Noble Lady Yuan didn't care what Concubine Li was thinking. She just looked around the flower hall again and said, "Sister, you are really something. I know you don't have much money, but didn't I send you ten thousand taels of silver notes that day? Why didn't you use it? Maybe it's because I have never organized a palace banquet myself, so I don't have much experience. To be honest, this palace banquet is really not held like this."
Concubine Li looked a little embarrassed, but Concubine Yuan continued, "Are you afraid that you will be short of money again after you spend all the money? Oh, you! If you have no money, just tell me. Even if I have to sell everything I have, I will help you! You know, we are sisters."
"Hmph!" Concubine Li finally spoke, her tone sarcastically: "Yes! When I was short of money, I asked you for it, because you are richer than me, you have the support of your mother's family, and I don't, so I never dare to spend money lavishly. You also know that we are sisters, but I don't understand. We are both biological children, why can the Liu family help and protect my sister wholeheartedly, but ignore me, their daughter?"
Concubine Yuan laughed, "Look at what you said, sister. How come my family doesn't care about you anymore? Every time I write to you, they always ask about you. Mother also said that you haven't had any contact with us since you entered the palace. I don't know what you think. I'm afraid you think your mother's family will be a burden to you, so you don't dare to curry favor with them."
As soon as these words came out, Concubine Li had to admit a fact. She really had not contacted her family since she entered the palace. She even avoided seeing her father and mother when they came to visit her in the early years. She did not do this on purpose. She was just timid when she first entered the palace and did not dare to interact with her family. Later, her personality gradually became more withdrawn and she did not want to see anyone all day long. This is why they gradually became estranged. But no matter what, it was all her fault. It was really unreasonable to blame her mother's family at this time.
Everyone in the hall heard what Concubine Yuan said clearly. For a while, many people were talking about Concubine Li in private, accusing her of being unkind and now blaming others. Even Zhu Kongshan understood why Concubine Li looked at her so badly today. The problem was really with Concubine Yuan.
"Ah Heng." Xuan Tiange leaned close to Feng Yuheng's ear and said, "Do you know? The other day, Concubine Yuan sent a troupe to Concubine Li, and even instigated Concubine Li to invite the Queen to come and listen to the opera. Concubine Li foolishly thought that her sister had good intentions, so she eagerly invited the Queen to come. Guess what happened? The troupe actually sang a play about a fight between the mistress and the concubine, and the mistress lost the fight. Don't you think it's funny?"
Ren Xifeng grinned as she heard this. "In the palace, the queen is naturally the mistress of the house. Although the concubines have noble status, they are just concubines. Singing that kind of drama in front of the queen, the queen must have been offended by Concubine Li."
"So this is Concubine Li's attitude towards Noble Yuan's people today?" Feng Yuheng nodded, "If that's the case, we should give them some face." She reached into her sleeves and found the banknotes that she had prepared to give to Concubine Li! "Although I don't like Concubine Li either, compared to Noble Yuan... I'm still willing to cause trouble for the Eighth Prince's mother."
She raised the corners of her lips, stood up, and walked slowly towards Concubine Li.
Xuan Tiange didn't know how she was going to make things worse, but when had Feng Yuheng ever disappointed anyone? Among all the brothers, Xuan Tiange disliked the Eighth Brother the most, even worse than the Third Brother. The reason was simple. More than two years ago, the Eighth Brother had proposed to Emperor Tianwu that she go to ancient Shu to marry, but was rejected by Emperor Tianwu. However, the news of this matter was passed around and she had held a grudge against the Eighth Brother ever since then, and she still couldn't let it go until today.
When Feng Yuheng walked up to Concubine Li, she happened to hear Concubine Yuan say again, "I sent you 10,000 taels of silver notes that day, thinking that my sister would hold a palace banquet and it would be an emergency. No, I brought another 10,000 taels of silver notes today, just because I was afraid that my sister would spend all the money on the palace banquet and her hands would be tight again." As she spoke, she actually handed a silver note to Concubine Li, staring at her with eyes full of "ill intentions."
Someone present was complaining: "Why does the noble lady have to give more silver? How could today's palace banquet cost ten thousand taels of silver? I'm afraid even ten taels can't be used up. Since the previous ones were not used, the noble lady doesn't need to give the silver today!" Concubine Li's unpresentable behavior made the ladies and young ladies below lose their respect for her. Even though she had the title of concubine, they felt that Concubine Li was not as good as Concubine Yuan.
"Don't be unreasonable!" Yuan Guiren pretended to be angry, "How can you say nonsense in front of Concubine Li? Why don't you apologize quickly!"
Under the scolding of Yuan Guiren, the young lady who had just spoken stood up reluctantly and bowed to Concubine Li, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I spoke too quickly and I won't do it again next time."
Concubine Li snorted coldly and said to Concubine Yuan: "She is right. What she gave me before was said to be a gift. Since the gift has been given, you don't have to give me the banknote today."
"That won't do. I brought it here specially. Sister, you..."
Before Yuan Guiren finished speaking, Feng Yuheng could not wait any longer, and coughed lightly and said, "You two, Ah Heng would like to interrupt. Today is the palace banquet of Concubine Li. Regardless of whether the banquet is decent or not, it is just to provide everyone with an opportunity to gather in the palace. It's just a formality, there is no need to dwell on the details." As she spoke, she looked at the young lady who was still half-bending her knees waiting for Concubine Li to call her up. The words were clearly meant for her. "This young lady looks unfamiliar. She should have never participated in a palace banquet before, right? That means she is the daughter of an official below the fourth rank. A mere fourth rank official dared to act so presumptuously in Changning Palace. This princess really wants to know who your father is? If I am lucky enough to meet him someday, I will have to ask him how he educates his daughter at home."
The woman was not afraid of Concubine Li because her family had told her that Concubine Li was easy to bully and that they were on the side of the Eighth Prince and Concubine Yuan. And the reason why she couldn't hold back and said something was because Concubine Yuan was sitting there, and she felt that she had someone to rely on. But she didn't expect that Feng Yuheng would come in between.
She was not afraid of Concubine Li, but that did not mean she was not afraid of Feng Yuheng. Hearing Feng Yuheng say this, her legs trembled, and her original half-bending kneeling posture suddenly turned into kneeling, and her voice trembled: "Princess, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."
Feng Yuheng ignored her and just said to Concubine Li, "I was so busy chatting with the queen when I came here that I forgot about the important things." As he spoke, he handed over the one million taels of silver notes he had prepared, "The queen has been reinstated as a concubine, and Ah Heng doesn't know what gift to give, so he just asked for something easy. Please keep this one million taels of silver notes, it's a little gift from me and His Highness the Ninth Prince."
When the "one million taels" was uttered, the ladies below were stunned, and even Zhu Kongshan couldn't help but be shocked.
One million taels! This is not a small amount. Princess Yu's generosity was beyond everyone's expectation. Some people even speculated why Princess Yu gave such a heavy gift. But think about it again. The Sixth Prince is now living in Ji'an County. It is said that he is a teacher there. I think he has a good personal relationship with Princess Yu. This money is probably given to the Sixth Prince.
But no matter who it was for, the silver was in Li Fei's hands. Li Fei was so happy that her heart and face were blooming. As soon as she received it, she did not forget to squeeze Yuan Guiren: "Not all relatives are so generous."
Concubine Yuan also had a bit of embarrassment on her face, but she forced out a sentence: "How can they not be relatives? Princess Yu is the principal wife of His Highness the Ninth Prince, and His Highness the Ninth Prince and His Highness the Sixth Prince are brothers." Although she said this, she had already cursed Feng Yuheng a thousand times in her heart.
Her original intention today was not to squeeze Concubine Li, but she just thought of a fact, that is: even if she climbed back to the position of concubine, she had no connections and no money. It was impossible to gain a foothold in the palace just by relying on her position. She thought of the strength of her side, whether it was inside or outside the palace, whether it was the Eighth Prince's or hers, which was incomparable to Concubine Li. She also wanted Concubine Li to understand the gap between the Sixth Prince and the Eighth Prince. In order to help her son get the throne, Concubine Li's pace was too far behind and she couldn't catch up.
But she didn't expect Feng Yuheng to support Concubine Li, which destroyed the situation she had originally planned. She couldn't control the situation for a while, and instead became the lowest-ranking group of people in the flower hall.
Concubine Yuan had no place to put her face, and the ladies below were even more embarrassed. Seeing Concubine Li pulling Feng Yuheng to be affectionate for a while, Concubine Yuan felt that she really couldn't stay here any longer, so she quickly found a reason to leave first.
After she left, Feng Yuheng had no intention of dealing with Concubine Li anymore, so she returned to her seat. Many people wanted to follow Concubine Yuan's example and leave, but Concubine Li was in a good mood again, and she even arranged for everyone to drink tea together, and smiled and talked to a few people, which made people reluctant to leave, but they couldn't save face and left.
In fact, all the young ladies present today had their own thoughts. Many of them did not come for Zhu Kongshan, but because they had feelings for the Sixth Prince. They came to the palace and prepared generous gifts for Concubine Li, hoping to win her favor, but their families were on the Eighth Prince's side, making it difficult for both sides. Seeing that Concubine Yuan was defeated, their original thoughts began to stir, so someone took the initiative to speak and divert the wind, saying: "In fact, this kind of palace banquet is better, it will not seem so restrained, and we can talk to Concubine Li at such a close distance, just like talking to elders at home, it is very intimate!"
"Yes, yes!" This statement was echoed by a small number of people. Someone continued, "I heard that in previous palace banquets, everyone sat far away, and there was singing and dancing in the middle. It was not only very noisy, but also very restrained. Today in Changning Palace is different. I think Concubine Li is really thoughtful."
As soon as these words came out, Concubine Li felt relieved. Yes! Although she was a little unhappy today, Feng Yuheng and Xuan Tiange supported her, and the 10,000 taels of silver blinded Concubine Yuan. Whenever she thought of Concubine Yuan leaving in disgrace, she felt very happy!
She couldn't help but sigh at Feng Yuheng's goodness again. She looked over and saw Feng Yuheng talking to a few people. She was smiling, playful and pretty. She didn't look like a married young woman at all. The more she looked at her, the more she felt that this girl was a good match for her son. She couldn't help but sigh: "It would be great if Feng'er and Ah Heng got married!"
Zuo'er was so scared that he quickly pulled her sleeve and said in a low voice: "My lady, you must not say this today!"
Concubine Li also knew that she had said something wrong, so she stopped talking in a huff. She looked around and saw that no one had noticed, so she felt relieved. But when she glanced around, she saw Feng Fendai, who was originally sitting closest to the door, standing up and walking towards her with a smile...
...
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