Although Shu Lingfeng is dead, he is a sinner.
The palace will not make any changes for him. The funeral arrangements will also be handled by the Imperial Household Department.
It's simply a matter of sending it to the vicinity of the late emperor's tomb.
Life in the palace continues as before.
Everyone is busy with the Empress's birthday celebration now.
On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, a banquet was held at Fengxiang Palace.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager also arrived, saying they were there to congratulate the Empress.
The Empress had been worried that the two Ye family girls who lived with the Empress Dowager would come today. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager did not send them out of the palace, and she did not bring them with her today.
That was still giving her face.
Shu Chengfeng also arrived early.
Today's banquet is a grand one, with relatives, families with titles, and a few ministers without titles but holding high-ranking official positions.
Who would dare to disrespect the Empress?
The Ning family members sat there, all feeling a sense of pride.
Those who came also brought congratulatory gifts.
The women in the harem also had to be sent as gifts.
Yan Nangui was too lazy to bother with the jewelry she had asked Shu Chengfeng for before. She didn't want the ones from the palace, but rather those from outside.
It is valuable enough.
It looks good, like something she would do. The Empress doesn't know the money was spent by His Majesty.
Naturally, joy followed.
The concubines sent gifts of jewelry, jade, and needles and thread.
Once most of the offerings have been made, the song and dance performance begins.
Today's song and dance performance is from the palace music troupe.
After a rather pleasant performance, seven or eight dancers bowed.
The Empress smiled and said, "Your Majesty, look, these are all women I vetted beforehand, and they are all quite good. Especially the lead dancer."
The woman looked up at His Majesty shyly, then lowered her head again.
The Empress's implication was quite obvious.
Shu Chengfeng smiled and said, "If the Empress thinks you are good, then you are blessed. Since the Empress thinks you are good, then reward you handsomely."
Having said that, he said nothing more.
A sweet feeling welled up in the Empress's heart.
She had her own ideas, but her husband didn't want them, which moved her.
Yan Nangui really wanted to laugh, and she actually laughed out loud. Looking at the Empress's deeply moved expression, she thought that the Empress probably thought that Shu Chengfeng didn't accept the dancer because of her.
Tsk tsk.
The wild geese flying south are quite clear; it's obvious that Shu Chengfeng dislikes them, okay?
Jin Lingyi was one of his own people back then. Whether he wanted her or not would have chilled the hearts of his subordinates.
Now that he's the emperor, why would he lower himself to someone he doesn't even want?
They weren't like that spendthrift Emperor Qianlong, who had three thousand concubines and still frequented prostitutes.
Shu Chengfeng is a very proud person at heart.
At first, everyone was very reluctant to accept themselves.
After all, she was only a second wife. In his eyes, she was far more noble than any singer or dancer.
The Empress has made a terrible move.
Regardless, the Empress's birthday celebration has passed peacefully.
When the banquet finally ended, both hosts and guests had enjoyed themselves immensely.
The very next day, the Empress was summoned and reprimanded by the Empress Dowager.
That night, His Majesty naturally stayed at the Empress's place.
The next day, when everyone was paying their respects, the Empress Dowager came to deliver a message, asking the Empress to come over in a while.
Since they have been invited, how can anyone say they shouldn't pay their respects to the Empress Dowager?
So the Empress led everyone to the Empress Dowager's place.
The Empress Dowager invited people in front of everyone, which was exactly the effect she wanted.
So he started scolding them in front of everyone.
"You are the Empress, and I only hope that you know your place. Was what you did yesterday appropriate? For the Empress to offer dancing girls to the Emperor—it's not a pleasant thing to say. What will people think if word gets out? Will they say you're encouraging the Emperor to go astray?"
"Mother..."
"Don't blame me for speaking harshly, but the emperor is young and at the age when he needs a good reputation. How could you think of such things? If I don't say anything, will the censors submit memorials?" the Empress Dowager said.
The Empress swallowed back her words of defense, her face flushed: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember your teachings."
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, please calm down. The Empress may not have meant that," Consort Xiangxian explained.
Unfortunately, she didn't finish her sentence.
"Alright! I'm not senile yet. The Empress may be ignorant, but are you ignorant too? The Emperor gave you this title to help the Empress manage the harem, not to make you unable to distinguish right from wrong," the Empress Dowager said calmly.
If she was relatively polite to the Empress, Consort Xiangxian was clearly showing no mercy whatsoever.
Consort Xiang's face flushed red, and she dared not say anything more.
Consort Ye was very pleased with herself.
Yan Nangui glanced at her and thought to himself, "What good is this good-for-nothing? What does the Empress Dowager see in her?"
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Empress has only recently become Empress. The mourning period is over two years, unlike now. Yesterday was Her Majesty's birthday, and I imagine she was happy. She only thinks of that girl's well-being, and that it's good that she can serve His Majesty. Your Majesty the Empress wants to give His Majesty everything good." Yan Nangui said with a smile.
"Consort Yan does have some insight?" the Empress Dowager scoffed.
"How dare I? I am but a concubine. I obey His Majesty, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. Fortunately, that dancer was raised in the palace. Although her status is low, she is not a scoundrel. Your Majesty the Empress meant well."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please calm down. We all understand that you are doing this for the sake of His Majesty and the Empress's reputation, and the Empress surely understands as well," Consort Murong said with a smile.
The others didn't dare to offer any advice.
The Empress then said, "Mother, please calm down. Your daughter-in-law is young and doesn't understand many things. She will definitely be more careful in the future."
"Very well, the Empress is well-liked, everyone speaks up for you. If I were to say anything more, it would only make me seem aggressive. So be it. Just be more careful in the future. Go back now." As the Empress Dowager spoke, she glanced at Consort Ye.
Her eyes aren't very attractive.
Consort Ye was startled, but she didn't know what she had done wrong.
After everyone left, Empress Dowager Ye summoned the Eleventh Miss.
"Well? You've heard it?"
Eleventh Miss smiled and squatted down to massage her legs: "Li'er heard it, Her Majesty the Empress was in a hurry."
"The Empress is impatient. Is that all you can see?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
"I'll be bold and speak my mind," Ye Zili said with a fawning smile. "It seems Your Majesty is quite popular these days. For the time being, I can't see any flaws in her. As for Consort Xiangxian and Consort Yan, they are probably wholeheartedly on the Empress's side. Consort Xiangxian was appointed by His Majesty, so she wouldn't dare to say anything reckless. Consort Yan's words suggest she has genuinely submitted to the Empress. As for Consort Murong, this one seems to have quite a bit of ambition."
"Hmm, where is the Imperial Concubine?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
Ye Zili paused, then smiled mischievously: "Aunt... Sister Yue... is so silly."
The Empress Dowager laughed, then sighed, "Fine, I don't expect anything from you. But with the Consort Gui in front of you, you should know what you can and cannot do."
Consort Ye is utterly stupid.
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