"His Majesty has arrived, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived, Imperial Noble Consort Shu has arrived."

  Su Jing followed the crowd to pay their respects, and in her heart, she once again felt the inequality of this level. Even though Shu Gui Fei was now a noble consort, enjoying the emperor's favor and having power and influence, she was still just a consort.

  When the eunuch makes an announcement, there will never be the words "arrived", but rather they are no different from these other small consorts. When walking, the empress must fall half a step behind the emperor, and the person who walks shoulder to shoulder with the emperor is forever only the empress, she also needs to fall half a step behind the empress.

  Half a step, half a step is the gap, is the insurmountable rules.

  "Sit down," Zong Zhengjin walked over and sat in the first position.

  Su Jing followed the crowd to stand up, and quickly swept a glance at the top, today he rarely wore a dark red embroidered thin gauze long gown, with a golden silk waistband, and a jade crown that set off his handsome face, his temples were as sharp as a knife cut, and his demeanor was extraordinary.

  "Today is the Emperor's birthday, I know that all of you sisters have prepared your talents, so let's begin now," said the Empress after receiving a nod from the Emperor.

  Su Jing glanced at the empress, who was like a different person from a few days ago. The crimson and gold embroidered clothes were still showing off her nobility, but with an added touch of joy. Her face was also adorned with powder and rouge, but her eyes were extremely spirited.

  The queen's banquet, of course, had long since sent someone to ask the concubines what kind of talent they wanted to perform, and she arranged for them to take the stage one by one. As soon as this was said, someone prepared to enter the stage.

  The first to take the stage was An Shu-yan, "A Maid's Performance of Drunken Fisherman's Evening Song."

  An Shu gently bowed and passed by, burning incense to purify her hands. She sat down quietly, her slender fingers lightly raised, and her jade-like fingertips touched the surface of the guqin. With a concentrated spirit, the elegant and refreshing melody suddenly resonated within the grand hall, flowing in like a stream, sometimes soaring high, sometimes sinking low, drawing people into its beauty.

  Su Jing listened quietly, this song has a high degree of difficulty, it requires a kind of lofty and distant sentiment, laughing at the misty clouds, drunk in a beautiful dream. She just watched her series of actions like flowing water and felt that it was enjoyable, a beauty indeed makes everything beautiful.

  The music ended, and it was clear that many people were immersed in it, unable to regain their senses for a long time.

  "I think, An sister's zither skills are not much worse than mine, it seems I have a rival from now on," said Consort Shu with a smile.

  Zong Zheng Yin hooked the corner of his mouth, "Ji'er is too modest," he said to the person still standing in the hall, "I have another set of zither strings, I'll reward you with them."

  The Guzheng is one of the four most famous Chinese zithers, and this particular one is unique, making it extremely valuable.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward. I will certainly cherish it well," An Shu bowed and said.

  "A good zither needs someone who understands it to cherish it. I believe in you, and you won't disappoint me," said Zong Zhengjin with a very good mood.

  Shu Gui Fei didn't show the slightest jealousy, instead she smiled brightly, "An Miao Miao, if you have time, why not come to my Chong Hua Palace more often? It's good for exchanging ideas and sharpening each other. Maybe we can become bosom friends."

  "Yes, I thank Your Ladyship for your appreciation. I will certainly go and disturb you a bit later. I hope that Your Ladyship won't mind my disturbance of your peace."

  The second performer was Yu Xuan's beautiful little sister, who performed a dance.

  A magnificent and beautiful dance skirt made her look more beautiful than before, with all her hair pulled up and only adorned with a silver pheasant flower, the jade lan flower on her forehead added to her purity, under which was a light gauze veil, such contradictory elements perfectly combined on her body, Su Jingfan nodded silently in her heart.

  The long water sleeves rose in an arc, leaping up, the waist arched back, and the thin gauze covering her face was lifted by the gentle breeze, revealing a small chin and slender white neck. The continuous rotation of the arc, the continuous swinging of the sleeves, was perfectly coordinated with the music, which was sometimes intense, sometimes soft, blending together seamlessly.

  Zong Zhengjin remained calm and collected, every year was the same format, only with a different person, but he would not show his inner impatience, instead staring intently at the people on stage.

  He turned his head, and his gaze was inadvertently drawn to the person sitting on one side. The rare light makeup made her facial features more delicate and beautiful. A pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes were staring intently at the scene, and the brilliance in her eyes made him involuntarily amazed, with admiration and praise revealed without a doubt, but not a hint of jealousy or resentment was seen.

  Su Jing was eating the longan while watching the dance performance on stage, and when she touched her hand, she couldn't believe it when she turned her head, a small plate of longan had been eaten unknowingly. This season is not the peak production time for longan, and it's hard to come by her favorite fruit, so losing control was inevitable.

  With a somewhat reluctant pout, she let out a sigh and continued to focus on the scene, which was just getting exciting. Many people couldn't help but cheer.

  Su Jing didn't know why, but suddenly turned her head and coincidentally met his slightly playful gaze. Feeling a little guilty, she almost immediately glanced at the fruit platter in front of her, then flashed him an appeasing smile. However, he responded with a meaningful glance that directly dismissed her.

  Su Jing stared at him for a few more moments, confirming that he had no intention of exchanging eye contact with her again, and could only reluctantly shift his gaze back to the scene.

  The dance ended, Zong Zhengjin rewarded them with some things in a neither-too-hot-nor-too-cold manner, and then didn't say much more.

  "Su Shunan, add some longans to each table, I think the flavor is not bad," Zong Zhengjin suddenly said, it's not just not bad, someone has already finished eating.

  Su Jing was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and threw him a grateful glance, regardless of whether he could see it or not.

  Zong Zhengjin was speaking with He Shu Gui Fei, but his eyes had already noticed her, and he chose to ignore her flattery.

  The queen watched this scene unfold beside her, suppressing the bitterness in her heart and becoming even more resolute in her thoughts.

  The following performances were not much outstanding, and basically all the new concubines performed, the emperor rewarded them as usual, and the empress occasionally followed suit before ending this performance.

  Next is the presentation of birthday gifts, which is also the most anticipated part.

  The queen led the way in presenting a solitary work by a painter of the previous dynasty, not particularly famous or valuable, but those familiar with Zong Zhengjin knew that it was his mentor when he first learned to paint, and its significance was far from ordinary.

  Zong Zheng showed a few points of satisfaction, but did not make any other expressions. The empress was already satisfied with this.

  Other consorts naturally wanted to take this opportunity to show off and regain imperial favor, so they were all eager to try, with great enthusiasm. Some people were more low-key, the things they sent were not outstanding, such as Shun Fei and others.

  Zong Zhengjin was also rewarded as usual.

  When it was Su Jing's turn, as she raised her head and met his gaze, for some reason, she felt slightly nervous, just like the first time they had met at the palace selection, her heart racing like a deer, her face flushing pink. "The concubine wishes Your Majesty good health and prosperity, and the country's fortune to flourish."

  Su Shunxian took the thing from Yao's hand and presented it, Su Jingchuo lowered his head in respect, they couldn't bear to look at his expression, moved his lips, but ultimately didn't speak.

  Zong Zhengjin looked at her expression and wanted to smile, glanced at the box presented, when Xiaofuzi came to report earlier, he only said that it was not certain, so he didn't want to know in advance, leaving a suspense also a surprise.

  She personally opened the lid, and inside was neatly arranged a moon-white casual wear with two exquisite golden dragons embroidered on it. At first glance, it's clear that she had put her heart into it. It turned out that she had been staying in Zuiyun Pavilion for some time, presumably for this very purpose.

  Su Jingxiao couldn't tell from his face whether he liked it or not, all she heard him say was "The embroidery is not bad."

  Su Jingxi finally exhaled a breath and revealed a big smile, "Concubine thanks Your Majesty for the praise."

  "The embroidery is indeed not bad, Your Majesty should reward Zhen's sister well," the Empress said with a magnanimous expression, her eyes filled with praise, seemingly sincere.

  Zong Zhengjin also nodded, "It's good to reward well, but what the Empress thinks is the most important."

  The queen smiled and looked up and down at Su Jing, "I think Zhen is a lovely girl, Your Majesty might as well let her share your joy tonight."

  As soon as the words fell, everyone was stunned. The empress was promoting Su Jingfu, clearly wanting her to gain imperial favor. It's worth noting that being able to gain favor on the emperor's birthday has a greatly different significance.

  Everyone involuntarily shifted their gaze to the person who really had control, hoping he would say a "no", but unfortunately, they were bound to be disappointed.

  "If Her Majesty says so, then it shall be," said Zong Zhengjin, as if he were truly following the empress's suggestion and not because of the person they had been discussing.

  Su Jing saw that his face was pale, but when their eyes met, he quickly reacted, "Concubine thanks the Empress Dowager."

  "Dear sister, no need to be too polite, taking good care of the emperor is what's most important," the empress remained kind and magnanimous, her tone sincere, her smile natural.

  "Yes."

  It wasn't just Su Jing who thought so, almost everyone else also believed that the Empress had undergone a transformation and become a new person. If it weren't for this face that was unmistakably the Empress', they would have even doubted whether she was really the Empress at all, wondering if some evil spirit had possessed her instead.

  These words were spoken with grandeur and dignity, every phrase and sentence was measured to perfection, fully displaying the empress's demeanor. If it weren't for the fact that the empress had previously left them with an impression of being insincere, they might have actually believed this was her true nature.

  Even if the queen's words contained a few hints of flattery, they were disdainful in their hearts and snorted with contempt, not daring to show any signs on their faces, only pretending to smile.

  The banquet had reached this point, and the crowd was no longer as enthusiastic as before, let alone in the mood, especially after witnessing the queen's kindness and Su Jingfan's complacency, they felt even more uncomfortable.

  Not long after, the banquet dispersed after Zong Zhengjin and Su Jing accompanied each other out.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu