The most beautiful lady in the harem

The concubines who had come specially to visit the queen were standing neatly in the hall. Everyone was silent. After Qin Huaijin said this, there was unusual silence.

Emperor Yongjia is now worried about the Queen's health, so he may not notice that Qin Liuse left Shu Yuexuan. Even if he saw it, he may not remember that she disobeyed the order.

But with Qin Huaijin's seemingly casual reminder, even if he didn't pay attention, he would still remember this person and this matter.

Qin Liuse was extremely disgusted with Qin Huaijin's sarcasm and wanted to rush over and slap her in the face and tell her to meddle in other people's business.

But who made them sisters?

They are sisters in the harem, the emperor's concubines, and they are "real sisters". Whoever can't help it first will lose.

Therefore, Qin Liuse was not angered by Qin Huaijin's words, but just kept a record of Qin Huaijin in her heart.

It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. One day, I will get even with her.

Qin Liuse ignored Qin Huaijin's words, and instead acted ashamed and repentant, with a young face and a slender figure, looking a little haggard. She walked out from the side and knelt at the emperor's feet.

"When I heard that the queen was in poor health, I was anxious and left Shu Yuexuan. I violated the emperor's order. I hope the emperor will punish me."

Being able to bend and stretch, this is what the emperor's woman should be like. Qin Liuse lowered her head and sneered in her heart. Isn't Qin Huaijin good at pretending? She can do it too, who can't act?

Thinking about it from another perspective, Qin Huaijin's mention did make Emperor Yongjia notice that she came here to help, and he really should thank her.

Qin Liuse could be said to be kneeling at the emperor's feet very devoutly.

"What crime have you committed? I am not so stupid as to be stupid." Emperor Yongjia did not have the reaction that Qin Huaijin wanted.

The queen, lying on the bed in the inner room, was in a daze, but she remembered that it was Qin Liuse who pulled her back from the brink of death.

The queen came out with the help of her maid, her throat hoarse, she coughed a few times, looked at Emperor Yongjia, and pleaded for Qin Liuse, "Your Majesty, please don't blame Concubine Qin. If it weren't for her plan, Your Majesty would probably not be able to see me when I come back today."

The queen was weak and frail, and she spoke only a short sentence in a halting manner.

Emperor Yongjia showed no emotion on his face. When he saw her coming out, he immediately strode over and took her to sit on the warm couch. He patted her hand and said, "Don't worry, Queen. I understand."

"Your Majesty." Concubine De, who had been standing silently by the side since Emperor Yongjia came back, also came out at the right time and knelt down, "Please don't punish Concubine Qin."

Qin Liuse was shocked, but she might not be surprised that the queen spoke for her.

But unexpectedly, Concubine De would come out to plead for her. You know, although Concubine De was one of the four concubines, she rarely appeared in the tea parties of the concubines in the harem.

Qin Liuse had met Concubine De several times and knew that she was of aloof temperament and did not like to join in the fun or hang out with the emperor's women. Even though Concubine De was an "old lady" kept by the emperor and had followed Emperor Yongjia for many years, she was somewhat different in the harem.

It is said that after the Ninth Prince's wife entered the palace, the first person to be taken into the Ninth Prince's palace was Concubine De.

Unfortunately, Concubine De was not competitive, unlike Concubine Ning Shu and Concubine Dong Xian, who often appeared in public and were familiar with the concubines in the harem.

Thinking of this, Qin Liuse felt an indescribable gratitude in her heart, which made her even more grateful than the fact that the dog emperor did not blame her.

"The Empress was in critical condition that day, and the imperial physicians were helpless. If it weren't for Concubine Qin, the Empress' condition today might not be so good." Defei's speech was just like her personality, simple and cold. She said two sentences and said no more.

Emperor Yongjia nodded, indicating that Concubine De understood.

Concubine De also nodded slightly, then twisted her handkerchief and stepped back to the side.

Although there were many concubines in the queen's room, they were all there to visit the queen, and each one looked more anxious than the other.

But how many people are really worried? For example, now everyone is holding a bowl of water in their heart, looking at the emperor and Concubine De.

The emperor looked majestic, so it was not appropriate to stare at him all the time, as that would be disrespectful. Therefore, she could only glance at him secretly out of the corner of her eye. She mainly looked between Defei and the emperor, each of them having their own thoughts.

For example, some people may think that although Defei is one of the four concubines, the emperor does not seem to favor her very much.

Otherwise, why would she just nod at her like that? And Defei's reaction was not as enthusiastic as that of ordinary concubines. Doesn't that explain everything?

After saying just two sentences, Emperor Yongjia nodded and then stepped aside obediently.

At this moment, there must be many people wondering how Concubine De, who looks so cold and aloof, could sit in this position.

She didn't seem to use sweet words to please the emperor, nor did she seem to treat Emperor Yongjia any differently.

But she happened to sit on the position of the four concubines.

But after thinking about it, there is only one possibility, that is, she was once favored but has fallen out of favor now.

After all, Defei's appearance, although not stunningly beautiful, is just like an orchid, elegant and long-lasting, and also extremely beautiful.

Emperor Yongjia patted the Queen's hand, then walked over and helped Qin Liuse up personally.

Qin Liuse looked up and met Qin Huaijin's fiery eyes.

Seeing her eyes, Qin Liuse became even happier. He curled his lips and looked back at her.

A blessing in disguise, that's all.

A blessing in disguise also makes those who started it even angrier?

Qin Huaijin was so angry that his teeth were itching. He twisted his handkerchief and sulked.

Who knew that after Emperor Yongjia helped her up, he said, "But this is the palace rule. Since you violated my order and ran away from Shuyuexuan, I still have to punish you."

In an instant, the expressions of Qin Liuse and Qin Huaijin changed.

At this moment, Qin Huaijin probably wanted to laugh out loud in the Queen's Palace.

Qin Liuse's face almost fell, even though she knew that Emperor Yongjia was just following the procedure for the sake of palace rules and the punishment was probably just a show.

It was just that she was still forcing a smile, but she had already cursed the man in front of her: "I know my crime, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongjia thought for a moment and said, "I just came back and heard that the Empress Dowager caught a cold last night and is not feeling well. Please show your filial piety on behalf of me, the Empress, and Concubine Dong."

Emperor Yongjia placed his big palm on Qin Liuse's hand and said, "I will punish you. Copy the Diamond Sutra for the Queen Mother. You must complete it within two days. After copying, take it to Ci'en Temple and then personally deliver it to Yongshou Palace. Can you do it?"

What Emperor Yongjia said is very knowledgeable. Things like respect and filial piety are usually only for the emperor and the empress, not for the virtuous concubine.

After all, no matter how high the rank of Concubine Xian was, she was still the emperor's concubine, and not the first wife of Emperor Yongjia like the empress.

Therefore, Qin Liuse naturally interpreted these words and understood that the first thing was that Emperor Yongjia asked her to copy the Diamond Sutra to pray for the Empress Dowager Cixi.

As for the virtuous concubine, Qin Liuse pondered for a while.

The second thing is, does this mean that Qin Liuse will serve the Empress Dowager Cixi?

Now that Concubine Xian is back, she naturally has to take care of the Queen, and the Queen Mother has no time to spare.

But how can this be considered a punishment? It is no exaggeration to say that this is a good job.

As everyone knows, the Empress Dowager Cixi likes to stay alone in the palace and is much more difficult to approach than the Empress Dowager Dong.

But the Empress Dowager Cixi was the biological mother of Emperor Yongjia, so this relationship was much more solid than that of an adoptive mother like the Empress Dowager Dong.

It’s not that these concubines in the harem don’t want to seek refuge with the emperor’s biological mother, but they simply have no chance to come into contact with the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Unexpectedly, she was pointed directly at by the emperor.

Qin Liuse immediately changed her expression to one of willingness to be punished, and knelt down to salute the emperor and the queen, "I will definitely be filial to the emperor and the queen."

Qin Huaijin, who just wanted to make fun of Qin Liuse, suddenly turned pale and black in the face, and he wanted to tear the handkerchief in his hand into pieces.

-

For the next two days, Qin Liuse did not go out of the main door or the secondary door, and hid in Shu Yuexuan to copy the Diamond Sutra.

There was a floor heating in the room and it was very warm, but as Qin Liuse was copying, he felt a little drowsy. He was afraid that if he continued like this, he would not be able to complete the emperor's edict within two days.

He asked someone to open the south window and move the desk in front of it, so that when he picked up his pen to write, he could sometimes look up at the sky and see the sky that was as blue as water but with a bright glow.

Aunt Mingyue was worried that Qin Liuse would copy scriptures for a long time, which would be bad for her eyes, so she added a few chrysanthemums to the hot tea for her. She would occasionally come into the house to remind Qin Liuse to walk around more and look at the sky outside.

By the next day, Qin Liuse had finally finished copying the Diamond Sutra.

He put down the brush and let out a long sigh.

After copying the scriptures, they had to be taken to the Buddhist temple and worshipped for three days before they could be sent to the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Ci'en Temple is an inner temple in the palace, facing north and south. It is located in the northernmost corner of the palace and is far away from Shuyuexuan.

After Qin Liuse finished copying the scriptures, he walked towards Ci'en Temple surrounded by Qingqing and Zijin.

The palace roads and alleys crisscrossed and turned east and west. The red palace walls on both sides were like a giant dragon entrenched in the palace. If Qin Liuse had not stayed in the palace for a long time in his previous life, he really would not have been able to find his way around these roads.

To go to Ci'en Temple, one has to pass through several small gardens in the palace. Some of the gardens are extremely secluded due to their remote locations. Most of the people who live near these small gardens are concubines who are not very favored, just like Shu Yuexuan.

In winter, the trees in the palace are bare.

But in a few days it would be New Year's Eve, and the Shanggong Bureau decorated the entire palace. Some of the trees were hung with red silk, and some were hung with small lanterns. From a distance, it looked like a bunch of bright red flowers.

Qin Liuse walked and looked as he walked, and was actually reluctant to leave.

As I walked, I heard the sound of people talking not far away.

"Beauty, do you think that Concubine De is favored? I heard that the Emperor has never been to her palace since he ascended the throne. How did she get to this position?" She sounded full of disdain.

Qin Liuse couldn't help but slow down his pace.