Steal my marriage? Turn around and marry the tyrant to take the throne

Shen Zhinian couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, she changed to a style that suits her better this time. Otherwise, in terms of gentle temperament, she really couldn't compare to Liu Ruyan.

But...the light green skirt is nice!

Liu Ruyan accidentally violated Concubine Liu's taboo this time, which will be more conducive to Shen Zhinian's next plan!

She also saw Shen Zhinian, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, and smiled as she stepped forward to greet him: "Sister Rou!"

Both of them are nobles with titles, so naturally the seniority is determined by age.

Liu Ruyan's smile was very sincere, and her eyes were filled with trust, as if Shen Zhinian was her real sister. Who would have thought that the person standing behind Yin Da Ying would be her?

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Shen Zhinian certainly would not give anyone a chance to talk about her. She smiled and gave a gentle greeting: "Sister Wan."

Liu Ruyan smiled and said, "Sister, you should also go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, right? We are going the same way."

"Okay."

Soon, the two arrived at their destination.

Many concubines of lower rank were already there. When they saw Shen Zhinian and Liu Ruyan come in, they were filled with envy or jealousy.

After all, looking at the entire harem now, apart from the Imperial Concubine who is the most favored among the six palaces, Noble Lady Rou and Noble Lady Wan are the most favored. The number of times they see His Majesty in a month is probably more than their total number in a year.

Regardless of what they thought, these low-ranking concubines all stood up and saluted respectfully: "I greet Noble Lady Rou! I greet Noble Lady Wan!"

Shen Zhinian and Liu Ruyan nodded slightly, and walked to their seats under the guidance of the palace servants.

There are not many high-ranking concubines in the harem nowadays, and the two of them are favored, so their positions are relatively forward.

Time passed by little by little, and soon most people had arrived. The respectful voice of the young eunuch was heard outside.

"His Majesty has arrived --!!!"

"The Queen Mother has arrived --!!!"

"The Queen has arrived --!!!"

"The Imperial Concubine has arrived --!!!"

Empress Dowager Liu walked in the middle, with the emperor and Concubine Liu surrounding her on the left and right, while Empress Jiang walked to the emperor's right hand side.

No matter what undercurrents there were in the harem, it was a picture of joy at the moment. Even Queen Jiang and Concubine Liu were no longer at loggerheads as they had been in the past, and both had decent smiles on their faces.

Empress Dowager Liu was a smart person. She understood that the Duke Dingguo's Mansion was flourishing, and Concubine Liu was the most favored concubine in the palace. She even had a tendency to suppress Empress Jiang. If she was in power again, the harem would be ruled by the Duke Dingguo's Mansion. The emperor would never allow this to happen.

So she transferred all her power to secretly support Concubine Liu. On the surface, Empress Dowager Liu devoted herself to worshipping Buddha and hardly asked about the affairs of the harem, even exempting the concubines from the daily greetings.

Except for the day of the selection, this was the first time that the newcomers met Queen Dowager Liu after entering the palace.

Everyone stood up and saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty, your concubine greets you!"

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Her Majesty the Empress, and Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine!"

On the left and right sides of the dragon throne were two phoenix chairs, belonging to Empress Dowager Liu and Empress Jiang respectively. The seat below one of the phoenix chairs belonged to Concubine Liu.

There were many beauties in the hall, some plump and some thin, which made people dizzy. However, the emperor's eyes fell on Shen Zhinian at the first moment.

In terms of appearance, she is obviously not the best, but her natural charm makes it impossible to ignore her no matter where she stands.

But in just a moment, Nangong Xuanyu looked away, sat down and said with a smile: "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Concubine Liu dressed up today, just like the day she first met the emperor, except more gorgeous. The light green palace dress she wore made her look beautiful and youthful, making her look many years younger than her actual age.

As expected, when he saw her for the first time in the morning, a look of surprise and nostalgia flashed in the emperor's eyes. He kept her by his side the whole day, and even ignored Queen Jiang.

In addition, the Empress Dowager is her aunt, and this birthday festival was organized by her alone. Concubine Liu was in high spirits today and stole the limelight!

The depression that Queen Jiang had been weighing on my head for some time was finally gone!

However... when Concubine Liu's gaze casually swept across below and finally landed on a light green figure, her face suddenly darkened!

It’s that bitch from Yilan Pavilion!

Concubine Liu was already very dissatisfied with Liu Ruyan's favor, and today she even dared to wear the same color palace dress as her!

Especially since Liu Ruyan was five or six years younger than her, she was so tender that you could pinch water out of her. Concubine Liu had given birth to a child, so even if she took good care of herself, she could not compare to the newcomers who had just entered the palace.

Looking at Liu Ruyan's delicate face, Concubine Liu suddenly remembered her past years.

This bitch has the same last name as her, and wears the same colored clothes as her, and looks more like her when she was younger than she does. So... will His Majesty fall in love with someone else, and regard Liu Ruyan as her substitute, and fall in love with this young face from then on?

Concubine Liu has always been arrogant, but when it comes to matters related to the emperor, she becomes anxious and worried...

Her eyes became more vicious, but she did not dare to cause trouble on the Longevity Festival. She kept Liu Ruyan in mind!

Liu Ruyan was so smart that the moment she saw Concubine Liu was also wearing a green palace dress today, she knew she had violated a taboo in the harem.

However, things had come to this point, the banquet was about to begin, and she had planned for so long and had to do it tonight, so she couldn't leave. She could only take one step at a time and see what happened.

Before the banquet began, Queen Jiang stood up first and raised her wine glass, and congratulated the emperor with all the concubines in the palace: "I wish your majesty a happy birthday, long-lasting blessings, and long live our emperor!"

Everyone raised their glasses and followed suit in saluting: "Your Majesty, I wish you a happy birthday, long life and blessings. Long live the emperor!!!"

Shen Zhinian discovered that Queen Jiang looked much better than the last time she paid her respects.

However, she had the memories of her previous life and knew that Queen Jiang's illness was incurable and she was just trying to keep her alive by using the most precious medicinal herbs in the world.

In order to cheer up today and not be completely overshadowed by Concubine Liu, Queen Jiang must have used drastic measures in private.

This action would definitely shorten her lifespan. If she hadn't had to, she probably wouldn't have done this.

But all this had nothing to do with Shen Zhinian. On the contrary, the more fiercely Queen Jiang and Concubine Liu fought, the better it was for her.

On such a good day, Nangong Xuanyu was delighted: "No need to be polite, everyone get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Next, the concubines in the palace competed with each other and presented the gifts they had carefully prepared.

The gifts from the high-ranking concubines had been delivered to the emperor in the morning. They were not willing to compete for favor with a bunch of small characters in such an occasion, so they just watched quietly.