"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
"A clumsy little maid accidentally broke a vase, but it's nothing."
Ziwei looked at Consort Ling, who was as usual, and the maid who was sweeping up the broken pieces. Suddenly, she felt a little scared. She clenched her sleeve tightly and pretended to be calm. She said, "Your Majesty, I have learned a new phoenix tail flower pattern and embroidered a purse. It is with Jin Suo. I plan to give it to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will like it."
Jin Suo followed behind Ziwei and sensed Ziwei's fear. She touched the purse that her mistress had given her when she had nothing to do these past two days. Startled, she handed over the phoenix tail flower purse that she had kept, in accordance with her mistress's words.
Consort Ling smiled slightly, "I know your skills; I like everything you make."
She looked at Ziwei, who stood gracefully before her, and pretended to be anxious as she took Ziwei's hand.
"Ziwei, do you know that Xiaoyanzi was punished with twenty strokes of the cane by the Emperor?"
"What! What's going on?" Ziwei's fear was interrupted by Consort Ling's words. Because of Consort Ling's fear and worry for Xiaoyanzi, her voice was somewhat harsh.
Consort Ling assumed that Xiao Yanzi was too worried about her, which was why she was shouting so loudly, and did not observe carefully.
She asked worriedly, "His Majesty today took Princess Guli from the Hui region as Consort Yu. I heard that Xiao Yanzi spoke to her a few words at the banquet. I wonder if this is related?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Ziwei cried, "Father, I have to go see Xiaoyanzi and Consort Ling."
“Alas, it’s already late, and the Emperor has confined Xiao Yanzi to her quarters, forbidding anyone from visiting her. If you go, you might cause trouble. Perhaps we should think of another way tomorrow.”
"Alright, Consort Ling, I will go and plead with the Fifth Prince tomorrow."
Consort Ling looked at Ziwei, who only knew how to look for the Fifth Prince, with some anger. "Stupid pig, she said so much, but all she knows is to look for Yongqi."
She froze for a second, then made it even clearer.
"Since this matter is related to Consort Yu, Ziwei might as well go and ask her, so as to plead for Xiaoyanzi."
Ziwei, as if she had found a lifeline, replied, "Thank you, Consort Ling. I will go and plead with Consort Yu tomorrow."
Finally, after hearing a satisfactory answer from Ziwei, Consort Ling released Ziwei and let her go back. Watching her thin figure disappear into the distance, her eyes darkened.
Consort Yu, ah.
Back in her room, Ziwei collapsed to the ground, startling Jin Suo who immediately grabbed her.
"Miss, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"
Jin Suo helped me to bed.
"Okay." Jin Suo finally managed to get Ziwei leaning against the bed while carrying and pulling her.
"Jin Suo, you must be careful when you see Consort Ling in the future, and don't speak carelessly."
Jin Suo was a little confused as to why the usually gentle Consort Ling was speaking to her like this, but she listened to her mistress and did whatever she was told.
Ziwei closed her eyes, her heart filled with fear as she recalled her conversation with Consort Ling earlier that day. Consort Ling was definitely not a truly kind person. She had seen the bruise on the sweeping maid's arm earlier, and although she had quickly covered it with her sleeve, she was certain she hadn't been mistaken. And today, Consort Ling had been probing her, suggesting she plead with Consort Yu to intercede for Xiaoyanzi. This was definitely not a good thing. What should she do?
Qingyin, who was sent to the Qianqing Palace, had to be separated from Alisa.
Qingyin was led by the nannies to wash up and change clothes, and Alisa also had to change her clothes and stand guard at the door.
Freshly bathed and smelling wonderful, Qingyin changed into a thin, transparent red dress and was placed on the dragon bed like a gift. The maids then withdrew.
Qingyin felt the soft bedding; it was indeed as comfortable as the emperor's. She rolled around on it a couple of times, causing her newly put-on nightgown to slip down slightly, revealing her delicate, fair neck.
When Emperor Qianlong arrived, he happened to witness Qingyin's sudden exposure of her cleavage, and he immediately felt an itch on the tip of his nose.
He asked in a hoarse voice, "My beloved concubine, are you still getting used to my dragon bed?"
Startled, Qingyin immediately feigned shyness and knelt on the bed, "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Qianlong took off his outer robe and stepped forward to stop the shy (?) Qingyin. He whispered in Qingyin's ear, "Go to sleep. I won't touch you today. Li'er is my wife. We can have sex on our wedding day, okay?"
As expected of an emperor in his forties, he is indeed very experienced. These embarrassing flirting techniques come out so easily to her lips. If she were really a young girl, she would have fallen for her very heart, Qingyin thought to herself.
"Your Majesty!" Looking at Qingyin, whose ears were red with embarrassment, Qianlong felt extremely satisfied.
Emperor Qianlong, simply covered by the quilt, couldn't fall asleep despite smelling the rich, rose-like fragrance emanating from Li'er. In the middle of the night, looking at his own erection, he resignedly got up.
"Li Yu, go to the side hall to prepare water."
"Sigh!" Li Yu, who had been woken up by the Emperor, could only run to the side hall with a bitter expression. Looking at the Emperor, who hadn't touched Consort Yu, he was truly puzzled! Since the Emperor liked Consort Yu so much, why hadn't he touched her? If he didn't like her, why did he keep Consort Yu in the Qianqing Palace and even let her take a shower in the side hall for fear of waking her up?
The Emperor's thoughts are too hard to understand! Li Yu couldn't figure it out and could only mutter complaints about the Emperor's antics to himself. Of course, he didn't know how much Qianlong valued Qingyin! (Qianlong thought that since he couldn't give Qingyin the title of Empress, he wanted to give her a marital ceremony to represent his feelings.)
Dawn broke overnight.
Emperor Qianlong went to court early in the morning. Seeing that Fa Qingyin was still fast asleep, he moved much more gently and carefully lifted the quilt. Before Li Yu and the others could speak, he slightly closed his index finger to signal them to be quiet.
Li Yu watched in shock as Qianlong's actions elevated Consort Yu's status countless times over. It seemed that a major change was about to occur in the harem!
Ziwei, who had prepared in the early morning, was also thinking about how to visit the new Consort Yu. However, Consort Yu lived in the Qianqing Palace, which belonged to the Emperor, and could not come and go as she pleased. She was just a palace maid in Consort Ling's palace. How could she possibly visit Consort Yu?
Ziwei and Jinsuo, who were walking through the Imperial Garden, happened to see Prince Yongqi walking towards them. Their eyes lit up and Ziwei called out loudly, "Fifth Prince! Fifth Prince!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Yongqi turned around.
"Ziwei, what are you doing here?"
Ziwei said sadly, "Xiaoyanzi has been punished, and I can't even see her. Consort Ling said this matter is related to Consort Yu, and I want to go see Consort Yu."
Upon hearing this, Yongqi frowned slightly. "This is purely because Xiaoyanzi broke the rules and was late for the banquet. What does it have to do with Consort Yu? Ziwei, why don't you come with me to see Xiaoyanzi?"
"Okay." Ziwei nodded. Listening to Prince Yongqi's words, she felt as if she had found her pillar of support and followed him to Xiaoyanzi's palace.
The guards with swords standing at the door also saw the Fifth Prince Yongqi and stopped them.
The head guard said with a wry smile, "His Majesty has ordered that Princess Huanzhu be confined to her quarters. Please, Fifth Prince, return home!"
Yongqi said sternly, "Father Emperor only said that Princess Huanzhu is confined to her quarters. What's wrong with me, as her elder brother, going in to see her?"
Hearing this, the group exchanged glances, but ultimately let the Fifth Prince and his entourage in.
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