Chapter 262: Each one depends on his ability
Even though the empress dowager is old and has not interfered much in the affairs of the harem in recent years, she was able to use thunder-like means to subdue so many concubines and princes in the harem after the death of the previous emperor, and pushed her own son to the throne. This is enough to show that this old empress dowager is no ordinary person.
Queen Qin didn't want to have an open conflict with the Queen Mother over a minor concubine, Xiao.
After much hesitation, Queen Qin decided to go and have a talk with the emperor.
The emperor was reviewing memorials in the imperial study. He was not surprised at all to see Queen Qin suddenly visit him.
He waved his hand.
All the eunuchs and palace maids retreated.
Only the emperor and the empress were left in the imperial study.
Queen Qin said coldly: "I want to talk to your majesty about the prince's concubine."
The emperor was reviewing the memorials in front of him, and without looking up, he asked, "What happened to the prince's concubine?"
"The daughter of Grand Tutor Jing is not fit to be the Crown Prince's concubine."
The emperor asked back, "Who do you think is suitable to be the prince's concubine?"
Queen Qin said, "Of course it's Qin Shi Niang. She has had a friendship with the Crown Prince since childhood and is far more suitable for the Crown Prince than Jing San Niang."
The emperor stopped writing, looked up at her, and smiled with an ambiguous tone: "Qin Shi Niang only met the prince once when she was a child. The prince has already forgotten about it. What kind of friendship is this? Aren't you afraid of ruining your niece's reputation by talking nonsense like this?"
Queen Qin: "Even if we only met once, it was fate."
The emperor leaned back and looked at her solemnly: "It's just a concubine position, but the queen actually troubled herself to make this trip. It seems that the queen really wants this concubine position."
Queen Qin heard the sarcasm in his words, but she was not angry and still looked indifferent.
"I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."
Emperor: "What if I don't want to fulfill your wish?"
Queen Qin: "Then let's see how each of you performs."
The emperor sneered and said, "Okay, it all depends on your ability!"
That's the end of the conversation.
The emperor and the empress once again parted on bad terms.
After returning to the Pepper Palace, Queen Qin immediately wrote a letter and had it delivered to the Qin family.
She wanted the Qin family to intercept Jing Shilan and Duan Yuwei and prevent them from entering the palace.
But it was still too late.
The Emperor had long anticipated that the Empress would do such a thing. He had already discussed the matter with Grand Tutor Jing and Duke Duan yesterday. To avoid further complications, Grand Tutor Jing and Duke Duan sent Jing Shilan and Duan Yuwei into the palace early this morning.
At this time, the emperor had already ordered them to be sent to the Eastern Palace.
Anyway, it's just to establish a concubine. It's enough to simply set up a few tables in the East Palace as a token of appreciation. There's no need to prepare anything special.
So, when the prince returned to the Eastern Palace, he found that there were two more concubines in the Eastern Palace, namely Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan.
The two of them greeted the prince with red faces.
Luo Qinghan signaled them not to be polite.
Without much hesitation, he selected a palace for the two of them.
"Concubine Jing lives in Wanhe Palace, and Concubine Duan lives in Ningwu Garden."
Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan bowed again to express their gratitude.
As they arrived too suddenly, Wanhe Palace and Ningwu Garden had not yet been cleaned and were temporarily uninhabitable, so they had to be temporarily accommodated in Linde Palace.
In order to celebrate the arrival of Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan, the prince arranged a banquet in the Linding Hall.
All the concubines in the Eastern Palace received an invitation.
When this news reached Qingge Palace, everyone looked at Concubine Xiao with worried eyes.
Xiao Xixi was confused: "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Baoqin thought she was pretending to be strong, so she comforted her softly, "My queen, don't be sad. Even if you have Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan, you are still the prince's favorite concubine. They can't take away your favor."
Xiao Xixi didn't feel how sad she was.
But she still appreciated Baoqin's concern.
Baoqin specially helped Concubine Xiao dress up. When the sun set, Concubine Xiao came to the Linde Palace in a sedan chair.
The Linde Hall is particularly lively tonight.
Concubines from all palaces gathered here, all of them dressed up gorgeously. At first glance, it gave a feeling of a hundred flowers competing for beauty.
As one of the four concubines, Xiao Xixi's seat is right next to the main seat, which is a very conspicuous and good position.
Concubine Bai was sitting right opposite her.
The two people's eyes inevitably met in the air.
Before Xiao Xixi could react, Concubine Bai had already retracted her gaze, lowered her eyes to drink tea, and looked like she was ignoring everyone.
Concubine Li is still working hard copying scriptures in the Jinfeng Palace, so there is no chance for her to show up tonight.
When Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan appeared, everyone looked at them.
Both of them are rare beauties.
Concubine Jing was wearing a lotus green long-sleeved skirt. She had a gentle and virtuous temperament, and her steps were graceful and calm. She had the quiet temperament that was unique to a family of scholars.
Duan Liangdi was wearing a hibiscus-colored dress with scattered flowers. She had bright eyes, white teeth, and a cute apple face that gave people a delicate and innocent feeling. At first glance, she looked like the kind of likable girl next door.
They sat down next to the prince.
One on the left and one on the right, each with its own charm.
The prince, who was sandwiched between them, had no expression on his face the whole time, like a tool forced to do the work.
Since it was just a simple family dinner, everyone was relatively relaxed, and some concubines even took the initiative to express their desire to sing and dance for the prince.
The prince agreed.
In order to attract the prince's attention, the concubines tried their best to show off their best talents.
Concubine Bai had no interest in watching the show. She was drinking tea most of the time, and would look up at the prince from time to time.
Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan are similar.
Compared to the concubines' performances, they obviously cared more about what the prince was doing.
What is the prince doing?
He was looking at Concubine Xiao.
Concubine Xiao was eating and watching the show at the same time.
Putting aside the flirtatious glances that the concubines threw at the prince from time to time, the shows they performed were really great to watch, whether it was playing the piano, reciting poetry, or singing and dancing, they were even more exciting than what she had seen on TV shows before.
It's rare to have such a good show, so Xiao Xixi naturally wants to watch it more.
By the time all the concubines had finished their performances, the banquet was coming to an end.
The prince stood up and prepared to go back to rest.
All the concubines stood up and respectfully saw the prince off.
Except for Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan, all other concubines left the Linde Hall and returned to their respective residences.
Xiao Xixi hadn't walked far when she was stopped by Concubine Bai.
Concubine Bai still looks so weak and fragile.
She said meaningfully, "Women come and go in this palace, and no woman can remain in favor forever. Today we have Concubine Jing and Concubine Duan, and tomorrow there may be other women. Sister Xiao, you must be more open-minded."
Xiao Xixi said sincerely: "I am very open-minded. On the contrary, it is you, sister, who is in poor health. You must not get upset because of these messy things."
(End of this chapter)
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