Palace scheming: Empress Leng Gong I

Chapter 12
As soon as Yun Qing returned to the palace, Bi Tao jumped forward like a bird, pulling her nervously to look left and right, for fear that a piece of meat might be missing.

It was only later that Yunqing found out that after she and the emperor left the palace, Concubine Hua returned to Zhuhua Palace after being diagnosed and treated by the imperial physician, but about an hour later, it was reported that Zhuhua Palace had leaked water.

Hearing this news for the first time, Yun Qing was shocked.Later, Bi Tao told her disapprovingly that it was not serious at all.

It turned out that Concubine Hua had a whim, and said that she would cook for the emperor to make some supper for the emperor to enjoy when the emperor came back, but because she was born delicate and delicate, she never cooked, not only did she never make a supper, she almost burned the back kitchen .

Hearing that he was fine, Yun Qing didn't feel relieved.For the next two days, no one came to trouble her, and she was happy to be at leisure. Every day, she only took care of the flowers and plants in the palace with Bitao and Xiao Taohong, or sat in a sunny place to read a book, and occasionally talked with Bitao. Playing chess, life is also very contented.

But in Zhuhua Palace, although the emperor stayed in Qinyue Palace after the first court, He Ruowan no longer lost her former self-confidence.

Whenever she leaned coquettishly in the arms of the emperor, there would be a trace of absent-mindedness on his face, which made her feel suddenly depressed.

And the protagonist who made her worry secretly was the woman whom the emperor had never mentioned these two days——Yun Qing.

"Your Majesty, the autumn moon is here." The bead curtain shook slightly, and a slender pink figure lifted the curtain and slipped into the Nuanxiang Pavilion, and the voice as soft as a mosquito stopped in front of the vermilion gauze curtain.

"Well, let her come in." The person on the bed didn't move, only gave a lazy order, and then continued to close their eyes and rest.

When Qiuyue walked into the Nuanxiang Pavilion surrounded by a thick fragrance, she couldn't help being startled by a kind of careless luxury.Although he has now been promoted to the aunt in charge of Jinfeng Palace, he doesn't want Zhuhua Palace to be several times more luxurious than Jinfeng Palace.

It really varies from person to person, so what if it's the queen, falling out of favor is always better than not being favored.

"My servant Qiuyue, I have seen Concubine Hua."

Qiuyue greeted her twice in a row, and the people inside finally moved, and then saw Concubine Hua stretch out her arms, and whispered, "Ning'er."

"Your Majesty is awake." The servant girl named Ning'er immediately stepped forward and carefully helped Concubine Hua get up.

"Oh, you are the aunt in charge of the Golden Phoenix Palace?" Seemingly noticing Qiuyue half bent in front of the bed, the corners of Concubine Hua's lips slightly raised, and she said with a smile: "Get up quickly, this is not anywhere else, there is no need to do that Thank you very much."

Saying so, Qiuyue still bowed, not daring to lose courtesy.

"Hey." With a soft smile, Concubine Hua didn't say anything, she just asked the maid to comb her hair, and talked to the maid about what kind of hairpin to wear today.

"Your name is Qiuyue, isn't it?" Suddenly, she said such a sentence, which made Qiuyue's heart tighten, and she subconsciously stood up straight.

"Yes, madam!"

"Oh, it's a very good name, and it's a bit poetic. Hehe, I heard that you contradicted the queen sister, but the queen sister promoted you. Is there such a thing?" It also made people feel cold.

"Yes, empress!" Qiuyue wasn't sure why Concubine Hua suddenly asked her to come here today, but she thought that she must have something to do with that woman.

Sure enough, seeing that Qiuyue was only cautious in her words and deeds, Concubine Hua smiled again: "Well, she really has some vision, you are indeed a talent!"

"Your servant is not talented, thank you for your praise." Qiuyue was taken aback for a moment, really flattered.

Concubine Hua stared at Qiuyue, and said: "Hehe, don't be humble. I invited you here today, just to see what a courageous and knowledgeable court lady like you looks like. At first sight, she was born with It has clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, which is very pleasing.”

As she spoke, she fixed her eyes on the rough jade bracelet on Qiuyue's wrist, and said to herself, "She is very beautiful, it would be a pity to be a court lady."

Then, when Qiuyue shrank her wrists into her sleeves cautiously, she smiled faintly again and called out: "Ning'er, bring the emerald jade ring that was bestowed by the emperor earlier."

"Yes, empress!" Ning'er quickly found a pair of radiant jade rings from the makeup box, and handed them to Concubine Hua respectfully, "Here, empress."

"Hmm." Concubine Hua looked at Qiuyue, with an irresistible smile on her beautiful face, and said lazily, "Does Qiuyue like this pair of jade rings? My concubine sees your soft wrists, this jade ring should match you well. Anyway This concubine has so many jewelry here that I can't finish wearing them, it's a pity to leave them alone."

"Your Majesty, this can't be done." Qiuyue was startled, she didn't expect Concubine Hua to give her such a valuable thing, she was so frightened that she knelt down immediately, not daring to accept it.

Concubine Hua didn't ask her to get up, but her complexion darkened, and her voice became much colder: "Aunt Qiuyue thinks that my concubine's face is not as noble as that of the queen's sister, so she doesn't like the things I gave?"

"Qiuyue dare not." Lowering her head slightly, Qiuyue knew the purpose of Concubine Hua's coming here.It's just that she doesn't know whether she should accept this reward from her.

Since ancient times, she has not been rewarded for her meritorious deeds, but she, Qiuyue, knows her own merits so that she is rewarded by the beloved Concubine Hua.

"I don't dare, or I don't want to. My concubine never makes things difficult for her servants. If I dare not, I just said that this thing is worthy of you. It's a pity to let me idle here. If I don't want to, then I dislike my concubine." I don't want to accept such an ordinary thing as my concubine." With a soft snort, He Ruowan looked at Qiuyue coldly, every sentence made Qiuyue feel like a needle piercing her heart.

She understood that since Concubine Hua found her, she would not let her go easily.

The harem has never been clean. Since she entered the palace, although she is not very old, she has already seen through the battle in the palace.

Whether it's between concubines or court ladies and eunuchs, it's all scheming, and none of them are innocent.

And she herself was able to stand out from the many court ladies by relying on a little scheming, and was selected into the Golden Phoenix Palace after leaving Xin Zheku.

Therefore, sometimes a single thought can change the fate of a lifetime.

Now, maybe it's another chance for me, so I might as well use this concubine Hua as another avenue for me to ascend to glory in the future.

"I don't dare, I'm afraid that I will disappoint my mother." Thinking of this, she replied in a low voice, but it was obvious that she had already made a decision.

"It's okay, as long as you like it, my concubine may need your help in the future, and Aunt Qiuyue will still need to worry about it." Concubine Hua smiled and made Ning'er pull Qiuyue up with a wink, and help her pick it off. Take off the old bracelet and put this pair of jade bracelets on for her.

"The maidservant will be there whenever she is called, as long as the empress does not abandon her." Looking at the pair of emerald jade rings on her wrists that almost dazzled her eyes, Qiuyue suddenly realized that the fantasy was not beyond reach.

As long as the opportunity is right, everything will follow...

Under the moon, the shadows of the trees whirled and the wind rustled.

The few slender figures walking in the imperial garden were elongated by the moonlight and reflected on the ground, looking cold and hazy.

"Miss, Concubine Hua is too much! The Empress Dowager just asked her if she was feeling better, but she even got involved with her for no reason, implying that Miss Empress Dowager, you haven't visited her in three days." Bitao held up the lamp, remembering that Concubine Hua was at the banquet just now. With a sinister face, I feel very uncomfortable.

"Hehe, she just said that she was still frightened and couldn't come to pay respects to the queen mother and me every day, and that's okay." Yun Qing smiled slightly, not taking such trivial things to heart at all.

"I see, the rumors that the young lady is small-minded are probably spread by her. Whoever it is, I can't go anywhere." Yun Qing doesn't mind, but Bi Tao is different.She intuited that Concubine Hua did it on purpose, otherwise there would be no rumors in the palace.

"Okay, Bitao, what people say after the fact must be said by others. Right and wrong are what people say. It is better to say less than to say more. Tranquility is a blessing." Yun Qing shook his head, and softly stopped Bitao from opening his mouth.

In fact, it wasn't that she hadn't thought about going to see Concubine Hua, but thinking that the emperor might be there, she was worried that bumping into her would cause unnecessary trouble, so she decided to give up.

What's more, it has been three days, and with the emperor's careful care, Yun Qing thought that the little shock should calm down.

But Qiuyue, who never took the initiative to talk to Yunqing during the day, suddenly asked Yunqing if she should prepare some gifts to visit the concubine Hua.Regarding her sudden mention, Yun Qing was still rather curious, and couldn't help but want to hear her opinion.

Qiuyue told her that there have been rumors in the palace: that the queen wanted to seduce the emperor on the night of the fifteenth day, but she still failed, so she resented the concubine Hua for depriving the emperor of all his love, and she was jealous so she refused to go to see it. Concubine Hua.

Yunqing just laughed it off when she heard the words, but Qiuyue said with contempt on her face that it doesn't matter if she is a queen and doesn't have the demeanor of a mother, but it makes them who are in the Golden Phoenix Palace be stared at by others, which is really a shame.Even if it's a backup gift sent to someone, it's better than being talked about.

After thinking about it, Yun Qing agreed.

I planned to go there tomorrow when the emperor came to court, but tonight the queen mother suddenly called the queen and the emperor to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. She said that she was very curious after hearing Xuanyuan Moyu talk about what the queen did on the Lantern Festival, so she wanted to ask Ask Yunqing and Xuanyuanze about other interesting things that night.

At the banquet, Xuanyuan Moyu was almost the only one talking, Xuanyuan Ze was silent, and He Ruowan's gentle smile always made Yun Qing feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, she can not speak when she can not speak, and when she can speak less, she will never speak more.

Later, the queen mother probably felt that everyone was too silent and boring, so she didn't keep talking after eating, so they all left.

"Little Taohong, do you think the Queen Mother likes Miss more or Concubine Hua more?" Bi Tao was quiet for a while, then couldn't help but find a topic.

It's just that this time she didn't complain to Yun Qing, but wanted to know some opinions of the Queen Mother from Xiao Taohong.

Now she also knows that Xiao Taohong is someone from the Queen Mother who dialed to Jinfeng Palace, so she is not sure whether Xiao Taohong is helping Miss or monitoring Miss.

"Xiao Taohong just obeys the master's orders. As for the master's thoughts, Xiao Taohong dare not guess. The queen mother also said that now Xiao Taohong's master is the empress." The softness that never seems to fluctuate.

However, her words have clearly told Bi Tao that the Queen Mother's intention is towards the Queen's side.

But Bitao didn't understand, she just felt bored, she wanted to ask again, but she felt a white shadow flashing in the garden on the right, and it was gone again.

"Miss." Startled, she couldn't help approaching Yun Qing, reached out and grabbed her sleeve, and said in a low voice, "There seems to be someone over there."

Xiao Taohong also stopped, subconsciously waiting for Yun Qing to approach, making Yun Qing want to laugh.

No matter how calm a person is, there are also weaknesses. Xiao Taohong is usually sensible and well-behaved, but it is easy for people to forget that she is only a teenager.

"Oh, why don't we go over and have a look." With a slight smile, Yun Qing stepped forward to take the lantern from Xiao Taohong, and walked to the right.

"Miss, let's go, this palace..." Bi Tao didn't dare to say any more, because she had heard that there were many people who were wronged to death in the palace, especially women, so after death, their ghosts would linger, which was very scary.

"It's okay, it's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. If you don't see some things with your own eyes, they will become rumors. That's why there are so many rumors in this world." Stretching out her hand to hold Bi Tao's, Yun Qing She raised her lips and smiled at Xiao Taohong: "Xiao Taohong, are you afraid?"

"Empress is not afraid, and Xiao Taohong is not afraid either!" Xiao Taohong shook her head, looking at the queen who was as beautiful as a fairy under the moonlight, the fear that had arisen just now disappeared.

Yun Qing smiled lightly, and led the two of them along a path leading to the other end of the garden.

There was a light wind, blowing the lantern and shaking it, causing the surrounding flowers and leaves to sway lightly, and the sound of rustling continued.

Xiao Taohong subconsciously got closer to Yun Qing, as if she was the light in her heart, and she would not be afraid if she was around.

"Woo..." A low whistle sounded suddenly, scaring Bi Tao from "Wow", closing her eyes and screaming.

The whistling also stopped abruptly, and when Yunqing lifted the lantern, he saw clearly the white figure squatting under a clump of flowers not far ahead.

"It's you?" She was slightly surprised, looking at the pale but handsome young man, wondering why he was here.

The young man didn't say much, just glanced at Yun Qing lazily, then got up gracefully, dropped the leaf in his hand, turned and left.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" Although Yun Qing had seen this young man at the family banquet, but because he came late, no one introduced who he was.

But at this moment when the young man turned around, Yun Qing could see clearly that the thing covered by his figure just now turned out to be a sacrifice to the dead.It's just that the paper money has never been burned, so Yun Qing and the others didn't see the fire just now.

The young man paused, seemingly quite surprised.Turning around slowly, he raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, and said lightly, "Who are you?"

Its sound is clear, like a stream of clear spring, slow and clear.It's just that there was an unfamiliar hostility in that voice, as if it rejected strangers very much.

Bi Tao dared to open her eyes when she heard the voices of people, but saw a handsome young man standing not far away, with a cold expression on his brows.

"Who are you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night? Pretending to be a ghost to scare people?" Knowing that it wasn't a ghost, Bi Tao became a lot bolder and raised her voice a lot.

"Bitao." Yun Qing scolded slightly, and squeezed Bi Tao secretly, and smiled apologetically at the boy: "I'm sorry, we bothered you. My name is Yun Qing, I seem to have seen you in Mingyue Palace last time... "

"Yunqing?" The other party interrupted Yunqing lightly, Junrong was surprised for a moment, as if he was thinking about who Yunqing was.

"Miss, since we know that someone is here, let's go back to the palace quickly. It's windy at night, so I'm worried about catching the cold." Seeing the young man interrupting the lady, Bi Tao had an intuition that she didn't have a good impression of this person.In addition, just now he was wandering alone in the garden quietly like a ghost, and he was still paying homage to the dead at night, so eerie.

The young man just snorted coldly, stopped talking, turned around and walked towards the Qingfeng Palace not far away.

"Your Majesty, let me mention it." A little maid's voice came from behind, and the boy's eyes moved, and he quickly guessed Yun Qing's identity.

Niangniang?

Now the only young ladies in the palace are the queen and concubine Hua of the emperor's brother Xinna.Since she is not Concubine Hua, she must be a queen.

It's just that he didn't expect that such an innocent woman like her would actually be a queen who fell out of favor in the palace.

No wonder that time when I saw her sitting alone in a corner at the banquet, she turned out to be the same as myself, and was not taken seriously in this palace...

The next day Yun Qing woke up late, and it was only when Bi Tao rushed to wake her up that she woke up.

"What's the matter, Bitao?" She was in a daze, wondering what had caused Bitao to panic like this.

"Miss, get up quickly, the emperor sent someone to invite you to the Tai Chi Hall, I don't know what happened!" Bi Tao's face was reddish, she obviously just ran in from outside, and she was a little out of breath.

"Tai Chi Hall?" Yun Qing blinked her eyes, wondering if she heard it wrong.

"Yes, miss, Eunuch Chang personally came to deliver the decree, saying that the emperor is waiting for you in the main hall." Bi Tao looked worried, wondering why the emperor sent the miss to go to the court, this is too incredible.

"Where is Mr. Chang?" Yun Qing hurriedly got out of bed, although he didn't understand what was going on, he didn't dare to neglect.

Bi Tao hurriedly stepped forward to help, and replied, "Just wait outside the hall."

"Oh." Nodding, Yun Cleaning finished rinsing but found that Bitao had combed herself a bun, and couldn't help laughing: "Didn't Bitao want me to wear that crown again?"

"That's right, Miss is a country with all civil and military officials in the court, how can Miss be too shabby!" Bitao took it for granted, she deserved it unequivocally, and her hands were not idle.

Seeing that she was really going to bring the phoenix crown, Yun Qing was so frightened that she hurriedly got up to block it, and said angrily: "Silly Bitao, I just went to the Tai Chi Hall, and it's not to meet the envoys of other countries. As long as I, the queen, dress up dignifiedly, that's fine." , why is it so orthodox. Besides, don't you know how heavy that phoenix crown is?"

After speaking, Yun Qing touched her neck in fear, the soreness from the day of the wedding seemed to be still there, and she didn't want to wear it anymore.

"This..." Bi Tao was in a dilemma, and seeing Yun Qinghao didn't care, she had to hold her down again, insisting: "If you don't wear the phoenix crown, then don't wear it, but this hairpin is absolutely indispensable."

Then she opened the makeup box involuntarily, inserted a circle of delicate pearl flowers on Yunqing's hair, inserted two elegant and luxurious purple gold red hairpins on the left side, and inserted a gold step rocker on the right side. Each strand of black hair hangs down, making Yunqing look noble and delicate.

Without losing the dignity of a queen, but also the gentleness and charm of a young girl, even Bitao looked at the young lady in the mirror, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion several times: "Miss, you are so beautiful. The emperor is so blind." Actually, Miss looks much better than Concubine Hua. Although she is good-looking, her eyes are not as clear and charming as Miss, her smile is not as easy-going as Miss, and her voice is not as nice..."

"Okay, Bitao, I'm going to tell you the truth if I talk about it any longer, and I'm afraid you'll never see me again." Yun Qing interrupted Bitao's praise in time, turned her head and tapped her forehead with a smile, Then I heard Bitao busily poohing a few times, yelling not to allow Yunqing to talk nonsense.

Xiao Taohong, who came in to wait for Yun Qing to change her clothes, saw that the two were so close, she felt warm in her heart, and smiled comfortably.

"Your Majesty." Seeing Yun Qing coming out, Chang Le hastily stepped forward to salute respectfully, and then urged: "My Majesty, please follow this servant to the Tai Chi Hall."

"Well, I kept Eunuch waiting for a long time." Yun Qing nodded and followed Chang Le out of Jinfeng Palace.

"Eunuch, do you know why the emperor asked me to go to the Taiji Hall?" On the way, Yun Qing looked at the maids and eunuchs on both sides, and they were obviously surprised when they saw him and Eunuch Chang Le together.

Because in the eyes of everyone, his status is not as good as that of a close father-in-law next to the emperor.

"I'm not very clear about the specific slaves. It seems to be related to the matter of the emperor and the empress putting on lanterns during the Shangyuan Festival. This is a custom in our country. The emperor promised that whoever picked up the lantern with the empress's inscription can realize a wish within the scope of the emperor's permission. " Chang Le replied in a respectful voice, although she had heard about this queen, her attitude was not as contemptuous as others.

Although he knew that the emperor didn't want to see the empress, but in the past two days, others didn't know, but he knew clearly: every time the emperor passed the Jinfeng Palace when he went down to court, he would always look in unconsciously.

Although it was just a palace wall, Chang Le felt that the emperor seemed to be looking at the people inside the wall.

And who is that person, the emperor didn't say, and Chang Le didn't dare to ask.But he guessed that it must be inseparable from this queen.

"Uh, I know a thing or two about the customs of Tianque, but did the person who picked up the lantern make any request related to this palace?" Yun Qing was slightly startled, remembering her own wish that night, she couldn't help but smile slightly. move.

She thought, no one would understand her wish!

Then when I thought about it, I felt unbelievable, and I was afraid that I was overthinking.

"Your Majesty sees it!" Chang Le was secretly amazed, not wanting that this empress was not only exceeding the emperor's expectations, but also extremely talented, and even her appearance and wisdom were not as unbearable as ordinary people said.

(End of this chapter)