I am favored by the tyrant, so what if I am vicious?

Madam Zhao, the empress dowager's trusted confidant, immediately walked up to Zhou Lingge and said, "Please come in, Concubine Jia."

Concubine Shu was extremely happy, with the corners of her mouth curled up...her eyes were full of gloating.

Although there was a hint of worry on Concubine Rou's face, her eyes could not hide the faint smile.

Zhou Shiya's face was extremely calm.

She even frowned and wanted to plead for Zhou Lingge.

In the end, she sighed helplessly, and finally swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

Concubine Liu, Li Da Ying, and Yu Changzai lowered their eyebrows and eyes, not daring to reveal too much of their expression. But in their hearts, they were also gloating and extremely happy.

After all, the Queen Mother was powerful. She gave Zhou Lingge a warning as soon as she came back.

Zhou Lingge pursed her lips lightly. The palace maid who had delivered the message had deliberately lied about the time and made her arrive late on purpose, giving the empress dowager a chance to intimidate her.

She couldn't help but sneer secretly.

That’s really clever.

Is this the Queen Mother's method?

Zhou Lingge did not make any excuses or resist.

Her eyes were red as she stroked her flat belly, her body swaying... She looked at Qin Feiling hesitantly, then lowered her head, bowed respectfully, and left the banquet with Madam Zhao and went to the small Buddhist temple in the side hall.

Qin Feiling frowned, staring at Zhou Lingge's trembling figure as he left, feeling like a cat was scratching his heart.

Thinking of her red eyes, he became inexplicably irritated.

It was just a little late, but the Queen Mother punished him so severely. Qin Feiling felt uncomfortable. He turned his head to look at Eunuch Liu and winked at him.

Eunuch Liu nodded slightly and retreated quietly.

At the beginning of the banquet, the empress dowager announced the imperial decree with a smile, conferring the title of Concubine Wan on Ye Wanxi and granting her the residence in Yihua Palace.

Zhou Shiya led the concubines in the harem to congratulate Ye Wanxi.

For a moment, the whole banquet was full of joy and excitement.

The Queen Mother was very happy and ordered singing and dancing to entertain the audience.

She also specifically asked Ye Wanxi to wait by Qin Feiling's side to serve him food and pour wine.

Qin Feiling was absent-minded... and responded indifferently.

He silently calculated the time, trying to find an excuse to leave and secretly go see Concubine Jia.

Suddenly, Qiao'er's eyes turned red, she pushed away the palace maids who were trying to stop her, and staggered in from outside.

Qiao'er fell to her knees, her eyes full of tears, and she looked at Qin Feiling in despair and helplessness.

"Your Majesty...my queen...she fainted and kept complaining of stomachaches. Please have mercy on her, Your Majesty, and spare her the punishment of kneeling. Please summon a royal physician to see her."

Qin Feiling's heart suddenly trembled.

His mind went blank and he stood up subconsciously. His robe unconsciously swept the wine cup off the table, and the cup fell on Ye Wanxi's arm. She hissed in pain.

The Queen Mother's expression changed, and she quickly called for someone to drag Qiao'er away.

She was extremely angry and gnashed her teeth, scolding, "How arrogant! I only punished her to kneel for two hours, and it hasn't even been half an hour yet, and she's deliberately doing this..."

Qiao'er sobbed and shook her head. She struggled to break free from the palace servants who were restraining her. "Wow, my queen isn't doing anything weird. She's just genuinely unwell. She's been extremely sleepy... tired these past few days."

"In fact, she forced herself to come to the banquet today... We originally followed the time given by the palace servants and arrived early, but who knew... we would still be late. It's obvious... it's obvious that someone deliberately reported the wrong banquet time."

"My wife didn't want to upset the Queen Mother, so she didn't explain or argue. She endured the discomfort and knelt for half an hour. Now she can't hold on any longer... For some reason, she keeps complaining about stomachaches."

"Your Majesty, please send someone to rescue my queen. From what I see, she seems to be in real pain..."

Qiao'er cried heart-wrenchingly, as if Zhou Lingge really had some serious illness and was about to die.

The Empress Dowager has seen too many such tactics over the years. She is certain that all of this is Concubine Jia's way of vying for favor and deliberately winning the Emperor's pity.

She sneered, had someone cover Qiao'er's mouth, and dragged Qiao'er away with a tough attitude.

She looked at Qin Feiling, whose face had turned pale. "This is all a way for the concubines to compete for favor. You've been the emperor for so many years, so you should be able to see through it, right?"

"Just now, you accidentally knocked over a wine cup and soiled Concubine Wan's clothes. My son, please accompany Concubine Wan back to Yihua Palace. It's getting late, and we will be leaving soon."

The Queen Mother said this and winked at Ye Wanxi.

Ye Wanxi endured the burning pain in her arm, forced a gentle smile and looked at Qin Feiling.

"Your Majesty... let's go."

"I have found some new poetry collections these days. How about we go back and discuss them together?"

As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed Qin Feiling's collar.

Qin Feiling suddenly swung and pushed Ye Wanxi away.

Ye Wanxi staggered and almost fell.

She looked at Qin Feiling with surprise in her eyes.

She never expected that His Majesty would be so merciless to her.

In front of so many people... he didn't give her any face at all.

Her eyes couldn't help but turn red, but she tried her best to remain calm.

He knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

The Queen Mother's face darkened, "Emperor, what are you going to do?"

Qin Feiling didn't even look at Ye Wanxi, he immediately left the table and walked quickly outside.

Seeing this, the Queen Mother stood up and asked, "Emperor, where are you going?"

Qin Feiling stopped in his tracks. Even though he was filled with anger, he suppressed it and maintained a superficial harmony with the Queen Mother. "Jia Fei is not someone who gets petty. Qiao Er said she is not feeling well. Something must have happened to her."

"I am worried and must go see her."

The Queen Mother sighed helplessly, "This is all the concubines using tactics to win favor. My son, you have been on the throne for five years. Can't you see through her tricks?"

Qin Feiling's eyes were deep, and he spoke word by word, "What if it's true? Mother, I don't want to gamble..."

He left quickly without saying another word.

The Queen Mother's expression was extremely grim. She couldn't help but sneer, "What a good trick! I want to see if this Concubine Jia is really feeling unwell, or if she is playing some tricks."

She also left the table and caught up with Qin Feiling with a group of concubines.

A group of people hurried to the small Buddhist temple.

Zhou Lingge's face turned pale and she leaned weakly on the chair... Qiaoer hugged her body and cried, calling her "Empress" in despair.

Eunuch Liu rushed in from outside, pulling a disheveled imperial physician.