The warm sun is noisy, but if you don't hear the sound of birds, you can't help but feel a little lonely.
Ruan Yuyi was leaning at the top of the main room, silently watching Cen Li arrange the tea and fruit snacks and pour the tea. She licked her lips and said nothing in the end.
Cen Li prepared everything, bowed and stepped aside, his eyes calm, as if he had not noticed her displeasure.
Yesterday, everyone in the palace was shocked by the concubine's decree. There were many people who flattered and congratulated openly. But secretly, there were also those who were so cruel that they broke a mouthful of silver teeth. But they didn't let her see it, and they all treated it like they didn't know.
That’s all.
The purpose of conferring the title of concubine was to make it more legitimate for her to take charge of the Phoenix Seal. However, the canonization ceremony was postponed due to her poor health.
"Your Majesty," Mu Xiang knocked on the door with her hand, "Concubine Xu is here."
"Please."
I don't know if they met in private, but all the palace masters actually said that they would come to congratulate her at some time. But then I thought, this might as well be, so as to avoid her having to deal with it again and again.
At the junction of light and shadow, a woman in a snow-green cloak walked slowly in. Her face was dull, and even her voice was calm, "I have met the Concubine Jin."
The word "hibiscus" reminded Ruan Yuyi of the hibiscus flower at Shenghe Temple. It was still autumn at that time, when the hibiscus was in full bloom. He folded the flower and put a hairpin on her temple, and the soft, wet petals brushed against her ears.
The feeling seems to still remain.
Titles given to concubines are either a warning or a compliment to one's character, but I have never heard of people using flowers as titles.
She lowered her eyes, thinking it was just his choice.
But this word inevitably made her remember that he was the one she approached first, and he was the one she provoked first. She had stepped into this golden cage herself, and she seemed to be unable to blame anyone else.
Xu Bin's call came naturally, but she felt uneasy. She smiled and gave him a seat, "Xu Bin came early, I'm afraid Yan Baolin is too lazy to get up at this moment."
Xu Bin was about to drink tea when she heard this and stopped her hand, "It's just a habit." She raised her hand to sip the tea in her hand. Seeing that the back of her hand was red, she thought it was because of the wind.
She stopped talking with one sentence, and the two of them were speechless for a while.
In fact, she thought Mrs. Xu was difficult to get along with at first, but after getting to know her more, she realized that she was just really not good at talking.
On the contrary, if the two of them stay quietly together, it will make her feel more comfortable.
After half a cup of tea was finished, people from the neighboring palace gradually came. After seeing the ceremony, Ruan Yuyi offered seats to them one by one.
Yan Baolin and Li Meiren talked a lot, and there were sounds in the hall to fill the silence.
"Sister Ruan, I personally made some candied fruits for my sister to try." Yan Baolin still remembered that Ruan Yuyi asked for candied fruits from her when she went to the palace. She said with a crooked look. The maid next to her presented a small porcelain jar.
.
Muxiang took it.
She took a look and saw that the candied fruit inside was almost full to the mouth of the bottle, with a small amount of sugar on it. She thought Yan Baolin heard her mention it and knew that she liked sour food, so he didn't add more sugar.
Her heart felt warm and she said warmly, "I'm sorry you still remember."
"Why is it difficult?" Yan Baolin smiled even more cheerfully, like a little fox, "I am still thinking about the pastries from the empress. In the past, I only heard that my sister sent them to Shu Fei, and I didn't remember them.
younger sister."
The pastries in the south of the Yangtze River are different from those in Beijing, and everyone in the palace has known about Mu Xiang's craftsmanship.
After all, she is still young and speaks without restraint.
As soon as Concubine Shu was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room obviously became tense. The affairs of the Rong family were important, and even the harem knew about them. All the palaces knew what this meant, and regarded Concubine Shu as a taboo, and everyone was in danger.
of.
Ruan Yuyi was in a daze. It was clear that not long ago Concubine Shu was looking graceful and sitting at the top. Suddenly, the incident happened, but no one even mentioned it.
She collected her thoughts and made her tone sound lighter and faster, "Muxiang, are you listening? Yan Baolin has been thinking about this for a long time."
"My slave will make it later and send it to Baolin." Muxiang replied with a smile.
"Then thank you sister first."
Yan Baolin was really greedy, and he also wanted to be nice. It was just some cakes, so it was nothing to Luo Meixuan, but after this back and forth, the relationship became closer.
Someone below snorted, "Now that the empress is a concubine, there will be people who want to be attentive to her. I would like to say that Yan Baolin was already close to the empress on the night she accepted her favor, but now it is a little late."
Yan Baolin's smile froze, "What did Sister Li say?"
Li Meiren saw her expression was different, she covered her mouth with pride and said with a smile, "Some candied fruits are not too shabby." She looked so arrogant, but she could not hide the loneliness in her eyes.
She was the first to enter the palace. She watched helplessly as one of them became concubines, but not a single drop of rain or dew fell on her. How could she not hate them.
"Then -" Yan Baolin was still waiting to refute.
"Okay," Ruan Yuyi stopped, imitating Concubine Shu's polite words, "We are all sisters. If Li Mei also wants to try some cakes, I can ask Mu Xiang to make more and send some to each palace.
"
Secretly, her palms were covered in cold sweat, and she felt a little slippery while holding the sleeve burner.
Li Meiren glanced at her with even more hostility, "I can't bear this. I haven't completed the concubine ceremony yet, so I'd better be careful not to make any mistakes."
She paused and said in a drawl, "After all - the one with the highest status in the past was Sister Xu Bin."
Concubine Xu felt that Li Mei talked too much, so she put down the tea cup and rarely spoke, "If Li Mei's many words were transferred to a bird and hung in the courtyard of Yangxin Palace, His Majesty would definitely be happy."
Li Meiren was speechless.
Ruan Yuyi never thought that Xu Bin could be so sarcastic, so she couldn't help but lower her head and smile, then she hurriedly wiped her smile away and started chatting with everyone.
After chatting for a few times, they went back to their respective palaces.
Pingping Tingting, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, left, and a lot of rain fell in the room. Cen Li consciously went to pack tea cups and other items.
She rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
Mu Xiang noticed it and asked, "Are you tired, my queen? Why don't you go to the inner room and rest for a while."
"I just woke up not long ago. How can I fall asleep again? I'm so stupid if I don't sleep." She put a hand on the rabbit, "In the past, it was Concubine Shu who dealt with it. I didn't know it, but now I feel that this beauty Li is really a little bit...
Noisy."
The rabbit was sitting on her lap, a ball of white fluff, much bigger than when Qiu Xie was there, and now it was constantly pushing into her arms.
Yes, no matter who spoke out, she would always reply, as if she would not be happy if she didn't say some mean words. In the end, she didn't want to please anyone, but she put herself in a situation where she was alone.
Yan Baolin walked slowly to the door. When he saw everyone had left, he turned back.
Ruan Yuyi's eyes were slightly surprised when she saw her coming back, "Sister Yan, does she have other matters?"
Yan Baolin stared at the rabbit on her lap for a while, obviously showing some interest in it. When she saw this, she asked Mu Xiang to hand the rabbit over, asking her to help hold it for a while.
Yan Baolin took it at a loss, and relaxed when he saw that it looked like a family member.
She followed its soft fur, was silent for a while, and then said hesitantly, "It is said in the palace that my sister is pretending to be a coquettish girl and gave His Majesty the pillow wind. I just asked Your Majesty to ignore Sister Xu and get the power to control the Sixth Palace."
…”
She raised her eyes and looked at Ruan Yuyi, "Are they telling the truth?"