October 18th is Ye Yun’s birthday.
Now that she has the status of Zhaorong, it is impossible not to set up a banquet, so she has to prepare it.
On that day, several tables were set up and all the concubines in the harem were invited to come and have a drink.
In the morning, Hui Zhaoyuan arrived first with the second princess.
Now the Fourth Prince and the Second Princess are the closest and often play together. Now that they have arrived, they are together again.
However, the Second Princess is three years older than the Fourth Prince and acts like an older sister, mostly coaxing a child, which is very interesting to watch.
Not long after, Concubine Zhou and Zheng Wanrong arrived together.
A few people who were on good terms with each other sat for a while, and then the others arrived one after another.
"The hairpin on Ming Zhaorong's head is made of gold inlaid with jade, right? The gold is pulled into silk and made into the shape of a twined vine. It's really beautiful." Yi Shunyi said with a smile.
Li Wanrong followed beside her and continued, "That's right. Not to mention the beautiful style, the gold thread is an extremely difficult craft. Look at the jade on the hairpin, it is also the finest mutton-fat jade. This hairpin alone is worth a lot of money."
After hearing this, everyone's attention was focused on him.
Yi Shunyi took a sip of tea and sighed, "Ah, after all, it's good to have a good mother's family. No, we live on the monthly allowance from the palace, how can we afford such a generous gift? This hairpin is as easy as saying it, and the servants of Zhao Chunxuan also get the most rewards."
"It's not necessarily my mother's family. I heard that a few days ago, ministers from outside the palace sent a birthday gift to Ming Zhaorong." Li Wanrong said with a smile.
Ye Jun originally thought that they were just saying a few sour words, but she never expected that they would go around in circles and actually want to put accusations on her in this place.
It was naturally a big taboo in the palace for concubines in the harem to collude with the previous dynasty and accept gifts.
This matter was known to Li. Either the people in Zhao Chunxuan were not careful enough to keep their mouths shut, or the news leaked out of the palace.
But now it seems that it must have been leaked outside the palace. After all, everyone in Zhao Chunxuan is extremely tight-lipped.
"Li Wanrong is quite concerned about the things around me. She even knows that I have to return the gifts from outsiders. She is keeping an eye on the harem and the former court. She is really worried and troubled." Ye Jun said lightly.
While speaking, he didn't even glance over there, but the coldness in his tone made people feel very pressured.
In the past few years, she has become more and more powerful.
Li Wanrong's expression changed and her eyes flickered slightly.
"Zhao Rong, you are joking. How can I, a concubine in the harem, know about the affairs of officials in the previous dynasty? I just heard some of them occasionally."
Ye Jun's lips curled slightly, "Really? Li Wanrong is really too idle to listen to gossip. She might as well copy the palace rules to keep herself alert at all times, otherwise she will break the rules without knowing it one day."
"Yes." Li lowered her head and clenched her handkerchief, feeling very embarrassed.
However, given her position and lack of favor, it was normal for her to be defeated by Ye Jun.
Yi Shunyi looked at this point before she spoke again.
"Ming Zhaorong is too serious. Look how scared she is. Isn't this just gossip? The emperor favors her. The sisters are envious of Ming Zhaorong's wealth."
"So that's how it is. I misunderstood." Ye Jun immediately pretended to realize something and waved to the people around him, "Huiyue, go get two hundred taels of silver and give some to Yi Shunyi and Li Wanrong. Today is my birthday, so even if it's a reward, it's a small subsidy."
Huiyue was very understanding and immediately responded and went into the inner room.
There was no chance for the two to speak out and stop it.
In a moment he took out two purses.
Yi Shunyi was in a bad mood and said with a stiff face, "There is no need to ask Ming Zhaorong for any subsidy. Although I am not rich, I still have money to spend."
If he really took it, he would have completely lost face today.
However, Ye Jun had no intention of letting her go.
She smiled slightly and said, "Yi Shunyi, why are you being so polite to me? Since it's given to you, just take it. Why should you be embarrassed? Today is my birthday. Don't offend me. It will be embarrassing when the emperor comes later."
After he finished speaking, he winked at Huiyue.
The latter understood and immediately took out two purses and stuffed them into the hands of Yi Shunyi and Li Wanrong's personal maids respectively.
Things have come to this point, and they have no room for resistance.
Yi Shunyi could only say thank you for the reward in a dry voice.
Over the past year, the harem has been peaceful and Ye Jun has not taken much action, which has made these people forget the pain as their wounds have healed.
Since the two of them have come forward to do this today, I will use this opportunity to establish my authority.
To be honest, she is indeed confident.
At this moment, Zhao Chunxuan still had two concubines, Shufei and Jingdefei, but neither of them spoke.
Concubine Shu didn't dare to do so, and Concubine Jingde simply looked like she didn't care about anything.
Who would want to make Ye Jun unhappy today? It must be that Yi Shunyi has always been unwilling to accept the result and insisted on provoking her, and now she has stepped on a landmine.
Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere did not last long, and soon an imperial decree for promotion came.
Yuan Jiu came in person.
"Your Madam Ye, Zhaorong, are virtuous, diligent, docile, and gentle. You are intelligent and gentle, which deeply comforts my heart. I decree that you should be crowned Zhaoyuan. I decree this!"
"Empress Zhaoyuan, please accept the order. The emperor is still talking to the ministers and will be here in about half an hour. I will pass on the order and go back to serve you first."
Ye Jun smiled faintly and accepted the imperial edict.
"Thank you for your help, eunuch. Please thank the emperor for me. Zhao Chunxuan has prepared a banquet and is waiting for the emperor to come."
After saying that, Nan Zhi immediately stepped forward and stuffed a purse into Yuan Jiu's hand.
Yi Shunyi, who was standing behind, was feeling particularly annoyed at this moment.
Not only was the purse that Nan Zhi stuffed into Yuan Jiu the same as the one Hui Yue gave her, but now Ye Jun had become Zhao Yuan, while she was still Shun Yi, and the gap between the two was getting bigger and bigger.
After seeing Yuan Jiu off, everyone burst into congratulations again.
Regardless of whether he was sincere or not, Ye Jun had been promoted anyway, so there was no point in being jealous.
Not long after, when Ning Chen came with a birthday gift for Ye Jun, he again aroused the envy of the concubines in the harem.
A half-human-height pomegranate sculpture made of bloodstone.
Not to mention the exquisite craftsmanship and rare size, Ning Chen's thoughtfulness is what makes people jealous.
Pomegranates have many seeds, which means more children and more blessings, and are very much loved by the concubines in the palace.
The fact that the emperor gave Ye Jun such a gift shows his favor for him, and it also shows that the emperor hopes Ye Jun will have many children.
But now Ye Jun has only one son who is so favored. If he has a few more children in the future, will there be a way for others to survive
In the crowd, Yi Shunyi gritted her teeth secretly, and Concubine Jingde lowered her eyes to hide the dark light in her eyes.
"I thought it was good, so I moved it here for you. Do you like it?" Ning Chen said with a faint smile.
Ye Jun also curled her lips slightly, "Your Majesty's kindness, I naturally regard it as a treasure. The banquet is ready, Your Majesty, please take a seat."
"Yeah." Ning Chen nodded.
Then he took Ye Yun's hand and walked into the hall in front of everyone.