As the mistress and servant locked eyes, the urging voices of the palace maids serving Lady Zhou could already be heard outside.
Huo Qinghe slowly stood up, meeting Lü Huai's gaze: "Let's go."
Consort Zhou is currently under house arrest; if she were to do anything further, she would be courting death.
But if Consort Zhou really wanted to do something, she actually couldn't resist it, whether it was for the sake of appearances or for her own benefit.
When Huo Qinghe went outside, the palace maid gave her a different explanation.
“Our lady has long wanted to have a private chat with Madam Huo, but since you haven’t come to pay your respects much lately, our lady had no choice but to take the initiative to do so.”
That's nonsense, you're blatantly lying.
Hearing this, Lüyun and the others were so angry that their faces turned red. Since their mistress entered the palace, she had been going to pay her respects to Lady Zhou in the main hall. It was clear that Lady Zhou in the main hall had hurt her face and did not want to see anyone.
My wife is never there.
Now they're twisting the truth and making it sound like their own wife is being disrespectful and negligent.
The maids all understood, but Huo Qinghe herself didn't even change her expression.
"It wouldn't be good to keep Madam Zhou waiting, but since she's currently under house arrest, I'm afraid I can only speak to her from outside. But that's better than not being able to see her at all, isn't it?"
The palace maid probably didn't expect her to refute, especially in such a soft and gentle tone.
She naturally couldn't disobey her master's wishes, so she could only bow and say, "Yes, Madam Huo, this way please."
Huo Qinghe didn't say anything more. She had only gone to bring back His Majesty's reward.
Consort Zhou naturally dared not touch the things His Majesty had bestowed upon her; when Huo Qinghe arrived, those things were still placed under the eaves outside the main hall.
There were eunuchs guarding both sides of the main hall. The palace maids who served Consort Zhou could come and go, but Consort Zhou herself could not step out of the main hall.
Huo Qinghe also stopped outside the main hall.
Consort Zhou was standing under the latticed window of the main hall. She was still wearing a veil, and although she was under house arrest, she was still dressed in gorgeous clothes and adorned with jewels. When she saw Huo Qinghe stop, a look of resentment flashed in her eyes.
If it weren't for the Huo family, she wouldn't have been confined to her quarters.
The Huo family, indeed, brought her a lot of trouble.
Whether it's the one at Xianfu Palace or the little Huo in front of me, they are both extremely disgusting.
She only punished a palace maid. It was nothing more than everyone taking a jab at her when the Empress Dowager wasn't in the palace. She remembered every single one of them.
The Empress Dowager had been worshipping Buddha for many days, and she had been neglected in the palace. Even while she was confined, the imperial kitchen sent her river delicacies every day without fail, so her face had not recovered for a long time.
The Emperor showed no reaction whatsoever to Consort Chi's decision to confine her to her quarters, as if he knew nothing about it, which was what saddened Consort Zhou the most.
In addition, having heard that the Emperor had summoned Xiao Huo last night, Consort Zhou was naturally extremely resentful. Upon learning that Xiao Huo had returned to Yanliang Pavilion, the resentment she had been holding back all night was hard to suppress.
When they heard that the emperor had sent a reward, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
This led to Consort Zhou summoning Huo Qinghe even while under house arrest.
But at this moment, Consort Zhou's anger had subsided somewhat. She was not a fool and understood the principle of aggravating the crime.
She stared intently at Huo Qinghe's face, which bore no resemblance to that of the Huo family of Xianfu Palace, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey: "Has Consort Huo just returned from Xianfu Palace?"
The two were separated by a latticed window, and Huo Qinghe spoke softly.
Consort Zhou suddenly laughed: "You're quite a good dog."
That was really an extremely harsh insult.
Huo Qinghe remained calm, her head bowed, not looking at Consort Zhou. At this moment, she had only one thought: how to provoke Consort Zhou.
Xiao Huo didn't argue at all, or even move an inch, which naturally made Consort Zhou feel a little bored. Her face was unbearably itchy, and she pursed her lips, feeling only resentment in her heart.
After a while, Consort Zhou suddenly closed the lattice window, causing a gust of wind to ruffle her hair.
Huo Qinghe raised her hand: "Take His Majesty's reward back with you."
Although Consort Zhou was foolish, she wasn't completely foolish; at least she knew that she was under house arrest.
Aside from hearing some unpleasant words, Huo Qinghe didn't experience anything else on this trip.
It would be strange if there was nothing else to it; Huo Qinghe would remember every hurtful word and would definitely get her revenge later.
Who knows who the good dog is?
Upon returning to Yanliang Pavilion, Huo Qinghe roughly reviewed the Emperor's rewards, which were all fairly standard. She had Green Locust and the others put the jewelry and other items into her dressing box, as they were all better than the ones she had brought into the palace.
She looked at it carefully and found that there was indeed no special extra reward.
However, she didn't say much to the official last night...
As Huo Qinghe was pondering this, Green Cloud seemed to have discovered something: "The Imperial Household Department is certainly looking for good luck; the rewards they sent as instructed were all in pairs."
Seeing this, Granny Wang scolded her, "You fool. These rewards all come from the government's private treasury, not from the Imperial Household Department. Didn't you see that those pieces of jewelry don't have the Imperial Household Department's seal?"
Huo Qinghe looked in the direction of the sound and found that, indeed, both the fabric and the jewelry seemed to be in pairs.
"As expected of Granny Wang, she is truly knowledgeable and experienced." Huo Qinghe's words were sincere.
She had been cautious and prudent in the Huo family for many years, and her insight and knowledge were indeed inferior to others. This might be true for now, but in the long run, she might reveal her shortcomings.
But none of that is urgent.
Huo Qinghe thought of something and said to Granny Wang, "Granny, you have more connections in the Imperial Household Department than I do. I'll have to trouble you to find something for me."
Green Locust looked up at the sound, her heart skipped a beat.
Wang Mama and Lüyun are here right now.
She had thought that her mistress keeping her on was a sign of her trust in her...
Huo Qinghe smiled gently: "I'd like to trouble you to find a pipa, so I can relieve my boredom in my spare time."
Green Locust secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but dared not slack off.
She's not the only one serving her; to become her confidante, one must be even more capable.
Wang Mama happily agreed to the order.
Servants are always afraid that their masters won't give them tasks. Having tasks means that the master is willing to value you.
Finding a pipa is not a difficult task, but whether it is good or bad is another matter.
"My lady is truly talented..." Green Cloud, not to be outdone, chimed in with her own praise.
Huo Qinghe took all of this in, and she still smiled: "I don't know how to play the pipa, I just play it for fun."
That's the truth. She's hardly ever played any musical instruments, though she used to do a lot of needlework.
She was only thinking about the pipa that had been placed next to the antique shelf in the west warm pavilion last night.
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