In Yikun Palace, Bai Zhi happily presented several new garments to Consort Nian. Upon seeing that they were the latest styles, Consort Nian touched them and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this newly produced silk from Jiangnan? It feels so smooth, the colors are so vibrant and bright, and the patterns are so beautiful..."
Bai Zhi smiled, picked up a small robe and handed it to Consort Nian, saying, "Your Highness has a good eye. These were all specially made for Your Highness by the best tailors whom General Nian hired from outside. They are no worse than those made by the embroiderers in the palace. The General knows that Your Highness likes them, so you see... he made one for Your Highness in various styles."
Consort Nian carefully examined the clothes in her hands, a smug smile playing on her lips. "My brother is still the best to me..."
Seeing that Consort Nian was happy, Bai Zhi turned around and waved. A palace maid carefully brought up a pair of flowerpot-shaped shoes.
Consort Nian's gaze was immediately drawn to the shoes, and she reached out to touch them, exclaiming in surprise, "These shoes..."
Bai Zhi pointed to the gemstones on the shoes and said to Consort Nian, "Your Majesty, don't underestimate these shoes. The trim is made entirely of rare pink pearls, and the gemstones on the surface are also rare bloodstone. Your Majesty, guess who gave these shoes to you?" Consort Nian casually replied, "Who else could it be but my brother?"
"It's His Majesty! His Majesty knew that General Nian had sent clothes to the Empress, so he arranged for the Imperial Household Department to prepare a pair of shoes to match the Empress's new clothes. It seems that His Majesty truly cherishes the Empress..." Upon hearing that it was the Emperor, Consort Nian took the shoes with surprise.
Consort Nian had assumed that the Ji family's affair would inevitably implicate her, and she was prepared to be reprimanded by the Emperor. However, to her surprise, the Emperor didn't reprimand her; in fact, he frequently sent her gifts, and now he had even specially sent her shoes. What pleased Consort Nian most was that Changchun Palace had repeatedly refused to let the Emperor in, clearly indicating that Lanqin and the Emperor were having a falling out, and the Emperor was gradually visiting Yikun Palace more often.
Consort Nian put down her things and instructed Bai Zhi, "Go...go invite the Emperor to Yikun Palace and say that Hongfu misses his father..." Bai Zhi smiled and was about to turn and leave when Consort Nian called her back.
"Bai Zhi, which dress do you think I should wear today?" Consort Nian asked.
Bai Zhi replied, "Your Highness is beautiful, you look good in anything! His Majesty will probably stay at our Yikun Palace tonight, this servant will go and make preparations..." After saying that, she ran off, leaving Consort Nian secretly delighted.
Jingren Palace
The Empress was writing in her study, but several times she lost focus and her writing wasn't satisfactory. A palace maid, seeing the scraps of paper scattered on the floor, silently went to tidy them up. Frustrated and irritable, the Empress grabbed her brush, crumpled up the few large characters she had just written, threw them on the ground, and angrily said, "Where did the Emperor go tonight?"
Lingxiu whispered, "At Yikun Palace, I heard that the young prince missed his father, so the Emperor went there to visit him..."
The Empress scoffed and sat down angrily, saying, "These are all excuses. What do children know? It's all the adults' instigation."
Lingxiu comforted her, "Your Majesty, it's just that there's been no movement from Changchun Palace lately."
The Empress shook her head: "I thought that after this incident, Consort Xi and Consort Nian would fight to the death, but I didn't expect that only Ji Shi would die in the end. The mistress of Changchun Palace is just having a moment of weakness and may not really be depressed. It has given that vile woman Nian an opportunity."
Lingxiu knew the Empress was displeased. Recently, rumors had been circulating in the palace that Changchun Palace had fallen out of favor and Yikun Palace was about to rise in rank. Even the servants were starting to think about how to curry favor with this Noble Consort. But in the Empress's eyes, all of this was no different from before; it was just another charade for vying for favor.
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