Chapter 374 - 369: Imperial Concubine

Chapter 374: Chapter 369: Imperial Concubine


"Does Your Highness the Princess have other matters today?" Ye Qiu asked coldly, nearly driving the visitor away.


Princess Yuhua’s face flushed with shame and anger. As a Princess and daughter of the current Empress Dowager, who in the capital had ever dared to show her disrespect? If it weren’t for Ye Mu, why would she demean herself by visiting Changchun Palace just to face Ye Qiu’s cold demeanor?


"I came to look for Ye Mu. Since he is on duty, I will go to the elder brother to find him," said Princess Yuhua unabashedly, ready to leave after speaking.


"Princess, my brother is not suited for you. I advise you to let go of this notion. He will not marry you," Ye Qiu bluntly said, looking directly into Princess Yuhua’s eyes, unafraid of offending her.


Princess Yuhua was thoroughly angered by Ye Qiu’s attitude, but she feared her not a bit. She had held back only because, at the very least, Ye Qiu was Ye Mu’s biological sister. Since Ye Qiu was fully opposed, what was there for her to hold back? She did not necessarily need the Imperial Concubine’s approval to summon Ye Mu as the Prince Consort!


Hence, Princess Yuhua proudly lifted her chin, her gaze full of disdain towards Ye Qiu: "The Imperial Concubine is perhaps too worried. As part of the harem, you should interfere less in birth-family matters; I am determined to marry Ye Mu."


Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu gave Princess Yuhua a dark and cold look: "Then the Princess might as well try."


Princess Yuhua was intimidated by her gaze for a moment, but she quickly pushed the thought aside, "I am a Princess, what can the Imperial Concubine do to me? She might control matters within the palace, but can she also control outside of it?"


Ye Qiu conceded that she indeed couldn’t meddle in matters outside the harem at the moment, but she could certainly teach a lesson within the harem temporarily.


Soon, Empress Dowager Wang, Lady, and Consort Wang began to feel some displeasure in their day-to-day life. Ye Qiu previously abstained from using her authority in the palace to trouble Empress Dowager Wang because she disdained to, but now since Princess Yuhua had irked her, she decided to make those associated with Princess Yuhua uncomfortable.


She was quite measured in her actions, irritating Empress Dowager Wang without getting caught in any wrongdoing. Even if Empress Dowager Wang wanted to punish the palace maids and eunuchs outside of her own chambers, she couldn’t; the authority within the palace was in Ye Qiu’s hands, and her word was law.


"I asked for Blood Bird’s Nest, why did you bring me White Bird’s Nest?" Inside Changxin Palace, Consort Wang’s expression was ugly. Bearing a child, her face was swollen, and on the floor was a bowl of bird’s nest soup that had been knocked over.


Trembling, the palace maid knelt on the ground: "My Lady, the Imperial Kitchen claimed that this year’s quality of Blood Bird’s Nest was poor, so for the health of both Your Ladyship and the Prince in your womb, they sent White Bird’s Nest instead."


A similar incident occurred in Cining Palace; Empress Dowager Wang tasted her favorite osmanthus sugar cake and frowned, "Why does today’s pastry taste wrong?"


"To reply to the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Chef who usually makes your osmanthus sugar cake has an ailing mother at home. The Imperial Concubine kindly granted him leave to fulfill his filial duties," the attendant explained.


Empress Dowager Wang frowned but said nothing. However, the next day, when she discovered her favorite ointment missing, she sensed something amiss.


"To reply to the Empress Dowager, the Palace Bureau reported yesterday that a little palace maid accidentally upset the chest that contained the ointment intended for tribute, so they replaced it with another kind," the palace maid’s voice grew weaker and her head almost touched the ground.


"So careless in her duties, why keep such a maid? Give her fifty heavy strokes," Empress Dowager Wang angrily declared.


"To reply to the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Concubine also heard of this incident yesterday and shared the same thought that this maid shouldn’t remain working in the harem, thus she was expelled from the palace this morning," the attendant answered.


While Empress Dowager Wang was still irate about the situation, Consort Wang and Princess Yuhua made a commotion at her door.


"Aunt, you must certainly stand up for me, while pregnant with the Heir, the Imperial Concubine dares to mistreat me. Is she plotting against my child?"


"Empress Mother, look at this fabric, its pattern is so outdated. Wearing it out would surely be laughed at by others!"


Consort Wang and Princess Yuhua, one on each side, caused Empress Dowager Wang a headache.


"What is going on with you two now?"


"I think the Imperial Concubine is doing this on purpose. She clearly doesn’t want me to marry her brother, so she intentionally makes things difficult for us," said Princess Yuhua indignantly, "Mother, you must stand up for me."


"Enough," Empress Dowager Wang waved her hand impatiently. She was also feeling quite uncomfortable these past few days, so she said to a little eunuch, "Go call the Imperial Concubine over, tell her I have something to ask her."


Consort Wang and Princess Yuhua waited smugly, eager to see Ye Qiu become a laughingstock, but after a long wait, only the little eunuch who had been sent and a palace maid from Changchun Palace arrived.


"Replying to Empress Dowager, our Imperial Concubine mentioned that the Palace Bureau is currently clearing goods, and she is too busy with palace affairs to leave. She instructed that if Empress Dowager has any matters, you can tell us, and our lady will definitely handle it with all her heart," said Qing E in a proper manner.


Hearing this, Empress Dowager Wang was instantly furious. All the dissatisfaction of these days surfaced before her eyes, and she stood up and said to her daughter and Consort Wang, "Since that’s the case, let us go and see how busy the Imperial Concubine really is."


When the group arrived, Ye Qiu was drinking tea, and indeed, a female official from the Palace Bureau was reporting palace affairs to her.


"Greetings to Empress Dowager, what brings you to my Changchun Palace today?" Ye Qiu said with a smile, then she told the female official, "Go back and tell your Palace Bureau that I understand the situation, have them organize the accounts and present them to me later."


"I came to see how busy the Imperial Concubine really is that she cannot manage the affairs of the palace properly," Empress Dowager said in an accusing tone.


Ye Qiu looked surprised, "Why would Empress Dowager say that? Where did I not care adequately?"


"Do you even have to ask? Can this fabric be made into clothes?" Princess Yuhua angrily snatched two bolts of fabric from the palace maid and threw them to the ground.


Ye Qiu looked at her and smiled, but her gaze was cold: "Why can’t these clothes be made? These are top-quality silks from Hangzhou, what’s not proper in them?"


"It wasn’t like this before."


"The past was the past, now is now. Nowadays the National Treasury is depleted, and I am trying to conserve resources for the Emperor. Moreover, the allocations I provided for the Princess have not been reduced at all; I wonder where I went wrong?" Ye Qiu calmly drank a cup of tea.


"What about me? I am carrying the Heir. What if something goes wrong, can you bear the responsibility?" Consort Wang challenged, empowered by her pregnancy.


Ye Qiu chuckled lightly: "Naturally, I dare not neglect the Heir. But is there any inadequacy at Changxin Palace? I especially instructed the palace staff to prioritize your Changxin Palace first!"


"If I was a priority, how come the Blood Bird’s Nest and treasure hairpin I asked for are missing?"


"I heard about the complaint you sent a few days ago. But didn’t the Palace Bureau say that the quality of the Blood Bird’s Nest this time was not good? For the safety of the Heir, even Consort Hui’s supply was stopped as well. As for the treasure hairpin, I have consulted the Imperial Physician too, who said some gemstones are not conducive to the growth of the fetus, so I had them replaced with pearls. Rest assured, sister, once the Heir is safely born, the Emperor will certainly compensate you generously."