The officials in the court also saw that Yongzheng was unusually good-tempered, and everyone relaxed a little. In recent days, a large number of officials had suffered because of the Consort Xian incident, and the one who made the most noise was still in prison.
Some officials, having never met the Virtuous Consort before, felt a surge of affection for her. Fortunately, the Emperor had married her, which had calmed his temper; otherwise, they risked being scolded by him again. Thinking of this, others gazed enviously in the direction of the Duke of Pei. The Duke of Pei had truly raised a fine daughter; he was probably the only one in the court who hadn't been scolded. Truly, his status rose because of his daughter!
The officials in the court were used to being criticized by the emperor, but today they weren't scolded at all. Instead, most of them cast grateful glances at the Duke of Pei, leaving the Duke speechless and seriously doubting whether his colleagues had lost their minds.
Qingyin had no idea that Yongzheng's manic behavior actually brought her a lot of goodwill.
When she woke up, she felt sore all over and managed to get up with the help of Yulan.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has exempted you from paying your respects to the Empress." Yulan said happily as she did Qingyin's makeup. She couldn't be happier that the Emperor cared for her. She had worried about the Emperor and the Empress for a long time before, but fortunately, they had finally gotten together.
Qingyin nodded. She didn't want to go either. She really didn't like dealing with people who were full of ulterior motives; it was exhausting.
Where is Che'er?
Yulan replied, "Your Majesty, the little prince is playing in the side hall, and Caiping is keeping watch over him."
Qingyin looked in the mirror, applied some lip balm (it's just for lip care and won't affect a child), and said, "Okay, bring him over later. He's been in different places a lot these past few days, so he must be a little scared."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Yulan inserted the last blue jade magnolia hairpin into Qingyin's hair before leaving.
In order to meet and deal with the newly arrived Consort Xian, all the concubines, regardless of their status, actively came to Jingren Palace in advance. The Empress also dressed up for a long time. Consort Xi, who sat first on the left, was also dressed in the most gorgeous way. When the Empress looked at Consort Xi like this, a hint of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. Wasn't this Zhen Huan, the female Zhuge Liang, always self-respecting and not using her beauty to please others?
Consort Xi quickly noticed the sarcasm in the Empress's eyes. A hint of anger rose in her heart, but she generously displayed a faint smile on her face.
Looking at that smile that resembled her sister so much, the Empress felt as if she had been pricked by a needle, and the smile on her lips froze slightly.
The concubines were clearly aware of the undercurrents between the Empress and Consort Xi, and Jingren Palace became increasingly quiet.
"—Reporting, His Majesty has decreed that Consort Xian is in poor health and is exempt from paying her respects to the Empress for three days."
Seeing the familiar faces of the eunuchs following behind Su Peisheng, the concubines had different expressions, especially the stiffness on the faces of Consort Xi and the Empress.
This favor is something even Consort Xi didn't receive. Tsk tsk, this Consort Xian is hard to predict.
In Jingren Palace, only An Lingrong, who hated both the Empress and Consort Xi, was truly happy. The others probably harbored some disgust, and this malice was clearly directed at the honored Consort Xian.
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