The next day was the day to pay respects to the Wutong Palace.
Yesterday, Concubine Chen took the initiative to go to Jingqian Palace and was asked to stay overnight to serve the emperor. Today, she naturally became the protagonist.
"The Emperor does care about friendship after all. Concubine Chen should go out more often if she has nothing to do. You are the Emperor's biological cousin, and the Emperor still cares about you."
Sitting in the main seat, the queen spoke softly with a gentle and generous smile.
"That's right. The emperor went to the empress dowager for dinner yesterday. Maybe it's because the brother and sister are connected, so Concubine Chen went to Jingqian Palace right after turning around. Such a mutual understanding is something we, the concubines, can't ask for." Yi Xiuyuan said.
He was waving a round fan in his hand, his eyes were cold and gloomy.
The emperor went to Jiaotang Garden more often these days, which overshadowed her. She finally stopped going, but Chen got there first, and she was very angry.
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How dare I, a concubine, guess your holy intentions at will? I dare not assume that Xiuyuan is sharing your thoughts." Concubine Chen bowed.
The tone is calm and peaceful.
"I remember that Concubine Chen was very strong-willed when she was still in the boudoir. Now she seems much gentler. After entering the palace for two or three years, her temperament has changed a lot." Yao Xiang said with a smile.
The queen looked at her and nodded, "You've been in the palace for a long time, so you should have made some progress."
"If you don't improve, I'm afraid the emperor will forget you forever." Concubine Shu said sarcastically, paused, and sneered, "Oh, no, Concubine Chen is different from us. She has the support and care of the Empress Dowager."
"Okay, Concubine Shu, you are already so old, why are you still saying these sour words to them?" The Queen stopped everyone at the right time, "It's good that the Emperor is willing to move around the harem more. It's not good for the heir to always focus on one place. You should all be smarter and learn to improve your appearance. Making the Emperor happy is the most important thing."
After hearing this, Yi Xiurong glanced to the side.
"Speaking of which, Ming Xiurong has been serving us quite a bit. Even with the emperor's favor, there is no good news. Could it be..."
"Could it be that Yi Xiuyuan is too idle and is always staring at my belly?"
Ye Jun interrupted her with a glare.
"If Yi Xiuyuan is busy, if I see the emperor someday, I will definitely ask the emperor to spend more time with Xiuyuan, and ask Xiuyuan to spend more time with the emperor and stop staring at things that shouldn't be stared at all day long."
Her move was as fast, fierce and accurate as always, and she choked Yi Xiuyuan in one move.
When it comes to talking skills, no one in the harem can be better than her.
The main reason is that Ye Jun eats both meat and vegetables, is bold and dares to speak his mind.
"Oh, Ming Xiurong, why is you so angry? Yi Xiuyuan didn't say anything, but it seems like she has touched a sore spot for you." Yao Xiang curled her lips.
"Oh, I never realized that Fang Xiuyuan could sing opera like this before. When I build a stage someday, I will definitely invite Xiuyuan to sing a few songs."
Ye Jun glanced at her indifferently, just as rudely.
Yi Xiuyuan had recovered by now, her face flushed with anger, and she stood up and said to the queen.
"Your Majesty, look, Ming Xiurong is too sharp-tongued. My concubine and Fang Xiuyuan are both above her in rank, but she is bullying me like this. She really doesn't know the difference between the superior and the inferior and doesn't know the rules!"
As soon as she stood up, Ye Jun followed suit.
The sparkling eyes blinked, full of innocence.
"Why is Sister Yi really angry? It's all my fault. I thought it was just a quarrel between sisters. Why did she bring it to the Queen Mother over a few words? I won't dare to joke with my sisters anymore in the future."
Seeing her acting like this, Yi Xiuyuan became even more angry, and immediately pointed at her nose and said angrily, "Ye, who is kidding you!"
"What's wrong? Are you angry?" Wang Xiuyi said at the right time, "Yi Xiuyuan and Fang Xiuyuan are both high-ranking officials. You two keep saying it one after another. Why doesn't Ming Xiurong talk back? We are sisters from the same family. It's not worth getting angry just because of a joke."
Wang Xiuyi's move was very effective and she assisted Ye Jun steadily.
He tried to make the bickering sound like a joke, and even implied that Yi Xiuyuan and Yao Xiang, two people in higher positions, teamed up to bully Ye Jun, who was in a lower position, and were angry when they didn't get the upper hand.
"Okay, okay, what's the point of making such a fuss so early in the morning?"
The Queen finally spoke.
"You three entered the palace together. You have different relationships and should live in harmony. Wang Xiuyi is right. You are all sisters. Why are you quarreling? It's very ugly. You three have lost your sense of propriety today. Go back and copy the palace rules three times each. Calm down. You are not children anymore. When new people enter the palace next year, you will all be old people."
"Yes, I know I was wrong." Ye Jun lowered her head quickly.
He changed his expression so quickly that the other two people couldn't keep up.
He looked at her and then followed suit.
Anyway, in the end, the queen is the biggest winner.
At one time, three concubines who were still favored were punished.
This is also another way for the queen to suppress the harem.
Let everyone watch, no matter who is favored in the harem, she is always the one who cannot be disobeyed, and the concubines in the harem must always listen to her.
So this ceremony of paying respects, which initially targeted Concubine Chen, ended with the punishment of the other three concubines.
After dismissing everyone, the queen's face showed some fatigue.
Su'e brought her a cup of tea and waited for her to drink two sips.
"From what I see, Ming Xiurong is quite flexible."
The queen lowered her eyes and raised her hand to rub her forehead. "If she was always domineering, how could the emperor like her so much? Ye is smart. She doesn't hold back when she should be assertive, and she lowers her head when she should give in. She is not ambiguous at all."
"In that case, she is the most powerful among this group." Su'e said.
"No matter how smart you are, you can't beat four hands with two fists. The harem will always have new people, and there will be no shortage of smart people." The queen snorted coldly, took a long breath, and stood up, "Go and see the eldest prince."
Su'e nodded and asked no more questions.
Now that the Second Prince has been given to Concubine Jing, the Empress is very angry, but the First Prince is still in her hands. Even if she doesn't keep him by her side, she should act like a loving mother and let the Emperor see it.
The Queen understood that Ning Chen wanted her to give birth to a legitimate son, but assigning the Second Prince to Concubine Jing was like cutting off one of the Queen's escape routes, and the Queen was very uncomfortable.
Now she could only hope that she could get pregnant again and give birth to a prince.
On the other side, Ye Jun had just returned to Jiaotangyuan when Nian Gao jumped into her arms.
This dog has grown up and likes to come up and hug your thighs.
Several maids and eunuchs around Ye Jun asked Nian Gao to hug them, and they were very enthusiastic.
"The more lively the palace is, the more noisy you become!"
Reaching out and rubbing the dog's head, Ye Jun had a smile on his face.
"You've just come back from your makeover and you're hugging the dog. Hurry up and wash your hands and wipe your face. You're sweating from the heat."
Nan Zhi came out of the house, muttering to herself.
Ye Jun let her help him into the house to wipe his face and hands, and then changed into loose casual clothes.
In the end, he leaned on the pillow like a big boss, looking very ungraceful.