An Lingrong after rebirth

"But obviously she is not crying because the emperor favors Cai Pinping, but because of the prince Guo whom she can never meet."

Cui Jinxi was helpless, paused, and then said, "My lady, I know you are uncomfortable, but we have to live our lives."

"Cai Ping has already served me in the emperor's bed. She must not stay in our palace as a maid in such an unclear way."

"I think that the emperor did not take the initiative to ask for a title today, perhaps because he wanted an excuse. If the queen takes the initiative to ask for a position for Caiping at this time, the emperor may have a better impression of the queen, and the queen's life will definitely be better in the future."

Zhen Huan shed tears again, "Jingxi, do you want me to play a virtuous person?"

"Your Highness, isn't virtue the priority for concubines in the harem? The Emperor favors someone in our palace. If you don't show your favor, others will definitely criticize you, saying you are jealous and intolerant."

"Instead of letting people talk behind your back, why don't you take the initiative to speak up? This way, you can also shut up the people in the harem..."

How could Zhen Huan not know that what Cui Jinxi said made sense?

But she was really unwilling.

If it was someone else, it would be fine. But in the past, Huanbi acted on her own and won the emperor's favor, and I didn't say anything, right?

"But Caiping is different. Zhen Huan is now filled with doubts. Is Caiping secretly instructed by Prince Guo?"

"The betrayal of her lover is obviously more unacceptable to Zhen Huan than the betrayal of a palace maid. Cui Jinxi saw that Zhen Huan remained silent for a long time, but she was not in a hurry."

After all, the one who was criticized was not himself, but Concubine Wan.

After a long while, Zhen Huan finally made a move again, "Jinxi, I remember that you and Su Peisheng are old acquaintances?"

Cui Jinxi was stunned, and subconsciously became a little alert.

"Your Majesty, Su Peisheng and I are from the same hometown. We have known each other since we first entered the palace. However, as soon as he entered the palace, he served the emperor, who was still a prince at the time. He rarely entered the palace, so I am not too familiar with him."

"I see."

Zhen Huan murmured, and then said, "Although we are not too familiar with each other, I think it should be okay to ask for information. If there is no decree from the Yangxin Palace regarding Caiping tomorrow, you can go and ask if the emperor is free to see me."

This is not a difficult thing, so Cui Jinxi naturally had no room to refuse.

"Yes, don't worry, your Majesty. I will think about this matter. Your Majesty, please go to bed early. Otherwise, it will be bad if you reveal your flaws when you pay your respects to the Queen tomorrow."

Only then did Zhen Huan nod in agreement and slowly lay down.

.........

I don’t know what the emperor was thinking. The next day, until the concubines paid their respects to the empress, there was no movement in the Yangxin Palace.

After Zhen Huan finished her breakfast, Cui Jinxi walked in slowly.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is free right now."

"Is the snack ready?"

"Don't worry, Madam. I asked the kitchen to prepare it early in the morning."

Zhen Huan nodded and was about to speak again when Liu Zhu hurried in. "Your Majesty, Miss Cai Ping is here."

Zhen Huan raised her eyebrows. "What is she doing here? Is she rushing to ask me to ask for a position for her?"

Cui Jinxi's heart skipped a beat. It would be better not to let the two meet before things were settled.

With this thought flashing through her mind, Cui Jinxi immediately said, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Su said that the Emperor has been very busy with state affairs recently and it's hard for him to have time now..."

"Forget it, Liuzhu, you can let Caiping go back first. I will naturally summon her again when I return from the Yangxin Palace."

"Yes."

Liuzhu knelt down, and Cui Jinxi followed and said, "Your Majesty, wait a moment. I will go to the kitchen to get some snacks now."

Soon, the master and servant left the Yanx Palace, and a sedan chair swayed up and went to the Yangxin Palace.

"Outside the door, Su Peisheng saw the sedan chair approaching from afar, with his whisk tucked into his waist. Su Peisheng went down the steps, and the sedan chair arrived right in front of him."

Seeing Zhen Huan coming out, she bowed and said with a smile, "Greetings to Concubine Wan."

"You are too polite, Eunuch Su. I wonder if the emperor is free right now?"

"Your Majesty is free at the moment. Please allow me to go in and report. Your Majesty, please wait for a moment."

Su Peisheng entered the hall for a moment and then came out again. Zhen Huan then entered the hall alone, carrying the food box.

"Greetings to the Emperor."

The emperor did not look up immediately, as if he didn't know how to face Zhen Huan after what happened last night.

"That's it, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhen Huan stood up, her expression normal, without any sign of dissatisfaction.

She walked to the opposite side of the emperor and sat down. "Your Majesty, I asked someone to prepare milk and water chestnut flour cake today. It is refreshing and not too sweet. It goes well with Biluochun. Your Majesty, please try it?"

"Thank you for your trouble. You know I don't like overly sweet food."

"Your Majesty's preferences should naturally be kept in mind by me at all times."

The emperor put down his chopsticks after eating only a few pieces of snacks. "How come you have time to come to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity now?" Zhen Huan kept smiling as she looked up at the emperor and met his gaze.

Zhen Huan reached out and held the emperor's hand. "Your Majesty, you are asking this knowingly. I will not comply."

Seeing Zhen Huan acting like this, how could the emperor not understand what she was thinking?

He laughed and said, "Hanhuan, don't you blame me?"

"Your Majesty, if you say that you don't feel any resentment in your heart, that is the crime of deceiving the emperor. I regard Your Majesty as my husband, how could I not feel any resentment in my heart?"

Zhen Huan's lips curled up into a smile again, and she tightened her grip on the emperor's hand, then continued, "It's just that Huan Huan has experienced a lot, and has understood more truths. As a woman in the harem, she should naturally put the emperor first in everything, so how could Huan Huan blame the emperor?"

"Hanhuan is virtuous, and I am very pleased."

The emperor held Zhen Huan's hand, and the atmosphere between them was very good for a while.

After a moment, Zhen Huan said, "Your Majesty, Caiping was the most capable maid besides Jinxi. I dare not know what position Your Majesty intends to give her."

"When conferring titles on palace maids, one must always start from the position of official daughter. However, Huanhuan is virtuous, so I will make an exception and confer the title of concubine on Caiping. She does not have to start from the position of official daughter. Do you think this is a good idea, Huanhuan?"

Zhen Huan's eyes showed a hint of surprise, "Your Majesty, thank you very much."

After saying this, she seemed to think for a moment, and then continued, "It's just that Caiping's family background is humble, and her family name has almost been forgotten. Your Majesty, why don't you take this opportunity to bestow a title on her, so that the sisters in the harem can address each other by name?"

Not only is Zhen Huan so magnanimous.

"But no matter why Caiping slept with me, Zhen Huan knew in her heart that she couldn't break Yunli's plan, otherwise, wouldn't her lover's plans be in vain?"

After hearing this, the emperor just thought that Zhen Huan was magnanimous.

Being in a good mood, there was naturally no reason to refuse.

After thinking for a while, the emperor said, "Cai Ping, the word Cai means bright and brilliant, so why not give her the word Ming as her title?"

"Ming agreed."

Zhen Huan muttered to herself twice, her eyes brightened, "It's really a good title. I agree on your behalf and thank the emperor for his grace. I'm afraid that Eunuch Su will have to work hard on such a happy event."

Su Peisheng understood what Zhen Huan meant. She wanted him to inform the six palaces about what he had promised.

He looked up at the emperor and saw that he also nodded.

Su Peisheng then bowed and responded, "Your Highness, Concubine Wan is too polite. I will have someone inform the six palaces of this news right away."

After Su Peisheng left, Zhen Huan did not sit for long. It was only half an hour before she left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

Although her plan succeeded, her doubts remained.

"Of course she was anxious to return to Yanxi Palace to find out everything, but when she entered the palace, she saw Caiping kneeling in the palace wearing the uniform of a palace maid."

Zhen Huan glanced at Liu Zhu, who stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty and Aunt Jingxi left, and Miss Caiping has been kneeling here for a long time without saying a word."

Zhen Huan didn't feel at ease. The thing had already been done. What was the difference between apologizing and killing someone and then saying it was not his intention?

"Liuzhu, you can no longer call her Miss Caiping. She is now the Emperor's concubine."

Caiping was kneeling with her back to Zhen Huan. When she heard this, she trembled and let out a suppressed cry. "I don't want to do anything. I don't want to..."

Zhen Huan had a cold face. She helped Cui Jinxi pass Caiping and walked to the middle to sit down. Then she snorted coldly and said, "No? Do you know how many maids in the harem are staring at the emperor's dragon bed day and night? Now that you have received this favor, you still say no?"

"Hmph, even if you don't want it, why did you do that to seduce the emperor? You seem so precious now, don't you?"

The word "seduce" in Zhen Huan's words seemed to have hit the soft spot in Cai Ping's heart.

Caiping's crying suddenly became louder. She knelt forward a few steps. When she looked up again, her face was full of tears. "Your Majesty, I didn't do that. I just wanted to support you for a while. I didn't know that the emperor... I really didn't seduce the emperor. Please understand, Your Majesty!"

"No? If you didn't, would the emperor still force you?"

Zhen Huan's words were full of sarcasm. After she finished speaking, she raised her hand, motioned Liuzhu to go out and close the palace door, and then she spoke again.

"You were sent to the palace by the prince, but now you have betrayed him and become the emperor's concubine. I wonder if you are worthy of the prince's life-saving grace in the past?"

"After hearing this, Cui Jinxi wished she could leave with Liuzhu, and she became even more dissatisfied with Zhen Huan's carelessness."

Caiping's tears stopped immediately after hearing Zhen Huan's words.

"Your Majesty, I really did not seduce the Emperor. I don't know what happened last night. I don't know what I was doing at all..."

Caiping's words made Zhen Huan frown subconsciously.

Cui Jinxi even felt like her heart skipped a beat.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure it's possible that you couldn't react to this sudden incident. But you should also know how much you've paid for your sake today."

Cui Jinxi's voice sounded at the right time, and Zhen Huan's doubts immediately dispelled.

Cui Jinxi continued to speak, "My lady, you must know that the emperor originally did not intend to give you a position. You know, if you really sleep with him but don't get a position, the spit of everyone in the harem can drown you."

"But for the sake of the young lady, the queen not only came to the emperor in person to ask for his grace, but also spent a lot of effort to get the emperor to give you such a good title."

"In my humble opinion, what you should do now is not to make any more excuses, but to think carefully about how you can be more helpful to the Empress as a concubine in the future."

Every word Cui Jinxi said was for Zhen Huan's sake.

Naturally, it makes the other party feel more satisfied.

He reached out and patted Cui Jinxi, signaling her not to be so angry.

Then he looked at Caiping again and said, "Jinxi is right. If I really don't give you a position, you will be no different from a dead person in the future. You should know clearly why I am doing this."

"I don't want anything else but you. Even if you become a concubine in the future, don't forget the grace of the prince saving your life. Always remember what you should and shouldn't do."

Now that things have come to this, what else can Caiping say?

I could only kowtow three times and said, "Yes, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."