Zhu Sijia did not elaborate too much on the reason why she insisted on buying charcoal. After arranging a new task for Zhu Ya, she washed up and went to bed with a solemn expression.
Zhu Ya was reluctant to leave the dormitory, as if she still had something to say.
Zhu Sijia asked: "Do you have any questions?"
Zhu Ya: "Jieyu really doesn't know?"
Zhu Sijia: “I don’t know what?”
Zhu Ya: "I heard this on my way back to Changle Palace. Last night, His Majesty asked Meiren Zhang to sleep in Taiji Palace. She will not leave this morning. And tonight, His Majesty summoned her to Taiji Palace again."
She was worried about Zhu Scarlett.
During this period of time, she had noticed the love and harmony between Zhu Sijia and Yan Xiu. She even thought that Yan Xiu and Zhu Sijia would be a pair for the rest of their lives.
But when news suddenly came out that Yan Xiu favored someone else, her heart tugged for Zhu Sijia, not to mention Zhu Sijia herself?
Unexpectedly, Zhu Sijia took it calmly:
"When a new person enters the palace, I know that this day will come sooner or later. Your Majesty is an extraordinary man, and his ambitions are not limited to the Qin Palace. The connection between the former court and the harem affects the whole body. It is the same for anyone favored by your Majesty. "
Zhu Ya gave up her doubts, hoping that she was really transparent.
Zhu Sijia watched Zhu Ya leave, and when she lay down to go to bed, she found that her hands were still holding the quilt tightly, and she wanted to poke a hole out of the quilt.
Was she being duplicitous just now?
After the lights were turned off, the bedroom was silent. Zhu Sijia felt as if a huge stone was weighing on her heart, unable to breathe and unable to fall asleep.
She herself knew that this feeling was called sadness.
Yan Xiu was able to make a gentle promise to her yesterday, but today he can calmly pamper others.
Zhu Sijia comforted herself that gaining Yan Xiu's unique favor was not the purpose of her exhausting efforts. She was born for revenge.
If she endured all the hardships just to get the worthless love of a man, then why did God bother to bring such an opportunity to her?
Thinking like this, Zhu Scarlett slowly fell asleep.
…
Early in the morning, a fierce quarrel broke out on the main road connecting Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace.
The ones who took the lead in the quarrel were Xue Lian from Weiyang Palace and Xin'er from Changle Palace.
It is rare for the sky to clear up, and the main road in the palace has the best lighting, with the sun shining from morning to night.
Under Zhu Ya's arrangement, Xin'er took several palace maids to move the pots of snow bell flowers to the entrance of Changle Palace to bask in the sun.
Weiyang Palace also made a big splash and sent chariots to Tai Chi Palace.
The palace road is dozens of feet wide, let alone a carriage. Even if there are a few more carriages moving forward together, it won't be a problem.
But the people from Weiyang Palace had to pass through the entrance of Changle Palace, and accidentally kicked the potted flower at the end.
The snow bell flower is a tribute from other countries. It blooms in winter. Looking at the entire Qin Dynasty, there are only thirty trees in total, so they are extremely valuable.
After a back and forth, the two sides began to argue loudly, with no one giving in to the other.
Xuelian put her hands on her hips and said aggressively: "If you dare to delay the affairs of Weiyang Palace, just wait to be punished by His Majesty."
Xin'er was arrogant: "I don't know, I thought that the current empress lives in Weiyang Palace! Our Jieyu is two steps above your beauty, don't you know that there is order in hierarchy?"
Xue Lian teased: "You Jieyu know the principle of order of superiority and inferiority best. However, a concubine in Prince Yan's palace once flew up a branch and turned into a phoenix. She picked up things that others didn't want and relied on the time she had to enter the palace. If you are tall, you can step on my beauty’s head?”
She ordered sternly: "Crush their flower pots! Let's go to Tai Chi Palace to pick up the beauties."
Xin'er caught the omission in her words, grabbed Xuelian's braid, and pulled it back hard:
"What is this unnecessary thing? Why can't I understand it? Please tell me, Sister Xuelian."
The faces of the people watching around him all changed.
You know, before Zhu Sijia entered the palace, everyone thought that Yan Xiu would marry Zhu Siyi and enter the palace.
Does the thing Xuelian doesn't want refer to the position of concubine, or does it refer to Yan Xiu himself?
"Hiss—you actually dare to plot against me!" Xue Lian felt as if her scalp was about to be torn off by Xin'er. Not to be outdone, she reached out and pinched her neck, "Let me go!"
"What kind of decency are you doing! What kind of crime should you be punished for disturbing Jieyu's dream?"
Aunt Zhong walked out of Changle Palace and shouted loudly. Xue Lian and Xin'er both let go of their hands.
Xue Lian didn't want to buy into Aunt Zhong's fault, and she was afraid that someone would make a big fuss out of what she just said, so she glared at Xiner fiercely and led the others to leave without even saying a courtesy.
Xin'er looked at the pot of snow bells that had been trampled to pieces and was heartbroken. Aunt Zhong squatted on the ground and cleaned it carefully with her.
"Everyone in the palace worships those who are superior and despises those who are inferior! The one in Weiyang Palace was only favored for a moment, and he has bullied us even before he was promoted to a higher position!"
Aunt Zhong patted her hand hard: "Be careful! Since you understand the principle of worshiping the superior and suppressing the inferior, are you not afraid of being caught by someone's remarks at this moment and dragging down Jieyu in the future?"
Xin'er was so scared that she quickly shut up.
This matter was revealed to Zhu Sijia by Aunt Zhong during breakfast.
Zhu Sijia slowly tasted the bird's nest, looking like she was staying out of the matter and it had nothing to do with her, which made Xin'er angry and anxious:
"Jieyu, even if you don't make the decision for that basin of snow bell, you should make the decision for yourself!"
Zhu Sijia smiled and said: "What's the rush? There will be more days like this in the future. The top priority is to let the gardener repair and maintain the snow bell."
Xin'er thought she was talking about frustration, and she almost burst into tears:
"Jieyu, how can you think so? I firmly believe that His Majesty loves you the most among the six palaces. You must not be separated from Your Majesty just because of a trivial matter."
Aunt Zhong and Zhu Ya knew it at a glance and pulled the excited Xin'er aside: "With Jieyu's temperament, there are already countermeasures for this matter, so don't be impatient."
Your Majesty is not an ignorant person, and he hates people who rely on favors and are arrogant. Only by being unfazed by favors and humiliations in the harem can you gain his heartfelt appreciation and long-term love.
The morning dispute had already been reported to Yan Xiu by someone who was interested and crawled into the Tai Chi Palace.
Including the words "unwanted things" in Xuelian's mouth.
Yan Xiu glanced at Zhang Wanyao lightly, as if looking at the dying person:
"With only two days of kindness, how dare Meiren Zhang be so bold and arrogant? If I favor you for one more day, wouldn't you be able to overthrow Changle Palace under my nose?"
Favor? Whoever loves this kind of blessing wants it!
In just two days, Zhang Wanyao saw how powerful Yan Xiu was.
She was made to kneel all night on the first night. Although she was not punished to kneel last night, she could only stay in the main hall and be bored. She was not allowed to go out, let alone even half a step near the door of the dormitory.
In the eyes of outsiders, she was extremely beautiful, but only she herself understood the humiliation involved.
She was a beauty that everyone envied, but the emperor never even touched her finger.
Zhang Wanyao knelt down and confessed: "I am incompetent and failed to discipline my slaves well. Please give me a lighter punishment."
Yan Xiu went out to attend court in the morning, and before leaving, he dropped a sentence that made her extremely sad:
"People in the Weiyang Palace cause trouble, and the following offenders will be sentenced to thirty years of imprisonment. Zhang Meiren is not disciplined well, so she will be demoted to Chongyi and will be moved out of Weiyang Palace immediately."
