Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 366: Change "晋" to "瑾".

Looking at her mistress's slender figure, Ruixue said softly, "Your mistress is exceptionally talented. You won first place at the lake excursion banquet, and even the Emperor praised you as 'wise and intelligent.' A few days ago, he even specially summoned you to the imperial palace to accompany him. In my humble opinion, you will surely become one of the Nine Concubines in the future."

Qu Cairen smiled silently, "Silly Xue'er, accompany the emperor at the imperial palace? The emperor only chose me because of my uncle's influence."

Ruixue said, "Neither Lady Xie nor Lady Rong were able to go."

"...Having seen enough of the excitement, let's go back to the palace."

Qu Cairen turned around and walked back.

Others might not see through it, but she knew that the Emperor was not simply ignoring Consort Xie; he was clearly intentionally grooming her.

Unfortunately, Xie was truly useless... With just a little guidance, she caused this beauty to fall from grace...

Chunxi Hall is not far from the Imperial Garden and is adjacent to the Plum Garden near Zhaoqing Hall, so it has a very good location.

Qu Cairen paused before the palace gate, her gaze sweeping over the upturned eaves of the Zhaoqing Hall in the distance. For a short while, the plaintive strains of Qing Zhaoyi's "Rainbow Skirt" pipa music would no longer drift from there.

She slowly stepped into the hall and headed straight for the main hall where Consort Xie resided.

The once bustling courtyard was now eerily silent.

After Consort Xie was taken away, all her personal maids were escorted to the Yeting Palace. The palace was empty, and even the sound of footsteps was exceptionally clear.

A few wisps of autumn wind swept through the hall, swirling a few withered yellow leaves on the stone steps before silently falling. However, the dozen or so potted jade pot lilies placed under the eaves, having been carefully tended, still looked vibrant.

"The glory and favor in the palace come quickly and go quickly. No one knows where they will be or what their fate will be in the next moment."

Qu Cairen walked to the corridor, her fair hand gently stroking a proud chrysanthemum branch. Suddenly, her fingertips paused, and she snapped off a chrysanthemum branch that had not yet withered. "I remember that before I entered the palace, my uncle added a celadon vase to my dowry. Let's put this branch in there and place it on the desk."

Ruixue quickly accepted it with both hands, and couldn't help but ask, "Master, do you think... Lady Xie can come back?"

"Oh."

Qu Cairen gave a brief laugh and went back to her side hall.

One hour ago.

Inside the flower hall of Renming Hall.

"absurd!"

With a crisp sound, the celadon teacup crashed to the ground amidst the empress's flowing sleeves.

The porcelain shards shattered, startling the palace servants standing on both sides, who all trembled and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

The Empress's phoenix eyes were frosty, her anger surging within them, and a chilling smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Xingyu had just returned from outside when she heard the noise and hurriedly entered the hall.

She waved for the palace servants to leave, then carefully stepped forward and softly advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I just returned from outside the Funing Palace. First, the Minister of Rites remonstrated with his head removed, and then several censors knelt down to dissuade His Majesty... In the end, His Majesty changed his mind."

She lowered her voice, "The newly proposed title is 'Jin'."

"Jin?"

Xingyu explained: "Your Majesty, it is the character 'Jin' in 'Huai Jin Wo Yu' (怀瑾握瑜)."

The Empress suddenly chuckled softly, her laughter tinged with a hint of sorrow: "In the end, he still wanted to give that wretched woman Meng the character 'Jin'. The character 'Jin' is a homophone for 'Jin,' it's just a smokescreen to shut up the court officials."

Originally, the titles for imperial concubines were drafted by the Ministry of Rites, reviewed by the Imperial Palace Bureau and the Imperial Observatory, then presented to the Empress for preliminary review, and finally approved by the Emperor.

The "Chun" in Consort Chun, the "Mei" in Consort Mei, and the "Qi" in Consort Qi all follow this old system.

But when it came to Consort Meng, all the rules were thrown into disarray.

The Emperor himself wrote the character "Jin" as the title for Lady Meng, and the news caused an uproar in the court. "Jin" was the Emperor's title when he was a prince, and according to etiquette, it should be avoided. How could it be bestowed upon a concubine?

"Lingcui Palace... Cuiyu Hall..."

Now, with the addition of the character '瑾', it truly shows the great favor bestowed upon her.

"I'd like to see how long this 'jade' of the Meng family can remain in the limelight!"

......

Lingcui Palace.

The music from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs lingered outside the hall for about half an hour before gradually fading away.

Donggua and Xia'er were overjoyed and busied themselves giving rewards under the eaves, stuffing heavy purses containing a dozen or so taels of silver into the two leading musicians.

Before the Jade Hall, Meng Shu knelt on a brocade cushion, respectfully receiving the bright yellow imperial edict with both hands, and slowly rose with the help of Green Willow.

Jingming bowed deeply, his face beaming with a genuine smile: "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations on your promotion to the rank of Zhaorong today. When you give birth to the little prince in the future, I will have to address you as 'Consort Jin'."

Holding the imperial edict in her hands, Meng Shu said, "Eunuch Jing is joking. I am very grateful for your thoughtfulness in front of the Emperor. However... the future is unpredictable, so it is best not to joke around."

She gently called to Green Willow.

Green Willow understood and immediately took out a purse embroidered with lotus patterns from her sleeve, and said with a smile, "Today is a joyous occasion, so you can't refuse, Lord Jing."

Jingming smiled and accepted the purse, his fingertips tracing the patterns on it. He said, "Miss Green Willow is right. I dare not lie to Your Majesty, I have been looking forward to this day for a long time, hoping to share in Your Majesty's joy."

Meng Shu said gently, "The future is long, and I hope that Minister Jing will take good care of me."

Jingming hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is too kind. The Emperor's sincerity towards Your Majesty is evident to everyone in the palace. This title of Jin was personally chosen by the Emperor."

Thanks to the meticulous arrangements made by the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion and Madam Yun, Meng Shu had excellent eyes and ears in the palace. She had just learned about the uproar that had been stirred up in the court this morning because of the issue of the title.

The Emperor's actions were indeed a great favor.

But it will bring Meng Shu endless trouble. (Meng Shu's inner monologue: Scared???)

What worried Meng Shu most about the controversy caused by the character 'Jin' was not the open and covert jealousy of the concubines in the six palaces, but the scrutiny of the entire court...

Meng Shu snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Please ask Eunuch Jing to pass on my message. I will go to Funing Palace to express my gratitude shortly."

Jingming smiled and agreed, then left Lingcui Palace with his entourage of palace servants.

The hall fell silent, filled only with the dazzling array of gifts.

Green Willow was just about to start registering these brocades and treasures when Meng Shu said, "Green Willow, let Xia'er and Donggua do it. You come with me first."