But there was no time to think about this right now, Ning Chen changed into court clothes and went to court.
At that time, all the concubines in the harem had gathered in Fengqi Palace to pay their respects.
Concubine Wende, who had been claiming to be ill for many days, finally showed up.
"After all, people feel happy when they are happy. It seems that Concubine De is in better health. Cui Baolin is favored. She is a person in your palace, and you have trained her well." The queen said with a smile.
Concubine Wende frowned, "Did the emperor promote Cui to a higher position?"
"Oh, sister, you don't know yet. That's right, you came late. The emperor just ordered that Cui Baolin be promoted to Baolin for her meritorious service in sleeping with the emperor. The emperor also specially asked the empress to choose a new residence for Cui Baolin and move out of Chuxiu Palace." Concubine Shu said deliberately.
I don't know how much she omitted in these few sentences.
When Concubine Wende heard this, she felt a chill in her heart and was immediately furious. She glanced at Cui who was standing at the end of the group and wished she could kill her.
The emperor looked virtuous and continued in a soft voice, "It is also because the emperor understands that you are raising a child and it is not good for others to disturb you. I was not thoughtful before. I thought that you have always been favored by the emperor. Now there are not many people in the palace that the emperor likes. You can train the new one and understand the emperor's feelings better. However, the emperor said that you don't need to put new people in your palace in the future. Chuxiu Palace will be given to you to live in."
"Your Majesty, it's not that you didn't think things through. Look, the Emperor is very satisfied with Cui Baolin. Isn't it because Concubine Wende taught him well?"
Ye Jun replied with a smile.
Anyway, the last time I was punished to kneel, we had a falling out. Why not step on him a few times to vent your anger when you get the chance
"I'm talking to the Queen, it's not your turn to interrupt!" Concubine Wende glared at her.
Wang Xiuyi put down the teacup in her hand and said with a smile, "The Empress Defei is a concubine, and we are all concubines. Why is the Empress distinguishing between high and low? Is it that only the Empress Defei is allowed to talk to the legitimate wife, but not us?"
"Sister Wang understands the truth, but some people don't. They feel even more superior as concubines. Don't they consider themselves concubines?" Ye Jun raised her eyebrows slightly and responded calmly.
Concubine Wende had never been ganged up on like this before, and she was very angry.
Pointing at Wang Xiuyi's nose, he angrily said, "Wang, you are so powerful now. Just because you gave birth to a daughter and the emperor gave you a little favor, you are so proud of yourself!"
"That's enough!" The Queen slammed the table. "Concubine Wende, you are becoming more and more unruly. Wang Xiuyi gave birth to the second princess, which is a great contribution to the royal heir. The second princess is the emperor's own flesh and blood, a royal goddess. In your mouth, she is worthless."
Ye Jun's lips curled slightly, and he immediately added fuel to the fire, "Since Concubine Wende gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, she naturally looks down on other princes and princesses. As they are all descendants of the emperor, I'm afraid only the eldest prince is the most noble."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I have never said that I look down on the royal bloodline. Ye, please stop slandering me!"
Concubine Wende was anxious and angry. She pushed Bai Lu, the senior palace maid beside her, forward and said, "Ming Jieyu is slandering the high position and committing treason. I will slap her in the face!"
His master was so angry that he was confused, but Bai Lu was not. This was happening in front of the Queen. How could he punish the concubines without going through the Queen's office
Sure enough, before she could take any action, Nanny Ding beside the queen scolded her.
"Her Majesty the Virtuous Consort is so arrogant that she dared to slap a concubine in Fengqi Palace. Does she even take the Empress seriously?"
"Okay, I think Concubine Wende is sick and confused. You don't have to come to Fengqi Palace to pay your respects for the next half month. Just rest well in your Chuxiu Palace." The queen said with a serious face.
This is what it means to be grounded.
Concubine Wende felt frustrated at this moment. She knew that no good would come of any further fuss, so she had to accept the punishment with a pinch of her nose.
Finally, the Queen arranged for Cui Baolin to live in the East Palace of Chunxi Palace, but it had not been cleaned up yet, so she arranged to move there the day after tomorrow.
After coming out of Fengqi Palace, Concubine Wende got on the sedan chair and looked down at Ye Jun, with anger in her eyes.
"Ming Jieyu is so eloquent, don't let her say something wrong one day and get her tongue pulled out."
Ye Jun raised her eyes and smiled coldly at her, bowing her body, "Since the queen punished me to kneel in the imperial garden, I have been more cautious since then. I am afraid that day will never come."
After a pause, she continued, "My queen, I wonder if the hundred-year-old ginseng I sent you when you had a difficult birth was too effective. You are overdosed and always have a bad temper. If I had known that this temper would one day be directed at me, I would have not sent you the ginseng."
"Sister is kind-hearted, how could she not send it off? Just like the farmer who saved the snake and got bitten in return, the snake was vicious, how could you blame the farmer for being kind-hearted?"
Wang Xiuyi walked over, stood side by side with her, and replied with a smile.
Concubine Wende's face flushed immediately, she took a deep breath and ordered the servants who were carrying the sedan chair to leave.
The two of them openly and covertly mocked her for being ungrateful and instead treating her evilly, which made her feel ashamed and unable to refute.
On the way back, Concubine Wende told herself again and again in her heart that Ye Jun offered ginseng to save her just to win the emperor's favor, not out of kindness. She used this to hypnotize herself and get rid of the little guilt she already had.
After everyone left, Ye Jun bowed to Wang Xiuyi sincerely.
"Thank you for your help, sister."
Wang Xiuyi smiled and waved her hands, "How can you be so polite? My sister is smart and can handle it even if I don't say anything."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then went their separate ways.
On the other side, Concubine Wende rode in a sedan chair and naturally arrived at Chuxiu Palace first. Cui Baolin walked back miserably, and it happened to arrive together with the reward sent by the Queen.
Concubines would be rewarded when they first slept with the emperor.
But the queen had obviously added more on purpose, and even asked the eunuch who came to deliver the things to pass on the message.
"The Emperor likes Baolin. Our Queen and the Emperor are of one mind. We hope that Baolin will give birth to many children for the royal family soon!"
"Please ask the eunuch to thank the queen for her kindness on my behalf and tell her that I will live up to your expectations." Cui Baolin said.
No matter how many times she warned herself not to be careless before entering the palace, she was just a teenage girl.
It is inevitable that one would feel a little complacent when suddenly being looked up to and praised by the superior.
Such complacency was even more glaring in the eyes of Concubine Wende.
Thinking about the fact that the emperor promoted Cui and asked her to move out of Chuxiu Palace, could it be that the emperor didn't want to see her, so he asked Cui to move out so that he could summon her more easily
The more Concubine Wende thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She ordered people to close the door of the main hall so that out of sight, out of mind.
Even so, the rewards sent by the high-ranking officials in various palaces along with the queen were so numerous that people coming and going could hear them even though they could not see them.
What made her even more uncomfortable was that according to the rules, she also had to give rewards to Cui.
Bai Lu was afraid that her master would be upset, so she discussed with Bai Shuang and decided to follow the rules without telling her.
Cui Baolin asked his personal servant Yinzhu to go to the main hall to express his gratitude.
Concubine Wende naturally refused to see her. She was left alone in the palace for an incense stick of time and then left.
That night, God seemed to know Concubine Wende's mood, and it started raining heavily in the second half of the night.
The rain fell all night long, and Concubine Wende did not sleep all night.
The next day, he got up and called Bai Lu into the house and said something to her.
After Cui from the side hall went to pay her respects, Bai Lu called the maid who was cleaning her room away for a while.