Chapter 189 Moving Away
After the emperor returned to the palace, Yueli insisted on moving from the Linde Hall to the Zhuoyu Palace.
Since her enthronement, although the Zhuoyu Palace has been repaired, it has never welcomed its owner.
Yue Li was tortured so badly by He Yanchen during the few days in the enclosure that she got so angry that she started clamoring to move out. Unexpectedly, He Yanchen did not stop her. Instead, he asked Ji Ming to personally select a few servants to serve her personally.
On the day she returned to the palace, Yueli lived alone in Zhuoyu Palace.
She slept alone for the first time in a long time. She lay comfortably on the bed and let the palace maid massage her shoulders and lower back. The new palace maid was called Lian Qiao. Although she looked silly, her massage skills were impeccable.
Nianxia was also assigned to serve her and became the head aunt of Zhuoyu Palace. The remaining two first-class palace maids were Feilan and Lianqiao.
The Zhuoyu Palace was decorated according to her preferences, with a faint scent of incense burning in the incense burner. Yueli lay drowsily on the soft pillow, her eyelids twitching constantly.
Finally, she couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep.
Lian Qiao heard her steady breathing, gently pulled the quilt to cover the woman's fair back, and then stepped out.
Yueli had a good dream all night. When she woke up naturally the next day, it seemed as if all her fatigue had disappeared.
She stretched comfortably. As expected, without He Yanchen tormenting her, she could sleep well.
The bed bell rang, and Nian Xia came in to hang up the bed curtains. "Your Majesty, Consort Chen and several concubines from the harem have come to pay their respects to you. I heard you were still asleep, so I asked them to wait in the side hall."
"Greetings?" Yue Li didn't want to get up, so she hugged the quilt and whimpered, "Why are you paying your respects to me? I'm not the queen."
Nian Xia smiled and said, "The Empress has been confined to her house. You are now a Noble Consort, the highest-ranking concubine in the palace. His Majesty sent the Phoenix Seal this morning, saying that you will be allowed to temporarily assume the power of the Empress."
Yueli quickly sat up and asked, "Temporarily assume the power of the Empress?"
Doesn't that mean that all the tedious tasks in the harem will be left to me from now on?
She didn't want to be like the queen, holding the account books all day and managing others like an old nanny!
Nian Xia saw that her face looked unhappy, and she didn't know if she had said something wrong. Getting the Phoenix Seal, isn't this the dream of all the concubines in the harem?
But she also understood Yueli's temperament these days, so she asked, "My Lady, what I said is inappropriate?"
Yueli shook her head and looked at her pitifully: "I don't want to be in charge of palace affairs..."
Nianxia is twenty-three years old this year. She has been taking care of her daily life in Linde Palace. She is steady and considerate. Yueli couldn't help but complain to her.
Nian Xia couldn't help laughing when she heard this. "Your Majesty, you are the one in power. Each of the six departments in the harem has its own eunuchs and maids in charge. They also have several palace servants under them. If you find it troublesome, just ask them to report to you regularly. Your Majesty can also select a few palace servants in the Zhuoyu Palace who are literate and know how to account to help manage things. You are the master, so why would you burden yourself?"
Yueli felt that what she said made sense. In addition, Nianxia was a member of the imperial court, so Yueli trusted her very much: "Then go and help me."
Nian Xia laughed: "I will report this to Eunuch Ji later and ask him to select some sensible people to help the queen."
"Your Majesty, you should stand up now. Zhaoyi Shen and her concubines have come to pay their respects to you. It is reasonable for you to meet them. Firstly, it will prevent people from talking about you being arrogant, and secondly, it will establish your reputation. After all, you hold the Phoenix Seal, and you cannot let those below you look down on you."
Although Yueli is not very smart, she listens to He Yanchen very much. Nianxia is also He Yanchen's person, so she also listens to Nianxia and gets up obediently to wash and dress up.
Nian Xia picked out a palace dress with gold-sprinkled patterns for her. The bright color made her skin look even more delicate. The satin with gold patterns was so special that it seemed as if fallen petals were floating in the air when she walked. It was exquisite and noble.
When Yueli came out, all the other concubines in the harem had arrived, even Concubine De was there.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Imperial Concubine."
Yueli glanced at Nianxia secretly, and Nianxia nodded and helped her sit down first.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After everyone was seated, Shen Zhaoyi spoke first: "Your Highness the Imperial Concubine is truly radiant today."
With her leading the charge, people who could see the situation clearly began to compliment her. Yue Li felt quite happy to hear that, but it was really tiring to sit there. She felt tired after only sitting for half an hour.
"From now on, you don't have to come to pay your respects to me. If you're interested, you can come and sit with me on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month."
This was what Nian Xia had taught her just now. Although she held the phoenix seal, she was not the queen after all. It was somewhat against the rules to have people come to pay their respects. But occasionally letting them come and sit down could show her authority and prevent some people from losing their place.
The others naturally agreed, and Yueli said a few more words before letting them all go.
“So tired.”
As soon as she returned to the inner hall, she took off her hair accessories and lay listlessly on the couch.
Yueli took another nap, and it was not until dinner time in the evening that she felt something was wrong.
He Yanchen didn't come to see her the whole day.
Yue Li looked at the empty bedroom. She used to feel comfortable living alone during the day because no one cared about her. She could sleep as long as she wanted and eat whatever she wanted. But now she felt inexplicably empty inside.
Yueli couldn't sleep that night.
There was only her petite body on the huge bed, occupying only a small corner of the bed, and the rest of the bed was empty and cold.
She turned over, but still couldn't fall asleep.
Nian Xia was on guard today. When she heard the noise, she gently opened the door and asked, "Madam, can't you sleep?"
Yueli hugged the quilt and grumbled, "Isn't His Majesty coming today?"
"Your Majesty has just returned from the throne, and there must be a lot of backlogged matters before you. Your Majesty should still be busy."
Yueli let out a sound and forced herself to fall asleep.
But He Yanchen didn't come on the second day or the day after, and he didn't even send any message.
Yue Li could no longer sit still. The more she looked at the Zhuoyu Palace, the more she disliked it. It was empty and there was no life at all.
She had just come out of the shower. In the past, He Yanchen would help her dry her hair at this time, but Lian Qiao's movements were obviously gentler, but she just felt uncomfortable.
Yueli couldn't bear it anymore, so she just put on some clothes and ran to Linde Palace.
Ji Ming saw her coming and quickly stopped her: "Madam, please allow me to pass on the message first."
Ji Ming didn't know what the emperor was doing, and he specifically ordered that if the imperial concubine came, he must say this and leave her alone for a quarter of an hour before letting her in.
Yueli was still wearing her pajamas inside and a coat hastily draped over her outside, and stood in the night wind for a quarter of an hour.
Not only was she cold physically, but her heart was cold as well.
It had only been three days since they last met, and He Yanchen was already so cold towards her.
After waiting for a long time for Ji Ming to come out, Yueli ran in crying, holding up her skirt.
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