The Intrigue of the Imperial Court 013 The Forbidden Palace

  The New Year is approaching, the entire imperial palace is decorated with lanterns and streamers, the eunuchs and palace maids have all changed into new clothes, and today's Liangjing Palace is filled with a festive atmosphere.

  The eunuchs in the grand hall were busy setting up, and Xu Ren, the young general manager of Liangjing Palace, did not dare to slack off at all. Today was the 100th day banquet of the Seventh Prince, and no mistakes could be made.

  "Lord Xu." The most trusted and loyal palace maid beside Empress Liang, Gui Zhi, came out of the inner hall and walked towards Lord Xu.

  Xu Ren's expression changed slightly, and he hastily stepped forward with a smile on his face: "Greetings, Aunt Gui. Is there an order from Her Majesty?"

  Guizhi shook her head: "There was no order, the master said that you do things with peace of mind." Although the master was not very satisfied with the young and inexperienced eunuch sent by the inner affairs palace to take care of them in Liangjing Palace, this person was sent by the inner affairs palace. In order not to offend the inner affairs palace, the master had to use him first. Unexpectedly, over the past year, Xu Ren, although young, was still smooth and clever in doing things, which also made the master decide to continue using him.

  Xu Ren busily and respectfully bowed to the inner palace: "Your Majesty values me so much, I will not disappoint you." In fact, since Liang Fei gave birth to the seventh prince, he had been worried that he would be replaced by Liang Fei, but now he finally felt at ease.

  Guizhi was very satisfied with the situation, but her words took another turn: "However, Master still let me remind Grandfather that today is the 100th day banquet of the Seventh Prince, and all the guests are princesses from various palaces, noble ladies, and wives of high-ranking officials. This is a matter of great importance, and any mistake will not be tolerated."

  "This is natural, I will definitely not let you down."

  Guizhi nodded and turned around to walk back to the inner palace to report his orders.

  Xu Ren sent off Gui Zhi, and his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings to see if there were any omissions. The Empress had just given birth to the seventh prince, and now that the momentum was strong, it was hard to guarantee that no one would try to make a move at the Seventh Prince's banquet, making it difficult for the Empress to save face.

  He is now the manager of Liang Jing Palace, and his life and property are naturally linked to those of Queen Liang. When the master prospers, these slaves naturally prosper; when the master suffers losses, they will not have a good day either. This is an iron law in the harem, where one rises or falls with their master. In these five years, he has transformed from a lowly sweeper eunuch to the manager of Liang Jing Palace, and no one knows how much effort he has put in.

  It was almost noon, and there was still an hour before the banquet in the palace. Except for the three main consorts, some other concubines and noblewomen had all arrived early.

  Liang Fei had already dressed up early and was waiting in the grand hall to receive the various consorts of the harem.

  Upon hearing the eunuch's report, Xu Ren hastily stepped forward and reported: "I beg to report to Your Majesty, that the Crown Prince and his wife, as well as the various imperial consorts, are on their way to Liangjing Palace."

  Li Fei's face lit up with joy, and she hastily said: "Quickly welcome her!"

  Upon hearing the invitation, all the consorts and imperial concubines present looked on with envy and resentment. The 100th day celebration of the Seventh Imperial Son was attended by all the princes, dukes, and noblewomen, which showed the extent of Empress Li's favor. Now that the position of empress is vacant, all the palace ladies are eager to move up, and Empress Li giving birth to the Seventh Imperial Son at this time only adds to their anxiety.

  The virtuous imperial consort welcomed the arrival of the numerous edicts and orders, at a time when she was enjoying the favor of the spring breeze. Suddenly, she heard the eunuch's announcement: "Imperial Consort Mei has arrived! Imperial Consort Ning has arrived! Imperial Consort Yu has arrived!"

  The good queen heard the report, her face like a flower smiled faintly, but soon brightened up again.

  The many officials' wives who had just entered the hall and had not yet begun to exchange pleasantries, upon hearing this, all changed their expressions, stepped forward, and paid their respects.

  After the bow, everyone took their respective seats.

  The Empress smiled and stepped forward to pay her respects to the three consorts: "Three elder sisters have arrived in person, younger sister truly doesn't dare."

  "Sister, you're being too polite. Today is the 100th day banquet of the Seventh Prince, and we sisters haven't had a good look at the Seventh Prince yet. We must take this opportunity to get a good look at our Seventh Prince." Yu Fei helped Liang Fei up with a smile.

  Mei Fei and Ning Fei on the side also smiled and nodded in agreement.

  At this time, the eunuch's announcement came again: "The third prince has arrived, the fourth prince has arrived, the eldest princess has arrived, and the third princess has arrived!"

  The arrival of several princes and princesses caused a stir, but it soon subsided.

  "Pay respects to Empress Liang!" The two princes and two princesses who accompanied him paid their respects to Empress Liang.

  Liang Fei looked at them, the smile on her face deepened, and after returning their courtesy, she smiled and said: "Gui Zhi, why don't you quickly have the wet nurse bring out the Seventh Prince?"

  "Yes, Your Ladyship." Guizhi bowed and took his leave.

  Before long, the wet nurse brought out the seventh prince. As they gazed at the seventh prince in the wet nurse's arms, the crowd erupted into a chorus of admiration. Some of the consorts who had not yet given birth to princes or princesses were consumed with envy and gritted their teeth in silence, but still managed to force smiles onto their faces as they sang his praises.

  Finally, the wet nurse held the seventh prince for the three most senior consorts present to see.

  Mei Fei took a glance and smiled: "Look at this little guy, so sturdy and strong, already catching up with other children of four or five months."

  "Looking so robust, he must have a big appetite. Two wet nurses won't be enough, sister, we should prepare a few more." Yu Fei said with concern.

  "It's not, look at this appearance is exactly the same as the fourth princess, and followed the good queen." Ning Fei smiled and stretched out her hand to tease the seventh imperial son in his swaddling clothes.

  Li Fei's eyebrows sank slightly, but only for an instant. Her face still wore a smile: "Thank you, three sisters, for your concern."

  Everyone heard the implicit meaning in Sanfei's words, their facial expressions unchanged, as if they hadn't understood the hidden barb in her words at all.

  Currently, there are four concubines in the harem who are equally prominent. The most notable one is Consort Mei, who has two princes by her side, namely the Eldest Prince and the Fifth Prince, both of whom were born to her.

  The second is Yu Fei, who gave birth to the Second Imperial Prince and the Grand Princess. The third is Ning Fei, who gave birth to the Third Princess and the Third Imperial Prince. The last one is Liang Fei, who gave birth to the Fourth Princess and the Seventh Imperial Prince.

  "The Emperor has arrived." The eunuch's announcement made everyone in the hall tremble with fear, kneeling down to welcome the imperial carriage.

  Emperor Jing stepped into the grand hall, and Mei Fei, Yu Fei, Ning Fei, and Liang Fei all came forward to pay their respects: "Your concubines pay homage to Your Majesty."

  "The son greets the emperor." The princes and princesses come forward to pay their respects.

  "Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live, forever and ever!" The crowd cheered as they wished the empress good health.

  "Everyone, take your seats." Emperor Qing walked up to his throne and sat down, saying in a calm tone.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." The crowd stood up and respectfully retreated to one side, bowing their heads and lowering their eyebrows in wait.

  Qing Di glanced at everyone with a careless expression and said lightly: "Today's family banquet, no need to be formal, let the feast begin."

  Liáng Fēi hurriedly looked at Xǔ Rén, and Xǔ Rén nodded, saying loudly: "Open..."

  Just as he had uttered half a syllable, a small figure darted in like an arrow, startling him so much that he almost bit his own tongue.

  Everyone was stunned, and the one who rushed in like an arrow was none other than the Fourth Princess Yuan Zhenzhen.

  Lady Yu saw Yuan Zhenzhen rush in, covered in mud and with a grey face, like a wild monkey. She glared fiercely at the two palace maids who were running in, her face alternating between dark and pale, looking very unpleasant.

  Look at the fourth princess, covered in mud and dust like a wild monkey, while Mei Fei, Yu Fei, and Ning Fei secretly laugh and rejoice in her misfortune.

  What a delightful surprise! I wonder who gave this wonderful gift to Empress Liang. It's simply breathtaking!

  The fourth princess, Yuanyuan, is eight years old this year and was born to Empress Liang. This fourth princess has a wild temperament and is as stupid as a pig. Until now, she hasn't shown any signs of intelligence. Normally, she can't even appear in public. Today, no one saw her, and everyone knew that Empress Liang was afraid of causing trouble, so she locked her up as usual.

  Unexpectedly she was fine, and rushed in like this without caring about anything.

  "Zhenzhen, why don't you quickly pay your respects to your father the Emperor?" Consort Liang silently lamented, this daughter of hers was truly a headache.

  Yuanyuan saw Emperor Qing and was frightened from the bottom of her heart, her small face turned pale, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud, timidly saying: "Your child subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

  The Emperor looked at Yuanyu, who was covered in mud and had a grey face, his expression sank, and Liangfei saw this and hurriedly knelt down to say: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger, it is the fault of the concubine for not teaching her well."

  The emperor coldly glanced at Consort Liang, although he didn't say a word, his displeasure was clear. Consort Liang's face turned slightly pale and her body trembled slightly. She had finally managed to gain a foothold in the harem, thinking that today would be a great opportunity for her to shine, but instead it was ruined by this girl. It made her so angry she gritted her teeth, yet there was nothing she could do about it.

  "What's with the dirt and dust on your face? Where did you come from?" Emperor Qing asked in a cold tone.

  Yu Zhenzhen was also too anxious to be afraid, and urgently said: "Father Emperor, please let me enter the Worry-Free Palace! My little white dove flew into the Worry-Free Palace, but it's sealed off, I couldn't get in. I wanted to climb in, but the palace walls are too high, I couldn't climb in, that's why my body is all dirty."

  As soon as this was said, everyone in the room was shocked!

  Li Fei was so shocked that she almost fainted, the Shengyuan Palace and Wuyou Palace were taboo for everyone in the imperial palace for five years. She didn't expect her foolish daughter to actually... actually mention this taboo at her brother's 100th day banquet in front of so many people. Foolish girl, she was going to ruin herself and her brother! She really wanted to strangle her to death!