Chapter 146 A near miss
"My Lady, she is clearly imitating me on purpose!"
Inside Zhaohua Palace, Li Liangren knelt in the center of the hall, pointing at another person sitting on the seat, Zhou Liangren, who was wearing a lake green short jacket, and cried bitterly.
Zhou Liangren was pointed at by her and glared back, unwilling to be outdone. "What do you mean by learning or not? Are you the only one who can use the things in the palace? Ermine fur cloaks are worn by not only the ladies in the palace, but also the young ladies in the boudoirs outside. Do you think everyone should imitate you?"
Li Liangren cried even harder. "Don't confuse right and wrong. Who said ermine fur cloaks are unacceptable? It's obvious. Last time, when Concubine Song asked what style of winter clothing we wanted, I suggested a row of pearls on the fringe of the cloak. How come yours has one too? The rest of my sisters have cloaks in red and green, but why do you have a pink brocade ermine fur fringe like me?"
Li Liangren finished a long string of words while crying, almost out of breath. After taking a few breaths, she looked at Jiang Yingli in the main seat with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, she has learned from me and refused to admit it. She is even mean to me. Your Majesty, you must make the decision for me."
Jiang Yingli looked at the kneeling Li Liangren and felt a headache.
If she remembered correctly, it was these two who argued about not being polite when meeting people in Concubine Song's palace last time.
However, last time it was Zhou Liangren who accused Li Liangren, saying that Li Liangren did not greet her, and Li Liangren said that he did not see her.
"Well, it's just a cloak. Luckily, the Clothing Department made two identical ones due to an oversight. It's just the same. You two will look beautiful in your own way. Keeping warm is the most important thing."
Li Liangren continued to cry: "My Lady, I don't want to wear the same clothes as others."
Zhou Liangren was so angry that he stood up from his seat and knelt beside her: "If you don't like to wear it, then don't wear it. Do you want the queen to take my clothes?
After saying this, Zhou Liangren bowed to Jiang Yingli and said, "Your Highness, Concubine Yu, please understand. I never copied her. I only said I wanted a pink cloak, but the one they sent me was the same as Li Liangren's, and I even disliked it."
Li Liangren was so angry at these words that he pointed at Zhou Liangren and kept calling him "you" for a long time.
Jiang Yingli patted the table beside her, signaling them to be quiet. "Mr. Li, please stop crying. In the palace, not everyone who cries is in the right. The palace maids in the Imperial Household Department have all the records. If we check them out, we'll know who asked for the pink brocade argentén fur cloak first."
When Jiang Yingli said this, Li Liangren and Zhou Liangren looked at each other, and their momentum to seek justice weakened a little.
The other concubines sat in their seats and watched the fun. Concubine Wang glanced at the two of them and said leisurely:
"Your Highness, please don't bother with them. You don't know that they live across from each other. When things are going well, they eat from the same bowl, but when things are not going well, they are ready to fight. I think it's likely that they agreed to wear the same clothes when they were on good terms, but now they have a falling out and come to complain."
The other concubines covered their mouths and laughed, and Li Liangren and Zhou Liangren were embarrassed.
Jiang Yingli glanced speechlessly at the two people below, who had their heads turned to the side, and asked, "What Lady Wang just said, is it true? It's not something you learned from others. You two discussed it among yourselves and then turned your back on me."
The two of them nodded hesitantly, and Jiang Yingli immediately understood what was going on.
"Mr. Li, Ms. Zhou, this is a morning meeting, a place for you sisters to discuss important matters. If you two have a conflict, just argue behind closed doors. Why do you always have to bring it to court?"
Li Liangren glanced at Zhou Liangren, snorted, and bowed to Jiang Yingli: "I know I was wrong."
Mrs. Zhou also bowed and said, "I know I was wrong."
Jiang Yingli sat in the main seat and rubbed her forehead.
No wonder Concubine Song looked much more mature as soon as she took office. She was busy with the New Year's palace banquet in private, and had to organize morning meetings during the day to listen to the quarrels between the two sisters.
I really don't know how Your Majesty feels when you listen to a bunch of ministers talking nonsense in the Government Hall every day.
"Alright, everyone, get up. Since this has come to court, I'm going to punish you, you two liars. This is unbecoming."
Zhou Liangren drooped his eyelids, looking as if he accepted the punishment. Li Liangren asked anxiously, "How will the Queen punish me?"
"Lianqiao, go get a small round stool."
Lian Qiao moved very quickly and brought the small round stool and asked Jiang Yingli to show her.
Jiang Yingli glanced at the far right of the concubines' seats, gestured for her where to put them, and then said to Li Liangren and Zhou Liangren: "You two, stand on them. If Li Liangren falls first, Zhou Liangren will be punished by making one less spring dress. If Zhou Liangren falls, Li Liangren will be punished by making one less spring dress."
When Li Liangren and Zhou Liangren heard this, they were stunned.
The other concubines were all happy to watch the fun.
Spring is a good time to dress up, and these two people in the palace love dressing up the most.
Making one less spring dress may sound like a small matter, but in reality it is like taking their lives.
Your Majesty really knows how to strike the snake at its most vulnerable part.
"Hurry up and get on." Jiang Yingli glanced at the round stool and urged them.
Li Liangren and Zhou Liangren reluctantly stood up and stood on the short round stool.
In winter, people wear thick clothes, and it is quite stressful for two people to stand on the small round stool. They can only hold on tightly to ensure that they do not fall.
Thinking of their spring clothes for next year, Li Liangren and Zhou Cairen suppressed their frustration and hugged each other tightly, secretly warning: "If you dare to fall, you will die!"
The hall was finally quiet, and Li Liangren and Zhou Cairen were forced to hug each other tightly in front of the crowd on the right.
Jiang Yingli told the others about the year-end palace banquet: "This time, just like last time, the concubines will be allowed to see their families. You should prepare in advance. But there's no need to rush this time. I've already applied for an extra quarter of an hour for you."
Although she hadn't told His Majesty about this matter and asked for his permission, His Majesty wouldn't refuse. She had already acted first and asked His Majesty later. If His Majesty didn't allow it, wouldn't she lose face?
When the concubines heard that they could spend more time with their families, they were deeply moved.
On second thought, Concubine Yu had no family members to visit her in the palace, but she still cared about them.
Your Majesty is so kind.
Before they entered the palace, they had all heard rumors about the previous emperor's harem. To put it bluntly, they entered the palace with the mentality of living one more day is one more day.
Although His Majesty doesn't like to pay attention to them, after all, isn't the purpose of competing for favor to make their lives easier? As long as the Empress is around, they can live a stable life, so what is there to compete for?
Besides, since no one was favored, no one could laugh at anyone else. Everyone saw clearly that vying for favor was useless, and the palace was in peace.
After Su's passing, things will only become more peaceful.
Moreover, receiving the blessing of the Queen is much better than receiving the blessing of His Majesty.
Because the emperor's mood is fickle, even if you have received the queen's blessing, it may disappear one day. But as long as you don't make the queen angry, the queen's blessing will always be there.
All the concubines stood up in unison and bowed to Jiang Yingli with sincere respect: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
Jiang Yingli looked at the concubines below and smiled with relief.
It seems that her prayers were useful.
When His Majesty was selecting the concubines, she asked His Majesty to have a better eye and choose only kind people, or those who were a little scheming and vicious, but not too smart.
All were in line with her prayers.
Chen Zhuxin and Concubine Song are smart, but they are kind.
Su Qingrong and Lu Cairen are troublemakers, but they are both stupid and have brought disaster upon themselves.
It was a safe journey along the way.
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