Therefore, Concubine Shen chose to ignore the rumors raging in the palace.
Anyway, Miss Jinli is very efficient, she will be able to "find out" the matter very quickly, and then return her a fair one. Concubine Xi's scheming may not move the emperor, after all, the relationship between her and the emperor has never been based on any affection.
The emperor just needs to make sure that she has no interest in the throne and won't mess up the imperial court. As for the others, is it that important? Trust or something is only based on the partnership, which is essentially different from what those concubines thought.
Therefore, Concubine Shen ignored the rumors and concentrated on waiting for the arrival of New Year's Eve.
There are still five days until New Year's Eve, presumably Jin Li will take care of things before then, so as not to affect everyone's good mood for the New Year.
This concubine Xi really didn't wink at her, she was still making trouble when the Chinese New Year was approaching.
Three days later, the rumors in the palace took a different direction.
"What? You said that it was Concubine Yu who controlled Cuicao's family?" Concubine De asked the palace maid in surprise, "Why did Concubine Yu deal with Shen Yuqing?"
Concubine Yu's foot restraint is not caused by Concubine Shen. It is normal for her to take revenge on her sister, how could she deal with Shen Yuqing? Even if she deals with Concubine Shen Gui, she still can't lift the ban!
The court lady Hongxiu apparently didn't believe this was true, but Jinli had already made up her mind, so it was hard for them to say anything.
"Forget it, maybe it's His Majesty's intention." Concubine De was thoughtful.
Jinli is the emperor's man, so she can't just give shit to anyone, she should act according to the emperor's will. As for why the emperor threw dirty water to Concubine Yu, it is not difficult to find the clue after careful consideration.
For one thing, the Yu family has been in the limelight recently, even if Concubine De didn't know anything about court affairs, she still felt that this situation was not right. Thinking about it in another way, if I were the emperor, and there was a subordinate who made such a fuss, looked even more arrogant than her, and had more followers than her, Concubine De probably wouldn't be pleasing to him.
Subordinates must have the self-consciousness of subordinates, and they will be cut off sooner or later if they climb on the boss's forehead to play awe-inspiring.
Therefore, it is normal for Concubine Yu to be suppressed with excuses.
Secondly, even if it is not because of the above reason, another reason is justified. Concubine Xi had only been punished by Concubine Shen before, so it made sense for her to harbor a grudge and want to take revenge on Concubine Shen. But the emperor has loved his concubine Xi very much in the past six months, so he took action to cover up for his favorite concubine, and poured dirty water on her elder sister.
Anyway, Concubine Yu and Concubine Xi didn't have a good relationship, and Concubine Yu offended the emperor. The emperor pulled her out to take the blame, of course.
The more Concubine De thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.
"In the future, stay away from sister Xipin." Concubine De reminded, "Recently they have been having accidents frequently."
Concubine Xi is favored now, but it will be difficult to say in the future. After all, after doing this kind of thing, Concubine Shen is not an ordinary concubine who is not favored, even if the emperor protects Concubine Xi this time, most of the love in his heart will be worn away.
As for another possibility, for example, Concubine Xi did something bad and framed her sister, so Jin Li found out that it was Concubine Yu or something, Concubine De felt that it was unreliable.
Concubine Xi may indeed have planted Concubine Yu, but even she feels that Concubine Yu has no motive, so will Jinli not be able to find out the problem? Either Jinli really didn't find out the real murderer, so she took second place and caught the ostensible murderer, or Jinli found out but didn't startle the snake, and temporarily let her concubine Xi go.
No matter which one, it's the Yu family's bad luck anyway, and it's not bad for Concubine De.
Empress Defei was very happy, she ate half a bowl of rice that night, and then forced herself to take a walk in the yard to digest food with a bitter face, so as not to gain weight.
the other side.
"Why did Concubine Yu come out to take the place of the dead ghost?" Concubine Shen finished her meal, while she sipped tea, she stretched her legs and kicked the emperor opposite.
His Majesty the Emperor didn't care as much as she did, and moved his legs a bit: "I see that the Yu family is upset."
Empress Fu looked at them while stroking the cat, watching the play quietly.
"Aren't you happy seeing Concubine Yu?" Concubine Shen raised her eyebrows.
"There's also concubine Xi."
So take revenge on Concubine Yu a little bit, let Concubine Xi go first.
Speaking of which, Concubine Yu is also unlucky. Ever since her younger sister entered the palace, she hasn't had a happy day. His status was quickly overtaken by his younger sister, not to mention that he fell out of favor and was even grounded for committing crimes.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and the emperor didn't say that he would let her go out. The same is true for Mrs. Shu, who was also grounded. She didn't have a chance to come out for the New Year's banquet, which is really pitiful.
The emperor intends to take this opportunity to hit those overbearing courtiers first. Leaving aside the Yu family, what could Madam Shu be up to while jumping up and down in the palace? It was nothing more than giving birth to a prince, letting her son succeed her, and then she went to live a leisurely life as a queen mother.
Regardless of whether it was Concubine Shu's plan alone or the entire Concubine Shu's family, the emperor planned to warn them along with the whole family.
In short, Concubine Shu did not lift the ban, nor did Concubine Yu. What's more, the unlucky Concubine Yu also suffered an indiscriminate disaster and was forced to take the blame.
Since the matter was not serious, the punishment given by His Majesty the Emperor was to cut Concubine Yu's concubine's position. Now she has been demoted two ranks in a row, from being a third-rank concubine to being a fourth-rank Zhaoyi.
More than half of the dirty water on Concubine Shen's body was washed, and the rest was basically a caring person who refused to believe the so-called "truth" and insisted on wishful thinking that Concubine Shen did those things. Concubine Shen said she didn't care about this kind of jumping clown.
The master didn't care anymore, and Jinli didn't bother to rectify it. Although there is nothing to rectify, those people dare not say it publicly. If she said it behind her back, Jinli would not be able to control them, she was a human being but not a god.
In the following days, it has been quite peaceful.
In previous years, there would always be big or small unexpected New Year banquets, but this year passed peacefully. It was so calm that even the courtiers and wives felt that something was missing.
—As if being tuned-taught to be a shivering M, I still feel uncomfortable if nothing happens at the palace banquet.
"It's rare that the palace is so quiet." Mrs. Shen sighed to her daughter-in-law in a low voice.
The eldest brother of the Shen family's wife, Qin Shi, held her two-year-old son in her arms, maintaining a dignified smile on her face, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, deeply convinced in her heart.
Although she has only been married for a few years, a girl of her background has to attend a dozen or so palace banquets every year since she was ten years old. Forget about the small palace banquet, the big palace banquet will basically have some problems, it seems that it is not called a palace banquet unless something unexpected happens.
Not only did she feel this way, but the ladies and ladies around her also felt sympathy.
Hearing that Yu Zhaoyi and Mrs. Shu hadn't been released yet, and their feet were still restrained, they couldn't help thinking about it. Could it be that most of the things in the palace are caused by them? Otherwise, why are they not here, so quiet
Shen Liyi huddled in his mother's fragrant and soft embrace, eating snacks obediently, his eyes involuntarily looked towards Concubine Shen Gui.
I saw that Miss Qingxi was also eating in the arms of the concubine mother, but she looked much more dignified than him. Previously, Qingxi had been sitting next to the Empress Empress, sitting upright, with good etiquette and rules. However, Concubine Shen felt sorry for her daughter, and not long after she let her sit beside her, and even put him in her arms for her to lean on.
Shen Yuxun, the second lady next to Mrs. Shen, looked at Princess Qingxi enviously. When she was a child, she also wanted to be so close to her mother. Unfortunately, her mother came from a scholarly family. She was very disciplined and never hugged her very much. The father is more approachable, but he can't hold back the mother, and only dares to be intimate with her when the mother is not around.
Shen Yuxun sighed softly, and when she retracted her gaze, she happened to meet the gaze of Princess Qingping opposite, her face blushed subconsciously, and she hurriedly lowered her eyes and dared not look at them any more.
Shen Guifei seemed to be aware of it, looked at her, then at Princess Qingping.
"I remember, your second sister is engaged to Prince Qingping?" Empress Fu put down her chopsticks, chatting and laughing with Concubine Shen Gui.
Shen Yuqing glanced at Shen Yuxun with a smile, and nodded: "I heard that it was during the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, and the fate was formed."
During the palace banquet, Shen Yuxun was in the limelight. Many wives thought that she wanted to enter the palace, so they immediately looked down upon her and didn't plan to consider asking her back to be their daughter-in-law. But in fact, Shen Yuxun really didn't intend to enter the palace.
She wants to find herself a good husband who is like her, and also wants to find an enlightened mother-in-law for herself.
Ordinary people always like to treat a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart, thinking that she wants to enter the palace, but she feels that there are always people who are not blind, and they will find out that she did it on purpose. Perhaps it was because she was bound by rules since she was a child, and she was reluctant to marry into a family that was too strict with rules, so she did this.
Fortunately, she was lucky, there was a son at the palace banquet that day who really fell in love with her at first sight, and hid in the woods to spy on her for a long time. After I went back, I asked my mother, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the princess also liked this girl with clear eyes, gentleness and tenacity.
So it didn't take long before I asked someone to come to the door to talk about matchmaking. The marriage was decided a few years ago, and they are just waiting for the end of next year to get married.
Shen Yuxun's dowry had already been sent to Beijing by the second wife's wife long ago, but after all, she married into the palace, so it was still a little thin. Mrs. Shen set the wedding date a little later, planning to prepare some things for her niece to take to her natal home.
Although King Qingping is a idle prince with no real power, his family holds the iron certificate of Danshu, which is the credit for following Tai-zu to conquer the world. Not to mention the heritage accumulated over the past hundred years, the hereditary and irreplaceable throne alone is enough for many women to dream of marrying into it.
If it wasn't for Shen Yuxun's father who was a high-ranking official outside Beijing and was quite trusted by the emperor, it would be a bit reluctant for her to marry into the palace as the second wife of the Shen family. After all, she is not the concubine's daughter, nor Shen Yuqing.
"She is lucky." Shen Guifei couldn't help sighing.
This Prince Qingping loves poetry, calligraphy and painting, and is a nerd who is a bit stupid in reading. He doesn't know much about humor, but he has a pure heart. Looking at the magnanimity and determination between his brows, it can be seen that this man is not an unreliable softie. Although he is stupid, he is still cute and cute.
What's more, he is very persistent in feelings. Although it was love at first sight, it doesn't look like a momentary infatuation. Shen Yuqing felt that he should be able to stick to the end, and her second sister would be in harmony with each other, and raise the eyebrows on the same level.
Qing Ping Wang's family is well educated, and concubines are never allowed in the mansion, and judging by the appearance of this nerd, he doesn't seem to be able to enjoy the blessings of everyone. If he really took a concubine, he was afraid that he would be ashamed to death by himself.
Empress Fu smiled: "The daughters of the Shen family are all lucky."
Concubine Shen knew who she wanted to talk about, the real Miss Shen, the one who eloped with her sweetheart.
The people around didn't know what kind of maneuver the two were playing, so they could only follow along dryly. For a while, he praised Second Miss Shen and the eldest son as a match made in heaven, and for a while, he praised Mrs. Shen and Shen Xiangqing as stronger than gold.
In short, what the above says is good, they will follow suit. I racked my brains and wanted to boast a word or two to my lady. If I could boast a flower and win my lady's favor, that would be the best.
Concubine Shen did not listen to their flattering nonsense.
They boasted and turned a corner to Concubine Shen Gui, who is also a good woman with both virtue and appearance, so it can be seen that the main purpose is to flatter her.
The imperial concubine does not feel that she has any "virtue".
But judging by their looks, I'm afraid they are not so cheeky as to say that she is "excellent in both talent and beauty". Because Concubine Shen Gui could handle the palace affairs well anyway, but she really didn't understand talent and skills.
——It was the original Miss Shen who didn't understand thank you, and the imperial concubine expressed that she didn't want to take the blame.
As a person who has to pretend to be various people all the year round to carry out assassinations, although she is not proficient in those piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, she still knows some. It's just that she doesn't want to show it, and the original Miss Shen doesn't know this. It's not good to change suddenly after pushing her shell, otherwise everyone will know that there is something tricky.
With the eloquent ladies warming up the scene, even though the imperial concubine and empress were ignorant and the empress was reticent, the atmosphere never cooled down. Everything is peaceful except for the unfriendly looks from the other concubines.
Concubine De was the most unhappy one, because she found that she couldn't get into their conversation.
Those women also patronized to flatter the imperial concubine and queen, and didn't pay much attention to her. After all, she is the last of the four concubines, the most virtuous and virtuous, and she is in no way comparable to the queen and vice queen.
Moreover, her mother, Mrs. Su, has become more and more ill recently, and she doesn't know if she can survive it. Those wives felt that Mrs. Su was going to leave soon, and Mrs. Su would marry a second wife soon after she kept her filial piety, and the support of Concubine De's natal family would be even less. Therefore, they didn't value the concubine De very much.
"This palace banquet is really boring." Beside her, Concubine Mi snorted.
Only Concubine Mi dared to say such words, she was never willing to wrong herself.
Concubine De glanced at her, feeling that her future was hopeless.
Now she and Concubine Mi are the only ones in the position of concubine, and the ones below are Madam Shu and Concubine Xi. But Concubine De knew that Concubine Xi would not be able to play for a long time, and Mrs. Shu had long been rejected and grounded. Therefore, the only one who fought with her on the front line against the imperial concubine and empress was an idiot like Concubine Mi.
Concubine De deeply felt that if she didn't quickly think of a way to provoke Concubine Shen and the queen to fight among themselves, she might not be able to pull these two obtrusive women off the horse for the rest of her life.
What a hassle.
She frowned, feeling that Concubine Mi was very noisy in her ears complaining about this and that, so she couldn't help replying: "Isn't this the same at palace banquets?"
The tone was not very good, and Concubine Mi probably realized that she disliked her for talking too much.
"Heh." She threw out a mocking word and ignored Concubine De.
Obviously, she didn't take Concubine De seriously either.
Concubine De tightly squeezed the cup in her hand, almost couldn't hold back and threw it at this stupid woman.
On New Year's Eve, you have to watch the New Year's Eve, but you don't have to watch it with the courtiers and the emperor. When the palace banquet was about to start, they went back to their respective homes.
Generally speaking, the emperor was going to accompany the empress to watch the new year, but when he arrived at Fengyi Palace, he found that there was an extra Concubine Shen inside, and he was in a bad mood.
Although the fact that his sister was taken away cannot be stopped, he can only accept it passively, but it doesn't mean that he likes to see Shen Yuqing and her sister showing affection in front of him!
If I had known it earlier, I would have gone back to the Zichen Palace to watch the night, so why stay here and be abused.
Concubine Shen kindly suggested: "You can find a concubine you love to keep watch with you."
The implication is: You are too much in the way, get out, don't disturb other people's relationship.
"Naturally, you have to watch the night with your family." The emperor frantically blocked it. He wanted to stay with his sister, even if he was blinded.
The two stared at each other for a while, then Qiqi looked away.
Humph.
Empress Fu personally cooked a serving of dumplings, each of the three of them got a bowl. She invited her younger brother and partner to eat dumplings, so don't worry about whether to stay or not.
"Looks good." The emperor took the bowl and ate it calmly, taking it easy.
Concubine Shen Gui still wanted to say something, but was blocked by Empress Fu's casual glance, and obediently picked up the spoon to eat the dumplings.
New Year's Eve passed so seemingly peacefully.
After the beginning of the new year is a rare big holiday for the royal family of the Yan Dynasty. Before the Lantern Festival, the emperor can spend whatever he wants. As long as there are no particularly important matters, there is no need to care about national affairs at all.
His Majesty the Emperor seized the time to sleep in, and planned to make up for a year of lazy sleep.
Naturally, Concubine Shen would not waste time like this, so she chose to stay in the palace with her daughter-in-law to teach her daughter piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Empress Fu herself knows a part, the kind that is somewhat proficient. Shen Guifei knows a little bit about everything, she is not proficient but can barely catch up with the general level.
The two of them taught together, not to teach Qingxi many things, but mainly to find something to do when they were bored. By the way, let's see what my daughter-in-law is interested in, so I can train them accordingly in the future.
There are not many other things in the palace, everyone has cultivated a lot of these skills, and when the time comes, it will be fine for Qingxi to choose a master who is proficient in this way to teach her.
Qingxi also studied hard.
It was rare for the queen mother and concubine mother to play with her. In the past, the two of them either used the excuse that they had something to talk about and drove her away to live in a two-person world, or there were other court ladies and eunuchs guarding them. Or, she played crazy with her little friends by herself, and couldn't remember that she still had her mother and concubine for a whole day.
At the moment, she is holding a brush and dipping colorful inks in it, scribbling on the rice paper.
Naturally, she doesn't use sophisticated pictures, and the things she draws seem...indescribable no matter how realistic they are, but she herself draws very vigorously.
Concubine Shen looked at the abstract painting, and when she heard her daughter excitedly asking her if it looked good, she said with an inscrutable expression: "It's colorful, not bad."
She didn't lie either, Miss Qingxi did use many kinds of inks, and they didn't clump together. If you just look at the color without considering the connotation, it can indeed be evaluated as colorful.
Moreover, the colored inks used in the palace are naturally the best, and the tones can be bright or elegant, showing extremely beautiful colors. As long as Qingxi didn't risk her life to paint a bunch of colors in one place, it wouldn't be too ugly.
Received a compliment—although the compliment was very rewarding, but she didn't know it herself—Princess Qingxi was very happy, she put her masterpiece aside and said she would show it to her father, and then pulled a new piece of rice paper to draw again. width.
Concubine Shen touched her head, and as a reward, she promised: "Take you out of the palace to play in the afternoon."
Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, there should still be quite a few people on the street today, so it won't be deserted. Not too many people, just right, take Qingxi out to see the world.
Qingxi was very excited and was looking forward to the trip outside the palace in the afternoon.
At noon, His Majesty the Emperor came over for lunch, and watched the "masterpiece" of the eldest princess by the way.
"What is this?" The emperor didn't know if he had slept too much recently, and he was so sleepy that he fell asleep. He asked subconsciously, "What is the painting? Colorful and colorful."
Qingxi was a little unhappy, but she still reminded: "The painting is a bogu shelf."
She specially drew it after the Bogu shelf displaying antique treasures, she thought it looked like it.
His Majesty the Emperor took a closer look, and found that this messy thing divided into squares of different sizes was indeed a bit like a bogu rack. but... ...
"Is there a rabbit squatting in the antique rack?" He asked, pointing to a grid.
Qingxi looked over and was dumbfounded, it was an adult...
"Meow!" His Excellency scratched His Majesty's sleeve and paw hard. Now it hates people mentioning rabbits the most, and it always reminds it of the terrible experience of being entangled by rabbits before.
Poor His Majesty's big sleeves were just scratched into strips of cloth.
Looking at her daughter again, she was so wronged that she threw away the painting and ran away: "Father is a scoundrel!"
She actually said that the cat she drew was a rabbit! Obviously, the mother and concubine said that the painting looks very similar!
His Majesty the Emperor: "..."
Don't, girl! Let's come back and re-evaluate, shall we? I apply to rewind...
Concubine Shen watched the whole process from the sidelines, gloating and threw a sentence at him: "You are the one who provokes you, you are responsible for coaxing."
The little girl's family is the most difficult to coax, fellow Taoist, please go away.
The author has something to say: Thanks to Landmine: Gardenia Blossom x2, Liuyao x1, Passing by in a hurry x1
Thank you for the Rocket Launcher: Dark Nine x2, Not Violating the Mandate of Heaven x1
Thanks for the nutrient solution: Gardenia blooms +80, not against the destiny +10, Ke Keke +5, He Laiyu Yuqing +1, Jin Yeweiyang +20, wsllllly +5, "" +10, Ah Man +15 , Cute girl. +2, Longevity +19, Sweet Dreams +2, Scented Tea Tree +10, "" +2