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

After Tan Yin retreated calmly, Gu Youning's gaze returned to the dance in the center of the hall.

"Why does this person look familiar? She looks like Lin Yunu?"

Suddenly, Chen Cainv's surprised voice sounded.

As soon as these words were spoken, the concubines on the half-stairs all stared at the dancers below.

Concubines below the fifth rank were not eligible to attend the banquet, so Lin Yu-nu naturally would not appear at the banquet.

However, after everyone looked at her, they were still a little uncertain, because Lin Yunv usually looked timid and had never dressed up, which was very different from her current temperament and appearance.

Only Gu Youning, who had known it for a long time, was not troubled at all and just enjoyed the food on the table contentedly.

The emperor's attention was originally attracted by the dreamlike dance below, but when he lowered his head to pick up the wine and saw that the woman looked very happy, the admiration and obsession in his eyes faded a lot.

"Your Majesty, Miss Lin has spent a whole month preparing for the Queen Mother's birthday celebration. Even I, a concubine, cannot match her sincerity."

The queen's words completely dispelled the concubines' suspicions.

The one below is indeed Lin Yunv. I didn’t expect that she has such ability.

"This dance is indeed quite good, and it suits my taste very well. It's hard for this child."

"It's time to reward him."

Seeing the satisfaction on the empress dowager's face, the concubines felt even more uncomfortable. After Lin Yunv's dance, all the rare treasures they had prepared were nothing in comparison. Even the emperor was looking down with an obsessed gaze.

"It is a blessing for Lady Lin to be favored by the Queen Mother. As for this reward..."

The Queen's inquiring gaze fell on the Emperor's face.

When the concubines below saw this, they felt even more uncomfortable. Chen Yufei almost tore the handkerchief in her hand. The empress dowager had said that if Lin Yu was promoted above her level, she would be on the same level as her.

Imperial favor and status are the two things that the women in the harem care about most.

Several concubines from aristocratic families also looked unhappy. He Chongyuan's father was a third-rank official, and Gu Youning had a son, the eldest prince. It would be fine if these two men were above them, but Lin Yunv had neither a family background nor an heir favored by the emperor. Why did she step over them?

Lady Wen withdrew her gaze coldly and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

"What the Queen Mother said is that once this dance is over, I will issue an imperial decree to reward you."

Xiao Heng usually didn't care much about Lin Yunv, but this dance was indeed amazing, and won the favor of his mother. Moreover, Lin Yunv was not from a noble family, which was also beneficial for balancing the power of the harem.

This sentence wiped out the last bit of relief in the concubines' hearts.

In the entire hall, Gu Youning was probably the only one with the calmest mind. She even admired Lin Yunv's masterpiece after a month of hard practice with a bright smile.

But in that smile, a dark light flashed from time to time.

At this moment, the hall was suddenly filled with the fragrance of peach. When everyone looked over, they saw that Lin Yu-nu was already holding a lifelike longevity peach in her hand and floating towards the seat of honor.

A soft gauze shawl fluttered around her body, and her feet were as light as flying, making her look like a fairy offering longevity.

Even the always picky Queen Mother, whose face was always cold and harsh even in front of the emperor, was filled with a satisfied smile: "I haven't seen you for a long time..."

boom!

The accident happened at this moment. Lin Yunv, who was as light as a swallow, suddenly swayed and fell heavily to the ground, and the longevity peach in her hand also flew to the ground.

The longevity peach was made of pink colored glass, and it shattered as soon as it hit the ground. Some pieces even flew onto the seat of honor, scaring the palace maids so much that they ran forward.

"Is the Queen Mother okay?"

The emperor quickly turned sideways and spoke with concern.

"Your Majesty and Queen Mother, please be careful. Someone, please clean up the debris on the ground."

After being stunned for a moment, the queen quickly stood up and gave instructions to the palace maids standing on both sides.

As for the Queen Mother, her face was as gloomy as her happier appearance just now.

"Mother, are you okay?"

"Why don't you go up and serve your mother?"

Prince Liang below hurried over, first looking upwards with a worried look on his face, then turned back and scolded his princess.

"I'm fine."

Prince Liang was the Queen Mother's favorite. Seeing her son's anxious look, the Queen Mother's displeasure eased a lot.

But when he looked at the emperor and empress, his eyes were very unfriendly.

Especially when she saw the shattered birthday peach on the ground, Queen Mother Cui felt a surge of gloom: "Is this the surprise you gave me?"

"Please calm down, Queen Mother. This is all due to my own inconsiderateness. Although Miss Lin sincerely wishes you a happy birthday, she is timid and inevitably panicked."

The queen stood up with a look of panic on her face, bowed deeply, and spoke humbly and earnestly.

"Please calm down, Queen Mother. The Empress has always been very filial to you. She arranged for Lady Lin to present birthday peaches today in order to please you."

Concubine Zheng also held the hand of the palace maid and lowered her head.

On the surface, these words were spoken for the Queen, but in reality, they were adding fuel to the fire. This meant that the birthday peach that was meant for blessing had been broken into pieces like this, so what was there to be happy about?

Moreover, although the queen is her niece, her heart is not with her. Like her eldest son, she only shows superficial filial piety.

"It's all my fault. If my mother is angry, please punish me."

The queen actually held the hand of a palace maid, walked to the table, and knelt down to the empress dowager.

"Mother, today is your good day. It's not worth getting angry about these things."

Xiao Heng also got down from his seat and personally helped the queen up.

The Queen Mother snorted coldly, but said no more. Since the queen personally knelt down to apologize in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, she naturally had no reason to make trouble.

"Why doesn't Miss Lin get up and leave? Is she lying here trying to displease the Queen Mother?"

Chen Cairen deliberately raised her voice.

She fell flat on her face in public. Just a moment ago, everyone was amazed and she looked as noble as a fairy in the sky. But in just a quarter of an hour, she became the object of everyone's ridicule and mockery.

If you are a thin-skinned person, you will probably want to die of shame and anger.

But Gu Youning only saw deep guilt on that face.

She struggled to get up from the ground, knelt straight, and kowtowed heavily to the throne: "I acknowledge my guilt and have disturbed the Empress Dowager's pleasure. Please punish me."

Gu Youning looked at her coldly. Lin Yunu's left hand and left foot were shaking uncontrollably. It looked like her bones were injured. Her hair was soaked with cold sweat and her face was pale. Even the cold-hearted Queen Mother Cui just kept a sullen expression.

"This was an accident. Let the palace servants take you back to the palace to treat your injuries."

The queen walked up to Lin Yu-nu, leaned down slightly and said a few words of comfort in a gentle voice.

"Thank you, Queen."

"Concubine, please retire."

Lin Yunv kowtowed three times to the empress dowager and the emperor who were sitting on the throne, and acted with full guilt and apology.

"Pretending!"

After the people were carried away, Gu Youning heard Lady Wen behind him say something in a disdainful whisper.

Just at this moment, Gu Youning felt a cold light falling on him.