allonlinenovel Chapter 347 Making things difficult
Chapter 347 Making things difficult
Shen Qingtan looked at Consort Shu not far away. Her long, narrow, willow-leaf eyes were both charming and cold, and her gaze towards her was filled with hidden hatred.
She could tell who the other person was from just one look.
The concubine before me is probably Consort Shu.
After all, when they came to Northern Qi, apart from making enemies with Consort Shu, they did not make enemies with anyone else.
Shen Qingtan curtsied and said, "May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
Consort Shu glanced at her coldly, snorted, and entered Chang Le Palace.
They don't even bother with superficial formalities.
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly; it seemed there would be a tough battle to be fought today.
Liu Yue said worriedly, "Your Highness, Consort Shu is too lazy to even pretend. She might make things difficult for you later."
Shen Qingtan had anticipated this situation before entering the palace and had made preparations accordingly.
She said in a low voice, "This is the Empress's palace. No matter how much Consort Shu hates me, she will restrain herself because the Empress is above her and she will not dare to openly make things difficult for me."
The empress's father was originally a commander of the Yiyong Guard. After the Northern Qi emperor ascended the throne, he conferred upon the empress's father the title of Marquis of Shou'an and promoted him to the position of Commander of the Left Guard of the Golden Guard.
The Empress's maternal family was powerful, and the Emperor of Northern Qi respected her greatly. Even though Consort Shu was favored by the Emperor of Northern Qi, she did not dare to be too arrogant in front of the Empress.
Unfortunately, the empress was frail and rarely went out, only seeing the Northern Qi emperor on the first and fifteenth of each month.
He also exempted the concubines from paying their respects on ordinary days.
Shen Qingtan led Liu Yue into the palace. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the concubines sitting on both sides of the palace. Without looking to the side, she walked to the front of the palace and gracefully bowed to the Empress: "This concubine greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty be blessed with longevity and peace."
The Empress's cool voice rang out: "No need for formalities."
Shen Qingtan straightened up and looked up at the Empress. The Empress was wearing a green brocade jacket with cloud patterns and a yellow brocade skirt with cloud and sea patterns. She sat upright in a rosewood armchair inlaid with birch phoenix patterns. Her long eyebrows reached her temples, and her phoenix eyes were powerful and imposing, making people dare not look directly at her.
The Empress instructed the lady-in-waiting beside her: "Give the Princess Consort of Guangling a seat."
The female official brought over a chair and invited Shen Qingtan to sit down.
Consort Shu noticed that Shen Qingtan's seat was right opposite her, and rested her fingers on the armrest: "The Princess Consort of Guangling has quite the airs, arriving so late and making Her Majesty the Empress wait for you alone."
Before Shen Qingtan could answer, Consort Shu continued, "That's true. The Prince of Guangling is not what he used to be. He has done a good job in controlling the plague, and the people regard you as living bodhisattvas. The Imperial Tutor also looks at you differently and has spoken highly of you to the Emperor."
She then changed the subject: "If I want to see the Princess of Guangling again in the future, I'm afraid I'll have to ask for an imperial decree."
Consort Shu's words implied that Zhao Yi had successfully controlled the plague, enjoyed high prestige among the people, and had also gained the appreciation of the imperial tutor, thus elevating his status in Northern Qi.
Relying on her newfound power, Shen Qingtan started putting on airs. On her first visit to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress, she arrived late, completely disregarding the Empress. It's likely that in the future, the Empress will be unable to persuade Shen Qingtan to come.
Thinking about it more deeply, Zhao Yi has the support of the people and is also supported by the imperial tutor, which makes him a potential contender for the throne.
Prince Qi was born to the Empress and was the legitimate son of the Empress, making him the most likely candidate to be made Crown Prince.
Consort Shu's words were clearly intended to incite the Empress's dissatisfaction with Shen Qingtan and her hostility towards Zhao Yi.
"Your Majesty is too kind to the Prince and me. Compared to Lord Lin's diligent service to the Emperor, what the Prince has done is truly insignificant."
Shen Qingtan joked, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you ladies, but His Majesty just assigned the Prince this task, and the Prince was not very capable and almost lost his life. If it weren't for the Prince's good fortune and the Imperial Tutor's help in speaking up for him, I wouldn't have had the good fortune to see Your Majesty the Empress today."
Upon hearing this, the concubines present all covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs. Because they were aware of the feud between Consort Shu and Zhao Yi, they understood the veiled meaning in Shen Qingtan's words.
Consort Shu then said that Zhao Yi had successfully controlled the plague, gained the appreciation of the Imperial Tutor, and enjoyed a high reputation among the people, and that he was plotting to seize the throne.
Turning her head, Shen Qingtan brought up the fact that Consort Shu's brother worked diligently for the Emperor and always stole the limelight, making him even more determined to win the throne.
Secondly, Shen Qingtan was ostensibly belittling Zhao Yi for being useless and unable to even handle a simple task, but in reality, she was implying the perilous situation Zhao Yi faced in managing the plague.
If Zhao Yifu hadn't been lucky, he would have died at Lin Yi's hands long ago. With such limited abilities, how could he possibly compete for the position of crown prince?
Finally, it was stated that Lin Yi's attempt to murder the imperial heir and set fire to the people was a serious crime, enough to warrant the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan.
However, apart from Lin Yi, who died at Zhao Yi's hands, the rest of the Lin family members still held high-ranking positions and were not held accountable.
Zhao Yi, who made great contributions in controlling the plague, angered the emperor by beheading Lin Yi and needed the imperial tutor to say a few good words in order to save his life.
Compared to the Lin family's standing in the Emperor's eyes, Zhao Yi was utterly insignificant.
As for why the Imperial Tutor spoke up for Zhao Yi, Shen Qingtan didn't need to elaborate; the concubines already knew the reason.
Because of Zhao Yi's special status, keeping him around can help restrain the Great Zhou.
This comparison highlights the immense favor bestowed upon Consort Shu.
The expressions on everyone's faces became somewhat subtle.
Consort Shu's face turned pale. Shen Qingtan's words not only stabbed her in the heart, putting her on the spot, clearing Zhao Yi of suspicion of vying for the throne, but also praised the Empress.
She originally intended to incite conflict between the Empress and Shen Qingtan, but now she has shot herself in the foot.
Before she could speak, she saw Shen Qingtan kneel on the ground and apologize to the Empress: "Your Majesty, I was ignorant of the rules and arrived late. Please punish me."
Seeing Consort Shu's face turn pale and then red, and her speechless expression, the Empress slowly shifted her gaze to Shen Qingtan.
From the moment she entered the palace, she remained calm, composed, and poised. Faced with Consort Shu's difficult questions, she responded clearly and articulately, effectively shutting them down one by one.
“You usually come to pay your respects at this time, so you’ve come at just the right time and haven’t broken the rules.” The Empress instructed the lady-in-waiting beside her, “Green Branch, go and help the Princess of Guangling up.”
Green Branch quickly helped Shen Qingtan to her feet.
Shen Qingtan thanked her for her kindness.
Consort Shu wanted to say a few more words, but out of consideration for the Empress, she dared not be too presumptuous.
The Empress was aloof and not very warm towards people. After asking Shen Qingtan a few questions, she presented her with the prepared gift and dismissed everyone.
The concubines, who were used to protecting themselves, were afraid that Consort Shu would use them as a pretext to retaliate against Shen Qingtan, so they all left Chang Le Palace.
Shen Qingtan deliberately waited in the hall for a while, and only prepared to leave after Consort Shu left.
At this moment, Green Branch called out to her: "Your Highness, this is another gift that Her Majesty the Empress has prepared for you."