The emperor just doesn't treat everyone equally, and it's none of my business!

Concubine Zhou quickly complimented, "The Queen is wise."

"Okay, I have something for you to do." Shangguan Yan said.

When the spring hunting arrangements were made, the concubines in the harem were not surprised. The emperor's harem was originally small in number, and several people had followed the empress dowager and concubines out of the palace to pray for blessings. The emperor had dealt with several more people, and now the number of people in the harem might not even be comparable to that of some officials' backyards.

In early April, a mighty procession of people set out from the imperial palace for the spring hunting trip. Not only the emperor brought his concubines, but some officials also brought their families.

The carriage swayed all the way, and Gu Shijin felt as if his body was about to be shaken apart.

"Xingzhu, how long will it take to get there?" Gu Shijin asked with a frown. She felt uncomfortable all over. It must be too uncomfortable to sit in the ancient horse-drawn carriage.

The road was already very bumpy, and the carriage had no shock absorption, so it was very uncomfortable.

"My lady, it will probably take about an hour." Xingzhu is an old man in the palace. He had been to the royal hunting ground before and was quite familiar with it.

"It takes so long..." Gu Shijin sighed. She was the emperor's concubine and could not go out for a walk. She could only stay in the carriage.

"My lady, I brought you some pickled pepper chicken feet." Xingyue said in a low voice.

Gu Shijin's eyes lit up: "My Xingyue is still considerate."

When she walked out, she thought that she had forgotten to bring pickled chicken feet, but she didn't expect Xingyue to be so thoughtful and actually brought them for her.

Gu Shijin began to drool at the thought.

"But my lady can't eat too much, be careful of stomachache." Xingyue said.

Gu Shijin had not been able to control himself before and ate two large bowls of rice. As a result, he felt uncomfortable in his stomach for the whole day, which made Xingyue Xingzhu very sad.

"understood."

Just as Xingyue put out the pickled pepper chicken feet, someone knocked on the carriage window.

Xing Zhu pulled aside the curtain and looked, then said, "My lady, it's Lady Ning."

Lady Ning? What is she doing here?

"Invite her in."

Concubine Ning was wearing a green palace dress and didn't even have a maid with her. She came here alone.

Concubine Ning came in with a smile and said, "Sister Jin, I am sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, sit down." Gu Shijin said.

Today, Concubine Ning gave Gu Shijin a very different feeling. Usually, her eyes were calm, but today, they were a little excited.

Gu Shijin followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at the pickled pepper chicken feet on the table.

Gu Shijin was stunned for a moment, then he realized that this person was actually a foodie.

"Sister Ning, these are the pickled pepper chicken feet I made myself. Try them and see if they are delicious."

The smile in Concubine Ning's eyes became more obvious: "Thank you, sister."

Concubine Ning had a keen sense of smell since she was young. Just now, she smelled a very fragrant, sour and spicy smell in the carriage, and she followed the smell and found Concubine Jin.

After tasting one, Concubine Ning couldn't stop and ate most of the plate before stopping.

Lady Ning looked at Gu Shijin awkwardly, feeling very embarrassed.

Gu Shijin smiled and said, "If you like it, I'll send you some when we get back to the palace."

Lady Ning agreed immediately: "Okay."

"Sister, just call me Yue'er. I should be younger than Sister Jin."

Gu Shijin: "Okay, Yue'er."

Gu Shijin also noticed that Concubine Ning did not like life in the palace. Her personality should be lively and lovely, but she had to pretend to be quiet in the palace.

"My father said that after entering the palace, we can no longer be the same as before." Concubine Ning spoke first.

Moreover, on the first day Ning Guiren entered the palace, she encountered the Empress Dowager punishing a concubine, which frightened her so much that she became even less willing to make friends in the harem.

Gu Shijin nodded, he understood very well, to put it nicely, Lady Ning's character was pure and innocent, to put it bluntly, she was naive and stupid. If she competed for favor in the harem, she would die without knowing how she died.

It would be a good choice to live your life quietly in the palace.

The spring hunting site was located in the royal hunting ground outside Beijing, not far away, but because there were too many people and the line was too long, we didn’t arrive until evening.

After arriving at the place, Gu Shijin became excited again because the hunting ground was so big, the scenery was so beautiful, and they also had to set up tents.

Although Gu Shijin's tent as a concubine was not very big, it was quite good and had a good location, very close to the emperor's tent.

The tents of Concubine Zhou and Concubine Ning were a little far away from Gu Shijin.

"Do I live here?" Gu Shijin asked uncertainly.

The eunuch who brought her here said, "My lady, yes, this is where you live."

Gu Shijin nodded, thinking that it was arranged by Lu Junze, and didn't think much about it.

The tent was fully equipped with items, and since Gu Shijin was the emperor's concubine, everything prepared was of the best quality.

There was a banquet in the evening, so Gu Shijin took the opportunity to ask Xingyue to give her a massage. After sitting in the carriage for the whole afternoon, she was physically and mentally exhausted and felt uncomfortable all over.

"My lady, what are you going to wear tonight?" Xingzhu asked.

For the sake of comfort when coming here, Gu Shijin did not dress up specially, but she could not be casual at the banquet in the evening.

"Just wear that turquoise palace dress." Gu Shijin said.

This palace dress was also newly sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Gu Shijin took a quick glance at it and thought the style was very nice, so he asked Xingzhu to wear it when she came.

"Yes, my lord."

Xingzhu found her clothes and prepared the jewelry she would use for dressing up.

There was no palace in the royal hunting ground, so the banquet was naturally held outdoors.

The night is beautiful today, with a crescent moon hanging high in the sky and the stars shining brightly.

Not long after Gu Shijin arrived at the banquet, the emperor and the empress came together.

"Your humble servant pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress. Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, and a thousand years and a thousand years and a thousand years of live the Empress."

Lu Junze: "Everyone, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As soon as Gu Shijin sat down, she felt a pair of eyes falling on her. She raised her eyes and met a pair of eyes she had never seen before.

Gu Shijin is the emperor's concubine. Even though her position is low, she is still in the front. Opposite her sits the prince of the royal family.

Gu Shijin had never seen this person, but he looked about the same age as Lu Junze, so he should be the emperor's brother.

"My lady, this is the virtuous king, the second prince of the late emperor." Xing Zhu bent down and whispered in Gu Shijin's ear.

The ages of the late emperor's sons are not much different. The current emperor is the late emperor's third son, with only the second prince before him. The eldest prince passed away before the late emperor.

The death of the eldest prince was a royal secret, because he was sentenced to death for rebellion.

Lu Junze has two younger brothers, but they have already gone to their fiefdoms and are no longer in the capital.

The reason why the virtuous prince was able to stay in the capital was because he was the son of the queen dowager and had a good relationship with the emperor.

When the virtuous king saw Gu Shijin looking at him, he smiled, and Gu Shijin also smiled in response.

But...how could this wise king know her?

Xing Zhu whispered, "Not long ago, the virtuous prince accompanied the queen mother and the concubine to pray for blessings. Now that the virtuous prince is back, I think the queen mother and the concubine will be back soon."