Early the next morning,
Sun Miaoqing, sporting dark circles under her eyes and looking dejected, went to Jingren Palace to pay her respects to the Empress.
Along the way, she encountered far more palace maids and eunuchs than usual, who would greet her with eager words, "This servant greets Noble Lady Cheng."
Sun Miaoqing wasn't stupid; of course she knew why. It was simply because she felt that Sun Miaoqing had just been granted the title of Noble Lady and had been given the favor of serving as a writer in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so she was riding high.
If you come up to her and say a nice word, she might be happy and you can get a few tips.
It is often said that the imperial palace was not only the palace of the masters, but also the palace of the servants. Looking at the later Qing Dynasty, many of those lowly bondservant (baoyi) held high positions of power.
Putting aside other things, wasn't Consort Huixian of the Qianlong Emperor, of the Gaojia clan, born into a bondservant family?
Therefore, Sun Miaoqing was always generous to these palace maids and eunuchs. Putting aside everything else, just consider the ups and downs in the palace; who knows when someone might fall into misfortune or hardship?
Even lions sometimes need the help of mice. If we build up goodwill now, we won't be taken advantage of by too many people when that day comes.
When Huanhuan was imprisoned, the food was all spoiled. Not to mention that she was raised with great care by Sun Zhuhe and his wife, even in her previous life, she had never eaten spoiled food.
That's why everyone says that the big fat orange cat is ruthless, cold-blooded, and merciless.
One second they were deeply in love, inseparable, and overjoyed at being made a concubine. The next, because of an old garment, they went from being as white clouds in the sky to as muddy ground on the ground.
Seeing Jingren Palace just ahead, Sun Miaoqing shook her head. What's the use of thinking so much? She'll deal with whatever comes her way; she doesn't believe they can really tear her apart alive.
Having acted as a generous benefactor along the way, although the gifts weren't much, seeing the palace maids and eunuchs all beaming with joy, Sun Miaoqing's mood eased somewhat.
Upon arriving at the main gate of Jingren Palace, Xiuxia hurriedly came forward, her face beaming with joy, as if she were also benefiting from Sun Miaoqing's promotion to the rank of Noble Lady.
"Your Highness Cheng has arrived. This servant greets Your Highness Cheng."
"Why is Your Excellency dressed so lightly? Although it will be a few days before the start of winter, the wind blowing this morning already carries a hint of winter chill."
"Please, sir, go inside quickly and don't get cold."
Sun Miaoqing was really not used to Xiuxia's enthusiasm. She thought about how the Empress never did anything without a reason. No matter how much favor she received on the surface, there was no doubt about how much trouble she was behind the scenes.
Alarm bells were ringing in my mind, but I still had to speak politely on the surface.
"Aunt Xiuxia, you're too kind. The journey has been alright."
As Sun Miaoqing was about to go inside with Xiuxia, her shoulder was suddenly bumped and she almost fell to the ground. Before she could regain her balance, she heard Consort Fucha's voice.
"So it's Consort Cheng. I was in a hurry to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress and didn't notice that Consort Cheng was in front of me. I'm so sorry."
"Is Consort Cheng injured? If she is, how will she serve His Majesty?"
Both Rose and Lily of the Valley glared angrily at Consort Fucha, clearly doing it on purpose, yet they remained so brazen.
As usual, Sun Miaoqing bowed to Consort Fucha and said, "Greetings, Consort Fucha."
However, after walking halfway, she pretended to just remember and said in an affected manner, "Look at my memory, the Emperor thinks that my sister has served well, and yesterday he informed the six palaces that he promoted me to the rank of Noble Lady. Please forgive me, Sister Fucha, that I cannot bow to you."
"As for how to serve the Emperor, Sister Fucha doesn't need to worry about it. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself."
[After only a few days, Consort Fucha couldn't contain herself any longer. Despite being born into the Fucha clan, she'd squandered a winning hand; it's no wonder she's been driven mad with fright.]
Consort Fucha was furious, "How dare you curse me!"
Sun Miaoqing was completely baffled. This Noble Lady Fucha was quite good at labeling people. Was this considered a curse?
"Sister Fucha, I don't understand what you're saying. When have I ever uttered any curses?"
"You just now clearly..."
[Just one sentence, telling her to worry about herself, was practically a curse. No wonder the word "human pig" scared her into the cold palace.]
Consort Fucha paused, having not spoken earlier...
A cold wind blew by, and the chill of the late autumn morning seeped into Consort Fucha's back from between her neck and back, making her spine tingle.
Sun Miaoqing deliberately asked, "Liuli, Linglan, you two were right there the whole time, did you hear me cursing Consort Fucha?"
Liuli replied, "Your Highness, this servant did not hear anything."
Linglan said, "This servant didn't hear anything. On the contrary, Consort Fucha expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with the Emperor's favor towards you and uttered complaints."
"you!"
Linglan raised her chin. They were all nobles, and her mistress even had a title. She wasn't afraid of this Fucha woman who had never even met the emperor.
Consort Fucha was both angry and frightened. She glanced fearfully at Sun Miaoqing and then darted towards Jingren Palace as if she had seen a ghost. The Empress, as the mother of the nation, is naturally protected by gods and Buddhas, and is immune to all evil. If anything were to happen, it should be someone tall who could protect her.
Sun Miaoqing, Xiu Xia, and the others stared blankly at Consort Fucha's retreating figure, wondering what was going on this time.
"Aunt Xiuxia, who is Consort Fucha?"
Xiu Xia was also confused, but after lingering outside for a while, it was almost time to pay her respects. "Perhaps Consort Fucha has other matters to attend to? Consort Cheng, please go inside quickly. Your delicate constitution cannot withstand this cold wind."
Sun Miaoqing nodded and led Liuli and Linglan inside. She could hear Xiuxia behind her turn around and instruct someone to bring her a cup of ginseng tea to ward off the chill.
An Lingrong and Shen Meizhuang arrived hand in hand and witnessed this scene just outside Jingren Palace. After everyone had left, the two stepped forward.
An Lingrong's eyes flickered. "Sister Mei, I feel like Consort Fucha is acting a little strange. The way she looks at Consort Cheng..."
Shen Meizhuang said, "If Linglan's words just now reach the Emperor's ears, Consort Fucha will probably be in deep trouble."
"In the month since I entered the palace, only Consort Cheng has served me in bed. As for the others, although they are also legitimate concubines, they are still different in the end."
Although she was confident that with her talent she would surely win the emperor's favor, and knew that the road ahead would not be easy, she did not want to compete for the first favor.
But for a whole month, the Emperor didn't think of her at all, and Shen Meizhuang became somewhat insecure.
An Lingrong was the same; her appearance and temperament were not outstanding, and the emperor did not initially favor her during the palace selection.
Leaving aside others, just look at Sister Mei and Sister Huan. Their noble birth and beautiful appearance surpass her a hundredfold.
So she knew from the beginning that gaining favor wouldn't be easy, but a month wasn't enough to make her feel unbearable.
Moreover, what about the future...
She had figured it out in the past few days; no matter what, she couldn't let herself fall into such a miserable situation again.
Seeing that it seemed to be Consort Hua and her entourage in the distance, An Lingrong quickly said, "Sister Mei, it's getting late, let's go inside quickly."
Meizhuang nodded. "Alright."
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