Princess Chen and Princess Yu raised their eyes slightly, looking at the closeness between the Queen and Chu Yunfei, their expressions were no longer relaxed and calm.
When did the relationship between Chu Yunfei and the Queen become so good?
What does she want to do?
Do you think you can change your status by holding on to the queen?
The queen sat down on the throne, turned her eyes slightly, and saw Qin Zhilan first: "Is this the granddaughter of Taifu Qin, Miss Zhilan?"
"Yes." Qin Zhilan was about to sit down when she heard the Queen's roll call. She quickly stood up again, bowed her knees and saluted, "My maid, Qin Zhilan, has met the Queen."
"She is worthy of being the granddaughter raised by the Grand Tutor. She has a noble bearing and a bookish air." The Queen praised with a smile and raised her hand to signal, "Sit down."
"Thank you, Queen."
"The Queen, the Fifth Princess and the others are here." Aunt Cai looked at the group of people walking on the palace corridor in the distance, "There is also Concubine De."
The women in the flower hall followed their gaze and then stood up again, waiting to salute Concubine De and the Fifth Princess.
Concubine De is already forty this year, but she is extremely well-maintained. She is not as graceful and luxurious as the queen, and not as domineering as the imperial concubine. Instead, she has a temperament that is as elegant as a chrysanthemum. She seems to be living her life in peace and quiet.
But that's all it looks like.
The more intelligent people are when the situation is tense, the more they know how to restrain their sharp edges and keep a low profile. She often taught Prince Yu and Princess to avoid sharp edges when they should. In those years, Gu Guifei's favor continued, and they were not King Chen at all. Rivals of mother and son.
Even now, Concubine Gu is clearly falling out of favor, Concubine De is still able to maintain a stable state of mind, not anxious to compete for favor, not anxious to add insult to injury, this level of determination is unmatched by ordinary people.
It is a pity that King Yu and Princess Yu failed to inherit her five-point determination.
Entering the flower hall, Concubine De bowed her knees to the queen and said, "I, my concubine, see you, the queen."
"Sister, you don't have to be polite."
"I have been bored in the palace for a long time. I heard that the Queen held a flower-viewing banquet in the Peony Garden. I couldn't help but want to join in the fun. I hope the Queen will not dislike it."
"What did Sister De Fei say?" The queen took the initiative to extend her hand and greeted her warmly, "I'm so happy that you can come. Didn't you see that there are so many young girls in their prime and in their prime? I'm the only one here. An elderly lady is afraid of not fitting in when talking to them."
This sentence was obviously a joke.
The queen has a distinguished status, and as long as it is a topic she wants to talk about, these young ladies will try their best to get her way, but they will not be able to do anything unsociable.
Rong Jinyue saluted the queen respectfully.
Compared with the arrogant and domineering person a few days ago, Rong Jinyue seems to be a different person today. Her complexion is much haggard and she is visibly thinner. It is not easy to learn the rules.
When she saluted the three princesses, she still looked a bit unwilling, especially when she looked at Chu Yunfei, her eyes still showed deep disgust and hatred. However, I don't know whether it was the rules that had smoothed her temper for many days, or whether it was because the rules had smoothed her temper. Worrying about the presence of the Queen and Concubine De, Rong Jinyue did not dare to have a fit on the spot.
Coming with Rong Jinyue were Jiang Qian, the second daughter of the Jiang family, Dou Huiran, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Princess Huaiyue of Prince Rong's Mansion. The three of them had the same complexion, haggard and pale, and they looked like they had been badly beaten these days. .
And all this is thanks to Chu Yunfei.
The ladies in the hall secretly glanced at the culprit with a calm expression, their expressions couldn't help but be subtle.
"Okay, okay, please sit down, no need to be formal." The queen smiled gently and said in an approachable tone, "Ah Cai, please introduce the girls present to me and Concubine De."
"yes."
Because the queen has been living in seclusion all year round, she is not very familiar with other women except the three princesses and her own niece Xie Danshu.
Jiang Qian and Dou Huiran also learned the rules from the fifth princess and had to pay greetings to the queen sooner or later, so the queen got to know them.
The women invited into the palace today include noble ladies, noble ladies from small families, and concubine daughters of officials, with different statuses.
A Cai introduced the queen one by one.
Zhao Yunrou, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of War, Shen Li, the second daughter of the Changping Earl's House, Shen Xue, the concubine, Dou Huiran, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Civil Affairs, Dou Yanran, the second daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Qian, the second daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Wan, the left servant of the Civil Affairs Bureau His legitimate daughter Ji Xiaotang, Zhou Xuanxuan, the daughter of the minister of Dali Temple, Du Jia, the daughter of the patrol inspector, plus Xie Danshu and Qin Zhilan, there were twelve people in total.
The fifth princess and Princess Huaiyue are of royal blood, so naturally they cannot be counted among them.
Xie Danshu also came to make up the numbers.
However, with so many people and three princesses, the flower hall looked full of flowers, pink and willow green, goose yellow and light blue, and all kinds of delicate and bright clothes, which looked very pleasant.
"It's so good to be young." The queen looked at these delicate faces and sighed sincerely, "I have been living in the palace for a long time and it is too deserted. Today, I specially held a flower viewing banquet just to liven it up. You don't have to be restrained. You can talk about whatever you want. What, just pretend that I and Concubine De are not present."
But having said that, with a giant Buddha like the Empress sitting in front of her, who would really dare to speak freely?
Especially when they met some people they didn't like, they could have ridiculed them, but in front of the empress and concubine De, they never dared to speak, for fear of causing verbal trouble and being punished in public.
No one spoke first, and the atmosphere in the flower hall became a little awkward.
"Why don't we let the ladies present show off their talents to liven up the atmosphere." Concubine De suggested, "What do you think, the Queen?"
"This is not a talent contest, don't make them nervous." The queen shook her head and looked at Rong Jinyue, "The fifth princess is always good at livening up the atmosphere, so you can take them to drink tea and have a good chat. "
Rong Jinyue lowered her eyebrows.
The queen stood up and said, "I want to go for a walk in the garden. Sister De Fei and the three princesses should accompany me so that these little girls can get familiar with it."
Concubine De's expression paused slightly, and she couldn't figure out her thoughts for a moment. She just said yes and quickly got up and walked out.
The queen was in front, and Concubine De walked beside her.
Princess Yu, Princess Chen and Princess Zhan, as juniors, naturally followed behind.
"You should have guessed the purpose of today's flower viewing banquet. It is to select concubines for the seventh and eighth princes." The queen tilted her head and looked behind her. "The two princes are already quite old. They have just been granted the title of county prince. The marriage is not going well. If the delay continues, do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"
