The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The next day it was the first day of October, the day to pay respects to the Kunning Palace.

It was a rare occasion for Xie Yu to get up early. After getting dressed, she still walked to Kunning Palace. When she arrived, the concubines in the main hall of Kunning Palace were almost all there.

After walking into the hall and finding his seat to sit down, Xie Yuzhen heard someone else coming in at the door. He looked up and saw that it was Concubine Song Shu, whom he had not seen for a long time.

The last time I saw her was during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Nearly two months have passed since then, and Concubine Song Shu has not left the palace. It is said that she is sick again. The emperor often stays in her palace. Counting the days, it is almost the same as Xie Yuzhen. However, later Xie Yuzhen pushed Xu Ronghua to the throne, and the two concubines who were unable to sleep with the emperor had to see the emperor less and less often.

When meeting Concubine Song Shufei today, Xie Yuzhen felt that the lady seemed to have used too much powder on her face. When she walked, her personal maid carefully supported her, and her steps were a little unsteady. When she sat down on the chair, she was also very cautious, and it seemed that she didn't have much strength in her body.

Playing with the jade bracelet on his wrist, Xie Wei sincerely wondered why Concubine Song Shu was so sick but still forced herself to come and pay her respects?

She was just thinking about it in her mind, but someone from above had already asked the question out loud.

"I heard that Concubine Shu was seriously ill. Today is not a solemn day. How come you came here when you looked weak?" The person who spoke was Concubine Li, who was always outspoken.

Concubine Song Shu glanced at her lightly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Concubine Li. My health has always been like this. Although the Empress has been kind enough to allow me not to pay my respects, I must not forget the rules."

Concubine Song and Concubine Ning were both allowed by the Queen herself not to come and pay their respects. The former was due to well-known health reasons, while the latter was because the Queen was willing to indulge her.

"Empress Shufei has been staying at home for a while now. I'm afraid she doesn't know that several major events have happened in the palace," Concubine Zhu interrupted with a smile.

Liu Shuyi was under house arrest, Qian Xianhui was sent to the cold palace, and Chen Guipin had always been a taciturn and unfavored person. Zhu Guipin calculated that she was the only one who could speak below the rank of concubine, so she spoke confidently: "First, a few sisters from Danzhu Kingdom and Silla Kingdom came, and then there was the new favorite, Sister Xu. I also heard yesterday that Wang Xianshi was pregnant, but it was a pity that she insisted on hiding it from herself, and the child was not saved..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Concubine Li looked over with some dissatisfaction: "I heard that Concubine Zhu's palace is very busy every day, how come she still has so much free time to care about other things?"

Concubine Li was more or less a concubine, and although she was a little more obedient to the favored concubine, she was not polite at all to Concubine Zhu, who was not as high in rank as herself and had long been out of favor: "As the head of a palace, you quarrel with the concubines below you every day, and you are not afraid of damaging your dignity, which shows that you are intolerant of others!"

She spoke quickly and urgently.

Xie Yuzhen originally wanted to speak after seeing Concubine Zhu finished speaking, but was interrupted by Concubine Li. At this moment, her face was not very good, and the look she gave Concubine Li was not very friendly.

"It's not that I want to make trouble with her. I just punished her slightly because she refused to obey my discipline." Concubine Zhu's face turned red and white.

She really wanted to control the two concubines in her palace, but she only knew some rough methods and could not really use violence against the concubines. Every time she wanted to teach Chen Cainu a lesson, she was always beaten back by her, and she got into trouble. Now, her jokes have spread outside the Zhaoyang Palace.

She glared at Chen Cainv who was sitting next to Xia Cainv, only to see the latter stuffing snacks into her mouth as if no one was around. This made Zhu Guipin even more angry - how on earth was this rude and unpresentable girl chosen? She was still acting like this in Kunning Palace, as if she had withheld her food in the past!

"Puff." Xie Yuzhen quickly raised his hand and covered the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.

Hearing the voice, Concubine Zhu looked towards her, and saw that it was Xie Yuzhen who was laughing. She then remembered the horrible words that this crazy woman had said to her in the Imperial Garden. She opened her mouth but could not say anything. In the end, she could only shake her handkerchief angrily and shrink back to her seat.

As they were talking, Concubine Ning unexpectedly came over. She brought a large group of people with her. It didn't look like she was here to pay her respects, but rather like she was gathering enough people to go somewhere to cause trouble. The expression on her face was not very pleasant.

With his excellent eyesight, Xie Yuzhen saw that the group of people were left outside the palace by Concubine Ning, and two of them seemed to be tied up.

This made Xie Yuzhen think of Shi Mang.

Shi Mang's surname was Gong and he was from Gongjia Village in the suburbs of Beijing.

The third princess's biological mother, Concubine Gong, also came from there. Concubine Gong died of complications during childbirth, so the third princess was raised by Concubine Ning.

Although based on Concubine Ning's daily behavior, she did not seem like someone who would harm a fetus, and she was close to the Queen and did not need to compete for the Emperor's favor, but Xie Yuzhen still did not trust her very much.

After learning about the connection between Shi Mang and the Third Princess, he also wanted to check if there was anything unusual in Concubine Ning's palace. Unfortunately, Cheng'an Palace was managed strictly by Concubine Ning, and he could not find a loophole to intervene.

But looking at Concubine Ning's current condition, it seems that the investigation has not led to her.

Not long after Concubine Ning arrived, the Queen came out.

She first glanced at Concubine Ning and sat down on the main seat: "Why is Concubine Shu here too? I heard that the imperial physician said you were very ill. Why did you force yourself to come here?"

Just as Concubine Song Shu was about to stand up, the Queen called Yunrong to hold her back, "Just sit down and answer."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty." Concubine Song Shu coughed softly, "I came here today, firstly to recognize the new sisters, and secondly, I heard about the regret of Concubine Wang, and I couldn't help but worry about her."

"Why bother making this trip? Why not ask them to go to Lefu Palace to pay you a visit?" The Queen couldn't help but sigh. "The matter of the king's selection of concubines... Although someone was behind it, it's her fault for being confused."

After that, the queen looked at the concubines and said, "I won't say any more nonsense. Now that everyone is here today, I can let the new concubines recognize themselves."

She looked at Gao Sheng, who bowed slightly, straightened his back and sang loudly: "Send Lady Zhang, Lady Shun, Jin Xiaoyuan, Lady Li Yu, and Lady Wu Cai to see you!"

It's only been a few months since the selection of the show, and five more have arrived. I wonder if someone's body can handle it, Xie Yuzhen thought boredly. After listening to the name roll, he felt something was wrong. There were two from Danzhu Kingdom and two from Silla, so where did this extra Concubine Zhang come from?

Not only her, the other concubines in the palace also noticed something was wrong.

Concubine Li couldn't help looking at the woman walking in front. She frowned and said, "This sister looks familiar. I wonder where she came from?"

Concubine Zhang had a baby face, almond eyes and a beautiful nose. She looked very cute and lovable. Upon hearing this, she first bent her knees and replied in a lively and cheerful tone: "To answer the question of Concubine Li, I was originally a palace maid serving tea in the imperial study."

Concubine Li subconsciously looked in the direction of Concubine Song Shu. Before Concubine Zhang, the only person in the palace who could be considered to be a palace maid was Concubine Song Shu.

Concubine Song Shu's face was cold, and she looked at Concubine Li indifferently: "I remember that Concubine Li's father was a fifth-rank official, right? You looked at me more for a beautiful lady Zhang, why don't you also calculate how many sisters in the palace have the same background as you, and then tell me how many times you need me to look at you?"