frightfiction Chapter 216: Withdrawal of the card to recuperate
Chapter 216: Withdrawal of the card to recuperate
An Lingrong never took other people's opinions to heart.
What's more, she already knew that the Queen was only using herself and Shen Meizhuang as "tools", and her purpose was nothing more than to show her kindness and magnanimity in front of the concubines in the six palaces.
Therefore, An Lingrong would not take it to heart at all.
As for people like Concubine Qi and Concubine Chun, whose hearts were manipulated by the Queen and which made them lose their minds, there was nothing she could say except to watch coldly.
Just like in her previous life, she had no other way to go, so she chose to go down a path to the end. Concubine Qi is willing to follow the Queen, and Chun'er is willing to depend on the Queen. This is a personal choice in itself, and there is nothing wrong with it.
Everyone followed the queen into the palace, where they saw a throne in the middle and seats and small tables on the other three sides.
In addition, there is an exquisitely painted three-legged brass incense burner in the middle of the hall, which is emitting a faint fragrance.
"We are all sisters, so I won't say any more polite words. Please don't be restrained and take a seat."
The queen walked towards her own throne in the center of the palace, then turned around and said this to everyone.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded, and with the help of their maids, they went to their own seats.
When holding a banquet in the palace, it is natural that it has to follow the ancestral rules. For example, the arrangement of the seats is also very particular.
After the Queen, the concubines present today with the highest status are Concubine Qi and Concubine Hua.
In terms of seniority alone, Concubine Qi, who was already over 40 years old, was of course older. What's more, she had given birth to the Third Prince. As a Concubine Qi who had given birth to a prince, her status was already noble.
Whether it is the number of years Concubine Hua has served the emperor or the number of offspring she has, she cannot be compared with Concubine Qi. But there is one thing that Concubine Qi cannot catch up with, even when riding a horse, and that is Concubine Hua has the favor of the emperor!
Therefore, whenever there was a banquet in the palace in the past, Concubine Hua would always be second only to the Queen.
But things are different now. Firstly, Hua Fei had been stripped of her power to assist in managing the six palaces for a long time, and Yongzheng had no intention of restoring her authority. Besides, today's host is the Queen, and this is Jingren Palace, her home venue.
Since Concubine Qi is one of her own, the Queen will certainly not suppress her. Instead, she will spare no effort to promote her.
Because of this, when Concubine Hua sat down, she saw Concubine Qi opposite her raising her eyebrows and smiling at her, the provocation was self-evident.
"This bitch!"
Hua Fei knew very well that the Queen had ill intentions, and that the Queen would definitely take this opportunity to embarrass her when she came to the party.
But even though she knew this, she came anyway.
This is not only to show his magnanimity, but also to seize the opportunity to contact Noble Lady Fucha.
Cao Qinmo had been instructed by Concubine Hua earlier to find an opportunity to talk to Noble Lady Fucha. Even if there was no chance, she must create one and give her a good beating. If necessary, she could also use some means to make Noble Lady Fucha remember the consequences of betraying her.
Cao Qinmo has always been very obedient and she did not disappoint Concubine Hua's expectations this time. Before Concubine Qi came over because of the Queen's order, she had already scared Noble Lady Fucha by whispering to her.
Now looking at Concubine Qi's smug behavior, Concubine Hua had already cursed her hundreds of times in her heart.
If looks could cause real damage, then Concubine Qi would have been stung like a hornet's nest and would not have been able to continue smiling smugly.
It’s just a pity that no matter how intimidating Concubine Hua’s eyes are, she can’t scare Concubine Qi at all.
"Her Majesty the Queen has hosted a banquet for us, and I am honored to be here!"
After all the dishes were served, Concubine Qi was the first to raise the wine cup in front of her and gesture to the Queen from a distance.
As we all know, she can be regarded as the Queen's personal supporting actress.
No one was surprised at all when they heard Concubine Qi flattering the Queen again.
"This time, I invited all the sisters to Jingren Palace because today is the Spring Equinox, and all the flowers are in full bloom. It is a good time to have a feast. From now on, the weather will gradually get hotter, and I am afraid that all the sisters will be impatient. I have said it before, you are the emperor's concubines, no matter when, where, or why, you must serve the emperor first, and you must always remember the palace rules. You must not play around casually, and you must not be rude in front of the emperor!"
The Queen first said a lot of words to warn everyone. After laying enough groundwork, she changed the subject and said, "As for those who are ill like Concubine Li and Noble Lady Fucha, their first priority should be to take good care of their health. Therefore, I have ordered the Imperial Household Department to remove their green cards. When they are well, they can serve the Emperor again!"
When the Queen said this, Concubine Hua frowned deeply.
Noble Lady Fucha, who was originally immersed in her own world, looked at the Queen as if she had just woken up from a dream, as if she had not expected that the Queen would say such words.
The green-headed card is an important item for the emperor to choose and summon palace concubines. Usually, the eunuchs from the Jingshifang would bring it to the emperor for selection every night.
Therefore, as the Queen said, if the names of Concubine Li and Noble Lady Fucha were directly removed, it would be equivalent to cutting off their chances of receiving the Queen's favor!
After all, unless one is already very much in favor of the emperor, like Zhen Huan, otherwise, everyone still mainly relies on the green card from the Jingshifang to make themselves "flash" in front of the emperor.
Now that the Queen had done this, it was equivalent to cutting off this important channel. Noble Lady Fucha was panic-stricken and wanted to speak up for herself in front of the Queen, but before she could say anything, she dared not say anything when she met the Queen's gaze.
Just now, Cao Qinmo threatened her.
At that time, Noble Lady Fucha pretended to be calm, but only after Concubine Qi came reluctantly did she feel a little relieved.
For this reason, Noble Lady Fucha knew very well that the only one she could rely on now was the Queen, so she must not offend them.
Concubine Hua also did not expect that she had originally asked Cao Qinmo to warn Noble Lady Fucha, intending to use this method to make the other party see clearly the current situation in the palace and then be prepared to pay the price for her actions.
However, Cao Qinmo did not say that!
She modified most of Hua Fei's words, except for the warnings and threats, and her words were all pushing her towards the Queen's camp.
Therefore, after Noble Lady Fucha clearly realized that Concubine Hua would not let her go easily, she became even more determined to please the Queen.
As for Concubine Hua, she knew that Concubine Li had fallen ill again not long ago, and she heard that the illness was quite serious.
But Hua Fei was concerned about her own health, so of course she would not lower herself to visit Lipin. Therefore, she could only learn about Lipin's true situation through the reports of her subordinates.
Now the Queen is taking the opportunity to suppress her power. In addition to being angry, Hua Fei feels that she cannot just let it go.
However, before Concubine Hua could speak, a voice suddenly sounded faster than hers.