Chapter 46: Paying Respects to the Queen Mother

Today, Su Jingyao woke up at about the end of the morning hour, got up, and sat in front of the dressing table.

Miaoxia stood by and gently combed her long hair.

Su Jingyao narrowed her eyes slightly, looking contented.

Miaoxia looked at her master's beautiful face in the mirror, picked up a busha and gently inserted it into her bun.

"Master, rumors in the harem spread much faster than in the East Palace."

Miaoxia frowned slightly, with a hint of indignation in her tone.

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Su Jingyao raised her eyelids lazily and asked softly.

"Didn't the master go to the Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty yesterday? Everyone in the palace said that you took the initiative to compete for favor, but His Majesty went to the Yikun Palace and said that even if you gave birth to a prince, he would not be as good as the imperial concubine."

As Miaoxia spoke, anger showed on her face.

She was furious when she heard the rumors this morning.

If Your Majesty really liked the Imperial Concubine that much, why would he demote her to a concubine? I just went to comfort the Imperial Concubine last night.

"fine."

Su Jingyao simply curled the corners of her mouth slightly, then stretched out her slender fingers to choose on the dressing table.

Finally, she picked up a white magnolia hairpin that Jun Zechen had given her yesterday.

Smiling, she said, "Please put this hairpin on me."

"Yes, Master."

Miaoxia responded, took the hairpin and carefully put it on her hair.

"Miaoxia, if His Majesty knew about these rumors in the palace, he would only feel more distressed for me, and if the other concubines in the palace heard about it, they would only become more jealous of the concubine."

Su Jingyao tilted her head slightly, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.

After hearing this, Miaoxia thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed true.

But in my heart, I still felt it was not worth it to hear some of the comments about my master from the palace servants today.

In her heart, the master is the best, so what even if he is a noble concubine?

At this moment, Miaoyun hurried in and saluted, saying, "Master, the noble concubine has left the Yikun Palace."

"Well, okay, then I will also prepare to set off."

Su Jingyao stood up and prepared to go to Cining Palace.

The Qianqing Palace is located in the center of the entire imperial palace, while the Yikun Palace and Zhaochun Palace are palaces among the six eastern palaces, located to the east of the Qianqing Palace.

Yikun Palace and Zhaochun Palace are on the same palace road, but Zhaochun Palace is below Yikun Palace.

Cining Palace is located to the south of the Six Eastern Palaces, so the imperial concubine had to pass through Zhaochun Palace when going from Yikun Palace to Cining Palace.

Su Jingyao walked out of the palace slowly and calmly.

I happened to run into Ling Yue who was on her way to Cining Palace.

Su Jingyao had a perfect smile on her lips, her eyes were calm and composed, she bent slightly, and bowed elegantly and properly.

She said softly, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Madam Noble Consort. May your Highness live long and blessed."

At this moment, Ling Yue's eyes immediately became sharp the moment he saw Su Jingyao.

His gaze fell straight on Su Jingyao's head like a knife, and a trace of undisguised disgust flashed deep in his eyes.

Su Jingyao still lowered her head slightly, as if she didn't notice.

Ling Yue inadvertently caught sight of the delicate white jade hairpin on Su Jingyao's head.

In an instant, her face became even gloomier, and her long nails dug deeply into her palms, but she seemed to be unaware of the pain at all.

Could anything have been more painful for her than last night?

Ling Yue's thoughts suddenly drifted back to last night.

When Jun Zechen stepped into Yikun Palace, she looked up and forced a smile with a hint of bitterness on her face.

Jun Zechen looked at her quietly, his eyes full of complicated emotions.

Afterwards, he began to explain to her, to comfort her, and even told Ling Yue everything the Queen Mother had said.

Tell her that she will inherit the prince's throne and become the queen legitimately.

However, for Ling Yue, no matter how well he spoke.

But when it comes down to it, isn't it possible that this man's heart has gradually changed?

She did not make a hysterical noise, but just quietly imitated Concubine Shu.

Her eyes were red and she looked at Jun Zechen with tears in her eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears that seemed like they would fall at any time.

The way she acted was that she silently accepted all his arrangements, but she felt very aggrieved.

Sure enough, when Jun Zechen saw her like this, he began to show guilt gradually on his face, and his expression became softer.

She pretended to be generous and said to Jun Zechen: "I heard that the Concubine went to the Qianqing Palace today. Your Majesty should have accompanied the Concubine's sister. After all, she gave birth to the eldest prince. I know I was wrong. I can accept the punishment from your Majesty and the Queen Mother."

"Yue'er is kind-hearted. It's good that you think so. When I came here today, Concubine Shu didn't mind. I ordered Anshun to give Concubine Shu a white jade hairpin to comfort her. She said she liked it before."

"So Yue'er doesn't have to worry about Concubine Shu's mood."

Ling Yue responded obediently: "Yes, I worry too much. Sister Shufei has always been broad-minded, kind and innocent." Ling Yue echoed.

Yes, kind and innocent, otherwise where would the title of "innocent" come from?

In the Manchu palace, only Concubine Shu had the title, and since Concubine Shu had the eldest prince, Concubine Chun was almost on equal footing with her, the noble concubine.

Not long after Jun Zechen arrived at Yikun Palace, he felt a little sleepy.

Ling Yue gently took off Jun Zechen's outer robe. After he sat on the bed in the bedroom, he looked at Ling Yue's back with a dazed look as she changed clothes and took off her hairpins.

The back figure seemed a little blurry in his eyes.

Before Ling Yue had finished changing, Jun Zechen leaned against the head of the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

When Ling Yue changed her clothes and walked over slowly, she called softly, "Your Majesty?"

Jun Zechen opened his eyes when he heard the voice, and then seemed to be suddenly ignited with some desire.

He suddenly pulled the woman in front of him into his arms, then turned over and pressed her down.

Ling Yue was a little surprised at first because of his sudden action, but then she felt a little delighted.

It seemed that he had not been so eager and enthusiastic towards her since Concubine Shu entered the Eastern Palace.

Hot kisses rained down on her neck, then gradually moved to her earlobe.

A deep and charming voice slowly rang in her ears, "Yaoyao..."

Ling Yue felt as if he had been hit by a heavy blow, and for an instant he stood there in a daze.

The hands that were originally tightly hugging the man's waist also dropped down weakly.

It turns out that the love and time of the past two years were all wasted, and he no longer loves her...

After everything that happened, Ling Yue felt as if his mind was in a trance, as if the whole world had lost its sense of reality.

His thoughts gradually returned to his mind, and Ling Yue's gaze was fixed on the white jade hairpin on Concubine Shu's head.

Therefore, the place Jun Zechen wanted to go most on the first night after he ascended the throne was Zhaochun Palace, and the person he was thinking about most was Concubine Chun Shu.

Because of her guilt, she had to come to Yikun Palace, so this hairpin was given as compensation specifically to please Concubine Shu?

Jun Zechen came to Yikun Palace just to explain to her and comfort her...

It's really ridiculous that a man's heart can change so quickly.

At this time, Su Jingyao had already bowed slightly for a while. Then she slowly raised her eyes with a hint of doubt in her eyes and called softly, "Sister?"

"Please stand up, Concubine Chun Shu. I was mesmerized by your beauty. But today is just a coincidence."

Ling Yue spoke expressionlessly, his tone so flat that not a single trace of emotion could be heard.

"Thank you for the compliment, sister. It's a coincidence that today is the day for me to go with you, how about it?" Su Jingyao said with a smile.

"There is only one way to get to Cining Temple. You have to go with me even if you don't want to."

There seemed to be a hint of anger in Ling Yue's tone, a hint of depression that seemed to be suppressed with great effort yet difficult to hide completely.

Su Jingyao still had a smile on her face, as if she hadn't noticed anything.

Before she could even test her, this obvious hostility was already about to hit her in the face.

It seems that Jun Zechen didn't make her happy last night.

Just like this, the two of them walked together on the palace road. It was quiet and no one spoke.

Because they were going to pay respects to the Queen Mother, neither of them took a sedan chair. In addition, these palaces were the central palaces in the imperial palace and were not far away.

By the time they arrived at Cining Palace, the other concubines had already arrived.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Queen Mother. May you live in peace and happiness."

Ling Yue and Su Jingyao bowed with respectful tones. Now that Ling Yue had not become the empress, she could only address her as the empress dowager like everyone else.

The Queen Mother sat steadily in the first seat, raised her hand slightly, her expression stern but with a hint of kindness.

"Get up."

After Ling Yue stood up, he walked to the left side of the Queen Mother and sat down.

Su Jingyao sat on the right side of the Queen Mother with just the right smile on her face.

In this promotion and ennobling ceremony, the rest of the concubines were all ennobled by the Empress Dowager.

Su Jingyao's eyes fell on the other women. Today, An Jinyan had a slender figure. Because of her good family background, she was conferred the title of Zhaorong of the second rank.

Bai Mengli was also granted the title of a third-rank imperial concubine because her father was the Minister of the Central Secretariat and she had a good family background.

Shen Biwan and Shangguan Yi had not had a strong presence in the East Palace before. Although they were noble ladies from other cities, their status in the harem was not high.

Shen Biwan was conferred the title of Ronghua of the fourth rank, and Shangguan Yi was conferred the title of Meiren of the fifth rank.

Tang Suxi did not come today because she was still recuperating from a minor miscarriage.

However, because the imperial concubine lost her child, the empress dowager gave her a good position as a compensation, the fourth rank Ronghua.

With this seal, Shangguan Yi has the lowest status among the old people in Qiandi, and is just a beauty.

The empress dowager slowly looked around at the emperor's concubines.

The number of people is still a little small. Now, the only ones who can win the emperor's favor are probably the noble concubine and the concubine.

But the imperial concubine is infertile.

Because An Zhaorong had a grudge against the imperial concubine, she was naturally not favored by the emperor.

Tang Ronghua was originally favored by the emperor, but she had just lost her child and was afraid that she would not be able to get pregnant in a short time.

As for Concubine Bai, Shen Ronghua, and Lady Shangguan, they were insignificant people when they were in the Eastern Palace.

well.

The empress dowager sighed silently in her heart, thinking that the emperor still had too few children.

"Today is the first time you have come to pay respects to the Emperor at Cining Palace since he ascended the throne."

The Queen Mother spoke in a steady voice, her eyes sweeping across the crowd with dignity, "I have two main things to announce."

"The first thing I will do is to give the power of managing the harem to Consort Gui and Consort Chunshu."

The Queen Mother paused for a moment and continued, "The harem has six bureaus and one department, which command a total of 25 departments. Among them, the Palace Administration Department is independent of the six bureaus."

"I plan to have the Imperial Concubine assist in managing the Shangyi Bureau, Shangfu Bureau, Shangshi Bureau and Jingshifang, while the Shufei will assist in managing the Shanggong Bureau, Shangqin Bureau, Shanggong Bureau and Gongzhengsi."

Su Jingyao and Ling Yue stood up after hearing the Queen Mother's arrangement.

Ling Yue bowed slightly and said, "Thank you very much, Queen Mother. I will do my best to manage the affairs of the three palaces and the Jingshifang."

Afterwards, Su Jingyao also bowed, her expression solemn and firm, "Thanks to the Queen Mother's appreciation, I will do my best to uphold justice, live in harmony with the sisters in the palaces, and manage the affairs of the three palaces and the Palace Administration Office."

"Get up." The Queen Mother nodded slightly.

Afterwards, Su Jingyao and Ling Yue sat back in their seats.

The Queen Mother continued, "Now that the Emperor has few children, I am preparing to select beauties for him. The time has been set for three months. The Imperial Concubine and the Pure Concubine have arranged this."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

The two answered in unison. Ling Yue's face remained expressionless, but his heart was aching uncontrollably.

She must take advantage of His Majesty's guilt to hold on to power. Since His Majesty could change his mind because of Concubine Shu, he could also change his mind because of the new buds.

She won't dwell on it anymore.

Su Jingyao nodded slightly, with a hint of thought in her eyes.