Chapter 18 Chapter 18 My sister is so awesome.
However, Li Shuyao still didn't dare to relax at all. As soon as she walked out of the gate of the compound, her face was tense and her eyes were extremely alert. She followed Qingyao and walked with her head down.
We soon arrived at the Cining Palace.
The palace maids of Cining Palace had already heard the news. They calmly welcomed Guo Luoluo Qingyao and Li Shuyao in, invited them into the hall, and asked them to sit on the embroidered cushion closest to the door.
She brought another cup of hot tea and handed it to Qingyao, telling her in a gentle tone that the other concubines and ladies in the palace had not arrived yet and the old ancestor was still asleep, so she asked her to wait patiently.
Qingyao agreed with a faint smile.
She has been a little different since she entered the Cining Palace. She has a dignified demeanor, a graceful posture, and knows how to move forward and backward.
He was clearly playing and laughing with Li Shuyao like a kindergarten kid just now, but in the blink of an eye, he was wearing adult clothes and behaving in a standard way, as if he had grown up several years in an instant.
Li Shuyao lowered her head and looked at herself again, her white fingers still nervously grasping the hem of her clothes.
Although her little face was cold and solemn, there was no trace of grace or elegance on it. It was easy for people to see through her inner timidity and then form the impression that "this person is insignificant".
Li Shuyao couldn't help feeling a little depressed.
After receiving Guo Luoluo Qingyao's agreement, the palace maid who answered her was relieved and hurried to do her own things.
Qingyao immediately turned around and stuffed the entire cup of hot tea into Li Shuyao's hands, then winked at her playfully, "Take a couple of sips, and you'll feel less nervous after that."
Li Shuyao took it blankly, put it to her mouth, and took two sips. The warm tea only touched her lips and the tip of her tongue a little bit, and not much went into her throat. But for some reason, looking at Qingyao's bright smiling face, the tension in her heart suddenly disappeared for the most part.
She returned the teacup to Qingyao and asked her in a low voice, "Are you nervous too?"
Qingyao nodded and brought the teacup to her lips without any disdain. After taking two sips, she said, "I'm so nervous! I'm dying of nervousness. My heart is about to jump out of my chest."
"Shu Yao, you don't know, I've been thinking all this time, what if the ancestor doesn't like me? Will I still be able to go to the harem in the future? If I can't go to the harem... the emperor has forgotten me in the back room again..."
"It's really scary just thinking about it. I'm really scared to death."
"Then you..." Li Shuyao wanted to ask, how did you stay so calm when you spoke just now.
Without waiting for Li Shuyao to ask, Qingyao took one of her hands and shook it slightly, saying coquettishly, "Isn't it because you are by my side?"
"I thought that if the ancestors didn't like me, and we were wronged, we would both suffer together."
"If I'm not the only one embarrassed, then there's nothing to be afraid of!"
These words sounded a bit heartless, but Li Shuyao strangely understood what she meant.
——Isn’t this the daily routine of her and her modern bestie, who love and trick each other?
It is a terrible thing for a person not to complete his homework.
But if good friends don’t complete it either, then the nature of the matter is completely different.
Just like the popular online meme, “One’s own failure is terrible, but a good friend’s success is even more heartbreaking.” [1]
It's basically the same meaning.
However, although she understood it, Li Shuyao did not want to agree with it.
She shook off Qingyao's hand with a little force, put her other hand on her waist, and glared at Qingyao unhappily, "Okay, you asked me to accompany you here, so this is the reason for the fight."
"Hehe." Qingyao chuckled blatantly.
A pair of watery eyes sparkled with intelligence, looking playful and cute.
She held Li Shuyao's hand again and said, "No matter what, since you're here, don't even think about running back. Just stay with me until the end of the Dragon Boat Festival."
After a fight between the two, the fear and nervousness in Li Shuyao's heart were finally completely dispelled.
As she drank the tea that Qingyao handed to her flatteringly, she thought to herself, I have read the original novel, so what is there to be afraid of?
Be more careful and cautious. Don't be framed or slandered. Don't fall into the trap of self-justification and use the sophistry skills you have seen before. If something goes wrong, you will have to be brave and angry even if you are not in the right.
Considering the emperor's current favor towards Qingyao, there is no way he would send her to the Ministry of Punishment!
Yes, that’s it, don’t be afraid!
Li Xiaoyao, you have finally grown up! 【2】
*
A quarter of an hour later, a palace concubine slowly arrived.
They wore dazzling and luxurious Manchu clothing, with their hair styled into either a simple and elegant bun or a gorgeous and complicated bun. Their makeup was meticulous and their lip rouge was particularly bright.
She is dressed in fragrant clothes and has a graceful figure.
Li Shuyao followed behind Qingyao, bowing her head and performing countless silent greetings, before she heard a palace servant standing at the door shouting, "The Empress Dowager has arrived, the Grand Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Then there was chaos in the hall again. Not long after they sat down, Concubine Nianhulu and Concubine Tong, who were dressed in formal auspicious clothes, held the hands of their personal maids and walked from the innermost part of the hall to the outermost part of the crowd. They stood in front of all the concubines, and led them on the left and right to kneel and salute at the door.
"Get up."
An old voice came from the door.
Li Shuyao wanted to stand up when she heard the sound.
——She was different from the concubines. The concubines only needed to bend their knees and half-squat when paying their respects, but she, as a palace maid, needed to kneel on the ground in a "prostrating" posture.
This posture is a bit uncomfortable, but fortunately it only needs to be done once... no, two kneelings are enough.
Because when the Emperor brings the eldest prince and the Crown Prince to pay their respects to the two ancestors, she will also have to perform the ceremony with great respect.
Li Shuyao only raised her upper body, and her knees had not moved yet. Suddenly, Qingyao pinched her wrist hard. She half-knelt beside Li Shuyao, shook her head silently, and signaled her not to get up now.
Li Shuyao looked towards the front of the crowd in confusion and found that the two people who were dressed most formally and most heavily, Concubine Niuhulu and Concubine Tong, were just being helped by their respective palace maids to stand up slowly.
After they stood up, the concubines behind them dared to stand up in order, like an assembly line, flowing to Qingyao's side.
Qingyao then pulled Li Shuyao and stood up together.
Only the two of them were at the end of the crowd and didn't attract any attention from others.
The old ancestor was supported by the Empress Dowager and walked to the big chair in the center of the hall. Concubine Nianhulu and Concubine Tong followed closely and walked back to the innermost part of the hall from the door.
After the two ancestors sat down on the big chairs at the top, they looked at each other coldly without saying a word, then turned their heads and walked towards their seats.
Li Shuyao secretly saw that Concubine Nianhulu was walking towards the position on the left.
The ancients always respected the left.
This shows that at this time, Concubine Nianhulu and Concubine Tong had already argued over their superiority. Although the imperial edict from the Ministry of Internal Affairs had not yet been issued, it did not prevent them from learning the news that Concubine Nianhulu would soon become the queen through their own channels.
Otherwise, Concubine Tong would not be so willing to walk to the right.
Li Shuyao lowered her eyes again and tried to imagine herself as a piece of wood that could neither speak nor move.
Then I heard the old ancestor over there start talking happily, first asking how Concubine Nianhulu and Concubine Tong were doing recently, and then asked another concubine, how Baoqing was doing recently?
After asking, he turned to another concubine and asked how the second princess was doing recently.
She asked them one by one in order. After asking seven or eight people, her tone was a little hesitant, as if she couldn't remember who this person was. She said "uh" twice, and then the rest of the concubines stood up to answer spontaneously.
One said she was Concubine Zhang, another said she was Concubine Lan, and they kept giving seven or eight answers.
This scene, which resembled "leaders going to the countryside to question people", was finally coming to an end.
The ancestor has been paying attention to Guo Luoluo Qingyao for a long time.
She had been observing her secretly since she entered the palace.
I think the concubines were the same. They had lived in the deep palace for a long time and seldom saw strangers. When Guo Luoluo Qingyao paid their respects to them just now, they were still wondering when two such beautiful palace maids appeared in the ancestor's palace.
...The main thing is, it's just too pretty.
The one standing in front has a graceful figure, black hair and fair skin. Although her face is only lightly made up, she is as stunning as a begonia in autumn. Her eyebrows are like spring mountains, her eyes are like autumn water, and her cuteness and agility conceal a hint of deep-rooted gorgeousness. It is just right. Even if you search the entire harem, you will not find a beauty with such appearance.
As for the one behind, she was only wearing a very dull-colored palace maid's uniform. Her small, palm-sized face was clean and had not been embellished or carved in any way.
However, just relying on that fairy-like and beautiful face and those black eyes that are as bright as the stars and unforgettable at first sight, she is not inferior to the other "palace maid" standing behind her.
If I could dress up a little...
Thinking of this, many people's hearts beat violently.
The Empress Dowager had already cast her gaze over and asked with a kind smile, "You must be Guo Luoluo Qingyao, right?"
Qingyao immediately stood up and replied, her attitude extremely respectful, just like Li Shuyao when she was called by her teacher in the past. She half-knelt on the ground, her hands on her waist, and said in a soft and graceful voice, "In reply to the ancestor, this servant is Guo Luoluo Qingyao."
It turns out that she is the official girl named Guo Luoluo who has been extremely favored by the emperor recently!
The expressions of many people present suddenly changed.
They all remembered what kind of occasion today was, and how the emperor would actually allow a court lady to attend the banquet!
this……
Before they could think any further, they heard the old ancestor continue to call out in a gentle tone, and then asked the same routine questions as before to the concubines. From his attitude, it seemed as if he had implicitly acknowledged Guo Luoluo Qingyao's position.
This made some people frown involuntarily.
When the old ancestor finished asking questions, Concubine Tong almost couldn't wait to speak: "So you are the Guo Luoluo Qingyao."
"How come you haven't come to the harem for a walk even though you've been favored for so long?"
Guo Luoluo Qingyao sat on the embroidered cushion and replied politely, "Your Majesty, without the Emperor's order, I dare not move around freely."
Concubine Tong picked at her nails, her face languid and her eyes dark. She asked again, "Since you were able to persuade the Emperor to let you attend the banquet, it must not be difficult for you to pay your respects to the sisters in the palace. So, is it the Emperor who doesn't allow it, or is it you who don't want to?"
This question was a bit tricky, and Li Shuyao silently broke into a cold sweat for Qingyao.
Then she saw Qingyao, who was sitting in front of her, tilted her head in confusion, "But, it seems that there has never been such a rule in the palace."
"I am just an ordinary court lady. I only know to obey the palace rules and serve the emperor wholeheartedly. Other than that, I dare not ask for anything else. How could I dare to say such treasonous words to the emperor?"
"Secondly, I am only a government official's daughter. How can I be qualified to pay my respects to the ladies?"
Her answer was so sincere that it was a little scary, leaving those present who wanted to criticize her for being "just a government official's daughter" speechless for a moment.
Li Shuyao slowly opened her eyes and stared at the back of Qingyao's head.
After a moment, I quietly gave him two thumbs up in my heart.
My sister is awesome.
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