Song Xibai's mouth opened slightly, and she felt awkward for a moment.
I got so excited talking that I forgot to watch my words.
She coughed lightly and explained casually.
"It means that people have turned bad and their hearts have turned black. Let's not talk about that. What would Your Majesty like to eat for lunch? I rarely have time, so I'll cook for you."
She shook Yuan Shen's arm, a big smile spreading across her face.
Yuan Shen had no idea about turning evil or not; in that instant, his mind was filled with her bright smile.
"With so many imperial chefs, why do you need to do it yourself? You know I've never been that particular about food."
Yuan Shen is indeed like that.
It's fortunate that he wasn't the pampered, spoiled type; otherwise, he would have suffered a lot when he went south.
The two chatted idly and quickly finished strolling through the Imperial Garden before returning to Changqing Palace.
As soon as Song Xibai entered the room, she couldn't wait to change out of her heavy palace attire and put on her home clothes. She also took off her hair bun and simply tied it up as usual, inserting two pearl flowers.
Yuan Shen watched her bustling about, and in no time, she returned to the way he knew her.
"I heard the third brother and the others talking about their princess before. They often complained that she ignored everyone after having a child, and her personality changed. She only had eyes for the child. How come Qingqing seems different from them?"
He leaned back on the soft couch, talking intermittently.
Song Xibai glanced at him sideways.
"Of course people are different! Princess Wu and the others didn't marry out of love; their marriages were arranged! How can we be the same?"
As they were talking, Song Xibai ran up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and sat on his lap.
After the two joked around for a while, Yuan Shen brought up Zhao Jing's title.
Unlike princes, princesses' titles don't attract as much attention; at most, they are chosen for their auspicious meaning.
But Yuan Shen has few children, only a son and a daughter, so he naturally has to consider things carefully.
Finally, the title "Yan State" was adopted.
The imperial edict was issued the next day, and Song Xibai received it while holding her daughter.
Then, I received another wave of gifts.
By the end of November, on an auspicious day, Yuan Shen officially bestowed titles upon his concubines.
After such a long delay, everyone else was getting anxious. This announcement can be seen as a reassurance to all parties involved.
Song Xibai was granted the title of Consort Gui, followed by Guo Shi who was granted the title of Xiuyi, and then Du Chenghui who was promoted to Xiuyuan. As for the rest, Yuan Shen didn't have the patience to choose titles for them one by one, so he granted them all the titles of Jieyu.
Yuan Shen's favoritism is immediately apparent from his position.
There was only one Consort, Song Xibai. Only two of the Nine Concubines were appointed, both being the centrally ranked Xiu Yuan and Xiu Yi. The positions of Zhao Yi, Zhao Rong, and Zhao Yuan were all vacant, creating a significant gap between Song Xibai and the others.
Guo had secretly hoped to obtain the rank of imperial concubine, but this result dashed her hopes.
Looking at the imperial edict bestowing upon her the title of imperial concubine, Song Xibai couldn't help but mutter to herself.
Now she truly has become "Consort Xi".
What rank she is given is really not important to Song Xibai. The crown prince has already been decided. When Zhao Yan grows up safely, the court will probably urge her to become empress.
Hmph! We'll see who gets more anxious then.
Song Xibai handed the imperial edict to Wei Hong for safekeeping, and then ordered people to tidy up the various palaces so that others could move in.
There are several existing palaces, and they have been cleaned regularly since the concubines moved out.
Thinking that there would be fewer people in the palace in the future, Song Xibai simply called over Guo Xiuyi and the others and let them choose for themselves.
Du Xiuyuan chose Changchun Palace next to Changqing Palace, while Guo Xiuyi chose Yongshou Palace, which was closest to Yangxin Hall. As for the others, their ranks were too low to reside in the main hall.
Cao and Wu took the initiative to move into the side hall of Yanxi Palace, leaving only Feng Ying, who said she was afraid of being alone, and moved in with Du Xiuyuan.
Song Xibai didn't try to persuade them and let them go their own way.
Perhaps it was Xie Zhaoxun's death that frightened them, but they all became cautious and timid during this period of time. Even Guo Shi lost her former confidence when facing Song Xibai.
The move was quick, taking less than a day in total.
Starting the day after they moved, these people came to pay their respects to Song Xibai every morning.
At first, it seemed like the group had planned it all out, arriving just as Yuan Shen was about to leave.
Song Xibai already had a hard time waking up early, and she would always go back to sleep after dropping Yuan Shen off. But now that someone had arrived, she couldn't go back to sleep, so she had to force herself to come out and greet the guest.
A few days later, Yuan Shen came over to have lunch with her at noon. When he saw her yawning incessantly, his face suddenly darkened.
The next day, when they came again, Yuan Shen lingered for a while.
Yuan Shen always left in a hurry whenever they came, without even saying goodbye. Today, when she suddenly saw him, Guo was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward and squatted down.
"This humble servant greets Your Majesty."
Yuan Shen glanced at her, then raised his eyes, swept them over the others, and spoke in a deep voice.
"Who allowed you to come so early?"
His gaze was so cold and sharp, carrying a clear accusation, that Guo's heart skipped a beat.
Just as she was about to explain, she suddenly heard Du Xiuyuan behind her speak first.
"It was Sister Guo who told us to come at this time. She said things are different now than before, and if we are disrespectful to the Imperial Concubine, we will not have a good life in the future."
Guo said urgently, "You're talking nonsense!"
She was just thinking about coming over sooner so she could have a chance to see Yuan Shen; she never said anything like that!
"Your Majesty, I absolutely did not say such a thing! I swear!"
"Then I can swear an oath too!"
Du Xiuyuan also raised one hand.
"You little bitch, I never knew you could be so ruthless! What good would it do you to frame me?"
Guo was furious. If Yuan Shen hadn't been there, she would have pounced on him and scratched the face of the woman surnamed Hua.
Du Xiuyuan subconsciously shrank her neck, but her feet did not retreat.
"Shut up."
Yuan Shen's gaze swept between the two of them, his indifferent face revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"What kind of nonsense is this? How can you be worthy of being the ruler of this palace? Go back and reflect on your actions for a month!"
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"Demote Guo and Du to the rank of Jieyu and move them out of the main hall immediately."
In a single sentence, their ranks were directly demoted.
He didn't have time to ask or guess what they were thinking, so he simply gave them both equal punishment, which would also serve as a warning to others.
Sure enough, Guo's face turned deathly pale, and she began to tremble all over. The others were also frightened and knelt down at the same time.
Yuan Shen's imposing presence grew stronger each day, especially recently; his authority was palpable even without anger, making it difficult for anyone to look him directly in the eye. Perhaps the death of the fake emperor had eased his anxieties. In the eyes of the court officials, he was becoming more and more like the late emperor.
Guo was terrified and didn't even say a word in her defense.
Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Yuan Shen casually waved his hand.
"From now on, I will come again at the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM) to pay my respects."
The kneeling people responded in unison, "Yes."
Yuan Shen then strode away.
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