"Your Highness! Consort Qi's behavior is truly outrageous!" Qingxue was furious, and Lvliu and Lvyan were also indignant.
I've seen people curry favor, but I've never seen anything like this—dressing up a palace maid in all her finest clothes and sending her to the Hall of Mental Cultivation!
Qian Shengyan was also helpless, but—if only Consort Qi had thought it through more, she wouldn't have done such a thing.
Emperor Yinzhen was a man of pride. Would he really favor a palace maid in the Hall of Mental Cultivation? Especially a palace maid who looked somewhat like his imperial concubine?
It's still so ostentatious... If she were from the Li family, she should have hidden herself well in the palace and brought her out when Yinzhen came over; perhaps then she would still have a chance to be favored.
Qian Shengyan shook her head, deciding to add fuel to the fire: "Let's change clothes and go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to take a look."
In Changchun Palace.
Ulanara was almost amused by Li's stupidity. She slammed the teacup in her hand to the ground, sat down in a chair to calm herself for a while, and then opened her eyes and said, "This move is a waste."
They finally found someone who looked similar, and went to great lengths to send her to that idiot's palace, but an idiot is an idiot! She managed to ruin such a good game!
“Consort Qi previously asked her family to find a woman who looks just like Consort Hua…” Yanru suggested, but Ulanara sneered and shook her head: “It’s no use.”
Yanruo didn't understand, but she could understand Li's thoughts. The Emperor's favorites at the moment were naturally the two Consorts. One Consort was bright and beautiful, and the other was gentle and graceful. Since they had already found one based on Consort Xi's appearance, why not find another based on Consort Hua's appearance? It's better to bet on two than on just one.
Ulanara only shook her head and sneered. The Emperor's thoughts were so well hidden that they had been kept in the dark by so many people.
What was Consort Hua's favor compared to that? It was only because of Nian Gengyao. But the only one who truly received the Emperor's affection was one person.
That palace maid move was a risky gamble, but Li Shi foolishly played it, wasting all her efforts.
That's it, this plan won't work, let's think of another way.
Ulanara pressed her forehead with one hand; her headache, which hadn't flared up for a long time, was starting again.
Seeing her like this, Yanruo ran over to massage her and changed the subject to something happy: "The Third Prince has grown up a lot. He has been studying diligently lately. I heard from the people in the Third Prince's courtyard that he spends most of his time in the study and rarely goes to the backyard anymore!"
“Hmm, Hongshi…” Ulanara smiled, but remembering that her plan had been forced to stop, and that there was no way to get Hongshi under her name now, she became angry again, “That idiot Li!”
Yanruo didn't know what was wrong with Ulanara, and was too scared to say anything more, so she just focused on massaging her.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
When Yinzhen heard that Consort Qi had arrived, he thought that Hongshi had been behaving well recently and was willing to give her face, so he called her in. However, the woman who entered first was not Lady Li, but another woman he did not recognize.
He frowned slightly, about to reprimand her, when the woman quietly raised half of her face, and a somewhat familiar profile came into Yinzhen's view.
Yinzhen was speechless for a moment, then flew into a rage: "Consort Qi!!!"
"Your Majesty..." Lady Li panicked. She felt that this shouldn't be the case. She was so young and beautiful and resembled Consort Xi. Shouldn't Your Majesty have liked her at first sight?
"Get out of here!" Yinzhen roared in anger, slamming a paperweight on the ground. Instantly, all the eunuchs and maids in the West Warm Pavilion knelt down. Su Peisheng, who was closest to the palace maid, saw her face and immediately wanted to spit in disgust.
Is this how people try to curry favor?
Besides, humph, these are all things the Emperor has already done!
Qian Shengyan was nearby and arrived quickly. Upon entering, she saw the scene of people kneeling on the ground. She paused, but her tone remained calm: "This... Your Majesty, I have come at an inopportune time..."
"Aren't you going to get out of here?" Upon hearing that Qian Shengyan had arrived, Yinzhen became even more impatient with Li Shi. Li Shi didn't react for a moment and murmured "Ah," when a pair of embroidered shoes stepped in front of her.
There was only one concubine in the palace who refused to wear platform shoes when going out, and that was Consort Xi.
It's Consort Xi who's here!
Li's face flushed instantly, and she realized she had done something stupid. She wished she could disappear from the spot immediately; right, she also had to take Siyan with her.
That's right, she also came up with the name Siyan. Since she was already going to disgust Qian Shengyan, she didn't care about anything else.
However, the Emperor's attitude was not right, and Qian Shengyan suddenly came. Li Shi was flustered and did not know how to deal with it.
Qian Shengyan smiled and approached the palace maid, lifted her chin with two fingers and looked at her, then chuckled, "Indeed young and delicate, it makes me nostalgic."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen suddenly remembered what she had said about being young and old a few days ago when she returned from Zhongcui Palace, and immediately understood what she meant that day.
He glanced at Qian Shengyan with a half-smile, temporarily suppressing his anger, wanting to see what she was up to.
"This servant...this servant greets Consort Xi..." Si Yan's voice trembled uncontrollably. Qian Shengyan chuckled, suddenly recalling the cunning and treacherous demeanor of the concubines in the TV dramas she had watched before. She turned back and smiled, looking at Yinzhen and asking, "Does Your Majesty not like it?"
"Hmm?" Yinzhen was taken aback, not expecting that he was involved. He pondered for a moment, "Should I like it?"
"I quite like it. How about we bestow upon her the title of Lady of the Palace or something, and she can stay in Zhongcui Palace for now?" Qian Shengyan suddenly had an idea. She looked at Li Shi again, said nothing, and smiled slightly, which made Li Shi's expression change.
Yinzhen hesitated for a moment, not understanding what Qian Shengyan meant, but since it was a promise, it didn't matter: "Then let's bestow the title of 'Consort'?"
"What's your name, little sister? Look how tender your little face is! How old are you this year?" Qian Shengyan asked with a beaming smile, pulling Siyan up. Siyan hesitated and dared not answer. Qian Shengyan then looked at Madam Li, "It seems this little sister is frightened. Consort Qi, shall answer for her?"
To utter Siyan's name at this moment would be tantamount to suicide. Li gritted her teeth and said, "A palace maid has no name. I beg the Noble Consort Xi to bestow a name upon her."
"This servant, this servant's name is Xiang'er, and I am sixteen years old this year," Xiang'er answered softly.
“Then let’s choose Consort Xiang,” Qian Shengyan declared decisively. “The Emperor’s harem is empty. With a new sister to keep him company, I believe the Emperor will be happier.”
At this moment, Yinzhen was completely bewildered, but he knew he wouldn't be happy over whether a woman smelled good or bad. Looking at the woman's appearance, and then at Qian Shengyan—oh well, in this kind of situation, he'd just let it be.
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