0p0 Chapter 475 [The Legend of Zhen Huan 10]
Chapter 475 [The Legend of Zhen Huan 10]
The day for paying an audience with the Queen soon arrived. Youyou chose a time that was neither too early nor too late, and got on a sedan chair and went to Jingren Palace.
When they arrived at Jingren Palace, it was neither too late nor too early. When the other concubines who had already arrived saw Youyou coming, they quickly stood up and saluted, shouting, "Greetings to the Empress Shufei. May the Empress Shufei be blessed with good health."
"No need to be polite." Youyou said, then walked to the second seat on the left and sat down.
Normally, Youyou should stand with the new concubines and wait to meet the empress. However, the emperor issued a decree the day before that Youyou did not need to kneel and kowtow like the other concubines. She only needed to offer a cup of tea.
After sitting for a while, the Queen finally arrived, but the first seat on the right was empty. Concubine Hua had not arrived yet. The Queen's face changed, but she smiled again and said, "All the palaces are here, right? Concubine Hua must have something to do and can't come. Let's not wait for her, let's get started."
At this time, the eunuch's shrill voice came from outside: "Empress Hua is here."
Hua Fei, wearing a gorgeous palace dress, held Song Zhi's hand, twisted her waist, and walked into the palace with three steps and three steps. With a bit of pride and arrogance on her face, she said softly: "I am a little late, I hope the Queen will forgive me. The emperor stayed at my place last night, and I helped him dress and wash this morning, so I am late, please don't blame me, Queen!"
Although the Queen was unhappy in her heart, she still maintained her dignity and elegance on the surface, and said with a smile: "It's okay, serving the Emperor is a big deal. Sister Hua Fei has worked hard, please take a seat quickly. The new sisters have been waiting for a long time."
Hua Fei nodded slightly, bowed to the Queen, and walked to her seat. She sat directly across from Youyou, and when she saw Youyou sitting opposite her, she raised her lips slightly and said with a hint of provocation: "Hey, isn't this our new concubine sister? Today is the day to meet the Queen, how can you be so ignorant of the rules and sit down directly?"
Youyou responded neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Sister Hua Fei, you don't know that I have received the emperor's order, so there is no need for me to kowtow with you sisters." After saying this, she smiled slightly, her eyes revealing confidence and determination.
"The Emperor is so good to my sister that I'm treated like this before I even sleep with him." Concubine Hua looked at the exquisite snacks in front of her and sneered with a hint of sarcasm and sourness in her tone.
Youyou just smiled and didn't respond to Hua Fei's words, because she knew that Hua Fei was very jealous, and the more she refuted, the angrier Hua Fei would be. So she chose to remain silent and let Hua Fei get bored.
Seeing that Youyou did not respond, Concubine Hua stopped talking and turned her gaze elsewhere, as if looking for the next target to vent her emotions.
At this time, the queen sitting in the first seat said, "Okay, now that everyone is here, let's start." After that, she glanced at Jianqiu beside her and signaled her to start presiding over the ceremony.
Jianqiu nodded in understanding, stood up, and shouted loudly: "Please start bowing to the queen, one bow! Two bows! Three bows! Stand up!" As Jianqiu finished speaking, the newly entered concubines stood up one after another and saluted the queen respectfully. They held a handkerchief in their right hand, waving it gracefully, like a lucky cat, and then slowly knelt down and bowed.
Then, the queen gently said: "After entering the palace, everyone should live in harmony, support each other, and serve the emperor together. You are all the emperor's concubines, and you must give birth to more children for the emperor. If anyone is pregnant, I will make the decision to promote her. I hope you can do your best and don't let the emperor down."
The newly entered concubines answered in unison: "Thank you, Queen." The voices were clear and pleasant, full of gratitude.
Then, Jianqiu spoke again: "Now, all concubines, please begin to pay respects to Empress Hua."
The newly arrived concubines immediately turned to face Concubine Hua and said in unison: "We, the concubines, greet Her Majesty Hua. May Her Majesty Hua be blessed with good health and longevity."
Concubine Hua looked at these newly arrived ladies with a hint of disdain in her eyes. She waved her hand casually and said, "Get up, I have nothing to say, as long as you don't act like Concubine Wan and Concubine Shen." After saying that, she raised a mocking smile.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Shen who was present turned pale instantly and her body trembled slightly, obviously she was frightened.
At this time, Jianqiu's voice sounded again: "The concubines of each palace pay their respects to Her Majesty Qi Fei."
The newly-entered concubines all said in unison: "We, the concubines, greet Her Majesty the Concubine Qi."
Concubine Qi sat there, glanced around, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. She held the teacup and slowly said, "The ladies in the palace are really pretty, but not everyone is like me, who gave birth to the Third Prince, and now the Third Prince has grown taller." As she spoke, she blew the tea in the cup gently.
The Queen smiled and said to Concubine Qi: "Concubine Qi, the Third Prince is one of the few princes of the Emperor who has grown up. You must take good care of him."
Concubine Qi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I know."
However, at this moment, Concubine Qi suddenly realized that she seemed to have forgotten to ask these new concubines to stand up. She slapped her head in surprise and blamed herself: "Look at my poor memory. The sisters are still bowing! Please stand up quickly."
Everyone responded in unison: "Thank you, Empress Qi."
Then, Jianqiu shouted again: "The ladies of each palace pay their respects to the Empress Shufei."
"I, your concubines, pay my respects to Her Majesty the Concubine Shu. May Your Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness."
"Get up quickly." said Youyou.
"By the way, Concubine Duan is not feeling well today, so she has asked for leave. Jianqiu, does the Queen Mother have any instructions?" The Queen looked at Jianqiu who was standing aside and asked.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother said she was going to worship Buddha and would not see you." Jianqiu replied.
"In that case, all sisters may go. You can come back to pay your respects on the first and fifteenth day of every month. Concubine Shu, you stay. The emperor has specifically instructed you to serve tea to me. Jianqiu, serve the tea." The queen said, motioning with her eyes to Jianqiu to prepare the tea.
"Your servants (concubines) will take their leave." Everyone bowed and left.
Youyou steadily picked up the tea handed over by Jianqiu with both hands, knelt slightly, and said respectfully: "Have some tea, Queen."
The queen took the teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Since Shufei has entered the palace, she must abide by the rules of the harem. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I will follow the Queen's instructions." Youyou replied with her head down.
The queen looked at Youyou, a hint of deep meaning flashed in her eyes, and continued: "Also, giving birth to a son for the emperor as soon as possible is the most important thing."
"Thank you, Her Majesty, for your teachings." Youyou lowered her head again and responded softly.
"Okay, if there's nothing else, you can leave," said the queen.
"I'll take my leave." Youyou said, then helped Ziyuan out.