A surge of jealousy welled up in Hongyu's heart. She gripped the money pouch tightly, so tightly that the seam of the pouch ripped open and all the silver fell to the ground.
She quickly squatted down to pick it up, tears streaming down her face.
"Your Highness, let Jade pick it up." Jade quickly helped her up.
As she stood up, she wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and when she looked at the Ancient Locust King again, she smiled faintly.
"His Majesty is favoring his new concubine, and it is inconvenient to disturb him. Hongyu will take her leave now."
After saying this, Hongyu turned and left gracefully, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
It turned out that the Emperor was favoring Gulnaffee. Even though she was furious, she couldn't stop him, lest the court officials accuse her of being narrow-minded and intolerant of other concubines.
Well, the emperor will always have three thousand concubines in his harem. Only by becoming empress can she rise above all others, second only to the emperor.
But what is the King of the Ancient Locust Tree up to? She is a woman who has given birth, and she is far from being a young girl in her prime. Why would the King of the Ancient Locust Tree still be thinking about her?
Someone must be plotting against her, trying to send her to the Guli tribe.
Indeed, Hongyu's guess was pretty accurate.
When King Guhuai learned of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, he decided to continue the marriage alliance with the royal family. To this end, he brought his younger sister, Gulinafei, with him.
If Gulinafei gains the emperor's favor, the Guli tribe will have someone to rely on and will no longer be looked down upon by other tribes.
However, when he arrived in the capital, he learned that Hongyu had already entered the palace as a concubine, and the officials had recommended Bao Qianqiu as empress.
At this time, the Jiangnan region was also hit by floods, and the Emperor had no intention of receiving Gulinafei.
King Guhuai was anxious, but fortunately King Xiang gave him a suggestion: if King Guhuai asked to marry Hongyu again, King Xiang would help Gulinafei enter the harem. King Guhuai agreed to King Xiang's request.
King Xiang then hosted a banquet for the King and his sister, Gu Huai. After the emperor was thoroughly drunk, Gu Linafei presented rare treasures.
Gulnaffee doesn't have any treasures! The most valuable thing she owns is a strapless dress studded with pearls and gemstones.
Upon entering the Ziji Palace, Gulnaffee extinguished seven lamps, leaving only one candle.
In the dim light, Gulnazar removed her outer garment, revealing a shimmering strapless top. The strapless top was dazzling, and her dance moves were even more graceful, unrestrained, and flamboyant. This made the already dazed emperor even more intoxicated, losing all restraint from the banquet and letting Gulnazar do whatever she wanted.
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The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and shone brightly on the round table. Hongyu, however, lay slumped over the table with a worried expression.
She didn't sleep a wink all night, worried that the court officials would force the emperor to send her to the Guli tribe for a marriage alliance, which would be like cutting off her lifeline.
The door creaked open, and Emerald entered carrying a bowl. She handed the bowl to Red Jade and whispered a few words of advice:
[Your Majesty, you already ate one last night. Imperial Physician Tang specifically instructed you to eat as few as possible, lest...]
"If it weren't for a last resort, I wouldn't have degraded my own body." After saying this, Hongyu picked up a pill and put it in her mouth, then got up to change her clothes.
She had to dress up carefully, so that even if the emperor had a new favorite, she could maintain her original status and not be outshone by Gulnaffee.
She wore heavy makeup to conceal her haggard appearance, and as soon as she stepped out of the Jiaofang Palace, she was greeted by Eunuch Cai.
The usual friendly smile was gone from Eunuch Cai's face. He said coldly with a stern expression, "Noble Consort Yu, His Majesty is personally hosting a banquet for Prince Guhuai and Noble Consort Na today. Please come and accompany them."
Hongyu was in a panic. It seemed that Gulinafei was deeply favored by the Emperor and had already been made a Noble Consort.
She followed Eunuch Cai to the outside of the Ziji Palace and heard singing. The exotic singing was melodious and lingering, refreshing and intoxicating.
Gulinafei must be a stunning beauty who fascinates countless men.
At Eunuch Cai's gesture, she quietly entered the hall, where she saw a woman in red singing and dancing in the center of the hall. This must be Gulinafei.
It must be, because the jade ruyi hairpin that the Emperor made from blood jade has already found its owner!
Gulnaffee sat down with her legs spread apart, her red dress cascading down to reveal a pair of fair and delicate feet. Before anyone could take a second look, she suddenly turned around and stood up.
Tall and slender with a graceful figure, she twirled barefoot, her skirt billowing up to reveal her long, fair legs.
Putting aside Gulnazar's graceful figure, her deep and alluring eyes alone are enough to captivate anyone who makes eye contact with her.
Hongyu was overcome with jealousy when suddenly someone tugged at her sleeve. Turning around, she saw it was Kong Que'er.
She sat down beside Kong Que'er, opposite Prince Xiang, Prime Minister Kong, and Prince Gu Huai. Looking up at the hall, the Emperor was gazing at Gu Linafei with his chin resting on his hand.
After Gulnaffee finished her performance, she went straight to the Emperor's side and sat down. She picked up the wine pot and poured wine for the Emperor, not forgetting to act coquettishly and sweetly, "Your Majesty likes to watch Nafei dance, so Nafei dances for Your Majesty every day."
"Haha... I appreciate Nafi's kindness, but I've been busy with official duties lately. I'll definitely watch Nafi dance again once I'm done with my important business."
At this moment, King Guhuai stood up and said, “Your Majesty, although my Guli tribe is a small country, it is rich in mineral resources and can be considered wealthy. I heard that Jiangnan has been flooded, so I have brought 50,000 strings of cash to help the people of Jiangnan overcome their difficulties.”
Fifty thousand strings of cash? That's no small sum. The Emperor was delighted to hear this. If he could use those fifty thousand strings for disaster relief, he wouldn't have to painstakingly persuade his ministers to donate silver and grain.
The Emperor immediately nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, Prince Guhuai, but I wonder how I should express my gratitude?"
After exchanging glances with King Gu Huai, Prime Minister Kong, and King Xiang, King Gu Huai rose and walked to the center of the hall, looking directly at the Emperor and speaking frankly:
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