"Your Majesty, please calm your anger." Faced with Zhang Han'er's rage, Qinghe couldn't even explain and immediately knelt down again.
Her response was an angry slap from Zhang Han'er, followed by the sound of porcelain pieces shattering and breaking.
"Fool! What's going on? How could the Emperor possibly appoint a down-on-her-luck woman with no family support as Empress? This must be a rumor! It must be!"
Zhang Han'er's eyes were bloodshot, her beautiful face contorted with rage. She uncontrollably pulled at Qinghe's hair, her slender fingers turning white from the force.
Kneeling on the ground, Qinghe felt as if her scalp was being forcibly pulled upwards, a burning pain as if it were being peeled off.
She even prayed to God, saying, "May I just faint; that might make me feel better."
But Zhang Han'er, who had already gone mad, clearly wouldn't give her that chance.
Qinghe's hair was still being held, and the sharp nail guards on Zhang Han'er's fingertips kept slicing across her scalp. The feeling of the nail guards touching her skin was chilling and terrifying, and Qinghe couldn't stop trembling.
Qinghe was forcibly pulled to look up, meeting Zhang Han'er's distorted and terrifying face. "What rumors are there about the Emperor bestowing an Empress title? Qinghe is just joking with me, isn't she?"
Her eyes were bloodthirsty red, like a demon from hell. Qinghe firmly believed that if she dared to say no at this moment, her corpse would be thrown into the dry well the next day.
"Yes, yes! This servant was just joking with Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"This servant is so audacious, I beg Your Majesty to spare my life! I beg Your Majesty to spare my life!" Qinghe was held tightly by Zhang Han'er and could not kowtow, so she could only keep repeating her apologies.
After an unknown amount of time, the sharp hands above her head finally loosened their grip. Just as Qinghe was about to kowtow and express her gratitude, she saw Zhang Han'er look her up and down and then say, "Indeed, you are intelligent. I did not misjudge you."
Hearing her say that sent chills down Qinghe's spine again. She cautiously looked up and saw that half of Zhang Han'er's face was in shadow, and a bloodthirsty smile was curled at the corner of her lips, making her look like a demon who wanted to take lives.
Qinghe was so frightened that she immediately prostrated herself on the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Because of her prone position, Qinghe's field of vision was extremely limited, but she could still see out of the corner of her eye that Zhang Han'er's shadow on the ground was constantly moving towards her.
Qinghe couldn't understand what she wanted. Although Zhang Han'er's mood was extremely unpredictable, this was the first time she had experienced something like this.
Unable to guess what was going on, Qinghe could only hold her breath and wait. As the shadow drew closer and closer to her, until she could smell the fragrance on Zhang Han'er's clothes, she finally stopped.
"Such exceptional intelligence is too much of a waste of your talents to serve me. How about I take the initiative to find you a better place?"
Zhang Han'er's voice came from below, and although she used a question, Qinghe knew she couldn't refuse.
"This servant has followed Your Majesty since childhood and will naturally follow your lead. Since Your Majesty says it is a good place, it must be good. It is all up to you to make the decision for Qinghe."
Hearing such obedient words, Zhang Han'er smiled happily. Her laughter was as clear and melodious as a silver bell, but to Qing He, it sounded like a death knell, a vengeful ghost that could strike at any moment.
Zhang Han'er chuckled to herself for a while, then squatted down with great interest, stroked Qinghe's head like a pet, and commented in a completely calm tone, "Indeed clever."
The news that Shen Shi intended to make Ji Ying'er his empress spread like wildfire.
The servants sweeping and cleaning in each palace, the palace maids tending the flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden, and the chefs cooking in the Imperial Kitchen were all buzzing with discussion.
"Hey! Have you heard? The Emperor is going to make Consort Ying his Empress!" a palace maid asked gossipy.
Immediately someone replied, "I heard, I heard. I thought it would be Consort Zhang, but I didn't expect it to be her."
“Ah, how could you think that? The Emperor doesn’t like Consort Zhang, so why would he make her Empress?” A palace maid immediately retorted, “Even Consort Qi has a better chance than her, after all, Consort Qi was so favored before.”
"What do you know? What does being favored mean!"
The palace maid who was refuted was obviously unconvinced and immediately defended Consort Zhang, saying, "The selection of an empress depends on her family background. Although Consort Zhang is not favored by the emperor, she is the legitimate daughter of the prime minister!"
"Tch~ Consort Qi is the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei!"
Both had their own opinions. One thought that Consort Zhang had a good background and her father was a key minister, so she should be empress. The other thought that Consort Xu also had a good background and was favored by the emperor, so she should be empress. They held their own opinions and neither could convince the other.
Finally, it was the mother-in-law, who had remained silent all along, who interrupted the argument between the two, saying, "I don't think the Emperor cares about one's background. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Consort Ying."
Upon hearing this, the young girls present all nodded in agreement, saying, "Grandma is right."
"That's right, that's right. Who becomes empress is not up to us to decide. There's no point in us fighting over it. The emperor has already declared that he will bestow the title of Consort Ying, so the empress position will belong to Consort Ying."
"It's good that it's Consort Ying. I'd be happy if it weren't Consort Zhang. If such a vicious person became Empress, how could we have a good life?"
Upon hearing this, the others agreed, "That's right. Sakura has been so favored lately, but she has never made things difficult for the servants. It's clear she's a good person."
"That's right. Not to mention Consort Ying, the palace servants in Wutong Pavilion are all kind and gentle, unlike the servants in Consort Zhang's palace who are arrogant and look down on people all day long."
Upon hearing this, the palace maids nodded repeatedly.
Consort Zhang, relying on the power of her maternal family, often acted like an empress in the palace, making things difficult for lower-ranking concubines, scolding maids and eunuchs from other palaces, and condoning the misdeeds of those in her own palace.
She already acted as if she were the empress.
Everyone in the harem complained about her, but since she was the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Zhang and the empress was a sure thing, they dared not offend her for fear of being retaliated against in the future, and could only swallow their anger.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor ordered that Consort Ying be made Empress, shattering Consort Yao's dream of becoming Empress.
Everyone was delighted with this, including Consort Qi.
Qi Zhenzhen herself disliked being in a daze and didn't care about the Emperor's favor. But the tree wanted to be still, but the wind wouldn't stop. She didn't care about the Emperor's favor, but she couldn't resist Zhang Han'er's strong jealousy.
Since entering the palace, the Emperor has always visited her palace, while Consort Zhang has never been there. Because of the Emperor's favor and her higher rank, Zhang Han'er harbors resentment towards Qi Zhenzhen.
The two had a lot of open and covert rivalries in their daily lives.
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