The next day, Zhuang Yuyan woke up early and the emperor was still lying beside her. She noticed that the emperor's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she knew that the emperor had woken up, but for some reason he did not open his eyes.
She carefully reached out her hand and gently touched the emperor's ear, then quickly withdrew her hand and tightly closed her eyes, looking like she was soundly asleep.
The warmth coming from his ears made Feng Jin stop opening his eyes. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes with a complicated expression.
When he was young, he heard the palace maids around him say that there was a custom in her hometown that when the husband went out, the wife would touch his ears to express her concern and blessing. Was Zhuang Yuyan's action today accidental or did she know about this custom?
Seeing the woman with her eyes tightly shut, not daring to look at him, Feng Jin slowly sat up, lifted the curtain and asked the palace maids and eunuchs waiting on the side to come forward to help her dress. Then he saw Zhuang Yuyan sitting up on the bed.
"When did the emperor wake up?" Zhuang Yuyan showed a trace of uneasiness in her expression, but she tried her best to hide it, "I slept so deeply."
"I woke up and saw you were still sleeping, so I didn't wake you up." Feng Jin opened his arms and let the maid help him tidy up his robes. Seeing that Zhuang Yuyan looked relaxed, he walked to the bedside in a good mood, slightly bent over and looked into her eyes. He didn't look away until her face turned red, stood up straight and smiled, "I think my beloved concubine has become more and more charming."
This guy is teasing me again!
Feng Jian left in a good mood with a group of servants. Zhuang Luoyan, with her long black hair loose, stood at the palace gate and watched him leave. When she could no longer see the emperor's carriage, she turned back to the house and sat down in front of the dressing table.
"Tingzhu, what rumors are there outside the palace about what happened yesterday?" Zhuang Luoyan let Tingzhu and Yunxi tie her hair while she selected jewelry from her dressing box.
"There are many rumors in the palace. The most bizarre one is that the palace maid died unjustly and the blue fire coming out of her body is her resentment." Ting Zhu didn't dare to say too much, fearing that Zhuang Yuyan would be scared. After saying a few words, he said, "But for now, no one has linked it to the queen."
"It's not like someone didn't throw dirty water on me," Zhuang Yuyan sighed and stroked her temples, "The emperor stayed here yesterday, which showed his attitude. Those who plotted against me have no way to stop."
"I also heard that Chief Steward Gao beat several servants to death this morning. Could it be the emperor..." Tingzhu thought about it carefully and felt that it was possible, so she stopped talking and tied a flying bun for Zhuang Yuyan. "No matter what it is, it has nothing to do with us anyway."
Zhuang Luoyan smiled and let Yunxi and Tingzhu play with her hair.
She didn't believe that there were any real strange things happening. Most of the strange events that were particularly conspicuous were caused by ulterior motives.
After leaving Xihe Palace, Feng Jin felt a little chilly, and suddenly remembered what happened last night, so he asked the eunuch who was serving beside him, "Xiao Jili, how did Gao Dezhong investigate last night's incident?"
"Your Majesty, Chief Steward Gao did not sleep last night, and this morning he beat several talkative servants to death. I heard that the dead maids were from Concubine Rou's palace." Little Jili answered carefully, "I think there is some news."
"Well," Feng Jin nodded, "a servant who talks too much shouldn't be kept. Gao Dezhong is very capable of handling things. Send someone to Jingyang Palace to tell him that if there are servants who talk too much again, they will be beaten to death."
"Yes." Xiao Jili hurriedly asked the people around him to go to Jingyang Palace to convey the emperor's oral instructions.
In Jingyang Palace, after the Empress heard the Emperor's order to ask the eunuch to leave, she said expressionlessly, "I knew that there would be unrest at the beginning of the new year. After the first month of the year, I'm afraid that a few more wedding cups will be sent to the palace. I don't know what kind of chaos it will become then."
"No matter how chaotic it gets, Your Majesty, you are the empress. Even if others fight over it, it won't affect you," Concubine Xiangui said with a smile, "Your Majesty, just sit back and watch the joke."
"Yes, we old men have lost our favor a long time ago, so we can only watch those young ladies fight for it," the queen sighed, "I don't know who played a trick last night, it's really not worthy of being on the stage."
"Your Majesty is a mother of the world, how can you compare to those young girls?" Concubine Xian Gui smiled and said, "I think the Emperor has the same idea as you, Your Majesty, and looks down on those tricks."
The queen laughed sarcastically, "Just wait and see. These days, the Japanese imperial palace has asked the Palace Department to release the palace maids over the age of 24. I'm already busy enough, but who knew there are still people in the harem who are worried. Fortunately, there are people who share the burden now, otherwise I really can't handle it."
After hearing what the Queen said, Concubine Xian Gui wanted to say something else, but she heard the eunuch's voice reporting outside the door.
"Empress Ning has arrived."
It was time for all the concubines to pay their respects, and Concubine Xiangui thought about it and stopped talking. Only after Concubine Ning came in did she continue chatting with her.
"I heard that the emperor stayed at Zhao Xianrong's place yesterday," Concubine Xian Gui said with a sigh, "It's really not easy for Zhao Xianrong. She has been in trouble again and again. Fortunately, she is blessed with a good fate, otherwise..."
Concubine Ning smiled faintly and said, "Zhao Xianrong is naturally blessed." After saying this, she said nothing else.
Concubine Xian Gui did not continue speaking. After a while, concubines from various palaces came one after another. No one mentioned what happened last night. After all, someone was beaten to death by the chief steward of the emperor early in the morning, so they would not violate this taboo.
After Zhuang Yuyan appeared, the concubines only said a few words in a roundabout way, and no one dared to ridicule her in front of her. Who made this person win the emperor's favor? If it was someone else, I'm afraid they would be called a lucky star.
Zhuang Yuyan also pretended not to notice people's gazes on her and sat there calmly until she left Jingyang Palace with everyone else, and no one dared to provoke her.
Therefore, there is a huge difference between being favored and being unfavored. If what happened yesterday had happened in the palace of an unfavored concubine, I wonder how worried she would be now.
"I'll just wait and see how long she can be so proud." Su Xiuyi watched Zhuang Yuyan's sedan chair leave and sat on her own sedan chair with a grim expression.
Concubine Jiang Xian looked at Su Xiuyi's expression. She might not have figured out the reality yet. The previously favored Concubine Yan Gui had obviously been chosen for promotion, but on the day of promotion, her name was not on the list. She would never believe that this had nothing to do with Zhao Xianrong.
Regardless of whether it was because of Zhao Xianrong's interference or because of the emperor's favoritism, at least one thing can be proved: being openly hostile to Zhuang Wuyan is not a good thing.
Perhaps what Kong Wanyi said makes sense. Dogs that bite are often quiet.
In Qianzheng Palace, Feng Jin listened to Gao Dezhong's report and asked calmly, "Did you find anything on the palace maid?"
"Your Majesty, the people I sent found something similar to phosphorus powder on the palace maid."
"Phosphorus powder?" Feng Jin raised his eyebrows with interest, "That's really interesting."