"Your Majesty, it seems the Queen has miscalculated. Not only did the Queen Mother not punish the evil concubine, she even felt very painful."
In Yichun Palace, the palace maid Nianqin approached Concubine Wan who was taking a goat milk bath and whispered.
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise appeared in Concubine Wan's charming almond-shaped eyes.
After a moment, she smiled sweetly and said, "As expected of a demon concubine, she really has some skills. Not only did she fool our Majesty, she also fooled our astute Empress Dowager."
Upon hearing this, Nianqin lowered her head and bent her waist obediently, sprinkling plum petals into Concubine Wan's bathtub.
Concubine Wan leaned comfortably in the bathtub, her voice as melodious as a lark continuing, "But, fake is fake after all. Our Majesty has favored at least a hundred women, and none of them has ever become pregnant. She, a seductress picked up from the common people, is pregnant. Isn't this a joke..."
Listening to Concubine Wan's mocking words, Nian Qin asked in a low voice: "Then, Your Majesty, should we go to His Majesty and expose her?"
"puff……"
When Concubine Wan heard what her personal maid said, she smiled coquettishly, poked Nianqin's forehead lightly with her index finger, which had been soaked in goat's milk, and said charmingly and lazily, "Oh, let's leave this kind of villainy to our Empress.
After all, our queen is not as kind and generous as she seems.
I only need to keep my body tender and beautiful, and His Majesty's heart will always be with me, so there's no need for me to do those things."
"Your Majesty is right. In the entire harem, His Majesty favors you the most. You don't need to compete with others!"
Nianqin flattered Concubine Wan while pouring goat milk on her with a silver spoon inlaid with South China Sea pearls.
Hearing this, Concubine Wan's lazy eyes were even more proud: "I have the favor of your majesty, so there is no need to worry.
However, the Empress is different. Your Majesty treats her only out of respect for your legitimate wife. If you were to add another concubine besides me, I wonder how much the little affection between her and Your Majesty would be weakened."
"As for that enchanting concubine Liu, it was simply because His Majesty had no women around him when he was in Southern Xinjiang, and any woman he saw was beautiful. Now that he's back in the capital, Liu's beauty is no longer enough to impress. When her affair with His Majesty is exposed, it will be a capital crime, so there's really nothing to fear."
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Liu is definitely not even worthy of carrying your shoes given her looks..."
**
At one o'clock in the evening, in Zhaoyang Palace, princes and ministers, along with the women of their families, sat at their seats. Even the concubines of higher rank in the harem sat in their respective seats, waiting for the arrival of Emperor Zhao and the Empress Dowager.
The extremely beautifully dressed Concubine Wan rolled her eyes a few times, but when she didn't see any possible candidate for the Enchanting Concubine, she smiled at the Empress who was sitting above her:
"Your Majesty, you are the Empress, and yet Concubine Yue actually asked you to wait for her? This really doesn't take you seriously!"
As a concubine, I should arrive at the palace before the empress.
Hearing Concubine Wan's words, the Empress felt suffocated. She clenched her hands tightly in the sleeves of her court dress, and her nails dug into her flesh, only then did the suffocation in her heart dissipate a little.
With a dignified and generous smile on her elegant face, she said in a calm tone, "The cold weather in Southern Xinjiang is bitter. Concubine Yue has worked hard accompanying Your Majesty. It's okay to come a little later."
His tone was nonchalant, as if he really didn't take the matter to heart.
However, the more Concubine Wan saw the Queen's tolerant look, the more certain she became that the Queen was ready to kill Concubine Yue.
"The Emperor has arrived!!"
"The Queen Mother has arrived!!"
"Empress Yue Fei has arrived!!"
…
Eunuch Hong's shrill voice rang out, and Emperor Zhao walked in first.
"Your Highness, long live the Emperor!"
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, may Her Majesty the Queen Mother live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Moon Queen, may Her Majesty the Moon Queen live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"
…
The princes, ministers and their wives knelt together to welcome the arrival of Emperor Zhao and others.
"Stand up!"
Emperor Zhao's calm and hoarse voice sounded.
After everyone returned to their seats, they saw Emperor Zhao and the Empress Dowager leading Concubine Yue towards the upper seat.
"Queen, please move and sit somewhere else. Yue'er is pregnant, and the Emperor and I need to take care of her diet."
As everyone watched, the Empress Dowager spoke to the Empress who was sitting on the left of the Emperor.
? ?
! !
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall instantly became quiet: During ordinary palace banquets, the emperor sat in the middle, facing south towards the ministers, the empress dowager sat on the right, and the queen sat on the left.
But now, the Queen Mother actually asked the Queen to step down and give her position to Concubine Yue! !
Is it just a location, a place to eat?
No, that is the symbol of the queen position!
Now, the Queen Mother asked the Queen to give up her seat to Concubine Yue. Does that mean the Queen will also have to give up her position as Queen to Concubine Yue in the future?
These words caused a huge wave in everyone's heart. The Queen and her party looked even uglier and felt uneasy in their hearts.
"The Queen is unwilling?"
Seeing that the queen did not move from her seat, Emperor Zhao's face darkened and he asked in a cold voice.
The cold tone was like frost in the dead of winter, which made the Queen shiver all over, but she also woke up.
"No, no, I'm not unwilling."
The Empress, having regained her composure, immediately stood up and offered her seat to Concubine Yue: "I will make way for Concubine Yue right now."
She still has the image of a dignified and graceful queen.
The people arranged by the Queen saw this scene and immediately thought it was a good opportunity. They fell to their knees and cried out loudly:
"Your Majesty, this is not possible. The seat to your left symbolizes the position of Empress. Giving it to Concubine Yue is against etiquette!"
"Then I will give the queen position to Yue'er as well!"
When the ministers cried out, Emperor Zhao turned around with a sinister smile on his face.
“!!!”
A single word caused a thousand ripples. When Emperor Zhao said this, everyone's hearts became even more confused. The Queen and her followers all turned pale with fear.
The throne of empress, which they cherished so much, was about to be easily awarded by Emperor Zhao to a woman from the common people.
"No, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, the Empress is a model for the nation, virtuous and kind, and loves the people like her own children. Our ancestors have taught us not to depose her lightly!"
"Your Majesty, you must have been bewitched and bewildered by the evil concubine. Please, Your Majesty, execute her and restore justice to the imperial family of Great Zhao."
"Your Majesty, you have been childless for many years. The fact that the Demon Concubine is pregnant must be suspicious. I dare to think that the Demon Concubine is using someone else's body as a substitute to disrupt the bloodline of the Great Zhao Royal Family! Your Majesty, please execute the Demon Concubine!"
"Your Majesty, please punish the evil concubine!"
"Your Majesty, please punish the evil concubine!"
"Your Majesty, please punish the evil concubine!"
…
A steady stream of petitions rang out in the hall, forcing Emperor Zhao, who had just returned from a victorious battle, to personally deal with his beloved concubine.
Seeing this scene, Emperor Zhao felt a chill in his heart: Is this the minister he risked his life to support in order to expand the territory?
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