Chapter 161: Deep Scheming
Lu Xiang's heart tightened and he slowly walked in front of the Queen Mother.
Even though the Queen Mother has no real power in the harem, this woman is not someone to be trifled with.
In her previous life, she had come into contact with the Queen Mother many times, and each time she felt exhausted, as if she had been to a battle.
Lu Xiang raised his head slightly, but his eyes remained lowered, humble and respectful.
The Queen Mother just stared at her like this, and after a while she chuckled: "She is indeed a stunningly beautiful girl."
After she finished speaking, she heard another soft and gentle voice in the pavilion: "Yes, looking around the capital, no daughter has such an outstanding appearance. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the most beautiful woman in the capital."
"I am a humble servant, and I do not deserve such praise from Your Majesty. I am truly humbled." Lu Xiang knelt down nervously, not daring to look at the person who was speaking, but she felt the voice was vaguely familiar.
She calls herself a concubine, so she must be a concubine in this palace.
What a good woman, she has such a big mouth. If she says such things, won't she be drowned in spit by the noble ladies in the capital?
She wouldn't dare to call herself the most beautiful woman in the capital.
There are many daughters of nobles and rich men who have grown up in luxury and have outstanding looks.
Does this concubine want to make her the target of public criticism? Her voice sounds soft and delicate, but how can she have such vicious thoughts?
etc……
There seemed to be a concubine in the harem who spoke with a voice as gentle as water, and in her memory there seemed to be one who matched her.
Xian Fei?!
As if to confirm Lu Xiang's guess, Chu Pan'er's angry voice was heard immediately afterwards: "Grandmother, please don't underestimate her. She is beautiful, but she is very scheming."
Lu Xiang: “…”
She is indeed a virtuous concubine.
My god, this woman who is kind but smart is the best disguised woman in the entire harem.
In his previous life, Lu Xiang had met her several times, and was once plotted against by Concubine Xian because of Xiao Muheng's identity as a young tutor.
No concubine with a son would be willing to live a mediocre life in the harem, even if the son was not the concubine's biological son.
"Pan'er, don't be rude." Yi Dao scolded Chu Pan'er in feigned anger, but her soft voice had the softness that a Jiangnan woman has, so even if it was a lecture, it didn't sound intimidating at all: "It's my fault that I scared you, get up quickly."
The virtuous concubine chuckled and stood up to help Lu Xiang up personally.
Lu Xiang stood up and raised his eyes slightly to see a gentle and beautiful face in front of him.
The sunlight sprinkled down and fell on the beautiful profile of Concubine Xian, as if covered with a layer of light golden light. As she moved, the hairpins on her head swayed slightly, and the whole person looked dignified and moving.
The Queen Mother also criticized Chu Pan'er at the right time: "You have been straightforward since childhood, and you never think before speaking. You really offend people without knowing it."
Lu Xiang: “…”
Haha, Your Majesty, I’m afraid you have some misunderstanding about the word ‘frank’.
Is that what Chu Paner calls straightforward?
That's clearly being domineering.
Chu Pan'er was not afraid when she heard the Queen Mother's scolding. She stuck out her tongue playfully, sat beside the Queen Mother, held her arm, and shook her head coquettishly: "Oh, Grandmother, Pan'er is straightforward and says whatever she wants."
"You...when can you change your temper?" The Queen Mother chuckled and poked Chu Pan'er's forehead, seeming to be very fond of her.
Lu Xiang looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, watching the performance of several people silently.
Just act out the drama of deep love between grandparents and grandchildren, as long as you are happy.
Besides, nine out of ten people in the palace wore masks, including the Queen. Before Lu Xiang came into contact with her, her impression of the Queen was the coldness and arrogance of her previous life.
"I know, Grandmother." Chu Pan'er nudged the empress dowager like a puppy and said flatteringly.
The Queen Mother's smile deepened. After hearing her obedient answer, she turned to look at Lu Xiang and said, "I've always heard from the palace ladies how much the Queen likes you. I think you are a nice and sensible girl. Come, sit down and talk to me."
"yes."
Lu Xiang wailed in his heart, walked over with a look of fear and trepidation on his face, and sat down on the stone bench that the Queen Mother pointed to.
I only dare to sit on one-third of the floor.
"Tell me, how did you meet the Queen? The Queen has been in the palace for more than ten years, and I have never seen her like anyone so much."
The queen mother held the teacup and smiled.
He began to ask questions calmly, and Lu Xiang was thinking secretly in his heart.
"By the way, I heard that you met in Yangning City after she left the palace, right? This is really fate." The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and said.
Lu Xiang raised a proper smile and said respectfully, "It is a blessing for this subject to be favored by the Empress. It was purely an accident that this subject and the Empress met. I just took advantage of my father being the prefect of Yangning City at that time, and I met the Empress once. I never thought that the Empress would remember it, so I was summoned by the Empress this time... This subject is also very flattered."
Not to mention that she couldn't tell anyone about the Queen's leaving the palace without permission, even if she could, she couldn't possibly tell the Queen Mother everything.
The Queen Mother's eyes darkened slightly as she listened to Lu Xiang's flawless explanation.
Humph, what an ungrateful girl.
The Empress Dowager did not like Empress Song because after the death of the second Empress Yao, she intended to ask the Emperor to enthrone Concubine Shu as the Empress. This was because she was the third empress, and Concubine Shu had been in the palace for many years and had given birth to a prince. Therefore, she was the most qualified in terms of family background and merit.
But the emperor didn't even wait for her to raise the issue. He sent an imperial decree to the Song family and directly carried Song Nanyue into the imperial palace.
The Duke of Anguo's Mansion is a century-old family that has fought on the battlefield. The Duke of Anguo's Mansion's legitimate daughter is more than qualified to be the emperor.
So the empress dowager disliked her, but because Empress Song was in charge of the phoenix seal and managed the harem, she could not tolerate her. Except for occasionally using her seniority to put pressure on her and make some small troubles for her, she hardly got any benefits in other matters.
He neither flattered her nor did anything to please her. He was not as capable as Concubine Shu.
"Oh, that's really your blessing." The Queen Mother said to Lu Xiang casually.
Lu Xiang pursed her lips and smiled slightly, a shy smile with a hint of joy.
The joy of being favored by the Queen.
For some reason, the Queen Mother became furious when she saw Lu Xiang like this.
"Eh? Grandmother, this bracelet is so beautiful."
Suddenly, Chu Paner's eyes fell on a brocade box on the table. Inside the box, a pair of blood-red jade bracelets were lying there quietly. The whole body was red, but there was a thin golden line inside. Looking closely, it looked like flowing clouds.
Wang Fu quickly introduced: "In reply to Princess Nine, this is a tribute from a foreign country. This kind of jade is extremely precious and warms the hand. It is said to have the effect of nourishing qi and promoting blood circulation, and prolonging life. After the emperor received it, he immediately ordered someone to send it to the empress dowager, which shows how filial he is to the empress dowager."
The Queen Mother smiled smugly: "But this bracelet is too gorgeous. It would be a bit out of place for an old woman like me to wear it. Pan'er, why not give it to you as a reward?"
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