The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 196 The Wrong New Clothes
When Yinzhen first heard the three words "Sui Yuxuan", he frowned and thought about the direction of Sui Yuxuan in his mind.

"I remember that there seems to be an old stage in that place from the time of the previous emperor. It is quite remote."

Nian Shilan said patiently.

"Your Majesty is wise. The stage won't get in the way, and the place is not remote, it's quiet and elegant. It's perfect for Concubine Wan to live alone. If Your Majesty thinks it's too far, you can let the Fengluan Chun'en carriage take Concubine Wan to the Yangxin Palace, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Yinzhen knew that Nian Shilan was probably a little jealous, but he hadn't seen Nian Shilan being jealous for a long time. Well, that place was indeed suitable for a concubine of Wan Guiren's status to live alone, so let Nian Shilan do it.

"Well, it's fine. You have to worry about these trivial matters. Just ask Lady Wan to move to Suiyuxuan. You will have to take care of all the things that are missing."

Nian Shilan then smiled again and said.

"I obey your order, Your Majesty, just rest assured."

In this life, every step that Nian Shilan planned was a preparation for a few years later.

I just don't know how old Zhen Huan is in this life, and how long it will take to see her. But there's no rush, the Nian family has just established a foothold in the court, so we can take it slow.

On the twenty-third, the sugar-coated melons are sticky, and it is the Little New Year again. Nian Shilan takes care of all the trivial matters in the palace.

Early that morning, Nian Shilan sat in Jingren Palace, waiting to greet Ulanara before arranging the trivial matters for tomorrow's New Year's Eve banquet.

The palace-wide New Year's Eve banquet is the most important banquet of the year. It is the Queen's responsibility to draw up the invitation list of female relatives and distribute the invitations, while the trivial matters such as arranging the banquet are the responsibility of Nian Shilan.

When Nian Shilan looked up, Concubine Duan came in, supported by Jixiang, wearing a new dress made of Huanhua brocade. The color of the dress was bright and eye-catching, which made the furnishings of Jingren Palace brighter.

"Your Highness the Queen, I pay my respects to you. May you be blessed with good health and happiness."

Concubine Duan stood firmly before bowing.

Ulanara sat upright in the seat of honor, smiling and nodding.

"Get up quickly. Sister Duanfei looks very good today, and this dress suits you very well. Sister, you are young, so you should wear bright colors."

Concubine Duan said.

"Thank you very much, Queen, for your gift. I wore this specially today."

Ulanara said in surprise as she gave a seat to Concubine Duan.

"I gave it to you? I can't even remember when I gave Concubine Duan the material for Huanhuajin."

Concubine Duan was puzzled and looked at Ulanara.

"Yesterday afternoon, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came and brought two sets of Huanhua brocade clothes, saying that the Empress had recently given them to me, so I put them on today."

Ulanara was still surprised when Concubine Wan beside her spoke softly.

"I see, this material looks very much like the one I received as a reward from the Empress some time ago. I really liked this color at the time, and as soon as I received the reward, I asked someone to send it to the Needlework Bureau, hoping to make two new dresses to wear at the New Year's Eve banquet. I don't know how this dress ended up on Concubine Duan, and I thought I was seeing things, but this pattern is really familiar to me."

Concubine Duan's heart sank and she spoke thoughtfully.

"Noble Lady Wan, take a good look. The clothes I am wearing were given to you by the Empress. Could it be that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was careless and sent the wrong clothes?" Noble Lady Wan was about to speak when Ulanara said.

"Forget it. Tomorrow is the night banquet for the whole palace. Lady Wan, even if the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent the wrong clothes, please give in. I remember that you made two new clothes a few days ago. Concubine Duan is pregnant, so it is not appropriate for her to make trouble. Don't let these little things hurt the harmony between you. I will ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then punish them."

Lady Wan replied obediently.

"Yes, Empress. I am not making a fuss, it's just two pieces of clothing. Since this is the fault of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is naturally not the fault of Empress Duan. I think this color suits Empress Duan very well, so I will just give her a gift to celebrate her pregnancy.

I hope that Concubine Duan will not despise me. As for the servants working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they have already had a hard time as slaves, so I will dare to ask for mercy for them. Don’t punish them during the New Year holidays.”

Lady Wan had a perfect smile on her face, neither arrogant nor flattering, making people feel like they were in the spring breeze.

Concubine Duan was stunned for a moment, then smiled back.

"In that case, I would like to thank Lady Wan for giving me this gift. When I return, I will definitely pick out the best ones to give to my sister to thank her for her kindness to me."

Ulanara smiled.

"I am so happy to see the sisters getting along well with each other. I was just thinking of severely punishing the servants, but I didn't expect that Sister Duanfei and Lady Wan would be such reasonable people. I am very pleased."

After everyone paid their respects and returned to their respective palaces, Concubine Duan sent someone to deliver a box of precious jewelry to Suiyuxuan, saying that it was for Concubine Wan to wear as a reward for her generosity.

Lady Wan accepted the gift and rewarded the servant who brought the gift with a purse containing five taels of silver. Lady Wan smiled.

"Thank you for your hard work, eunuch. Please tell Concubine Duan that this is a trivial matter and not worth mentioning. Please don't mind it. When I have some free time, I will personally go to thank you for the gift of these precious treasures."

The eunuch who delivered the gift took the silver and instantly smiled.

"My lady, you are so polite. This is what I should do. I will definitely convey your words to you. Our Concubine Duan is the most kind and clear-headed. We are happy to serve you."

Nian Shilan fiddled with the spices in the incense burner and took a deep breath. These spices were mixed by her brother and they were refreshing and smelled good, so she could burn them without worry.

Xiao Linzi said.

"Just now, I saw Concubine Wan taking her personal maid to Yanqing Palace. I think she went to thank Concubine Duan in person for the reward. It seems to me that Concubine Wan and Concubine Duan are on good terms. I have already asked Huang Guiquan, and even he doesn't know how he could have sent the wrong clothes.

Fortunately, the two young ladies did not take it seriously, and neither did the Empress. I have already sent a message to Huang Guiquan, asking him to be very alert during his duties these days and not to let anyone make mistakes again. "

Nian Shilan said lazily.

"Huang Guiquan usually relies on being a distant relative of mine and is a bit domineering. It's good that this happened. It's not a bad thing to warn him. This time he can reflect on himself and find out who in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is pretending to obey him but actually disobeying him. Then I can use him with more confidence in the future."

Xiao Linzi echoed.

"Yes, Master, you are wise. The day after tomorrow is coming. Do you still want me to secretly deliver the medicine to Lady Wan?"

Nian Shilan turned around and looked at Xiao Linzi, her smile not genuine through the lingering fragrant mist.

"Of course I want you to deliver it quietly. She has been very obedient since she entered the palace, and I am confident in using her."