Mu Xue knew that the emperor's favor towards her was no longer as good as before.
She had also heard that Xihua Palace was one of the best palaces in the entire harem, and the emperor's decision to give her a place to live there was to declare his favor for her.
However, in a short period of time, Zhao Ling was far above her.
Fortunately, the grounding was only for one month. As long as she could move around the harem, she would have a chance to regain her own favor.
As for Mu Ci, there is no rush to deal with it. There is a long way to go. Now fighting for favor and promotion is the right way. Therefore, she does not dare to neglect Mu Ci's holy life. After all, the emperor is still watching from the sidelines.
Mu Ci, the person involved, only needs to sit and wait for the birthday to arrive.
While waiting, Mu Ci's birthday finally arrived.
Early in the morning, many concubines went to Yong'an Palace to send congratulatory gifts. Si Zhu was careful and responsible for classifying the gifts from each palace and courtyard and recording them in books.
In just half an hour, the gifts had piled up as high as a hill, and there was an endless stream of lovely guests coming to congratulate me on my birthday.
When the Holy Birthday Banquet officially started, the most important person in the harem also came to Yong'an Palace to congratulate Mu Ci on his birthday. This person was of course Dugu Liancheng.
The congratulatory gift he prepared for Mu Ci was four words written in his own hand - abide by women's ethics.
Mu Ci took it and looked at it. If nothing happened, he put it away and handed it to Feng Jiu.
Dugu Liancheng was the person least qualified to give her these four words, because it was her who pushed her into the abyss with one hand.
Dugu Liancheng sat down next to her and whispered: "Do you understand the meaning of those four words?"
This is a warning to her, letting her remember her identity. She is his woman, so don't ogle other men.
He could tolerate her once or twice, but that was the limit.
Mu Ci pretended not to hear, looked at the Yingying Yanyan in the audience, and said loudly: "The Ai family likes the gifts everyone sent."
Here, there is one person who particularly stands out, and that person is Zhao Ling. Everyone else sent congratulatory gifts, but Zhao Ling came empty-handed.
Even though Mu Ci no longer cared about this, he noticed that Zhao Ling was different.
There were many people present who couldn't stand Zhao Ling.
Today is Mu Ci's birthday, and the emperor came here specially to celebrate, but Zhao Ling, relying on his favor, dared to come empty-handed.
As the only concubine present, Hua Chang stood up and spoke first: "Sister Zhao, are you too late to prepare a gift for the Queen Mother? Why are you here empty-handed?"
What she said sounded fine at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a hidden meaning.
The Queen Mother's birthday banquet was prepared half a month ago. No matter how precious the gift is, it should be prepared well if it takes such a long time to prepare. If this is not enough time, it can only be said that Zhao Ling is not capable.
Everyone wanted to know how Zhao Ling would answer.
Zhao Ling seemed not to notice the looks of everyone watching the show, "I originally prepared a gift, but it took a lot of effort. The original plan was to prepare it the day before yesterday. However, I have been feeling uncomfortable these past few days. My whole body is weak, and I feel sick and want to vomit..."
As she spoke, she covered her chest, covered her mouth and retched.
Everyone had different expressions when they saw this scene.
Looking at Zhao Ling's face again, he didn't apply makeup, he was pale and sickly, and he looked like he was mentally ill.
And could it be that Zhao Ling’s reaction like this is——?
Mu Ci glanced at some of the concubines whose expressions suddenly changed, and then at Zhao Ling who was putting on airs. This woman was clearly prepared, and she deliberately acted like this at her birthday banquet, just because she was sure that she was pregnant.
If Zhao Lingyu is really pregnant, wouldn't this be the best birthday gift for her?
Shen Manyun was trying to win over Zhao Ling when she saw this and exclaimed: "Isn't Sister Zhao pregnant?"
While she was talking, she also looked at Mu Ci's expression.
Very few people knew about Mu Ci's affair with the emperor. Others didn't know how disgusting Mu Ci was, but she knew it.
She looks dignified and noble on weekdays, but she is actually a slutty bitch who is unwilling to be left alone!
When Mu Ci saw Shen Manyun looking at her when he said this, she turned to look at Dugu Liancheng, who was sipping tea, and asked: "Since Zhao Jieyu is unwell, why don't the emperor send Zhao Jieyu back to rest and find her again by the way?" The imperial doctor takes your pulse."
When Dugu Liancheng heard this, he glanced at Zhao Ling. Zhao Ling was looking at him with wide eyes. Because his face was pale, he looked a little more pityful.
"Today is the Queen Mother's birthday. We can wait until the Queen Mother's birthday party is over to discuss everything." Dugu Liancheng said, turning to look at Mu Ci with a complicated look in his eyes.
According to his script, if Zhao Ling is pregnant, it would be best to announce it at this time.
It just so happened that this was Mu Ci's birthday party...
Mu Ci was obviously a little surprised by Dugu Liancheng's decision. She thought that Dugu Liancheng would be happy to leave with Zhao Ling.
If Zhao Ling is pregnant, it will be Dugu Liancheng's second heir. Shouldn't Dugu Liancheng be eager to know whether he will be a father?
Not to mention that Mu Ci couldn't figure out what Dugu Liancheng was thinking, other concubines present also couldn't figure out the reason, including the person involved, Zhao Ling.
She deliberately came empty-handed because she wanted to give the Queen Mother an unforgettable birthday gift. However, she didn't know that halfway through the performance of her script, Long Live the Lord would not cooperate.
When Shen Manyun saw this scene, he lowered his head to remove the strange color in his eyes.
She finally understood that no matter how favored Zhao Ling was, it was not as important as Mu Ci's position in the emperor's heart.
Otherwise, at this critical moment, the emperor should find an imperial physician to examine Zhao Ling.
Looking at the emperor's expression, he was not moved by the fact that Zhao Ling was pregnant with the dragon heir. He seemed to have no expectations for this heir.
Everyone present had different thoughts, most of them were gloating about the misfortune.
Zhao Ling has been shining so brightly recently, but so what? Even if he is pregnant with an heir, the emperor is not very happy.
Mu Ci's birthday banquet was lively and beautiful.
After the Holy Birthday Banquet was over, Dugu Liancheng got up and went to Zhao Ling.
Zhao Ling had been wronged for a long time. When she saw Dugu Liancheng, she finally thought of herself. She was about to cry: "Your Majesty..."
"Don't worry, I will send you back to rest." Dugu Liancheng rarely showed a warm side.
Only then did Zhao Ling break her cry into a smile: "I thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
In this way, under the attention of everyone, Dugu Liancheng escorted Zhao Ling away.
As a result, everyone felt unbalanced again. Previously, they thought that the emperor did not care about Zhao Ling's belly, but in the end, he still had to do so.
Shen Manyun specially waited for An Rong to leave together: "Sister, do you think Zhao Ling is carrying a prince or a princess?"
Zhao Ling must have been sure that she was pregnant before she dared to act like a monster at Mu Ci's birthday banquet.
"Sister, I don't know." An Rong smiled: "Whether it is a prince or a princess, the harem will always be lively again."
"You haven't seen Chun Zhaorong, you look like you want to kill the emperor's heir in Zhao's belly." Shen Manyun couldn't hide his gloating.
An Rong looked sideways when she heard this: "Sister has changed."
In the past, when Shen Manyun knew that Zhao Ling was pregnant with the dragon heir, his first thought was probably how to kill the little emperor heir.
