Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1242 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 166

When Jiang Xinxin returned to the palace this time, because she was accompanied by Emperor Qianlong, the empress actually led the concubines in the harem to wait outside the Cining Palace.

Jiang Xinxin didn't put on any pomp on her way back to the palace, let alone clean the streets. Qianlong knew that Jiang Xinxin would definitely not want to do that, but he didn't expect that the queen would be waiting outside the Cining Palace early in the morning with all the concubines in new clothes.

Qianlong helped Jiang Xinxin down from the sedan chair, and then there was a burst of cheers of "Long live the emperor" and "Thousand years of life". Jiang Xinxin's originally good mood was mostly gone with the excessive pomp and circumstance.

Qianlong forced himself to smile and called out. When he saw the moment when Jiang Xinxin's smile froze, he couldn't help but blame the queen for this inappropriate behavior, but he had to smooth things over for the queen: "Empress Mother, there are new people in the harem, and they haven't met you yet. The queen mainly wants the new people to come and pay their respects today."

Although the queen did not see Jiang Xinxin's smile stiffen, she sensed Qianlong's dissatisfaction from his words, and realized that her actions might not please Jiang Xinxin, but at this moment she could only continue.

In public, especially in front of the concubines in the harem, Jiang Xinxin could only give face to the empress for the sake of Qianlong. Fortunately, the empress did not be so crazy as to bring the princes and princesses over, otherwise Jiang Xinxin would definitely not take Qianlong's face into consideration, let alone help the empress.

Although the October wind was not cold, it was not very warm either. Jiang Xinxin had no interest in standing outside to greet people. She reluctantly extended her hand to the queen and let her and Qianlong support her as they walked into the Cining Palace.

The Cining Palace was of course magnificent and elegant. Looking at the new decoration, Jiang Xinxin felt her eyes brightened, especially when she saw the pair of pink crystal incense burners that she had taken out from the previous emperor's private storehouse many years ago. The tender pink color directly washed away the depression in Jiang Xinxin's heart, making her unable to help but reveal a genuine smile.

When Qianlong saw Jiang Xinxin's eyes fall on the pair of pink crystal incense burners, he couldn't help but smile and said, "The Queen Mother still likes such pink and cute things. But this pair is not given to you by the late emperor. It is a tribute from Myanmar this year."

The Queen also liked this thing and had mentioned it to Emperor Qianlong, but she didn't expect that Qianlong would send it directly to Jiang Xinxin.

Jiang Xinxin didn't bother to care about the queen. After sitting down, she looked at the concubines below. Led by Concubine Shu, the newcomers to the palace stood up and greeted Jiang Xinxin individually.

Jiang Xinxin did not make things difficult and just called him up without giving him any lecture. After meeting everyone, Jiang Xinxin said to Qianlong directly, "I am tired too. You can all go back. The day of paying respects shall continue as usual. Invite the princes and princesses to come to Cining Palace for dinner in the evening."

Qianlong quickly agreed, and the queen did not dare to say anything more. She stood up with Qianlong and quickly retreated with the concubines in the harem.

When they returned to Kunning Palace, Emperor Qianlong sat at the head of the table, and the Empress did not dare to follow him and sat down. She knelt down and apologized, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have mobilized a large army today and ruined the Empress Dowager's mood."

Qianlong saw that the queen realized her mistake, but did not want to expose it easily, so he asked: "Queen, you know a lot about the Empress Dowager, why did you do this today? Are you so spoiled that you think you have something to rely on that you don't take the Empress Dowager seriously?!"

The queen was upset by Qianlong's blunt rebuke, and her head began to ache slightly, but she still forced herself to admit her fault: "It's all my fault. I just thought that the new concubine in the harem has not yet met the Empress Dowager, so it's my duty to come here to greet her today."

Lian Xin, who was kneeling behind the Queen, could not bear to see the Queen take all the blame on herself, so she bravely defended the Queen, "Your Majesty, the Queen was really forced into a corner by the concubines in the harem, so she thought of a way to compromise. It was not her intention to be disrespectful to the Queen Mother!"

Upon hearing this, Qianlong's eyes turned harsh as he looked at the empress, and his complaints and regrets turned into annoyance.

Although the Queen was not aware of the change in Qianlong's eyes because she was looking down, based on her understanding of Qianlong, she knew that after hearing this, he would not immediately feel sorry for her being bullied by the concubines, but would instead question her ability to manage the harem.

The empress could only lower her head and continue to apologize to Emperor Qianlong: "It was all because of my momentary thought that I disturbed the peace of the Empress Dowager. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Qianlong was really pissed off by the Queen. She seemed quite clear-headed at the moment, but what she had done in the Cining Palace just now really made him angry.

Since the queen herself could not be touched, someone close to the queen would do it for her. Qianlong did not even spare Lianxin a glance, and directly looked at the queen to decide on Lianxin's punishment: "This servant did not do what the queen wanted, and also made trouble, so he will be punished with twenty boards and a fine of half a year's monthly salary."

How could the Queen not know that although Qianlong said he was punishing Lianxin, he was actually slapping her in the face? She could only accept it and did not dare to plead for Lianxin.

When Qianlong returned to the Qianqing Palace, he had already noticed that something was wrong with the queen.

If it is said that the Queen caused an accident when he just ascended the throne because her descendants were plotting against her, but recent events have shown that the Queen was not plotted against by anyone, and all decisions were made by her own.

The Queen's mind was flickering. Sometimes she was busy and sometimes she suddenly lost her mind, which made Qianlong very worried. However, the Queen's identity was there, so even if he had doubts, he could only investigate secretly.

However, Qianlong still informed Jiang Xinxin in the end. After all, in his opinion, Jiang Xinxin was the most trustworthy and knowledgeable person besides the queen.

However, Jiang Xinxin knew that the queen had encountered the so-called "plot kill". This world had begun to gradually end the illusory state and started to move towards the real world, but it was still a breath away from completely ending the illusory state. Therefore, the person in the position of queen appeared to be very outstanding because of the influence of the phoenix energy, but was chosen by the old plot because he was not as strong as the dragon energy.

But all of this could not be said out loud, so Jiang Xinxin simply treated it as if the queen had been tricked by some secret trick, and said to Qianlong nervously, "The position of queen is a target for the concubines in the harem. If there is any problem with the queen, she will be easily attacked by the concubines in the harem."

"There were many powerful families in the previous dynasty. Since the Qing Dynasty entered the country, many families have risen and fallen one after another. It is hard to guarantee that there are people in the previous dynasty who are interested in the position of queen."

Qianlong completely agreed with this statement. While he was angry, he was also tired because the queen was always plotted against due to her own lack of ability. Fortunately, he had no idea of ​​changing the queen. After all, the queen was also a victim.