Everything was in place; all that was lacking was the east wind.
Di Yunjian hadn't been to the Palace of Auspicious Harmony for several days. Even when Concubine Jia sent someone to invite him, he refused to see her.
Concubine Jia was completely panicked. She personally stewed soup and went to the Qianyuan Hall, but Di Yunjian still refused to see her.
She spent silver to make inquiries but couldn't find out anything amiss. Li Dahai was also evasive and couldn't explain clearly. Concubine Jia tossed and turned at night, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
In the fourth year of the Dashun era, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival.
Early in the morning, Concubine Jia once again brought food to the Qianyuan Hall. As expected, she was blocked outside.
"Your Ladyship, His Majesty has given the order that no one is to be admitted," Li Dahai stretched out his hand to block her way, smiling politely with the fine wrinkles on his face bunching up.
Hearing this, Concubine Jia's tone became impatient. "Again, no one is to be admitted? I've come here many times. How come His Majesty is always so busy?"
"Well..." Li Dahai smiled awkwardly. "His Majesty has been busy with affairs in the imperial court recently. Naturally, he has no time. Your Ladyship, please go back."
"But, but in the past, no matter how busy His Majesty was, he would let me in to accompany him. Let me in!"
For some reason, she felt an intense sense of unease in her chest.
She hadn't done anything out of line. His Majesty's sudden refusal to see her must have a reason.
Could it be...
Concubine Jia's pupils dilated, and she stumbled. Realizing she was pregnant, she quickly covered her abdomen. Xiao Su and Zhen Er behind her immediately supported her.
She was scared. His Majesty surely wouldn't act like this for no reason. She just wasn't sure if it was because His Majesty had found out about the crimes of the Prime Minister's Mansion and was thus snubbing her as well.
"Your Ladyship, perhaps His Majesty really has important matters. Let's go back to the palace first?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship. You're pregnant and need to rest in peace," Zhen Er chimed in.
Concubine Jia regained her composure. Right, she still had the child.
Even for the sake of the child, no matter if His Majesty was too busy or for some other reason, he would surely come to see her.
She had to see His Majesty's attitude with her own eyes; otherwise, she couldn't be sure about the plan.
She didn't want to be reviled by the world for using her family to climb up. She really didn't want this kind of reputation. The only reputation she wanted to bear was that of being just and selfless.
Concubine Jia took a deep breath and said, "Then please, Chief Eunuch Li, send this soup and snacks in. They're all His Majesty's favorite."
Zhen Er stepped forward and handed the food box to Li Dahai. Their eyes briefly met and then quickly shifted away.
Li Dahai reached out to take it, and then Concubine Jia was supported away by the two of them.
After walking a dozen steps, Concubine Jia turned back to look at the magnificent palace. She saw Li Dahai casually throw the food box aside and ignore it.
In the past, this eunuch would always respectfully send in these kinds of food. This attitude now really made her so angry that she felt like scratching her heart and liver.
"Your Ladyship, let's go back to the palace and rest. We'll dress up more grandly for the evening banquet," Xiao Su supported her. Her injury was almost healed. Concubine Jia had wanted her to rest more, but she had insisted on coming to serve.
"Yes, Your Ladyship. Sister Xiao Su is right. You're pregnant and need to rest more. His Majesty has indeed been very busy these days. I heard that he hasn't entered the harem for a long time," Zhen Er comforted her.
Zhen Er continued, "The child in your belly is His Majesty's flesh and blood. How could His Majesty snub you? You just need to take good care of yourself. When you give birth to a healthy dragon son for His Majesty, your position in the palace will be secure."
Zhen Er knew exactly what to say to make Concubine Jia feel better. Concubine Jia's mood gradually calmed down, but she still felt a bit uneasy.
Zhen Er was right. She had the child and the evidence of the Prime Minister's Mansion's crimes. What else did she have to fear? She just needed to present the evidence when the incident happened. There was really no need to think too much.
The two supported Concubine Jia back to the Palace of Auspicious Harmony. After seeing her fall asleep, Zhen Er said, "Sister Xiao Su, I'll go and get the meal."
Xiao Su narrowed her eyes, grabbed her wrist, and led her to the back courtyard of the Palace of Auspicious Harmony.
"During the days I was injured, were you the one serving the mistress?" Xiao Su sized her up and down.
Zhen Er nodded. "Yes, Sister Xiao Su. You were inconvenient, and the mistress said I served quite attentively, so she let me serve."
Xiao Su sneered. She didn't trust the person in front of her at all.
"You really have good methods. It's only been a few days, and you've already become a senior maid. I'll go and get the meal. You just stay here and guard the mistress," Xiao Su gritted her teeth. She just couldn't stand Zhen Er.
Zhen Er shrank back and said nothing. Xiao Su found a few more faults and lectured her before leaving.
Watching her back disappear, Zhen Er just snorted and patted her skirt.
Be proud all you want. After tonight, you can be proud in the prison.
Today was the Dragon Boat Festival. The entire harem was decorated with lanterns in anticipation of the evening Dragon Boat Festival banquet.
Lanterns were also hung in the Guanghan Palace. The midday meals in each palace included newly cooked zongzi from the imperial kitchen.
Qingshu liked meat zongzi, and Xiaoshunzi brought back all meat zongzi.
Xiaoshunzi set the meal on the table and said with a smile, "Your Ladyship, just now I saw Xiao Su. Her injury has healed quite quickly."
Qingshu frowned and finally remembered who this person was.
"Is she the personal maid of Concubine Jia?"
Xiaoshunzi nodded. "Yes. At that time, she came to the entrance of the Guanghan Palace with His Majesty's rewards. She was so arrogant. Her injury has healed quickly. We were still too lenient."
Qingshu was arranging a vase of freshly picked jasmine flowers. "Whether it's fast or not doesn't matter. After tonight, she won't have a chance to recover."
After lunch, as the sun slowly moved across the sky, Qingshu sat in front of the dressing table to put on makeup and do her hair.
"The makeup looks too healthy. Make it paler. Is the dress a size bigger?"
She was going to feign a relapse of her illness tonight, so she had to act a bit more realistically. Later, she would take a pill from the system to make it look like she was at death's door.
Zhuyao nodded and continued to apply makeup. "Your Ladyship, don't worry. The dress is a bit bigger than your figure."
Qingshu nodded and propped her chin as she watched her hair being coiled up strand by strand.
As a noble imperial concubine, her court dress and headdress were naturally of the highest grade. She could even wear phoenix hairpins with six tails, and her dress was extremely luxurious.
Especially the mermaid pearls on the court dress were embroidered with the finest gold thread.
From afar, it looked magnificent yet dignified.
Zhuyao picked up the headdress sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and gasped in admiration.
"Your Ladyship, this headdress is so beautiful. Look, it's made of ivory and jade as the base, and the beautiful white opal is carved into the shape of crabapple flowers." Zhuyao said as she weighed it. "It's just a bit too heavy."
Qingshu's black hair was coiled up, and Zhuyao gently fixed the headdress on her hair.
"It's really a bit heavy," Qingshu said. She felt her head was heavy. Her neck would be exhausted after this whole night.
Zhuyao took out the phoenix hairpins and inserted them on both sides of the coiled hair. Then she obliquely inserted the hair pendants beside the high coiled bun.
Putting on the gorgeous dress, the already beautiful woman now looked solemn, noble, and majestic. Her clear eyes made people couldn't help but want to kneel and pay homage.
"Your Ladyship, this dress is really beautiful," Zhuyao stepped forward to smooth out the hem of her dress.
Seeing that there was still half an hour before the evening banquet, Qingshu thought about her outfit and decided to set off early.
"Jingzhe, come with me. Hide behind Zhuyao and Shihua."
The noble imperial concubine's entourage stopped outside the Guanghan Palace. She was supported by Zhuyao and the others into the sedan chair. The sedan - carrying eunuchs headed in the direction of the Bixiao Palace.
Tonight was surely going to be an extraordinary night.
When the sun rose again, Dashun would welcome a new change.