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

In order to ease the atmosphere, the Queen calmly and smilingly shifted her gaze to Gu Youning, the next person to present a gift.

But Gu Youning had been feeling uneasy ever since she heard He Chongyuan mention her aunt. Coupled with the Queen Mother's fury and the Emperor and Empress's changing expressions, she knew that there must be something wrong with the hairpin, and it must be a big problem.

"Gu Jieyu?"

The queen kept smiling and called out again.

The emperor standing aside also frowned. It was not that he was dissatisfied with Gu Youning, but he was worried that the woman was frightened by her mother's anger just now.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, this concubine..."

Before the emperor could help but speak, Gu Youning spoke. She was feeling uneasy at the moment and did not force herself to be calm, so she simply pretended to be frightened.

"Tan Yin, present the birthday gift."

Gu Youning looked a little hurried and gestured to Tan Yin behind him to come forward.

"I have nothing of my own. I only copied a Buddhist scripture with the eldest prince to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday."

As soon as Gu Youning finished speaking, Tan Yin opened the rosewood box.

“Is there incense in here?”

In order to show their filial piety and curry favor with the empress dowager, many concubines in the harem sent hand-copied Buddhist scriptures to Ci'an Palace. The empress dowager wanted to directly signal someone to take them down, but as soon as she raised her hand, a quiet and peaceful fragrance wafted into her nose.

"In reply to the Queen Mother, I have put gold powder and a sleeping incense in the ink. I couldn't find any rare items, and I was afraid that the Queen Mother would dislike the simple gift, so I tried many methods."

Gu Youning answered very cautiously, obviously still frightened by the Queen Mother's anger.

“I really put my heart into it.”

Empress Dowager Cui loved luxury, and when she saw that the words in the Buddhist scripture were indeed golden, which looked extremely rich and beautiful, she nodded.

"This fragrance smells really good. Did Concubine Gu mix it herself?"

the queen asked with a smile.

"How could this concubine have such ability? I found the calming incense from the Shangqin Bureau."

Gu Youning shyly denied it, and even added, "I asked the imperial physician to check it, and he confirmed that there is no harm in mixing incense and ink. That's why I dared to tinker with it."

"Gu Jieyu is indeed thoughtful. If you can't sleep well in the future, you can read this Buddhist scripture to help you fall asleep."

"Your Majesty, you are so kind."

Gu Youning bowed his head.

Of course, she had to be more careful. She asked a director of the Imperial Hospital and two imperial doctors to examine the ink mixed with gold powder and spices, so as to prevent anyone from having any ideas about it in the future.

Seeing that his mother was satisfied, Xiao Heng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The woman was lucky, but he had just glanced at the writing and found that there were indeed two types of handwriting. The one with soft and childish strokes and a slightly stiff font should be Zheng'er's. After all, Zheng'er was only five years old and did not have enough wrist strength. But the other one was full of bones and charm. If it did not look a bit like his own handwriting, he would have thought that the woman had asked someone else to write it.

But when did this woman learn to write so beautifully?

Xiao Heng was a little surprised and curious, and his eyes unconsciously looked at Gu Youning.

However, others did not suspect anything else, they just felt a little jealous of Gu Youning for being in the spotlight.

Next, the concubines and princes and ministers also presented gifts in turn. The most eye-catching ones were the three Taihu stones shaped like the three sons "Shou, Kang and An" presented by King Liang.

"My royal brother is truly filial to our mother. You have found such a rare thing."

There was a smile in the emperor's eyes, but a dark light flashed in them.

"My Queen Mother is blessed with great fortune and is the most honored woman in the world. Naturally, she deserves the best."

There was something provocative in the look on King Liang's face.

Such contempt for the emperor's authority made everyone look unhappy.

"Lang'er has always been the most filial. He must have put a lot of thought into finding this birthday gift. Mother is very pleased."

Queen Mother Cui did not notice the undercurrent in the palace, and looked at her young son with joy on her face.

The emperor smiled but said nothing.

……

"I and all the ministers offer another toast to our mother, the Queen Mother."

After the ministers finished offering gifts, the emperor picked up the wine glass.

"Congratulations to the Queen Mother on her eternity."

After this last toast, the banquet tonight ended.

But the concubines did not return to the palace, but went to the back hall together.

"He Chongyuan, what's going on with this hairpin?"

The Emperor and Empress helped Queen Dowager Cui sit down, and the Queen asked with a slightly frown.

"Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with me."

"If I had known that this hairpin was damaged, I would never have presented it to the Queen Mother."

He Chongyuan knelt below, but her back was very straight, with an appearance of "the clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid."

Queen Mother Cui slammed the table heavily and said, "The gift you gave me has nothing to do with you. Do you think I deserve this unlucky gift?"

She became furious whenever she thought of the crane.

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, Your Majesty, and the Empress, this hairpin was made by Lan Sizhen of the Shanggong Bureau at the request of the Master. Fearing it might be damaged, the Master never opened it after sending it to Guanju Palace. The Master was unaware that it had been damaged."

Jinzhu knelt down behind him and explained hurriedly.

Gu Youning clenched his hands under his wide sleeves, and glanced at the master and servant kneeling on the ground with cold eyes. He wanted to put all the blame on his aunt.

She still didn't know what was wrong with the hairpin. Even if she knew, she didn't dare to let anyone inform her aunt at this moment. At the palace banquet, she didn't even dare to let Tan Yin and her mother tell them.

"According to He Chongyuan, this hairpin was already damaged when it was delivered by the Shanggong Bureau?"

"How ridiculous! Everyone knows that Lan Sizhen of the Shanggong Bureau is the most thorough and disciplined person in his work and has never made a mistake. How could he allow a damaged hairpin to leave Sizhen's room?"

"Besides, this hairpin was a birthday gift from He Chongyuan to the Queen Mother. After it was delivered to Guanju Palace, didn't He Chongyuan even take a look at it? Or did He Chongyuan think it wasn't an important item?"

Lady Wen, who was standing next to Gu Youning, mocked.

The rage on Queen Mother Cui's face grew even more intense.

Gu Youning loosened his grip slightly. With Minister He around, the emperor would definitely want to protect He Chongyuan. It would only be the sacrifice of a female official, but the empress dowager was already dissatisfied with He Chongyuan, and she would certainly not let her go easily this time.

"Miss Wen, be careful with your words."

The queen glanced at the emperor's expression and her tone became slightly heavier.

"I also think Lan Sizhen is a good person. This is my first time attending a palace banquet, and I don't know what to wear appropriately. It was Lan Sizhen who gave me some pointers."

"I also asked her about the Queen Mother's preferences. I learned that she likes to worship Buddha, so I thought of giving her Buddhist scriptures."

Gu Youning suppressed his worries, and his gratitude was evident in his words.

In the emperor's heart, she has always been innocent and kind, so it is not surprising to say this.

As for the Queen, even if she was suspicious, she would only think that she was trying to curry favor with the Shanggong Bureau.

"Your Majesty, if you want to know how this hairpin got damaged, He Chongyuan's explanation is only one-sided. Why not summon Lan Sizhen to see what happened?"

Concubine Zheng looked at the emperor tenderly.