On the other side, in Concubine Shu's palace in the imperial palace.
Concubine Shu looked at the night pearl in front of her and ordered the maids to blow out all the candles in the palace.
In what should have been a pitch - black palace, the night pearl was emitting a dazzling light, softly illuminating every corner of the palace.
Concubine Shu took a deep breath. After smelling the faint fragrance, she said to the maid beside her, "Look, how beautiful this night pearl is! This fragrance is simply rare in the world."
"Yes, Your Ladyship. If only it belonged to you!" the young maid said yearningly.
But Concubine Shu gave her a fierce glare and said in a warning tone, "Hold your tongue! Don't be rude. The night pearl was bestowed upon the Empress by the Emperor."
The maid wanted to say something more after hearing this, but was too afraid of making the woman in front of her angry again, so she dared not say another word.
Concubine Shu looked at the pearl in front of her and remembered what her personal maid had said.
Who wouldn't want to possess beautiful things? But in this harem, one must never forget the hierarchy.
The Empress didn't mind her humble status at all and was willing to lend her this precious pearl. What else could she ask for?
She then recalled everything that had happened in the past few months. The Empress had taken care of her like an elder sister.
Thinking of this, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
"Cuiping, go and invite all the concubines. Say that I'm hosting a night pearl banquet in the palace tonight and invite all the ladies to enjoy it." she said to the maid beside her.
The maid then rushed out of the palace.
And Concubine Shu herself headed towards the Empress's palace. She decided to invite the Empress in person.
After all, the night pearl belonged to the Empress. It was just like presenting someone else's flowers as a gift when she used it to host the banquet. So the Empress must be there to preside over it.
It took less than a quarter of an hour to reach the front of the Empress's palace.
As soon as she entered the palace, she saw Dongfang Yi watering her chrysanthemums in the outer courtyard. After seeing the visitor, Dongfang Yi curled her lips and asked, "Sister Concubine Shu, why are you here at this hour?"
Concubine Shu bowed respectfully to her and replied, "Your Ladyship, I want to host a night pearl banquet tonight. But since the pearl belongs to the Empress, I've come to invite you to take the main seat."
Dongfang Yi frowned slightly upon hearing this. She didn't want to make a big deal out of the night pearl. But she didn't expect Concubine Shu to host a banquet directly. This was equivalent to telling the whole harem that she had won the Emperor's great favor.
But after thinking about it, she still nodded.
Because Concubine Shu's eager look was really hard to refuse, and it was just a small thing for her.
So she followed Concubine Shu to her palace.
This was the first time Dongfang Yi had entered her palace. It was much smaller than the Empress's palace, even shabby. Although the decoration was very exquisite, it couldn't hide the fact that the palace was not luxurious.
Since she entered the palace, she had only been to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, Concubine Chu's, Concubine Shun's and Concubine Luo's palaces. Their palaces were all luxurious.
As soon as Concubine Shu entered, she said a little self - deprecatingly, "Your Ladyship, I'm really sorry to let you come to such a place."
Dongfang Yi looked at her with her head down. She never thought that this lively girl would have such an unconfident side. Maybe it was because she had grown up in the countryside.
Thinking of this, she reached out and stroked her hair, smiling and saying, "What's there to be sorry about? I think it's very nice."
After saying that, she strode in.
Concubine Shu followed her in with a grateful look on her face.
After about an incense stick's time, all the concubines in the harem had arrived. To everyone's surprise, Concubine Chu was among them.
When Concubine Shu saw her, she frowned and asked Cuiping beside her, "Why is she here? Didn't we say not to invite her?!"
Cuiping also lowered her head helplessly and said, "I didn't invite her. It was Concubine Chu who came by herself."
Concubine Shu was about to say something else when Dongfang Yi interrupted her.
"It doesn't matter. Since she loves to make a scene so much, let her come. I'd like to see what tricks she can play." she said.
Just then, they saw the woman they were talking about walking slowly over.
She still had a thick layer of powder on her face and her lips were painted bright red.
Concubine Chu tilted her head slightly, looking extremely arrogant. She said to the women in front of her, "If the Empress wants to show off, just do it. Why do you have to drag us to Concubine Shu's palace? Are you trying to make us believe how noble and unsullied you are?"
After saying that, she looked at them provocatively.
Dongfang Yi was already used to her like this. She knew that Concubine Chu just liked to get the last word in.
So she snorted coldly and stared at the woman in front of her with cold eyes. The woman felt a little scared under her gaze and then pretended to be calm and said, "What are you looking at!"
Dongfang Yi replied indifferently, "I heard that Concubine Chu wasn't invited to this night pearl banquet. Why did you come by yourself?"
Concubine Chu's expression froze. She felt a bit embarrassed.
Her maid had heard that Concubine Shu's people were inviting the concubines everywhere to enjoy the night pearl, but she hadn't received any invitation. She was indignant and came by herself. Now being pointed out so mercilessly, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"It's just a stupid night pearl. I don't care about it at all. I just passed by and came in to take a look. Who wants to enjoy it with you!"
After saying that, without waiting for Dongfang Yi to reply, she angrily led her maids and was about to leave Concubine Shu's palace.
But she was stopped by Dongfang Yi from behind.
"Do you think you can come and go as you please here?!" she said sternly.
Since Concubine Chu dared to be disrespectful to her in front of so many concubines, she would never let her off.
Concubine Chu was instantly enraged. But looking around, she knew she couldn't act recklessly. So she gritted her teeth, bowed slightly to the woman in front of her and said, "Your Ladyship, I'll take my leave first!"
After saying that, she left Concubine Shu's palace without looking back, followed by her maids.
Dongfang Yi stood there and burst into laughter. Concubine Shu beside her looked at her in admiration and said, "Your Ladyship, you're really amazing."
Apart from Concubine Dong and Concubine Jia, those who came to enjoy the night pearl also included Concubine Shun and the newly - entered Yaoji. They had also invited Concubine Luo, but heard that she was ill again.
Dongfang Yi sat in the highest seat and looked at the concubines below. They were all gathered around the pearl, discussing it.
Obviously, women were the same at all times. They all loved beautiful things, which was why they were all looking at the same thing.
But she noticed a woman who wasn't mingling with the others - Concubine Shun.
At this moment, Concubine Shun was sitting in a corner, sipping a cup of tea alone, as if she wasn't interested in anything in front of her.
Dongfang Yi thought that she hadn't seen Concubine Shun for a long time. Since the execution of Nanny Dong, Concubine Shun hadn't come to pay her respects.
Looking at her absent - minded appearance now, she wondered if it was related to what had happened before.
Thinking of this, her eyebrows couldn't help but furrow. After all, she knew that Concubine Shun had nothing to do with everything. So she didn't want to involve innocent people.
After thinking about it, she wanted to stand up and go over to ask her.
Just as she was about to move, she heard a female voice call out to her.
She turned around and saw Yaoji behind her.