There was supposed to be someone on duty at the door of the dormitory, but the empress said it was too cold and it would be easy to get chilled by the cold wind blowing while standing at the door, so she asked the servants who guarded the door to rest, leaving only one maid in the house on duty at night.
Now that we are in the Duke's Mansion, of course we have to listen to the empress in everything.
When you get to the palace, you have to follow the rules.
"You said... my wife stayed up late at night, why did she suddenly stand at the door and laugh?" The nanny in Tsing Yi looked at Xi Zhou and asked in a low voice.
"I guess I thought of something interesting, or... I can't sleep, so come to the door and stand for a while." Another nanny replied.
"If you can't sleep, you come to the door to blow the cold air. Isn't this... making it even more difficult to sleep?"
The two chatted in low voices and soon went back.
The days passed.
In a blink of an eye, the day of the New Year’s Eve family dinner arrived.
According to past practice, all those attending the family banquet were relatives of the emperor.
The only difference is that the New Year's Eve family banquets in previous years were all organized by Concubine De, but this year she declined due to physical discomfort, and the good job fell to Concubine Shun.
Concubine Shun was the daughter of the minister of household affairs and entered the palace in the same year as Concubine De.
Concubine De is in the position of the Western concubine, while Concubine Shun is a concubine of the second rank, with a lower status than Concubine De. She is also very low-key in the palace on weekdays and will not leave her palace unless necessary.
Because of this, she was not killed by King Wei.
She was also the one chosen by the Queen Mother for the Emperor to enter the palace.
His father, the Minister of Household Affairs, was a close confidant of the Queen Mother.
Because it was the first time to host a palace banquet, Concubine Shun was very careful. She had been keeping an eye on it personally for the past few days, for fear of any mistakes.
As soon as the hour arrived, people came to Fuhua Hall for the banquet one after another.
Concubine Shun came very early and took charge personally.
Not long after, someone said that Concubine De had arrived.
Concubine Shun was a little surprised.
Didn’t Concubine De send someone to tell her that she would not attend the palace banquet today?
Why are you here again?
Concubine Shun quickly went to the door to greet her in person.
Today's Concubine De was wearing a carmine red dress with a three-feathered phoenix embroidered with gold thread, which looked very luxurious.
Wearing a red gold and red phoenix hairpin on her head.
According to the rules of the palace, concubines can also use phoenixes as decorations, but there are strict requirements for the feathers on the phoenix tails.
The Nine-Leaded Phoenix is only available to the Queen and the Queen Mother.
However, in order to show respect for the queen, concubines generally do not wear phoenix hairpins or embroider phoenixes on their clothes.
Concubine De is an exception.
She was wearing a fox fur cloak and holding a heater in her hand, which just covered her lower abdomen.
However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that her dress is very loose, which is very different from the style that Concubine De liked in the past.
In the past, Concubine De liked elegance and mostly used cyan and green materials to make her clothes. She would occasionally wear moon white and fragrant concubine colors, but she almost never wore red, and she would never let anyone embroider her clothes with gold thread.
Also, her waist is slender, and the dresses she used to wear would have a girdle, but today they are very loose, and there is no girdle at all.
Concubine Shun couldn't help but take a second look.
Rumors began to spread in the palace that Concubine De was pregnant.
As for whose child it is?
it goes without saying!
The emperor had never favored a concubine in the palace, and Concubine De had an affair with King Wei, so this child must be King Wei's.
Concubine Shun was not a meddlesome person and quickly looked away.
Except for the emperor and the queen mother, everyone who should be there arrived.
Concubine De sat at the frontmost seat on the left. Under the gaze of everyone, she picked up the tea cup in front of her and took a sip. She said to Concubine Shun, "This tea is good. It is my favorite flavor. My sister is interested."
"If your Majesty likes it, I'll be relieved." Concubine Shun's voice was soft and her attitude was respectful.
She still admired Concubine De very much. So many people were staring at her belly, but she acted as if nothing was wrong and didn't cover it up.
Her clothes were loose and her belly was slightly bulging, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was pregnant.
If she were a virtuous concubine, she would definitely stay in her bedroom and not leave the house.
Didn't Concubine De's blatant appearance at the palace banquet make people laugh at the emperor and the entire royal family?
She knew that Concubine De had always been willful, but she didn't expect that she would ignore her and insist on embarrassing the emperor.
Concubine Shun guessed right, Concubine De came here on purpose.
Originally, the Queen Mother sent someone to tell her that she was five months pregnant and could not hide her belly at all, so she would stay in the palace during the New Year's Eve family dinner.
Concubine De also agreed.
But a few days ago, she changed her mind again.
Doesn’t the emperor look down on her? Don't you dislike her?
She came here with a full belly, just to slap the emperor in the face in public, but she didn't believe that the emperor's expression remained unchanged.
She just wanted to see him angry but unable to do anything to her.
She couldn't be a queen anyway, and she didn't have to please the emperor. There was nothing she didn't dare to do.
The emperor canonized Meng Shu as empress, which was indeed a huge blow to Concubine De.
She had been looking forward to it for so many years, but it all came to nothing, and she felt extremely resentful.
She hated the emperor for being so ruthless to her, so she wanted to slap him in the face in public.
Anyway, since she is pregnant with King Wei's child, the Queen Mother will definitely protect her.
That being the case, what else does she have to fear?
Not long after, the emperor and the queen mother arrived.
Seeing Concubine De sitting blatantly in the first place on the left, the Queen Mother paused in her steps and her expression suddenly turned ugly.
This damn girl, does she have to tear off that fig leaf before she is willing to give up?
Okay, if you don't stay in the palace to raise the baby, you have to come to the palace banquet to poke people in the eyes. The Queen Mother really wants to go over and slap her.
"Isn't Concubine De unwell? Why don't you keep her in the palace? It's cold today and you go out for a banquet. If you catch the wind and cold, it will be more than worth the loss." The Queen Mother said, looking at Aunt Pei next to her: "Send De The concubine returns to Chenghui Palace."
"Auntie." Concubine De stood up and said with a smile, "Jingyun is fine. She got up early and asked the imperial doctor to check her Ping'an pulse. Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, Auntie."
Aunt Pei stopped and subconsciously raised her head to glance at the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother winked, and she stepped back and stood beside the Queen Mother.
"Then let's keep it for the banquet." The Queen Mother suppressed the anger in her heart and looked at everyone with a smile: "They are all members of the family. We will eat and drink well later. No need to be formal."
"Yes, thank you, Queen Mother!" Everyone stood up quickly to express their gratitude.
After three drinks, the New Year’s Eve family dinner officially began.
The Queen Mother frowned when she saw that Concubine De had drank three cups in a row like everyone else.
How could she drink alcohol when she was pregnant?
The Queen Mother was so angry that she glared at King Wei fiercely.
King Wei felt that he was quite innocent.
It is true that Concubine De is pregnant with his child, but she is the emperor's concubine, so it is not his turn to take care of it.
Besides, his cousin didn't listen to him either. When the two of them were together, he was the one who listened to Concubine De.
It was as if Concubine De didn't see the anger in the Queen Mother's eyes. She ate when she needed to eat and drank when she needed to drink. That was a feeling of contentment.
