sbdcsierra Chapter 208 Concubine Zhou's Provocation
Chapter 208 Concubine Zhou's Provocation
When Shen Qionghua heard the voice, she subconsciously smiled, and then a red figure came into her sight.
Luo Xiyao took Shen Qionghua's hand and said affectionately, "Qionghua, stay with me later. This is your first time officially entering the palace after being conferred a title. Don't let that ignorant person bully you."
"Some people always seem to stir up trouble, just like annoying flies. They're so annoying, but they don't even realize it."
As he spoke, he glanced sideways in the direction of Lin and Zhou Lingyi.
Everyone knew who these words were addressed to. In public, Lin's face turned pale and blue, but she couldn't say a word to argue.
The Marquis' Mansion has been demoted, and now is the time to be extremely cautious and not make any more mistakes, let alone going up against the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion which holds a large number of troops.
Besides, Princess Pingning did not mention anyone by name. If she argued, wouldn’t she be admitting it and contradicting herself?
After much consideration, Lin forced himself to swallow his anger.
Zhou Lingyi and Lin are indeed mother and daughter. They have similar thoughts. They hate each other to death, but their teeth are clenched tightly.
Luo Xiyao waited for a long time but saw that Lin and Zhou Lingyi had no reaction at all. She curled her lips in disappointment, and the restlessness in her heart completely disappeared.
She had thought that the Yongning Marquis' Mansion was very powerful, but it turned out that they were just bullies who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Seeing that the Qionghua family was easy to bully, they bullied the Shen family. But now in this situation, they dared not even fart.
She had originally wanted to vent her anger for the Shen family today. After the Yongning Earl's Mansion was demoted, it had been a secluded place. Today was the emperor's birthday, so she didn't want to take the initiative to cause trouble.
But if someone else quarreled with her, she would have every reason to teach the other person a lesson. Unfortunately, the man of the Earl of Yongning learned his lesson and did not fall for it.
Luo Xiyao sighed with regret, his eyes full of regret.
Shen Qionghua saw Luo Xiyao's eyes rolling around and knew what she wanted to do. She was touched and laughed a little, and a smile appeared on her face.
Luo Xiyao saw Shen Qionghua smile, but she still refused to let him off the hook. She tutted a few times, "Tsk~ It turns out it's not that she doesn't know herself, it's that she's just bullying the weak and afraid of the strong."
When these words were spoken, the ladies and young ladies who were at odds with the Yongning Marquis's Mansion could not help but chuckle.
Once there was one, there was a second. Several sneering sounds were heard in succession. Even the mother and daughter Lin, who had made up their minds to endure it, could not help it.
At this moment, a servant from the Queen's palace arrived and said, "The Queen has risen. Princesses, county ladies, ladies, please follow me."
In an instant, the expressions of ridicule, worry, or resentment on everyone's faces disappeared, changing into a unified look of respect. They followed the palace servant's footsteps in an orderly manner and headed towards the Queen's Fengyi Palace.
According to the custom of the emperor's birthday celebration of this dynasty, today the emperor will accept congratulations from the kings, adult princes, civil and military officials, and foreign envoys in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and then return to the Hall of Taiji to accept gifts from the empress, concubines, princesses, and underage princes.
While the emperor was receiving congratulations, the empress, princesses, underage princes, and the princesses, county ladies, and ladies who were qualified to enter the palace had to go to Fengyi Palace to pay their respects to the empress first.
After the court ceremony was over, the Queen led the concubines, princesses and underage princes to pay a visit to the Emperor.
Princesses, county ladies, and ladies were not qualified to meet the emperor. They could only wait in the designated place and be led to the banquet table by palace servants to take their seats before the banquet began.
Shen Qionghua and Luo Xiyao walked side by side towards Fengyi Palace.
After entering the hall, except for the Empress and Concubine Zhou, all the other concubines had arrived and were sitting on both sides of the main seat.
Shen Qionghua saw the fifth prince at a glance. He was standing obediently beside Shun Guipin, and was particularly eye-catching among the women.
The Fifth Prince naturally also saw Shen Qionghua and Luo Xiyao. He smiled and nodded at them, then looked away.
Shen Qionghua looked around but didn't see the two princesses. Luo Xiyao beside her seemed to know what Shen Qionghua was thinking and couldn't help but mutter, "Just wait and see, something strange is going to happen again."
What's going on?
What's going on?
Luo Xiyao raised her chin towards Concubine Zhou's seat, and Shen Qionghua immediately showed an understanding expression.
How could she forget this? In her previous life, after she married Xie Qian'an, Concubine Zhou was the same, competing with the Queen on every occasion.
It's so late now and no one has arrived yet. I guess they are waiting for the queen to come out first.
There was no room for so many people to sit in the room. The concubines could still get a seat, but the ladies who came to the palace with Shen Qionghua to pay their respects could only stand and wait.
Time passed slowly, and seeing that if they didn't start soon, the Queen and the concubines would be delayed in presenting their gifts to the Emperor, the Queen finally came out from the back hall accompanied by Princess Yongle.
"May the Empress be blessed with good health and happiness, and may Princess Yongle be blessed with good fortune!"
Shen Qionghua bowed with everyone else and knelt on the ground.
A gentle and dignified voice sounded from above, "Stand up!"
"Thank you, Queen!"
As everyone stood up, the eunuch at the entrance of the hall sang: "Empress Zhou has arrived! Princess Anle has arrived!"
Shen Qionghua looked up and saw Concubine Zhou walking in slowly with Nanny Gui's hand in hers, followed by Princess Anle.
Concubine Zhou was dressed extremely gorgeously today. She wore a seven-tailed phoenix crown on her head, and the gems inlaid on it sparkled in the sun. She was dressed in an apricot-red gold-woven dress, and the jade bracelets on her wrists and the earrings were all exquisite.
Concubine Zhou walked forward step by step and stopped three steps away from the queen.
They didn't notice it just now because they were far away, but now that they were standing together, the nine-tailed phoenix crown and the seven-tailed phoenix crown, bright red and magenta, were indeed almost the same at first glance.
With this outfit...it's obvious that Concubine Zhou wants to replace the Queen.
Anyone who is not blind can see the provocative intention of the imperial concubine.
The Queen and Concubine Zhou looked at each other and sparks flew.
The Queen said calmly, "Noble Concubine Zhou, you are finally here. You almost missed the time."
Concubine Zhou curled her red lips slightly, "I thought today was a good day for the Emperor, so I wanted to dress up nicely, but I didn't expect it to be a little late."
She placed her hands on her right side and saluted the queen, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Please forgive me for waiting for you." The arc of her kneeling was barely visible.
After saying this, without waiting for the Queen to speak, he withdrew his saluting hand and turned to face everyone.
Everyone knelt down and saluted, "May the Royal Concubine be blessed with good health and happiness, and may Princess Anle be blessed with good fortune!"
Concubine Zhou enjoyed the people's kneeling worship, smiled with satisfaction, and said, "Everyone stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Concubine!"
When everyone stood up, Concubine Zhou sat down without any hesitation.
When everyone was present, they began to pay their respects to the Queen according to the procedure, and everyone was in a state of turmoil.
After finally paying her respects, Shen Qionghua had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the empress sitting at the head of the table ask, "Where is Princess Jialin?"
Shen Qionghua and Luo Xiyao exchanged a quick glance before quickly stepping forward, kneeling on the ground and patting the ground with their heads. "To answer the Queen, I am Jialin."
The Queen, who was sitting at the head of the table, hummed calmly and said, "Raise your head so I can see."
Shen Qionghua raised her head upon hearing this, and heard a hint of smile in the Queen's voice, "What a rare beauty."
"I heard about your donations for disaster relief. It's truly rare for a girl like you to be so generous. Get up quickly."
"Thank you, Queen." Shen Qionghua stood up, but before she could even stand, she heard a slightly shrill voice: "Queen, if you only see her beauty, then you are really underestimating her."
Shen Qionghua looked in the direction of the voice and saw Concubine Zhou put down the teacup with a sneer, raised her eyebrows, and said arrogantly:
"Our newly appointed Princess Jialin is not only beautiful, but also very courageous!"