"Ziling, be careful and pick out some things for the baby. We not only want to congratulate Consort Qing on her promotion to the rank of Consort, but more importantly, we want to congratulate her on her pregnancy, don't you think!"
Ruan Yumu gave instructions to Ziling, and specifically emphasized the word "pregnant".
That's absolutely true. Li Qingzhou was clearly faking her pregnancy, yet she made such a big fuss about it. Wasn't that obviously slapping Geng Yulin in the face?
Although only Ruan Yumu among the concubines knows about this matter so far.
"Sister, you've arrived. Your humble servant greets Consort Mu!" Ruan Yu Mu looked at the person before her, seemingly unfamiliar with her at all! Her gaze shifted to Zi Ling, as if asking, "Who is she?"
Zi Ling immediately understood what she meant and came out to greet her, "This servant greets Your Highness Wanrong!"
Ruan Yu Mu then realized that this was the woman who had come in with Li Qingzhou during last year's talent show, and was still Consort Wanrong. Not only that, but she didn't even recognize her, which showed that she was the one who truly lived a secluded life.
"So it's Wanrong's younger sister, Yu Chenghua! I've long heard of your stunning beauty, and you've grown into a graceful young lady since I last saw you. You must be sixteen by now!"
Yu Chenghua straightened himself and began to reply to Consort Mu, "Your Majesty, I only had a brief encounter with Consort Mu on the day she gave birth. However, Your Majesty was too busy at the time, and I did not have any conversation with you."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yu Mu began to understand. It was probably because Li Qingzhou, who had entered at the same time, was now Consort Qing, while she was still Consort Wanrong. In fact, she seemed to have been forgotten in the harem, so Yu Chenghua wanted to seek refuge with her.
Even though the Emperor often visited Yujing Palace for the sake of the two children, Ruan Yu Mu was actually disdainful. Now that there was another infertile pawn, wasn't that just perfect?
"Yes, sister, it's quite boring in the palace all day long. If you don't mind, you can come to my Yujing Palace often to catch up. I heard that your father is now in charge of a horse farm with 100,000 troops. Our family backgrounds are similar, so we must have a lot to talk about in our private quarters."
Yu Chenghua was not very happy. Consort Mu's father was just a stable boy next to the horse stable, but his own father was the governor in charge of all the horses. How could their family backgrounds be the same?
But since she was Consort Mu from the palace, I could only force a smile. "Yes, Consort Mu, we should definitely visit each other more often! I haven't expected that in the year since I entered the palace, I've only seen His Majesty at gatherings. It seems I'm no match for Consort Mu!"
Just then, Qiao Siyu and Fu Lusi arrived.
"Sister, what are you talking about?" Qiao Siyu was as enthusiastic as ever. Originally, Ruan Yumu had some estrangement because of her arranging the assassin, but after realizing that she had misunderstood, she still smiled and said to Qiao Siyu, "Sister, there's no need for formalities. Let's go in."
Fu Lu nodded; she seemed listless today.
"Ziling, is Consort Zhaoyi sick? She doesn't look well." Ruan Yumu asked curiously. She had wanted to greet her, but Consort Zhaoyi seemed reluctant to speak.
"Your Majesty, you don't know this, I only found out this morning. It's said that when Consort Zhao was serving the Emperor last night, he forced her and had her hands and feet tied with ropes." Zi Ling shook her head, not quite understanding why the Emperor, who always seemed so gentle, was becoming more and more unreasonable.
"What?" Ruan Yumu exclaimed in surprise.
Zi Ling immediately put her hand to her mouth, signaling Ruan Yu Mu to keep her voice down, "Your Highness, please keep your voice down. This is just a rumor, after all. Don't disturb the ladies inside!"
Ruan Yumu realized that she had been somewhat out of line, so she immediately straightened up and went inside.
In the room, sitting side by side at the very top were Consort Mu and Consort Qing.
"Consort Qing, what a joyous occasion! Now the Emperor dotes on you the most, you are sure to have great fortune in the future!"
"Yes, yes, Consort Qing, no other sister in the entire palace is as lucky as you. You were promoted two ranks and directly made a consort!"
"But not everyone has children and can be made a concubine!"
"That's right, I doubt most of you are from aristocratic families, you can't learn that kind of seductive charm!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Geng Yulin. Everyone knew that the Emperor had appointed Li Qingzhou to manage the harem with her. Now that Li Qingzhou was pregnant and had been promoted to the rank of Consort, although she no longer held power, her status was still far superior to Geng Yulin's.
Geng Yulin has worked in the harem for so long for nothing, yet he hasn't received a single favor from the Emperor!
"Your Highness, what do you mean by that? The whole palace is full of people who have come to offer their blessings. Who are you to be chattering away? There are two Consorts of the highest rank and two Imperial Consorts above you! Who do you think you are?"
Ruan Yumu turned her head to look, and the person speaking was Fu Lu Siyue. Unlike her previous taciturn state, she was now directly confronting Geng Yulin.
It turns out that this matter dates back to yesterday's court session. A year ago, Fu Lu Si Yue's father saved the emperor and had been recuperating at home for more than half a year. Now that he has returned to the court, most of the Fu Lu family members have been sent to the military camp for training, in order to lead the army north soon.
Geng Yulin's father, the Minister of Rites, actually submitted a memorial impeaching General Fulu, claiming that he had been drawing a salary without working and had not served the country, and listed various posts alleging that he had rebellious intentions.
Qi Jingxuan had risen to power as the Duke of Protectorate and Grand General, and he hated people who abused their military power. It was difficult to judge his fault for the time being.
They then ordered the palace servants to detain General Fulu.
Thinking back to how Fu Lu Si Yue never served the emperor in bed, Qi Jingxuan felt even more frustrated. He wanted to ask Fu Lu Si Yue if she would be willing to plead for her father, but unexpectedly, last night Fu Lu Si Yue resolutely knelt on the ground and said to Qi Jingxuan...
"Your Majesty, do you think our Fulu family has wronged you in any way?"
The emperor demanded obedience and submission, a statement that instantly ignited Qi Jingxuan's fury. He was determined to get an explanation and directly forced Fu Lu Si Yue onto the bed. Unexpectedly, Fu Lu Si Yue, a martial arts practitioner, angrily broke free, which thoroughly enraged the emperor.
That's how those rumors in the palace came about.
"Oh, it's you. What's wrong? Your lip injury hasn't healed yet, but you're already speaking so aggressively. That shouldn't be! Hahaha, Consort Zhao, I've also heard of such a method of serving the emperor. It's truly the daughter of General Fu Lu, who knows martial arts. Her tricks are quite different from ours!"
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