"Your humble servant respectfully welcomes Consort Wanyi!"
"This servant respectfully welcomes Your Highness, Consort Wanyi!"
For a time, people came and went in an endless stream in front of Jiayu Palace.
Ruan Yumu also prepared a generous gift and went to visit with Qiao Siyu and Fu Lu Siyue.
"Oh, Consort Mu, what brings you here to visit me? I am a fourth-rank consort; by all accounts, it should be me visiting your palace!"
Ruan Yumu smiled. This Geng Yulin was no good either. He had just gained control of the harem and was already ostentatiously wearing bright red.
"This dress suits you very well!" Ruan Yumu praised loudly on purpose.
Geng Yulin smiled even more broadly, curtsied, and took Ruan Yumu's hand, her eyes crinkling with delight. "This was sent by His Majesty this morning. Although only the Empress can wear bright red, His Majesty said that red can ward off evil spirits and told me to be careful. But all of you sisters entered the palace before me, so how could it be my turn to ward off evil spirits? Wouldn't that be offensive to you sisters?"
Geng Yulin's words are truly interesting! What does it mean that it's her turn to ward off evil? It's clearly a veiled suggestion that the management of the harem has fallen to her, implying that the other ladies are not quite up to the task.
Zi Ling stepped forward, intending to teach him a lesson, "You!"
Ruan and Mu quickly reached out to stop the person.
Forcing a smile, she said, "Your Majesty really knows how to pick clothes. My sister is in the prime of her youth. Although this red dress makes her look a bit old, it still suits her quite well if you don't look closely!" It was unclear whether Geng Yulin didn't understand the hidden meaning in Ruan Yumu's words or simply ignored it.
She replied directly, "Your Majesty, I am only wearing this for you to see. After all, it is a gift from Your Majesty. Not wearing it would be disobeying Your Majesty's orders. All the women in the harem are Your Majesty's women, so naturally they must obey Your Majesty's wishes!"
That's right. Although Geng Yulin has remained unknown in the harem, how could she possibly stay idle? Everyone comes from a wealthy family; the battlefield for women is everywhere!
Based on her understanding of the Emperor, and having heard a lot about him in the palace over the years, she figured he must like obedient and well-behaved women. She couldn't follow in the footsteps of Chu Yue and the Empress.
But being too docile wouldn't work either. If it weren't for having a minister father, the emperor probably wouldn't even remember that he existed.
Rumor has it that Consort Qiao Siyu is the most beautiful woman in the palace, but seeing her today makes her feel ashamed of herself. She used to see her every day in Chuxiu Palace and never thought much of it! Today, among all the concubines in the harem, she is indeed the most alluring. No wonder the Emperor's favorite place is Chuxiu Palace!
Geng Yulin has been good at reading people since she was a child and knows how to balance the relationships between various women. When she was in the Minister's mansion, her father favored his concubines over his wife. Although she was the legitimate daughter, she and her mother still lived cautiously. Now that she has power in her hands, she is determined to support her mother and curb the arrogance of that concubine in the mansion!
Qiao Siyu simply nodded and didn't say anything.
Geng Yulin tactfully invited them inside, then turned to greet the others.
"Xing'er, where are the flowers I embroidered yesterday? Now that Consort Geng Wanyi is in power, I need to take the eldest princess to meet her." Xi Yun had been searching for a long time since morning but couldn't find them.
Xing'er walked in and knelt on the ground. "Sister, I've hidden it for you. This is a bracelet left by Consort Liu before she passed away. Give her this. It's an embroidery piece. I'm afraid the other concubines will look down on you even more."
Xi Yun stared at the bracelet. It was strange, Liu Ruhua had bought a pair, but her jade bracelet broke as soon as she put it on, while only hers was still intact.
Keeping it would only bring back memories, and the Liu family no longer cares about him. "Then let's give this! Jiayu Palace is so lively today, it wouldn't be right for me to hide, especially since the Emperor's new favorite is here!"
In the past, she and Xing'er took care of the eldest princess alone in the palace. Whenever they had time, the two of them would embroider and take the embroidery outside the palace to exchange for some money to make a living.
This unfavored beauty had her monthly allowance long since siphoned off by those with ulterior motives, but no one cared, as there were expenses everywhere in the palace. She was truly strapped for cash; even the charcoal for the winter fire had to be bought.
As Xi Yun hesitated, Geng Yulin's head maid, Hua Jian, arrived. She stormed in, grabbed a garment, and threw it on the ground!
"Don't wear this so shabby! And the Princess should also dress up nicely! Don't let people think that our Empress is mistreating the beauties in her palace!" As she spoke, she slapped Xi Yun.
"Sister, sister!" Xing'er looked on helplessly.
After saying this, Hua Jian turned and left.
"Sister, we just asked that madwoman Empress for help, and now Consort Geng in this courtyard is acting like this too! Sister!"
Xi Yun hadn't wanted to compete for favor, but now she was being bullied all the time, and she felt incredibly wronged. She picked up her clothes from the ground, wiped away her tears, and said, "Xing'er, I won't wear makeup today. I want them to see what kind of person Geng Yulin really is!"
When Xi Yun came out, Ruan Yu Mu was completely stunned. These clothes? Didn't these belong to Jiang Meng Yi? Didn't Xi Yun know? Impossible! Consort Liu had entered the Qi residence before Jiang Meng Yi!
Many people present recognized that this dress was the one Jiang Mengyi wore when she danced in the palace.
"You vixen, you have such a seductive look. I always thought you were a docile person, but I never expected you to dare to wear the former empress's clothes and parade around like that!" Geng Yulin immediately ordered Hua Jian to rush up and slap her again.
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