The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The next day.

Xie Yuzhen got up early to see off the emperor who was going to court, and then began to dress up seriously.

According to the rules of this dynasty, a new concubine should pay her respects to the empress on the second day after entering the palace. The palace rules do not stipulate that a new concubine must pay her respects to the empress before she can sleep with the emperor, but most of the time, this is done, and it has almost become an unwritten rule.

However, it was not the first time that Xie Yuzhen broke their so-called conventions. She wore a gorgeous palace dress, combed her hair into a flamboyant flying fairy bun, and embellished her thick black hair with golden pearls and ruby ​​flowers. Gem earrings with long tassels hung from her earlobes, dangling next to the collar that revealed her slender neck, making her skin look even more radiant, her neck long and slender, and her beauty beyond compare.

On the dressing table was a fine crystal mirror imported from the West, which could reflect a person in every detail. Xie Yuzhen looked at the charming and seductive face of the woman in the mirror, and thought of herself who was once considered a vixen and was secretly ostracized by her husband's family even though she had no makeup on.

How funny.

The whole family knew that Zhou Ting's heart was not with them, and they only married her because she was the easiest to control.

Zhou Ting had an affair with his mistress outside and had two children with her. When he returned home, he treated Xie Yuzhen like a servant. When Xie Yuzhen asked for a divorce and went home, he directly dragged her to bed and made her pregnant with Dalang despite her resistance.

Zhou's family wanted Zhou Ting to "calm down", so they asked him to marry Xie Yuzhen; Zhou Ting also wanted Xie Yuzhen to calm down, so he took it upon himself to think that as long as he took her body and made her pregnant, she would obediently act as a "good wife" to help him deal with his mother, thus protecting the concubine.

The whole family knew about Zhou Ting's little plot, but it was Xie Yuzhen who was told by everyone to behave herself.

Just because she was too beautiful.

Afraid that she would not be able to keep her husband because he was away from home for a long time.

Whenever he thought of this, Xie Yuzhen couldn't help but want to laugh. It turned out that they also knew that what Zhou Ting did to him was not something a human could do. It turned out that they were very clear that they had been let down and treated harshly.

"...When my lady is dressed like this, she is so beautiful that even a fairy can outshine her." Xia Zhi pinned a velvet flower on her hair and said happily with his eyes squinted.

Xie Yuzhen came back to his senses: "It is indeed beautiful, all thanks to our Miss Xia Zhi's cleverness and dexterity."

Xia Zhi blushed when he was praised: "My wife is naturally beautiful."

Xie Yuzhen stood up and waved his hands: "Okay, stop praising me. There will probably be trouble to deal with later. Chunfen will stay in the building to guard it. Don't let people from outside sneak in. Take a few obedient people to supervise each other. Except for going to the imperial kitchen to get food, don't let them go out at will."

"Yes, ma'am." Chunfen said, "I watched coldly yesterday, and it didn't seem like those two eunuchs had anyone behind them. Baoxi is the godson of eunuch An in the Imperial Study, and Baolu is a slave trafficked from Western Xinjiang to the capital. He has no relatives or friends in the capital, and was assigned to us only after paying money."

"Among the palace maids, Xiaoxi used to help out in the imperial kitchen. Xu Sishan from the Imperial Kitchen Department took good care of her. However, Xu Sishan is old and will soon leave the palace to recuperate. He must have inquired about my wife's situation in advance and sent her here to seek a safe place."

"I can't see much wrong with the remaining few in such a short time. Only the one named Suizhu seems to be restless. She even tried to sneak out with an excuse last night, but she was watched by the servants and failed."

Xie Yuzhen nodded: "Keep watching."

It took less than two quarters of an hour to get from Shouning Palace to Kunning Palace where the queen lived, but when Xie Yuzhen arrived, several concubines had already arrived outside Kunning Palace.

Those standing at the door waiting were the newly selected concubines. They had to wait until everyone was gathered and the time came before they could enter Kunning Palace to pay their respects to the queen.

Leading the group was an unfamiliar concubine, wearing a light-colored Liuxian skirt, with her hair adorned only with silver hairpins and jade ornaments. Behind her followed two new concubines whom Xie Yuzhen had met during the selection process.

The strange concubine nodded indifferently at Xie Yuzhen who saluted her, and said nothing. She left the two new concubines following behind her and went into the palace first.

The two new concubines looked slightly uneasy. They looked at the back of the palace concubine, then at Xie Yuzhen not far away, and stared at each other. Finally, they came over shyly, knelt down and said, "I am Hong, the concubine of Zhaohua Palace. I am honored to meet Lady Xie."

Hong Yu'nu lowered her eyes, and after paying her respects, she immediately stood up and hurried to the side of the new concubines who had arrived earlier, for fear of offending Xie Yuzhen.

The remaining new concubine said timidly, with an embarrassed look on her face: "I am Liu, the imperial concubine of Zhaohua Palace. Please thank the beauty for her good night."

Liu Yu'nu's voice was soft, and she seemed to be extremely afraid of Xie Yuzhen.

Xie Yuzhen curled his lips in his heart, then smiled and nodded.

She took Xia Zhi's hand and walked slowly towards the new concubines. Liu Yu Nu followed with her head down. Xie Yuzhen didn't pay much attention to her. Instead, he looked up at Meng Ronghua in the crowd, who seemed to want to avoid him but couldn't hide the jealous look he gave him.

"Why is Meng Ronghua's eyes and mouth crooked so early in the morning? Could it be that he didn't sleep well last night and got a cold?"

Meng Ronghua subconsciously covered her face with a handkerchief. She was angry and jealous last night and could not sleep well. When she woke up this morning, her eyes were still swollen: "Thank you, my beauty. I just have a little problem of being addicted to bed, so I couldn't sleep well."

Although she was arrogant and hated Xie Yuzhen, she would not cause trouble at the critical moment of meeting the Queen.

Seeing Meng Ronghua backing down, Xie Yuzhen did not press him any further. He just thought that this girl from the Meng family still had some brains left and was not completely stupid.

Another quarter of an hour later, the new concubine and her companions had arrived. A female official from Kunning Palace came out and bowed respectfully, saying, "Ladies, please follow me in."

The new concubines stood in two rows. Xie Yuzhen and Wen Baolin had the highest ranks so they stood at the front of the queue, one on the left and one on the right.

They showed their best manners, their footsteps were so soft that they were almost inaudible, with only the pleasant sounds of the colorful rings and hairpins gently colliding with each other.

Ten new concubines entered the hall, bowed with their brows lowered, and said, "Greetings to the Queen, may you live a long and prosperous life and enjoy endless happiness."

The female voices fell in unison, and the hall was silent for a moment. Xie Yuzhen then heard a dignified and steady voice saying, "Stand up, and be seated."

Xie Yu was really surprised. He thought the Queen would say a few words to everyone and emphasize the palace rules or something. He didn't expect that the audience would just be a greeting and end with the bestowing of seats.

Sitting in his own seat, Xie Ruizhen was finally able to look up at the beautiful girls in the hall.

The Queen, wearing a palace dress embroidered with a phoenix, sat at the top of the table. On her left was Concubine Deng, whom she had met during the review and selection process. She was looking at her new "sisters" with a gentle expression.

And at the lower right of the queen, a beautiful woman with several pink peonies of different shades in her hair was gazing at Xie Yuzhen with a sharp gaze.

Xie Yuzhen was stunned for a moment and smiled at the woman.

This woman was Concubine Song Shufei who was the first to test her.