♂?，，

  Bae Sang, no matter how powerful he is, is just an old man who will soon enter the grave. Recently, the cold weather and influenza have been rampant in Shengjing, even young people with strong bodies can easily fall ill if they are not careful. Bae Sang contracted a cold and was bedridden at home, which is nothing new or surprising.

  But Ming Xuan still sensitively sensed that as soon as she spoke, Empress Pei's grip on her hand loosened slightly. For a moment, she couldn't understand the deep meaning behind Empress Pei's actions and didn't know what information Empress Pei wanted to convey to her, so she dared not say another word and quietly stood aside with a composed expression.

  It's just that whatever comes, she has become as quiet as a tree, but still can't withstand the various curious and scorching gazes. Among the imperial consorts present, which one is not calculating? Seeing Ming Huan appear in this situation, they all had their own thoughts after a few glances. Those with shallower minds only guessed that Pei Jing Chen might be about to be conferred as king, while those with deeper minds thought of even more possibilities. Now seeing her being singled out by Empress Pei to talk, they all looked at her with their own thoughts.

  Empress Pei smiled and gently patted Ming Xuan's palm, "Sister-in-law should come to accompany me more often in the future."

  Just as Ming Xuan was about to respond, a soft and pleasant voice suddenly spoke up beside her ear, "Your Majesty, apart from being your elder sister-in-law, Madame Pei is also the cousin of Consort Gui. In the future, when Madame Pei comes to the palace to play, she can't just accompany you alone."

  Her voice became softer, "Madam Pei, I have always admired and revered the late Empress Yuan. As her younger sister, if one day I enter the palace to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress and Noble Consort, I will definitely come to the Guiren Palace to look for you, for I have many things I wish to discuss with you."

  The one who said this was Yu Huifei.

  She interrupted Empress Pei's words in court, dragged Concubine Gu into the conversation, and even mentioned Consort Yuan, a topic that was often avoided in the palace. Her demeanor was haughty enough to make people feel that although Yu Huifeng's rank was below that of the empress and concubines, she, who had given birth to the eldest son, was the true mistress of the inner palace.

  Ming Xuan stole a glance at Yu Hui Fei, and saw that she was not particularly good-looking, her figure slightly frail, looking very slender, her temperament also somewhat pale, looking much older than the Empress and Hui Fei, only with a hint of melancholy in the corners of her eyebrows and eyes, as if she could burst into tears at any moment, quite different from the dignified Empress and the reserved Gui Fei.

  She thought that it was this gentleness and difference that allowed Empress Hui to stand upright in the inner palace at such an age, and even gave birth to the eldest son of the emperor first. However, Empress Hui, who had always been low-key, was so aggressive in front of her relatives and wives, which made people feel a bit out of tune.

  The inner palace struggles, thoughts are cunning, unknowingly it's a battle without gunpowder smoke. This is something ordinary people don't understand.

  Empress Pei seemed to be hiding her emotions, but the unnatural expression on her face was hard to conceal. Her mouth curled up slightly as if smiling yet not quite smiling, and she said, "The love and loyalty that Consort Hui has for Empress Yuan is something that all of us sisters have witnessed. Since it's so deep and sincere, I will report it to the Emperor and when the anniversary of Empress Yuan's death comes around in a few months, I will invite Consort Hui to move to the Imperial Mausoleum Palace to offer sacrifices and prayers for Empress Yuan's spirit."

  Her last sentence was almost spoken out with gritted teeth.

  Just as Empress Hui was about to say something, she suddenly heard the sound of the pearl curtain rustling in the palace. A small eunuch from the Huangji Palace came forward with an imperial edict: "The banquet at Jiaotai Hall is ready. His Majesty invites Her Majesty the Empress and the noble guests to enter together."

  The Empress Pei's smile grew even brighter as she stood up and shook her heavy sleeves, leading the crowd out of the main hall first.

  Ming Xuan and Ming He exchanged a glance, and they both automatically followed behind the old princess of Dongping, following her out.

  Kun Ning Palace is located in the center of the inner palace, and it's not far from Jiao Tai Temple. The corridor along the way is painted with crimson color, and on both sides of the corridor are planted some red plum blossoms. Against the backdrop of snow, they look particularly elegant and refined. Therefore, the Empress suggested walking over instead of taking a sedan chair, so as not to miss these beautiful scenes. The scene was indeed picturesque. East Ping Old Princess was the first to agree with her, and other princesses were also excited, and they all agreed to have a poetry competition on the theme of "white snow and red plum blossoms" after a while.

  Yu Huifei's mood was somewhat poor.

  She had just given birth not long ago, and her body had not fully recovered. In order to look a bit more presentable, she didn't wear any warm clothing under the heavy imperial attire of Empress Hui today. Originally, she was carried here in a sedan chair, and after arriving at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, she remained seated in the warm room, so she hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary. But now, as she walked along the icy corridor, her body kept shivering with cold.

  She couldn't possibly make a fuss and take the sedan chair again, as there were several elderly princesses in the entourage, aside from Old Lady Princess Dongping, who were all highly respected figures in the imperial clan due to their seniority. The Emperor had always shown them great respect in order to demonstrate his filial piety. Now they were all in high spirits, smiling and admiring the plum blossoms as they walked. She couldn't possibly leave them behind and take the sedan chair ahead of time. As someone who had risen from the lowest ranks, she knew best that being arrogant due to imperial favor must be kept within limits.

  Furthermore, it is said that after the banquet, everyone present must hand over poems with plum blossoms as the theme. Her face turned black, she was just a concubine daughter of Dingguo Gong, who climbed to her current position by being considerate and gentle, and gained favor from the emperor. Where did she understand poetry? The maids around her didn't have any useful skills either, so they thought that the empress must be intentionally trying to make her lose face, and her eyes became even more gloomy.

  It took less than half a moment for this journey, but Yu Huifei found it unusually difficult.

  Not long after taking his seat, the Emperor announced that he would confer the title of King of Xiangchu to Pei Jingchen. His words were sincere and heartfelt: "The late Emperor had once given instructions on this matter, which I have always wanted to implement as soon as possible, so that the late Emperor and King Xiangchu could rest in peace with a smile. However, over the past few years, since my accession to the throne, the Zhou Dynasty has been plagued by war and disasters, and this matter was delayed. Recently, after consulting with our relatives, we felt that the line of King Xiangchu should not be cut off, so I have decided to confer this title on his grandson."

  He paused, "The King of Xiangchu has only one daughter, the Princess of Yongjia, and she only gave birth to Zhen's younger brother. The throne should be succeeded by Zhen's younger brother, and all relatives have agreed. I have also drafted an imperial edict to grant Zhen's younger brother a national surname, enfeoff him as the King of Anping, and inherit the lineage of the King of Xiangchu. When the astrologer chooses a auspicious day and time, please ask Zhen's younger brother to move back to the palace."

  The imperial decree is unalterable; Pei Jingxuan has reached this point and can only express gratitude.

  The husband is noble and the wife is honored, Ming Xuan also stood up with Pei Jingchen to pay respects.

  The emperor glanced at Ming Xuan, his eyes complexly gazing for a moment before waving his hand and saying, "Today's family banquet doesn't require such formalities, please take your seats, King Anping and Queen Anping."

  He raised the cup in his hand and said loudly, "I, the Zhou royal family, have few descendants, and there are only a few relatives in the court. I hope that the Zhou bloodline will be united in heart and virtue, so that our Zhou dynasty can last for millions of years, forever unbroken, and not disappoint the ancestors' great wishes. Yuan Ge, since Lin Nan Wang Shu is bedridden with illness and cannot attend, drink an extra cup on his behalf, to make up for his absence at this grand occasion."

  Prince Zhou Yuan of Lin Nan stood up, he was very tall and dark-skinned, wearing the royal attire of a prince, looking quite majestic and different from the handsome men in the hall. He had an air of a great general about him. Upon hearing this, he poured two cups of strong wine on the table to the brim, raised his cup high and shouted, "I, Yuan, wish His Majesty prosperity and longevity, long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times!" After finishing speaking, he drank the wine in one gulp, very heroic.

  The atmosphere in the hall was suddenly heated up, and the cups and chopsticks were constantly intersecting.

  In the middle of the banquet, the king and princes were still drinking and having fun. The empress led the female guests into a side hall, where a palace maid brought in writing materials. The empress smiled and said, "The emperor and kings rarely gather together, today is a joyful occasion, I'm afraid they won't be able to finish drinking for at least two hours. We'll have fun composing poems here, it's also a wonderful thing. Just now, the old queen dowager said that the red plum blossoms against the white snow in the palace are beautiful, so let's take 'plum and snow' as our theme, without limiting ourselves to poetry or song."

  She continued, "If it's just poetry, if there isn't a bit of fun to it, then it won't be interesting. Why not do it this way: after the poem is finished, I'll have the female officials copy it out first, and the copied manuscript will be anonymous, all sent together to the main hall for the Emperor to evaluate and rank in three grades. The top three grades will each receive rewards. What does everyone think?"

  Flowers will be used to make poetry, which is the most common activity. The old ladies, including the queen and the princesses, all enjoy it. They are already noble queens and do not care about these empty names. It's just a way for them to have fun. No one takes it seriously. Since the empress proposed this, everyone agreed, and it's not a big deal. Therefore, everyone said yes very calmly.

  Ming Xuan noticed the emperor's gaze on her when she was thanking him in the palace, although it was just a glance, it was enough to make her heart tremble with fear.

  She wasn't afraid that the emperor had taken a liking to her. In fact, although she and her elder sister Ming Rong looked somewhat similar in appearance, their personalities were vastly different. Moreover, she had deliberately applied heavy makeup today to conceal her original features, making it truly difficult for anyone to associate her with the former Empress Yuan. The emperor was accustomed to seeing beauties in the harem, so he wouldn't have any designs on someone like her. However, the complexity of his gaze when looking at her made it impossible for her to discern his intentions - was he feeling guilty or uncomfortable because he saw a resemblance to his late wife's sister?

  But no matter what, she didn't want to attract the emperor's attention again. She would never show off her poetry skills, nor did she want to repeat the same mistake as last time at the Auxiliary Country Duke's mansion, because she didn't want to plagiarize others' poems and wasn't good at it anyway, so she chose to replace it with painting but unexpectedly attracted even more attention. So this time, she would quietly think of some mediocre sentences to muddle through, resolutely refusing to be the first and also resolutely not being too bad to attract attention.

  Ming Xuan gazed at the red plum blossoms in the vase, thinking for a moment, just as she was about to start writing. Suddenly, she heard a cry of "Ah yo" and Yu Huifei clutched her stomach and slid off the stool, falling to the ground.

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books