freenovelworld Chapter 187: Instigating the enemy to take the bait
Chapter 187: Instigating the enemy to take the bait
"Don't talk nonsense. How could our queen fall out of favor? The emperor sends people to deliver rewards every day. Which queen has such a favor?"
A round-faced palace maid glared at the young eunuch.
The young eunuch shrank his head, rubbing the broom handle with his rough hands, and whispered:
"You're right. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Since the emperor has given us a reward, it means he doesn't dislike our queen."
"I don't think Xiao Yinzi thought much about it." Another little eunuch, who looked like a monkey, stroked his chin and interrupted with a mysterious look on his face.
"What do you mean?" The round-faced palace maid looked at the monkey spirit unhappily.
Xiaoyinzi, who was holding the broom handle, also looked over.
The monkey-like eunuch looked around, put down his hands, and said in a low voice:
"Although we are only servants of Dan Ning Ju, since the Emperor has assigned Dan Ning Ju to Empress Xian, it means that we are also her servants. Since the Empress moved in, except for the first day, the Emperor has either stayed in Dan Ning Ju or summoned the Empress to the Jiujing Sanshi Hall. I have benefited from the Empress's good fortune. Now, when I go out, people call me brother. This is the first time someone calls me brother. I am extremely happy."
Then he sighed:
"But the good times didn't last long. The emperor hasn't come to Dan Ning Ju for seven consecutive days, nor has he summoned the empress. It's said that the empress has become arrogant because of her favor and is treated coldly by the emperor. When I go out, no one calls me brother anymore. Alas, if the emperor doesn't come, what's the point of sending rewards every day? Besides..."
The monkey stopped, raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and then spoke again:
"You may not know because you don't go out much. The emperor has recently summoned three ladies, Nara Changzai, Wusu Da Ying, and Wang Shufei. Now many people are trying to curry favor with them. The emperor has time to summon them, but he told the queen that he was busy. Don't you think this is a loss of favor?"
This makes sense, and no one spoke in the corner of the rockery for a while.
Finally, the round-faced maid thought for a long time and finally said:
"It's only been seven days, what can we see?"
Skinny Monkey also nodded in agreement:
"You are right. It has only been seven days. We cannot be sure whether the queen has really fallen out of favor. But I am worried that if the emperor still doesn't come after a long time, those people in the harem who are just watching the situation will...
Alas, if only we had a Minpin in our palace like Consort De’s, or a Liangpin in Consort Hui’s, then we would have someone to look after us when this happens, and maybe the Consort could regain her favor. Alas, the Consort can’t handle this alone!”
On the other side of the rockery, Fanghua, who heard that the empress had stopped because the palace people were talking about her, did not expect to hear such words.
Concubine Min in Concubine De's palace and Concubine Liang in Concubine Hui's palace, one of them was born a bondservant, just like her, and the other was even born a lowly maid in the Xinzheku, even worse than her.
But now, both of them are the masters of a palace, with children and a noble and glorious life.
But she was just a servant. Fanghua couldn't help but touch her bright face. She thought to herself that she was not bad looking. The Empress was alone now. If she could serve the Emperor... it would also be to help the Empress consolidate her favor.
Fanghua's original desire to climb into bed became even more active. She bit her lip and walked away.
On the other side of the rockery, the skinny monkey's eyes flickered when he heard the footsteps leaving. Looking at the two people opposite him, he pretended to sigh, not knowing what to do, so he shook his head and turned away.
Just as I walked out of the rockery, Xiao Xinzi from the opposite corridor came out from the corner holding a basin, and their eyes met for a second.
The skinny monkey lowered his head to avoid it, and Xiao Xinzi also withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened and passed by the skinny monkey.
In the main hall of Dan Ning Residence, the faint sound of a piano overflowed from the window lattice. Shi Nanxi gently plucked the strings of the piano with her bare hands. Xixi was not there, having been taken out to play by the palace maids. Only Nanny Yang and Hongying were left to serve in the inner room.
Suddenly, there was a bang, a short and crisp sound was heard, and then it suddenly dissipated along with the faint sound of a piano.
A string broke and cut Shi Nanxi's finger.
"My lady, your finger!"
Nanny Yang was startled at first, then quickly stepped forward and held the Empress's right hand. Seeing the blood gushing out of the tip of the Empress's fair and slender index finger, she quickly wrapped it with a handkerchief and asked Hongying to get the ointment.
Hongying hurriedly brought the medicine and handed it to Nanny Yang. Nanny Yang treated the wound quickly and carefully, and Hongying anxiously helped.
Only Shi Nanxi was quiet, as if she was not the one who was injured.
At first glance, one could tell that she had lost a lot of weight compared to when she attended the lotus viewing banquet seven days ago. She looked a bit like she had not taken good care of herself during the audition period. Her face was abnormally pale, with a kind of fragile beauty. She sat there, her thick eyelashes drooping slightly, staring blankly at the broken strings, wondering what she was thinking.
"Your Majesty, it's okay." Nanny Yang's voice sounded in her ears.
Shi Nanxi finally came back to her senses and looked at her index finger that had been bandaged and medicated. She moved her hand and put it back on her knee.
"Madam, you haven't eaten much today, so have some butterfly cakes, which are freshly made in the kitchen."
Hongying looked at the empress's thin appearance and advised her with concern.
Shi Nanxi shook her head and looked at the broken string on the zither again. Hongying looked in the direction and couldn't help but say:
"My queen, don't be sad. The strings of this zither are broken. You have other zithers in your storeroom. You can just exchange them for another one."
"No need." As soon as the words fell, Shi Nanxi immediately rejected it.
"Your Majesty, this zither is broken, what about you?" Hongying wanted to persuade her.
"I said there's no need to change it." Shi Nanxi interrupted Hongying forcefully. She raised her hand and gently stroked the broken zither. Her expression was lost in memories, and she murmured:
"This is the zither that the emperor gave to me. I won't exchange it."
As soon as the emperor heard it, the room immediately became quiet.
Hongying didn't want to see the queen suffer by herself, so she couldn't help but say:
"Your Majesty, the Emperor didn't come because he was busy with government affairs, but he was thinking about you. Please don't let your thoughts get in the way, or you'll hurt yourself."
Nanny Yang also advised:
"Hongying is right. Nothing is more important than your health. As for the emperor, he is the ruler of a country, busy with state affairs, and has to teach the prince and others. He has no time to come to see you for the time being. You..."
"No, the emperor had time. He went to see Noble Consort Niuhulu, Consort Hui, Consort Rong, Consort Xi, and also went to see Wusu Yingying flying a kite. He also summoned Consort Nara and Consort Wang to serve him with writing materials, but he didn't come to see me!"
A suppressed crying voice interrupted what Nanny Yang was saying.
"Your Majesty, don't think too much. The Emperor sends people to deliver rewards every day. Today, he even asked Xiao Fuzi to deliver a jade comb. This is a grace that other queens and ladies don't have. You are the only one." Hongying racked her brains to comfort her.
Madam Yang looked at her master with red eyes, sighed, and also lowered her voice to persuade:
"Your Highness, Hongying is right. The Emperor is concerned about you. You should take good care of yourself, or he will be worried when he comes to see you."
However, Shi Nanxi remained in a daze and said nothing, obviously not having heard what Nanny Yang and the others said.
Hongying looked at the queen's expression and tried to hold back, but couldn't help but said:
"It's all because there's only the queen in our palace. If there were other people who could help mediate with the emperor at this time, perhaps the emperor would have come to visit you a long time ago."
"Hongying, shut up. You're becoming more and more outspoken. You have no say in the master's affairs." Upon hearing this, Nanny Yang reprimanded Hongying sternly but did not deny her words.
Outside the pearl curtain, Fanghua's heart was beating wildly. The Queen also wanted someone to help her. She was the most beautiful among the palace maids in Dan Ningju. She covered her mouth excitedly and quietly turned and left.
"Your Majesty, Fanghua is gone." Nanny Yang glanced at her to make sure that she had left, then tiptoed forward to check again before returning to report.