Chapter 126 If Line: If Yuanyuan Becomes a Concubine (17)
"What if I want to make you queen?" he suddenly asked.
Yang Manyan was stunned when she heard this. She felt that this was a trap. It was such a sensitive issue and she would be doomed if she was not careful.
After a moment, she heard her own slightly choked voice, "I dare not."
The emperor frowned slightly, and his face became colder and colder.
At the beginning of the year, he did say that she was not allowed to covet the position of queen, but now seeing that she had no interest in being his queen, he felt inexplicably irritated.
"Ah——" Yang Manyan screamed softly as the world spun around. The man easily picked her up and walked straight towards the bed.
When she was thrown onto the couch, she subconsciously shrank back, feeling very reluctant to share a bed with this emperor who was about to have a new lover.
He pampers her now and then pampers others in the future. It's so dirty. She really can't stand it. It's too disgusting.
She quietly clutched the embroidered quilt beneath her, trying her best to hold back the sourness that rose to the tip of her nose.
He held Yang Manyan tightly under him.
It was like an invisible cage that surrounded her tightly and made it impossible for her to breathe.
"My beloved concubine does not want to be the queen, then what does she want?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
After a moment of silence, Yang Manyan closed her eyes slightly, tears forming on her eyelashes, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Imperial Noble Consort will soon enter the palace..."
The emperor raised an eyebrow, "Why? Is my beloved concubine jealous?"
"I dare not, but the Imperial Concubine is of noble status and should live with you in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. I will move out on my own initiative."
The emperor's face darkened. "Since the founding of this dynasty, you are the only concubine who has lived in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. This is an honor that no empress in previous dynasties has ever had. Why do you think that any woman can live with me?"
"Where do you want to move to? Wenyuan Pavilion? Or the Eastern Palace?" he asked with a sneer.
If the ministers outside the court knew that this decisive and ruthless emperor was secretly competing with a concubine who was a dozen years younger than him, they would probably be shocked.
Yang Manyan's whole body went limp.
Seeing that she remained silent, the emperor became even more annoyed.
Those who use their beauty to please others will see their love fade as their beauty fades, and when their love fades, their affection will end.
She gained favor because of her looks, and it is only a matter of time before she falls out of favor. I just hope that the emperor will not touch her again now that he has a new lover.
Unfortunately, her wish was doomed to fail...
Two months later, the Winter Solstice arrives.
Early in the morning, the emperor personally led his ministers to the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, the Fengxian Hall, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Altar of Land and Grain to offer sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, the ancestors, and the country.
At night, there was a winter solstice banquet in the palace, and all civil and military officials above the third rank attended the banquet with their families.
The Winter Solstice Banquet is held in the Baohe Hall. Under the eaves in front of the hall, Zhonghe Shao music is played, bells and drums ring, and the atmosphere is solemn and dignified.
The emperor's throne is located in the upper center, to the east is the crown prince's throne, to the west is the empress dowager's throne, and princes and ministers sit in order of rank to the south.
As a concubine, Yang Manyan should have been ranked below Queen Mother Jiang along with the Crown Prince's biological mother, Concubine Wei Shufei, and the Ministry of Rites had originally planned to place her below Concubine Wei Shufei.
Although they both hold the title of concubine, Concubine Wei Shu is older and was a concubine of the previous emperor, so she has more experience.
Logically speaking, Concubine Wei Shu was the biological mother of the crown prince and the future empress dowager, so she was indeed superior to Concubine Yang Yuan.
But the emperor found this seating arrangement extremely annoying, and directly ordered that Princess Yuan's seat be moved to his side.
So Yang Manyan sat between the Emperor and Queen Mother Jiang. Although her seat was still at the concubine level, her position was quite conspicuous.
Everyone below was extremely surprised. When Concubine Yang Yuan was under house arrest two months ago, they all thought that Concubine Yuan had completely fallen out of favor.
Now it seems that this is not the case?
But in their opinion, once the Imperial Noble Consort enters the palace next year, Concubine Yang Yuan's good days will be over.
The Imperial Astronomical Observatory planned the auspicious date for the enthronement ceremony of the Imperial Noble Consort to be at the end of the first month of the following year, but the family of the new Imperial Noble Consort has not yet been made public.
Xiao Yan knew that the imperial concubine who was about to be canonized was Concubine Yang Yuanfei, and the emperor even told him so himself.
Recalling his father's stern warning, his eyes flickered slightly, and there was an inexplicable complex emotion in his heart.
Yang Manyan, who was sitting not far away from him, couldn't help but glance at him a few times out of the corner of his eye.
After the unexpected lovemaking two months ago, she never saw the prince again.
I only vaguely heard that he left Beijing for Zhuozhou some time ago to provide disaster relief. He set an example by taking care of everything personally and was very much loved by local people and officials.
After three rounds of drinks, Yang Manyan had lost all interest and simply found an excuse to go to the back hall to rest.
But when she arrived at the back hall, she still felt upset, and took Su Yue, Dan Gui and others to stroll outside the hall.
As night falls, glazed palace lanterns are hung everywhere inside and outside the hall, dotted with stars like the Milky Way.
A cool breeze blew across the palace path, lifting the wide sleeves of her fragrant court gown with auspicious patterns, making a rustling sound.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard on the white marble steps, and a handsome young man came into her sight.
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