In the blink of an eye, it's already the 15th day of the first month, Yuanxiao Festival. Once today is over, the Lunar New Year can be truly considered as having passed.;;;;;;;;800

  Last night Zong Zhengjin stayed in the Qianqing Palace, so today she was able to get up early, dress up and then take Dai Man to the Kunning Palace.

  Kunning Palace

  "Zhen sister arrived really early today," Xiang Jieyu said with a smile as she met Su Jingzhu face to face.

  Su Jing smiled and curtsied, "Concubines pay their respects to the noble Consort Xiang."

  The rank of Guipin is listed as the third rank, similar to Pin, and it is also a dividing line. Above Guipin, one can reside in the main palace hall, self-proclaimed Ben Gong, and others are also called Niangniang, not Xiao Zhu.

  "Quickly get up, dear sister," Xiang Gui also got off the carriage and waved her hand.

  Su Jing stood up and said, "Xiang sister also came very early."

  Although Zhen and Guifei are only one rank apart, for many people, it's a huge gap that is hard to bridge. Many people spend their entire lives without successfully taking that step, so she should try her best to please the empress now that she has arrived so early.

  Xiang Gui Fei didn't dwell on this anymore, "Let's go in, the Empress Dowager should be up by now."

  After Su Jingxi fell back half a step, she walked in and the two sat down. After sitting down, they were separated by several seats. She didn't speak again, and Su Jingxi didn't take the initiative to find a topic of conversation either. They weren't very familiar with each other anyway.

  One after another, people came in. Su Jing only spoke a few words when others dragged her into the conversation, and she just changed the subject, but after all, not many people were so blind, after all, she was already on a different level from before.

  "The Empress has arrived," a eunuch's voice sounded from outside the door.

  "Your Majesty's concubine, I wish you peace," Su Jing'an followed the crowd to pay respects and ask for peace, her mood was already vastly different from before.

  She instantly recalled the scene of her first visit to Kun Ning Palace, kneeling at the back, performing a grand ceremony, and the scenes of past events slowly floated before her eyes as if they were yesterday.

  "Rise, no need for formalities," the queen sat at the head, her spirit somewhat fatigued. Ever since she took the medicine last time, she had indeed injured her body and hadn't recovered yet. Without nourishing her foundation, merely cultivating her origin wasn't enough.

  The queen didn't have the heart to vie for favor with them, nor did she have the energy to engage in a subtle struggle. After chatting casually for a few sentences, she felt somewhat drained and rubbed her temples, "If there's nothing else, let's go pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager earlier."

  "Yes," everyone bowed.

  Su Jing glanced up at the moment she stood up, saw the queen's face pale and her eyes somewhat dull, turned her mind a few times, and followed the crowd out. Latest chapter full text

  If she had gone to pay her respects to the empress dowager before, it would have been somewhat insincere for a concubine to ride in a sedan chair. But now that she is Ronghua, riding in a sedan chair is perfectly proper, and walking instead would be slightly affected.

  With her temperament, she wouldn't have done such a thing anyway, and besides, there was no need for her to curry favor with the empress dowager.

  Cining Palace

  "The imperial concubines and maidservants pay their respects to the empress dowager, wishing her a thousand years of life, a thousand years of life, and a thousand more years of life." Everyone performed the grand ceremony.

  The empress dowager picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and then spoke up, "Get up."

  Her tone was neither overbearing nor indifferent, and everyone knew in their hearts that the Empress Dowager was establishing her authority, or perhaps giving the Empress or someone else a warning. The rest of the people understood the underlying situation and pretended to be ignorant, acting as if they didn't know anything.

  "The Empress Dowager's health is still good, I heard that the Empress Dowager had someone invite a royal physician to come and pay respects to her yesterday, but it was too late in the day and also feared disturbing the Empress Dowager's rest," The Empress, even if she didn't want to speak, as the Empress, there were some things that she couldn't do as she pleased, so she had no choice but to speak up.

  The Empress Dowager heavily knocked the teacup on the table, saw the Queen's sudden movement, and coldly snorted, "I thought that as the Queen, you didn't take me seriously."

  This statement is not to be taken lightly, the way of filial piety is the foundation of the country. If the Empress Dowager clings to this and does not let go, it is not impossible that she will be deposed. However, since the words have already been spoken earlier, it is a bit late now, and there are extenuating circumstances, which is why she did not rush to Cining Palace immediately to pay her respects.

  But if the empress dowager had to say so, then it can only be said that the empress dowager was intentionally picking a quarrel.

  The empress was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted, "Your Majesty is wronging me, I wouldn't dare. Yesterday, I heard that Your Majesty's body wasn't feeling well, although I didn't personally go to the Cining Palace to visit you, I did stay up all night copying Buddhist scriptures and praying for your blessings."

  The empress dowager didn't even glance at the Buddhist scriptures she had personally presented, but swept her gaze over the concubines below, "I see that you're not daring to, it's just that you can't get what you want."

  The queen sighed in her heart, now the Yu and Yuan families were tied together for some reason, colluding for benefits. The empress dowager could no longer dispose of her at will, even though she had already grasped evidence of her crime, she still couldn't bring it out to use openly and fairly, her heart was certainly stifled with resentment.

  Moreover, the Empress Dowager had always been thinking of letting Shangguan Wan'er give birth to a crown prince and inherit the throne in the future. However, the Empress did not cooperate and instead intentionally or unintentionally opposed her, which made the Empress Dowager resentful towards the Empress.

  The empress had long guessed that the empress dowager would not have a good expression for her, and she also made psychological preparations before coming to Cining Palace, so she quickly came up with a response strategy.

  Kneeling on the ground, with tears streaming down her face, "How could Mother say such heart-wrenching words? Am I to be wronged to death? I have always wished for Mother's longevity and good health, so I often pray day and night, recite scriptures and chant Buddha's name for Mother. Where did such unseemly things come from as Mother said?"

  The empress let her kneel on the ground for a few moments before she calmed down, "Alright, get up. I was just joking."

  The queen wiped away her tears, feeling extremely ironic in her heart, but on the surface she had to put on a grateful and tearful expression. "Your Majesty's wisdom is truly enlightening."

  The empress dowager even felt disgusted just looking at her, and shifted her gaze to a slightly later position on the left, "How many months is Du Liangyu now?"

  Du Wanru walked out and slightly bowed her body. "Reporting back to the Empress Dowager, your servant is now six months pregnant."

  "Ah," the empress let her gaze linger on her belly for a few moments, "sit down and take good care of your pregnancy."

  The Empress Dowager did not mean to make things difficult for her, and in these days, even if she was pregnant, she would still often go to the Cining Palace to pay her respects, or from time to time send over some handwritten Buddhist scriptures, showing that she was a person who valued rules and etiquette, and also had a mind for planning.

  However, the Empress Dowager was not afraid of her having a mind of her own. In this palace, people who were ambitious and eager to climb up the ranks were more reassuring. She was just the daughter of a minor fifth-grade official, and killing her would be as simple as crushing an ant.

  Moreover, the empress dowager still had her mind on the flesh in her belly. The imperial physician had already diagnosed that it was a male fetus. If all else failed, she might have to rely on that piece of flesh to achieve her goal.

  "Yes," replied Du Wanru.

  She also recognized her position very early on, but in her view, the concubines were unreliable, the empress was untrustworthy, and the emperor wouldn't let her rely on him. The only one she could rely on was the dowager empress.

  She was previously promoted from Shu to Gui Ren by the Empress Dowager's own mouth, and later she was able to torment her elder sister for a long time, also because of the Empress Dowager's support behind her back. Even if she didn't know what the Empress Dowager had planned for her, so that the Empress Dowager wouldn't even care about her own niece, it didn't prevent her from being used by the Empress Dowager mutually.

  It's hard to plot with a tiger for its skin, but she believes in herself. On the one hand, she is constantly making the empress dowager change her impression of her, occasionally catering to her tastes, being sincere and respectful, always following rules and never mentioning her own demands, wholeheartedly devoted to serving the empress dowager.

  "Zhen Ronghua," the empress dowager shifted her gaze from Du Wanru to Su Jingcong on the other side.

  Su Jingxi heard the sound and hastily stood up, taking two steps forward, "The concubine is here."

  The empress's gaze lingered on her belly for a long time, and she didn't say anything. The others quickly understood the empress's meaning and cooperated with laughter.

  Su Jingxi also understood, and even earlier than them, but she didn't feel any shame, still quietly standing there with a slight bow, waiting for the empress's further reaction.

  Received the desired effect, Empress Dowager finally spoke up, "When does Zhen Ronghua plan to let me hold my grandson?"

  Although this remark is too straightforward and somewhat impolite, it's only because the speaker is the Empress Dowager and she's eager to have a grandson; otherwise others wouldn't dare say anything.

  "Your Majesty, I think this matter depends on fate and human efforts are not guaranteed to succeed."

  The empress dowager snorted, "So you're saying you plan on monopolizing the emperor and not letting anyone else get pregnant?"

  Another grave charge is brought down.

  Su Jingxi sighed helplessly, "I beg Your Majesty to understand clearly, the concubines did not have such intentions."

  "You didn't mean it, but you've already done it," the empress dowager slapped the table, causing the teacups to tremble.

  To say what is most helpless in the harem, it is this gap in rank. Many things, because of their rank, cannot be explained, and they are not even allowed to explain themselves, let alone a queen and a concubine, with a huge gap between them.

  Others, though not participating in this, were secretly watching with joy in their hearts. They had more or less seen through Su Jing's facade and couldn't help but feel delighted to see her misfortune.

  "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is wise and discerning, I think Zhen Ronghua truly has no such intention," An Xiao Yi walked out and said in a low voice, with even a hint of trembling in her tone.

  It wasn't just Su Jingxuan, almost everyone was stunned. They had never thought that An Shuxi would come out and speak up for Su Jingxuan, as the two of them didn't have any connection with each other.

  The empress's gaze swept back and forth between the two, behind An Shu was the Auxiliary King Gong Fu, a typical neutral faction, dealing with Su Jing would be simple, but if it were An Xiao Yi, then she would have to think twice.

  The queen also hastily spoke out to plead, "An said it's not wrong, I can also testify that Zhen didn't have such intentions. The imperial physician also said that Zhen's body is healthy, and it seems that after some days, there will be good news, and the empress dowager will surely get what she wishes."

  The empress dowager let out a mouthful of murky air and waved her hand. "Forget it, forget it. I won't bother with this anymore."

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu