She walked straight up to Queen Mother Yin and Chu Qianchen, and gracefully knelt down to salute Queen Mother Yin.

Then, Chu Qianchen greeted Concubine Chu again and still called her "Aunt".

Concubine Chu and Chu Qianchen are 30% similar. When the two stand side by side, one can tell at a glance that they are related by blood.

Concubine Chu never cared about her niece before. Even if she was married to Prince Chen, she felt that it would be of no benefit to the Chu family, herself and the Second Prince.

But now it's different.

Concubine Chu looked at Chu Qianchen with a smile in her eyes and said affectionately: "Qianchen, you have grown taller and more beautiful."

"How is your grandmother these days? The last time I saw her was in August."

When Concubine Chu said this, her tone was profound.

The last time she saw the Dowager was in August, when the matter of Chu Qianchen and Chu Qianhuang being switched was just revealed. Chu Lingxiao was not in Beijing, and the Dowager was at a loss, so she went to the palace to ask Concubine Chu for advice.

At that time, Concubine Chu felt that this incident had happened fourteen years ago, and there was no need for Chu Qianchen to make a fuss. After all, she was the Princess of Chen, and it didn't matter whether she was the legitimate daughter or not.

At that time, Concubine Chu also wanted to summon Chu Qianchen to the palace to persuade her, but when she found out that the Queen had rejected all the cards Chu Qianchen sent to the palace, she gave up the idea. She didn't want to offend the Queen for Chu Qianchen.

However, times are different now.

Concubine Chu never expected that the crown prince, whose position was as stable as Mount Tai, would one day be despised by the emperor, and she never expected that her second prince would be valued by the emperor and have the opportunity to seize the throne.

Just thinking about it made Concubine Chu feel her blood boiling.

The ladies around had different expressions. Most of them felt that Concubine Chu had changed too quickly. In just a few days, she had changed from her former humble attitude. Even though people had arrived, she had not yet gone to pay her respects to the Queen. She was so arrogant that she simply did not take the Queen seriously.

Could it be that the Queen and the Crown Prince have completely incurred the Emperor's dislike?

Some people couldn't help but have this thought in their minds, and decided to have a good talk with their families after returning home.

The Queen, who was in the Water Pavilion, also heard from the palace people that Concubine Chu had arrived. At this moment, the Queen was frowning and her eyes were as deep as the abyss.

She subconsciously clenched the pastel enamel Three Gentlemen teacup in her hand, almost crushing it.

The Prince Chen's Mansion is worth her and the Crown Prince's fight for, but the Prince Chen's Concubine Chu Qianchen is really an obstacle. Chu Qianchen's surname is Chu, and Concubine Chu's surname is also Chu.

The Queen quickly withdrew her gaze from Concubine Chu and looked at Princess Anle and Princess Changning.

The girls had just decided the winner, and Princess Changning took the lead by shooting two arrows at once and hitting the target ten times in a row.

Some noble ladies who were originally admiring the flowers also gathered around and congratulated Princess Changning.

The defeated Anle was a little depressed and kicked the ground with the tip of his shoes.

Yuan Zhitong walked to Anle's side and comforted her softly. No one knew what Yuan Zhitong said, but Anle suddenly smiled again.

This girl is still as childish as ever, the queen thought, her eyes moving towards Yuan Zhitong.

Since she has decided to win over Prince Chen, she has to put someone reliable by his side.

The Queen Mother had been trapped in the palace for many years. After the death of the late Emperor, she usually could not even see outsiders. So when she first saw her cousin's daughter, she would of course take her seriously.

Princess Chen is a troublemaker, and some things can only be done after the Queen Mother speaks up.

Judging from the Queen Mother’s words and actions in support of Chu Qianchen just now, she is quite satisfied with Chu Qianchen now.

The Queen narrowed her eyes slightly, turned her head and smiled at Princess Shun, saying: "Your Chang Ning is getting better and better at pitching pots. She won the first prize today, and as her aunt, I can't help but show some appreciation."

The Queen gave an instruction to Nanny Shan, who then ordered the eunuch to get the reward.

Princess Shun smiled and said, "Then I, your Highness, would like to thank you on behalf of Chang Ning."

The women surrounding the queen were all princesses from the royal family, and they were all very familiar with Princess Changning. Princess Liqin smiled and said, "Since the queen said so, I, as her great-aunt, can't be so stingy, right?"

Princess Li took off a bracelet and used it as a prize for the pot-tossing competition.

The other princesses were not willing to be left behind. They echoed the others and also took out prizes, such as hairpins, jade pendants, rings, etc., and placed them all on a tray.

Everyone was talking and laughing, it was very lively.

The Queen went to Queen Mother Yin again. She didn't even look at Concubine Chu. She said to Queen Mother Yin, "Mother, Chang Ning just won the first prize in the pot-tossing game. We have put together some prizes for Chang Ning. Would you like to join in the fun?"

"You deserve a reward!" Queen Mother Yin readily took off a bracelet.

Concubine Chu looked unnatural when she was interrupted by the Queen.

"Mother, I am also your elder, I can't be too stingy." Chu Qianchen took off the collar around his neck.

"That's right. You are the elder, so you must be rewarded." Queen Mother Yin smiled even more. She was overjoyed when she remembered Chu Qianchen's words just now that children should not be bullied.

Without giving Concubine Chu a chance to speak, the Queen sent the eunuchs to take away all the jewelry, and then said to Queen Mother Yin: "Mother, it is rare for so many people to gather together with flowers today. I think we should choose a flower king. Why don't you choose it, mother?"

Queen Mother Yin also enjoyed being flattered. To put it bluntly, being flattered was better than being treated poorly.

She looked around for a while, then pointed to a cold orchid with purple-red flowers and said, "This is the one. It blooms in the cold and frost, so it got the name 'cold orchid'. This cold orchid is the king of flowers."

The Queen echoed the Queen Mother's words and praised her vision with many flattering words.

But in fact, she didn't think there was anything special about this pot of orchid. It was just to please the Queen Mother.

So that's how it is.

However, what does it matter even if the Queen Mother likes Chu Qianchen?

Chu Qianchen usually stays in Prince Chen's Mansion and is not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned, but Yuan Zhitong can live in the palace as the princess's companion. She has enough time to slowly soften the empress dowager and slowly sow discord between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

She must not be anxious. The queen said to herself in her heart and soon calmed down.

The news that Empress Dowager Yin had chosen the Flower King spread quickly around, attracting all the female relatives present to come and see the Flower King, including Princess Changning, Anle, Yuan Zhitong and other noble ladies.

There was a bustling sound of talking and laughing, and the scent of flowers blended together with the incense burned by the women.

Seeing that the time was almost up, the Queen said again: "Mother, the feast will begin soon..."

Queen Mother Yin raised her hand and said, "I am tired, so I will not go to the banquet."

"Qianchen, please accompany me back."

Chu Qianchen responded obediently, her eyebrows curved. She understood that the Queen Mother knew that she was impatient with these social events.

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Empress Dowager Yin did not mention Concubine Chu, and Concubine Chu did not dare to follow her, so she and the Queen respectfully saw Empress Dowager Yin off.

Yuan Zhitong took a step forward and wanted to say that she would go over and talk to the empress dowager more.

But when the queen winked at her, she retreated silently. Too much is as bad as too little. She had just met the queen mother today.

Yuan Zhitong stared at the sachet embroidered with a green parrot on Anle's waist, smiled gently again, and went to talk to Anle, asking her to teach her how to play the game of pitching a pot.

Chu Qianchen accompanied Queen Mother Yin towards Shouning Palace, and soon they disappeared.

The flower-viewing banquet was still going on in a lively manner. Everyone surrounded the queen and walked towards the water pavilion. Most people carefully kept their distance from Concubine Chu.

The fight for the throne has just begun, so they don't need to rush to take sides.

After everyone took their seats in the water pavilion according to their seats, Concubine Chu noticed that Chu Qianhuang was not with the third princess.

Concubine Chu was sitting next to the Queen. The Queen keenly noticed her gaze and casually brushed off the non-existent dust on her sleeves. She said casually, "Qian Huang will no longer be An Le's study partner. Humph, you dare to push your own sister into the water in the palace."

What do you mean?! Concubine Chu's eyes suddenly widened.

She had spies in the palace, but not many. In the past, she had always avoided the Queen's edge and followed the Queen's lead in everything she did, not daring to do anything out of line. Recently, because the Emperor began to value the Second Prince, Concubine Chu also intended to place some spies in the palace, but she hadn't made the arrangements yet, so she didn't know about Chu Qianhuang being slapped in the face.

The queen shook her head and sighed in disapproval, "This Chu family... that's right. Chu Lingxiao was exiled, and he's just a poor family. And he's the uncle of the prince!"

The Queen sighed again, feeling helpless and disdainful, and deliberately asked, "What do you think, Imperial Concubine?"

When the Queen said these words, she did not lower her voice. Many ladies around heard it and all of them looked towards Concubine Chu.

Some people have mocking eyes, some seem to be smiling, some are waiting and waiting, and some lower their eyes and turn a deaf ear...

Concubine Chu: “…”

Concubine Chu had no idea what was going on between Chu Qianhuang and Chu Qianchen, so she had no way to deal with it. Moreover, Chu Lingxiao's case was set in stone and she couldn't refute it.

Concubine Chu's delicately made-up face twisted slightly. She felt ashamed and angry, and her face was burning. She felt that everyone around her was laughing at her.

Chu Lingxiao's conviction brought shame to both her and the Second Prince. Even though she had managed to keep her title, she was left in an awkward situation where no one would inherit the title for the time being. Now there was no one from the Chu family in the court who could help her.

The more Concubine Chu thought about it, the more frustrated she became. Chu Lingxiao had already been exiled, so she could only vent her anger on Chu Qianchen.

Her second niece was raised by a mistress since she was a child, so it's no wonder that she is so superficial. Even if this girl is dissatisfied with Chu Qianhuang, she has to recognize the place and make trouble with Chu Qianhuang in the palace, making the Chu family lose face.

Concubine Chu was feeling extremely uncomfortable. In comparison, the Empress seemed to be high and mighty. The two formed a sharp contrast.

The Queen no longer paid attention to Concubine Chu. She glanced at her calmly, looking down on the world. She ordered Nanny Shan in a very graceful manner, "Let's start the banquet."

A row of palace maids wearing blue jackets came into the banquet hall carrying dishes and began to serve everyone.

Concubine Chu's expression was stiff. The high-spirited spirit she had shown before had been completely suppressed by the Queen's few words.

Her face was gloomy throughout the entire banquet, but she was unwilling to leave like that. She felt that if she left, it would be like admitting defeat to the Queen.

Concubine Chu had no taste for the meal and barely touched her chopsticks. Chu Qianchen, who had already returned to Shouning Palace, enjoyed a good home-cooked meal with Empress Dowager Yin.

Nanny Yan specifically instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare dishes that Chu Qianchen liked. Empress Dowager Yin was usually a vegetarian, so today she was in a good mood and ate some meat with Chu Qianchen.

After lunch, Chu Qianchen didn’t rush to leave, but gave Empress Dowager Yin acupuncture treatment.

The two were still talking and laughing at first, but gradually, Queen Mother Yin fell into a deep sleep. Chu Qianchen quietly took out the needle without disturbing the sleeping Queen Mother. He left the medicine for this time and tiptoed away.

She only sent someone to report to the Queen, and then left the palace alone. It was only half past noon at this time.

The flower-viewing banquet had not yet ended, and the palace gate was empty. No one came out except Chu Qianchen.

The coachman from Prince Chen's mansion immediately drove the red-wheeled carriage back, and Jiang Yuan helped Chu Qianchen get into the carriage.

Chu Qianchen bowed slightly. Before she put her head into the car, her nose moved and she smelled a faint scent of agarwood.

(End of this chapter)