Whether the Emperor is favoring a new concubine or reminiscing about an old one, it has nothing to do with Consort Zhou, who entered the palace at a moderate pace.
Once her face recovered, she forgot the pain. Apart from her daily visits to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace, she spent all her time figuring out how to get close to the Emperor.
However, due to the busy affairs of the previous dynasty, the emperor did not like to enter the inner palace during the day, so she naturally had no way to use all her skills.
However, since the Emperor doesn't enter the harem, she will take the initiative to find him.
Especially after seeing that the Emperor had summoned Xiao Huo last night and sent many gifts today, others did not know what the Emperor had given as gifts, but it was not easy to keep it from Consort Zhou in the main hall of Yanxi Palace.
Especially since the goods sent from Jinyang would inevitably pass through the main hall of Yanxi Palace, it was even more impossible to keep it a secret.
However, Consort Zhou could only make out what kind of flowers the Emperor had sent. There were only so many fresh flowers available at this time of year, but just thinking about it made Consort Zhou feel uncomfortable all over.
Lin Jieyu was already being promoted to the rank of Consort, and the Emperor had bestowed upon her a title; it seemed that Consort Lin was about to surpass her.
Right now, even that scoundrel Xiao Huo is frequently receiving rewards from the officials.
Once a woman enters the palace, what does her status or position matter but the emperor's favor?
Instead of looking down on others' family background, one should look at how much favor one receives in return.
Consort Zhou, with her sensitive status, understood this better than anyone. It was precisely because of this that she felt even more uneasy.
...
Huo Qinghe heard around noon that Consort Zhou had gone out of the main hall.
"Didn't she just return from Cining Palace this morning? Where is she going now?"
It was Green Cloud who said this; that girl really has a sharp tongue.
He Yunzhong was the one who inquired about this news, and it was he who discovered that there were sneaky eunuchs peeking around outside their Yanliang Pavilion.
It was obvious that Consort Zhou had sent someone to see what the Emperor had bestowed upon them.
He Yunzhong lowered his head and replied, "It seems that Zhou Niangzi's small kitchen has been quite lively. It looks like she's making some food, probably heading to the Emperor."
Huo Qinghe lowered her head and picked up a slice of lotus root with her chopsticks: "This stir-fried lotus root is quite refreshing at this time of year. I'd like to have lotus leaf rice for dinner. Take some silver and go to the imperial kitchen to give them a heads-up."
Green Locust agreed.
He Yunzhong looked up and stole a glance, not understanding Huo Qinghe's meaning.
Huo Qinghe waved her hand: "I understand, you can go now. Keep an eye on things, but if it has nothing to do with Wei, you don't need to worry too much."
He Yunzhong is more capable of gathering information than Baosheng, but he is too diligent and capable, keeping too close a watch on the main hall. He might anger Consort Zhou and cause trouble instead.
After moving into Yanliang Pavilion, Huo Qinghe was unusually spared almost no trouble from Consort Zhou. However, given Consort Zhou's behavior over the past two months, Huo Qinghe had to be on guard.
He Yunzhong finally understood what his wife meant, and he kowtowed, saying, "This servant was negligent, this servant understands."
Huo Qinghe didn't reprimand him further and waved him away.
"The Empress Dowager's birthday is just around the corner, so let's just wait patiently. My rank is low now, so I don't need to stand out too much. I just need to make sure I don't make any mistakes with the birthday gifts for the Empress Dowager."
She gave him another word of advice as she picked up her chopsticks again.
The maids and servants all took note of it.
The birthday gift Huo Qinghe prepared for the Empress Dowager was a Buddhist scripture that she had personally copied; she didn't have anything particularly valuable to offer.
Besides copying Buddhist scriptures by hand, Huo Qinghe also picked up needlework again, embroidering a hundred longevity patterns on fabric bestowed by the Empress. These were the most flawless pieces.
However, since it was a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager, it naturally had to be made exquisite and meticulous.
So even after she finished embroidering the "Hundred Longevity Characters" picture, Huo Qinghe still personally checked it to make sure there were no extra threads or needles left behind.
If anything goes wrong, Huo Qinghe will truly deserve to die.
Furthermore, it seems that Consort Zhou did meet the Emperor in the main hall, but Huo Qinghe naturally had no idea what the situation was.
Just by looking at how the Emperor chose Consort Zhou that night, we can glean some information.
With the Empress Dowager's birthday approaching, the Emperor was probably still considering her feelings.
Every other day or two, Zhou Pin's nameplate would still be drawn.
In the days leading up to the Empress Dowager's birthday, Consort Zhou was trembling.
If there were any greetings during the ceremony, the entire palace would probably be watching how Consort Zhou would swagger around.
The weather was excellent on the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday.
The emperor specially suspended court for a day, allowing all officials to enjoy themselves together.
Early in the morning, the Emperor and Empress Xue went out of the palace to pray for the Empress Dowager, while the concubines waited for the Emperor and Empress Xue to return to the palace so that they could go to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace to celebrate her birthday.
When the Emperor and Empress Xue were not in the palace, Consort Chi and Consort Zhou served the Empress Dowager.
Apart from Consort Ming, who was heavily pregnant, all the other concubines in the palace had arrived today.
When the Emperor and Empress Xue arrived at Cining Palace, the concubines surrounded the Empress Dowager to wish her a happy birthday, along with the eldest princess and the eldest prince. It was said that the second prince had caught a cold these past two days, so he was not brought out by Consort Chi.
However, the Empress Dowager seemed to be in a very good mood today, as the smile on her face was constant and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were more obvious.
Although most people had smiles on their faces, there were always some whose smiles didn't seem very genuine.
For example, Huo Yiyun, who was released from confinement for a day because of the Empress Dowager's birthday, and Cao Pin, who was sitting next to Zhou Pin.
Huo Yiyun was dissatisfied because of the strange looks from others, while Consort Cao was naturally upset because of Consort Zhou's lawlessness today.
She always sat in front of that wretched Consort Zhou at the palace banquets. She and Consort Zhou were both consorts, but she was a former concubine from the Prince's residence, while that wretched Consort Zhou had only been in the palace for a short time.
That vile Consort Zhou, relying on the Empress Dowager's favor, brazenly moved up to sit in front of her.
After the child in her womb was born, Consort Cao silently clenched her teeth.
Huo Qinghe sat next to Consort Xie again. As soon as she sat down, while the people at the head of the table were talking animatedly, Consort Xie took the opportunity of drinking tea to ask Huo Qinghe what birthday gift she had prepared for the Empress Dowager.
The maids behind the concubines were carrying the birthday gifts for the Empress Dowager, which gave some indication of their status.
Huo Qinghe sensed the uncertainty in Consort Xie's tone. She hesitated for a second before replying, "I didn't know what to give the Empress Dowager, so I embroidered some auspicious items."
Consort Xie seemed not to be listening attentively: "I presented a statue of Guanyin, but just now I noticed that Consort Ruan also seemed to be preparing a Guanyin statue..."
That explains it.
Huo Qinghe reassured her, "Please don't worry, Your Highness. The concubines didn't coordinate their gifts, and some of them are quite similar. If Your Highness is worried right now, I should be the one worrying that I won't be able to present them well. Even if they are indeed similar, they are still auspicious symbols of pairs."
Consort Xie stole a glance at Huo Qinghe: "With your words, I feel much more at ease, for some reason."
She was kind to everyone, but she was different when she was with Xiao Huo, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
However, Consort Xie knew in her heart that Xiao Huo was definitely not as stupid and timid as the rumors suggested.
At noon, a eunuch finally came in to announce the arrival of the guests.
Consort Chi glanced at him, waved her hand, and then stood up respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the luncheon has been prepared in the Chuigong Hall. Please move to the Chuigong Hall with His Majesty and the Empress."
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