Chapter 51 The Real Murderer
"It has been more than half a year since Zhen Zhaoyi entered the palace, right?"
After the family banquet, the emperor returned to his study to handle government affairs. Empress Zhu kept Concubine De, Concubine Liang and Jiang Xinyue.
Before they exchanged a few words of greeting, Concubine Liang looked at Jiang Xinyue's belly and raised her eyebrows slightly: "You are one of the most favored concubines in the harem except Concubine Li Gui. How come Concubine Rong is pregnant, but you are still not moving?"
Although Concubine Rong's child was not saved, at least she was pregnant!
Jiang Xinyue showed a frustrated look: "The emperor asked the imperial physician to see me. The imperial physician said that I caught a cold when I was young and my body was damaged. I need to recuperate for two or three years before I can have a chance."
It would be better for her to get pregnant when she is 18 years old than to get pregnant at 16 or 17 now. Her physical fitness will be much stronger after she becomes an adult. It's good for
her to want to be promoted, but she can't risk her life for this.
Glory and wealth must be enjoyed by life.
Concubine Liang covered her mouth in shock, as if she had not expected that it was because of this reason. She smiled awkwardly and looked at Concubine De: "It's nothing, Zhen Zhaoyi is still young, and it will be fine if she is born two years later. I was pregnant with the eldest princess several years after entering the palace. What do you think, Concubine De?"
Concubine De, who was suddenly named, was stunned for a moment before saying: "It's nothing serious, sister Zhen Zhaoyi's favor is still long! There is no need to rush at this moment."
The two people are also good at lying with their eyes open, but seeing that Zhen Zhaoyi was in a better mood because of their comfort, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
The imperial physician said that it would take two or three years to recuperate, and I don't know if she can still give birth? Two
or three years later, when the new concubine enters the palace, I don't know what the situation will be like? Will there still be people like Zhen Zhaoyi in the palace by then?
Even if she is really favored by the emperor and is made a concubine, she is yesterday's flower, which cannot compare to those fresh flower buds.
Empress Zhu sat in the main seat, feeling disappointed and relieved.
She was disappointed that she could not use Zhen Zhaoyi's belly to give birth to a prince who could be registered under her name. Fortunately, since she could not give birth to a child, she did not have the hard conditions to become an empress. If she could not give birth to a child, she would only be made a concubine.
She still had to find a suitable belly again.
In fact, it would be the best if Zhen Zhaoyi could give birth. After all, she had a superior appearance and was favored by the emperor. The child she would give birth to in the future would be beautiful and well-behaved. The emperor would be more partial to her because of her biological mother.
Since coming out of Yikun Palace, Jiang Xinyue's face has not been very good.
Xi Que and Shuangjiang looked at each other and did not dare to speak. They followed the sedan chair and walked forward quickly.
"Hurry up, don't keep the queen waiting."
Jiang Xinyue felt a flash before her eyes, and the sedan chair carried by four people flashed past her.
"Who is that?"
Shuangjiang looked up and said, "My lord, that is the mother of Concubine Li."
Concubine Li's grandfather was the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the head of the Prime Minister. He was in charge of all the civil officials in Dayan, including Jiang Xinyue's stepfather.
So the arrogant daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, who is now married to the Prime Minister and the wife of the Prime Minister, did not stop her sedan chair when she saw her, let alone come down to pay her respects.
She might still think that Jiang Xinyue is of low status and should give way to her!
This is the best...
Everyone thinks she can't cause any trouble, everyone thinks she is just a new thing for the emperor to relax, everyone wants to plot against her but everyone looks down on her.
In this way, she can survive in the gap and take down Emperor Xuanwu step by step.
With the imperial favor, the next step is the exclusive favor. With the exclusive favor, everything she wants will be within her reach.
Those who look down on her will find that it is too late to get rid of her.
Empress Zhu is thinking about her belly, which is not a good thing.
Before going to bed, Jiang Xinyue said to Shuangjiang: "Let's ask the people from the Textile Bureau to come again tomorrow. I feel like I have gained a lot of weight. Let them measure my size so that this year's spring clothes are not too small for me."
Shuangjiang was a little puzzled. The master was getting more and more beautiful. It seemed that because she was older, her facial features had matured, and she had a more mature charm on the tenderness of a girl, which made people unable to take their eyes off her.
She was not fat, but she seemed to be much taller than when she first entered the palace, and her figure was more slender.
Thinking of this, she nodded: "Yes, I will go early tomorrow morning."
It was time for the Textile Bureau to release new patterns. If she went earlier, she could choose more beautiful ones.
It was Xi Que's turn to keep watch tonight. She pulled out a note from her sleeve: "My Lord, Concubine Su bribed the maid who tended the flowers and plants in the Yu Garden, and she ran into the Emperor in the Yu Garden tonight."
On the night of the New Year's Banquet, Concubine Su and Jiang Xinyue wore the same clothes. Emperor Xuanwu ordered her to be dragged out, which made her lose face. Afterwards, Empress Zhu fined her two months' salary.
Concubine Su tried her best to clear herself, saying that the clothes were sent to her by the people of the Textile Bureau, and she didn't know that it was against the rules.
But after the Textile Bureau checked, no one admitted to sending clothes to Yanqing Palace, and the maids in Concubine De's palace could testify.
In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
No one could have imagined that the dress was sent by Jiang Xinyue's good sister in the Textile Department before she got married.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, the way for noble ladies to enter the palace was through selection, while the way for daughters of wealthy merchants was to pass the assessment and become female officials in the inner court.
The latter often had a skill and entered the Shang Palace Bureau and the Textile Department, where they could use their strengths on the ladies of the various palaces, bringing a lot of benefits and convenience to the family business.
The original Jiang Xinyue and the daughter of the owner of the largest cloth shop in the capital were close friends. When the original body participated in the selection, the girl also passed the assessment of the Textile Department and became the lowest-ranking ninth-rank female official in the Textile Department.
They had never had a chance to meet each other until the New Year's banquet was about to begin. The emperor asked the people from the Textile Bureau to send patterns to Hexi Palace for Zhen Guirong to choose. The girl then realized that her good sister had become the emperor's favorite concubine.
Excited, the two of them couldn't help but talk about their respective recent situations, mostly the girl talking and Jiang Xinyue listening.
It was just to ask her to do a small favor and make two almost identical clothes with the palace satin she chose, one more gorgeous for her to wear at the New Year's banquet, and the other one was falsely claimed to be damaged when it was cut for Zhen Guirong.
Damage to the fabric was not a big deal in the Textile Bureau, and with the maids of Hexi Palace testifying for her, no one doubted it at all.
Although Concubine Su was crying all the time, she was still pretty. Emperor Xuanwu was a person who cared about appearance so much that he even raised the most fancy snakes and was not afraid of poisoning.
Jiang Xinyue believed that Concubine Su would win the favor of Emperor Xuanwu.
"My dear..." Xi Que frowned and half-lying on the footstool: "Is Concubine Su really the murderer who killed our little Ai Jiang?"
She looked weak and cried easily. She had been in the palace for so long, and it was rumored that she was made of water and was very timid and cowardly.
How could such a person do such a cruel thing?
Little Ai Jiang was such a cute little puppy. Now thinking back, Xi Que felt distressed.