hairpin and gave it to Liu Miaoqing. Liu Miaoqing bowed to thank her, but suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask for a favor from you."

The queen heard this and smiled, "You say."

Su Juan often mentioned the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, which showed that she was very close to her. Therefore, when she looked at Liu Miaoqing, she also had a little more love for her.

"I have a friend whose birthday is coming up soon. I would like to pass on the blessing bestowed upon me by the Empress to my friend. Is it possible?"

Liu Miaoqing's words caused an uproar.

The Minister of the Central Secretariat was also a little stunned and frowned. His daughter has always been sensible, so why would she be so aggressive today?

Not to mention that rewards from the palace cannot be given away at will, as it is considered a crime of disrespect. What's more, it was a reward from the Empress Dowager in front of all the officials. It was a great blessing that many people would love to have.

Many people looked at Liu Miaoqing with confusion.

The handkerchief in Mei Ying's hand was torn into pieces. She felt that Liu Miaoqing's action was simply to humiliate her and to retaliate for what she had just said.

Otherwise, who would give away such a good reward?

She just hoped that the empress and the emperor would be furious and punish her.

The atmosphere was subtle. After all, Liu Miaoqing was a well-known example of a noble lady in Beijing, but it was inappropriate for her to say such words at this time.

Many people looked at Su Juan, especially Xie Xun and Lin Xizhi. They all knew that Su Juan's birthday was approaching and Liu Miaoqing wanted to give the hairpin to her.

But Su Juan didn't realize that her birthday was coming, she was only worried about Liu Miaoqing, [Miaoqing has always been calm, what happened today? ]

Xie Xun drank the wine with a slight raise of his eyebrows. What else can he do? She naturally wants to please you.

He sighed, what a good pair of sisters they are, they don't even care about people like them.

[Although the Queen has a gentle temperament and is not someone who would condemn this...]

Upon hearing this, the Queen was obviously delighted.

The court officials also nodded in agreement. The queen was indeed of a gentle temperament. Over the years, no one had ever heard of any disputes in the harem.

But in fact, it was because no one had any children, the emperor treated everyone equally, and the empress was not jealous, so there was naturally no dispute.

[But the old emperor is this kind of person! ]

Everyone's faces turned red and no one dared to laugh out loud.

Old Emperor: “…”

She really spoiled me.

Duke Ping was always aware of the emotional fluctuations of those in power. Fortunately, the old emperor did not blame Su Juan for what she said.

The Queen laughed, "Since it's my birthday, wouldn't it be a joke to just give me a golden hairpin?"

Seeing that the Queen did not accept Liu Miaoqing's request, but did not refuse it either, and her attitude did not seem angry, everyone was puzzled as to what she meant.

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The queen whispered and ordered the palace maids to fetch the rest, including the necklaces, earrings, armlets, and bracelets, and gave them all to Liu Miaoqing. She also rewarded Liu Miaoqing with a set of jadeite headwear.

The noble ladies below were shocked. These were tributes from foreign dynasties and could only be used by nobles in the palace. But now the Queen gave the whole set to Liu Miaoqing and even gave her an extra set of headgear.

Which noble lady in Beijing has enjoyed such a glorious life in recent years?

Seeing that the empress was happy, the emperor was naturally happy too. He arranged for people to eat and drink well, and stroll around the imperial garden, admiring the flowers and drinking wine.

After receiving the reward, Liu Miaoqing pulled Su Juan aside and placed the brocade box in front of her like offering a treasure. Su Juan was stunned and said, "Give it to me?"

Su Juan's eyes fell on the brocade box on the table, and she was flattered. [The grace that Miao Qing just asked the Queen for was actually for me! ]

Liu Miaoqing took out the hairpin from inside and put it on Su Juan, "This hairpin suits you perfectly."

When the two of them appeared in everyone's sight again, many people cast envious glances at them. It turned out that Miss Liu wanted to give it to Su Juan.

For a moment, I didn't know whether to envy Liu Miaoqing for being so appreciated by the Queen, or to envy Su Juan for having such a close friend.

At this time, Liu Xuan was talking to Xie Xun, but an uninvited guest interrupted him, his voice cold and angry, "Master Liu, are you ready to talk?"

As soon as Xie Xun heard the voice, he knew that the person coming was not friendly.

The two turned around and saw that it was the Prince of Jing, Song Qianfan, who had just been released from confinement.

Liu Xuan looked at Song Qianfan in front of him with a sparse look in his eyes, "What's the matter, my Lord?"