For the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Xu Wen, the second wife of the Sheng family, rose at four in the morning to dress, and after breakfast, she boarded the carriage. Sheng Huairen, now increasingly handsome, possessed a certain androgynous beauty, and he and Xu Wen rode in the same carriage.
There were already carriages lined up on the way to the palace. One mile away from the palace gate, their carriage stopped and waited for the carriage in front to move forward.
Sheng Huairen looked at the plump white bean paste buns on the table and thought of Hong Yi Niang's increasingly plump figure. He picked up the bean paste buns and said to Xu Wen, "Madam, should the women's allowances in the mansion be reduced by half?"
Xu Wen knew what he was thinking and asked in a deliberately puzzled manner, "What do you mean by that, sir?"
Sheng Huairen broke open the red bean paste bun and said, "Look at Aunt Hong. There she looks like a gentle concubine. That's a big, fat, white bun."
Xu Wen covered her mouth and smiled: "My lord, I think Hong Yi Niang is very good, with a face full of blessings. She will give you another big fat boy soon."
Sheng Huairen took a big bite of the red bean paste bun and said, "I can't afford it. Starting this month, the women's allowances in the backyard will be reduced by half, and you and Brother Shu's allowance will be increased by 50%."
Xu Wen nodded, closed her eyes, and said nothing more. Sheng Huairen finished his meal with a red bean paste bun, a spring roll, and a bowl of goat's milk, then stopped and closed his eyes to rest.
It took a full quarter of an hour to reach the palace gate, a mile away. Once there, they both disembarked. A servant had already handed them their IDs and postcards, and they walked, one in front and one behind, toward the inner palace.
The palace's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was no different every year. Aside from the singing and dancing, the seating arrangements remained largely unchanged. Halfway through the banquet, Xu Wen, using the excuse of convenience, walked along the small path to Fengyang Palace.
After knocking on the door for a while, someone inside opened the door a little. Seeing this, Xu Wen immediately stepped forward and pushed the person in through the middle of the door. The palace servant who opened the door was almost knocked to the ground.
After Xu Wen entered, she lifted her skirt and rushed in. The palace servants behind her chased her and said, "Who dares to trespass into Fengyang Palace? Stop immediately..."
Xu Wen pretended not to hear and trotted all the way to the main hall of Fengyang Palace, dodging the palace servants. Before Xu Wen could say anything, Zi Yan came out. Seeing Xu Wen, the unhappy expression on her face faded, and she asked with a smile, "Miss Xu, what's wrong?"
Xu Wen ran so fast that some wind got into her stomach, and she burped loudly every time she opened her mouth.
Then Zishu came out of the hall and said, "Miss Xu, the Queen invites you in."
Xu Wen's hiccups stopped immediately, and she followed Zishu into the hall with a faint smile. From a distance, she saw Empress Jing'an, dressed in plain clothes, sitting in the main seat. Xu Wen's eyes flushed, and she knelt on the ground to greet him. "Empress, how are you these days?"
Empress Jing'an had a smile on her face. Zishu helped Xu Wen up. After Xu Wen sat down, Empress Jing'an said, "I'm fine. How about you, Shu'er? Are you in good health?"
Xu Wen wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk scarf, her voice a little hoarse: "Thanks to the blessing of the queen, my concubine and the child are fine."
Xu Wen saw Zishu had gone down, and there were only two of them left in the hall, so she leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, I actually lied. I was not fine at all, and Shu'er almost died." After she finished speaking, tears began to fall.
Queen Jing'an asked quickly, "But what happened?"
Xu Wen cried as she said, "It's all my fault. I wrongly trusted a woman, causing discord between me and my husband. My blind indulgence made that woman so bold as to want to get rid of Shu Ge'er. Your Majesty, you always said that being a woman is not easy, and that women should not make things difficult for other women. But, Your Majesty, the fighting in this mansion will never stop."
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