Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

"Just as the Queen said."

The emperor responded calmly.

So after everyone drank the wine in their hands, they were led by the emperor and empress into the plum forest. Concubine Zheng had already occupied the position on the emperor's right hand.

"Your Majesty, please go first."

Concubine Shen held her maid's hand and stepped aside.

Gu Youning smiled and nodded, then walked ahead.

"I'm with Consort Gu."

Just as Gu Youning was about to move forward, someone grabbed his arm.

Seeing Lady Wen looking at Concubine Shen with vigilance, Gu Youning smiled and tugged at her sleeve, signaling with his eyes that she didn't need to worry too much.

In addition to Tan Yin, she also specially asked Xiao Shengzi to accompany her today.

Firstly, Xiao Shengzi has some kung fu skills, so he can handle any problems he encounters. Secondly, Xiao Shengzi is the emperor's man. If someone deliberately wants to frame him, with him around, at least he can clear his suspicion in the emperor's mind.

"It has a subtle fragrance."

"This branch of plum blossom is really beautiful. If I pick it and put it in a vase, it will definitely look very beautiful."

……

Once they entered the plum forest, the concubines either looked up to admire the plum blossoms or bent down to smell them, performing all kinds of charming poses and trying their best to attract the emperor's attention.

Just as the concubines were performing to their heart's content, the clear and distant sounds of a zither were heard from the front of the woods.

"Who is playing the zither in the woods, disturbing everyone's enjoyment of the plum blossoms?"

Concubine Zheng frowned in disgust.

They were all people who had stayed in the harem for a long time. When they suddenly heard the sound of a piano at this time and place, how could they not want to go somewhere else?

"It's Miss Gu Si."

This time, the Queen didn't keep the secret and continued, "The Fourth Miss Gu is leaving the palace with Madam Gu today. She said that she has been very well taken care of by everyone in the palace these days. Today is also her sister's auspicious day, so she wanted to play the zither for everyone again."

"Your Majesty, would you like to go and have a look?"

"I will naturally accept the Queen's wishes."

The emperor raised his lips slightly and walked towards the direction of the piano sound, but the smile in his eyes was very cold, even with a hint of annoyance.

Concubine Zheng angrily threw her handkerchief and followed him.

In front of two red plum trees, there was a woman wearing a red veil and a plain cloak. In front of her was a table and a piano. As her slender fingers plucked the piano, the lingering sound, combined with the white snow-covered ground and the red plum blossoms, was like a scene in a painting.

The scenery was beautiful, the women were beautiful, and the music was beautiful. Looking at the emperor's gaze and the queen's smile, many concubines gasped, fearing that they would have another sister today.

Gu Wenshi, who had to lag behind the other concubines because of her status, was so excited when she saw how outstanding her Xin'er was and saw that the emperor's eyes were fixed on the front that she clenched the handkerchief in her hand.

After today, the mother and daughter will be able to hold their heads high.

But as soon as she raised her lips to smile, her skin froze and she couldn't help but reach out and stroke her cheek. The slap she received in the palace last time was not light. Although it couldn't be seen now with the powder on her face, it hurt a lot every time she smiled.

A quarter of an hour later, the piano piece ended.

Gu Youxin walked forward gracefully and bowed to the crowd: "Your humble servant is here to present your humble service."

She was dressed in plain clothes, with only the veil on her face and the gold, jewel-inlaid, and red plum hairpin on her bun adding some color, like an elf in the snow.

"If your hands are still considered ugly, then no woman in the capital would dare to say that she can play the piano."

The Queen smiled approvingly.

"I am a humble servant, with limited talent and learning, and can only offer this humble skill to please my lords."

Gu Youxin glanced at the emperor's face with shy and charming eyes, and when she saw that majestic gaze falling on her, the shyness between her eyebrows became even stronger.

"Your Majesty, I feel a little cold. Let's go back to Zhaoyingxuan."

Concubine Zheng looked at Gu Youxin coldly as she tried to win favor with a coquettish look, and she wished she could send someone to smash her face.

"Sister Zheng is right. It snowed last night, and it's still quite cold outside. We can bear it, but Concubine Shen may not be able to."

The queen readily accepted the advice.

When they returned, everyone had lost their previous interest. They had not seen the emperor for a long time, and had gotten up before dawn to dress up for the banquet in an attempt to get the emperor's attention. Now, they had been overtaken by an outsider.

"I will be leaving the palace with my mother today. I have caused trouble for the Emperor and the Empress these past few days. I offer this cup of wine as an apology."

As soon as everyone sat down, Gu Youxin brought a cup of wine to the emperor and empress, and bowed down with a guilty look on her face.

"Hurry up, you're young, so it's inevitable that you'll be inconsiderate. There's no need to apologize."

"This glass of wine is a farewell gift for you. You are Concubine Gu's biological sister, so you are not an outsider."

The queen looked at the emperor with a smile.

The emperor is currently doing a good job on the one in Changchun Palace, so I don't think he will refuse.

The emperor indeed signaled to the eunuch who was adding wine.

While the concubines present were disdainful and jealous, Gu Youning's gaze was inadvertently moving back and forth between the eunuch who was pouring the wine and Gu Youxin's face.

Sure enough, the expressions of both of them were different.

When the emperor drank the wine, Gu Youxin could not suppress the excitement in his eyes and could only lower his head to hide it. The eunuch's eyes never left the wine cup in the emperor's hand.

"Miss Gu Si, please sit with your mother."

The queen put down her wine cup and spoke gently.

"Yes."

When Gu You stood up, the curve of his mouth was very obvious.

"Today is a good day for Concubine Gu. Shouldn't Concubine Gu offer a glass of wine to the Emperor first?"

"We might as well have a drink too."

Li Cairen said with a smile.

Gu Youning's eyes flickered slightly, and he picked up the wine cup in his hand and stood up.

"Pour the wine."

The emperor would certainly not fail to give face to Gu Youning.

Bang!

"Damn slave!"

But the eunuch who was pouring wine for the emperor had a trembling hand and poured the entire pot of wine onto the emperor.

"How do you do things? Drag it away."

Cao Zhong's face darkened. The people in the imperial court had always been cautious in their work and had never made such a mistake before.

"Next to it is the Xunmei Pavilion. I was worried that Concubine Shen would be too tired to rest, so I asked the palace maids to clean up and light the charcoal fire. Your Majesty, please go and change your clothes."

The Queen said with a worried look on her face.

"These palace servants are really careless."

"It will take some time for Eunuch Cao to send someone to get the clothes, so why not let me accompany you?"

Concubine Zheng's face was full of concern.

"No need."

The emperor waved his hand to refuse.

"I see that Concubine Shen looks really bad today, so the Imperial Concubine should stay and look after her."

Seeing that Concubine Zheng looked unhappy because of the emperor's rejection, the queen spoke to smooth things over.

Concubine Zheng looked back and saw that her half-sister's face was indeed ugly. In addition, she was indeed wary of the Queen, so she sat down angrily.

"Your Majesty, please go quickly and don't catch a cold."

Gu Youning also expressed concern.

"Why are you like this?"

After the emperor left, Concubine Zheng looked at her concubine sister unhappily. She used to be fine eating stale rice and cold dishes in the mansion, but now she has become spoiled after being treated well.

"No...I'm fine."

Shen Jieyu lowered her head, pulled her handkerchief, and her expression became even uglier.

"Miss."

Caifu softly reminded him, not only for her own master, but also...

Thinking about how she accidentally learned from the maid who followed the lady into the palace that Caiyue’s family had already... Caifu’s originally hesitant heart hardened a little.