Quick Wear: The Concubine is Seductive and Seduces the Mistress

On the night of the palace banquet, Liu Fuyin stayed in her bedchamber as he wished, but there was a hint of loneliness in her eyes.

When Yuwen Che arrived, he saw her looking at herself by the window, feeling sorry for herself, and asking the palace maid about his whereabouts from time to time. He coughed lightly, and the two women, mistress and servant, immediately looked over.

"Why did Your Majesty come at this time?" she said, glancing around unconsciously as if afraid of being seen. "Isn't this against the rules?"

She said it was against the rules, but then she got up and hugged him like a cheerful sparrow, her joy overflowing.

Just like her, she was completely captivated by him, and Yuwen Che really enjoyed this feeling.

He shook his head. "No." He paused, then added, "I came to see you first, so that our Ayin wouldn't sit by the window and cry."

With no one else in the palace, he didn't need to attend with anyone else, even though he had forgotten that in the past, he had always given Consort Ling the honor of attending such occasions together, and the two of them would enter as husband and wife.

Consort Ling had indeed gotten used to it, and even dressed up early to go to the Zichen Palace to request an audience.

"Go and announce that the Imperial Concubine has arrived."

The young eunuch guarding the gate was clearly somewhat hesitant.

Recently, exhausted by the concubines' attempts to curry favor, Yuwen Che had ordered that the concubines be forbidden from coming to see him without a reason. Huai Xi assumed that the eunuch was hesitating because of this, and couldn't help but reprimand him:

"How can you be doing your job as a eunuch? Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Imperial Concubine is to attend the banquet with His Majesty. If you are late, you'll be in for a beating!"

The eunuch cried out in alarm, "Your Majesty, His Majesty is not in the Zichen Palace."

"Not here?" Consort Ling was somewhat surprised, followed by endless embarrassment, and her steps faltered as she left.

"Your Majesty, then what about this..."

"Go to the palace banquet first, then have someone find out which foolish person tried to curry favor with me."

For the past five years, Consort Ling's status has been almost equivalent to that of the Empress. She holds the Phoenix Seal and manages the six palaces. She attends even slightly larger banquets hand in hand with His Majesty.

Everyone guessed that she would be the next empress.

But five years have passed, and she is still just a concubine, and even that honor is about to be taken away.

"Your Highness, Consort Li greeted you with a smile, craning her neck to look behind you. "Where is His Majesty? Why didn't His Majesty come with you, Your Highness?"

Upon hearing this, the concubines' gazes all turned towards her, making her words seem even more sarcastic. Consort Ling remained silent and gave her a cold look.

Consort Li gave her personal maid a confused look, "Did I say something wrong?"

The personal maid sighed helplessly, "Your Highness, you should speak less, and it would be best if you didn't mention His Majesty in front of others."

Consort Li had a vague feeling that the Imperial Concubine was troubled by His Majesty, and she couldn't help but feel a little wronged. "His Majesty is usually with the Imperial Concubine. I was just asking."

This kind of banquet, which is held every year, is nothing new, but apart from imperial relatives, only officials of the fourth rank and above can attend, which is considered a special honor.

Pei Zheng was naturally among them, but the Pei family had been making a fool of themselves lately, so it was inevitable that some people would look at him.

Even the emperor, who had ascended to the throne, spoke up: "Minister Pei, I heard that Old Master Pei has fallen ill recently. Has the imperial physician been summoned to examine him?"

Pei Zheng bowed and thanked the emperor, "Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. I have already had the imperial physician examine you."

His expression was truly grim. After being sent to investigate a case for a few days, he returned to find his concubine and child gone, and his father was seriously ill.

Thinking about all this, his resentment towards Mingyi grew stronger, but he was mindful that she was carrying his child...

"I've heard that you've had a lot of troubles at home since you were sent to your post. I'm very worried about that. How about I send a nanny to help you with your worries?" The question was ostensibly a inquiry, but in reality, it brooked no refusal.

Pei Zheng thanked the emperor again, implying that sending a maid to the emperor's backyard was a subtle way of pointing out that Ming Yi was not managing the household properly, and even the emperor felt it was inappropriate. Although it would make people laugh, Ming Yi was indeed jealous and needed someone to restrain her temper. Therefore, his thanks were somewhat sincere.

The crowd below was also shocked. His Majesty had never interfered in the family affairs of his subjects before. Could it be that he wanted to use this as an excuse to make fun of their aristocratic families? They all gave their wives a look, signaling them to keep a low profile in the near future.

Princess Minning's face was even more unpleasant. Pei Zheng didn't give her daughter any face in public, and only that silly girl was truly protecting her!

Holding her breath, she had no desire to socialize with the ladies at the palace banquet. Her gaze shifted and landed on the father and son at the end of the table.

If it weren't for her being a princess, not only would that concubine's son not be qualified to attend the banquet, but even the prince consort wouldn't have been eligible. I originally thought that the illegitimate son loved a maid so much, but men are always fickle, and he still accepted the concubine she gave him!

*

"My lady, the main hall where the banquet is being held is just ahead," Qin Mama reminded her. It wasn't that she couldn't come, but the banquet was almost over, and she was afraid of running into a man.

"Granny, I want to wait for His Majesty." Liu Fuyin's eyes sparkled, looking exactly like a concubine who had fallen for the emperor's tenderness.

Granny Qin shook her head. In this palace, the most taboo thing is to fall in love with the emperor.

"How dare you! Lin Meiren is ahead, yet you still dare to stop?"

Having drunk quite a bit of alcohol, Pei Zheng felt a little dizzy and wanted to get some fresh air. But because he was confused, he saw a girl who looked a lot like A Yin from afar and rushed over, staring at her intently until Su Ye scolded him, at which point he looked away and bowed.

As he stood up, he could only see the woman's departing figure out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately froze on the spot again.

Like, so similar.

After an unknown amount of time, another soft voice spoke, "Minister Pei, what are you looking at?"

Pei Zheng, who was still standing there, was startled. He turned around and saw that it was the emperor. He bowed again, but he felt that the emperor was staring at him for no reason today.

"Minister Pei, what's over there?"

Yuwen Che, seeing no airs of an emperor, spoke in a good mood.

Pei Zheng dared not say that he had seen a woman who resembled his mistress; the women in the palace were all the emperor's.

"I was probably drunk and came out for some fresh air. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Yuwen Che smiled, but not quite to the corners of his mouth.

Pei Zheng felt that the emperor disliked him quite a bit. He bowed and was about to take his leave when he heard a familiar voice.

His eyes widened, and he saw only a pink-clad figure being held in the emperor's arms.

"I thought Minister Pei was more knowledgeable about etiquette than Madam Pei."

The voice carried a hint of anger, but Pei Zheng refused to look away. The back view was too similar; if the other person turned around, he could confirm it…

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I... I just feel that she... is like an old friend." Under the emperor's displeased gaze, Pei Zheng almost bit the last few words off his lips.

"Mind your own business, my dear minister." Yuwen Che snorted coldly, partly hoping that Pei Zheng would discover the identity of the woman in front of him, and partly disgusted that he was staring at his people.

Pei Zheng really fled in disarray this time.

He's really gone mad!

How dare they say such things in front of His Majesty! That is a monarch who cannot tolerate even the slightest injustice!

Seeing this, Liu Fuyin, who had been looking down, smiled slightly, eagerly anticipating being discovered.

"Why are you here?"

His chin was suddenly pinched, forcing him to meet her gaze. Yuwen Che's eyes turned cold.