She wouldn't be foolish enough to let them go to Drunken Cloud Pavilion to admire the flowers, in case something happened and it wasn't just giving herself trouble for nothing, but also gave them an opportunity to bring those dirty things into Drunken Cloud Pavilion. Latest chapter full text.

  "Hehe, even if the emperor had a better concubine, she wouldn't dare to think of her privately, let alone compare to Zhen's favor, I just hope to catch a glimpse of Zhen's rare flower and that would be enough," Xiang Yu said with a playful tone, pinching her handkerchief.

  Xian Fei also chimed in, "Indeed, Zhen's sister has been in the palace for so long and yet she doesn't socialize with other consorts. Every day, she stays alone in Zuiyun Pavilion, it must be boring."

  Every sentence was hinting that she invited them to Zuiyun Pavilion, Su Jingfan found it amusing. They were of high status, if they insisted on going, could she still refuse them entry?

  "Hehe, the two sisters said so, and the concubine is embarrassed. The empress's banquet is not just for letting all the sisters appreciate the flowers, right? I think that these few pots are not inferior to those in my palace," Su Jing said with a smile, pointing at the several pots of flowers placed in the middle.

  They want her to, but she insists on pretending to be stupid and refuses to agree.

  Xiang Xieyu's tone was extreme, saying that they were disrespecting the Empress and not taking her seriously. Yu Guang saw that although the Empress' expression had not changed, the chill in her eyes had intensified. "What are you talking about, Zhen Concubine? The Empress is hosting a banquet for all of us sisters, and whether the flowers are good or bad, it's all done with good intentions. We wouldn't dare be impolite, besides, these flowers are indeed not bad at all, they're truly beautiful."

  "Yes, the Emperor and Empress are deeply in love, with a spiritual connection between them. Even this flower appreciation event, they thought of it together. These flowers, I don't think I saw them last year," Consort Xian added.

  The queen did not want to bother with the two of them, whether or not they were sincere in their allegiance. Since it was clear on the surface, she had to set a good example first. In this way, those concubines who were watching from below would know who to rely on and who was their true backer.

  "You are always good at speaking sweet words to deceive me," the queen said with a smile, indicating that she had magnanimously forgiven them for their recent thoughtless mistake and they need not worry about it.

  Xianfei and Xiangguiyu naturally knew the Empress's intention, so they smiled even more and picked up some good words to tease the Empress. The Empress also cooperated, and for a while, it was harmonious and joyful.

  Su Jingxu felt extremely sarcastic in her heart, but on the surface, she presented a hypocritical smile, occasionally inserting a few words. When someone turned the conversation to her, she would respond with just a few sentences before calmly changing the subject.

  "His Majesty has arrived," Su Shun's voice suddenly rang out.

  For a moment, everyone subtly adjusted their skirts, straightened their hairpins, and struck their best poses, facing the only man in the room. They concealed the excitement in their eyes, maintaining a demure and reserved demeanor, softly saying, "Your humble servants pay respects to Your Majesty."

  Zong Zhengjin stepped inside, and almost instantly saw Su Jingfan sitting there with an excited gaze that couldn't be concealed, smiling sweetly, her eyebrows and eyes curved, while everyone else either lowered their heads or turned away, only she looked at him like that, then followed the crowd in bowing to greet him.

  Zong Zhengjin was in an exceptionally good mood, so he didn't mind giving the empress a bit of face, walking up and sitting down, "Get up."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  "What are you talking about here? I could hear your laughter from afar," said Zong Zhengjin casually.

  The queen's heart skipped a beat, wondering if he had another meaning, but she quickly flashed a smile and said, "This is just the sisters discussing which jewelry to match with which dress, it's just women's talk."

  "It so happens that a few days ago, I sent over a batch of flower-patterned silk. You can take charge and distribute it to them to make a few more dresses," said Zong Zhengjin, lifting his teacup and taking a sip.

  "Your humble concubine thanks Your Majesty."

  Zong Zhengjin raised his hand slightly, indicating for them to get up.

  The queen smiled, "It's only right, all the younger sisters are young and beautiful, dressed up like this water fairy, so fresh and lovely, it makes people happy just to look at them. The emperor has taken charge of giving out clothes, I'll take charge of giving out jewelry to the sisters, what does the emperor think?"

  "The queen is in charge," Zong Zhengjin said, his eyes scanning the room below before looking at Shu Gui Fei. "I think that today, you look even more beautiful than usual, this dress suits you well. I remember there's a pair of Water Jade Double Hairpins in the warehouse, have Su Shun send someone to deliver them to Ronghua Palace later."

  Ignoring the jealous glances of others, Qiao Jingyu slowly stood up and saluted, "Your Majesty's concubine thanks you."

  "There's no need for such courtesy," Zong Zhengjin said with deep feeling.

  Everyone was stimulated by this scene, if the eyes could kill, I'm afraid Shu Guifei would have died thousands of times. In any case, they didn't dare to show it on their faces, still putting on a smiling face, looking for an opportunity to intervene at any time.

  "Your Majesty, look, as soon as you arrived, Zhen's sister didn't even say a word," said Shu Fei suddenly while they were chatting happily.

  Su Jing was taken aback when she was named, wondering if Shu Fei was giving her an opportunity or setting a trap for her.

  When everyone's gaze shifted to her, Su Jing raised her head and glanced at the leader, seeing that he was calmly waiting for her response.

  "It's not that my sister is tongue-tied, but she's afraid of saying something wrong and offending the emperor, which would be a crime," Su Jingping picked up her teacup, and heard Yao subtly pull on her sleeve from behind, reminding her to respond.

  "Zhen sister is talking about the emperor." She immediately seemed to realize her mistake, and forcibly swallowed back her words. Only she herself knew whether it was intentional or not.

  "Enough, the Emperor is not someone you can discuss," the Empress intervened at the right moment, hesitating for a moment, thinking about whether to punish one or two, but this hesitation missed the best opportunity.

  "Zong Zhengjin finally spoke up again, 'She's already timid, don't scare her anymore.'"

  She is referring to whom, it goes without saying.

  Those who couldn't understand were jealous of the emperor's favoritism towards Su Jing, while those who understood thought that the emperor was blinded by Su Jing's usual behavior. After all, she wasn't "timid" in front of them. There will come a day when they discover the truth, and then there will be a good show to watch.

  Su Jingxi nodded in agreement, she originally thought that she was quite timid, so when she heard this, she gave him a look of admiration, praising his insight.

  Zong Zhengjin received it, but he thought she was thanking him for helping her out of the predicament. After all, he had "lied" to her. Although they were not tacitly agreed, this time they coincidentally found their own expected answers, unusually harmonious.

  The queen did not miss the exchange of eyes between the two, but felt extremely piercing, and broke out in a loud voice, "Jianmei is young, it's okay to be a little timid."

  The queen had already suffered a loss at Su Jing's hands, and even if she was impulsive, she didn't dare to point her spearhead at Su Jing again, so she just said this in a timely manner.

  "I still have something to attend to, I'll take my leave first," Zong Zhengjin stood up and as he passed by the flowers placed in the middle, he turned back, "I also have a few pots of rare narcissus at my place, Su Shuangxian, I'll send a few pots over to Chonghua Palace later. I remember that Yuer also likes these kinds of flowers."

  "I, your concubine, thank Your Majesty."

  Zong Zhengjin waved his hand and left, leaving behind a room full of beautiful women waiting for him.

  The emperor bestowed upon Shu Guifei a rare narcissus, and it was several pots at once. Compared to the one pot Su Jing had yesterday, it was not worth looking at. At that moment, the eyes of envy and jealousy from the crowd naturally turned towards Shu Guife.

  Only the imperial concubine is noble, having long held the emperor's favor, others dare not easily offend her, and can only curse her in their hearts.

  Su Jing let out a sigh of relief in her heart, she was worried that they would find an opportunity to go to Zuiyun Pavilion, but now it seems that they can have a quiet period again.

  She alone forgot that in the harem, how could there be a quiet time.

  Where there is an emperor, there is a gang.

  Drunken Cloud Villa

  "You said that cup of tea had a problem." Su Jing hadn't drunk a sip of water all afternoon, and when she got back, she drank several mouthfuls in one go, then put down the cup and asked.

  Yao shook her head, "It won't harm Master much, it just adds a little something inside that has the effect of invigorating the blood."

  "Isn't activating blood circulation harmful to pregnant women?" Su Jing said, "Is there a problem with only this cup of tea that Ben Pei had?"

  "Activating blood circulation is indeed unfavorable for pregnant women, but the mistress is not yet pregnant, so it's not a big problem. I suppose it was just added to make the tea more palatable."

  "I don't know, I just saw that Ning Shunyi's cup also had a problem, the others are not clear," said Ting Yao, standing to Su Jingyun's right and Ning Xuan's left.

  Su Jing furrowed her brow and thought carefully, suddenly remembering something. The Empress had repeatedly reminded Du Wanru not to drink tea at that time, and she had even ridiculed the Empress's "virtue". Whether it was intentional or unintentional remained to be seen.

  Perhaps in order to hide the target, something was added to each cup on purpose. If one or two people were caught off guard, even if the queen was guilty, she could still use ignorance as an excuse, after all, no one reported their own pregnancy, and the imperial physician only checked for pulse once every ten days, which also didn't detect anything.

  "Could it be that they think Ben Niang is pregnant?" Su Jing thought that this was the only possibility, so they wanted to take action first.

  Ting Yao also thought it was possible, as the master of the house had invited several imperial physicians last month, and the emperor later permitted the master to set up a small kitchen. The master's appetite has increased recently, and he has taken more ingredients from the imperial kitchen, which could create a false impression on others.

  "Then they'll be disappointed," Su Jing said with a lazy smile.

  She's still young, and it's too early for her to have a child, which is not good for either the fetus or herself. So she'll seize this opportunity to take care of her body, eat more at each meal, and won't get pregnant until her own body is truly ready.

  Yes, contraception. Since she entered the palace, there have been many times when she was favored, if not for taking measures, with Zong Zhengjin's vigor, I'm afraid it would have happened long ago, but for her own body, she had to do so.

  Even if I knew it was a capital offense and being discovered would be enough to get me thrown into the cold palace, but my body is the capital of revolution, and if my body collapses, there will be no future.

  She wants it to last forever.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu