Azi nodded and sighed, "I heard that the Emperor had an Empress before him."
Upon hearing this, Qinghe was momentarily at a loss for words. The Emperor had said that it was forbidden to mention the deposed Empress in front of the Empress. What should she say?
After much deliberation, she had no choice but to change the subject: "Your Majesty, it has been snowing outside for several days, but the snow has stopped now. Would Your Majesty like to go out and take a look?"
Upon hearing this, Azi knew she wouldn't get any more information, so she could only nod. Wearing a light pink winter coat with a snow-white, fluffy fox fur collar, and then draped in a snow-white fox fur cloak, Azi looked incredibly delicate and beautiful.
She still wore her hair in a girlish bun, with long, black hair hanging down to her hips and swaying on her snow-white cloak like seaweed—it was incredibly beautiful.
Her round head was styled in a single bun, which was very lively and playful. An exquisite phoenix hairpin designed by Emperor Jingcheng himself was inserted on it. A precious crystal sparkled at the phoenix eye and three agate tassels hung down from the phoenix mouth. They swayed with the girl's graceful steps, making her look very beautiful.
Qinghe is skillful, and this hairstyle matches Azi very well. The hair ornaments she uses are mainly phoenix hairpins, decorated with other small floral hairpins. They do not overshadow the phoenix's brilliance, but instead make the phoenix appear even more graceful and ready to spread its wings.
Azi was naturally beautiful, with bright red lips, fair skin, and striking features. She possessed a charming and exotic beauty. A group of palace maids were dazzled by her beauty and blushed.
Upon seeing this, the group of eunuchs immediately lowered their heads, staring intently at the tips of their shoes. If the emperor found out, they would be doomed.
Qinghe followed Azi out of the bedchamber, watching her walk out without hesitation, and wondered what she was going to do: "Your Highness, are you going to see the Emperor?"
Azi shook her head: "I'm feeling a bit dizzy from sleeping. I want to go out for a walk and see the snow."
Upon hearing this, Qinghe exchanged a glance with Zheng San, who immediately ran towards the study, but was stopped by Azi: "Zheng San, where are you going?"
Zheng San immediately knelt down, embarrassed by being caught red-handed: "Your Majesty, this servant only went to get an umbrella. It's hard to guarantee that it won't snow later when Your Majesty goes out."
Qinghe slightly raised her eyelids; this Zheng San was quite clever.
Azi thought he was going to find Di Jingcheng, but she just wanted to walk around by herself. She was getting a little annoyed because she had been stuck with Di Jingcheng every day.
Especially the dream she just had, which changed her mindset from wanting to find a man when she first got up, made her feel that she needed to explore some things on her own.
"Get the umbrella and come over here, let's go first." Azi knew he would go to find Di Jingcheng, but she could go ahead first.
After saying that, she left with Qinghe and eight other palace maids.
She stepped out of the Qian Yuan Palace, breathing in the cold, dry air. She held a hand warmer that Emperor Jingcheng had specially ordered to be made. Her small face was mostly hidden by the fluffy collar, and her big eyes looked around.
"Qinghe, why won't you tell me about that empress?" Azi suddenly spoke, and the cold air instantly froze.
Qinghe knelt down with a thud, followed by the palace maids and eunuchs who also knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, all we know is that he has been brought to justice and is a criminal of Xijing. We dare not mention him in front of Your Majesty." Qinghe could only say this half-truthfully, her expression extremely sincere, yet also showing her embarrassment.
Seeing her like this, Azi was somewhat convinced by her story: "You all get up first. Let's keep going."
Azi had already memorized the way to the Imperial Garden. When the group arrived at the Imperial Garden, they heard laughter from some people.
Azi approached with longing, as if her life had revolved solely around Di Jingcheng since arriving here. He had taken over her entire life, and she missed the lively days in the village.
As she approached, she saw many people playing in the snow, something she had never seen before, and her mood improved: "What are Qinghe and the others doing?"
“Your Highness, they’re building a snowman, they’re having a snowball fight over there, and people are ice skating on the lake,” Qinghe explained with great interest.
"Isn't the palace always strictly regulated? How could the Emperor allow them to play around like this?" Azi was a little puzzled. She thought that what she encountered in the plum garden that day was already quite casual.
Qinghe chuckled, "Your Majesty, although the Emperor may seem aloof, he has always permitted these kinds of activities, and Consort Shu has also given her permission."
"Consort Shu?" Azi wondered, is she some very important person?
Qinghe realized Azi's thoughts and immediately knew she had said the wrong thing. She quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I misspoke."
Azi saw her kneeling down again and said helplessly, "Why do you kneel down all the time? Get up."
Qinghe got up and continued walking with her. Consort Shu and several other concubines were chatting and laughing in the pavilion ahead. Some of the concubines were playing in the snow and ice skating with eunuchs and maids, which was quite lively.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor did not grant Consort Shu any special privileges. It’s just that after the Empress was deposed and executed, the concubines in the harem naturally respected Consort Shu, who had the highest status, so…” Qinghe explained, and quietly introduced the identities of the people in the pavilion to her.
Ah Zi understood perfectly. It wasn't hard to understand; people always tend to stick together for warmth, after all, for them, they were the ones who were threatening them right now.
In the pavilion, Consort Shu, Noble Lady Li, Beauty Liu, and two concubines who often sat drinking tea and chatting, playing in the snow, occasionally talking about the eccentricities of some official's wife, and then lamenting about the deposed empress and the deposed virtuous concubine... Gradually, they started talking about the women the emperor had recently brought into the palace.
Consort Li was clearly very dissatisfied with the new empress the emperor had brought into the palace. While enjoying the snacks, she was also jealous, and even the sweet snacks could not suppress her sourness.
"That emperor is really something. He doesn't favor the beautiful women in his harem, but instead finds a commoner from outside the palace."
Consort Liu pouted, her face full of bitterness and dissatisfaction: "Yes, how could our Emperor have fallen for her? Let's see how long she can be so smug. Once the Emperor gets tired of her, hmph." After she finished speaking, she picked up a piece of jujube paste cake and took a big bite, venting her dissatisfaction.
Consort Shu smiled gently, displaying the utmost virtue: "My two sisters, since we all serve the Emperor together, we are all sisters. We will inevitably have to get along in the future, so it would be better to be kind to each other."
Consort Liu pursed her lips and remained silent, while Consort Li snorted twice: "Only Consort Shu is so magnanimous and virtuous. The Emperor treats you very differently. Now that woman has arrived, the Emperor doesn't even care about your feelings anymore. She is truly a femme fatale."
Consort Shu gave an awkward laugh, her face quickly regaining its composure, but inwardly she utterly despised the two people before her. Stupid as pigs, utterly brainless—that was the most fitting description of them. And they dared to openly accuse the Emperor of disrespecting her; weren't they just trying to embarrass her?
"Look at what my sister is saying. It's not something I can control who the Emperor likes. All I can do is manage the harem well for the Emperor and get along well with all the sisters. If the Emperor is tired, prepare some tonics for him. I don't ask for anything else. I only pray that the Emperor is healthy and that the harem is harmonious."
Consort Shu spoke with such "sincere emotion" that she even wiped her eyes with a handkerchief afterward. The concubines and maids beside her were genuinely fooled by her "sincere emotion."
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