Chapter 377: The Concubine Who Was Buried with the Emperor VS The Ruthless and Romantic Emperor 25
Concubine Yu's laughter echoed in Guanju Palace, and she looked extremely proud.

She gently stroked the round fan in her hand and said to Furong who was kneeling at her feet and tapping her legs, "Furong, look, the wind direction in this palace changes so quickly. Concubine Li's arrogant arrogance has now been extinguished without a trace left."

Furong also laughed when she heard this, her hands moving non-stop, "Your Majesty is right, Concubine Li usually relies on the favor and doesn't even take the Majesty seriously. Now that she has fallen out of favor, the harem is much quieter."

She paused, looked up at her master, and said hesitantly, "It's just that this month, Concubine Qin has been in bed with the most people, even more than Concubine Zhen. Aren't you worried, Your Majesty?"

Imperial Concubine Yu sneered, her expression extremely disdainful, "A lowly maid who rose to power as a palace maid is only favored for a while because of her face. If you want to gain a firm foothold in this harem, you can't just rely on favor."

"Your Majesty, although that is what I said, Concubine Qin's appearance is indeed extraordinary. Your Majesty should take precautions early. If Concubine Qin becomes powerful, it will be difficult to deal with her."

Furong said worriedly as she tapped her leg.

Even a woman like her would feel terrified when seeing Concubine Qin's face, let alone the emperor who is a man.

Imperial Concubine Yu narrowed her eyes slightly, gently waved the round fan in her hand, and after a moment of silence, she said, "Even if a lowly servant born as a palace maid is favored for a while, what can she achieve? My only rival has always been the Queen. This position of Queen, I am determined to obtain."

Furong wanted to persuade the queen not to underestimate the enemy, but she stopped trying to persuade her because Qin Guiren was born a palace maid and no matter how favored she was, she could not threaten the queen's position.

In Yingyue Palace, the light gauze and graceful dance could not conceal Concubine Li’s anxiety and uneasiness.

Concubine Li sat in front of the bronze mirror. The person in the mirror had empty and confused eyes, as if she had lost all her luster.

"Cuiwei, how come I fell out of favor out of nowhere?"

She turned her head to look at Cuiwei, who was standing beside her with her brows lowered and her voice was choked with sobs.

Cuiwei took a few steps forward, knelt at Concubine Li's feet, and said cautiously: "My lady, maybe it's about Eunuch Anhai?"

She knew the queen's temper very well and dared not say much, for fear of bringing bad luck upon herself.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Li frowned, and thinking back to the day when Concubine Qin slept with her, she felt jealous, so she asked Cuiwei to instruct Anhai, the chief steward of the Jingshifang, to suppress Concubine Qin's green card.

This is the most common method used by high-ranking concubines to suppress low-ranking concubines in the harem. Why did it become a problem when it came to me?
"I originally thought it was just a little trick in the harem, but I didn't expect the emperor to care so much about it."

Concubine Li looked regretful, "Cuiwei, what do you think I should do now?"

Cuiwei pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, in my opinion, the most important thing now is to find out the emperor's intentions. Perhaps, Your Highness can personally go to the emperor to plead guilty and seek his forgiveness."

Concubine Li's eyes flashed with hesitation. This step put her in the spotlight. But if she continued like this, her position in the palace would be in jeopardy.

"Okay, I will go to the Imperial Study in person and apologize to the Emperor."

Concubine Li made up her mind, stood up, tidied her clothes, went to the small kitchen to make a bowl of health-preserving soup, and then took Cuiwei to the imperial study.

Concubine Li brought Cuiwei to the door of the imperial study.

Looking at the imperial study in front of him, he took a deep breath and said to the eunuch guarding the door: "I have an important matter to ask the emperor to see. Please inform him."

When the eunuch saw that it was Concubine Li, although he knew that the wind in the palace had changed, he did not dare to neglect it, "Please wait a moment, Concubine Li."

Afterwards, he hurried in to report.

Soon after, he came out to lead the way, "Empress Li, the Emperor wants you to come in."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Concubine Li said softly.

He asked Cuiwei to wait at the door while he walked into the imperial study with some health-preserving soup.

When she raised her eyes, she saw Emperor Jing sitting at his desk reviewing memorials. He had a calm expression, as if he was not disturbed at all by her arrival.

She bowed gracefully, her voice soft and charming with a barely perceptible tremor, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be blessed with good health."

Emperor Jing looked up, his eyes swept over Concubine Li, and then fell back to the memorial on the table, "Get up, what do you want?" In fact, even if Concubine Li didn't say it, he knew it in his heart. It was just that he hadn't invited her to sleep with him recently and ignored her.

It was true that he originally liked Concubine Li, but he also liked her for her knowledge and taste, her charming appearance, and her ability to make him happy. Even if she occasionally had a bad temper, he could tolerate it.

But it was a bit unreasonable for this woman to dare to interfere with his favoritism towards the imperial concubines.

Concubine Li slowly stood up, walked to the table, gently placed the health-preserving soup on the table, and said softly: "I see that the emperor works day and night, so I personally made this bowl of health-preserving soup, hoping that it can relieve the emperor's fatigue."

Emperor Jing did not move, but said calmly: "You are kind, but I don't have a good appetite today, so please put it aside for now."

Concubine Li's heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked softly, "I dare to ask Your Majesty, have I done anything wrong recently that displeased Your Majesty?"

Emperor Jing put down his pen and finally looked at Concubine Li with a slightly cold expression, "Concubine Li, you are smart and should know that jealousy is the most taboo in the harem, and you should not interfere in my affairs."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Li's face turned pale instantly. Her heart sank, because it turned out that it was because she had asked An Hai to suppress the matter of Concubine Qin's cuckoldry.

She quickly knelt down and apologized, "I know I was wrong. I was confused for a moment. I hope the emperor will show mercy."

Emperor Jing sighed lightly with a complicated expression. He stood up and walked to Concubine Li. He stretched out his hand to help her up, but stopped the moment he touched her sleeve.

In the end, he just patted her shoulder gently and said, "Get up. Considering that this is your first offense, I will not pursue it any further. But you must remember that women in the harem should live in harmony, win people over with virtue, and must not suppress lower-ranking concubines by any means necessary."

Concubine Li nodded with tears in her eyes, and said gratefully: "I will follow the emperor's teachings and reform myself, live in harmony with the sisters in the harem, and no longer cause the emperor to worry."

In fact, I hated Concubine Qin more and more in my heart.

This was the first time she suffered such a big setback, how could she not feel hatred?
Emperor Jing glanced at her indifferently. No matter whether Concubine Li was sincere or not, he didn't want to delve into it.

He nodded slightly, motioning her to leave.

Concubine Li did not dare to stay here any longer. After bowing again, she obediently left the imperial study.

Cuiwei saw the queen coming out, but she didn't look happy. Instead, her face was covered with tears and her brows were slightly furrowed. She stepped forward and asked, "Queen, are you okay?"

Concubine Li glanced at Cuiwei, then wiped away the tears from her eyes, but didn't want to say more, "Let's go back first."

Cuiwei also knew that this was not the place to talk, so she didn't ask any more questions.

The two walked all the way towards Yingyue Palace until they reached a deserted place.

Cui Wei then asked again: "Your Highness, what did the Emperor say? Has he forgiven you?"

Concubine Li sighed softly, "Although the emperor did not punish me severely, he also clearly told me that jealousy is the most taboo in the harem, and I must not interfere with his favoritism of the harem concubines. This time, I have indeed violated a taboo."

Cuiwei hurriedly comforted her, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Since the Emperor has forgiven you, you just need to be more careful in the future."

Concubine Li frowned, her eyes flashed with a fierce look, "It's all because of that slave girl Qin Guiren, if it weren't for her, how could I have ended up like this?"

Cuiwei knew that the queen hated Concubine Qin very much, but she didn't dare to say much and just followed behind her silently.

Concubine Li walked slowly, frowning and thinking deeply. After a moment, she said to Cuiwei behind her: "Cuiwei, is there anyone of ours with that slave girl?"

Cuiwei was startled for a moment, but soon realized that the queen was referring to Concubine Qin, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, there is a eunuch named Xiao Qingzi beside Concubine Qin who is one of ours, but because everything is normal with Concubine Qin and there is no abnormal behavior, no news has been sent to us."

Little did she know that all the palace maids and servants around Yu Yao had already been affixed with loyalty talismans.

No matter who the master behind her is, he will only be loyal to her.

Concubine Li didn't know this. She frowned slightly, and a trace of doubt rose in her heart, "Is this lowly maid really so obedient? Cuiwei, go and secretly investigate to see if Xiao Qingzi has concealed anything. If he dares to have second thoughts, I will never let him off easily."

Cuiwei quickly responded, "Yes, Madam."

(End of this chapter)