Chapter 46: The Empress's Competition for Favor
It's easy to imagine that after singing Kunqu Opera for two hours in Yonghe Palace with all her might, even if Xiao Changzai had the best voice, it would probably be ruined.
After she returned to the palace, she summoned the imperial physician immediately.
The imperial physician said that it would take her at least a month to recover from her condition, which meant that at Xiao Jingheng's birthday banquet, she would have trouble singing a song or even saying a few words of blessing.
Xiao Changzai's favor was originally earned by her good singing voice.
Now that her voice is hoarse and she wants to keep Sheng Xin, she can only go to Chaoyang Palace and act coquettishly towards Xiao Jingheng, trying to win Xiao Jingheng's sympathy.
But she is really not smart.
She didn't have the family background of Concubine Chen, the figure of Concubine Yao, or the beauty of Concubine Song Zhao.
When she cried in front of Xiao Jingheng with her hoarse voice, Xiao Jingheng just felt disgusted.
Hearing that Xiao Changzai had sung in Chen Fei's palace for an entire afternoon and her voice became like this, Xiao Jingheng knew that Chen Fei was jealous and acting like a spoiled child again.
On the surface, he coaxed Xiao Changzai, saying: You are also stupid. The Concubine asked you to sing, if you feel uncomfortable, just refuse. Why do you have to be so stupid as to make your voice like this? "
Xiao Chang was stunned for a moment when he heard this.
She wanted to refuse, but as a concubine, how could she dare to refuse the Concubine Chen?
Just as she was about to say something aggrieved, she heard Xiao Jingheng say, "Your throat is damaged. It will be hard to recover if you keep crying. Go back and take care of it. I'll have someone send you some honey from Mount Zhongnan tomorrow."
In this case, Xiao Changzai had nothing to say and could only return in disappointment.
And that night, Xiao Jingheng turned over the name card of Concubine Chen.
Not only did he not blame Concubine Chen for this matter, he also smiled and joked after seeing her:
"Why are you arguing with her for no reason?"
"Of course I have to make a fuss. The Emperor clearly knows that yesterday and today are my 'happy days' and he clearly promised to accompany me."
When Chen Fei and Xiao Jingheng were alone, there were always no rules at all, but they were always full of fun.
She walked to Xiao Jingheng's side, slightly turned sideways, and sat lightly in Xiao Jingheng's arms.
"I prepared a large table of delicacies for Your Majesty yesterday, but Your Majesty said he would not come and he did not come. I must feel very upset."
As she spoke, she raised her head in Jamel Xiao's arms, smiling charmingly, and rubbed Jamel Xiao's chin with her nose like a cat.
"Your Majesty has made me sad all night, you must compensate me today~"
Her voice was soft, and her pair of jade hands moved slowly under her body, reaching for the waist of Xiao Jingheng's dragon robe.
Xiao Jingheng smiled brightly, leaned close to Concubine Chen and said in a low voice:
"You are the only one in the palace who has no manners. Where are your hands?"
He held the concubine's hand with his backhand, exerted a little force, and was about to take her to explore.
But at this moment, Jiang Deshun's anxious voice suddenly came from outside the door:
"Your Majesty... The Empress' heart disease has relapsed. Would you like to go and see her?"
When Xiao Jingheng heard this, he immediately stopped what he was doing.
He held the slender waist of Concubine Chen and moved her away from him, then asked outside the door:
"Didn't the imperial physician say that the disease would be less likely to recur in autumn? Why is it getting worse again?"
"I don't know either. The Queen didn't send anyone to pass on the message. She just summoned the concubines to take care of the patient."
The Concubine Chen looked at Xiao Jingheng's concerned expression and became more and more angry.
She understood in her heart that the Queen was clearly pretending to be sick!
So she got angry and didn't say anything nice.
"Why is it that every time I serve the Emperor, the Empress is uncomfortable here and there? Those who know her think that the Empress is suffering from a heart disease, while those who don't know her think that I am the Empress's heart disease."
Xiao Jingheng knew that Concubine Chen was unhappy, so he took her hand and coaxed her:
"I turned over your card tonight, so of course I have to accompany you. The Queen is not feeling well, and I can't just sit there and watch. If you don't like it, stay and wait for me to come back."
"The emperor has already gone, so what's the big deal if I don't go? I'll accompany the emperor, and also take care of the queen and fulfill my duties as a concubine."
After the two arrived at Fengluan Palace, almost all the concubines in the harem had arrived except Concubine Shu who was still recuperating from illness.
After Song Zhao followed the others to pay respect to Xiao Jingheng, he saw him walk straight to the Queen's bed and asked, "
"What does the Queen think?"
The queen was a little surprised by Xiao Jingheng's sudden visit, "Why is the emperor here?"
She wanted to get up and greet Jamel Xiao, but Jamel Xiao held her back and didn't allow her to get up.
"You are not feeling well, so there is no need to be so polite. What did the imperial physician say after examining you?"
The Queen said, "I am fine, I just feel a little stuffy in my chest. It just so happened that Concubine Ying came to see me, and when she saw that I was not feeling well, she summoned the sisters in the harem to take care of me. I never thought that I would disturb the Emperor's rest."
Jamel Xiao took her hand and pressed it, "It's okay, the most important thing is that you are okay."
Song Zhao watched the Queen's performance calmly.
If it wasn't her intention, why would Concubine Ying summon all the concubines to take care of her when she was sick?
And the queen was pretending to be ignorant even though she knew the truth.
It would be a huge commotion if all the concubines came to Fengluan Palace to take care of the sick. How could the people in the imperial court not tell Xiao Jingheng if they knew about it?
Her intention in doing this was obvious. She just didn't want Xiao Jingheng to summon her to sleep with him on the Concubine Chen's 'wedding day'.
Song Zhao could see this logic, and of course Concubine Chen also understood it.
Then she scolded Concubine Ying in a roundabout way: "The Empress asked you to help manage the six palaces, not to use a feather as a token of authority. When the Empress was sick, you didn't find the imperial physician first, but asked the concubines to attend to her? I'm puzzled. Normally, there is no famous doctor among the concubines. You made such a scene in the middle of the night. Are you really trying to make trouble for the Emperor and the Empress?"
Concubine Ying was not willing to be outdone and directly retorted, "We all came here willingly to serve the Queen, and I don't know who was upset by this matter."
"you......"
Seeing that the two were still arguing, Xiao Jingheng frowned and said, "Okay, the queen is ill, so both of you should say less."
Then he asked, "The imperial physician said that Empress Qiu's heart disease is less likely to flare up after she was admitted. Today, she suddenly felt unwell. Did the imperial physician tell her why?"
Xiao Changzai rushed to reply, "The imperial physician said that the queen was ill from overwork, and asked her not to work too hard on a daily basis."
Concubine Yun was puzzled and asked, "Normally, the Empress had handed over the complicated and trivial matters of the six palaces to Concubine Ying at the beginning of spring. The Empress should not have anything to worry about, so how could she have become ill from overwork?"
"Heh~" Concubine Chen sneered, "If it were me, Your Majesty would worry too much, which is why it hurts yourself. You need to take good care of your heart disease. Your Majesty should rest early."
The Queen naturally heard the sarcasm in Concubine Chen's words, but Xiao Jingheng did not say anything to stop her. She could only smile virtuously as usual and said slowly:
"Your Majesty is worried about what happened tonight. I am fine. Your Majesty should go back and rest with your sister, the Concubine Chen."
'Boom'
Just as the Queen finished her words of persuasion, a muffled crash came from the direction of the front hall.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Shuang Ruo, the head maid beside the queen, who stuffed something into the cabinet and closed the cabinet door in a panic...
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