Palace Scheming: the Queen In the Cold Palace I

Chapter 8 The first glory of the Lantern Festival (1)

Back in the palace, the palace officials obviously didn't expect Yun Qing to return so early. They didn't want to hide what they were doing, so they simply went their own way in front of Yun Qing.

"What are you doing?" Bi Tao looked at the eunuchs who were gathering to play dice. When they saw the lady coming back, no one stopped to say hello, and she couldn't help but get angry.

No matter what, the lady is also a queen. Even if these people are disrespectful to the lady in private, now they dare to ignore the lady's existence in person. It is really too much.

"Oh, what are you making all this fuss about? It's just a pastime for the palace people in their free time. Anyway, the emperor won't come here again, and he's not afraid of affecting the atmosphere in the palace." A very pretty young palace maid still **** the embroidery in her hands. Deng, his eyelids just glanced at Yun Qing, and then laughed at Bi Tao for looking for trouble.

Bitao recognized that this person was the maid who spoke the most sarcastic tone on the young lady's wedding day.

 After asking Xiao Taohong, I found out that she was originally a eldest girl transferred by Xin Zheku. Because of her outstanding performance, she won the opportunity to work in Jinfeng Palace.

 But seeing that the young lady has fallen out of favor, these people seem to have lost their backbone. They are lazy in everything they do, and no one is serious at all.

"Even if the emperor doesn't come, there is still a queen in this palace. You are so ignorant of the queen, do you really think that the queen will not punish your sins?" Bi Tao glanced at Yun Qing who was silent. Although she knew that the young lady had a light temper and was not happy, Although I was worried about it, I still couldn't suppress it.

No matter what, the lady is still a queen, but these palace servants don't even care about her, but they don't even show basic respect. If things continue like this, won't the young lady continue to act based on their faces?

"Hey, your Majesty, you are back." Eunuch Cheng came leisurely from the palace. When he saw Yun Qing, he did not bow. He just walked to the group of eunuchs playing dice. With a serious face, he swept the dice off the table with a flick of his sleeves. , scolded: "You monkeys have heard clearly, you have offended the Queen, and you will be punished."

With a roll of his eyes, he turned around and apologized with a smile to Yun Qing, who had an indifferent face: "Your Majesty, please have mercy. These monkey boys don't have the chance to leave the palace on weekdays, and they don't have any leisure activities, so they took advantage of your Majesty's return today. My hands are itchy. Please give me more, don’t bother with them.”

"Hey, Eunuch Cheng, why bother with them? She's just a queen in name only, how can she really have the ability to punish us?"

“Yes, father-in-law, if you have this time to spend time with her, you might as well play with us for a while!”

“My father-in-law got a few slaps on his butt, and it seems his brain was injured too, haha.”

"You, you..." The servants laughed from all around, making Bi Tao's face flush with anger, but she couldn't do anything to them. She could only let the tears of grievance keep rolling in her eyes, hating these unscrupulous slaves for actually doing so in front of the young lady. So rude.

Yun Qing glanced at the laughing people indifferently, his cold eyes like a sharp sword. Although he said nothing, it still made some people's smiles shrink.

"Bitao, let's go back to the palace." Just when Bitao was secretly happy that the lady was going to straighten out the atmosphere in the palace, Yunqing's words quickly caused her to fall back from joy to disappointment: "Miss..."

“Tsk, let me tell you, what can a queen who has fallen out of favor become like?”

 “Haha, come on, let’s keep playing.”

 “It’s my turn, it’s just my turn to throw...”

Seeing that the young lady ignored the palace man's impudence and left, Bi Tao secretly stamped her feet and had no choice but to follow. But I heard the young lady's cold voice float out faintly along with her light steps: "Bitao, Jinfeng Palace is too busy, it's normal for them to have nothing to do. I went back to the palace to change my clothes and go see the Queen Mother to ask her for permission to do housework. The government will take back the six extra eunuchs, six maids, two cooks, and four servants in my palace. You can keep the rest who you like."

Yun Qing’s voice was not serious, but it still made Bi Tao laugh in surprise, and made everyone who was rolling up their sleeves to continue having fun turn pale with fright.

For a moment, no one seemed to understand what Yun Qing had just said. They just stared blankly at her light footsteps, slowly walking towards the palace door.

Every step she takes is obviously extremely elegant and brisk, but it makes people tremble with fear.

It seemed as if every step she took made the earth tremble more, and they were one step closer to the abyss of pain.

At this point, those people no longer think that the queen in front of them is just a soft persimmon who can be bullied, and they all understand: a queen as simple as her will always be a queen!

 If she doesn’t move, she’ll be fine, but if she moves, she’ll have a good chance of winning!

They have completely forgotten that this queen was appointed by the Queen Mother. Even if the Emperor does not like it, the power of the Queen Mother can easily kill them!

"Your Majesty, please have mercy!" When they thought of returning to the House of Internal Affairs to wait for someone to collect it, or being assigned to do hard work in places like Xinzheku and Huanyi Bureau, these palace maids and eunuchs finally became anxious and screamed. With a sound, they all knelt down facing Yun Qing's back.

Only Qiuyue, after turning pale, gritted her teeth and showed an angry look on her face: "Go back, just go back. If I, Qiuyue, can be selected into the Golden Phoenix Palace, I will definitely be able to stand out again. Maybe I will leave here. We will go to a better place!”

As she spoke, she snorted hard, and unlike the others, she knelt down and begged Yun Qing for mercy.

Yun Qing paused and turned around leisurely when everyone was looking at her back in fear.

Everyone suddenly discovered that the queen's every move was so elegant and noble, and she herself was also extremely beautiful.

If she is willing to compete for favor, the temporarily deserted Golden Phoenix Palace may not be too deserted!

"I will not force anyone to do anything. Those who want to stay, never let me see things I shouldn't see or hear things I shouldn't hear in the Golden Phoenix Palace. Those who don't want to stay, Let me explain it to you now, so I can clean it up as soon as possible." Yun Qing looked directly into Qiu Yue's eyes. There was not much emotion or anger on her face, but she was so calm that nothing in the world would cause any trouble for her. Qiu Yue's subtle changes from forcing herself to be calm to gradually avoiding her eyes were clearly reflected in her beautiful eyes.

 All around, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone secretly looked at the glances of the people around them, hesitating whether they should stand up at this time or stay in the Golden Phoenix Palace obediently.

Among the crowd, a slender figure walked softly in front of Yun Qing, bowed his head and knelt down respectfully, and said in a soft but firm voice: "I am willing to stay in Jinfeng Palace forever, as long as the empress does not drive me away, I will." Those who are always the queen will always be at the mercy of the queen.”

Bitao's face was filled with joy. Looking at the palace maid Xiao Taohong who had always followed the rules, she finally relaxed a little from her nervousness.

 She was really worried that under the instigation of Qiuyue, the others would leave in a hurry without giving the lady face.

 Because it is still unknown whether the Queen Mother will agree to the young lady's request. If the Queen Mother does not agree by then, the young lady's life will be even more difficult in the future.

"Okay! You get up first." Yun Qing nodded, his beautiful eyes swept over the others, and his voice was two times more majestic than before: "But who else wants to stay? I only give you half a stick of incense time to think about it. If You still haven’t figured it out after I changed my clothes, so there’s no need to look for me anymore.”

As she spoke, she ignored the complicated expressions of the people behind her and turned decisively back to the palace.

Bitao hurriedly followed. When she looked back, she saw that Xiao Taohong was still among the crowd. She hurriedly stepped forward and took her hand, saying, "Come on, let's go in."

"Here, Eunuch Cheng, what should we do?" As soon as Yun Qing's figure disappeared, everyone's whispers immediately became active.

"Sister Qiuyue, why don't we stay? If there is no shortage of people in other palaces, then we will be sent to the clothing bureau, and life will be very difficult." A little palace maid quietly opened her eyes and still stared at Qiuyue, who was in the direction where the clouds disappeared, softly comforted her.

"If I want to keep you here, I won't care about staying in this woman's palace to work." A cold snort came out of her nostrils, Qiu Yue's eyes showed disdain, and she snorted, "You think you can scare me with just a few words, huh, a This unpopular woman, who does she think she is? Not to mention that the emperor hates her so much, even the queen mother is very indifferent to her. If she had not been canonized by the queen mother, I am afraid that the queen mother and the emperor would have deposed her by now!"

 “Hush, you’re crazy!” The little palace maid beside her turned pale with fright and quickly covered her mouth. Eunuch Cheng, who was still hesitant at first, also spoke up at this time: "Oh, Qiuyue, you can't let her hear these words. Otherwise, even if others don't target her, she will just hate you. The people in the Queen Mother's first palace can No matter, as a palace maid, you will still let that woman make the decision. Aren’t you going to have trouble with yourself?”

"I'm just not afraid!" Qiuyue said sternly, but her face turned pale obviously.

She gritted her teeth bitterly, but finally said no more...

"Miss, do we really want to go to Xiangning Palace?" Bi Tao asked while changing Yun Qing's clothes, with some worry on her face. Xiao Taohong was helping silently. Her quiet appearance made it easy for people to ignore her presence.

Yun Qing nodded, a smile appeared on his indifferent face, and said in a low voice: "Yes, I have to go."

 “But, if the Queen Mother…”

"The Queen Mother is fair in dealing with matters and will never make any judgments just because of my words." Yun Qing looked indifferent and said with a smile, "That's why I can ask her to make the decision for me. Now I am just asking for a reduction, not a reduction. Please add, as a queen mother who has dealt with the affairs of a country, I believe she will handle this little matter properly, don’t you think so, Xiao Taohong?”

 At the end of the sentence, Yun Qing actually looked at Xiao Taohong seriously, leaving Bitao baffled.

But in Bi Tao's eyes, the timid and petite little Taohong was just a show of strength at this time, and her fair complexion didn't even blush from the nervousness of being suddenly asked, so she responded lightly: "Yes!"

Yun Qing smiled, not the smile just now, but a kind of comfortable smile that made Bi Tao feel inexplicable.

　　When several people came out of the palace again, they saw Eunuch Cheng and Aunt Yao, whom Yun Qing rarely saw, leading other palace ladies and eunuchs kneeling on the ground outside the palace.

 And that Qiu Yue was really brave. She refused to kneel down and stood arrogantly behind everyone. When she saw Yun Qing, she just rolled her eyes and stopped looking at her.

“Why is this?” Yun Qing walked lazily in front of Eunuch Cheng and Aunt Yao and stopped.

"I have realized my mistake. Please forgive the ignorance of the servants. Please be merciful and don't send the servants back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Eunuch Cheng took the lead in kowtowing, his voice was extremely sincere, and there was a hint of crying, which made people hear it. I can’t bear to be punished again.

"Please be magnanimous, Madam, and spare us!" Others begged for mercy one after another, burying their heads and not daring to look at Yun Qing, but kowtowed as hard as they could.

Bitao was overjoyed and was thinking that now she no longer had to pretend, and she didn't have to go to the Queen Mother's place.

But Yun Qing's words not only frightened everyone on the ground, but also frightened Bi Tao: "Everyone, get up. As long as you are determined to repent, I will not say a word against you in front of the Queen Mother. It's just your eyes. There are no palace rules and a slow attitude. It is really not suitable to stay in my Jinfeng Palace. Please leave."

 “Empress!?” Everyone was stunned, not understanding what was going on?

Bitao was so anxious that she secretly pulled the young lady's sleeve, but she heard Yunqing continue to speak calmly: "Qiuyue, if you stay, you will be the aunt in charge of Jinfeng Palace from now on. As for Bitao and Xiao Taohong, you guys You are my personal maid, and you, you, and you, the three of you will stay with Qiuyue and do your best, and don’t let me down. Little eunuch, well, that's you. From now on, you four will be the executive father-in-law of Jinfeng Palace. As for the father-in-law in charge, I will mention the chefs and handymen over there based on your performance in the future. Everyone will stay! As for the others, everyone will go back to their rooms to pack their things and report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on their own when I return."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I realize my mistake. I really realize my mistake. Please forgive me, please forgive me this time." Eunuch Cheng softened when he heard this. He didn't expect that he would be stabbed in the head. But I can't figure it out.

Qiuyue was also confused, but she didn't like Yun Qing because of her promotion, and she still stood there with a sarcastic look without gratitude.

Yun Qing ignored everyone's begging, and after giving all these instructions, he led Bitao and Xiao Taohong away.

"Huh, he's just a bully." Looking at Yun Qing's leaving figure, Qiu Yue snorted with disdain, "I'm here to show off my power, but I want to see if the Queen Mother can really let her do whatever she wants. Misbehavior!"

"Stop talking, Sister Qiuyue, it was so dangerous just now!" The palace maid Xia Lan, who was left behind with Qiuyue, tugged at the corner of Qiuyue's clothes, feeling lingering fear. Others also had their own thoughts and kept silent, not daring to say anything.

Many people agreed with what Qiuyue said, and did not quite believe that the Queen Mother would follow the Queen's actions and wait to see the situation before acting; some people were quite wary of what the Queen had just done, and her majesty was clearly not a good one. Lord of bullying.

As a result, Ruoda's Golden Phoenix Palace no longer looked as lazy as before, and the atmosphere was once enveloped in a slight chill that made people's hands and feet feel cold.

　　When Yun Qing returned to the palace, it was already late and it was just past dinner time.

 Qiuyue did not expect that Fang Fei, the aunt in charge of the Queen Mother, would personally send Yun Qing back. At that moment, there was more silence than sound. Everyone no longer dared to look down upon the empress whom they had discussed so badly in private. They all lowered their heads. No matter whether they were leaving or staying, no one dared to speak more.

When Eunuch Cheng left with everyone, he suddenly looked back at Yun Qing. Under the brocade lamp, Yun Qing's beautiful and calm face was covered with a faint red light, like a fairy in the sky, looking down at the insignificant sentient beings with cold eyes.

At that moment, Eunuch Cheng suddenly understood that he was indeed not suitable to stay in Jinfeng Palace. The harem is so big that only the queen is the mother of the world.

 And that Qiuyue, she was just an exception, because the world occasionally needs exceptions.

At that moment, he finally understood: it turned out that the rumors were true, the golden phoenix was indeed a golden phoenix, this was destiny!

 The annual Shangyuan Festival is a major festival for the people of Tianque, and it is also a festival with a very beautiful meaning among all festivals.

On this day, both the private sector and the royal palace will be decorated with lights and colors, dressed in red and green, and decorated in a lively and prosperous manner.

 The way to celebrate the festival is that the emperor and his queen, dressed in commoners, would go among the people to stroll around the lanterns and guess lantern riddles. Finally, they would choose a lantern from among the many and write an inscription to pray for the country. Then the two of them released the lanterns from the moat together, letting the lanterns float up, symbolizing the lights of thousands of homes, and the country and the people were safe! If the people who are lucky enough to pick up the lanterns are talented people, they can be specially selected as court officials through the emperor's personal assessment. An ordinary person can also get a wish with this lantern. As long as the emperor allows it, he can get his wish.

Early in the morning, Bi Tao happily ordered the palace maids and eunuchs to hang more lanterns in the brand new Jinfeng Palace. She even prepared a beautiful and generous outfit for Yun Qing early in the morning, planning to put it on when the emperor summoned her in the evening.

Xiao Taohong was sitting quietly in the side hall making lanterns. When Yunqing passed by the hall, he saw that she had made several lifelike flower, bird and insect lanterns with her skillful hands, and he couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

"Empress!" Seeing Yun Qing, Xiao Taohong couldn't help but stand up and salute gently, her behavior was very appropriate.

"Haha, no gift. You are indeed a very ingenious person. These lanterns are so beautifully made. No wonder the Queen Mother likes you." Yun Qing picked up a lantern and looked at how exquisite it was from painting to coloring. Not a single flaw at all.

"Your Majesty, you are exaggerating. Xiao Taohong is just a little more attentive to her work. In fact, it is not difficult for anyone with skillful hands to do anything well." Xiao Taohong replied respectfully, and then continued with the work at hand. He said, "And the Queen Mother, like you, likes people who are law-abiding and clever. But for those servants who ignore their master, no matter how talented they are, their actions always cancel out their talents." But the empress is able to discover and appreciate the strengths of these people and then use them.”

Yun Qing smiled and said nothing, looking at Xiao Yao Hong's beautiful face, her beautiful eyes reflected a little admiration.

Bitao ran over happily, pulled Yunqing over, and shouted: "Miss, come and see if the lamp I hung looks good?"

Yun Qing saw the thin sweat that shouldn't have appeared on Bi Tao's pretty face. He couldn't help but gently wipe it away with his handkerchief, and said with a smile: "Looking at you, it's just a festival, why do you take it so seriously?"

Bi Tao didn't care at all that the young lady was wiping her sweat with the dignity of a queen, and pulled her out of the palace: "Miss, look at it quickly. This is the first festive festival after the young lady's marriage. The young lady must be happy no matter what. It’s a festival on earth.”

Xiao Taohong looked at the extremely easy-going master and servant, and couldn't help but have a warm smile on her face.

Perhaps, his best master is not the majestic and elegant Queen Mother, but this smart and casual yet dignified Queen!

At the beginning of the palace lanterns, the big palace is as bright as day, and every palace is lit with colorful dazzling lanterns. Everyone is dressed up, and the whole palace is filled with joy.

 The Queen Mother hosted a banquet at Mingyue Palace, and the royal heirs and concubines went to Xiangning Palace together.

Everyone looked at the Queen and Concubine Hua with clearly different eyes, but Yun Qing, who knew it well, laughed it off and ignored it at all.

When the dinner was halfway through, Yun Qing saw a handsome young man arriving late, and everyone didn't have much reaction when they saw him. However, the Queen Mother saw this man, and her concern was palpable.

However, the young man did not seem to appreciate the Queen Mother's kindness. He only bowed lightly to the Queen Mother and the Emperor, then sat in a corner alone and did not say much to others. Yun Qing accidentally saw that the Queen Mother seemed to have a hint of melancholy on her festive face after the young man arrived.

Yun Qing looked at the young man with some curiosity. Yun Qing saw that this man was probably younger than her. His thin body looked very thin under the loose white shirt. His handsome face could not hide the paleness under the colorful lights. The fingertips holding the cup are green and slender. At first glance, it seems a bit morbid.

As if aware of Yun Qing's gaze, the young man suddenly turned his head to look at Yun Qing. His dark eyes were like black gems, shining brightly in Yun Qing's eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat inexplicably. Yun Qing never thought that under the pale face of the young man, he had such clear eyes, which seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

Yun Qing subconsciously raised her lips and smiled. Yun Qing nodded to him, but the other party remained unmoved. He only glanced at her silently, and then his eyes fell back to the dining table again.

 (End of this chapter)