Chapter 235: Vicious Female Supporting Character vs. Childless Emperor 79
The concubines left the Yunhe Palace. Not only did the palace maids who served them personally hold many things in their hands, but they themselves also held the jewelry given by the Queen.
"The Queen is so generous. It's almost May, and she said she would make us some spring clothes. They are all made of fine materials from Suzhou. We will have new clothes all year round."
"I heard that the Prime Minister's Mansion has always been like this, treating people kindly. Taohong beside the Empress is so majestic, and you can tell at a glance that she has never been wronged."
"It would be better if the Empress could enter the palace earlier. Last year, my roommate Zhang died of illness. It would be better if there were more charcoal fires in winter."
"In winter, there is charcoal; in summer, there is ice. The Empress will give it to us. The Ministry of Internal Affairs dares not disobey the Empress's orders."
The concubines of lower rank did not have sedan chairs, and they only had a palace maid to serve them, so they could only take the rewards and walk back.
Defei was the last to come out of Yunhe Palace. She listened to the concubines' discussions and felt quite dissatisfied.
"They were bought off with a little favor, and they didn't even think about who chose them to enter the palace in the first place? With their looks and family background, how could they be worthy of serving His Majesty in the palace?"
"Your Majesty never wastes money, and the palace also advocates frugality. Zhang promised that he was not in good health, so could he blame me? The Queen is really good at tricks, and now I have become the sinner!"
The head maid Jinxiu stepped forward, supported Concubine De, and interrupted her complaints, "Quickly get on the sedan chair, the sun is strong, please don't let the sun burn you."
Thinking that this was the Yunhe Palace and it was not convenient to talk about personal matters, Defei could only suppress her anger and waved to Lanpin.
"It's still early, sister Lan, there's no need to rush back. This sedan chair was given by His Majesty, and it's quite spacious. Let's talk together, sisters."
Concubine Lan ordered the palace maids and eunuchs around her to return the reward from the Empress Dowager properly, and then she took her sister Concubine De's hand and got on the sedan chair together.
Lanpin said worriedly, "Sister Defei has always been gentle and kind, why does she have to pick on the Empress? She is the Empress and the daughter of the Prime Minister. No matter what she does, we have no say in it."
"Next time you come to pay your respects, sister, you should apologize to the queen. I think the queen is not a narrow-minded person and will definitely not pursue the matter."
However, Concubine De didn't think so. She looked around and found that she was surrounded by her own people. The palace was wide and there was no need to worry about eavesdropping.
"Sister Lan is young and doesn't understand the intricacies of this. She can become the queen not because His Majesty likes her so much, but because of the power of the Prime Minister's Office. No emperor likes to be constrained by others. We suppress the queen, which is what His Majesty wants to see."
"So we can't bow down to her. If His Majesty wants to suppress the Queen, he will definitely support me. She has the support of the Prime Minister's Office, and we have His Majesty. As long as we surpass the Queen and gain His Majesty's favor, we don't have to be afraid of her!"
Lanpin was puzzled and said, "But His Majesty didn't favor us in the past. The Queen is so beautiful that even a woman like me would be amazed by her. How can His Majesty still look down on us now that he has a Queen?"
Defei's face turned cold instantly. Just after meeting the Queen, Concubine Lan refused to listen to her.
She shook off Lanpin's hand and sneered, "After all, you just don't want to help me. You're just like those ungrateful people. After getting a little benefit, you side with the Queen!"
"Don't you ever think about who helped you find a doctor when you were injured and had nowhere to go? Who summoned you to the palace and gave you a chance to live?"
Lanpin panicked and pleaded in a low voice: "Sister, don't be angry. I was wrong. I am definitely on your side. I will do whatever you ask me to do."
When the sedan chair reached Xinde Palace, Concubine Lan carefully coaxed her all the way and swore an oath to express her loyalty. Only then did Concubine De change her anger into joy and affectionately took Concubine Lan's hand and came down.
"Your Majesty is a wise ruler. He values a woman's virtue. There is no woman in the palace who is not virtuous. But the queen has a bad reputation. How can she serve a man with her beauty for long?"
"Don't worry, when I am favored, I will never forget you. We sisters are united and can definitely defeat the queen!"
Concubine Lan nodded submissively, not daring to refute her sister Concubine De anymore.
In fact, she was very afraid of the emperor. Although the emperor was kind to her, summoned her into the palace, and never said harsh words to her, she was just afraid. She didn't want to compete for favor at all. She just wanted to live a peaceful and stable life.
She actually likes the Queen very much, but she and Concubine De have known each other since childhood. If Concubine De wants to fight, she can only help her.
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Long Lin went into the harem more and more frequently. In the past, he could only go there a few times a month, and he ate and slept in the Yangxin Palace. Now, he has to go back to the Yonghe Palace every night and summon the Queen to accompany him!
Ji Yunhuan was helpless. Long Lin always made a big fuss every time, and she couldn't openly disobey his order. She could only follow Eunuch Wei to Yonghe Palace and return from Yonghe Palace early the next morning.
Ji Yunhuan was tired of this daily routine and began to seriously consider living in the Lama Temple.
Long Lin was not at home that day. Ji Yunhuan, Tao Hong and other palace maids entered the Yonghe Palace in a mighty procession, followed by many craftsmen. The quiet and majestic Yonghe Palace had never been so lively before.
Ji Yunhuan pointed at the empty courtyard and said, "This rockery is too big and ugly. Tear it down! Replace it with a small bridge and a pavilion. Make it more elegant."
"Plant forsythia here, make this a peony garden, transplant wintersweets to the north, plant chrysanthemums there, and you can do whatever you want with the rest. In short, I want to see flowers all year round."
Eunuch Wei followed His Majesty out of the palace, and only a few young eunuchs were left in Yonghe Palace. When they saw the craftsmen had already started to pry up the floor tiles, they panicked, but they did not dare to stop the Empress.
"What should we do? If His Majesty blames us for the reckless behavior of the Queen, even ten of our heads won't be enough to chop off."
A clever eunuch said, "Your Highness dared to hit His Majesty. What's the big deal about demolishing the Lama Temple? His Majesty won't be angry. Let's quickly send someone to inform Eunuch Wei. With Eunuch Wei taking care of it, we won't be afraid."
Ji Yunhuan saw a few young eunuchs gathered together and muttered to each other, so he casually rewarded them with a handful of golden melon seeds and said with a smile: "You guys are familiar with the Lama Temple, take them to move those ugly things out and put them in the storeroom, they are an eyesore to me!"
After Qiao Yue explained it, the young eunuch finally understood what the empress was talking about as "ugly thing".
The Yonghe Palace was arranged and decorated by Eunuch Wei, with majesty and solemnity as the top priority. Most of the furnishings in the palace were bronze, iron, or huge porcelain items, and the Empress didn't like any of them!
After the hall was emptied, Ji Yunhuan found it much more pleasing to the eye. Qiao Yue ordered someone to bring in an exquisite soft couch. Ji Yunhuan half leaned on it, raising his finger to point at the mountains and rivers.
"Tear down this wooden shelf! Replace it with a four-panel screen with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum patterns. Hang calligraphy and paintings on this wall, and go find Grandpa Bai's paintings!"
"How can you be casual about where you eat? The table is too ugly, change it! There should be potted plants in every room, pick up some elegant and decent ones, and decorate everywhere."
The Lama Temple was bustling with activity, and everyone was running around in a panic.
Nanny Jiang stood at the gate of Yonghe Palace for a long time, but didn't see any eunuch to pass the message. She wanted to rush in, but was stopped by the imperial guards. She could only wait outside.
After a long time, a maid with an unfamiliar face came out. She looked arrogant and said disrespectfully, "The Queen is very busy and can't spare the time to see you. If you have anything to say, please talk to me."
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