121 Her Schemes

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"The Empress has arrived!"

"Imperial Concubine Jin has arrived!"

The Emperor entered the banquet together with Empress Wei on his right side while Imperial Concubine Jin occupied the left side.

When the three entered, the entire banquet turned quiet. All the officials and the noble families lowered their head and bent their knees to show curtsy.

"Greetings Emperor! Long Live the Emperor! May the Emperor live a thousand years! Greetings to the Empress! Greetings to Imperial Concubine Jin!"

The crowd spoke in unison.

"Rise! No need to show formalities."

Xu Ji Mo raised his hand and waved it, dismissing the entire crowd from showing curtsy.

"This lowly official thanks the Emperor!"

"This official's daughter thanks the Emperor!"

"This subject-son/daughter thanks Imperial Father!"

When the entire crowd was expressing their respect towards the Emperor, only XuanRong remained impassive. She was standing in an inconspicuous place, away from the crowd. When the people kneeled, she simply moved her body behind the pillar, obstructing the Emperor's view. She vowed that she would never kneel in front of her enemies ever again, even if it was the Emperor himself.

XuanRong was arrogant through and through, thus, YuYing and YuShang who stayed with her slowly copied XuanRong's arrogance, especially YuShang.

"Che. The Emperor acts magnanimous on the surface, but this servant knows he's a scheming person. Ai."

YuShang murmured. Her voice was low but it was enough for XuanRong to hear her. XuanRong turned her head and stared at YuShang, warning her to close her mouth. YuShang saw XuanRong's intense stare and immediately closed her mouth while pouting.

"This servant is wrong."

When the two communicated with each other subtly, the Emperor had already climbed up the stairs and sat at the dragon throne. Empress Wei and Imperial Concubine Jin followed Xu Ji Mo and sat on his both sides.

"Start the banquet!"

The Emperor was in a good mood since the banquet was prepared to celebrate his natal day.

Music started playing, the liveliness of the banquet returned.

"Your Majesty, This Lowly Wife prepared everything. This Lowly Wife hopes that Your Majesty enjoys the celebration."

When Empress Wei saw that Xu Ji Mo was in a good mood, she was happy. The competition inside the palace was very fierce and currently she was at the disadvantage. The affection of the Emperor was not solely focused to her alone, instead, he was favoring Imperial Concubine Jin. Seeing that the Emperor was satisfied with her work and was praising her for her own effort, she could not help but feel delighted.

"Indeed, Zhen is glad that Empress prepared this banquet."

"Empress Wei smiled. She opened her mouth to speak but a very melodious voice suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, This Lowly Concubine begs to be forgiven. This Lowly concubine was not able to share the burden with Elder Sister, making Bis Sister encounter difficulties preparing the entire banquet. This Lowly Concubine hopes that Elder Sister would not blame Younger Sister's incapability. *cough* *cough*"

"Nonsense! Ai Fei[1], do not blame yourself. Your body is very weak. Didn't Zhen told you that you should stay in your palace and recuperate? No need to feel guilty over such trivial things. Your health is more important that this insignificant banquet. Let the Empress do it alone, no need to feel guilty and stress yourself out."

Xu Ji Mo grabbed Imperial Concubine Jin's hand and squeezed it lovingly, making Imperial Concubine Jin smile shyly. She stared at Empress Wei and blinked her eyes innocently.

"Elder Sister, Younger Sister still feels guilty. May Elder Sister accept Younger Sister's apology."

Empress Wei smiled amiably, she was exuding a magnanimous air around her. She stared at Imperial Concubine Jin and chuckled.

"Younger Sister, what are you saying ah? Elder sister knows that your body is weak. Besides, As the Empress of this country, Elder Sister has duties to fulfill, so, Younger Sister should not mind these trivial things and focus on attending His Majesty's needs. The Imperial Palace has thousands of beauties, Elder Sister will rely on you instead of those maidservants and tongfangs[2]."

When Imperial Jin heard Empress Wei's words, her left hand that was concealed inside her sleeves curled in a tight fist.

Was Empress Wei viewed her and the rest of His Majesty's concubine as the same level of those lowly bitches inside the Imperial palace?

Empress Wei snickered inside her heart when she did not hear Imperial Concubine Jin's reply.

'Humpf. You only rely on His Majesty's favor but without Him, you are nothing.'

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The banquet had already stated but the convoy from Jing Country had not arrived yet. The Emperor was starting to get impatient. The Jing country was showing their might by not giving the Emperor of Qian Zou face. Although Xu Ji Mo was angry at them, he could only swallow his anger.

Suddenly, the door opened and a young handsome man wearing a very luxurious brocade entered the hall, followed by a man on his thirties wearing a simple yet elegant clothes. At the back, two rows of men wearing an imperial guard clothes followed the two.

"The delegates from Jing Country has arrived!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty! This Prince is called Long Hao Chen, the Seventh Prince of Jing Country. This Prince wishes that Your Majesty would have a bountiful life. This Prince hopes that His Majesty would feel magnanimous and forgive This Prince for being late."

"Hahahaha! What are you saying, Seventh Prince? Zhen does not mind. Come sit!"

When Long Hao Chen surveyed the surroundings, he saw a woman sitting at the left side of the left pillar. She was busy drinking tea while talking with two middle age women. The cup covered her entire small face. Since the distance was quite long, he could not see her clearly, but when Long Hao Chen saw the woman's eyes, he could not help but recall the veiled woman who insulted him.

His eyes subconsciously squinted, trying to discern if the young maiden was indeed that woman previously.

The Emperor noticed Long Hao Chen's unusual behavior and could not help but be curious.

"*cough* Seventh Prince?"

Long Hao Chen turned his head towards the Emperor.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Is there anything that bothers you?"

"Nothing… It's just that, a month ago—"

Suddenly, Long Hao Chen stopped talking. He inwardly cursed himself. If he would say that the young maiden wearing the white Hanfu was similar to the woman who insulted him in the market a month ago, the Emperor would know that they had already arrived at Qian Zou and decided not to inform the Emperor of their arrival.

"N-Nothing. A month ago, This Prince killed a silver fox. The fox's fur was very beautiful and ordered This Prince's subordinate to skin it and preserve its fur, creating a coat. This Prince was hoping that Your Majesty will not despise This Prince's gift for Your Majesty."

Hearing that it was a silver fox coat, Xu Ji Mo could not help but grin widely. Silver foxes were very rare. Their habitat was snowy mountains which was quite abundant in Jing.

Since Long Hao Chen had already presented their gifts, the rest of the crowd also started offering their gifts. From a very expensive ginseng and other herbal medicines to one in a million artworks and paintings, each noble family prepared a very expensive gift, hoping that it would make the Emperor happy.

It was Prime Minister's resident's turn and the one who presented the gift was none other than XuanFei. XuanLi wanted to use this opportunity to introduce XuanFei to the Emperor.

"This official's daughter greets His Majesty. This----"

"KYAAAAA!!!!"

The entire crowd turned their head towards the source of the sound and saw Imperial Concubine Jin clutching her stomach. Her dress was soaked with blood. She was bleeding. Imperial Concubine Jin glared at Empress Wei who was standing stupidly in front of her.

Unable to balance herself, Imperial Concubine Jin fell on the ground.

"Ai Fei!"

Xu Ji Mo hurriedly went beside Imperial Concubine Jin and saw that she was bleeding all over.

"CALL THE IMPERIAL PHYSICIAN!!"

"Y-Your Majesty…*sob* Your Majesty.. please… This Lowly Concubine begs Your Majesty to save our child."

While the entire hall was in an uproar, XuanRong who was sitting calmly stared at Empress Wei. Her face did not show anything but her eyes twinkled like the stars in the sky.

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[1]. 'Beloved Consort'- An endearment usually used by the Emperor towards his favored concubine.

[2]. A maid that warms the master's bed. Relieving their master's sexual desire is also one of their main task.

[Unedited Chapter]