Concubine Ge gnashed her teeth to the point of breaking. She said coldly, "Chong'er is the prince of Dayong, your majesty's son. He should be loyal to Dayong wholeheartedly. If the Xue family is found guilty, they will be the scourge and criminals who undermine the imperial order. They should be dealt with according to the law. It is not a pity for the Xue family to be cut into pieces. What is there for Chong'er to worry about?"
As for Concubine Ge, she understood how important the Xue family was to her son as they were in the Ministry of Revenue. However, she never expected that Xue Zhentong was such a complete loser who could cause such a big disaster. A single family member could be charged with several crimes, which gave Prince Cheng a lot of leverage.
How could Concubine Ge not know that this incident was a big blow to Gu Shichong?
At the same time, she hated Xue Zhiyi, the bitch who dared to compete with the Ge family for the position of future queen and disobey her!
Now that the Xue family is in trouble, Chong'er has to run around everywhere for it, but the damn Xue Zhiyi has escaped from the coffin of the Xue family, making her even more hateful, and even suspecting that all this was instigated by Xue Zhiyi.
From the beginning to the end, the only benefit to the Ge family is that this arranged marriage will most likely be invalidated. At that time, the position of princess will be vacant, and she will have the opportunity to take advantage of the Ge family's situation.
As Concubine Ge was filled with hatred, she heard a soft voice say, "Your Majesty has always loved His Royal Highness Prince Gong and has been very attentive to His Royal Highness's marriage. How could he allow His Royal Highness to marry the daughter of a criminal with an unknown background? Not to mention Prince Gong, even a respectable family in the common people would not want such a lowly woman, right?"
Following the voice, I saw that the woman who was speaking was in her twenties, but her appearance was not as soft as her voice. Her raised eyebrows made her face look a little mean.
An Zhaoyi scoffed, "Who do I think she is? Concubine Song barely has the chance to see His Majesty a few times a year, yet she can understand His Majesty's thoughts so meticulously. It's truly astonishing."
"You!" The frustrated Lady Song's eyes widened.
She hated An Zhaoyi so much. Although her family background was ordinary, she was a daughter of an official family. She had to work hard for several years to be promoted to the position of beauty. But An, a lowly woman who was born a dancer and was younger than her, had entered the palace for less than a year and risen to the top thanks to the emperor's favor.
What's so good about her!
Xue Zhiyi knew that he was just an excuse used by An Zhaoyi to disgust people, and the topic was not about her from the beginning to the end, so he just sat on the sidelines and watched the fight.
During the days of training, she had already memorized the names of the ladies in each palace.
For example, this Concubine Song, whose father was a fifth-rank civil official, lived in the west wing of Concubine Ge's Cuiwei Palace. Naturally, she usually followed the lead of Concubine Ge, the main empress, so at this moment she was so busy helping Concubine Ge to satirize Concubine An.
Concubine Ge glanced at Xue Zhiyi, who remained unfazed by the current favor or disgrace, and said, "It is the Queen Mother's mercy. Otherwise, such a lowly person should be removed from the music register and sent to the music academy to become a singer or dancer. That would be more appropriate for her status, isn't it?"
An Zhaoyi simply raised an eyebrow and smiled, seemingly unconcerned about her former life as a dancer. "Who can say for sure about one's origin? His Royal Highness Prince Cheng's biological mother was originally a palace maid, and even a beauty during her lifetime. However, this did not prevent His Royal Highness Prince Cheng from being favored by His Majesty. Who dares to say that His Royal Highness Prince Cheng is not noble? The Xue family once held the rank of Shangshu, and it only took a moment for them to be imprisoned. Even their splendour is nothing but illusion."
As she spoke, she looked at Concubine Ge dimly, "But you don't have to worry, Concubine. After all, the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion is so big, it won't disappear like the Xue family, right?"
Hatred seemed to bleed from Concubine Ge's beautiful eyes: This damned dancer actually dared to curse the Duke Dingguo's Mansion. How dare she do that!?
"alright."
Seeing the tension between the two sides, the Queen said gently, "You are discussing state affairs without permission. If His Majesty hears you, he might get upset. Everything is decided by His Majesty. You should just be at peace."
After falling out with Concubine Ge, An Zhaoyi naturally became one with the Empress. Upon hearing this, she immediately said, "I will remember the Empress's teachings."
Concubine Ge just snorted coldly, and shut up with a gloomy face along with Concubine Song.
Seeing that they had finally quieted down, Xue Zhiyi gave a look to the palace maid serving tea beside her, and she invited a group of palace maids who had been waiting there from the back of the hall.
The palace maids came in in an orderly manner, holding trays, lowering their brows and eyes, and brought the tea cups to the ladies, squatting on their knees and serving the tea.
Xue Zhiyi bowed slowly, seemingly oblivious to the harsh comments. She smiled slightly and said politely, "The Empress Dowager has just received the first spring tea of this year and has specifically instructed that it be presented to you ladies for your appreciation today."
Upon hearing this, the Queen simply smiled and said, "Mother, your concern is deeply appreciated."
After saying that, he took the teacup from the tray in front of him.
Seeing this, the concubines also took it.
But no one knew what Lady Song was thinking, and she didn't take the teacup brought by the palace maid for a long time.
After the other palace maids stood up and left, Xue Zhiyi saw from afar that Jingchun was still kneeling in front of Concubine Song.
Xue Zhiyi walked up slowly and asked her gently, "I wonder if there's anything wrong, Lady Song?"
At this time, Jingchun, who was kneeling in such an awkward posture, had his wrists trembling a little.
Just as Jingchun fell down, Xue Zhiyi took over the tray in time without spilling any tea.
Jing Chun was startled and knelt down immediately: "This servant made a mistake, please forgive me, my lady."
Lady Song snorted sarcastically, then said in a soft voice, "It's just that he didn't hold the tea properly. It's not a big deal. The people who serve the Empress Dowager are carefully selected. I think it was just a mistake. But when Shi Qi was here, there was no such mistake."
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