Chapter 58 Deliberately Making Things Difficult
Concubine Li moved and sat down, looking around the table inconspicuously.
Starting from Queen Cui at the top, he scanned everyone else's gaze, and finally his sight stopped at Pei Tingyue.
Seeing this beautiful profile, she was shocked.
Thinking about the information he had obtained, after a moment's reflection, he understood the identity of the concubine next to him.
No wonder she is so popular, this face is so beautiful...
Concubine Li was lost in her own thoughts, her eyes looking rather wanton.
Pei Tingyue, who was standing by, noticed her gaze and didn't want to pay attention to her, but since she was staring at him, he couldn't play dumb anymore and had to smile at the new concubine as a greeting.
Seeing this bright smile, Concubine Li came back to her senses instantly. She smiled again and turned away, secretly annoyed at her own loss of composure.
The hall was quiet for a while. Seeing that the other new concubine had not yet entered, some of the concubines began to whisper about it.
"Isn't there a niece of the Empress Dowager? Why hasn't she performed yet?"
"Are you going to put on a great show?"
"What kind of status will this girl get..."
“…”
While they were discussing, musicians entered the stage, followed by a woman in a red dress walking on the moon.
Everyone fell silent again, waiting to see the new concubine's dancing skills.
Amidst the vocal music, the woman in the red dress spins lightly, gracefully and elegantly.
Although she was beautiful, everyone always felt an indescribable feeling. After a little thought, they suddenly realized that this girl lacked the stunning feeling and did not meet expectations. She was far inferior to Qu Baolin and Li Jieyu just now.
After finishing the dance, Qin Yan took a breath, then took a few steps forward and knelt down in front of the host.
"Yan'er has met her cousin."
Xie Chen's expression didn't show much joy, but his voice was a little gentler: "Get up."
Qin Yan stood up shyly: "Thank you, cousin."
After she finished her greetings, the Queen Mother Qin's voice came from above: "You don't understand the etiquette at all. When Yan'er enters the palace from now on, you can't call me cousin. You have to call me Your Majesty."
Qin Yan blushed slightly: "Aunt, Yan'er understands."
After the performance and greetings, it is time to take your place and divide the group.
Empress Cui smiled modestly, "What rank will the Emperor give Miss Qin?"
Xie Chen calmly ordered, "Prepare a table for Concubine Qin."
Another position of Concubine!
After Concubine Li was previously enthroned, the concubines had already guessed about this and were not particularly surprised now.
However, a hint of unwillingness flashed across Qin Yan's eyes.
The position of Jieyushi is actually not low, but she feels that her status is special and relies on her bloodline, so she must seek a position as the main lady.
She looked at her aunt expectantly, hoping that she could help her.
Unexpectedly, Queen Mother Qin ignored her pleas and instead said, "Yan'er, why don't you thank me?"
The Queen Mother sighed inwardly.
She could see clearly that her niece was so stupid that she was not even satisfied with the position of imperial concubine.
How greedy!
Seeing the warning look on the empress dowager's face, Qin Yan had no choice but to thank her reluctantly and sit down at the table.
The two new concubines were assigned their positions, and the climax of the banquet was over.
Singing and dancing returned, and the party became lively again.
Many palace concubines frequently talked to the new concubine, some testing her and some flattering her.
Although the new concubine was beside her, Pei Tingyue did not ask anything. She just listened quietly to Concubine Li answering other people's questions without making any mistakes.
She had already formed an evaluation of the two new concubines in her heart.
An arrogant and domineering man with the strong backing of Queen Mother Qin.
A calm and intelligent man who has a close relationship with the emperor.
They are all strong rivals vying for her favor. It seems that the days ahead will be very lively.
While he was pondering this, he heard someone at the banquet ask, "Why don't we see Lady Pei's gift?"
Pei Tingyue raised her eyelids and looked at the person who asked the question. It was Qin Jieyu, who had just entered the palace and was sitting opposite her.
Concubine Qin looked back, her red lips curled up. "Just now, when I was chatting with the sisters, I heard that everyone was preparing gifts for the emperor's birthday, but I didn't hear about the gift prepared by Concubine Pei. I was confused, so I asked this question. Concubine Pei, please don't think I'm being abrupt."
Pei Tingyue shook her head: "I dare not."
"That's good." Concubine Qin showed a curious expression on her face. "So, what gift did Lady Pei prepare?"
Pei Tingyue was about to reply when a man's indifferent voice came from the main seat: "Concubine Qin wants to know so much?"
Hearing this unfamiliar name, Qin Jieyu almost couldn't maintain her expression.
She has just entered the palace, so we should give her some face, right?
Even if you don't call her by her maiden name, you can still call her cousin. Why be so distant and address her by her surname and rank?
What's the difference between calling her like this and calling her an ordinary concubine?
Concubine Qin's expression changed several times before she forced a smile and said, "I heard that Concubine Pei is the emperor's favorite. I was just curious for a moment."
Xie Chen said indifferently, "The most beloved person? You are well-informed."
The atmosphere at the table became slightly tense because of this sentence.
Qin Jieyu froze in her seat, not knowing how to respond.
The concubines looked at each other, unsure of the emperor's attitude, and did not dare to speak for Qin Jieyu.
Finally, it was Queen Mother Qin who spoke up to ease the tension: "I'm also curious, what birthday gift did Concubine Pei give the Emperor?"
She cursed her niece in her heart.
On her first night in the palace, she didn't behave well and was determined to stir up trouble. She was willing to stir up trouble, even if it meant picking on a weakling. But she ended up picking on someone close to the emperor, and that was a direct route to the emperor's attention.
How hopelessly stupid!
Queen Mother Qin spoke up herself, and Xie Chen's cold expression disappeared. His brows softened, and he said to her, "The robes on my son were made by Concubine Pei herself."
Queen Mother Qin looked him up and down, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, and exclaimed: "The emperor wears this robe very well, it can be seen that Concubine Pei put a lot of thought into it."
Empress Cui took a look and praised her, saying, "Miss Pei's embroidery skills are quite good."
Pei Tingyue naturally responded to the compliments from the Empress Dowager and the Queen. A faint smile appeared on her lips: "Your Highness the Empress Dowager and the Queen are too kind to praise me. I do not deserve it."
"You are a good and attentive child." Queen Mother Qin smiled kindly and turned to the table, "Yan'er, when you serve the Emperor in the future, you must learn to be as attentive as Concubine Pei."
With the stairs down, Qin Jieyu's expression became more natural: "Yes, Yan'er knows."
After the little episode, everyone's attention returned to the singing and dancing on the stage.
Concubine Qin drank several glasses of wine in a row until her face was drunk.
She was burning with anger.
The pipa music I had prepared was performed by someone else, and in order not to be laughed at, I could only perform my dance skills hastily. This was one of them.
She clearly had a special status and could have been the head of a palace, but she unexpectedly only got the position of a fourth-rank concubine. This was the second reason.
The third thing is that he wanted to trip up this beautiful lady Pei, but ended up with nothing.
The series of misfortunes made Qin Jieyu very angry, and the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't help it.
When she was drunk to the fullest, she dropped her wine cup heavily and said loudly,
"This song and dance is really boring."
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