Chapter 215: I Can’t Bear to Hear Yue Suffer Any Injustice
The emperor returned to Beijing by water.
When passing by the imperial mausoleum, Concubine Duanshu was buried.
During this southern tour, the palace lost a first-rank imperial concubine. Jiang and Shen were sentenced to death, and Luo was sent to the cold palace.
The situation within the palace has undergone major changes.
In addition to the Empress, there were less than ten concubines.
Now, Concubine De Pei Tingyue has become the leader of all the concubines. Below her are Wen Zhaoyuan, Xie Xiuyi, and Li Xiuyuan, the three main concubines who have princes.
Below the main seat are the old servants of the Eastern Palace. Originally, there were four old servants of the Eastern Palace, namely, Noble Concubine Shunzhen, Wen Zhaoyuan, Huang Jieyushi, and Yu Jieyushi.
Now that Concubine Shunzhen has passed away, Wen Zhaoyuan has become the mother of the prince and has taken the throne. Only two old people are left, Concubine Huang and Concubine Yu. The two concubines are very invisible in the palace and have little presence.
The remaining concubines of lower rank were from the same class of selected ladies who entered the palace with Pei Tingyue. There were four of them originally: Pei Tingyue, Yan, Qu, and Xu. All four were granted the rank of Seventh Grade Baolin.
Now Pei Tingyue has climbed to a high position. As for the remaining three people, Yan Baolin deliberately pushed someone in front of the Bixiao Palace that day, and was sent to the cold palace after being exposed.
After Xu followed Jiang to get close to the imperial concubine, she was never favored by the emperor. She was not included in the grand ceremony of appointing concubines to the six harems, so she was still a small Baolin.
Qu was even more miserable. She was one of the six imperial concubines, becoming a consort. However, during the interrogation of the "Linde Palace Aphrodisiac Incident," she misbehaved before the emperor and was demoted to a concubine. Fortunately, she performed a brilliant art performance on the emperor's birthday this year, and Empress Cui, taking pity on her, promoted her to a higher rank, becoming Baolin. After many twists and turns, she entered the palace as Baolin, and she remains Baolin today, her rank unchanged.
Finally, there is the idiotic Qin Baolin.
If you count carefully, there are only nine concubines in the palace!
Since the founding of the Daqi Dynasty, the country has lasted for more than two hundred years, and the harem has never been in such a situation.
There are too few concubines!
So after the emperor returned to Beijing this time, many families in the capital secretly began to prepare for next year's draft.
According to common practice, the palace held a selection every three years.
The last election was in the third year of Xining, and the next one will be in the sixth year of Xining. There is not much time left, so now is the perfect time to prepare.
While there were undercurrents and conflicts outside, the palace was unusually calm.
After returning to the palace, Pei Tingyue and Xiao Si stayed in Chengming Palace and did not return to Changle Palace.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go back, it was that the emperor wouldn't let her. And everything was already arranged: the two of them would live together in the main hall, while Xiao Si would live in a side hall.
Pei Tingyue originally thought that the emperor was going to renovate the palace for her, so she waited happily for a few days.
As a result, one day, after paying her respects, she wanted to go to the Imperial Garden to pick some flowers, but when she arrived, she was dumbfounded.
The palace is gone.
Yes, the palace is gone.
Changle Palace became a ruin.
Pei Tingyue almost suffocated and had no mind to pick flowers anymore. She hurried back to Chengming Palace.
She asked aggrievedly, "Where is Changle Palace?"
Xie Chen paused his brush and said, "I ordered it to be demolished."
Pei Tingyue was puzzled: "Why? Didn't the emperor say before that he wanted me to live in the main palace? Why did he demolish Changle Palace for no reason?"
Xie Chen stood up and helped her sit down on the couch beside him. He stared into her clear eyes and said softly, "Because I don't want Tingyue to suffer any grievances."
Pei Tingyue was even more confused.
You should be happy living in the main hall, why is it associated with being wronged?
Seeing her puzzled, Xie Chen patiently explained, "Before, I was inconsiderate. I thought the name Changle was a good one, so I wanted to let Tingyue live in the main palace. But now, I don't think so. In the eyes of others, the imperial concubine has passed away. If I let you live in the main palace where she lived, I am afraid that others will look down on Tingyue."
Pei Tingyue understood: "So the emperor ordered the Changle Palace to be demolished."
Xie Chen held her in his arms and asked, "How about building a new palace for Tingyue?"
Pei Tingyue opened her sparkling eyes, which were filled with tiny bits of light: "Wouldn't it be too costly? I want to be a virtuous concubine."
Xie Chen smiled lightly, and said, "No, this money will not come from the national treasury, but from me. Tingyue can be a good concubine."
Pei Tingyue was happy and asked, "How do we build it?"
Xie Chen gently stroked her back and said softly, "It's up to Tingyue to decide."
Pei Tingyue left him immediately without looking back, her voice filled with joy, "I will make plans now!"
The soft jade and warm fragrance suddenly disappeared. Xie Chen was still a little reluctant for a moment. Looking at the graceful back, he sighed softly, "You little heartless girl."
Pei Tingyue spent the next few days planning this matter.
The new palace will only accommodate her and Xiao Si, so she wants to make herself comfortable. From the layout of the palace to the scenery of the courtyard, to all the furnishings, it is all what she wants.
One day, she was very excited about how to arrange the rockery and flowing water in the courtyard when a palace maid came to report that Concubine Huang and Xu Baolin had arrived.
Pei Tingyue stopped laughing and after a moment's thought, he understood why these two people came.
It's simply that they used to be dependent on Jiang and offended her and the queen. Now that Jiang has fallen, they are panicked and should come to apologize.
Pei Tingyue summoned people to the warm room.
As soon as the two came in, they knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, I am wrong."
Pei Tingyue didn't respond first. He glanced at them and found that their eyes were red. It was obvious that they had cried in front of the Queen.
"Get up."
Her indifferent tone made the two of them feel cold.
The two exchanged glances, and Huang Jieyu spoke up, "In the past, I lived in the same palace with Jiang, and because of Jiang's threats, I did that wrong thing. I beg Your Majesty, De Fei, to forgive me."
Xu Baolin whimpered in fear and knelt down again: "I beg your pardon, Madam Defei."
Pei Tingyue lowered his eyes.
She laughed inwardly.
If Xu Baolin still has the intention to admit his mistakes, then those Huang Jieyu are half true and half false.
Huang Jieyu was an old lady in the Eastern Palace. Even if she didn't have any favors, she still had some feelings for her. Although Jiang Shi had a high status, she had entered the palace in the first year of Xining. Even if her attitude towards Huang Jieyu was not very warm, it would not reach the point of "intimidation".
This Concubine Huang is a little clever and wants to put all the blame on Jiang.
Pei Tingyue saw through her little trick, but did not expose it.
The fact that they were admitting their mistakes now proved that they were truly afraid. If she were to be merciless and declare she would not forgive them, there was no guarantee that Concubine Huang would not harbor evil intentions in her desperation.
It would be better to give them a good warning and then offer them some sweet treats, so that these two people will respect and fear her in the future and will not dare to have any bad thoughts.
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