"Since you brought it back, I should still thank you!"
Wanyi was truly grateful to him. After all, if anyone in the harem lost a sachet, hairpin, or similar item, and it fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, who knows how much trouble it would cause.
"Your Highness, you are too kind. This humble subject must go to his duty, so I will not disturb Your Highness's refined pleasure any longer. This humble subject will take his leave now!"
After Furong accepted the sachet, she took her leave, after all, there is a difference between men and women!
"Please punish me, Master!" Furong suddenly knelt down and said. After all, she hadn't noticed. As servants, they had to keep an eye out for anything that might be lost or missing, but she hadn't.
"Get up! There won't be a next time. We were lucky this time. Let's go! I think Yinzhen has already woken up. He'll cry and rush back if he doesn't see me!" The matter wasn't too serious, so Wanyi didn't punish Furong.
"Go, find out who that man is!"
The Imperial Noble Consort had been watching from a distance when the guard handed the sachet to Wanyi, so she had seen almost everything. She was just too far away to hear what was being said, but that didn't affect the formation of her wicked plan at all.
"Yes!" Ningdong turned around and followed the guard, but did not approach him to speak, only following him from a distance.
The next day, Wanyi got up early. Today was the fifteenth, and Wanyi had to go to Chengqian Palace to pay her respects.
"Alright, that's fine!" Wanyi looked herself over. She wore a light yellow auspicious robe embroidered with phoenixes, and a seven-tailed phoenix was pinned to the center of her auspicious hat. Her face was heavily made up, making her look dignified yet beautiful. She also had three-sectioned ears.
"Master, Consort Liu has arrived!" Ye Ming said as she walked in.
"Let her wait a while!" As the head of the palace, Wanyi was expected to receive greetings from all the lower-ranking concubines of Yongshou Palace every morning. However, she found it troublesome and decided that she should just make a token visit on the first and fifteenth of each month.
"Yes!" Ye Ming replied and withdrew.
"Let's go! We should get out of here!" Wanyi looked around again and, finding nothing amiss, walked out.
"Greetings to Consort Chen!" Consort Liu had been at Yongshou Palace for several days, and today was the first time she had a formal meeting with Consort Wan.
"Get up! I dislike trouble. Now that you have entered Yongshou Palace, you are a person of Yongshou Palace. I cannot tolerate filth and betrayal here. As long as you behave yourself, I will protect you to some extent because you are a person of Yongshou Palace. Once you are outside, whatever you do to compete for favor is none of my business."
Wanyi looked down at Liu Daying, who was dressed in a light green cheongsam and had her hair styled in two small buns. Her face could only be described as pretty.
"This concubine will humbly obey Your Highness's teachings!" Consort Liu also bowed respectfully and replied.
"It's about time, let's go!"
Wanyi walked out first, sat on the palanquin belonging to the Imperial Concubine's ceremonial procession, and sighed inwardly. She had been satisfied when she was a concubine, but she never expected to become an Imperial Concubine. The feeling of being above thousands of people and in charge of their lives and deaths was wonderful. Liu Yingying could only follow behind her miserably.
"Greetings to Your Highness Consort Chen! May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace!" Inside Chengqian Palace, Wanyi walked in slowly. Although it wasn't the first time, she always felt extremely satisfied!
"Greetings, Sister Wen!" Wanyi returned the greeting to Consort Wen, who stood up to her right and performed the hair-supporting ceremony.
"No need for formalities! Is the Imperial Noble Consort not ready yet?" Wanyi sat down before telling them to stand up; her seat was on the left.
"You must be here soon!" Consort Wen said with a pursed lip. After all, the Imperial Noble Consort always acted this way. After they arrived, she would arrive late in a flustered manner to show her nobility.
Sure enough, over there, Granny Li lifted the beaded curtain and helped the Imperial Noble Consort out. Today, the Imperial Noble Consort was also dressed in formal attire, a dark red auspicious robe, paired with an auspicious hat.
"Greetings to the Imperial Noble Consort!" The Imperial Noble Consort looked with satisfaction at the concubines kneeling before her below, but felt a little regretful, after all, she was not the Empress.
"Get up! We meet every two weeks, and you haven't met Consort Liu yet!" The Imperial Noble Consort glanced at Consort Wan with amusement. She was thinking of picking two capable women from among those selected to enter the palace to go to her palace, since there were still many empty rooms in Yongshou Palace!
"This concubine, Liu from Yongshou Palace, greets Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort, and all Your Highnesses and Consorts. I wish Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort good health and longevity, and all Your Highnesses good fortune and happiness!" Consort Liu stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Consort Liu was poised and confident, unafraid of the audience, waiting to be scrutinized by the ladies and concubines of the palace.
"Sister Liu is indeed naturally beautiful. No wonder she stood out among so many women in the Emperor's court and was able to live in Yongshou Palace, which is so close to Qianqing Palace!"
Guo Ying said with feigned envy, but in reality she was mocking her for being of average appearance and only getting the title of Ying through a bit of luck.
"Thank you for the compliment, Sister Guo!" Liu said with a forced smile.
"Now that you've seen her, you may leave!" the Imperial Noble Consort said listlessly. She had thought she was just another vixen, but she hadn't expected her to be this kind of person. It seemed that her cousin, the Emperor, had only given her the title of Consort on a whim and thrown her into the harem.
"Yes!" Consort Liu breathed a sigh of relief, having made a perfect appearance in the harem.
"Now that there is another concubine in the palace, can you adapt, Sister Chen?" The Imperial Noble Consort did not ask Consort Liu whether she was adapting, but instead asked Consort Wan.
"I live in the main hall, not sharing a hall with Sister Liu. There's no need for you to worry about whether I'm comfortable or not. Your Highness is being too kind."
Wanyi looked at Tongjia Shi with amusement. She was just saying that no matter how favored she was, if Kangxi came to Yongshou Palace and was snatched away by the other concubines, they would be able to laugh at her! Her reply meant that she lived in the main hall, and if Kangxi came to the main hall, how could she have any reason to let Kangxi leave!
"Since Sister Chen is alright, that's good!" Wan Yi's words put her at ease!
"New ladies are about to enter the harem. We are all old-timers, so we must set a good example and not cause trouble for the Emperor and me, or we will be severely punished!"
As for things like conceiving a royal heir as soon as possible and having many children, that's not something a mere imperial concubine like her can say. In her heart, she thought that more people meant more excitement, and excitement meant more trouble! She would definitely do a better job than the previous two empresses.
"We concubines will humbly obey the teachings of the Imperial Noble Consort!" See, this is why everyone is climbing the social ladder. Nobody wants to perform the occasional prostration; it's too tiring.
"Get up! Sister Chen, Sister Wen, come with me to Jin'an Hall to inspect the candidates with the Emperor. Everyone else, go back!" The Imperial Noble Consort was most pleased with this moment, as she issued orders and everyone else had to obey her.
"Respectfully bidding farewell to the Imperial Noble Consort, the Noble Consort Chen, and the Noble Consort Wen!" Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia led the way, with Consort Wanyi on the left and Noble Consort Wen on the right. They rode in the sedan chairs in a straight line, remaining silent the entire way.
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