flstandardbreds Chapter 125 Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet
Chapter 125 Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet
In the royal garden.
All the six palaces are here today, as well as the mistresses and young ladies of the higher-ranking families in Shengjing City.
Outside Xinqing Palace is the Imperial Garden. At that moment, butterflies fly through the peonies, and the fragrance of pink flowers wafts in the air. It is no exaggeration to say that all the flowers are in full bloom.
When Liu Xu entered the palace for the first time and witnessed the grand scene, she realized that all her previous efforts were in vain. To get into the top upper class, she needed to have status and position.
Pei Yan had recently gathered a group of craftsmen and secretly stationed them deep in the mountains a hundred miles outside the city. Following the blueprints she had provided, the craftsmen had begun secretly crafting firearms.
Now, she is considered the most popular person in front of the imperial concubine.
The imperial concubine took her with her wherever she went.
When Su Li and his party arrived at the Imperial Garden, Liu Xu was accompanying the Imperial Concubine to enjoy the flowers. There were also many imperial concubines, noble ladies, and young women in the garden, including Nie Yunrou and Xu Qing.
As soon as the eldest princess entered the venue, many people came up to pay their respects to her.
Liu Xu saw Su Li and the Ninth Princess following behind the eldest princess and looked at them coldly.
After paying respects to the Imperial Concubine, she affectionately pulled Su Li to her side and said with a smile:
"Li'er, why did you come at this time? I was just talking to them about you."
"Ever since you and Heng'er moved into the General's Mansion, you've been living in seclusion, and it's been hard to get any news from you. Fortunately, I saw that you looked well today, so I think Heng'er is doing well too."
As he said this, he held Su Li tightly.
The eldest princess, smiling brightly, brought Xi Jie'er with her, and also brought Song Ci and the Ninth Princess forward. In an instant, everyone surrounded the imperial concubine, and Liu Xu was squeezed out of the crowd by Fang Gu and Ling Rong.
"Ah!" Liu Xu cried out softly and almost lost her footing.
Xu Jing, who was not far away, subconsciously gave her a hand. Nie Yunrou also asked nervously, "Sister Liu, are you okay?"
Liu Xu bit her teeth lightly and shook her head.
At this time, the eldest princess turned her head as if she had just seen willow catkins and asked:
"Whose lady is this? How come I've never seen her before?"
Concubines are not qualified to enter the palace alone, let alone on an occasion like today? When the eldest princess asked this, the expressions of everyone in the imperial garden instantly changed.
The girls naturally knew Liu Xu's identity. The incident in the Marquis' Mansion not long ago became known to everyone. Everyone knew that after the Ninth Princess married into the Marquis' Mansion, she could not tolerate the eldest son of a concubine and used some means to kill him.
The imperial concubine issued an imperial decree to reprimand her and also sent a nanny to educate her.
It was also seen that the imperial concubine intended to promote Liu Xu. Although she didn't know the reason, she turned a blind eye to Liu Xu's attendance today.
Hearing the eldest princess's question in person, everyone looked over here with a look of anticipation.
Liu Xu blushed when asked and said:
"I am from the Marquis of Jinyuan's mansion."
"Marquis Jinyuan's Mansion? That must be the Gu family from the third branch. But why do I remember that the Gu family doesn't look like this?"
Liu Xu knew that the princess was deliberately making things difficult for her, so she looked up at the imperial concubine. However, the imperial concubine was concentrating on appreciating the flowers with Su Li, and seemed not to notice what was happening here at all.
In the crowd, Gu pushed through the crowd upon hearing this and came forward, bowing to the Princess and saying:
"Your Highness, are you calling me? I'm here! Here!"
Walking to the front, Gu glanced at Liu Xu, her eyes full of disdain and contempt, and said:
"To answer Her Royal Highness, this is the Third Young Master's concubine Liu, not a concubine. Princess, don't listen to her nonsense."
"Auntie?"
The eldest princess sneered, "Why? Is the Marquis' Mansion so unruly? A concubine dares to show up in public. Do you think my ninth sister doesn't exist? You have absolutely no respect for your fellow men!"
The Marquis' wife, who had been cowering in the crowd, could no longer hide and had to come out and say:
"Princess, calm down. It's your fault for not disciplining her properly. I will send her back now."
Liu Xu was very upset because the princess had figured out her identity. Seeing that the imperial concubine remained silent and she did not dare to retort, she could only bow angrily and prepare to follow the palace maid.
Over there, the imperial concubine saw that it was difficult for Liu Xu to leave the stage, so she spoke slowly:
"Okay, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, we should celebrate with the people, why bother with so many trivial matters."
Hearing the imperial concubine say this, the other ladies also echoed her.
Willow Catkins stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Marquis's wife felt so embarrassed that she turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
The eldest princess smiled, turned around and pulled the ninth princess aside, saying:
"Ninth sister, you are more fortunate than your elder sister. You married into the Marquis's mansion and are loved by your husband. You have such a capable concubine outside the mansion to help you run your business. Even the Imperial Concubine personally sent female officials to teach you and help you take care of the affairs of the inner chamber. If you don't know, you would think that the Imperial Concubine is the queen who rules the country, or even your biological mother!"
"Quick, stop looking so sad and thank the Imperial Concubine!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and beckoned the Ninth Princess over.
The Ninth Princess lifted her skirt and bowed reluctantly:
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Concubine."
The imperial concubine had a smile on her face, but a gloomy look could not be suppressed in the corners of her eyes. She looked at the ninth princess who was kneeling and the eldest princess who had a sarcastic look on her face for a long time without saying a word.
Everyone around pretended to be busy with their own things, but in fact they were all secretly watching what was happening here.
Firstly, Concubine Wen is not the empress, and secondly, she is not the biological mother of the Ninth Princess. It is really not her business to interfere in the affairs of the Ninth Princess and her husband's inner quarters.
Moreover, nine years ago, the Empress's family was exterminated. Everyone assumed that Concubine Wen, the most favored of the harem, would take over the imperial palace. But nine years later, even after Concubine Wen had been in sole control of the harem for so many years, the Emperor had yet to agree to make her Empress. This matter had always been a thorn in Concubine Wen's heart.
Everyone present knew it.
But the eldest princess dared to mock her.
The eldest princess's biological mother, Concubine Rong, died early. She was raised by the queen since she was a child and had a deep relationship with the queen and the eldest prince.
Looking across Daqi, only the always arrogant eldest princess dared to play tricks on Concubine Wen like this.
Seeing that the Ninth Princess was still dumbfounded with her knees bent, the eldest princess pulled her up and sighed softly:
"The Imperial Concubine is truly benevolent and compassionate. Not only is she kind to you, but she is also incredibly generous and kind to that humble concubine in the Marquis's mansion who ran away with someone without a matchmaker or betrothal. Not only did she not issue an imperial decree to reprimand her for bringing shame upon all women, she even kept this humble concubine by her side every day, praising her in every way."
"This princess must have a good talk with the emperor about this matter and ask him to reward the imperial concubine for being approachable and sharing joy with the people! If the emperor is so pleased, who knows, he might even reward you with the title of empress."
Concubine Wen's expression became increasingly gloomy, and the smile on her face could no longer be maintained. She clenched her fists and forced a laugh:
"Wei'er has been by my side since she was little. I love her like my own daughter. When I heard she had made a mistake, I couldn't help but blame myself for not teaching her well enough, which led to such a big mistake. A little girl's life was lost in vain. I sent someone to reprimand and teach her because I hoped she would correct her mistakes."
The Ninth Princess gritted her teeth and raised her eyes and said:
"Wei Er really doesn't know where she went wrong. Please teach her in person, Your Majesty."
She had been reprimanded by the Imperial Concubine and locked away in Fangfei Garden for days, without a single chance to defend herself. Today, she was filled with grievances and anger, and now, through the eldest princess, she finally let it out.