C64

"Empress, the young mistresses of the various palaces have arrived." A young eunuch standing at the door reported in a soft voice.

The curtains were only half drawn, and the sunlight shone through the light green curtain, causing the room to be filled with fragmented pieces of light. The empress sat in front of a delicate bronze mirror, having her maid comb her makeup.

"Imperial Concubine Lian, have you arrived?"

"Imperial Consort Lian hasn't arrived yet."

"Oh …" The empress's expression did not change, her tone was even more indifferent as she took the Eight Treasures Wishful Coiling Phoenix hairpin from the palace maid. She signaled for the emerald jade peony to stand up and say, "Go!"

Although they were not young anymore, and had been meticulously dressed up, they were all in a gorgeous mood. The Emperor had been in a good mood lately, and even the women of the imperial harem were happy, not to mention there was joy in the palace, no matter how they dressed, they could not overdo it at this time. Of course, there were different rules of different ranks, so no one could act rashly.

Since she hadn't seen her concubines for some time, it wouldn't be good for her to not show herself when the Crown Prince was getting married. However, she was dressed in a low key attire, only wearing a dark blue jacket with a phoenix tail dress of the same colour, a bright yellow waistcoat, and a snow-white fox fur neck. Her hair was tied up high in the clouds, and she only had two jade hairpins in her hair.

"Greetings to the empress, the empress is extremely fortunate!" As soon as the empress took her place, all the concubines bowed in unison.

The Queen smiled and said amiably, "Sisters, there's no need to be so courteous. Take your seats."

When the imperial concubine paid her respects to the empress, there was actually no difference between that and the imperial court. However, the imperial concubine discussed state affairs, while the imperial harem was filled with trifling matters. There were many small matters that were managed by women, and some matters needed the empress's approval or judgement.

"Empress, it will be less than two months after Duke Ming took on the secondary wife. This time, the Empress's body is unwell, and chenqie arranged the marriage between the crown prince and Princess Nanke, fortunately not a failure in her mission. Imperial Concubine Lian hopes that chenqie can continue to arrange the marriage between Prince Ming and Princess Nanke.

Consort Xian was in a dilemma right now. To be honest, with the empress and imperial concubine around, her presence in charge would inevitably make her a pancake, and there were many things she would find difficult to please. She didn't want to continue, but if she rejected Imperial Concubine Lian in one go, it would be a sin for her to do so.

The empress of course understood the meaning behind her words, but didn't directly answer. She only glanced at the crowd before asking, "Imperial Concubine Lian hasn't come yet. Is there anything you need?"

"Imperial Concubine Lian …" The female official beside him was about to answer.

The eunuch's voice came from outside the door, "Imperial Concubine Lian has arrived!"

The lower ranked concubines naturally stood up to welcome her. With the sound of a ring of jingling bells, a strange fragrance wafted in from the door. Imperial Concubine Lian's gorgeous palace attire, which was second only to her phoenix coronet, caused everyone's eyes to light up.

After her phoenix eyes swept across the crowd, she bowed towards the empress and said, "Greetings to big sister. We servants have nothing better to do today. We came late due to delaying the hour."

"Sister, please take a seat." Although Imperial Concubine Lian's outfit was rather eye-catching, the empress was still calm on the surface, with a charming smile on her face.

"Sister came at just the right time, and I've just talked about Duke Ming's wife, which hasn't been for two months. Although this proves that Wang already has a main wife, we were unable to do our best when we weren't in the palace. We should arrange things properly when we meet."

Elder sister, thank you for your concern. I'm not good at these things either. For this crown prince's wedding, I'll be the one looking forward to it, so I'll have to trouble the Consort Concubine Xian to help out. Imperial Concubine Lian looked at Xian Fei with a smile in her eyes.

Consort Xian quickly replied, "Elder Sister Cheng, you think too highly of me. Chenqie is really afraid that I haven't done well enough."

How could that be? Sister Xian's talents aside from Sister Queen are the ones that I admire the most. If my sister says she can't do it well, then who else can I rely on?" I can't be so thick-skinned as to ask the empress sister for help!

The empress laughed, "Logically speaking, it is only right that I take care of Duke Ming's happy occasion when he returns to the palace, but he doesn't have the strength to do so. Even though it is better to see him, the doctor has instructed me not to trouble myself with it.

The Concubine Xian knew that there was nothing she could do, so she stood up and said, "Chenqie shall obey!"

Consort Liang and Consort Su also recognized him at the same time, but their expressions were different. Consort Su did not have many expressions on her face. Consort Lian, on the other hand, gave Imperial Concubine Lian a friendly smile.

"Esteemed empress, it seems like the emperor hasn't had a chance to change his brand for some time. He's been staying in the Blue Lotus Palace for quite some time now, so what hope do we have?" one of the imperial officials suddenly asked.

Without waiting for the empress's reply, she rushed to say, "This is all due to the favor of Your Majesty. I, Lian Gui Lian, have only spent ten years in the outside world before this. I also originally said that I cannot break the rules, but I cannot refuse the emperor's favor. The Japanese palace is currently trying to persuade Your Majesty."

"Mm, concubine, how could Imperial Concubine Lian not know the rules of the palace when you came to the palace late? The emperor values friendship, and everyone should be more considerate. People often say that there are three thousand harem, but our palace only has thirty-six people."

"Empress Dowager is right, Imperial Concubine Big Sis has only just returned. It's only right for you to spoil her for half a year. Even if Imperial Concubine Big Sis hasn't returned, it would be rare for us to meet Her Majesty. It doesn't make any difference." The Concubine suddenly said sarcastically.

Everyone went silent. This was also the truth. Although there weren't many concubines, the emperor was a nurturing woman. He only flipped the signboard once every two to three days, with some not meeting the emperor for a year or so.

"Now that the crown prince and Duke Ming are both in the palace and have married several concubines, we can be considered of the older generation. We should act as role models for our children, what's the point in being jealous?" Imperial Concubine Su's quick words broke the silence.

Everyone hastened to chime in, "That's right, that's right. As long as the Emperor is healthy, he's better than anything."

"We had nothing to look forward to in the first place, our palace has fewer people, but that's all because we're useless. I think the empress and imperial concubine should be the ones to give the crown prince and Duke Ming more rooms, so we can also give the imperial family some free time to prosper." Consort De who had been quiet for a long time finally spoke up.

The empress nodded. "I'm actually looking forward to hugging my royal grandson, but unfortunately, the children aren't able to live up to my expectations. I can't rush this either."

"That's right! If it wasn't for me urging him to not even marry a secondary wife so quickly, who knows when he would have gotten such good fortune. " Imperial Concubine Lian's heart was also filled with desolation. She knew that the emperor yearned for his grandson the most. She didn't know how many times he had urged Murong Ming on.

"This time, the younger brother, the Duke of Qin, is leading the way. The imperial concubine is very happy with the news — the emperor is very happy to report it to the palace. I'm afraid there's already several carriages that have been gifted to the Duke's estate." Imperial Concubine Fu said with envy.

The Consort then added, "That's right. It's a pity that the Duke of Qin lives outside the palace. It's not convenient for us to leave the palace, and right now, it's not the time for the imperial concubine to come visit us. It depends on who can deliver his grandson."

"It's a joyous occasion for us in the palace. With the Crown Prince and Duke Ming married, there will definitely be more good news in the future." Imperial Concubine Su smiled gently.

Imperial Concubine Lian's eyelids twitched as she smiled unnaturally. According to her information, that stubborn son of hers rarely went to his wangfei's house. It seemed that she would have to force him again.

The empress looked indifferent. Although the crown prince was her biological daughter, he had distanced himself from her somehow. Although he had agreed to all the orders, it all depended on himself. She was getting tired of the fight. She just wanted to know if Qian Yulian was willing to back down.

In the pavilion outside the city, the autumn wind blew and the fallen leaves fell.

The Crown Prince and Lu Shiyun were personally seeing Lu Shixun off. It was not like everyone had expected it to be. On the contrary, it was relaxed, cheerful, and full of smiles.

"Thank you, Your Highness. This prince will definitely report Bei Heng's sincerity when he returns to the palace." Lu Shixun laughed. He seemed to be very satisfied with Mu Rong Qing's actions.

Lu Shiyun smiled gently and said, "Third brother, you can go back without worry. Be careful on the road."

"Un, with the Crown Prince protecting you, I am a lot more at ease, but I still have to get along with the other sisters. Third Brother will be waiting for your good news in the Southern Champion City." Lu Shixun smiled.

Lu Shiyun immediately lowered her head in embarrassment. Although Mu Rong Qing had treated her quite well in the past few days, they hadn't broken through. Of course, this wasn't something that she could tell others, at least in the eyes of others, the crown prince had been staying at the Xi Yun Palace for the past few days.

Mu Rong Qing gently held onto Lu Shiyun's hand and smiled brilliantly. "Third Imperial Brother, don't worry. With how gentle Yun Er is, I will definitely treat her well."

"I believe in His Highness the Crown Prince. However, Yun'er has distanced herself from the Southern Champion, so she has no one to rely on in the palace. In the future, I still need to rely on Your Highness's care." The harem had always been the most dangerous place. Although he had only seen the Crown Princess once, he knew that she was not someone to be trifled with. She was easy to deal with and hard to guard against in the dark, so he was still a bit worried.

However, his worries were of no use. He could only speak his mind, and continue on his path by relying on Lu Shiyun's wisdom.

After sending off Jun Qianli, they finally parted ways. Finally, they sent off Lu Shixun. Mu Rong Qing and Lu Shiyun sat in a carriage as they returned to the city. Mu Rong Qing's expression was indifferent, not saying a single word.

After they arrived at the capital, Mu Rong Qing said softly, "Yun'er, go back to the palace. I still have matters to attend to at the Mansion of the Duke of Qin."

"Yes." Lu Shiyun just nodded and did not ask why she could not go with her. The imperial concubine was delighted, and it was only right that the crown prince would bring her along to congratulate him. However, the crown prince did not bring her along, so she could not ask too much.