Su Jing raised an eyebrow and turned her cold gaze sideways without moving her steps, just as she was about to speak, a sound came from the other side.

  "Servant girls offer greetings to Lady Jin," Yu Xunmei curtsied and paid her respects.

  "No need for excessive courtesy," Su Jingci merely glanced at her before shifting his gaze to someone else.

  Yu Fu bowed and said, "Your servant's daughter pays her respects to Zhen Fei, and also to Du Cairen."

  Mulian wore a cyan double-embroidered satin robe, and a five-colored brocade skirt with golden embroidery, three thousand strands of hair were tied up with hairpins, only one strand of cyan silk hanging down in front of her chest, lightly applying powder and rouge, bright eyes and white teeth, the plum blossom hairpin on her forehead showed more delicate beauty, her cheeks were tender as flower petals, radiating a brilliant glow, and between her eyebrows and eyes, there was a hint of scholarly elegance.

  Soft and weak, like Lin Daiyu.

  Su Jing chuckled softly and said, "Miss Yu doesn't have to be so polite, please get up quickly."

  Su Jingxiao was sizing her up, and Yu Fu also secretly observed the person her father repeatedly warned her to guard against. She thought of herself as beautiful, with few people able to compare to her, but facing this woman in front of her, she unconsciously seemed to be at a disadvantage.

  She wore a pale blue embroidered palace dress with butterfly patterns, under which was a same-style butterfly-patterned dark flower Luo skirt, and outside she wore a light-colored pipa cloak. It was obviously the simplest ordinary style, only the fabric was more precious, but it made her wear out a different flavor.

  Her figure is slender and elegant, her face is exquisite and flawless. If it were a fraction longer, it would be too long; if it were a fraction shorter, it would be too short. With powder, it's too pale; with rouge, it's too red. Yet, her pink cheeks are untouched by powder or cosmetics, and still, she looks even more stunning. She is a woman of absolute beauty, and the world's poets and scholars cannot find words to describe her adequately, comparable only to the Goddess of Beauty.

  The noble aura that emanated from her entire being also made her feel somewhat ashamed, for she was only a small imperial concubine, and before entering the palace, she was just the daughter of a fifth-grade official, yet the elegance in her every move was even better than the effect of her long training.

  "Holding back her emotions, 'Your humble servant thanks Lady Zhen.'"

  Su Jingxi actually didn't have much reservations about her, although she was beautiful, the palace wasn't lacking in beauties after all. Zong Zhengjin seemed not to be a purely visual animal either, what really interested him was her family background.

  It is indeed true that the more you cut, the more chaotic it becomes.

  "I don't know why Miss Yu would appear here, could it be that she and Sister Li were old acquaintances?"

  It didn't matter to Yu Congmei that she suddenly called her "sister", after all, the entire palace knew that Su Jing was aloof and distant, not close to people, and had a reputation for being cold. She also knew that she didn't want to be referred to as sisters, and at this moment, she only felt that she must have done it to make her uncomfortable.

  "Zhen sister doesn't know, Yu Niang's aunt is the younger sister of her mother's concubine. When she first entered the palace, she was unfamiliar with the surroundings and the queen's affairs were busy, so her younger sister accompanied her to play for a while." Even if he didn't want to, Yu Sulan still had to respond.

  She had previously hated Su Jing extremely for the hunting incident outside the palace, but after all this time, her resentment had faded somewhat. Perhaps it was because the Emperor had gone to Zuiyun Pavilion every day for over a dozen days, although not every day was spent in favor, but he went there during the day, and she still felt some fear and consideration.

  Su Jing had never thought that there was such a relationship between them, but looking at the expressions of these two people, it must be just another pair of face and heart not matching. After all, they look so beautiful, they must have been compared by others from time to time. Women's jealousy is heavy anyway, besides, who would like a woman who comes to share their own favor?

  "So it seems that Sister Li is also a relative of Her Majesty the Queen."

  Yu Congmei's heart skipped a beat, and she smiled, "Sister Zhen is teasing me, the Empress is noble and exalted, how can a concubine like me be compared to her?"

  Su Jing glanced at the person in front of her who was bowing his head, and slightly raised her eyes. Her voice was as melodious as heavenly music, and seemed to come from afar. "Limei said it's true, I was wrong."

  Yu Congmei furrowed her brow, unsure what she really meant or if it was just a casual remark. Just as she was about to speak, Su Shun'er ran over from the side, "This servant greets all masters."

  "Please get up, Uncle Su," Here, Su Jing's position was the highest, so it was she who spoke.

  Su Shun hastily got up and said, "Master Zhen, please hurry back. The Emperor has been waiting for you for a while now, and he might not be in a good mood by now."

  Su Jing was taken aback for a moment, then hooked up the corner of her mouth, "Ben Pei still has something to do, so I'll go back first, you all take care."

  Yu Fu and Du Wanxiang remained in the background throughout, without uttering a single word.

  Zhēi Liáng Liǎng Wàng looked at the backs of the two, thinking several times about what Su Shùn Xiān meant by his words earlier. Although she was jealous that the Emperor had gone to Zuiyun Pavilion again, she also secretly rejoiced that Su Jing would "fall into calamity".

  He glanced at Du Cairen standing beside him, snorted coldly, and then turned back to Yu Fu Ying, "Let's go."

  "Your Majesty," Su Jing had just stepped into the Zuiyun Pavilion, called out softly, then paid her respects, "The concubine pays her respects to Your Majesty."

  Without waiting for his reaction, she stood up and walked over to him, "Your Majesty must be tired"

  Zong Zhengjin let out a cold hum, raised his hand to help her untie the fine strap of her cloak, and saw that her face was flushed with red, which made him find her very lovely. "Tired or not, I didn't let anyone go call you, don't you know you're back?"

  Su Jing pouted and then smiled as she pulled on his arm, "Your Majesty must be missing your concubine. But it's said that a day without seeing one's loved one is like three months."

  Zong Zhengjin let out a laugh, his face showing helplessness. He was clearly only blaming her, yet he had made the emperor wait for so long without arriving, and now it seemed like he was being accused of missing her.

  Little thing, getting more and more shameless.

  "Haven't you learned that this poem is an expression of longing for a friend?"

  Su Jing was taken aback, and then smiled, "The Emperor is to his concubines both a teacher and a friend, both a ruler and a husband. He is the master of painting, also a chess partner, and even more so, a husband. Therefore, no matter what, the concubines always miss the Emperor."

  "It's not that I miss you, but how did it become that you miss me? Even when I'm not around, Hui'er is secretly thinking of me." Zong Zhengjin teased mercilessly.

  Su Jing was stunned, originally wanting to make excuses for herself, but didn't expect this logic to get herself entangled, "Yes, the concubine wants to send her thoughts with a thousand tears, but they can't flow out, in the Zi Chen Palace."

  "You, you, so many excuses," Zong Zhengjin was confessed to again, his face revealed helplessness, but his eyes hid a few invisible spoils.

  Su Jingxi didn't care about all that; compared to being favored by the Emperor, everything else was just fleeting clouds. "As long as the Emperor likes it, that's all that matters."

  "When did I say I liked it?" Zong Zhengjin raised an eyebrow.

  Su Jing pouted and made a crying face, "Doesn't the emperor like it?"

  Zong Zhengjin knew she was pretending, but not only did he not mind, he didn't even show any impatience. Instead, he softened as usual and said, "Alright, alright, you're just joking, I was just casually saying that."

  "What does the emperor really like?" had an unyielding tone of "I won't leave until I get an answer".

  Zong Zhengjin could only solemnly nod his head, his voice barely audible, "Mm."

  Su Jingxi suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Majesty, the concubines just saw Yu Niang outside."

  Seeing him seemingly unclear about the situation, he kindly added a sentence, "It's just the Empress Dowager's younger sister."

  "Hmm," Zong Zhengjin replied perfunctorily, his hands still busy with his work, without showing much interest.

  "Your Majesty, have you seen her? The concubine thinks she looks quite good," Su Jing continued to say fearlessly, ignoring his suddenly cold face. "However, the concubine looked left and right, but always felt that she was not as good-looking as the concubine herself. What does Your Majesty think?"

  Zong Zhengjin thought someone had said something to her, and was about to get angry, but then she heard her next sentence, which was obviously just worrying about her own appearance. Having been with her for a long time, he already understood her personality somewhat.

  Frank and honest, lively and spirited, likes to compare with others, but always objectively evaluates, for those who are worse than herself, she doesn't belittle others, only praises herself, as for those better than herself, basically doesn't allow others to mention in front of her.

  "Hmm, I think you look good too," Zong Zhengjin replied very objectively and with a straight face.

  Su Jingxi sat beside him, "The emperor is indeed the emperor, with exceptional insight."

  Zong Zhengjin secretly sighed, such obvious flattery, only he was willing to accept it.

  Su Jing quietly used the chopsticks, occasionally helping him serve dishes, but in her heart she was silently thinking: Now that I've already given you a preventive shot, don't be blinded by her when you see her again.

  "Eldest sister, wasn't that just now the legendary and extremely favored Jinbin?" Yu Fu asked with a naive expression.

  Yu Cong Mei let out a cold snort, "It's all just rumors and hearsay, don't believe everything."

  "Oh, I think she's extremely beautiful," Yu Fu said without batting an eyelid at her attitude, and instead continued to speak while secretly observing her reaction.

  As expected, Yu Xiu Mei got angry, "What's the use of being good-looking?"

  She previously claimed to be the number one beauty in the capital, and entered the palace with full confidence. Although she was the first to be chosen when she first entered the palace, she didn't know what went wrong afterwards. The emperor rarely summoned her to serve him at night, and even if he did, it couldn't be described as gentle. She was only taught how to serve the emperor, but not told what kind of feeling she would have herself.

  There were only a few times when she served as a concubine, each time she was covered in scars, and the process was extremely painful, especially the first time.

  But what are these compared to the emperor's favor? These naturally don't amount to anything.

  "Don't think I don't know why you entered the palace, and don't be foolish enough to think that being an empress makes her one of your own people. In any case, I am your cousin, and I won't harm you."

  "Yes, I understand," Yu Fu replied with a humble face, but in her heart, she was equally disdainful. The empress was not one of her own kind, and the person in front of her was even less so. At least she and the empress shared the same surname.

  Yu Congmei saw her gentle and submissive appearance, and finally felt a little relieved in her heart. However, when she touched her face, she frowned slightly, perhaps she should think carefully if there was anything that could be taken advantage of.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu