Chapter 49 Consider Her
Give her a promotion?
Pei Tingyue's heart skipped a beat.
This promotion to beauty is different from the time when the emperor promoted her. This is not considered as the emperor's favor, but a commendation from the empress dowager, so the women in the harem will not be too jealous.
but…
This seems to be the emperor's credit.
Thinking about it carefully, the emperor probably wanted to promote her, but was afraid that issuing an order in person would make her too conspicuous, so he used a roundabout way to let the empress dowager do it.
Is this for her consideration?
A dark light flashed across Pei Tingyue's eyes, and she had a new understanding of the emperor's sincerity.
She stood up and bowed gracefully: "Thank you very much, Empress Dowager, for your grace. I am deeply grateful."
Queen Mother Qin smiled and asked someone to help her up: "This is what you deserve."
After granting her grace, Queen Mother Qin asked her some common questions.
For example, where is your hometown, whether your parents are still alive, how many brothers and sisters you have, whether you can adapt to living in the palace, etc.
Pei Tingyue answered them all carefully.
After chatting enthusiastically for a while, Queen Mother Qin's smile faded, and a trace of sadness appeared between her brows. "You are a good child, and you are someone who can stay in the palace for a long time. I have a niece who is about your age, but she has a very impatient personality and is always causing trouble. I am very worried."
An edgy niece?
Pei Tingyue narrowed his eyes and thought of the face of a domineering beauty.
Could it be that the person who stopped her when she paid her respects to the Queen that day was the Empress Dowager's niece, the Emperor's cousin?
Queen Mother Qin sighed, "She came to stay in the palace for a while a while ago. I heard from the palace servants that she was so ignorant that she blocked your way."
Now they are completely matched.
However, she could not follow through with what she said. The Queen Mother could say that her niece was ungrateful, but for her, this was a high-ranking concubine who she would have to treat with respect in the future.
Pei Tingyue smiled lightly: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother is too kind. Perhaps you are just curious."
Queen Mother Qin waved her hand and said, "There's no need to excuse her. I know what my niece is like. I called you here today to tell you something."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
Queen Mother Qin pressed her brows together and said slowly, "In just over a month, this unworthy little bastard will be entering the palace. You are both the emperor's concubines, and seeing each other every day will inevitably lead to friction. If she offends you, don't be so foolish as to swallow your grievances. Just come to the Cining Palace and tell me, and I will vent your anger for you."
Pei Tingyue didn't dare to do that.
She was just a concubine in the palace, but she came to the Queen Mother to complain about her own niece. Was she dissatisfied with her own comfortable life?
She's not that stupid.
"Your Highness, you are worrying too much. Although I am not very smart, I know the rules and would never dare to offend you. Moreover, I am timid and do not like to socialize. Apart from paying my respects to the Queen, I do not interact with others."
Pei Tingyue kept a low profile.
What this means is that she can't afford to offend, so she will try to avoid it.
The Queen Mother Qin was naturally happy and praised her several times: "Good child, you are a sensible person."
Pei Tingyue smiled.
She was right, she really didn't want to make enemies.
But what if this person bumps into me...
Just at this moment, a palace maid came to report that the emperor had arrived.
The next moment, Xie Chen appeared at the entrance of the palace. He came in and saluted Queen Dowager Qin.
The Queen Mother Qin smiled and teased him, "It seems that as soon as the Emperor finished discussing state affairs, he couldn't wait to come to my place to take my beautiful lady back."
After hearing this, Pei Tingyue blushed suddenly and lowered her head.
Seeing that she was reserved and shy, Xie Chen changed the subject and asked the Queen Mother with concern, "How has your health been these past two days, Mother?"
…
After a show of loving mother and filial son, Xie Chen took Pei Tingyue out of the Cining Palace.
"Go up."
Pei Tingyue was surprised. She looked at the luxurious and spacious dragon chariot in front of her and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not."
Xie Chen suppressed all his worries: "Why should I be afraid? The people in front of the emperor are very tight-lipped and won't let it get out."
Things have come to this point. If Pei Tingyue doesn't go up, it would be very ungrateful.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them were sitting on the dragon chariot, and were carried steadily to Chengming Palace by the eunuchs.
The imperial sedan chair was spacious, and people could sit side by side, but Xie Chen insisted on holding someone. He tilted his head and asked, "What did the Queen Mother say to you?"
Pei Tingyue leaned on his broad chest and said, "The Empress Dowager has promoted my rank."
Xie Chen was not surprised at all.
Pei Tingyue turned slightly to the side, hugged his neck, pretended not to understand, and said guiltily: "The Empress Dowager misunderstood and thought that I was standing in front of the Emperor during the assassination that day, but the fact is clearly..."
Xie Chen interrupted her, "There's no misunderstanding. This is what you deserve. Tingyue was very brave that day."
Pei Tingyue buried her head in the crook of his neck: "Your Majesty, do you also think that I am brave?"
Xie Chen remained silent.
Pei Tingyue's voice was sweet and soft: "Actually, I don't know what happened. Given my timid nature, I thought I would stay in that cave and not dare to come out."
"But when the image of the Emperor facing those assassins alone appeared in my mind, it felt as if my internal organs were being crushed. The pain was so severe that I couldn't breathe."
"So I don't care about anything else. Even if I die, I want to die with the emperor."
"Tingyue is so brave, so she deserves a reward." Xie Chen suppressed the deep light in his eyes and looked down at her again, "Be brave again later."
Pei Tingyue was puzzled: "Huh?"
Xie Chen chuckled: "It's time to take the medicine."
When Pei Tingyue heard about taking medicine, her face wrinkled.
The medicine is for nourishing the body, but it is black when boiled down. Not only does it look scary, it tastes bitter when you drink it. Even someone as patient as her can't stand it.
Seeing her gloomy face, Xie Chen put his arm around her slender waist and whispered in her ear, "After you finish drinking, I will give you a lot of rewards."
Pei Tingyue rolled his eyes silently.
Who is this reward for?
But she only dared to complain about this in her heart and did not dare to say it out loud.
*
On the second day after Queen Mother Qin summoned Pei Tingyue, while the concubines from the six palaces were paying their respects, Queen Cui told them the news that she was being promoted to a beauty.
The concubines could not contain themselves and started to discuss.
"This Concubine Pei is so lucky. The Emperor happened to take her with him on the Spring Hunt. If he had taken me with him, I would have definitely stood in front of the Emperor. Maybe the Empress Dowager would appreciate me today and promote me."
"Come on, with your guts, it's good that you didn't get scared and cry, and you even blocked the knife."
“…”
"Pei Meiren's favor will only last for two months. Once the new concubine enters the palace, I'm afraid there will be no place for her."
"Tell me, with her delicate personality, will she cry then?"
“…”
There were all kinds of talk in the hall, but the voices were not loud. They were just discussing with people close to them and they didn't dare to say it openly.
Empress Cui listened to their chatter for a while and interrupted them loudly: "Alright."
The concubines soon quieted down.
Empress Cui looked at the seated Lin Zhaorong and asked, "How is the renovation of the new concubine's palace going?"
Lin Zhaorong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the repairs are almost done. I thought, after the Dragon Boat Festival, I'll choose a good day and invite you sisters to take a look. If there are any inappropriate places, you sisters can point them out and I will have them fixed."
Empress Cui smiled gently and responded in a gentle voice, "You've lost a lot of weight recently, which shows how much effort you've put in. If you do your job well, I will personally go to Chengming Palace to ask for your reward."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Lin Zhaorong's smile grew even wider. She didn't care about the emperor's reward, but the queen's approval.
She secretly made up her mind to renovate the palace to perfection.
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