The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 347 Peony Banquet 2

As soon as Shen Cao and Wan Yue entered Yuehua Palace, they sensed that something was off about the atmosphere.

Logically, there should be palace maids sweeping and cleaning the courtyard at this time, but there was no one there.

There was no one even at the entrance of the main hall.

The two quickened their pace without realizing it.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Shen Shuhua's figure after entering the main hall.

"Mother, what are you doing? Why is no one in the courtyard?"

Shen Shuhua looked up and saw her daughter, forcing a smile, "You've come."

As the two approached, they saw what the crowd was looking at: a pot of wilted flowers, which could be barely identified by their shape as peonies.

"Is this a peony?"

"Mother, could this be the peony flower that the Empress sent?" Wanyue knew that the Empress seemed to have sent a peony flower to every concubine in the harem.

Today is the peony banquet hosted by the Empress.

Shen Shuhua nodded with a sullen face.

Green Willow, standing to the side, choked with sobs, "It's all my fault, I failed to take good care of the peony."

"How about I go and apologize to the Empress today, and ask her not to blame you?"

“This whole thing is aimed at me today, and your going won’t help.” Shen Shuhua suddenly realized, recalling the scene when the nanny brought flowers that day.

She knew it! Why would Du Yuqing suddenly want to hold a peony banquet?

So we're waiting for her here.

"Oh, right," Granny Cao suddenly said, "there are still peonies in the Imperial Garden, how about using peonies as a substitute?"

Green Willow shook her head. "No, although peonies are similar to tree peonies, there are so many tree peonies at the Peony Banquet that they will be easily distinguishable with just a slight comparison."

"When it's discovered, the Imperial Concubine will definitely be ridiculed by the Empress."

It's likely that this was the Empress's plan.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Shen Cao slowly spoke up, "I have a solution."

Royal Garden

The Empress moved all the peonies from her palace to the Imperial Garden.

There weren't many concubines in the palace. Half a year ago, the Third Prince's mother, Consort Jing, passed away due to a sudden illness, leaving only one of the two consorts.

Some time ago, Consort Na became pregnant, and the Emperor promoted her to the rank of Consort Na.

Nowadays, the imperial harem consists of only one empress, one imperial concubine, two consorts, two concubines, and two concubines-in-waiting.

At this time, apart from the Imperial Concubine, everyone else was dressed in their finest attire and had arrived early.

They all wore peony flowers that the Empress had sent them a few days earlier in their hair.

Peonies are scarce at this time of year, and even if all the peonies were brought here, it would look a bit monotonous.

The Empress then ordered all the peonies from the Imperial Garden to be moved over and used to decorate the area around the pavilion.

On the round stone table in the center of the pavilion, a large red peony stands out prominently among a circle of pink peony flowers.

The Queen was very satisfied with the setup and was excited at the thought of what was going to happen.

In a good mood, she found the pregnant concubine somewhat agreeable and asked with concern, "How is the baby? Is it behaving well?"

The concubine was taken aback at first, then spoke softly, "Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant with a little princess, she's exceptionally well-behaved, I don't feel any discomfort."

The Empress nodded, glanced at her belly, and said, "That's good, as long as there's no trouble."

She then turned to Consort Chun and said, "Now that you are in charge of the harem, and that concubine is pregnant with the emperor's child, you must pay close attention to her and not let the people under you neglect her."

Consort Chun said calmly, "I will remember." And that was all.

The Empress rolled her eyes at her. She was so quiet and reserved. She wondered what the Emperor saw in her that made her manage the harem.

Consort Ru smiled and said, "Your Majesty the Empress is truly remarkable. It's already July, and there are still peonies in bloom."

"I've heard that cultivating just one of these pots costs a thousand gold pieces."

The Empress's face lit up with a smile again. "It's all thanks to the hard work of my servants. They saw that I like peonies, so they specially cultivated some."

"I think we are all sisters in the harem, so I decided to hold this year's peony banquet again and invite all the sisters to enjoy it together."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Apart from Consort Chun sitting there with her head down, seemingly doing nothing, everyone else spoke up.

"By the way, Your Majesty the Empress, where is the Imperial Concubine?" Consort Ru asked somewhat exaggeratedly, as if she had just realized the Imperial Concubine was not there.

Finally, someone mentioned the Imperial Concubine. The Empress seemed to realize it only after being reminded, and said with concern, "I was so busy talking to you all that I didn't even notice that the Imperial Concubine wasn't here."

A mocking smile appeared on Consort Chun's otherwise calm face in the corner.

It disappeared quickly, as if it had never existed.

The Empress turned to the matron beside her and asked, "Did you tell the Consort about the peony banquet I'm hosting today?"

"This servant has clearly informed Her Highness the Imperial Concubine, and Her Highness the Imperial Concubine has stated on the spot that she will definitely come today."

"It's probably because something delayed it."

The Empress sneered inwardly; she knew perfectly well why Shen Shuhua hadn't arrived yet.

She feigned anxiety, saying, "Go to Yuehua Palace and see what's going on. If anything happens, I'll report back immediately."

"Yes."

"Your Majesty, when I first arrived, I passed by Yuehua Palace and saw that the gate was open. I glanced inside, but there was no one in the courtyard," Consort Ru said.

"Something must have been delayed. Wasn't the Imperial Concubine's daughter confined to her quarters by the Emperor?" She picked up her handkerchief and chuckled.

Everyone knew that the Imperial Concubine's daughter, who had been missing for over a decade, had finally been found, and everyone assumed that the Emperor would cherish this daughter even more because of it.

Who would have thought that just a few days later, he would be placed under house arrest.

Upon hearing Consort Ru's words, most of the people present sneered.

Only Consort Chun remained detached, her face expressionless, seemingly lost in thought.

A short while later, the nanny returned.

"Your Majesty, I went to Yuehua Palace. Granny Cao there said that the Imperial Concubine caught a chill last night and didn't fall asleep until late, so she woke up late today."

"I just had breakfast and I'm getting ready."

After saying that, she retreated to the Empress's side.

The Empress pointed to the exquisite pastries on the table, "Then let's eat our pastries while we wait for Consort Gui."

"She arrived late, but she'll surely make a stunning appearance later."

"Her Majesty the Empress is most considerate of her sisters."

"Your Majesty, is the peony in your hair the First Red?" Consort Ru exclaimed, only then noticing the peony in the Empress's hair.

"This color is really beautiful."

The Empress reached out and adjusted the peony in her hair, saying nonchalantly, "I only chose it because of its beautiful color."

Is it precious?

"Your Majesty, this is a very precious breed. It will take a lot of effort to raise it to have the same color as the one on your head."

"It's probably worth more than a thousand gold pieces."

Du Yuqing lowered her head and smiled, "Oh, really?"

Consort Ru continued, “‘Only the peony is truly a national beauty, its blooming season stirs the capital’—this describes the peony in your hair. Only the color of this red peony can match the words ‘graceful and noble.’ Just like you.”

A few words were enough to keep the Empress grinning from ear to ear.

Yes, only she, the Empress, deserves the words "graceful and noble".

Suddenly, a young eunuch's voice came from outside, "The Imperial Concubine has arrived!!"