As the emperor, Emperor Qin Huan was naturally the last person to arrive at the banquet. By the time Bai Yuzhi arrived at Jixian Palace with Emperor Qin Huan on the imperial chariot, the others had already taken their seats.
Including the queen and the queen mother.
At this moment, the Queen Mother was sitting on the upper seat parallel to the right side of Emperor Qin Huan's dragon throne, and the Queen was sitting below the Queen Mother.
Seeing Emperor Qin Huan and Bai Yuzhi coming together, the Queen Mother smiled and stood up to greet them.
Emperor Qin Huan was holding the white jade waist, and the Queen Mother came forward and took her hand: "How are you today? Is the baby well behaved in your belly?"
Bai Yuzhi had already experienced fetal movement when she was four months pregnant. The baby was quite lively. The Queen Mother had seen the baby rolling around in her belly with her own eyes, so she asked this question.
As she walked towards the seat prepared for her, she replied to the Queen Mother, "He's been pretty well behaved lately. He hasn't kicked me much."
Through the figures of guests and concubines coming and going, Bai Yuzhi accurately saw the queen sitting alone on the steps. She had a cold expression on her face at this time. Seeing Emperor Qin Huan and the queen mother surrounding Bai Yuzhi, she frowned slightly, then stood up and greeted Emperor Qin Huan.
The envoys, court officials, and concubines all knelt and kowtowed, including the Empress Dowager and Bai Yuzhi. The Empress Dowager was fine, as she was Emperor Qin Huan's biological mother, but even the Empress didn't have the right to kneel and kowtow, let alone the Imperial Noble Consort, who was above her, not to mention the Empress.
But Emperor Qin Huan had no intention of asking Bai Yuzhi to avoid the situation, and he felt at ease letting her receive treatment that was higher than that of the queen.
No matter whether they were envoys who could come to pay homage or ministers who were qualified to attend the banquet, they were all smart people. How could they not see what Emperor Qin Huan meant? For a moment, the way they looked at the Queen and Bai Yuzhi was a little subtle.
The white jade seat was at the bottom of the steps on the Empress Dowager's side, opposite Concubine Rong. Above it sat Emperor Qin Huan, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. She had intended to walk over to the seat, but Emperor Qin Huan had no intention of letting her out of his sight. He simply supported her and walked up to the top.
"Your Majesty, there is no seat for me."
Emperor Qin Huan looked straight ahead and said, "Sit next to me."
The emperor's desk was of course very large. Not to mention one more white jade person, even two more people could probably sit on it. However, the position was very important.
At the banquet, Emperor Qin Huan's seat was naturally in the center, with the Queen Mother to his right and the Empress to his left. If Bai Yuzhi sat on the right, he would be putting the Queen Mother down, but if he sat on the left, he would be slapping the Empress in the face.
The Queen Mother had obviously thought of this, but she also felt that it was natural for Emperor Qin Huan to take such care of Bai Yuzhi, so she voluntarily stepped back and said, "Let Concubine Heng sit between you and me."
The tense queen breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to be outshined by the imperial concubine in front of court officials and envoys and become a laughing stock of the entire Qin Dynasty and even the world.
But just as she was about to relax, Emperor Qin Huan gave her a hard slap in the face mentally.
"Your Highness is a junior, so naturally she cannot sit above the Queen Mother. Please sit on the left."
Bai Yuzhi had no intention of moving to the right, but as soon as Emperor Qin Huan said this, she naturally sat on his left, a position more honorable than that of the empress.
The Queen's face was already very ugly at this time, but considering that she was still in front of the court officials and envoys, she could only sit in her seat and talk to Bai Yuzhi in a low voice. The Queen didn't dare to tell Emperor Qin Huan about this directly, so she hoped that Bai Yuzhi would tell Emperor Qin Huan himself that he didn't want to sit here.
"Noble Concubine Heng, do you find it comfortable sitting here? I'm afraid you're not used to it. The guests below are all staring at you, and you can't even enjoy your meal."
Bai Yuzhi pretended not to understand the Queen's hidden meaning and maintained an innocent expression: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. His Majesty is right beside me. Which of my servants would have the courage to look the Emperor in the face? I'm afraid Your Majesty is worrying too much."
She hadn't intended to target the Empress. Bai Yuzhi's only direct targets were Concubine Rong and the Duke of Jin's residence. She hadn't even considered pursuing the Empress Dowager's poisoning. But ever since the Empress overheard Emperor Qin Huan's threats to depose her in the Purple Palace, her behavior had become increasingly bizarre, and Bai Yuzhi felt compelled to strike first.
"...Isn't Concubine Heng suffering from morning sickness like other pregnant women lately? I see there's still some fish on the table. If you feel unwell, please let me know."
The queen did not give up and continued to try to find an excuse to get Bai Yuzhi to leave the seat.
However, the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. The Queen's original intention was to make Bai Yuzhi feel uncomfortable because of the fishy smell and leave the table on her own initiative. However, to Rong Fei, it was a great opportunity to test whether Bai Yuzhi was really pregnant.
After the incident at the Qianqiu Banquet, Duke Jin once again sent someone to convey the message to Concubine Rong. Duke Jin believed that Bai Yuzhi was most likely to have a false pregnancy like Concubine Jiang, and that this false pregnancy was arranged by Emperor Qin Huan himself. He hoped that Concubine Rong could find out the situation clearly.
Concubine Rong herself also felt that the possibility of this was quite high. After all, Emperor Qin Huan had not had any children for twenty years. How could Concubine Heng suddenly appear pregnant when he was nearly forty years old?
Concubine Rong then smiled, neither servile nor arrogant, "Your Majesty is right. Although I haven't given birth, I have many brothers and sisters-in-law, so I know a lot about the taboos during pregnancy. Take fish, for example. I've heard that many women suffer from morning sickness during pregnancy and can't stand the smell of fish. I didn't expect Concubine Heng to be so fearless."
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