He Rui, the Empress' most trusted female official, walked behind her and picked up a jade comb to gently comb the Empress' hair. She said, "Your Highness, why are you sighing?
Don't you remember that you grow old quickly when you sigh? "
The Empress smiled faintly and said, "What does it matter if I'm old or not?
Anyway, I've never been good-looking. "
Seeing that the Empress was in a bad mood, He Rui did not dare to laugh and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, as the Empress, you don't have to care so much about your appearance like the other concubines."
Hearing this, the Empress sighed again and said, "How can I not care?
As a woman, there's no one who doesn't care about their appearance. "
Hearing this, He Rui could not help but feel astonished.
In the past, the Empress was the most dignified and self-restrained. She never felt inferior because of her ordinary appearance. Instead, she was very proud of her magnanimity.
Today, she actually complained about something that she used to disdain the most?
It could be seen that today's selection had greatly stimulated her.
"Your Highness, did you see someone very outstanding?"
The Empress looked at her own face reflected in the mirror. The faint eyebrows, the kind nose and lips, and the round jaw that couldn't be seen … She was in a trance, and a face that was as beautiful as the sun that couldn't be hidden appeared in front of her … "Today, I'm selecting ladies for His Majesty. Many of the ladies are very good. They have both bearing and beauty.
There's also someone from the Xue Clan who is really a fairy … "Saying this, the Empress could not help but sigh softly.
Everyone could see that the Emperor regarded the Xue Clan favorably.
When she entered the palace, the Phoenix Palace, which was not lively to begin with, would become even more desolate …
Even the Empress, who did not care much about appearance, said so. Presumably, the Xue Clan was really outstanding.
He Rui thought for a while and asked, "How is the Xue Clan's family background?"
The Empress said, "Their family background is not good. It's just that they're the descendant of Ziwei."
He Rui smiled and said, "Since she's just a merchant's daughter, I don't think there's anyone in her family who can support her.
Why doesn't Your Highness think of a way to suppress her?
It will also let her know who is in charge of the palace. "
The Empress glanced at He Rui and said in a low voice, "That's not difficult. What good is there in doing this?
She'll still have to enter the palace. When that time comes, she'll still be favored by His Majesty … "
He Rui said, "Who knows what will happen in the future?
Her Highness had also said that there were quite a few outstanding beauties among this batch of beauties.
Or perhaps, during the time when the Xue Clan could not enter the palace to be favored, there was someone who had won the Emperor's favor?
In this way, even if the Xue Clan entered the palace again, they would not be able to monopolize it.
Moreover, His Majesty has to deal with a myriad of affairs every day.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he completely forgot about her.
At that time, wouldn't Your Highness be able to do whatever you want with a little beauty who has been forgotten by the Emperor? "
When the Empress heard He Rui's words, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. She smiled and said, "You have a lot of ideas and a quick mind."
He Rui smiled and said, "This servant is loyal and only wants to share Your Highness's worries."
Thus, the Empress fell ill the next day. Moreover, her illness was so severe that she could not get out of bed that day.
When the Emperor heard about this, he hurriedly rushed to Feng Yi Palace after court.
When he saw the Empress lying on the bed listlessly with a sallow complexion, he felt very upset.
He and the Empress were married when they were young. Although they did not love each other deeply, they still had deep feelings for each other.
Moreover, after the Empress became his wife, she did her best to take care of his family matters and gave birth to a son and a daughter for him.
In addition to feelings, he also owed her a debt of gratitude.
Now that she had suddenly fallen ill, how could he not be worried?
Forgetting about his wife after seeing a stunning beauty, that wasn't infatuation. That was called an animal.
After gently comforting the Empress with a few words, the Emperor summoned the imperial physicians for questioning. A room full of gray-haired old imperial physicians murmured for a long time and only came to the conclusion that the Empress's body had suddenly become weak.
As for the reason, they knew but did not know the reason.
When the Emperor heard such absurd words, he, who had always been gentle, could not help but fly into a rage. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "What's the use of raising you?
Are you a freeloader? "
The imperial physicians also felt very wronged. They really didn't diagnose anything!
However, the Empress had a weak and powerless face. Did they have to pretend that the Empress was not ill?
In the end, she was the mistress of the palace. As subordinates, they did not dare to offend her. Weren't they just perfunctory?
Thus, the head of the Imperial Physician's Court could only stand up and say, "Sometimes when the body is weak, it doesn't necessarily mean that the body is sick.
Your Majesty, why don't you summon some experts into the palace? Perhaps they can find out the cause of the Empress's illness … "
There was a certain degree of truth in these words. Thus, the Emperor suppressed the anger in his heart and summoned the Buddhist masters and Daoist experts of the imperial family into the palace that day, asking them to diagnose the Empress.
The masters and Daoists circled around Feng Yi Palace, one twirling Buddhist beads and reciting Buddhist scriptures, the other waving his horsetail whisk to invite the Three Pure Ones. In the end, they all came to the same conclusion: the Empress had been offended.
Master Liaochen stroked his snow-white long beard and talked about the zodiac signs and age, as well as various theories of feng shui in Feng Yi Palace. He spoke until the Emperor felt dizzy and dizzy. In the end, he came to the conclusion that the Empress had been offended by someone who had not yet entered the palace but was about to.
Daoist Jing Si also came to the same conclusion.
The Emperor muttered to himself for a while, then summoned the head steward of the Imperial Household Department and asked, "Among the selected beauties, who has the zodiac sign of the rabbit?"
The head steward of the Imperial Household Department had an account book in his heart, so there was no need for him to go back and check. He replied, "Your Majesty, among the selected young mistresses, only the Empress of Ziwei's Xue Clan has the zodiac sign of the rabbit."
The Emperor furrowed his beautiful brows. "Only her?"
The head steward bowed and replied, "Because Young Mistress Xue is the youngest, she is the only one with the zodiac sign of the rabbit."
Waving the head steward away, the Emperor politely sent off the Daoist and Master. The Emperor sat by the Empress's bed, not speaking for a long time.
The room was very quiet. It was as if the sound of flowers blooming in the courtyard outside could be heard.
The Empress closed her eyes, but her heart was beating very fast, as if it was about to jump out of her chest.
Although the Emperor didn't say anything, she could feel that the Emperor was in a very bad mood.
A sour feeling welled up in her heart. Was the Xue Clan that important to the Emperor?
After a long silence, the Emperor finally sighed softly and said, "Pass down the decree. The Xue Clan will temporarily reside in the Rongguo Mansion. They will enter the palace when they are summoned in the future …"
When Baoqin, who was in Heng Wu Garden, received this brainless decree, he was momentarily stunned. "Eunuch, may I ask, what does this decree … mean?"
The eunuch was full of smiles and answered politely, "This is His Majesty's intention. He is afraid that the young mistress is too young and will find it difficult to part with her family, so he specially issued this decree to allow the young mistress to spend more time with her family.
This decree is only for the young mistress. The other young mistresses don't have this kind of grace … "
If I believe your nonsense, I'm an idiot, okay?
However, from the eunuch's attitude, it could be seen that the reason behind this decree wasn't because the Emperor disliked him, but because of other reasons … With a quick thought, Baoqin respectfully accepted the decree and secretly stuffed an exquisite pouch into the eunuch's hands.
The eunuch pinched the pouch. There was only a thin piece of paper inside. Knowing that it was a banknote, the smile on his face became even more fervent. "Wait a moment, young mistress. There are some rewards here. His Majesty personally selected them for you!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand. A young eunuch following behind him came forward with many treasures and presented them to Baoqin.
Baoqin gently lifted his eyelids and looked at the red lacquered trays.
He saw the sparkling jewels and dazzling satin. Sure enough, each of them were treasures.
There was also a box of small gold and silver ingots of various colors. Some were beautiful, while others were blessed with both good fortune and longevity. All of them were exquisite and cute.
The eunuch smiled and said, "His Majesty empathized with the fact that young mistress Xue is living in someone else's home. He specially bestowed these to young mistress as a reward." As he spoke, he pointed to a stack of banknotes next to the box and said, "These banknotes are all small denominations. It's very convenient to use them.
If young mistress wants to buy something, it's also very cheap … "
It had to be said that as a high and mighty Emperor, it wasn't easy for him to think of these things for Baoqin.
Baoqin's gloominess subsided a little. His smile also became genuine. "How can I accept His Majesty's sympathy?"
The eunuch's eyes narrowed as he smiled. "You can accept it. Only young mistress can accept it …" As a powerful eunuch, how could he not know the real reason why Baoqin couldn't enter the palace for the time being?
However, the Emperor strictly forbade this matter from spreading. He gave Baoqin an edict with a good reason. Why?
Wasn't it for Baoqin's reputation?
Wouldn't it be nice to bear the reputation of offending the Empress before even entering the palace?
Wouldn't it provoke others to gossip?
For the Emperor, who put most of his attention on state affairs, this was the first time he had spent so much effort on a harem who hadn't even received a title yet.
Even Consort Xian, who was so favored, didn't receive such sincere consideration from His Majesty.
This young mistress Xue's future was great!
So what if she was a merchant's daughter?
With His Majesty's favor, she was no longer a lowly merchant's daughter. She was a phoenix that was about to spread her wings. Thinking of this, the eunuch's smile became even more attentive.