Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Aunt Chen went to An Lingrong's room to get Juqing, the maidservant she had brought back from Concubine Shen, and explained the palace rules to An Lingrong: "In this palace, all those below the rank of concubine are called mistresses, and they do not have the qualifications to live in the main hall of a palace, manage the servants of the palace, or be mistresses."

"The highest-ranking lady in the Yanxi Palace is Concubine Jin, and Concubine Jin has been granted the residence in the main hall of the Yanxi Palace by the Emperor. This means that Concubine Jin's position as a concubine is confirmed, and she can also be called "Niangniang" in private."

"But the title of empress can only be used legitimately by those who are concubines or above. It is also legitimate for empresses who are concubines to be in charge of the power of a palace."

"My lady, you have made two serious mistakes in the two days since you entered the palace. First, you paid your respects to other new ladies before paying your respects to the Empress. Second, you accepted the maid that Concubine Shen brought out from Xianfu Palace."

"In this harem, only the Empress and Consort Hua, who has been personally allowed by the Emperor to assist the Empress in managing the harem, are qualified to mobilize the palace maids and eunuchs."

An Lingrong was so ashamed and angry at Aunt Chen's words that her face turned red. She originally thought that it was Concubine Jin who asked Aunt Chen to cause trouble for her, but after listening to Aunt Chen's words, she realized that it was she who made the big mistake and Concubine Jin just didn't make up for it for her.

An Lingrong was panic-stricken, but Baojuan, who was standing behind her, was enlightened. It was true that she was a thorn planted by the Queen next to An Lingrong, and she had indeed wanted to control the young lady before, but this did not mean that her character was low.

Baojuan quickly stood up and knelt in front of Aunt Chen to plead for herself and An Lingrong: "Yesterday, when the young lady first entered the palace, she had a conflict with Concubine Xia. She was panicked for a moment, so she thought of visiting Concubine Wan, whom she knew."

"I was so busy trying to appease the young lady that I forgot the rules. Aunt Chen will punish me."

"Miss Juqing was forced upon our young master by Concubine Shen, and Concubine Wan also agreed. Our young master is a quiet person, but Concubine Shen and Concubine Wan persuaded her with just a few words, so she brought Juqing back..."

Ju Qing had already knelt down. She knew that she would not be able to survive today. The best outcome would be to be sent back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If things went wrong, she might be driven out of the palace directly. Although she had relatives at home, none of them were good people. It would be better for her to die if she fell into those people's hands!

Ju Qing didn't care about much anymore. She knelt down in front of Aunt Chen and pulled Aunt Chen's skirt to beg for mercy: "Aunt, please have mercy. I am just a servant, and Lady Shen is the lady of the noble family. How can I refute the decision she made?"

Of course, Aunt Chen knew that Juqing was pitiful, but this matter was not a big deal, but it was not a small matter either. After all, the Queen did not care about the matter. However, Concubine Hua was very happy to use Juqing to intimidate the newlyweds.

Of course An Lingrong wanted to plead for mercy, but she didn't know how to say it. She could only repeat a few words that Concubine Wan and Concubine Shen were doing this for her own good, which made Baojuan and Juqing very disappointed.

Aunt Chen said directly to Baojuan, "You can't persuade the young lady. You can't continue to sit in this position as a maid of the first rank. You should be demoted to a maid of the second rank and Baoque should be promoted."

Then he turned to An Lingrong and said, "It doesn't matter that the young lady didn't bring anyone into the palace. Baojuan was demoted today because she didn't follow the rules. Anyway, she is still serving you. You can find a suitable opportunity to promote Baojuan in the future."

An Lingrong agreed timidly, which made Aunt Chen feel a pang in her heart.

Aunt Chen took Juqing and took her leave, then turned around and went to Jingren Palace to ask for an audience with the Queen. She had said that it was the Queen's responsibility to transfer the palace maids and reward and punish the concubines. Even though the Queen no longer had the power in the palace, the title was there. Besides, it was Yi Xin who ordered them to see the Queen herself. Aunt Chen thought that Yi Xin was from the Fucha clan, and she might have some tacit understanding with the Ulanara clan, so she followed Yi Xin's advice.

The Queen was puzzled as to why the head aunt of the Yanx Palace suddenly came to find her with a palace maid. However, she thought that something must have happened in the Yanx Palace. But no matter what, she could use this opportunity to establish her authority, and maybe even strike a blow against Concubine Hua and Yi Xin.

When she came before the Queen, Aunt Chen replied, "This maid is a second-class maid in Xianfu Palace's Shen Guiren's household. According to An Ying, Shen Guiren gave this maid to An Yingren in Suiyuxuan after she heard that An Yingren did not have a personal maid in the palace."

"When Concubine Jin saw that a maid who looked unfamiliar had come to the Yanxi Palace, she asked me to go and ask about it. After asking, she found out that Concubine Shen had actually violated the palace rules and gave the maid from the Xianfu Palace to An Da Ying."

"Noble Lady Jin is not qualified to manage the Yanxi Palace, so she asked me to bring this maid to the Empress for her disposal."

Although the Queen secretly kept an eye on Zhen Huan in Sui Yuxuan and did not let off any slack towards Concubine Shen, she had no idea that Shen Meizhuang had the audacity to give the maid from Xianfu Palace to An Lingrong from Yanxi Palace!

Although the Queen was somewhat dissatisfied that she did not have any evidence against Yi Xin, it was good to be able to use this opportunity to establish her authority, so the Queen did not make things difficult for Aunt Chen, and did not punish Ju Qing too much because of her crying. However, Ju Qing was indeed sent back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to learn the rules again.

Then, Concubine Jing of Xianfu Palace was reprimanded by the Queen for not being able to discipline her servants, while Yi Xin was praised by the Queen for being well-behaved, which attracted a wave of hatred. After Concubine Hua got the news, she directly asked Songzhi to confine Concubine Shen, Concubine Wan, and Concubine An to house arrest for two months, and made them copy the palace rules a hundred times, and also reprimanded Concubine Jing.

She was not in a hurry to provoke Yi Xin, but it was inevitable that Yi Xin would bear a grudge against her.

In the end, the Queen, thinking of Shen Meiyu and Zhen Huan who had just entered the palace, sent word that Zhen Huan's small group of three should be confined to the palace after the newcomers had met her. In this way, she won the favor of the newcomers and established herself as a virtuous person by stepping on Concubine Hua.

Although Concubine Xia had a quarrel with An Lingrong and even pulled the Queen to step on Concubine Hua in front of Concubine Hua's confidant, Concubine Hua had been eyeing her for a long time. However, since she did not make any mistakes on the surface, Concubine Hua was just waiting for an opportunity to deal with her in the future.

After learning that Xia Dongchun and An Lingrong were both sent into the Yanxi Palace by Concubine Hua, Yi Xin also began to hate Concubine Hua.

For the following time, the Yanx Palace was as quiet as a chicken. Yi Xin thought that at most, Hua Fei would make a few sarcastic remarks to her when she met the Queen. After all, everyone knew that Hua Fei wanted to dominate the Emperor alone, and it would be best if the Emperor would only look at her from then on. However, she did not expect to be provoked by Shen Meiyu and Zhen Huan from the very beginning.

Yi Xin and Noble Lady Bolkigit were pushed aside by Shen Meiyu and Zhen Huan. The two of them stood in the first row and started chatting as if no one was around.

Nobleman Borkigit pretended not to see it, and Yi Xin herself didn't care about the rules of standing, but she had to consider Fucha's face.

Yi Xin asked Shen Meizhuang directly, "Does Concubine Shen think that I, a noble lady with a title, should be ranked below Concubine Wan? Or is Concubine Shen dissatisfied with the position and title of Jin that the Emperor has given me?"

Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan then realized the problem with their positions. Zhen Huan quickly stepped back, bowed to Yi Xin and Noblewoman Bolkigit, and tried to smooth things over by saying, "It's all my fault. I was careless for a moment. I was so engrossed in chatting with Sister Mei that I didn't notice the problem with my position..."

Yi Xin interrupted her directly and said, "I'm afraid it's not a matter of momentary negligence."

"The Queen and Concubine Hua punished you yesterday. Why did you make the same mistake again today?"

"You are probably the only ones who were punished for violating palace rules before they even had an audience with the Queen. If this matter spreads to the previous dynasty, the court officials will think that all the newcomers in this term are as ignorant of the rules as you are. They may even criticize the Queen and Concubine Hua for not managing the harem well."

Jianqiu, who was watching the fun on the side, turned around and told the Queen when she heard this. The Queen and Jianqiu did not deliberately plan the positioning issue, they just did not take the initiative to remind Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang when they stood in the wrong position.