Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

In the Yongshou Palace, the empress dowager was sitting on a soft couch, and the eldest princess, Princess Xiangcheng, was massaging her back.

"Mother, you must make the decision for me! The emperor's concubines don't take my daughter and your granddaughter Jieyou seriously..." Princess Xiangcheng said, her eyes red and tears about to fall. Her tone was full of grievance and helplessness, which made people feel pity.

The Queen Mother turned her head and looked at Princess Xiangcheng. A trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes. She said softly, "Since the Emperor has appointed another empress, I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the harem. But since it involves you and Jieyou, I will not sit idly by. Please tell me the details."

Princess Xiangcheng felt a little relieved after hearing this, knowing that the Queen Mother still cared about them, so she began to tell the Queen Mother the whole story with exaggerated details.

"Mother, I and Jieyou finally returned to the Tang Dynasty from Turpan, but the emperor's favorite concubines relied on the emperor's favor and acted arrogantly. Not only did they disrespect this princess, they even bullied your granddaughter Jieyou. I have tried to communicate with these concubines many times, but they ignored or laughed at me. Now, I can only turn to the queen mother for help, hoping that the queen mother can do justice for me."

After listening to Princess Xiangcheng's narration, the Queen Mother frowned slightly and her face became a little gloomy. After a moment of silence, she slowly said: "Xiangcheng, I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If there is really a concubine who dares to bully you and Jieyou, I will not let her off easily. However, you should also pay attention to your words and deeds, and don't let others catch you."

Princess Xiangcheng nodded quickly, saying that she would be careful with her words and actions. She looked at the Queen Mother with gratitude, and then continued to massage her back. At this moment, she felt more at ease because she believed that the Queen Mother would make the decision for them. The Queen Mother fell into deep thought, thinking about how to deal with this matter to maintain the dignity and stability of the royal family.

The Queen Mother decided to personally summon those concubines to give them a warning. Princess Xiangcheng was secretly happy, knowing that the Queen Mother was really angry this time, and those concubines would definitely not dare to easily provoke her and Jieyou again. So, she began to plan how to use this opportunity to consolidate her and Jieyou's positions.

Princess Xiangcheng thought to herself: "If I can make the Queen Mother like Jieyou, then I can use the Queen Mother's power to protect myself and Jieyou." So she made up her mind to let Jieyou go to Yongshou Palace more often and tell the Queen Mother in detail about the grievances Jieyou suffered. In this way, the Queen Mother would definitely be dissatisfied with those concubines and make them lose the Queen Mother's favor.

In addition, Princess Xiangcheng also wants to take this opportunity to get to know other concubines in depth and explore whether there are potential threats. Once she finds any clues, she will find ways to eliminate these hidden dangers to ensure the safety of herself and Jieyou. In short, Princess Xiangcheng secretly made up her mind to seize this opportunity, not only to protect herself and Jieyou, but also to strive for higher power and status.

The next morning, the sun shone through the clouds onto the glazed tiles of the palace, reflecting brilliant light. The heads of each palace received the Queen Mother's oral instructions, asking them to go to Yongshou Palace to gather. This sudden invitation was confusing, but everyone responded.

Then, all the concubines, including the queen, began to dress up carefully, and then rushed to the Yongshou Palace one after another. They were dressed in gorgeous clothes, wearing precious jewelry, and their steps were light and graceful, as if a grand banquet was about to begin.

Yunxi was no exception. With Xiaohong's help, she slowly walked towards Yongshou Palace. Along the way, she was filled with anxiety and confusion, wondering why the Queen Mother summoned everyone so suddenly. She secretly speculated on the possible reasons, but could not get a definite answer.

While she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard a light sound of footsteps when she passed the palace corridor. She looked up and saw a woman in a gorgeous dress coming out from the corner. The woman had a high bun with pearls and jade in it. When she walked, the pearls and jade collided with each other, making a crisp and pleasant jingle. She was a little fat, but elegant, and her face was as beautiful as a blooming peach blossom. Her eyebrows were long and curved, slightly raised like two willow leaves, and the corners of her eyes were charming and charming... It turned out that she was the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty - Princess Xiangcheng.

She seemed to have anticipated that Yunxi would pass by here. She walked up to Yunxi with a faint smile on her face and said in a sarcastic tone, "Noble Concubine Xi, we meet again..."

"Greetings, Princess!" Yunxi bowed slightly and greeted politely, but she felt a little confused and alert. "How could it be such a coincidence, Princess? Are you going to Yongshou Palace too?"

"Of course, I'm going to Yongshou Palace to watch the fun today." Princess Xiangcheng looked at Yunxi with a fake smile, a hint of cunning in her eyes. After a pause, she continued, "In that case, let's go together!" After that, she walked ahead by herself, with light and confident steps.

Yunxi knew that Princess Xiangcheng had come with bad intentions, but it was difficult for her to refuse. After all, she was of noble status. She could only follow her silently, keeping a certain distance, and secretly raising her vigilance.

When they arrived outside the Yongshou Palace, Princess Xiangcheng stopped, looked back at Yunxi, and a smug smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, as if foreshadowing something that was about to happen.

Entering the palace, the concubines paid their respects to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother nodded slightly and motioned for everyone to take a seat. Her sharp eyes slowly swept over the people present, and finally fixed on Yunxi.

"Noble Concubine Xi, how are you these days?" The empress dowager's voice was neither hot nor cold, but it carried a sense of majesty.

Yunxi lowered her head and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I am doing fine."

"I heard that you have been quite controversial in the harem recently." The Queen Mother said slowly, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone.

Yunxi's heart tightened. She knew that the Queen Mother was calling for punishment, but she thought she had not done anything out of line, so she responded calmly, "I don't know what has caused the Queen Mother's attention. I hope the Queen Mother will explain it clearly."

Seeing this, the Queen Mother sneered, with a hint of displeasure in her eyes. She repeated what Princess Xiangcheng had said, and every word was like a sharp sword, piercing Yunxi's heart.

After hearing what the Queen Mother said, Yunxi felt very aggrieved. She knew that there were some unpleasant things between her and Princess Xiangcheng, but she never thought that she would be framed like this. However, facing the Queen Mother's questioning, she could not easily show her emotions. She could only suppress her anger and explain to the Queen Mother: "I have never ignored the princess. Someone must have interfered and slandered me."

At this moment, Princess Xiangcheng suddenly interrupted and said with a hint of disdain: "Hmph, who knows if you say one thing in public and another behind your back?" Her eyes were full of hostility and suspicion, and she seemed not to believe Yunxi's words.

When Yunxi heard this, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and stared at Princess Xiangcheng angrily. She was about to open her mouth to refute, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted by the Queen Mother.

The empress dowager looked at the two men majestically and said seriously: "Okay, let's not talk about this matter for now. You are all the emperor's close relatives, you should live in harmony and assist the emperor together. If similar disputes occur again, don't blame me for severely punishing you!" Her voice revealed an unquestionable authority that made people dare not disobey easily.