Chapter 12 The Yellow Bird Behind
Two days later, at noon one day, Song Zhao saw Li Guiren standing in the sun, jumping up and down, sweating all over.
The palace maids stood aside and no one dared to persuade her, so Song Zhao asked Lian'er,
"What's wrong with your master? Aren't you afraid of getting sunburned in such a scorching sun?"
Lian'er said, "The young lady loved to stay cool in the summer, so she used too much ice at night and didn't cover herself properly with the quilt, so she caught a cold. Concubines who are sick cannot sleep with the emperor, so the imperial family hung up the young lady's green card. The imperial physician said that sweating more would help her get better faster, so the young lady insisted on going out to stand in the sun..."
"The noble has fainted! Go and call the imperial physician!"
As they were talking, Li Guigui suddenly fainted from exhaustion.
The palace servants swarmed over to check on her. Song Zhaoli stood outside the crowd and took in the excitement.
She saw that Li Guiren was almost dying, and she was holding Lian'er's hand and ordering her,
"By the way, tell the emperor that I fainted. The emperor feels sorry for me and will come to see me."
Song Zhao sneered and called her an idiot in his heart. He ignored her and turned back to his dormitory.
She didn't completely ignore Li Guiren. In the afternoon, she personally made her a bowl of green bean soup to cool her down.
Li Guiren had no appetite and refused to drink, so Song Zhao persuaded her.
"Sister, don't be so anxious. It's just a common cold. You can take medicine and recuperate in seven or eight days and it will be fine. Why do you have to stand in the sun in the middle of the day to torture yourself?"
"What do you know?" Li Guiren scolded her and turned to Lian'er and asked, "Have you informed the emperor? Does the emperor know that I fainted?"
Lian Er said, "My Lord, I have informed you twice."
Li Guiren breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in relief. But she soon remembered something, suddenly stood up from the bed and walked towards the dressing table.
As she walked, she kept muttering, "If the emperor comes later, he can't see me looking so haggard. Lian'er, come and put on my makeup!"
Song Zhao looked at her like this and didn't feel pity for her, he just thought she was ridiculous.
She thought that if all the women vying for her favor were of this kind, then life would be a little boring.
Later, Concubine Li finished dressing up and the good news she had been waiting for finally came.
A young eunuch who was unfamiliar with the imperial office came to tell Concubine Li the good news.
"Congratulations, my lord. The Luanming Chengen sedan chair has arrived at Yaohua Palace. Please get ready."
Concubine Li was overjoyed. After hearing the news, most of her illness was driven away.
She straightened her back and went to the courtyard with a happy face.
Half an incense stick later, the Luanming Cheng'en sedan chair indeed stopped outside the gate of Yaohua Palace.
The person who came to pick people up today was Zhang Jiugui, the manager of Jingshifang.
According to the rules, only when a concubine serves the emperor for the first time will she be personally led by the steward of the Jingshifang.
From now on, no one else will have this treatment unless they are the emperor's favorite concubine.
Li Guiren was even more delighted, and she walked up to Zhang Jiugui and started chatting with him, "Why is Eunuch Zhang here?"
Zhang Jiugui gave her a perfunctory smile, "Is your health improved?"
Li Guiren said: "Much better, thank you for your concern, eunuch."
Seeing that no one came to greet her, she simply opened the door of the sedan and went up.
"Alas, wait a minute, young lady." Zhang Jiugui stopped her and closed the sedan door. "The emperor did not turn over your card today."
"It's not me?" Concubine Li's eyes were full of surprise. She pointed at the young eunuch standing behind Zhang Jiugui who had just come to pass on the message and said, "How could it not be me? This eunuch just said that the emperor turned over my name card tonight."
"Stupid thing!" Zhang Jiugui kicked the young eunuch and said to Li Guiren with a smile: "This guy just came to the Jingshifang, I'm afraid he got the rules wrong."
As he spoke, he looked at Song Zhao who was standing aside to watch the fun, bowed to her, and said respectfully: "Song promised that you would be very happy. The emperor turned over your sign tonight."
As soon as these words fell, everyone's eyes were fixed on Song Zhao.
Concubine Li was so angry that her teeth were itching and blood was oozing from her eyes.
Song Zhao pointed at himself in bewilderment, "Me?"
Zhang Jiugui made a gesture of invitation and said with a smile: "My dear, please don't just stand there. Come in~"
Yunshan, who was standing by, was so happy when he heard the news.
"My lady! You heard it right. The emperor turned over your sign!"
But just as she said a few words of joy, she was in trouble again, "Eunuch Zhang, the eunuch just passed the message wrong, and my young mistress suddenly heard the news and had no time to change her clothes. How about you wait for a moment, and I will help..."
"Wait a moment?" Zhang Jiugui waved his hands, looking helpless. "There are rules for sleeping with the emperor, and we can't delay. Could Song promise not to embarrass me?"
Yunshan thought that although the swelling on his mistress's face had subsided, the rash was still there.
At least she has to cover it up with gouache. Otherwise, how can she leave a good impression on the Emperor if she goes to sleep with him like this?
However, Zhang Jiugui pressed him hard, and Song Zhao also said, "Eunuch is right. The rules cannot be broken. I will go with you now."
Li Guiren watched Song Zhao board the Luanming Cheng'en sedan chair with his pockmarked face, and she was so angry that she almost tore the silk handkerchief in her hand into pieces.
"She goes to the emperor's bedchamber with that face, is she trying to scare him to death!?"
I don't know if the emperor was scared to death.
However, anyone could see that Concubine Li was almost mad to death.
After sitting in the Luanming Cheng'en sedan chair, the bewildered look on Song Zhao's face disappeared, replaced by a calm and composed expression.
She heard Zhang Jiugui, who was following outside the sedan, whisper, "Today, Ms. Song has the opportunity to sleep with you, but it was hard for the Empress Chen to get it for you. Ms. Song must cherish it!"
Song Zhao said: "Thank you for telling me, eunuch, and thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Zhang Jiugui smiled and said, "I am here to serve my master. You are so grateful to me, but I cannot bear the responsibility. But Her Majesty the Concubine rarely cares about other ladies' affairs, which shows that Her Majesty values you."
"I understand that your majesty has good intentions, and I will not let you down."
Song Zhao's mind was as clear as a mirror.
The people in Jingshifang have always been flawless in their work, so how could they have delivered the wrong message?
This misunderstanding today was clearly deliberately arranged by Concubine Chen.
Firstly, he wanted to slap Li Guiren in the face in front of everyone and make her lose face;
Secondly, the imperial edict was conveyed incorrectly, so Song Zhao did not have time to put on makeup and change clothes in advance.
When she entered Chaoyang Palace with her face bare, and Xiao Jingheng saw the uncovered red rashes on her face, he might be disgusted and send her back directly, returning the jade intact to Zhao.
The Concubine Chen made careful calculations. In this round, she suppressed Li Guiren, gave Song Zhao an opportunity openly, and secretly made Song Zhao humiliated in front of the emperor. It can be said that she killed three birds with one stone.
She never dreamed that
She thought she was a mantis stalking a cicada and was one step ahead.
Little did she know that Song Zhao, who seemed to be used by her, was the one who was really waiting for the right opportunity to strike in this game.
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