Treacherous Living In The Imperial Harem Chapter 11 Obedient Cheng Gui Yun

"Although I am humble, I'm still cordially invited to join the Imperial Harem." Yun Fenghuang calmly said, "At this moment, both your servants can speak. Why can't I?"

She turned to the Empress, and respectfully saluted, saying, "I just think that Your Highness has a prominent family. Getting married with His Majesty at a young age, you are regarded as a born phoenix (queen) with n.o.bility. As n.o.ble as you, Your Highness, how could the h.o.m.ophonic sound of my name offend you? If this name truly offends you, what about those people who make phoenix-shaped hairpins and robes with phoenix pictures? Should all people whose surnames are Long (dragon, as a symbol of the Emperor in ancient China) or Feng (phoenix, as a symbol of the Empress in ancient China) change their names?"

"You want me to avoid the taboo. Come on. Let's do it together." Yun Fenghuang thought.

Long and Feng as surnames had existed for many dynasties. No former emperor or empress had forbidden these surnames as an official issue. Since there were three empresses of Ji's Family in this dynasty, rumors that Ji's Family were trying to occupy this country had been spread. If the Empress decided to change people's surnames, their family reputation would be foreseen.

Besides, most of the powerful eunuchs or courtiers would not support her for this farce.

In the past, so many emperors and empresses did not care about this. If in this dynasty they couldn't tolerate it, people would laugh at Gongxiang's Family for their parochialism. Also, the public would blame those officials to be mediocre and crafty for they failed to dissuade the Empress from doing that.

"What Cheng Gui Yun said also makes sense." n.o.ble Consort Shu changed her mind, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, what do you think?"

The Empress said lazily, "She is a poor little thing. She has been aggrieved for not living with you like your sister Yun Qingman. I don't care about whether her name offends me or not. If she doesn't want to change her name, we should not force her. It is not a big deal."

It seemed that the Empress said it unconcernedly, but n.o.ble Consort Shu was stiffened. The Empress implied that she favored one and was prejudiced against the other… Although this was true, the Empress pointed it out in public, which might cause something bad in the future.

She frowned secretly. When she was absent-minded for a while, Yun Fenghuang had already bent her knees and thanked the Empress.

This had been settled. After a while, n.o.ble Consort Gui arrived. As soon as she entered, she blamed herself for being late and said her clothes were spotted as she was about to go. To show her respect to the Empress, she returned and changed her clothes. Therefore, she was late.

The Empress couldn't blame her for such a trivial matter. After saying something as a formality, she got up and led the concubines to Mian Fu Palace.

Yun Fenghuang met Princess Minghui this time, and she also understood why Emperor Chunjia was in a daze when she said she was depressed for not seeing Princess Minghui. The reason for him to be blanked was that although this princess was gentle and quiet, but…

She was really ... too fat!

With the same age as Yun Fenghuang, Princess Minghui was half a head shorter than her, but her body size was more than twice larger than Yun Fenghuang's. Although her jewelry and clothes were all in the first cla.s.s, and her skin was also white and delicate for living in a pampered comfort environment, nothing could hide the fact that this n.o.ble princess was a ball of fatness.

At this moment, she was surrounded by a group of timid and delicate concubines, and she looked fatter to be contrasted with them.

The Emperor was generous. Otherwise, when he heard Yun Fenghuang praised the princess for "She is elegant and looks like a fairy with outstanding beauty", he would have suspected that she was deliberately mocking her. It was not her fault. Yun Fenghuang's uncle was not a high-ranking official. So, her aunt Ms. Xie and her cousins hadn't had any opportunity to meet the princess. People in Duke Yi's Mansion were familiar with Princess Minghui though. However, Princess Minghui was of n.o.ble status. They didn't dare to discuss her disrespectfully with an outsider like Yun Fenghuang.

It was Yun Fenghuang who was misunderstood by her first impression. She thought that the Princess's mother and grandmother were both beautiful, so the princess would also be a beauty. Even if she were not, it would not be wrong to praise a girl.

Who knew the princess looked like this...?

Well, although she was fat, she was the only sib child of Queen Mother Ji.

Queen Mother Ji paid most of her attention to listen to her daughter chatting with several n.o.ble concubines. She was gracious, and looked totally different from yesterday when she rebuked Consort Yue indifferently. Since she didn't make things difficult for them, the greeting today was finished smoothly.

After going out, the Empress asked them to return as usual. n.o.ble Consort Shu said a few words with the Empress and n.o.ble Consort Gui with a smile, and then took her two sisters on her sedan. She became angry right after they got on.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked Yun Fenghuang. Yun Qingman realized something was wrong, so she tried to ease the atmosphere by making them laugh. However, neither n.o.ble Consort Shu nor Yun Fenghuang showed interest to her. After returning to Tong Xia Palace, n.o.ble Consort Shu, after ordering the servants to leave, began to flare up. She asked, "Just change your name to vent Zhao Yuan Ji's anger, and then this would move on. Why don't you agree? What you said and behaved did embarra.s.s her today. How impressive! Now, the hostess of Su Rong Palace has definitely hated you for that. Yesterday you looked very clever. Why are you so stupid today?!"

Yun Qingman grabbed her in a panic, "Sister, don't blame Fenghuang. She didn't mean that..."

"I think she was deliberate." n.o.ble Consort Shu shook her hands away, "She was not satisfied with us for changing her surname. So, even if she knew she would offend Zhao Yuan Ji, she still refused to change her name… It is obvious. Everyone could see that except you."

"In the final a.n.a.lysis, Zhao Yuan Ji is too overbearing!" Yun Qingman persisted and held her again. "Aren't all of us here to serve His Majesty in this palace? Your Highness was okay with Fenghuang's name. Why did Zhao Yuan Ji point that out? Fenghuang was so angry. Even if she is the cousin of the Empress, she is just a Zhao Yuan. Fenghuang followed you there today, but Zhao Yuan still found fault with Fenghuang. Is it obvious that she showed no respect to you?"

n.o.ble Consort Shu shook her away angrily again, "I know that you are in the same team! Both of you want to take me as a s.h.i.+eld, so you show closeness to me. Otherwise you would just ignore me."

Yun Qingman hugged her and said coquettishly, "Both of us are unaccompanied and helpless in this palace. You are our only sister, so we can only count on you. Why she dared to embarra.s.s Zhao Yuan is because she knows you cherish us."

"… It's lucky for you to live with me, or you will live a hard life for your temper." n.o.ble Consort Shu stopped to be angry, and then sighed, slapping her sister's hands away. Finally, she said to Yun Fenghuang, "I know that you are aggrieved and you feel unfair. You don't need to argue. This is just human nature. Now that I have already told you how you entered the palace, I don't care about what you think... Changing your surname is for your own good. In Ji's Family, the Empress has been cultivated to be the Empress since she was a child. In the past few years, she has been in charge of the harem for many years. Except for Ms. Yuan (Consort Yue) who is hated by her, she is kind of fair to all the concubines."

After all, Ji's Family couldn't occupy Emperor Chunjia's Imperial Harem. The balance between the clans of the consorts and the courtiers in the Imperial Court should also be considered.

Therefore, the woman who was cultivated by Ji's Family was not the one who would be arrogant and reckless for her family background.

However, Zhao Yuan Ji was cordially invited to join the Imperial Harem alone a few years ago. She was that kind of person. n.o.ble Consort Shu said, "Zhao Yuan Ji is not like the Empress. She is domineering and refuses to suffer loss. When she quarrels with others, it will be fine if she wins. But even if she loses in the squabble, she will try her best to beat back. Why do you bother yourself arguing with her?"

Yun Fenghuang lowered her head and kept quiet, thinking that it was quite a coincidence that she was also such a person!

Of course, in n.o.ble Consort Shu's opinion, Yun Fenghuang was not qualified to be this kind of person who refused to lose, at least not currently.

So, n.o.ble Consort Shu scolded her anxiously. Seeing she finally took her advice and acted dutifully, she waved her hands and let them leave.

Yun Qingman hurriedly sent Yun Fenghuang out, comforting her on their way, "Don't worry about it. She is also afraid that Zhao Yuan Ji will embarra.s.s you later. After all, Zhao Yuan is the cousin of the Empress."

"I know n.o.ble Consort Shu is protecting me." Yun Fenghuang nodded, and whispered, "And you care about me the most."

Yun Qingman said, "I... Well, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in the palace."

"Who knows this would happen?" Yun Fenghuang said. "I don't blame you."

Yun Qingman sighed quietly, looked around, and told her, "My sister said His Majesty will see Mei Ren Xue in Su Rong Palace tonight. Therefore, Zhao Yuan Ji would not target you tomorrow in the greeting."

Yun Fenghuang was concerned, "Then it should be you the day after tomorrow?"

"… I don't know yet." Yun Qingman felt a little embarra.s.sed, and whispered, "My sister didn't say… Well… uh…"

They arrived at the gate of Tong Xia Palace while talking. Yun Qingman should return but she hesitated.

Yun Fenghuang knew why she was hesitating, so she said with a smile, "His Majesty is gentle and generous."

Then she whispered, "If His Majesty is going to see you, n.o.ble Consort Shu will inform you how to serve him. All you need to do is to follow her instructions… I guess it won't take too long."

After saying goodbye to Yun Qingman who was bashful, Yun Fenghuang and Nian Xuan were on their way to Hu Zhu Palace. Nian Xuan whispered, "I can't imagine Mei Ren Yun is sincere to you, My Lady. I thought she knew that her family forced you to be her scapegoat."

Maybe it was what Yun Qingman herself proposed. After all, if there were no Yun Fenghuang, she would have to go to Hu Zhu Palace.

"She is the daughter of a concubine, but she was raised by her legitimate mother. When she was a child, she was destined to enter the palace or marry someone who came from the family of the equal rank." Yun Fenghuang folded a weeping willow branch from the roadside, and turned it into a willow circle hat, adding, "How complicated could she be?"

She was kind of familiar with the issue about how the daughter of the concubine was raise by her legitimate mother.

After all, her sister Xie Fenghuan was a daughter of her father's concubine, and she was raised by Yun Fenghuang's biological mother, Ms. Jiang. It was accepted by all that Ms. Jiang favored Xie Fenghuan very much, treating her as her biological daughter. She cared about her basic necessities of life, needlework and study. Even Yun Fenghuang couldn't compare with her in some treatments.

And then?

When Xie Fenghuan married a bad husband, she came back for help. Ms. Jiang found many excuses and left this to Xie Jian and Ms. Qin. She did nothing but hugged Xie Fenghuan and cried to show she was willing to help but unable to do so.

However, when her biological daughter Yun Fenghuang's promise of marriage was broken, Ms. Jiang, under the pressure of the whole city and many of Xie tribe, took out a knife to threaten that she would fight for her daughter if anyone dared to hurt her daughter!

Ms. Jiang was actually not malicious to Xie Fenghuan. After all, she and Xie Jian were properly matched, and she had 4 sons and 1 daughter supporting her. She had always been with clout in Xie's Family. Therefore, there was no need to treat Ms. Qin and her daughter as thorns in her eyes. Besides, it's not that she hadn't been involved in any feelings at all. She was also distressed and cried hard for what happened to Xie Fenghuan. But after all, Xie Fenghuan was not her blood.

In Yun Fenghuang's opinion, d.u.c.h.ess Yi also had a similar att.i.tude towards Yun Qingman. She could pet her, pamper her, and treat her as her biological daughter or even treat her better. It didn't matter. But when it came to major interest, she would support her children without any hesitation.

So, how would it be possible for her to teach Yun Qingman to be shrewd?

An independent daughter of the concubine would be okay if she married other high-ranking man. After all, if she needed Duke Yi's support, she would be submissive. The problem was: if she also joined the Imperial Harem, and she shared the same husband with n.o.ble Consort Shu, given that she was several years younger than n.o.ble Consort Shu, who knew if she would threaten the latter's status?

Although in Duke Yi's Mansion, there was a difference among their children who were born by d.u.c.h.ess Yi and those not. But for Duke Yi, both of them were his daughters and he did not want to see them hurt each other. If Yun Qingman really had the ability to replace her sister as the representative of Yun's Family, he had no reason to abandon his younger daughter.

But if this happened, there was no benefit to the line of legitimate descent of Duke Yi's Mansion.

To prevent the trouble, d.u.c.h.ess Yi hoped Yun Qingman to be innocent and grateful, thereby preventing her from competing with her own daughter.

However, the disadvantage of doing so was that she was too weak to help n.o.ble Consort Shu in Emperor Chunjia's complicated Imperial Harem.

… Yun Fenghuang was thinking about them, while slowly walking into Hu Zhu Palace. She thought about it at the fork of the road, and decided to go to Ning Bi Hall first to present her respects to Consort Yue.

Well, although Consort Yue was still grounded, she could do that outside Ning Bi Hall. She was just being obedient!

She was definitely not doing this for telling Consort Yue the news of her promotion!