The fact that Concubine Shugui was visiting her parents was no secret in the harem, and the Su family was not a top-notch family in the court. However, because the emperor showed special favor to Concubine Shugui, the officials in the court became more cautious towards the Su family.
Although the former dynasty and the harem cannot communicate with each other most of the time, they are sometimes closely connected. To put it more seriously, they prosper together and a single move can affect the entire body.
The Zhao family has been in a rather embarrassing position in the court recently. Previously, their niece from the Sun family, with whom they were on good terms, murdered the daughter of the Zhuang family, whom the emperor favored. This caused the Sun family to be held accountable, and the Zhao family was also looked down upon by the emperor. Now, even the daughter of the Su family, who had been oppressed by them, has been granted a special visit by the emperor. This has really made the Zhao family feel ashamed.
Seeing the empress lose face, everyone in the harem wondered if she would cause trouble for Zhao Chongyi. After all, if it weren't for Zhao Chongyi, the empress wouldn't be so embarrassed. Unfortunately, the empress had been in the harem for many years and would not do anything impulsive. During this time, in addition to sending people to inquire about Zhao Chongyi's health from time to time, she also gave her a lot of nourishing things, showing her virtue as the empress to the fullest, which disappointed those who wanted to see the excitement.
The date for Concubine Shugui's visit to her parents is scheduled for the sixth day of next month. During this period, some concubines of lower status came forward to curry favor with her, while the other concubines either looked on coldly, thinking that this matter had little to do with them.
Zhuang Yuyan watched the activities in the palace in recent days, and somehow she remembered the content about visiting relatives in a famous novel in her previous life. It looked like a grand occasion, but it was just the last struggle after the prosperity. The emperor's attitude towards the empress in recent days has not changed much compared to the past, but she really didn't believe that the empress would not feel a little bit uncomfortable when letting Concubine Shugui go home to visit her relatives.
In this harem, every woman is a pitiful person, even if their hands are stained with blood, they are not really vicious. They are all sacrifices of the family, using their lives to exchange for stability or glory for the family. Even if they enter the harem, once they are favored, they will have unlimited glory.
"What a pity," Zhuang Yuyan blew away the tea stalks on the water and raised her head with a sigh. There shouldn't be many concubines like her who don't have so many psychological burdens. These beautiful women, as beautiful as flowers and jade, are wasted on a man. It's really a waste. In the previous life, how many curses would such a man have to suffer from other same-sex people?
"Master, the Empress sent someone to say that there will be a chrysanthemum-viewing and crab-tasting banquet in Yu Garden at noon, and she wants you to attend the banquet." Tingzhu walked into the room and saw the master sitting on the bed, holding a teacup in deep thought. When she reported, her voice was involuntarily much lower. "Many masters in the palace have been invited. I also heard that if the emperor finishes his government affairs, he may rush over."
"Appreciating chrysanthemums and tasting crabs at this time?" Zhuang Luoyan glanced at the bright sunlight outside the window. This was not the time when chrysanthemums were in full bloom, nor was it the best time to eat crabs. What did the Queen mean by doing this?
"The crabs are not plump enough at this moment, and they are probably not cooked enough to eat. I think we can only taste them for the sake of freshness. If we want to eat the really delicious big crabs, we will probably have to wait for another month or two." Ting Zhu smiled and replaced the dried flowers in the vase, then looked at Zhuang Luyan who had a calm expression, "But you can't eat too many crabs at this moment. Even if you like them, you have to be careful. Eating too much will cause stomach upset, which is a problem."
It's just a matter of novelty, why not more?
Zhuang Yuyan sneered, put down the teacup in her hand, picked up the round fan beside her and waved it slowly: "Then I still have to take care of it. Ask the people in the palace to prepare the sedan chair. When it's time to go, we can go."
Being an empress is not easy. Concubine Shugui has been too popular in the harem in recent days. She is using this banquet to warn some of the concubines in the harem who are too active. No matter how favored Concubine Shugui is, she is just a concubine. She is the real master of the harem.
As a woman in the harem, she may not necessarily care whether the emperor favors her the most, but she will definitely care about her status as the empress in the palace. She is somewhat dissatisfied with Concubine Shugui's recent popularity.
This banquet might have been meant as a warning to Concubine Shugui, but the Emperor actually attended it. It seemed that the Emperor was really afraid that there would be chaos in the harem, and now he was providing a backstage support for the Empress.
When Zhuang Yuyan rushed to Yu Garden, it was neither too early nor too late, but the Queen, as the main person, had already arrived. She stepped forward and bowed politely. The Queen treated her very gently and arranged a good position for her, which was enough to show her "important" status in the harem.
Afterwards, more concubines arrived in twos and threes. Concubine Shugui and Su Xiuyi arrived later. Concubine Shugui was wearing a pink silk dress, and her face was as beautiful as a peach blossom. There were many concubines who were younger than Concubine Shugui, and compared with her, the only word to describe them was dull.
"I've seen the Empress. I'm late. Please forgive me, Her Majesty." Concubine Shugui seemed to have always been like this, gentle and elegant. She was an infinitely beautiful woman at first sight. Even if she was a little late, others would not think she was being neglectful. Such a person seemed to be born with a likable aura, making people who didn't know the truth unconsciously use beautiful words to describe her.
Zhuang Yuyan knew that such a woman was scary. She had a charming appearance, elegant posture, good family background, brains and skills, and was good at forbearance. A woman like Shuguifei must not be offended unless necessary, because being an enemy of such a woman was a difficult and painful thing.
"Shu Guifei has been very busy lately, so it's normal for her to arrive a little late, especially since I came a little early," the Queen smiled and asked Shu Guifei to sit down. She then turned to the eunuch next to her and said, "Since Shu Guifei and Su Xiuyi are here, let's start the banquet."
Wasn't this a hint to everyone present that the banquet had been delayed until now because of Consort Shu Gui and Su Xiuyi? The Queen was good at creating hatred between the two sisters of the Su family.
Although it is not the season for chrysanthemums to bloom, the pots of precious chrysanthemums on display did arouse Zhuang Yuyan's interest. Since the empress said that they were here to appreciate the chrysanthemums, she would not waste her efforts.
Although the process of eating crab meat is complicated, no one here needs to do it themselves. Zhuang Yuyan ate a crystal crab roe bun that was not much bigger than a thumb and felt it was a bit greasy, so she drank some chrysanthemum tea to rinse her mouth and stared at the colorful chrysanthemums placed beside her.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Taking the opportunity to stand up and stretch her stomach, Zhuang Yuyan saw the Emperor and Empress sitting down together after she finished paying her respects. She unconsciously glanced at Concubine Shugui on the other side and saw that she was still smiling as usual. She wondered if she could still smile like that in her heart.
"My beloved concubines, there is no need to be so polite. I did not want to come to today's banquet, but the Queen has worked so hard, and I cannot bear to waste her kindness in vain," he said, and then he picked up a crab roe bun and put it on the Queen's plate.
When the concubines saw this, they immediately said that the empress had worked hard and the banquet was very sumptuous.
"If you don't like the crab roe buns, you can try the crab meat steamed egg. It's tender and not greasy, and I think it suits your taste." After the banquet went on for a while, Xu Zhaorong, who was sitting at the top of Zhuang Luoyan, smiled and said softly, "The crabs are cooked in a gorgeous way, and the orange paste sauce is delicious. The crabs are full of red jade when they are cracked open, and the claws are crispy and fragrant. Don't let such delicious food down."
Zhuang Yuyan was slightly startled by the poem that Xu Zhaorong suddenly said, but she quickly reacted. Seeing that the emperor and the empress had noticed what was going on here, she smiled and said, "The crab meat is naturally very delicious, but the chrysanthemums are also beautiful. My sister was only concerned with admiring the flowers and forgot about the delicious food on the table." After saying that, she stood up and bowed to the emperor and the empress, "The chrysanthemum table prepared by the Empress is beautiful. I am not used to doing two things at the same time. I was only concerned with admiring the chrysanthemums and forgot about the delicious crab meat on the table."
"It's rare that you, a foodie, only cared about looking at the flowers. You can see how beautiful the chrysanthemums that the queen prepared are. Even a vulgar person like Zhao Chongyi who only cares about eating has forgotten to eat." Feng Jin smiled a little on the spot and gave the queen a lot of gifts. Turning around, he saw that Zhuang Yuyan seemed a little embarrassed, so he teased, "The queen, remember to pack some food for this vulgar person to take away later, so that she won't feel disappointed when she remembers to eat."
These words may not sound like anything special, but if you listen carefully, you'll get the feeling that the Empress and Zhao Chongyi have a very harmonious relationship.
Concubine Shugui glanced at the Empress and the Emperor with a smile, then quickly lowered her head with a smile.
Everyone understood that the emperor was making it clear to everyone that the empress was still the master of the harem, and that the matter between Sun Ronghua and Zhao Chongyi had been exposed, and should not be involved with the empress in the future.
There were no stupid women in the harem, and everyone knew that, and Feng Jian, the emperor, also knew that. The emperor and empress were in a good mood, so the banquet went smoothly. In the eyes of everyone, Zhuang Yuyan was not embarrassed when she was teased by the emperor, but she lost face.
The Emperor knew that Zhao Chongyi loved gourmet food, which showed that he cared about her to some extent. He should be more polite to her in the future and not cause trouble for no reason without realizing it.
But that was all, because there were other concubines who were more favored. People like Zhuang Yuyan could be considered favored at best, but not as highly favored by the emperor.
Perhaps only Gao Dezhong, who was standing in the corner, understood that the emperor's words today were not only to protect the dignity of the empress in the harem, but also...
Glancing at Zhuang Yuyan, who was not the most eye-catching among the concubines, it was not a good thing for a concubine of not high status to be at the center of the storm, not to mention that this seal also involved the previous dynasty and the queen.