Chapter 5: Great Wisdom Appears to be Foolish
The moment they looked at each other, the air seemed to freeze.
This was the first time Song Zhao was impressed by a woman's aura.
Ying Fei's sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through her at a glance.
It was different from the past when she was dealing with Jiang and Song Yue in the Song Mansion.
Song Zhao knew very well that none of the women who could become concubines in the palace were simple.
She knelt down, bowed deeply, and performed the full ritual of greeting.
"I promised Song that I would pay my respects to Concubine Ying. I wish Concubine Ying a thousand years of happiness and good fortune."
When performing the Wanfu Ceremony, concubines of lower rank were not allowed to look directly at concubines of higher rank.
Although Song Zhao nodded and lowered her head the whole time and did not look directly at Concubine Ying, she could still feel that Concubine Ying was looking at her quickly with sharp eyes.
After a long while, Ying Fei finally said, "Don't be so formal. Stand up."
After everyone stood up, Concubine Ying sat in the first seat, sitting upright, and said in a steady voice:
"Originally, it was the Emperor who summoned you, but the Empress' heart disease relapsed, so the Emperor rushed to Fengluan Palace after leaving the court, and the Empress asked me to come and see you."
She paused, then sneered, her eyes fierce, "I didn't expect that I would see such a good show!"
As he said this, he slammed the table so hard that it made people feel scared.
"The emperor was investigating corrupt officials in the previous dynasty, but you newcomers are bribing eunuchs in the harem? It seems that your mothers' families are all well-known. Where did you learn these dirty things?!"
Seeing her angry, the four of them, including Song Zhao, knelt on the ground.
"Empress Ying, please calm down. I know I was wrong..."
Ying Fei glanced at them from the corner of her eyes and spoke in a slightly more gentle tone.
"I know that you entered the palace without any relatives or friends, and you wanted to live a better life in the palace and have someone to help you. It's human nature, and I don't have the heart to blame you too much, but if you use the wrong method and take the wrong path, it will be your mother's family that will be implicated."
Li Guiren kowtowed loudly and repeatedly said: "Your Majesty is teaching me that I made a big mistake out of ignorance. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me and give me a chance to make amends."
Xiao Changzai and Liu Changzai also said: "Please give me a chance to mend my ways."
Song Zhao was naturally not idle either. She just followed what others said.
When Concubine Ying saw Song Zhao also admitting his fault, she found it strange.
"Song agreed, you didn't do him any good, why do you have to admit your mistakes too?"
Song Zhao replied respectfully: "I didn't give Eunuch Shun any benefits, not because I didn't want to, but...I couldn't give anything decent.
Although Eunuch Shun did not accept the favor from me, I did have some bad intentions. Concubine Ying taught me that if I was wrong, I was wrong. I dare not hide it and make the mistake even worse."
Ying Fei seemed very satisfied with her answer. She smiled and nodded, then raised her hand and told everyone to stand up.
"Since this is your first offense, I will forgive you this time and will not tell the Emperor and the Empress about this. I hope you will behave properly in the future and not have these evil thoughts again."
Everyone felt as if they had been pardoned and hurriedly thanked Concubine Ying for her kindness.
Afterwards, Concubine Ying muttered a few irrelevant words and ordered the palace servants to lead them back to their respective palaces.
Song Zhao was assigned to Yaohua Palace, where Li Guiren also lived.
Li Guiren was a chatterbox. On the way back to the palace, she kept saying to Song Zhaonian:
"You are really stupid, I think. Concubine Ying didn't even know about your gift, but you took the initiative to admit it. If you are so naive, you won't even be able to protect yourself if you enter the palace."
Song Zhao looked puzzled, "Didn't Concubine Ying just forgive us? I guess everything should be fine, right?"
"What do you know?" Li Guiren lowered her voice and whispered in her ear. "Empress Ying is suppressing this matter on the surface, but in fact she has something against us. When we gain the emperor's favor in the future, she will most likely use this matter to threaten us."
As he spoke, he glanced at Song Zhao, frowned and shook his head, "Tsk tsk, you look like you won't be favored, of course you don't have such concerns."
Song Zhao nodded gently, "I am not as good-looking or well-connected as you, nor am I as smart as you. When we live in the same palace together in the future, I hope you can take care of me."
Her two sentences made Li Guiren very happy. She raised her chin and said complacently:
"You and I are naturally different. If you are willing to follow me as a follower in the future, I will be your concubine and I will protect you."
Song Zhao smiled, "Thank you very much, sister."
The main queen, Concubine Yao, was still living in Yaohua Palace, but today the queen suddenly suffered a heart attack, and the concubines all rushed to Fengluan Palace to take care of her, so when Song Zhao and the others arrived, Concubine Yao was not there.
Concubine Li lived in the east wing hall, and Song Zhao lived in the west wing hall. After entering Yaohua Palace, the two parted ways and returned to their respective palaces.
As soon as Fang entered the west side hall, Yunshan closed the palace door tightly, put down his gift, and pulled Song Zhao aside with a mysterious look on his face.
"My lady, although Concubine Li's words are unpleasant to hear, they do make some sense. Concubine Ying clearly did not doubt you just now, so why did you rush to admit that you gave gifts? Also, when I asked you why you didn't give gifts to Eunuch Shun, why did you say... he was not alive to take them?"
Song Zhao adjusted his sleeves slowly and said leisurely:
"My father has mentioned many times in the palace how the emperor dealt with corrupt officials in the previous dynasty. Since the previous dynasty has already begun to rectify the situation, the harem will naturally also need to eradicate such practices.
Just now when Li Guiren and the others were giving Xiao Shunzi some money, I saw a palace maid standing under the window, sneaking into the palace. They were all new concubines, what was there to see about her?
So I speculated at that time that she might be someone sent by the emperor or another master to monitor me."
Yunshan propped up her chin with both hands and asked with her head down, "The young lady clearly saw everything, why did she take off her silver pendant and give it to Eunuch Shun?"
Song Zhao said: "Think about it, if everyone else gave it but I didn't, what would Concubine Ying say to me when she saw it?"
Yunshan said: "She will definitely praise you in front of everyone."
Song Zhao nodded with a smile, "If she praises me, Li Guiren and the others will think that I am scheming, so how can they let down their guard against me?
When Concubine Li said those words to me just now, she totally treated me as a fool. This is exactly what I want.
If everyone thinks I'm stupid, then no one will be on guard against me, nor will they stare at me and treat me as a thorn in their side.
Even if Concubine Ying wanted to tell the Emperor and Empress about this, the four girls made a mistake together, so they should be punished together. They all have their own families, and for such a small matter, the Emperor doesn't need to offend their mother's family. The law does not punish everyone, that's the truth."
Yunshan suddenly realized that all this was part of his young lady's plan.
Her cat eyes sparkled with broken light, and she said with admiration: "Wow! My young master, you are amazing! Is this what the master always says... um... great wisdom appears foolish?"
Song Zhao sneered and shook his head in disdain, "If father knew what it meant to be wise but foolish, he would not have sent me to the palace."
Yunshan was puzzled and said, "My lady, you are saying something that I don't understand again..."
Song Zhao reached out and touched her head, smiling gently, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You just need to remember that the good show has just begun."
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