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

"It seems that the Imperial Concubine has recovered from her illness. Concubine Gu, please come with me."

Empress Cui stood up with the help of the palace maid and glanced down meaningfully.

"Yes."

Gu Youning responded respectfully, but his face was still immersed in the joy of seeing his family, as if he was unaware.

However, as Queen Cui walked out, a cold and hateful look flashed across her eyes.

A woman in gorgeous clothes was already sitting below the Phoenix Throne in the main hall.

She was dressed in a palace dress embroidered with gold cloud brocade, with a shawl with a phoenix-shaped pattern on her arm. A few small gold-inlaid jade combs were inserted into her elegant peony bun, and the oriental pearls hanging from her hairpin were large and lustrous.

The phoenix eyes beneath the willow-shaped eyebrows are inherently arrogant and sharp, but there seems to be some imperfections on her face.

"The Queen is finally here. I have been waiting for a long time."

The woman stood up and bowed slightly.

"It is my fault for keeping the Imperial Concubine waiting for so long."

Empress Cui sat down on the Phoenix Throne, her expression gentle as usual. Her eyes then fell on the teacup in Concubine Zheng's hand. She turned to the palace maids waiting in the hall and said, "What a fool! Concubine Zheng has a heart disease, how can she drink this tea?"

The palace maid quickly knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, you're joking. Fengyi Palace is quiet and elegant, and the servants there are naturally clear-sighted and intelligent. How can you say they're confused?"

Concubine Zheng casually fiddled with the armor on her hand.

"Please forgive me, Imperial Concubine. This red robe was just sent here from the south the other day. This maidservant probably didn't dare treat you badly. She just meant well but ended up doing something bad, forgetting that Imperial Concubine's body couldn't handle it."

The Queen's thoughts are indeed not simple.

Gu Youning listened to the conversation between the two and thought to himself.

Concubine Zheng said that Fengyi Palace was quiet, implying that the Queen's grace was shallow, and that the servants were not confused, and pointed out that the Queen had no kindness towards her.

The queen calmly responded to each of their requests, hinting that there were some blessings that she could not enjoy.

After hearing this, Concubine Zheng did not seem angry, but chuckled, and her beautiful eyes turned to Gu Youning.

"This must be Concubine Gu who just returned from the imperial palace. She really looks lovely. No wonder even the Empress is talking a little more today."

Gu Youning had concealed the emotions in her eyes before entering the palace. Now with a slight smile on her face, she bowed to Concubine Zheng and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you."

"The appearance is really good. This palace is for raising people."

"Your Majesty, you are so kind."

Since Concubine Zheng did not call out, Gu Youning could only remain in the posture of saluting.

"I'm not exaggerating. If it weren't for her beauty, His Majesty wouldn't have been nearly late for the morning court today."

Concubine Zheng looked casual, but her words were a bit harsh.

Gu Youning understood that Concubine Zheng was dissatisfied with her. Thinking of what the concubine had just said, a cold suspicion flashed in her lowered eyes.

At this time, concubines from various palaces came one after another to pay their respects.

"Your Majesty was exhausted from court duties last night. I couldn't bear to wake him up early, so I let him sleep for a quarter of an hour longer. It's my fault."

Everyone knew whether the emperor had missed the morning court session, so Gu Youning didn't need to make excuses on the matter.

The concubines who had just come in in twos and threes were surprised and envious when they heard this.

Ordinary concubines served the emperor in bed, and it was not their turn to say a word when the emperor came or left.

Sure enough, Concubine Gu, who had served the emperor in the Eastern Palace, was not disfavored by the emperor as they had previously thought.

"Most people have arrived. Concubine Gu, please take a seat."

Queen Cui on the Phoenix Throne spoke.

"Yes."

Gu Youning helped Tan Yin stand up with his hand and sat down below Concubine Zheng.

There were few concubines of high rank in the palace, and although she was not in the main seat, she could sit second only to him.

Sitting below her was the talented Chen Yufei, who looked unhappy.

It's nothing. Yesterday, Chen Yufei was proud of her status as a talented person, but today she feels inferior to others.

"You should go sit down too. Baolin, why are you serving me?"

Not long after Gu Youning sat down, Concubine Zheng turned around and spoke coldly.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman dressed in a lotus-patterned white palace dress, whose features bore a resemblance to Concubine Zheng.

Gu Youning paused holding the teacup.

There were two Zhengs living in Cheng'an Palace. Although Concubine Zheng was the legitimate daughter of the Zheng family, she was born with a heart disease and had difficulty giving birth, so the Zheng family sent a concubine's daughter into the palace, obviously with the intention of using her as a surrogate mother to give birth to a child.

She remembered that in her previous life, Zheng Baolin did give birth to a prince, but died of complications during childbirth.

Zheng Baolin lowered his head and responded softly, then went downstairs. Gu Youning quietly looked at the girl from the Zheng family, whose face she didn't even remember, and saw that her brows were extremely submissive, without any sign of reluctance.

Slowly withdrawing his hand, Gu Youning had a vague idea in his mind.

"He Chongyuan is here."

The last one has arrived.

"The Queen."

"No need to be polite, He Chongyuan, why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"

Queen Cui's worried voice sounded from above.

"My concubine is fine."

He Chongyuan stood up with an indifferent expression and sat in the first seat on the right.

"Empress Chongyuan must be tired. She just had the blessing of raising a prince yesterday, so she must be getting up early and staying up late."

Chen Yufei, who was sitting below Gu Youning, chuckled.

"Indeed, the Second Prince is already sensible, and taking care of him is no easier than taking care of a swaddled baby."

"I heard that it was the Queen Mother who gave the order herself yesterday. The Queen Mother really values ​​​​Nymph Chongyuan very much."

……

As soon as Chen Yufei finished speaking, several people followed.

Gu Youning discovered that most of the concubines who were speaking came from aristocratic families.

The daughters of aristocratic families are indeed united.

But these words...

Gu Youning glanced down casually. Chen Yufei was not too stupid. She must have been the one who spread the incident in Ci'an Palace yesterday, otherwise the concubines would not have been so targeted in their ridicule.

There was constant talking in the hall, but the two concubines sitting in the first seats on the left and right were very indifferent.

Concubine Zheng was still playing with her armor. No matter what He Chongyuan, who was being talked about by everyone, thought in her heart, she looked calm, but her eyes seemed to drift towards Gu Youning inadvertently a few times.

Unlike yesterday, Fengyi Palace is very lively today. Originally, Gu Youning was serving the emperor in bed yesterday and should have been the most eye-catching person in the palace, but with He Chongyuan's favor yesterday, her attention was overshadowed.

This also suits Gu Youning's wishes.

Although she didn't want the people in the palace to look down on her and think that she and her son could be bullied at will, she didn't want to be stared at by everyone.

But Gu Youning didn't expect that someone still had his eyes on her.