Chapter 46 A sudden urge to visit the garden

The cause was something the palace maid named Xin'er said to Concubine Hui.

"My queen, the weather is really nice today. The flowers in the garden outside are all blooming. I see magnolias, apricots, and crabapples."

Although Huipin was released from house arrest, she had not left the palace. Yunqin and Rongxin were in charge of a lot of things and rarely left the palace. Only the little maids like Xiner would go out occasionally, so Huipin would look for her to talk about the latest news every day.

In fact, Huipin had always been very cautious. Several concubines wanted to visit her, but she turned them away.

Perhaps it was because she had been locked up for too long. Today, Huipin suddenly had an idea and said to Yunqin, "Let's go to Yu Garden to see the flowers?"

Yun Qin frowned and glanced at her belly, "My Lady, I'm afraid this is not appropriate."

"What's wrong with that?" Huipin puffed up her cheeks. "I like crabapple blossoms the most. If I can't see them now, I won't be able to see them for the whole year. Let's call a few more people. You can protect me and keep people away from me."

Without waiting for Yunqin to persuade her again, she called Xiao Dezi and several eunuchs, Xin'er and several palace maids, and including Yunqin, a group of eight people left the palace.

The group carefully protected her sedan chair and arrived at Yu Garden. Everything went smoothly along the way. Huipin even teased them for being too cautious.

The Yu Garden is indeed very beautiful. Although it is not the season for colorful flowers yet, after a long winter, a touch of different colors will brighten one's eyes and make one breathe easier.

Huipin held Yunqin's hand and pointed at a bright red tree, "Look at the weeping crabapple! They are in full bloom. Come on, let's go closer and take a look."

Yun Qin glanced at the pond not far away and was about to give some advice when she heard a sound coming from behind.

"Hey, isn't this Concubine Hui?"

The person who spoke was none other than Concubine Hui's mortal enemy, Concubine Liu.

Apparently Huipin was not the only one attracted by the spring scenery.

Lady Liu half-knelt and saluted, "Empress Hui is in such a refined mood that you come to Yu Garden to appreciate the flowers today?" As she spoke, her eyes were looking at Concubine Hui's belly.

Although Huipin was small in stature, her belly was not small. Even when she wore loose clothes, the rise and fall of her belly could still be clearly seen.

This made Miss Liu's eyes flash with jealousy.

Noticing her gaze, Huipin immediately protected her belly vigilantly with her hands and moved closer to Yunqin.

Yun Qin protected her and looked at Lady Liu coldly.

No matter how much she hated Huipin, her pregnancy affected the lives and property of all of them, and nothing could happen here.

"That's how Concubine Hui disciplines her maids. It's enough for her to not show courtesy to me, but she still dares to glare at me!"

Lady Liu still remembered Yun Qin's face clearly. When she saw her, her eyes immediately became sharper.

"Your servant greets Lady Liu." Yun Qin leaned over and imitated her, casually performing a salute.

Lady Liu was still glaring at her, and Concubine Hui sneered, "What are you looking at, Lady Liu? Are you looking at how my maid performs the ceremony? You see, she performs the ceremony more formally than you do. Do you want me to discipline her as well?"

Concubine Liu immediately glared at Concubine Hui. Concubine Hui refused to give in and glared back at her. She also looked at Qing He who was beside Concubine Liu and asked, "The maid beside you hasn't saluted me yet?"

She had hated Miss Liu to the core, and when she met her today, she couldn't control her temper at all and just wanted to give her a good beating.

Qing He could only step forward and salute, "Greetings to Concubine Hui."

"You are Qinghe, right?" Huipin looked at her and said coldly, "It was you who laughed at Yunqin for collecting half a month's salary from me?"

Qing He swallowed, not daring to say anything, and could only look at Lady Liu.

Concubine Liu gritted her teeth, but before she could say anything, Concubine Hui spoke first.

"Yunqin, go and slap her in the face. Let her know that not only do I have a higher monthly salary than her master, but my position is also higher than her master's!"

Yun Qin had already avenged herself in person that day, so now she was asked to hit someone for no reason, and she found it hard to do it.

Seeing that she didn't move, Huipin glanced at her and said, "I forgot that you still have a wound on your hand. Xiao Dezi, you go!"

Xiao Dezi had to act decisively. He knew that Qinghe had blocked Yunqin on the palace road that day. Now that he had a chance to vent his sister's anger, he would certainly not let it go.

"Let's see who dares!" Concubine Liu yelled angrily and glared at Concubine Hui as if she wanted to eat her.

"What's that look in your eyes?" Huipin sneered, "Do you want to take the slap for your maid?"

After she finished speaking, she signaled Xiao Dezi to take action.

Xiao Dezi glared, clenched his hands, and slapped Qinghe hard.

Qing He was slapped to the ground by him, she screamed and cried with her hands covering her face.

Miss Liu was so angry that she almost exploded. She didn't care about the rules and kicked Xiao Dezi directly, knocking him to the ground.

Lady Liu's strength was nothing to Xiao Dezi. He quickly got up, glanced at Yun Qin who was looking at him, and shook his head slightly to indicate that he was fine.

"You are so brave! Your maid is lucky to be disciplined by me, but you dared to hurt my people! Be careful or I will report it to the Queen and punish you for treason!"

Even if Lady Liu was angry, it was a fact that Concubine Hui was higher in rank than her, and she dared not disrespect the Empress, so she could only hold back her anger and say, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your discipline."

Seeing her submit, Huipin was very proud. She suddenly understood the charm of power and why Yunqin and Rongxin always advised her that as long as she gave birth to a prince, she would be favored forever.

Her honor and favor comes from the emperor, and even more so from the child in her belly!

Huipin raised her head slightly, held Yunqin's arm, and said, "Your good mood is gone, why are you still admiring flowers? Let's go back to the palace!"

Huipin looked calm, but she was squeezing Yunqin's arm tightly, revealing her inner nervousness at the moment.

Yun Qin was no different. She just wanted to protect Huipin and return to the palace as soon as possible. She winked at Xiao Dezi, who was also smart and immediately asked someone to carry the sedan chair over.

But she was still a step too late. The commotion here still attracted people from the surroundings, most of whom were concubines of lower status.

Seeing the two people, regardless of whether they had other purposes or not, according to the rules, you have to come over and greet them.

Seven or eight people came over and the scene became a little chaotic. Yun Qin protected Huipin and retreated step by step, not daring to let them get within two steps of Huipin.

At this moment, a bright yellow figure walked over.

It was Hawking Pond.

When they saw him coming, everyone lost interest in watching the show and bowed to the emperor.

It was the first time that Yunqin did not feel frightened when she saw the emperor. Instead, she felt fortunate and even relieved. After all, he was the only person in the palace who would not harm Concubine Hui.

When Huo Jinchi came over, the first thing he looked at was Huipin. There was no expression on his face, but anyone could feel his displeasure.

The second time he looked, he looked at Yun Qin who was beside Huipin.

She was dressed even more simply today than usual, even the silver hairpin on her head was removed, and she was wearing a dark red dress, which was old-fashioned in color and ugly in style. I'm afraid even an elderly aunt wouldn't want to wear it.

It is obvious that she did not have a good life with Concubine Hui.

Even so, she refused to come before him, refused to bow to him!

Everyone could clearly sense that the emperor seemed to be getting angrier as he walked over.

Lady Liu immediately realized that the anger was directed at Concubine Hui. She rolled her eyes and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you are finally here. Just now, Concubine Hui was so arrogant that she wanted to teach a lesson to the maids around me and even to me..."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I reprimanded your maid because she once laughed at me. She deserves the punishment!" Huipin immediately shouted back, looking up at the emperor with grievance, tears already in her eyes.

Huo Jinchi ignored her and reached out to pull Lady Liu up. He then looked at Concubine Hui and said, "Didn't I tell you to have a good rest in the palace? Do you still want me to confine you?"

When Huipin heard this, her eyes widened. She couldn't believe that the emperor not only did not stand on her side, but also blamed her in front of so many people, especially Concubine Liu.

Her tears fell instantly, and she almost gritted her teeth looking at the smug Miss Liu!

Yun Qin supported her, deliberately squeezed her wrist, and whispered, "My queen, let's go back to the palace first."

Huipin glanced at Yunqin subconsciously, and looking into her dark eyes, she temporarily regained some of her rationality and thought of the child in her belly.

She took a deep breath and said, "I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave and return to the palace."

Huo Jinchi just nodded, looking like he didn't want to pay any more attention to her.

Huipin became more and more depressed. She held Yunqin's hand and prepared to get on the sedan chair.

But some people were unwilling to let her go.

Lady Liu clung to Huo Jinchi's arm and said in a coquettish voice, "Your Majesty, it's the little eunuch next to Concubine Hui. Look at what he did to my maids..."