Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Legend of Zhen Huan, Nian Shilan 5
Jingren Palace —
The Empress looked at Nian Shilan, who had come to pay her respects again, and put on a fake show of concern.
"It's been a month since I last saw you, Consort Gui. You look quite haggard. Have the palace servants not been attentive enough?"
Nian Shilan replied with a cold face, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am not feeling well, so I am naturally looking haggard."
The Empress sighed, "Since you closed your palace, the Emperor has not entered the inner palace for a month. The loss of that child has caused both the Emperor and you great pain. Why hurt each other? It's time to let go."
Upon hearing that taboo subject, the concubines present all looked at the Empress in horror, and sure enough...
"Heh." Nian Shilan sneered, "Put it down? Since the Empress has brought up the child I miscarried, she wants me to put it down."
Then let me ask Your Majesty a question in return: have you let go of the matter of the First Prince's untimely death?
The Empress instantly lost control of her expression, revealing a look of resentment.
"Judging from the Empress's behavior, she has clearly not let go either. So why pretend to let me let go? She is just deliberately using that child to provoke me."
Even the Emperor himself dares not easily mention that child in front of me, so how could Your Majesty dare to?
Nian Shilan snorted coldly, stood up, and strode out of the main hall.
The Empress recovered her composure and dared not dwell on her retort. The Emperor had once said that the child was not to be mentioned in front of Consort Hua.
She panicked. The fact that the Emperor had not entered the harem for a month terrified her of the profound influence Nian Shilan had on the Emperor.
Most importantly, she understood the Emperor. Nian Shilan's position in the Emperor's heart was growing stronger day by day, and she was almost on par with Chun Yuan.
How could she tolerate such a thing happening? That's why we have this scene today.
After hastily concluding her greetings for the day, the Empress hurriedly went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to apologize. She knew that what had happened today could not be kept secret, so it was better to apologize as soon as possible.
By clinging to the banner of fearing that someone else might surpass her sister in the Emperor's heart, she barely managed to get past the Emperor's hurdle.
But today's events have spread, letting all the newly promoted concubines know that the seemingly kind Empress is not so kind after all.
Even if they haven't experienced it themselves, they know that the pain of losing a child is like a piercing wound for a mother.
The Empress, who had experienced this herself, used it to provoke Consort Hua, which was extremely cruel.
After causing this disturbance, Nian Shilan received an apology from the Empress, numerous consolations and rewards from the Emperor, and an imperial edict that she no longer needed to go to Jingren Palace to pay her respects to the Empress.
Once is never enough, and the Emperor feared that the Empress would not be able to resist using that child to provoke Nian Shilan again.
It's best to excuse Nian Shilan from paying her respects and reduce their contact, just in case.
Needless to say, the Empress knew how much she regretted losing the opportunity to demonstrate her status as the Empress's principal wife to Nian Shilan.
A few days later, at the Empress Dowager's urging, the Emperor entered the inner palace, and naturally spent his first night sleeping in Yikun Palace.
After that, the nameplates of the concubines entering the palace were refurbished, and the "blessing" and osmanthus tree items were no longer included.
Consort Wan was the first to serve the emperor for three days, and Consort Shen followed suit for three days as well.
It seemed as if they were treating each other as equals, with the newly promoted concubines, except for Consort An and Consort Fang who had not yet served the emperor, all being conferred three days' notice.
Consort Fang was young, while Consort An's scheme against Nian Shilan after her first greeting to the Emperor was discovered.
The emperor was displeased, but if she didn't serve him in bed, people would keep bringing it up in his ears. So after serving him for one day, he would forget about her and pretend she didn't exist.
The eunuchs serving by his side and those in the Imperial Household Department also understood the Emperor's meaning, and Consort An's green plaque was always placed last.
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