The Queen and others standing by were completely dumbfounded when they saw what happened.

Wan Rongyue?

Shouldn't she be staying in the cold palace? Why did she suddenly appear at this palace banquet?

For a moment, all the concubines, including the queen, wanted to bite their teeth and clench their handkerchiefs tightly, wishing they could go up to her and scratch the face of that vixen in person.

How hateful! In such a situation, this evil concubine was allowed to take advantage of the opportunity. If she regains favor, how can the other sisters in the harem survive?

The Queen immediately gave Concubine Liang a look, and Concubine Liang understood. She immediately walked to the center of the square, knelt in front of Emperor Shengjing, and advised:

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has been seriously ill and has been ordered to recuperate. I'm afraid it's inappropriate for her to appear at Prince Yong's celebration banquet. Please send someone to take her away immediately to rectify the palace rules!"

When the imperial concubine had an affair with someone, the explanation given to the public was that she had contracted a serious illness and needed to rest at home. However, many concubines in the harem knew what actually happened, and Concubine Liang was one of them.

Concubine Liang knew that her words would offend Emperor Shengjing, but she could not care less at the moment. She had to obey the Queen's order. Besides, she did not want the evil concubine Wan Rongyue to continue to seduce the emperor.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Emperor Shengjing's face immediately turned dark, and he looked at Concubine Liang as if he was looking at a dead person.

Under the intense pressure from Emperor Shengjing, Concubine Liang couldn't help but tremble and put her hands in front of her stomach.

After a while, Emperor Shengjing smiled instead of getting angry. He raised the corner of his mouth and said, "Liang Fei, you are right. In that case, the Imperial Concubine's dance tonight has greatly pleased me, and the officials are also intoxicated by it. In addition, the Imperial Concubine has been recuperating for a year and is in good health. From now on, your title and honor will be restored, and you will work with the Empress to manage the affairs of the six palaces."

Concubine Liang was dumbfounded!

The queen and all the concubines were also dumbfounded!

As expected, Wan Rongyue was a demon concubine who brought chaos to the court. As soon as she appeared, the emperor made an exception for her again, restored her honorable position, and gave her the power to assist in managing the six palaces.

"Your Majesty! This is inappropriate..."

Concubine Liang wanted to continue her persuasion, but the emperor glanced at Su Qinian. Su Qinian stepped forward, bowed to Concubine Liang and said, "The imperial edict has been issued. Your Majesty, please return!"

After Concubine Liang stood up, she glared at Wan Rongyue unwillingly, her eyes full of hostility.

Seeing this, Wan Rongyue shrank back into the arms of Emperor Shengjing like a frightened deer, "Your Majesty..."

Emperor Shengjing turned his head and caught the hatred on Concubine Liang's face that had not yet been retracted. He immediately added to Su Qinian behind him:

"Starting tomorrow, you will personally go to the Imperial Household Department to select a few clever palace maids to serve the Imperial Concubine personally. Also, all expenses must be based on the Imperial Concubine's expenses. Do you understand?"

When Su Qinian heard this, he thought of the previous luxury of the Imperial Concubine's Pepper Room and could not help but secretly click his tongue and replied, "I obey your order."

His Majesty has personally instructed that the palace maids and expenses must be of the best.

It seems that the situation in the harem is about to change!

"Your Majesty... I appreciate your kindness towards me, but I came here mainly to see Your Majesty. Seeing that you are in good health, I will be relieved.

I have been recuperating these days and have reflected a lot. Money is nothing but material possessions. I heard that Guanzhong suffered a severe drought this year and the people have no harvest. Could you please donate all of your Majesty's rewards to the people of Guanzhong? Firstly, I would like to share your Majesty's worries and do my best to help. Secondly, I hope that the people of Guanzhong can have a better life..."

As Wan Rongyue finished her words, even the officials present couldn't help but give her a thumbs up in their hearts.

"Your Highness, despite holding a high position, has not forgotten your original aspirations, and has cared deeply about the people of the world. Donating money and supplies to the people in the disaster area is a noble act. I, an old minister, am ashamed to follow your example and donate 5,000 taels of silver from my own pocket to Guanzhong for disaster relief."

The speaker was a third-rank elder in the court, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Shangguan. He was a man of integrity and incorruptibility. Five thousand taels wasn't much for him, but it wasn't too little either.

As everyone knows, this Lord Zhongshu Ling can wear the same robe for more than ten years, and he will not replace his shoes until the soles are worn out. He also requires his wife, children, and grandchildren in his family not to indulge in pleasure, and their monthly allowance cannot exceed ten taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver. The monthly allowance of servants in some officials' families was more than this amount.

This donation of 5,000 taels made the other officials feel heartbroken.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue stood up with a look of joy on his face and praised Lord Shangguan, "Lord Shangguan is truly righteous. I admire him. I would like to follow the example of the Imperial Concubine and Lord Shangguan and donate three thousand taels of silver to help with the disaster relief in Guanzhong..."

As the Minister of Revenue finished speaking, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Personnel, and some other officials looked at each other, and finally stood up one after another, bowing to Emperor Shengjing and saying:

"I am willing to donate two thousand taels..."

"I donated one thousand taels..."

"I am willing to donate eight hundred taels..."

Seeing the court officials generously donating money out of their own pockets, Emperor Shengjing was in a very good mood. He even looked at Prince Yong in a more favorable light.

Prince Yong commands a large army and enjoys considerable prestige in the military. This time he has recovered twelve lost cities in succession. His reputation has become a rival to the imperial power. Even at tonight's celebration banquet, the two brothers knew in their hearts that it was just a facade of harmony between the monarch and his subjects.

Unexpectedly, this time under the leadership of the imperial concubine, the wind direction once again turned to the court. How could Emperor Shengjing be in a bad mood?

The queen, as a role model for the harem, had no choice but to grit her teeth and step forward, pretending to be compassionate and sympathetic, and praised:

"My dear sister, you have such an awakening. It seems that you have really been diligent in self-cultivation and have grown a lot these days. I am very pleased.

In this case, I, as an example to the sisters in the harem, am willing to donate five thousand taels of silver and several pieces of gold and silver jewelry from my own share to the victims of the disaster in Guanzhong."

With the queen taking the lead, the other concubines had to grit their teeth and step forward to donate silver, no matter how reluctant they were.

Some high-ranking concubines received three thousand taels, some received two thousand taels, and there was more or less some token of appreciation.

The concubines all maintained fake smiles on their faces, but in fact they cursed Concubine Wan no less than a hundred times in their hearts.

As soon as this evil concubine who caused chaos in the harem appeared, she caused everyone to spend a large sum of money, and she also gained all the fame.

What is going on!

At that time, the national treasury received a total of 35,832 taels of silver from this dinner, including all the civil and military officials in the court, the concubines in the harem, and the spoils brought back by Prince Yong, as well as some valuable gold and silver jewelry.

Emperor Shengjing was in a good mood. He raised his glass and laughed a few times, saying, "Well done! You are indeed loyal and good men of Great Xia. On behalf of the people of Guanzhong, I thank you all for your generosity."

He then instructed Su Qinian to prepare a list of all the donors tonight and hand it over to the Minister of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue's face was wrinkled from laughing.

He had been worried recently about the empty national treasury and the inability to allocate disaster relief funds. Unexpectedly, the arrival of Concubine Wan added more than 30,000 taels of silver to the national treasury, which greatly relieved the pressure on the Ministry of Revenue.

On this side, Emperor Shengjing was overjoyed. He gathered Wan Rongyue in front of the public and praised her:

"After a year of absence, my beloved concubine gave me such a big surprise the moment she appeared. I am so blessed by heaven that I can meet my beloved concubine in my lifetime!"

Wan Rongyue leaned against the arms of Emperor Shengjing, a small, delicate figure, a perfect smile on her face. "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is not at all my credit. It is clearly because of your Majesty's diligence, love for the people, and concern for the world that we have a sage monarch and wise ministers."

"Hahahaha! After not seeing you for a year, my beloved concubine has become even more eloquent." Emperor Shengjing couldn't help himself and immediately reached out and scratched Wan Rongyue's nose lovingly, making her blush.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, the ministers are still here..."

At Wan Rongyue's reminder, the emperor then took her hand and walked to the dragon throne.

Su Qinian was just about to ask someone to bring another chair when the emperor said, "No need for that. My beloved concubine has performed a great dance tonight and has taken the lead in donating disaster relief funds. So please sit next to me."

As he said this, he was about to pull Wan Rongyue to sit on it, but was rejected by Wan Rongyue.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like