The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

Empress Yan raised an eyebrow: "Imperial Noble Consort, do you mean to promote everyone together?"

"It all depends on the Empress's decision. This is just an immature idea." Fei Wan said politely, "Those bad guys and spies have been disturbing our harem, making it a mess and putting us in a bad mood. It's New Year's Eve, and the sound of firecrackers will dispel the bad luck. If we can all have some fun together, wouldn't that make everyone happy?"

Then she looked at Concubine Chen and said with a smile, "Besides, if Sister Chen has gained so much weight, she won't be able to lose it anytime soon. It seems that she won't be able to catch Your Majesty's eye and receive a promotion for some time. She is truly pitiful. As the assistant harem steward, it would be inappropriate for me to shoulder the responsibility of not doing my job. So I will lend a hand to Sister Chen. I hope Your Majesty will grant me this favor."

Concubine Chen covered her face with shame and said, "If the Imperial Noble Concubine makes fun of me again, I will really crawl into a crack in the ground!"

"So you don't want to be promoted?"

"I do, I do. Please grant me your permission, Your Majesty! I am truly grateful to you, Your Majesty!"

"Hehe, I'm really doing this for no reason." Fei Wan joked.

All the concubines in the room laughed along.

Everyone's eyes lit up, hoping that Queen Yan would agree.

Queen Yan glanced at everyone and smiled faintly: "Look at your expressions. If I don't grant your permission, I'm afraid I will incur public wrath!"

Fei Wan said, "Empress, please decide who to promote and who not to promote."

Empress Yan waved her sleeves and said, "I'm so busy, I don't have the energy to think about this. How about we just promote everyone in the harem to a higher rank? That would be truly exciting. What do you think?"

Of course everyone agreed.

If you get promoted to a higher level, your monthly salary and food, clothing and other expenses will be higher. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?

Queen Yan then said that she would report to the emperor and would do as she wished unless he rejected it.

Everyone was reassured.

Can the emperor reject the joint proposal of the empress and the imperial concubine?

So after the show, a few concubines told everyone about it, and the news quickly spread throughout the harem. Everyone in the palace was very happy. Not only the concubines were happy, but the palace servants who served the concubines also saw their treatment improved, so they were naturally happy too.

Later, news came out that the emperor had granted his approval.

Moreover, Queen Yan also proposed to give all palace servants an additional 500 coins for the New Year, so that those palace servants who did not serve their masters and were working in various places could also benefit.

So the whole palace was filled with joy, as if the New Year had come in advance.

Fei Wan visited Queen Yan and proposed a promotion. After the other concubines left, she stayed alone and chatted with Queen Yan for a while.

Thank you Queen Yan for taking care of her while she was imprisoned in the Palace Administration Office.

"We've been through hardships together. There's no need to thank me. Saying these things makes you alienate me." Queen Yan asked her maid to bring out a tray with a whole set of brand new clothes on it.

"The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion sent in New Year gifts. Besides some wild game and delicacies from the farm, there are also some clothes and jewelry. This dress suits you in a color, so I'll give it to my sister."

A set of rouge-red flowing cloud brocade, made of precious material and exquisite workmanship, with pearls and gems embellished on it that are extremely valuable.

"Thank you, sister." Fei Wan accepted it without hesitation. "I'll wear this dress at the New Year's Eve banquet. I just haven't decided what to give you in return. Please wait a moment, sister, and let me think about it."

Empress Yan smiled and said, "What's there to think about? I'm happy if you're willing to wear the clothes I gave you. Just toast me a couple more glasses of wine at the New Year's Eve banquet tomorrow."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, and then someone came to say that the emperor had woken up and was looking for the imperial concubine, so Fei Wan stood up and said goodbye.

After leaving the main hall of Fengming Palace and crossing the courtyard, I saw Madam Liao walking along the corridor.

"Imperial Noble Consort Jin An."

She took the initiative to come over and salute Fei Wan.

"I heard that Madam is coming to live in the palace. I came in a hurry this time and didn't bring anything for Madam. I'll ask someone to send it to her later." Fei Wan was very polite.

Madam Liao bowed and said with a smile, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine, for your kindness. I dare not accept it unjustly."

"You are the nanny respected by the Queen, so you are treated just like my elder. There is no need to be formal."

After a few pleasantries, Fei Wan left with a smile.

Matron Liao stared at her back coldly.

After looking for a moment, he turned around and continued walking.

"Your Majesty, Madam Liao looked at you with an unfriendly look just now. She thought she hid it, but she didn't." After leaving Fengming Palace, Xiangyi whispered.

Fei Wan said: "As long as we can hide it, it's fine."

This time I came to Fengming Palace to test it.

Queen Yan talked and laughed as usual, and there was no special change.

Even though Fei Wan challenged her authority as the queen by promoting concubines, she did not overreact and everything remained the same.

Fei Wan's intuition told her that Queen Yan had not yet distanced herself from her.

But the fact that Madam Liao moved into the palace and the aura that this old madam inadvertently exuded still made Fei Wan feel that the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion did not like her promotion to Imperial Noble Consort, and even more so did not like her high-profile appearance in the court.

"Send a message outside the palace and ask our Lord Yu Zhong to go to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion to deliver a New Year gift." Fei Wan ordered.

It is difficult to predict what the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion will do.

It would be better to send some bait over.

There's nothing better than catching fish.

Even if you can't catch any fish, the close relationship between the imperial concubine's family and the empress's family is also a good story.

……

Yu Zhong soon received Fei Wan's order.

He paced in the study, feeling very embarrassed.

He was a civil servant who had passed the imperial examinations. He considered himself an upright person and never associated with noble families because it would lower his status.

But he dared not disobey Fei Wan's orders.

But once he leaves, when he meets his colleagues again, they will think he has lost his integrity.

Originally, he had two daughters in the palace, and the eldest daughter was even named Imperial Noble Consort. He was already considered half a relative by marriage, and if he continued to have connections with the Duke's Mansion, he would be even less of a clean official.

The eldest son, Yu Wangbei, came back from outside and went to pay his respects to his father as usual. He saw that his father was frowning, so he asked the reason. When he heard that it was this, he smiled.

"Dad, at this point, our Yu family has long since lost its reputation as a clean official. Why are you still clinging to this reputation? Once you become the Minister of State and accomplish a few great deeds, who will care whether we are clean officials or royal relatives?"

Yu Zhong's face darkened: "That's for the future! What should we do now?"

"That's easy, Dad. Send your son to deliver a few calligraphy and paintings. It won't require your presence, and it's elegant. Besides the Zhenguogong Mansion, you can also send annual gifts to other marquisates and military generals. You're working with Lord Lu to rebuild the Shenji Camp, and you'll need to interact with those generals on a daily basis. Just pick a few to send gifts to."

Yu Zhong's eyes lit up.

good idea!

This way, he wouldn't be the only one making friends with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

Instead, it is about building good relationships with people related to the mission in order to complete the task and get along well with colleagues. What can others blame you for?

So I hurriedly prepared a few gifts.

He asked Yu Wangbei to do it today.

It’s not a good idea to give New Year gifts on New Year’s Eve.

So Yu Wangbei went to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion when it was almost dark.

He didn't stay long, just put his things down and left.

When I was leaving the street, I was bumped into by someone running towards me.

The return gift that the Duke's Mansion brought him was scattered all over the floor.