newbobooks Chapter 298 indeed harbors malicious intentions.
Chapter 298 indeed harbors malicious intentions.
Chapter 298 Indeed, he harbored malicious intentions.
Xie Jieyu's expression was extremely complex, showing both disappointment and resentment, but also a faint hint of surprise.
Consort Rong seemed to have known all along, and her expression did not change much. As for newcomers like Yun Yao who entered the palace at the same time, they could only hide their envy deep in their hearts and dared not even show the slightest disappointment.
Yun Yao looked cautiously at Consort Chun, her eyes filled with pleading.
Unfortunately, Consort Chun's gaze never fell on her.
Every time she went to Renming Hall to pay her respects, Consort Chun found the Empress's face the most unbearable sight, not to mention Consort Mei sitting opposite her. As a result, whenever she entered the hall, she would just stare blankly at the felt carpet beneath her feet, her eyes empty and her heart undisturbed.
Hua Yan was completely different from Consort Chun. From a young age, she was skilled at "observing people," and even without a teacher, she could see into people's hearts and understand human nature by capturing subtle expressions and movements.
Therefore, when the Empress finished reading the decree, her gaze swept over Consort Rong as if by chance, and the strange smile on her lips was completely noticed by Hua Yan.
Since the Empress made her move at the First Gathering Banquet, the inner palace has appeared calm on the surface, but no one knows what other tricks she has secretly used.
The Empress sat high on her throne, her gaze meeting the expressions of all the concubines. She instructed them, "Consort Guo and Consort Shen are pregnant. Consort Xie, you must take good care of them and ensure nothing goes wrong. Consort Chun has been managing the six palaces for a long time. You can go to Consort Chun's palace these next few days to familiarize yourself with the palace affairs."
Consort Xie rose to accept the order, and then smiled and bowed to Consort Chun: "I will definitely visit Consort Chun's palace frequently these next two days to seek her advice."
Consort Chun slightly raised her eyes and nodded silently.
Since her confinement was lifted, Qu Baolin had twice requested an audience with Consort Chun, but unfortunately, she was only able to enter the Huining Palace. Now, seeing Hua Yan also able to accompany Consort Chun to Changchun Garden, she felt envious and couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards Consort Chun.
But she dared not show it. Having lost Consort Chun as her backer, she often came to Renming Palace to pay her respects to the Empress these days, but no matter how attentive she was, the Empress never truly accepted her.
Yang Hui, feeling guilty, sat at the very end and never looked up. Seeing the silence in the hall, she dared not make a move.
Seeing that no one else was speaking, the Empress offered a few words of encouragement and then dismissed the crowd.
......
Although it had been more than two months since I left the palace, the affairs in the palace before the Mid-Autumn Festival were not complicated and could be handed over in less than half a day.
When Consort Xie arrived at Huining Palace, Consort Chun ordered Mengzhu to bring the account books from each palace for the most recent month.
Each palace had a fixed amount of expenses, except for Consort Guo and Consort Chun, who needed to take care of their pregnancies and required an extra 10% of their monthly supplements. Consort Chun did not hold back and explained everything clearly.
In addition to these duties, she also had to arrange monthly meals according to a set amount, manage the daily rewards and punishments of palace servants, and handle conflicts among the concubines in order to maintain order in the palace. Most importantly, on the day the Emperor returned to the palace from Changchun Garden, Consort Xie had to lead all the concubines to welcome him, and she also had to arrange a return banquet. In short, she was busy with all sorts of things.
Consort Xie carefully noted it down. Consort Chun then assigned Granny Kong to take her to meet with the female officials of the Four Departments and Six Bureaus in order to facilitate future actions.
After everything was settled, Consort Chun finally had some free time.
During this time, Donggua came to the study to confirm the menu with Consort Chun. Last night, Consort Chun served the Emperor in the Funing Palace, and the Emperor said that she would have lunch in the Huining Palace at noon today.
After finishing with the winter melon, Consort Chun asked, "Has Shu'er returned?"
Ruizhu shook her head and said, "They should still be in Dieqiong Pavilion at this time."
Consort Chun glanced at the sky, changed into a light summer dress, and was about to go out when she saw Xiao Yuanzi hurriedly arrive outside the palace.
"Your Majesty, the eunuch Jing sent word that His Majesty has urgent business to attend to and will not be coming for lunch."
Seeing that Xiao Yuanzi was hesitant to speak, Mengzhu gently urged, "Why are you holding back in front of Her Majesty? Just say what you have to say."
Xiao Yuanzi hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Sister Mengzhu, I was just thinking about how to bring this up. The person who came to deliver the message was Eunuch Zhang, who participated in the palace tour ceremony with me. Before he left, he reminded me that the Emperor... had just lost his temper and even smashed an inkstone."
Upon hearing this, Consort Chun frowned slightly. "After court today, which official did His Majesty meet with?"
"Lord Xu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Lord Yun, the Minister of Revenue. The two officials entered the Funing Hall half an hour ago, and they have not yet come out."
Consort Chun's heart tightened. "My uncle is here too... Could something have happened?"
......
Meanwhile, Hua Yan was visiting Consort Guo at Dieqiong Pavilion.
"Fanxue is mischievous, and Xiuyi keeping it by her side will eventually lead to some hidden dangers."
The cat that Hua Yan was holding in her arms was the same cat that Guo Xiuyi had brought from Cining Palace.
Even in Hua Yan's arms, Fanxue was restless, stretching out its paws and struggling. Hua Yan reached out and gently tapped its fluffy head.
Fanxue, a bully who preys on the weak, finally meowed after being hit more than a dozen times and obediently lay down, letting Huayan pet her.
"I'm not afraid to tell you, sister, but the reason we hired Fanxue was because we heard the Emperor liked cats. But she was taken by the Empress after only a few days..."
At this point, Guo Xiuyi gave a wry smile before continuing, "The imperial physician also reminded me that now that I'm quite far along in my pregnancy, I should stay away from it. But after taking care of it for so long, I've developed feelings for it and really can't bear to give it away."
Hua Yan smiled slightly, "If you can't bear to part with it, then keep it somewhere else."
At this moment, Shuyao led Chuntao into the hall. Chuntao bowed respectfully, pointed at Fanxue with her slender fingers, and said obediently, "Your Majesty, please leave it to this servant to take care of."
Seeing this, Guo Xiuyi nodded in satisfaction: "Chun Tao'er is steady and reliable, and coincidentally, she is also from Jinzhou. She is the person I trust most. Now that she is in charge of taking care of Fan Xue, I feel at ease."
Chun Tao carefully accepted it, her expression remaining unchanged, seemingly unaware of Guo Xiuyi's implied meaning.
When Shuyao brought over the basin of water, Huayan got up to wash her hands, and Lvliu bent down to clean the lint off her clothes.
"With Consort Chun and her sister about to leave the palace, I have a request. Imperial Physician Jian of the Imperial Medical Bureau is highly skilled, and I do not trust any of the other imperial physicians. I would like to ask Your Majesty to keep Imperial Physician Jian in the palace."
Hua Yan said calmly, "Her Majesty has already finalized the list of imperial physicians to accompany her. Physician He is traveling with Physicians Lu and Li, but Physician Jian is not on the list."
Guo Xiuyi straightened up and bowed to Hua Yan.
Hua Yan said calmly, "Why bother with such formalities? Since you sought her favor in the first place, she will naturally look after you."
She changed the subject, her tone turning slightly cold, "However, when Her Majesty is not here, Consort Xiu only needs to stay quietly in Dieqiong Pavilion to rest during her pregnancy. There is no need for her to interfere in Shujing Palace anymore."
Upon hearing this, Guo Xiuyi abruptly looked up at Hua Yan, her mind going completely blank.
While she was thinking of the unborn child, she did indeed harbor malicious intentions; Shen Jieyu's pregnancy was a thorn in her side.
Hua Yan stared at Guo Xiuyi, a hint of coldness creeping into her eyes. She sneered, "—Mixing musk into red beans and glutinous rice isn't exactly a clever trick. If Your Highness hadn't covered for you, do you think we wouldn't have been able to find out?"
Guo Xiuyi fell silent, as if frozen in place, unable to move.