"Here! This set was specially chosen by me for Your Highness. I came here so early because I didn't want others to see me and cause trouble."
The set Zhou Qiongyue chose is indeed one of the best in her private collection. However, she was willing to give it to her good friend Princess Yongchun.
Just because Princess Yongchun was willing to be the one to hold the hairpin for her when she came of age, Zhou Qiongyue wanted to give her a precious set. After all, friendship is a two-way street.
Princess Yongchun saw the sincerity in Zhou Qiongyue's eyes and carefully accepted it. "Thank you very much, Yue'er. I like it very much."
Zhou Qiongyue was very happy to see her friend liked it, "That's good!"
After Zhou Qiongyue sent the makeup out, she could enjoy the palace breakfast leisurely. She still liked the food in the palace very much. After all, it was made by the imperial chef. It was not as delicious as the food outside, but it was still good.
Perhaps Princess Yongchun, who has been eating this food since she was a child, would not think so. It's just like when you were a child, you always thought the food at your neighbor's house was tastier.
After Zhou Qiongyue and Princess Yongchun finished their breakfast and chatted for a while, people started to come and add makeup. Zhou Qiongyue saw that more and more ladies from prominent families were coming, so it was inevitable that some people would gather around her.
After all, Zhou Qiongyue's status is indeed more noble now than before, and many people want to make friends with her.
However, Zhou Qiongyue didn't want to have any deep interactions with these people. She had to think for a long time before saying anything, which made her feel very tired.
So Zhou Qiongyue stayed for a while, told Princess Yongchun, found an excuse not to pay her respects to the Queen Mother when she entered the palace, and then slipped away.
When Zhou Qiongyue arrived at the Queen's aunt's place, the Queen had just sent away the virtuous concubine. When she saw her niece whom she hadn't seen for a few days, her tired mood instantly improved a lot.
Before Zhou Qiongyue could even salute, the Queen extended her hand and beckoned her to sit over, "Yue'er is here!"
Zhou Qiongyue simply bowed before sitting next to Aunt Queen. "Aunt Queen, have you been busy lately?"
"Well, a little bit. Yongchun is getting married, and Concubine Xian has been coming here more often recently." Although the Queen could understand Concubine Xian's motherly concerns, she came here too often. She was almost living in her Kunyun Palace.
Zhou Qiongyue had no other choice in this matter. In name, Yongchun was also her aunt's daughter. Although the virtuous concubine could make the decision on many matters, the most important ones still had to be decided by her aunt.
So Zhou Qiongyue could only offer dry comfort, "Then Aunt, just hold on for one more day, and everything will be fine when Yongchun gets married tomorrow."
"Why are you here at this time?" The Queen certainly knew that today was the day when Yongchun would add makeup. It was probably very lively there at Yongchun's place. Why did this girl come to her place instead of playing there?
Zhou Qiongyue took the hot tea handed to her by the waiter and smiled with great satisfaction, "There are too many people at Yongchun's place, so I came to my aunt's place to hide away some peace and quiet."
"You're already a princess, yet you're still so lazy." The queen was preaching, but her eyes were full of indulgence and pampering.
Zhou Qiongyue was now completely relaxed at her aunt's place. She sat down and leaned back in her chair, without any of the noble manners or anything like that. Zhou Qiongyue just chatted with her aunt, "It's mainly because I wasn't familiar with them before, and suddenly they were so enthusiastic towards me, it was quite overwhelming."
"You..." The queen was only glad at this moment that her niece did not marry into the royal family, otherwise, with her current situation, she would probably be plotted against to the point of being devoured.
The Queen sincerely felt that the current situation was pretty good. It seemed that she would have to ask her elder brother to be nicer to Fu'an in the future.
Zhou Qiongyue looked at the queen coquettishly, "Aunt, you're not busy at noon, are you? Can I have lunch here before leaving the palace?"
"How could I possibly need you for a meal? Everything that needs to be arranged for Yongchun's wedding has been completed these days. I don't have anything else to do today, so you can stay here until the palace gates are unlocked, and then leave."
Now that Zhou Qiongyue has grown up, the Queen can no longer let Yue'er stay in the palace, which she feels quite regretful about.
Yuan Bohua was not in Yuan'an, and Zhou Qiongyue had the final say in the palace, so she was not in a hurry to go back. "Okay, I'll eat and drink at my aunt's place and leave the palace later."
Yuan Bohua: Even if I am in Yuan'an, the princess has the final say in the palace.
Zhou Qiongyue didn't stay in the Queen's Palace for long, as the Second Prince's wife Duan Jianing and concubine Xie Zixin also came.
Zhou Qiongyue: If I had known earlier, I would have just said hello and left. Seeing someone I don’t like ruins my good mood.
After Duan Jianing and Xie Zixin paid their respects, the Queen smiled and asked them to sit down. However, the Queen was even more intimate with Duan Jianing. She personally took Duan Jianing's hand and asked her to sit on the other side of her.
Xie Zixin did not receive this treatment.
Xie Zixin also hated the queen in her heart. This old witch had favored Zhou Qiongyue, the concubine, in her previous life. Now that she was a concubine in this life, she fell in love with Duan Jianing, the main wife.
Anyway, I just don't like her! Xie Zixin lowered her head, hiding the unwillingness in her eyes.
Duan Jianing nodded at Zhou Qiongyue before jokingly saying, "Since I didn't see my cousin at the Imperial Sister's place, I knew she had gone to hide at the Queen Mother's place."
Zhou Qiongyue cooperated with Duan Jianing, she also hugged the Queen Aunt's arm and acted coquettishly, "I thought I could have the Queen Aunt all to myself! But then my second cousin's wife came, it seems that the Queen Aunt is still popular!"
Xie Zixin was even more dissatisfied when she heard Zhou Qiongyue's words. She had clearly come with Duan Jianing. Just because she was a concubine, did she not deserve a name?
But now Zhou Qiongyue is the prince's consort, and she is just a concubine of the prince, so she really has no right to speak here.
Thinking of this, Xie Zixin's face turned even paler. For the first time, she deeply felt the difference in status. She also realized what she had lost by losing her position as the queen.
The more Xie Zixin understood the difference in status, the clearer she thought about it, and the more she hated Duan Jianing for taking away her position as the queen.
Now in Xie Zixin's mind, Duan Jianing has surpassed Zhou Qiongyue and become the number one on her enemies list.
In Xie Zixin's logic, Zhou Qiongyue at least gave up the Second Prince because she was afraid of her. And Duan Jianing not only dared to compete with her, but also won. How could she not hate him!
The Queen and the other three didn't notice Xie Zixin's expression. It could be said that they didn't care! In this era, women who were concubines, even if they wanted to make trouble, only had a small piece of land in the backyard, and they couldn't make any waves at all.
After that, the Queen, Zhou Qiongyue and Duan Jianing all enjoyed the lunch very well, except for Xie Zixin who was sulking.
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