Xue Chengrong was scolded by Empress Dowager Xue and then asked to leave. If it was Concubine Lan who came, Empress Dowager Xue would have kept her to finish the meal no matter how much she scolded her.
She was just getting angry when a little palace maid suddenly rushed out and bumped into Xue Chengrong:
"How dare you, a blind person, offend Concubine Xue!"
How could she have accidentally bumped into her master and made him stumble? Yin Ling was the senior palace maid sent by Empress Dowager Xue to serve Xue Chengrong, so unlike her own master, she didn't intend to get angry when she was bumped into.
"This servant deserves death. This servant deserves death. I offended Miss Xue."
The servant hurriedly helped Xue Chengrong brush off the dust on her body. Just as Xue Chengrong was about to move away, something was stuffed into her hand.
"Forget it, Yin Ling, I won't be in your way."
Hearing Xue Chengrong moaning like this, Ling wanted to say something else, but she suppressed her thoughts because she was in front of others.
"Thank you for your kindness, my lady. I am in a hurry to serve my lady, so I will take my leave now."
"Well, step back."
After the others had gone away, Xue Chengrong pretended to ask Yin Ling casually, and had no intention of telling her personal maid what she had just held in her hand.
After all, she wasn't so stupid as to not know that Yin Ling was sent by the Queen Mother to monitor her, to help her and to keep her on alert at all times.
"Whose palace does that maid belong to? Why haven't I heard of anyone else holding the title of mistress in the palace besides my cousin?"
Yin Ling lowered her voice, her expression darkening, but she still answered them one by one:
"That's the newly transferred senior maid to Fangfei Pavilion."
"Fangfei Pavilion? Why haven't I heard of any other lady living there?"
This self-proclaimed title made Yin Ling frown, and she patiently reminded him:
"Your Highness, you are now the mistress of the harem. The term 'I' should no longer be used. The person living in Fangfei Pavilion is Concubine Qiu. She moved there because she offended the Emperor and angered His Majesty."
Xue Chengrong felt a little embarrassed when a servant reminded her of this. She stammered, "Oh!" She wasn't used to being held in high esteem and being waited on.
"Concubine Qiu? What crime did she commit? Shouldn't concubines who commit crimes be banished to the cold palace?"
When I was learning etiquette from the teaching nanny, I didn't hear about the concubines in the harem when they introduced them, but I didn't hear about this Concubine Qiu.
"Young Master Xue, you should speak less and act more in this harem. Only by being cautious in what you say and do can you survive. Concubine Qiu's former maid-in-charge assassinated the Imperial Concubine, and because of this, she was assigned to Fangfei Pavilion."
"I see..."
Obviously, the other party did not tell her the whole story, and Xue Chengrong did not continue to ask questions out of tact.
After returning to the palace, Xue Chengrong waited for Yin Ling to leave before opening the note that had been stuffed into her hand:
If Concubine Xue is interested, please meet at the Tingjiezhai in the Imperial Garden at the second watch.
"Xiaoqing, Xiaoqing."
Xiaoqing, upon hearing the summons, quickly put down her work and came in:
"What's wrong, Master?"
"Do you know Concubine Qiu from Fangfei Pavilion?"
When Xiaoqing heard the name "Qiupin", her face turned pale and she waved her hands hurriedly:
"No, no, my lady. The Emperor has ordered that no one in the palace should mention Concubine Qiu."
What crime had she committed? And why would a concubine who had committed a crime come looking for her?
Xue Chengrong held the note in her hand, feeling that the matter must be complicated. Her growing curiosity drove her to ask for clarification:
"Even if I ordered you to, you wouldn't listen, right?"
Xiaoqing is different from Yinling. She has been in the palace for several years and is by the empress dowager's side. Naturally, her temperament and courage cannot be compared with those of the senior palace maids.
Frightened, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy:
"This servant did not intend to offend Your Majesty, it was simply the Emperor's order."
"Oh? Really? But I think you are committing insubordination, so I'll have Yin Ling expel you from the palace."
"I say, I say, it seems that Concubine Qiu is not the only one who is plotting against the Imperial Concubine. The people in the palace are saying that Concubine Qiu is closely related to the Imperial Concubine's miscarriage."
Wasn't my cousin very favored? One could even say she was the only one favored. How could the concubine who killed my cousin's child still be fine?
She committed such a serious crime but was only moved to another palace. Xue Chengrong vaguely felt that Concubine Qiu might be useful to her in the future.
"However, I heard that Concubine Qiu has been with His Majesty since she was a child, so I can't bear to punish her, but I still have to pretend to do so in order to appease the Imperial Concubine."
After saying that, Xiaoqing quickly made up for it:
"But these are just my guesses. My dear, please don't say that these are my words."
"Well, step back."
Xue Chengrong held the note in his hand thoughtfully, then walked to the candlestick and burned the note. He already had the answer in his mind.
At this time, in the Cining Palace, the head nanny walked into the hall with a heavy face and hurriedly waved away everyone in the hall.
"What's wrong, Xiufang?"
Empress Dowager Xue felt uneasy. Although the court and the harem seemed calm recently, there were actually undercurrents. Only those involved knew the true extent of the situation.
"Master Xue has colluded with foreign enemies. The Emperor has urgently ordered Master Xue to be escorted back to the capital."
"What?!"
This was the first time that Empress Dowager Xue lost her composure. The teacup in her hand fell to the ground, and her expression was filled with gloom.
"Go, go and call Lan'er!"
Although Empress Dowager Xue knew that Qiao Yu was gradually getting out of control, as long as her title of imperial concubine existed, she would be inseparable from the Xue family.
Which concubine could stay in the harem peacefully without the support of her mother's family? How could she become the queen without support?
If she has me, Qiao Yu will definitely not dare to refuse me.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother live long and happily."
"Hurry up, Lan'er. You don't have to follow these tedious and useless rules here."
Qiao Yu smiled but didn't say anything. She could only listen to what this woman said.
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