Chapter 70 Bleeding

Today is the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.

This lunchtime banquet will be held in the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony to entertain ministers, royal relatives, and others.

Su Jingyao endured the discomfort and changed into palace dress.

Since she suffered a little harm today, she must take back ten times the benefit.

Otherwise, how can I justify the pain she is going through today?

On the day the palace dress was delivered, Su Jingyao specifically asked Li Jin to check it carefully, and it turned out that the problem was with the stitching.

The petals of the amaryllis are stacked layer upon layer, extremely gorgeous, and the needles and threads soaked in amaryllis juice are densely packed and stacked layer upon layer.

Even though the embroidery was completed ahead of time and left in the house for two days, the medicinal properties had not yet taken effect.

Especially the collar and cuffs, she felt uncomfortable just by putting it on.

If Li Jing had not repeatedly assured her that the effects of Zhu Dinghong's poison on her skin would be restored to normal under his treatment, she really would not want to take such a risk.

After changing into her palace dress, Su Jingyao got on the sedan chair and headed towards Cining Palace.

Jun Zechen and Guifei would also go to Cining Palace, and then the three of them would accompany the Queen Mother to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

When the four of them arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, everyone else had to be present, otherwise it would be a great disrespect to the royal family.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, tall and straight vermilion pillars support the dome with carved beams and painted rafters.

The sunlight shines in through the half-open window lattices, forming golden beams of light, adding a mysterious and sacred aura to the entire hall.

A sharp eunuch's voice suddenly rang out.

"Your Majesty is here, the Empress Dowager is here, the Imperial Concubine is here, the Pure Concubine is here—"

Su Jingyao followed behind Jun Zechen gracefully, and the noble concubine followed behind the empress dowager respectfully.

The four of them walked together in the spacious and solemn center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The auspicious dress that the Queen Mother wore today was truly dazzling and she was very satisfied with it.

The noble concubine put all her attention on the arrangements for the empress dowager's wedding attire and the banquet, so naturally she would not allow any mistakes to occur at the banquet.

The palace dress she wore today also looked glittering with gold, with every detail carefully sewn with gold and silver threads.

In comparison, Su Jingyao's palace dress looks the most ordinary.

However, her fair skin, dark hair, and bright red lips made her look particularly eye-catching, like a bright pearl shining in the hall.

After hearing the eunuch's shout, everyone in the hall stood up and knelt to greet him respectfully.

"Long live your majesty, and long live the empress dowager."

"Your Highness, Your Highness, May you be blessed with good health and happiness."

"Stand up."

Jun Zechen sat upright on the highest dragon throne, his face solemn and his voice majestic. His deep and powerful voice echoed in the hall.

Su Jingyao turned her eyes slightly and her gaze fell on the position of the minister on the left. Her father was in a conspicuous position in the front and could be easily seen at a glance.

Su Jingyao raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and gave her father a well-behaved and sweet smile, with a hint of playfulness and intimacy.

When Father Su saw his daughter's smile, he smiled back lovingly.

However, he only glanced at his daughter's palace dress, and then looked at the concubine's palace dress.

His eyes couldn't help but darken. His daughter had always been dressed in fine clothes at home. She had never worn such a dress which he considered to be "crudely made".

If the imperial concubine made another mistake, he would definitely find an opportunity to impeach her, saying that a country girl was not worthy of putting pressure on his daughter.

Afterwards, just like every other banquet, Jun Zechen stood up and made a solemn speech, wishing the country a long and stable future and congratulating the Queen Mother on her birthday.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was singing and dancing in the hall, and the court officials began to drink with each other. It was very lively for a while.

Among the concubines in the harem, except Su Jingyao and the noble concubine who sat firmly on the high seats, the other concubines were separated by screens.

After all, women who have entered the palace cannot easily see outsiders.

Only the four concubines and the empress could do so, because they were on royal sacrificial plates and were members of the royal family with extremely noble status.

As for other people in the harem, unless they get explicit permission from the superior, they are absolutely not allowed to see their family members, let alone outsiders.

As the banquet gradually drew to a close, some princes and princesses began to stand up and present gifts to the Queen Mother.

The etiquette for concubines had been given in advance.

At this time, Princess Minghui, who had been raised by the Empress Dowager since childhood because her mother had died young, stepped forward.

"Mother, today I am sending you a phoenix-head incense burner made of pure gold and inlaid with sapphires, emeralds and other precious gems. I hope you like it."

"Okay, Minghui is thoughtful. I like it very much." The Queen Mother said with a smile, her eyes full of love and joy.

Su Jingyao turned her head slightly and glanced at Princess Minghui's gift. It was indeed extremely luxurious and expensive, and its dazzling light was even a little dazzling.

In comparison, the gifts presented by some of the princes and princesses seemed a bit petty.

Fortunately, the congratulatory gifts from the concubines were not displayed in public in the palace, otherwise, many of them might have been too embarrassing to present.

After all, not all of the concubines came from prominent families, and some would give handmade items as gifts to express their feelings.

However, whether the Queen Mother can accept their so-called sincerity is still unknown.

When Princess Minghui heard the Queen Mother's affirmation, her face immediately revealed a look of pride.

She said affectionately, "Mother, this year's gift is the most pleasing to you besides my brother's."

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

The Queen Mother was particularly amused by Minghui's cute look and responded with a smile.

"That's not the case. This year, your brother's gift doesn't even rank first among mine."

A hint of surprise flashed across Minghui's eyes for a moment.

After hearing this, Jun Zechen couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly, with a barely perceptible interest on his face.

Seeing her curious look, the Queen Mother continued speaking.

"This year's gift for Concubine Chun Shu is called the Pisces Omen of Fortune. It is extremely exquisite and the design is also unique and novel. The red and white agate is something I have never seen before. The carving effect is even better. I like it the most."

When Su Jingyao heard the Queen Mother mention her, she quickly stood up and saluted with a smile on her face.

"It's not in vain that this gift is favored by the Queen Mother."

Su Jingyao knew in her heart that this gift would be good, and she also expected that the Queen Mother would like it, but she did not expect that the Queen Mother would give it such a high evaluation.

Then she had to thank Emperor Qianlong very much, because this Pisces omen was given to the Empress Dowager by Emperor Qianlong.

She was just trying to please him by borrowing his idea.

Now it seems that the effect is really good, worthy of being a gift from the emperor of the prosperous times.

Jun Zechen glanced at her with a slightly surprised look.

She is always so clever. I remember when she first entered the East Palace, her mother often punished her, but now even her mother likes her.

The banquet gradually came to an end amidst the excitement, and then Jun Zechen led everyone to the outside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The concubines above the rank of ninth concubines had graceful figures, the ministers above the third rank had solemn expressions, and the princes and princesses all stood on the high platform outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony with dignified manners.

When everyone looked down, they could see another gift that His Majesty had specially prepared for the Queen Mother.

The performance, with hundreds of people participating, was grand and shocking.

The beating of gongs and drums, the changing of formations, the brandishing of swords and spears, yet it does not seem chaotic, but rather particularly orderly.

With the clever changes in the formation, the birthday congratulatory words were clearly presented: "Congratulations to the Empress Dowager on her longevity and may she be blessed with great fortune."

The smile on the Queen Mother's face never faded. With all the ministers paying homage to her and her being above ten thousand people, this feeling was already the pinnacle.

Su Jingyao stood behind Jun Zechen, her expression becoming increasingly ugly.

Because of the medicine she drank before, her menstrual period was disrupted and her stomach began to ache slightly.

Throughout her life, she had always maintained an extremely good body and had never experienced the pain of dysmenorrhea.

At this moment, her little face had turned pale and bloodless, but because of the makeup, it was not noticeable unless you looked closely.

Miaoyun on the side looked at her with worry on her face. Su Jingyao endured the pain and shook her head gently towards Miaoyun.

It was not until Jun Zechen announced that the Queen Mother's birthday banquet was over that the noble concubine standing aside secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This Queen Mother's birthday banquet was a great opportunity for her to show herself in front of His Majesty, the Queen Mother and the ministers.

Now that everything has come to a perfect end, she naturally feels much more relieved.

Deep down, she longed for His Majesty and the Queen Mother to affirm her abilities.

After the banquet, Miaoyun carefully supported Su Jingyao. At this time, Su Jingyao almost leaned all her body weight on Miaoyun and slowly moved down from the platform step by step.

"ah."

Suddenly, a palace maid screamed in a low voice. She seemed to be tripped by something and fell straight down.

Upon seeing this, Concubine Gui and An Zhaorong quickly moved away.

However, Su Jingyao really had no strength at the moment.

She changed her mind and decided to take advantage of the situation and fell down as well. However, Miaoyun held her tightly all the time, so she was not actually hurt.

Jun Zechen heard the voice and turned around quickly. He saw Su Jingyao sitting on the ground, leaning on Miaoyun.

His face was as pale as paper, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

"What's going on?!"

Jun Zechen's eyes suddenly flashed with cold light, and his icy gaze swept across everyone like a sharp sword, finally fixing firmly on the fallen palace maid.

The palace maid hurriedly climbed up, her face full of fear and her voice filled with anxiety.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to do that. Someone just pushed me. I..."

Jun Zechen didn't give her any unnecessary glances. He walked quickly to Su Jingyao, slowly squatted down, his eyes full of concern and anxiety.

"Yaoyao, what's wrong with you?"

At this moment, Su Jingyao only felt that her stomach was in extreme pain.

She has had dysmenorrhea in modern times because she was an orphan, had an irregular diet, and was not in good health.

Every time I have menstrual cramps, I feel like I am dying.

After coming here, she has taken great care of her body.

Today I experienced this kind of cramping pain in my lower abdomen again, and it hurt so much that I felt dizzy.

I felt as if I was completely exhausted and couldn't utter a word.

Seeing this, Jun Zechen picked the person up without hesitation.

"Excuse me, Imperial Physician!"

Then, Jun Zechen, with an anxious look on his face, held her gently and steadily, and hurriedly stepped onto the sedan chair.

Afterwards, under Jun Zechen's command, Yu Nian quickly headed towards Zhaochun Palace like an arrow from a bow.

After arriving at Zhaochun Palace, Jun Zechen put her on the bed.

However, the pain on Su Jingyao's face did not lessen at all, her brows were tightly locked together, as if they were twisted into a knot, and she seemed to be enduring great torture.

After she lay down, her skirt became a little messy inadvertently, and Jun Zechen vaguely saw the red rash on her neck.

His heart skipped a beat and he examined it carefully.

I saw that the woman's snow-white skin was covered with shocking red rashes!

"What's going on?" Jun Zechen's voice was anxious and stern.

Miaoyun, who was standing by, took a look at her master's skin, and an expression of heartache immediately appeared on her face.

"Your Majesty, I felt unwell during the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, but I was told that there must not be any problems at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, so I endured it."

"Originally, the master's dress should have been made of precious brocade, but the fabric of this palace dress was secretly replaced..."

As Jun Zechen listened, his anger grew stronger and he looked at her with heartache.

The reason why she held back from saying anything was because the palace dress was the responsibility of the Imperial Concubine, and she didn't want the Imperial Concubine to make a mistake at her mother's birthday party?

Why do you always only think about others?

Afterwards, Miaoyun seemed to be extremely frightened, and her eyes were full of panic.

With a trembling voice, he shouted: "Your Majesty, the master is bleeding!"

Jun Zechen was startled and looked quickly at the place where the blood was seeping from her dress. He then saw that she was almost in a coma.

He immediately became furious: "Where is the imperial physician?"

His voice was so loud that the entire bedroom seemed to tremble slightly.