The next morning, Ning Chen had already gone to court.
Ye Jun was awakened by Liang Yu.
"Jieyu, it's getting late. I have to go pay my respects to the Queen."
"Why is it the female official Liang? Where is Nan Zhi?" Ye Jun sat up.
Liang Yu smiled and helped her get out of bed. "It snowed heavily last night. It's very cold today. Miss Nan Zhi went back early in the morning to get you some thick boots, a scarf, and a hand warmer."
I had some change of clothes, but I didn't bring anything else, so I had to go back early to get them.
Ye Jun nodded and went to wash up first.
When he sat in front of the bronze mirror, the one holding the comb was Mo Yu.
"Nowadays, the cloud-like bun is popular outside the palace. The light-colored dress you are wearing today is a good match. What do you think?"
"Just follow the lady official's instructions." Ye Jun smiled faintly.
After all, she was a servant in front of the emperor. Even though she didn't often serve concubines, her skills in combing hair were impeccable.
A cloud-like bun makes her look ethereal and dignified, yet charming and beautiful.
Ye Jun was very satisfied. He took off a pair of jade bracelets on his hands and gave one to each of them.
Anything she wears on her body is certainly not a vulgar thing.
Especially when you pick them and give them to others like this, it shows your closeness.
Even Mo Yu and Liang Yu, who are well versed in the ways of the world, cannot help but be a little biased.
Ye Jun’s reward was certainly not given for nothing.
Although the servants around the emperor cannot be bribed, it is good to be able to show favor to them.
After having breakfast in Jiuchen Palace, he went to pay his respects to the Queen.
Since this place is close, there is no need to take a sedan chair.
This time it was Huiyue who followed. Nanzhi had been guarding for a whole night, and when he returned, Huiyue took over.
"Jieyu, I have something to tell you. Last night, Liu Cainu from Xianfu Palace accidentally fell outside the courtyard and a big hole was cut on her forehead. She died in the middle of the night. Zhang Cairen lived with her and fainted when she saw the tragic scene. I heard that she was still burning this morning."
"How could he fall so hard out of nowhere and die?" Ye Jun frowned.
Huiyue nodded, "I heard that it was because the dinner was delivered too late and the dishes were not good, so Liu insisted on going to the kitchen to argue. It was snowing outside and the road was slippery, so she fell. It happened that a servant was lazy and put the shovel for snow removal on the side of the road, so she hit it."
Although Ye Jun didn't care much about this inconspicuous Liu, he had heard a few stories about Liu fighting with servants and was speechless.
There was nothing strange about this matter at the moment, so I could only sigh.
I walked slowly to Fengqi Palace. It was still early.
When I entered the hall, I saw Concubine Shu already sitting inside.
This guy usually likes to come in late and act arrogant, but today he is very diligent.
When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.
Sure enough, before Ye Jun could finish her ceremony, Concubine Shu spoke angrily.
"Yesterday I told you to advise the Emperor to treat the emperor equally, but you actually went to the Jiuchen Palace to compete for favors. Ye, you are so bold. You really don't take the Empress' words to heart at all!"
But the more anxious Concubine Shu was, the calmer Ye Yun seemed.
Everyone saw Ye Jun bowing calmly and speaking softly.
"Shufei, you have wronged me. I will always remember the Queen's teachings and will never forget them. But whether the Emperor listens or not is not up to me."
"It's obviously you who is being coquettish. You made up some nightmare to seduce the Emperor to accompany you!" Concubine Shu slammed the table.
Ye Jun looked at her with a smile, "Your Majesty, do you mean that you think the Emperor can't tell whether I am having a real nightmare or a fake one?"
"That's not what I meant, Ye. You are so sharp-tongued. It's a bit too overbearing!"
Concubine Shu stiffened her neck and her face turned red.
Zhang was hers, and she was driven out of Jiuchen Palace like this. That slap was also on her face. How could she not be angry
"Then your Majesty is right. I have been domineering since I was a child and cannot tolerate any grievance." Ye Jun is not afraid of her.
Now they are in the Queen's palace. The Queen loves to see Concubine Shu suffer a loss, so she will naturally side with her.
Sure enough, before Concubine Shu could speak again, the Queen came out.
"What's the point of making such a fuss so early in the morning? How old are you, Concubine Shu? Why are you still arguing with Concubine Ming?"
After hearing this, Concubine Shu immediately lost her temper.
But his face turned even paler.
Ye Jun was surprised. Is Concubine Shu old? She is only in her twenties.
Of course, it’s still older than her, who is in her teens.
While they were talking, the rest of the people arrived.
The queen sat down, glanced down, and then spoke again.
"I'm sure you all know about Liu Cainu's matter. It's almost the end of the year and yet something like this happened. This palace is also very sad, but the dead are gone. You must be more careful. Don't make any more mistakes, which will make this palace and the emperor sad."
Concubine Jing nodded, "That's right, a person died out of nowhere, and I heard that Concubine Zhang was frightened and fell ill, which was also an unexpected disaster."
"Who knows if she was frightened or something? Liu Cainu's death seems a little strange. Why don't you investigate, Queen?"
Lin Xiurong on the side suddenly interrupted.
Concubine Shu was anxious again, "Lin, what do you mean?"
"I'm only talking about Concubine Zhang. Why is Your Majesty Shufei so anxious?" Lin Xiurong gave her a forced smile.
The Queen frowned and interrupted the two of them.
"Well, this incident was an accident. I have already sent someone to check it out. There is nothing strange. There are many things to do at the end of the year. Liu Cainu's body has been sent to the imperial mausoleum for burial overnight. This incident is unlucky after all. You are not allowed to mention it again."
It is not a glorious thing to have a concubine fall to death.
It would have been fine if Liu had died in a confused manner, but it also made the queen appear incompetent in managing the harem.
That's why the queen didn't want the matter to become a big deal.
Even if there is something fishy going on, we will only investigate it secretly.
Ye Jun was drinking tea quietly at his seat, and couldn't help but secretly glance at Lin Xiurong a few times.
Somehow, she felt that Lin Xiurong's recent words and deeds seemed to be keen on finding things for the queen to do.
Looking at the queen's face again, she seemed to be a little more tired than yesterday.
It is indeed not an easy task to take care of the harem affairs. I am already tired after just one day.
Of course, outsiders don’t know that the account books returned by Concubine Wende seem neat, but there are many messes inside, and it is very complicated to organize them.
The servants below were servants after all. They could help deal with normal matters, but a matter this complicated required the queen to take a personal look at it.
Fortunately, Concubine Wende didn't take care of it for long. If it had accumulated for a longer time, it would have been more troublesome.
Perhaps the queen really didn't feel very energetic, so after sitting for a while she asked everyone to go back.
But Concubine Zhao was kept.
But she is not very noticeable. It has long been no secret that Zhao is from the Queen's faction.
From then on until the New Year, the emperor went nowhere else except to visit the empress and Concubine Yi, who were both pregnant.
Two days before the New Year's Eve palace banquet, the Queen Mother finally announced that she had recovered from her illness.
But soon after that, Concubine Yao fell ill.
The Yao family members submitted a memorial to express their greetings, but no one knew what they said.
After being under house arrest for two months, Yao Xiang was finally allowed to come out for one day on the day of the state banquet.