"Noble Lady Sheng, once you enter the palace, you will no longer be alone. You will get along well with the sisters in the palace, serve the emperor together, and continue to have children.
This is a welcome gift from me to you."
"Thank you, Queen."
Inside the brocade box was a pair of emerald green jade bracelets. Concubine De smiled and said, "The Empress is truly generous. Concubine Sheng will surely rise to great heights in the future."
Sheng Xiyan stood up and returned to the seat of the lower-ranking concubines in the back.
Not long after, around the hour of Mao, Empress Duan led the concubines to the Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
The smell of sandalwood in the Cining Palace was so warm that it felt even more solemn. The concubines seemed very obedient, unlike in the Jingren Palace.
The Empress Dowager is graceful and elegant. Although her temples are gray, her appearance shows that she must have been a stunning beauty when she was young.
Empress Duan took the initiative to greet, "Noble Lady Sheng, come and pay your respects to the Empress Dowager."
Sheng Xiyan stepped forward and kowtowed respectfully, "I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. May you be blessed with good health."
The Empress Dowager said majestically, "Raise your head."
The moment Sheng Xiyan looked up, the empress dowager's amber eyes narrowed slightly. This woman was indeed beautiful, and in a trance, she also had an indescribable strange feeling.
"The Emperor has made an exception and allowed you to enter the palace. Now that you are in the palace, you must strictly abide by the palace rules and serve the Emperor wholeheartedly."
"Yes, Queen Mother."
Empress Duan called out, "Noble Lady Sheng, please get up."
The Empress Dowager said displeasedly, "Queen, you are too gentle and lack the bearing of a mother to rule the country. You must manage the six palaces strictly so that the concubines can be self-disciplined and observe etiquette."
Empress Duan said humbly, "Your Majesty, what you said is true. I will take note of it."
Afterwards, Empress Duan served morning tea to the Empress Dowager. After drinking the tea, the Empress Dowager said, "There will be another person coming to the palace in a few days."
Concubine Liang smiled and said, "Aunt, is Sister Yunluan going to enter the palace?"
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "It is her, Queen. You will be responsible for preparing her entry into the palace."
"Don't worry, mother. I will take care of it."
"Empress, please discuss with the Emperor about giving Yunluan an auspicious title."
"Yes, mother."
Concubine Liang felt disappointed. When she first entered the palace, the Empress Dowager did not ask the Emperor to give her a title, and she still has no title!
Is the difference between a niece and a nephew so big?
What Concubine Liang didn't know was that the Empress Dowager wanted to make Su Yunluan a noble concubine the day before, but Xuan Ling flatly refused.
"Mother, Su Yunluan is only the legitimate daughter of the Rongguo Mansion. There are many concubines in the palace with better family backgrounds than hers. If we make her a noble concubine, what will others think? What will the court officials think?"
The Empress Dowager knew that her behavior was unreasonable, so she had to give up the idea for the time being.
It was already noon when the head nurse of the Cining Palace called out, "Kneel down and pay your respects."
The concubines all stood up and left the Cining Palace in an orderly manner.
When they arrived at the palace gate, Concubine Min was still waiting for Sheng Xiyan.
The two of them had been walking together for a while when suddenly several concubines appeared. Of course, they were all unfamiliar to Sheng Xiyan.
Lady Min reminded quietly, "The one in the front is Concubine Gao, and next to her are Concubine Lin Xiuyi and Concubine Chun.
The rank of Jieyushi is fourth, the rank of Xiuyi is fifth, and the rank of Pin is sixth.
The positions of these three people were higher than hers. Sheng Xiyan knew from their expressions that they had come with ill intentions. However, she had just entered the palace yesterday, so how had she provoked them?
Sheng Xiyan and Min Meiren bowed and said, "Meet Sister Gao, Sister Lin, and Sister Zhang."
Lin Xiuyi curled her lips and said, "How dare a mere low-ranking concubine like us sisters be worthy of them?"
Concubine Min shrank back timidly. Concubine Gao looked Sheng Xiyan up and down and wanted to grab her hair, but Sheng Xiyan dodged quickly.
"Last night, the Emperor was going to summon me to his bed, but it was you, a vixen, who ruined the whole thing!"
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