The first formal greeting after the young lady entered the palace officially begins when the noble consort appears.
As a professional favored concubine, being late, leaving early, feigning illness to gain favor, and bullying the weak are all essential skills. So obviously, Consort Shen was the last to arrive, even later than the one who served the Emperor last night.
However, while others dare to criticize the concubines who serve the emperor, they don't dare to criticize Consort Shen.
Although only one palace maid was allowed to accompany her during the morning greetings, the noble consort was someone who broke the rules; she was a favored consort. So not only did she go out fully armed with two first-rank, three second-rank, and N third-rank palace maids, but she also brought the first-rank maid Manxing and the second-rank maid Biye with her when entering Fengyi Palace.
Currently, all the concubines have their own seats, with a palace maid standing behind them. Only the Empress and the Noble Consort have two attendants standing beside them.
Such things have long been commonplace. The older residents of the palace are unfazed, while the newcomers only dare to grumble internally a couple of times before directing their ire at the concubine who serves the emperor.
When Concubine Shen entered with two palace maids, coincidentally, An Shurong, who had entered first, was bowing to the Empress. Last night, it was her turn to serve the emperor.
The noble consort received the news late; after all, she hadn't deliberately inquired about it. It was only when she saw everyone staring at An Shurong, who was half-squatting and had been bowing for a long time without anyone telling her to get up, that she suddenly realized that she had taken the lead.
Miss An, the daughter of the Minister, is said to play the guqin exceptionally well. The emperor was originally going to Su Qiaoxin, the palace of Consort Rong, yesterday. However, upon passing by Feiyue Palace and hearing the sound of the qin inside, he immediately decided to change his route and go to Feiyue Palace to investigate.
——It is worth mentioning that Feiyue Palace and Yunxiang Palace are adjacent to each other, separated by a palace path called Chunjun Path. To get from the Emperor's Zicheng Hall to the Yuxiang Palace, the fastest way is to take the Chunjun Path, because there is a Tianyang Gate there, so you don't have to take a detour.
She stole Su Qiaoxin's chance to spend the night, no wonder she's being attacked by all the women in the harem now. As soon as Su Qiaoxin entered the palace, she was granted the title of Consort Rong, the highest rank among all the palace maids. A newcomer with no connections in the palace naturally wanted to curry favor with the Consort Rong.
Consort Shen was not afraid of offending An Shurong. She walked up leisurely and stopped to bow slightly in front of An Shurong. Then, without waiting for the Empress to speak, she stood up on her own, sat down on the left, and took a sip of tea.
No matter which palace it is, the food and tea cannot be tampered with, except for the queen's palace. The Empress is kind-hearted and has a peculiar relationship with the Emperor; she wouldn't poison anyone unless the Emperor ordered her to target someone.
However, in Shen Yuqing's view, the emperor wouldn't let the empress take action; otherwise, what would he need her, the noble consort, for? Presumably, this noble consort is just a shield for the empress, doing all the work and taking the blame, while the empress sits back and relaxes, only managing the palace affairs without having to do anything else.
An Shurong glared at Shen Yuqing with resentment. Why could this woman stand up while she still had to half-squat? This position is more exhausting than anything else, but unless the Empress speaks, she cannot rise.
The kind-hearted Empress naturally wouldn't hold it against her. In fact, the Empress didn't say a word; it was Consort Rong who suddenly picked a fight when she was greeting her, saying she didn't understand the rules and couldn't even perform a proper greeting, punishing her by not allowing her to rise. But the Empress did not object and tacitly allowed it.
The late-arriving Concubine Shen naturally didn't know about these things, but she raised an eyebrow, and naturally, Manxing took the head maid of the Empress's palace, Hanqiu, to the back to whisper. They quickly figured out the situation and informed the Concubine.
Consort Shen raised an eyebrow and glanced at Su Qiaoxin sitting to her left.
Consort Rong is too impatient. It was just one night of service, and she went straight to deal with Consort An the next day. Doesn't she fear the emperor's displeasure, thinking she's petty?
However, it seems that Consort Rong was indeed very angry; after all, the troubles she faced yesterday were not limited to this one incident...
Before long, Consort Rong calmed down and, in a moment of great mercy, let An Shurong go.
"Get up, and remember to go back and learn proper etiquette from the palace maids. Don't embarrass the royal family again."
The concubine opposite suddenly laughed, still holding a beauty fan lightly covering half her face, and said softly, "Sister Rong, you have quite a big mouth. Teaching the palace maids should be the Empress's responsibility, yet you seem to be enjoying overstepping your bounds."
Consort Rong immediately turned cold, stood up decisively, and half-kneeled towards the Empress, "Your Majesty, please see clearly, I was just momentarily angered. Your Majesty, you are busy with state affairs every day and probably don't have the leisure to discipline these maids who don't understand the rules. As a second-rank consort, it is my duty to share your burdens and solve your problems."
Empress Fu's expression was calm, "Get up, I know you mean well."
Next, Consort Rong clashed with Consort Shu.
The noble consort didn't care about a mere An Shurong; after all, she was just a concubine who had received favor once, not worth her effort. It was Su Qiaoxin, who was conferred the title of Consort Rong as soon as she arrived, which was truly infuriating. If she gains favor and then becomes pregnant, she will likely leap to the top of the four concubines.
Virtuous and kind, Shufei is merely ranked third among the four consorts.
The entire time, Empress Shen, who was just watching the show, was so happy that she reached out, picked up a piece of pastry, and stuffed it into her mouth. Huh? It's actually quite tasty?
She immediately looked at the pastry, pondering whether to have Manxing ask Hanqiu for the recipe.
She was eating happily, while others didn't even dare to casually drink tea, let alone eat pastries.
Not everyone dares to watch the play with peace of mind. Here, the noble consort said, "I heard that the noble consort Rong has a good temper. Seeing her today, it truly is as they say."
Over there, Consort Rong immediately retorted, "Sister, the palace maids have said that the Noble Consort loves to carry that embroidered handkerchief with the lotus flowers. Why have you changed it today? Did you wet it with your tears yesterday and haven't had a chance to dry it yet?"
Back and forth, without mercy, one would think they had a deep-seated grudge against each other. The lower-ranking concubines all huddled together like quails, fearing that if they stuck their heads out, they would be mistakenly harmed.
"Yesterday, I didn't cry at all. His Majesty spends most of his days each month favoring different concubines. What's there to be sad about?" The Shu Fei, with the demeanor of someone who has been through it, began to comfort Rong Fei in return, "But Sister Rong Fei, don't take it too much to heart. It's just one night of service, so what if another person took it? There are still many days ahead!"
Concubine Rong was so furious that smoke seemed to be coming out of her ears. This woman actually cursed her to have someone steal her every time she served the emperor in bed. How utterly malicious.
Just at this moment, an oblivious teammate stepped forward to help. Although Concubine Rong had just entered the palace, many people were optimistic about her. It was only natural for the uninformed concubines to choose to pledge their loyalty to her. The daughter of the Minister of Justice, Liu, entered the palace and was granted the inconspicuous title of Fifth-Rank Xiurong, one rank lower than An Shurong. Her family background was also not as illustrious as An Shurong's, so she was contemplating how to latch onto the powerful Rongfei.
I only heard her say, "Your Majesty, Concubine Rong, don't worry. His Majesty is naturally still on your side. This time, you were just granted the title of concubine and even given a posthumous name as soon as you entered the palace!"
"Clouds think of clothes, flowers think of beauty. His Majesty not only renamed Guanju Palace to Yunxiang Palace for you, but also bestowed the title 'Rong.' This is a privilege none of us have received."
Concubine Rong was quite pleased with the first half of the sentence, but after hearing the second half, her face turned as if a palette had been overturned, neither smiling nor angry.
The Empress Fu and Consort Shen, who knew the inside story, simultaneously spat out their tea.
Clouds think of clothes, flowers think of beauty, but the one they are thinking of is not Consort Su Qiaoxin. Moreover, Su Qiaoxin's sister, the emperor's true love, just happens to be named...... Su Qiaorong. (T/N: Qiao = beauty(?) // Consort Rong = (Qiao)rong, meaning her palace title and the name for her is directly pertaining to her sister, Qiaorong.)
This is the main reason why Consort Rong was so furious today. Having her bedchamber service taken away was just a minor issue; the palace name and title were what truly hurt the most.
Which woman can calmly accept being treated as a substitute for her sister? Anyway, Su Qiaoxin couldn't do it.
It's not that I'm afraid of a god-like opponent, but I'm really afraid of a pig-like teammate. Consort Rong was already at a disadvantage, and then she was provoked by her incompetent teammate, causing her to instantly feel unwell. Overcome with anger, she immediately fainted.
The Concubine Rong fainted, and everyone was immediately stunned. Only Concubine Shen, indifferent to the situation, remarked, "Tsk, her constitution is too weak."
Anyway, she's already fainted, so even if she tries to provoke Concubine Rong, she won't hear it.
Empress Fu lightly coughed, bringing everyone back to their senses. She looked at the head palace maid behind Consort Rong and said, "Why aren't you quickly helping your lady? Xia Sui, quickly go summon the imperial physician. Han Qiu, lead the way and take Consort Rong to the side hall to rest for a while.”
Concubine Rong had already fainted, and the other women didn't want to stay here any longer to watch the spectacle. They all got up and left. Instead, it benefited An Shurong. Originally, it was her turn to be targeted and mocked today, but Concubine Rong took the brunt of it.
The chief palace maid, Dong Xiao, had seen off all the concubines, but only Concubine Shen was lingering and refusing to leave.
The Empress calmly looked at her, "Is there anything else, Noble Consort?"
Concubine Shen shamelessly said, "I got up early this morning and haven't had a chance to eat yet. I wonder if jiejie would be willing to have breakfast with me."
The first key to pursuing a girlfriend—have thick skin!
"I have already had breakfast." The Empress graciously declined.
"Then let's have another dish. Since the greeting took so long, jiejie must be hungry again." Concubine Shen looked certain, as if she were a reincarnated fortune teller from the rivers and lakes.
Empress Fu was shocked by her shamelessness, fell into a brief silence, then turned to the second-rank palace maid Tan Lan beside her and said, "Go prepare breakfast."
Tan Lan had a dreamy expression on her face as she floated out to deliver the meal.
The corner of Manxing's mouth behind Shen Yuqing twitched slightly.
Your Highness, how can you have the nerve to say you woke up early when you got up so late? And you deliberately skipped breakfast just to come to Fengyi Palace for a free meal?!
Consort Shen gave herself a thumbs-up, then warmly walked over and took Empress Fu's arm, "Qiushui-jiejie, I felt like we were close the first time we met a year ago, but unfortunately, I didn't dare to be forward back then. Today, I finally mustered the courage. You must not refuse me. From now on, when we're alone, you are not allowed to call me anything other than Yuqing. No other names are permitted."
"......" Empress Fu Qiushui decided to remain silent and later ask the emperor what medicine this concubine had taken again.
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