ebookland Chapter 427: Legend of Zhen Huan - Nian Shilan 31
Chapter 427: Legend of Zhen Huan - Nian Shilan 31
It is not known whether he was "touched" by Concubine Hua's true love for him or to appease Nian Gengyao outside the palace, but the emperor stayed with Nian Shilan for three days before summoning the new person to sleep with him.
The women in the palace were all watching to see who would be the first one to sleep with the emperor. Even the newcomers could not help but look forward to being the first one to sleep with the emperor. Among them, An Lingrong was both inferior and sober-minded. She knew that with her position and appearance, she would never be the one to sleep with the emperor. Although it was uncomfortable, she accepted it.
Excluding Lady Xia who was still under house arrest, Concubine Chun who was too young to serve the emperor in the palace, and Concubine Borjigit who entered the palace to retire, the remaining ones were Concubine Fucha, Concubine Shen, and Concubine Wan.
If they were ranked according to their family background and status, Noble Lady Fucha should have been the first to sleep with the emperor. However, if they were ranked according to their overall qualities, Shen Meizhuang, whose father had a higher official position and was more beautiful, was also a possibility. However, Concubine Wan was the only one with a title among the newcomers. Considering her favor or the emperor's impression of her, it is not impossible for her to be the first to sleep with the emperor.
However, the two good sisters in the east and west side halls of Chengqian Palace suddenly felt a little awkward. Because they lived close to each other, servants came and went, and they would hear about what the other did.
Shen Meizhuang was making preparations very nervously and didn't even have the appetite to eat dinner. Caiyue and Caixing were the maids she brought from the Shen family. Now Caixing had gone down to inquire for her about the emperor's selection of cards, and Caiyue was serving her dinner by her side.
Seeing that the food in Shen Meizhuang's bowl had not decreased at all, Caiyue became a little anxious and advised: "My lady, you should eat a little more. If the emperor summons Miss to sleep with him, it would be embarrassing for you to be hungry and lose your manners in front of the emperor."
"Caiyue, I know what you said, but will the emperor really summon me to his bedchamber tonight?"
Shen Meizhuang was a concubine who was trained by the Shen family to be sent to the palace since childhood. After entering the palace, she naturally came for the emperor's favor. Now that Shen Meizhuang has never been suppressed by Concubine Hua, she is at her most aggressive and enterprising. Naturally, she wants to take the lead among the newcomers and become the first one to serve the emperor in bed.
But she participated in the selection together with Zhen Huan, and witnessed with her own eyes how the Emperor and Zhen Huan interacted with each other and had a very congenial conversation. In addition, with Zhen Huan's title of "Wan", no matter how confident Shen Meizhuang was that she was no worse than Zhen Huan, she had no confidence that she could beat Zhen Huan and take the first place.
"The young lady is dignified and beautiful, with an outstanding family background. She is also favored by the empress dowager and is the most senior noble among the newlyweds. The emperor will definitely be the first to turn to the young lady's name card."
Caiyue has great confidence in Shen Meizhuang. Coincidentally, Huanbi in the west side palace also has great confidence in Zhen Huan.
"With so many new people entering the palace, only the young lady has a title. If it weren't for the fact that the master's official position is not high, even Concubine Shen would not be as good as the young lady."
At this moment, Zhen Huan was also having a meal, but she ate less than usual. Huanbi understood at a glance that although Zhen Huan said on the surface that the emperor was a wise ruler and that the newcomers would sleep with the emperor according to their status, she still had expectations in her heart.
"Now that the Emperor has begun to summon new people to sleep with him, he will definitely turn over your name card first. You'd better prepare yourself early."
Seeing that Zhen Huan was distracted, Huanbi could not help but persuade her to make preparations early. Although Zhen Huan agreed in her heart, she still pretended to be angry and scolded Huanbi a few words: "Huanbi! Don't talk nonsense."
"Sister Mei is a noble lady and she is beautiful. I am just a concubine. Even if I have a title, I am still a noble lady. Don't say such things in the future. Sister Mei and I have a deep sisterly relationship. No matter who goes to bed first, it will not affect our relationship."
"Yes, my lady, I know I was wrong."
Although she scolded Huanbi, Zhen Huan still made good preparations. She and Shen Meiyu were indeed good sisters. They did not take Noble Lady Fucha of the Yanx Palace seriously. In their eyes, Noble Lady Fucha was only lucky enough to become a noble lady because of her surname Fucha. In terms of appearance and talent, she could not compare with them in any way.
On the other hand, Fu Cha in the Yanxi Palace did not think so. Ever since she learned that Zhen Huan and Shen Meiyu were punished by Concubine Hua to copy the palace rules because they disregarded the rule of 'Manchus and Mongolians first, then Han' and stood in front of herself and Noble Lady Borjigit when paying their respects, she decided that she must be the first person to sleep with the emperor. Now she has already made preparations and is waiting for the Fengluan Chun'en carriage to come and pick her up.
"Sang'er, what time is it now? Has the eunuch come to deliver the decree?"
"My Lord, not yet."
Everyone was eagerly waiting, and the Emperor was too lazy to keep anyone in suspense. He had been looking forward to this day since he met Zhen Huan. He thought that after he had 'appeased' Concubine Hua, he planned to summon Zhen Huan to sleep with him, but he could not resist the Queen's desire to stir up trouble.
The Queen wants Zhen Huan to be favored, but that doesn't mean she is happy to see Zhen Huan's alliance with Shen Meiyu, An Lingrong and others. Coupled with a little jealousy towards Rou Ze, the Queen wants Zhen Huan to be favored but doesn't want her to have too good a relationship with Shen Meiyu. For this reason, she deliberately comes to "persuade" the Emperor before he flips the card.
"Your Majesty, I know you like Concubine Wan, but according to the rules and status, the first person to sleep with you should not be Concubine Wan."
"I know that Fucha didn't appreciate my kindness at first, but now that I have invited someone to the palace, I can't really lose face to the Manchu family."
The Queen knew that as long as the Emperor did not want to be accused of being "blinded by lust" by the world, he would listen to her and summon a new person according to her rank, so the first choice must be Noble Lady Fucha. But as soon as she mentioned Fucha, the Emperor would think of the Eighth Prince whom Fucha supported at the beginning. As long as the Emperor remembered this, he would definitely abandon Noble Lady Fucha and choose Noble Lady Shen.
As long as Zhen Huan knew that the emperor originally planned to choose her, but chose Shen Meizhuang instead due to status, she would definitely be dissatisfied with Shen Meizhuang. Similarly, as long as Shen Meizhuang knew that she had "snatched" the first position of serving the emperor from Zhen Huan, she would definitely feel uncomfortable.
In this case, the Queen did not believe that Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan could really stay on good terms. She had already arranged people to sow discord between An Lingrong. She thought that after Zhen Huan defeated Concubine Hua, it would be her turn to deal with her. Before that, she had to cut off Zhen Huan's helpers in advance.
After listening to the Queen's "persuasion", the Emperor did as the Queen had guessed, putting down Zhen Huan's name tag and turning over Shen Meizhuang's.
It has to be said that although the Queen's move was disgusting, Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were indeed disgusted as the Queen had imagined. That night, Shen Meizhuang, who had just returned to Chengqian Palace in the Chun'en Carriage after serving the Emperor in the bedchamber, learned from Caiyue that the Emperor originally wanted to choose Zhen Huan, but after being persuaded by the Queen, he chose her as a second choice.
As soon as this news came out, the shyness on Shen Meizhuang's face suddenly diminished a lot. She couldn't help but think of the emperor's expressionless face when he was serving the emperor in the bedchamber. She originally thought it was majesty, but with such news, Shen Meizhuang could see dissatisfaction.
The reason why the emperor has a blank expression is because he is unhappy that the person who came is not the one he wanted to see?