Chapter 145 Concubine Zhen, can’t stay
Emperor Xuanwu tapped her little head: "She did a good job, so she should be rewarded."
He looked at Fang Rumeng: "As for how to reward her, Fang Dianyi will decide, and report it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Fang Rumeng's face lit up: "On behalf of the embroiderers in the clothing room, I would like to thank the emperor and Concubine Zhen."
Tomorrow is the New Year's banquet, and Empress Zhu is still angry with the emperor and has no intention of attending.
Or it can be said that she is waiting for the emperor to say good things to her.
Every year's New Year's banquet is the grandest festival of the year. The attendance of the emperor and the empress can show the harmony of the harem, and the next year will be harmonious and prosperous.
But Emperor Xuanwu seemed to have no intention of reconciliation. Tomorrow was the New Year's banquet, but no one came to send her new clothes, and no one came to ask her about the arrangements for the party. What
she didn't know was that the emperor had already asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take full charge of the banquet, and on the grounds that the empress had a headache, he forbade the palace maids to disturb the empress while she was recuperating.
"Your Majesty..."
Fenyun looked at the Empress who had been sitting quietly by the window for the whole morning with worry. She gritted her teeth, knelt on the ground, and knocked her head on the floor: "Your Majesty, I beg you to go and admit your mistakes to the Emperor. If you don't think about yourself, you should also think about the Fifth Prince! If you fall, how can the Fifth Prince live?"
"Wa-ah-ah-ah..."
As if he could feel the sadness of Empress Zhu, the Fifth Prince in the arms of the wet nurse cried cutely, waving his little hands to ask Empress Zhu to hug him. The
Fifth Prince was almost one year old. The children in the palace were all precocious. He had already felt Empress Zhu's sadness and disappointment from her expression, and wanted to comfort his mother with his little hands.
After hearing the cry of the Fifth Prince, the lifeless eyes also shed tears.
Empress Zhu said hoarsely, "Bring the fifth prince here."
Nanny glanced at Fenyun and felt that the Empress was in an unstable mood at the moment, and was afraid that she would hurt the fifth prince.
Fenyun directly took the fifth prince and placed him on Empress Zhu's lap. The fifth prince immediately stopped crying, his eyes smiled into two crescents, and for the first time he called out in a not-so-standard way, "Mother... Mother... Mother..." "
The fifth prince is calling you!"
This call of "Mother" ignited all of Empress Zhu's fighting spirit.
She seemed to see her eldest and second princes who had passed away, and their faces gradually merged with the fifth prince's, becoming her third child.
A suppressed and broken cry spilled from her lips. She hugged the Fifth Prince tightly, and her tears soaked the little boy's shoulders. However, he sensibly reached out his hand and hugged Empress Zhu's neck tightly, and put his head next to her face.
Seeing this, Fenyun also shed tears: "Look, Madam, he knows how good you are to the Fifth Prince!"
Yes!
Such a young child knows who is really good to him, and can hug you and comfort you when you are sad.
The emperor is such a big man, but he keeps stabbing her in the heart.
Can't he come to give his first wife a step down?
No!
She can't just sit there and wait for death.
Empress Zhu wiped away her tears, her eyes gradually hardened, she took a deep breath and said: "Fenyun, Concubine Zhen...cannot stay."
She had not taken ruthless action before because she felt that Concubine Zhen was not a threat to her status. No matter how favored she was, she was still a concubine and could not affect her status as the empress.
But this time the emperor's behavior made her deeply aware of how terrible it would be if the emperor's love was given to only one person.
Today she can be Concubine Zhen, tomorrow she can be Concubine Zhen, and later she can be Concubine Zhen, Imperial Concubine...
In the end, she, the empress, will also abdicate and let the emperor take over.
Even if it makes the emperor hate her for the rest of his life, it doesn't matter, the position of empress will always be hers.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Jiangchuan from Hexi Palace is here."
The voice of the eunuch outside rang out. Empress Zhu put away the cruelty in her eyes and asked the wet nurse to carry the fifth prince away.
With the help of many people, the empress covered her tears and walked out of the back hall after no clues could be seen.
Jiangchuan had been waiting for a long time, but he did not show any anger or anxiety. He still led people to pay respects to Empress Zhu in a very orderly manner.
Empress Zhu was angry in her heart, but she did not wake up. Jiangchuan knelt down obediently without any resentment.
"Humph!"
The cold snort sounded cold and gloomy in the spacious hall.
Empress Zhu squinted her eyes and said, "Concubine Zhen has a few loyal dogs around her, but I don't know if these dogs know that they eat my food and should respect me, their real master." The
people in Hexi Palace... no... the entire harem, strictly speaking, are all servants of the Empress.
The salary of the harem comes from her.
The one who keeps these dog servants is her, the empress.
Jiang Chuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you remembered it wrong. Our queen only has one dog named Guolai. It usually eats chickens, ducks, fish, vegetables and fruits raised by the servants in Hexi Palace. But it is indeed a loyal and good dog as your Majesty said. Your Majesty, you really have a keen eye."
The implication is: Xi Que and I are people, not dogs, and Concubine Zhen has never treated us as dogs. But there is indeed a dog named Guolai in Hexi Palace. It eats Concubine Zhen's food and has nothing to do with the queen. It is indeed a good dog who is only loyal to Concubine Zhen. Your wise eyes can see it clearly. There are
more than just double entendres.
First, Empress Zhu did not treat servants as human beings but as dogs, so aren’t all servants serving her dogs?
Second, they did not eat Empress Zhu’s food, they were the emperor’s people, and since they were assigned to Concubine Zhen in the palace, they were Concubine Zhen’s people, and they were worthy of the conscience of heaven and earth. Third, they
were self-sufficient in Hexi Palace, they worked hard, had enough food and clothing, and were not supported by you, Empress Zhu. It was natural for servants to get salaries for their work, otherwise you would be serving them in vain?
Fourth, Empress Zhu had a good eye, and knew that the palace people in Hexi Palace were loyal to Concubine Zhen, so there was no need to sow discord, which was useless.
Empress Zhu was so angry that she clenched her fingers, and the veins on her forehead hidden under her black hair bulged, which was very scary.
Jiang Chuan knew that he had to give a sweet date after a slap, otherwise the Empress who wanted to save face would really get angry.
He knelt aside and showed the things that two palace maids were holding behind him: "Empress, this is the new palace-forged dress from the Clothing Room. Concubine Zhen thought that the Clothing Room must have sent it by mistake. Such a gorgeous dress should be what the Empress will wear at the New Year's banquet tomorrow. So... I quickly ordered my servant to send it to you."
Sent it by mistake?
This is impossible. How could the Clothing Room... Unless it was the Emperor!
Empress Zhu sneered at first, then stood up excitedly: "Did the Emperor ask you to come?"