Chen Palace

Chapter 9
The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, threw away the exquisite painting fan casually, her face sank like water, her left and right were silent like cicadas, and she didn't dare to make a sound.

Aunt Ye beside her knew it well, dismissed the crowd, stepped forward to pick up the painting fan, and comforted: "Master, don't get angry, the emperor has always been like this, so there is nothing malicious."

"No malice? Look at the meaning in his words, he seems to be suspicious of me..."

"The emperor may have a grudge in his heart... No wonder, the empress acted like that last time."

"Hmph, one or two are so worrying. This girl Shujing looks okay when she was young, but she is so stupid when she grows up... Hey, it's no wonder that my son, looking at Kuanren, is actually the most rigid, Shujing Jing violated his taboo!"

The queen mother frowned bitterly, Shujing was the queen's boudoir name, and she was the jewel in the palm of her second brother.

"Miss Concubine Mei is pregnant this time, what should I do?" Aunt Ye looked at her sadly and asked, changing the subject.

"It's still the old way... Tell the girl Shujing to calm down. When the boat reaches the bridge, it can't help it not being straight!"

The ambiguous words and the blood in them made Aunt Ye terrified, and she quickly said, "I'll go tell Elder Sister E right now."

The Empress Dowager watched her leave in a hurry, and took the painting fan on the table, still with a relaxed and dignified expression.

****
In Zhaoyang Palace, the harem concubines arrived one after another, and the queen stood up and sat down. After receiving the concubines' visit, she quickly asked everyone to stand up and take their seats.

For a while, the palace was full of beautiful flowers, and the warblers were melodious, indescribably charming and gentle.

Chen Lu looked at it coldly, but saw that Zhaoyang Palace had an extraordinary layout, and all the treasures were restrained and simple, obviously extravagant to the extreme, but there was no intention of showing off at all.Judging by the position and posture of the placement, it seems that there have been many years.

This must be the handwriting of the Queen Mother back then.Chenlu thought.

Sure enough, looking back, one can see that the curtains made of crocodile silk hang down, and the pearly light is like fog. The scene in the inner courtyard is quite different from this.

Here is the main hall, a dozen or so concubines seem to be as close as sisters, but if you look closely, you can see the clues - there are three factions faintly divided here.

The empress had a tacit understanding with the Yungui people who came to Yunqing Palace that day. Thinking about what Concubine Qi said that day, it was the empress who supported the Yungui people so that she could escape from lowly slavery and be favored.

The man of Yungui wore a lotus-colored palace dress today, with pearls dotted on it, giving him the caring look of Xiaojiabiyu—probably because he didn't want to steal the queen's limelight.

Sitting in the middle is the empress who has been sick for a long time and has only recovered in the past few days. I saw that she was wearing an orthodox phoenix crown court dress, and her eyebrows and eyes looked like the empress dowager. She was also a rare beauty. Pale, looking weak and gentle, with every movement of his hands and feet, the noble air of a famous family and high-ranking family is immediately apparent.

Concubine Qi was seated first on the lower right. She raised her eyebrows and looked at the empress's sisterly affectionately. There was a faint sneer on her face, as if she had a chance to win.

In the harem, she is the emperor's most favored one. She has not faded after two years. A while ago, Yuan Qi was infatuated with Concubine Mei, but she soon became pregnant. She couldn't be more lucky. She still spent a lot of time in bed.

She is also of noble birth, and she is the daughter of Qi Rong, the Minister of Gu Ming appointed by the late emperor. Qi Rong has always regarded himself as a minister of Gu Ming, and many people in the court regard him as the leader. This party is very dissatisfied with the Queen Mother and the Lin family, and there are even rumors It is said that he once said "the hen is the morning".

Concubine Qi was also surrounded by many concubines, she seemed to disdain the queen above her, and only looked at the opposite side frequently,

The chief over there is empty, as if waiting.

After a while, just listening to the eunuch sing orders, everyone stopped talking and laughing, and all looked at the door——

The legendary Rakshasa ghost and the famous Zhou Guifei finally arrived.

At this time, the bell at the beginning of the afternoon finally rang, which was exactly the time stated in the queen's invitation.

It was a woman dressed in an ancient style.

The toga has wide sleeves, and the waist is belted with black and red patterns, embellished with golden arms.She does not wear embroidered shoes on her feet, but Jin-style wooden shoes that are neither gold nor jade.

What the maid behind her is holding is not a wishful incense scarf, but a dagger.

She stepped forward, saluted the queen, and then sat down on the vacant seat.

Chen Lu had heard many rumors about this Concubine Zhou, when those people talked about her, they would look around, and then said with lingering fear: "That is a rakshasa evil spirit..."

She is the daughter of General Zhou of Tianmenguan, and grew up in the army since she was a child.

At the beginning, the queen's phoenix body was against harmony, so Yuan Qi appointed her to take charge of the affairs of the six palaces. Unexpectedly, she governed the harem with the law of the army. Within three months, four concubines were dismissed, and eleven of the palace people died. as many as one.

She has all the evidence from her time, and she has never lightly forgiven anyone who caused troubles to harm others, spread rumors and corrupted others.

During those three months, the harem was the cleanest and safest, and it was also the time when the Empress Dowager and Yuan Qi had the most headaches—there was an endless stream of people who came to cry and beg.

In the end, as a last resort, the queen still presided over the overall situation, with the assistance of Zhou and Qi, and then the right and wrong were settled.

As soon as Concubine Zhou took her seat, Concubine Qi smiled and said coquettishly, "Sister Zhou is so handsome, everyone is waiting for you!"

Concubine Zhou Guifei didn't even move her eyebrows: "The empress's edict said yes, but you came too early—could it be that you were too hungry?"

Before she arrived, she knew that today was the earliest concubine Qi. This power was simply terrifying.

Chen Lu chuckled secretly, this is really a habit in the army, neither early nor late, just on time.

Seeing them sitting down, the queen spoke poorly, and quickly changed the subject. She smiled kindly at Concubine Mei and said, "My sister is in good health today. It must have been very hard for you to be pregnant with Dragonborn—by the way, you sent someone today Come on, Xin Shangyi also wants to come together, is this the one?"

She looked at Chen Lu behind Concubine Mei, her gaze became more cordial and gentle: "What a petite girl... Your Majesty is really willing to order her around."

She said to Chen Lu: "Poor man, when I see you, I think of my sister... Come here and let Ben Gong take a closer look."

Dozens of pairs of eyes immediately gathered. They had heard that the emperor had appointed Shang Yi and had a personal female official. Under the worry of gains and losses, they were afraid that the already rare favor would be divided, and they were already facing a formidable enemy.

After looking at it, the concubines felt very relieved, she was just a pretty little girl, and she had nothing to seduce the emperor's beauty.Only Concubine Qi snorted coldly, probably remembering that this is the one sent out by her palace.

Chen Lu stepped forward generously and respectfully paid homage to the queen. The queen was even happier, and held her hand and talked for a while before letting her go.

After the banquet was officially opened, the queen said a few words, saying that the spring day is beautiful, and we are here to have a drink, so she announced the opening of the banquet. .

At this time, the meals were brought up in a continuous stream, and the fragrance was overflowing immediately. The empress was worthy of being a high-ranking family. The dishes in her palace were unheard of by the concubines. After tasting it, everyone applauded.

The nobleman of Yun hurriedly flattered the queen: "Your Majesty, the imperial dining room in the palace already gathers famous chefs from all over the world. Unexpectedly, you are a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. Don't say you have seen these dishes. Even in your dreams, you would never have imagined such delicious dishes!"

When Concubine Qi saw her, she gritted her teeth with hatred, and smiled even more coquettishly on her face: "Yo, sister Yun loves food so much, since this is the case, from now on, when the empress eats, you just wait by the side, and you will always have the rest." share!"

Hearing such vicious and blatant sarcasm, the Yungui man's chest heaved with anger: "I didn't hear what my sister was talking about!!"

Seeing the momentum, the queen calmed down quickly and calmly: "Yunluo is a filial child, but seeing that I am weak, she tried to make me happy. Concubine Qi, you are also a big sister, why do you care about what children say... Actually Girls of the Tian Family, who hasn’t seen the world’s delicacies—Concubine Qi, I heard that your father was also fascinated by Cuiselou’s dishes a while ago, isn’t it?”

Cuiselou is the most famous restaurant in the capital, this sentence sounds ordinary at first glance, but Concubine Qi's father, Qi Rong, spent the whole night having fun with the beautiful prostitute here a few days ago, and was bumped into by someone early in the morning.

At this time, the queen mentioned that some insiders whispered, and Concubine Qi was so angry that her eyebrows stood on end, but she couldn't get angry again.

Standing behind Concubine Mei, Chen Lu watched her curiously and ignorantly looking at the crowd, while continuously pouring food into her mouth, showing a happy smile from time to time.

She eats comfortably!Chen Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and leaned over to her ear to make her pay attention to her posture, suddenly, she froze.

Concubine Mei had a dish of fish sauce with pine nuts that had just been served, and she took a chopstick and was about to put it in her mouth.

This taste...

As if a flash of lightning flashed across her mind, Chen Lu suddenly became enlightened.

So that's it... such a ghostly trick!

She stretched out her hand and decisively stopped Concubine Mei——

"Your Majesty, you can't eat this!"

On the opposite side, Concubine Qi was still sulking, she inadvertently raised her head, and happened to see this scene.

She raised her voice so that everyone could hear: "Shang Yi, what are you doing?"

(Please give me a lot of recommended votes. The current votes really make me discouraged. I can guarantee one chapter a day. Please give me some confidence)
(End of this chapter)