Chapter 313 – The Favored Xianfei Xu (1)
Princess Royal was demoted into a commoner!
Just two days, and the once invincible Princess Royal’s Mansion that even the emperor had apprehension in dealing with, was vanquished as such.
Princess Liu Hua lost her title of viscountess too but was made a concubine. Even if she had yet to formally enter the palace, she could now be regarded as the emperor’s woman making it impossible for her to even think of marrying anyone else. When Princess Royal’s Mansion was seized, she was also taken into the palace.
“Your Highness, Princess Liu Hua has entered the palace.” Qiu Yan came in and whispered in Lu Wushuang’s ear.
Lu Wushuang lazily looked at her freshly dyed fingernails and snorted without even looking up. “When one enters the palace, one enters the palace. What’s the big deal?”
Qiu Yan was greatly astonished. When her mistress heard that the emperor had made Liu Hua a Hua Fei, she was so angry that she could not eat for three days. How could she be so calm now?
“Your Highness, aren’t you angry?”
Lu Wushuang snorted lightly. “What should I be angry about? Xie Liu Hua is not a viscountess anymore, and Princess Royal has become just a commoner now. Do you think the emperor will still dote on her?”
A concubine who was put into limbo before she got the emperor’s favor, she had nothing to worry about. So why would she lose sleep over something trivial?
Her mistress’s words sounded deeply reasonable. Qiu Yan, was only happy the crisis has been averted. “Your Highness, even if Princess Liu Hua had entered the palace, it would have had no effect.”
“Naturally,” Lu Wushuang said, smiling.
“Your Highness, this handmaiden has found out something,” Qiu Yan said in a low voice.
“What is it?” Lu Wushuang asked, dropping her voice subconsciously.
“It’s said that empress dowager has sent a message to Old Madam and Third Miss to accompany her to Baihua Garden tomorrow,” said the loyal maid.
The smile on Lu Wushuang’s face suddenly froze. “What?!”
“This handmaiden does not know why Empress Dowager likes Third Miss so much,” Qiu Yan said and took a careful look at her mistress.
“That’s the skill of my cousin!” Lu Wushuang’s eyes were full of ferocity. “She can change from a wild girl to such a girl in just a few months. I see that she is no ordinary girl. It seems that she spends more time with Empress Dowager than in this palace.”
She belittled Lu Yaoyao without the slightest qualms. She thought that a country girl from the border town had no right to be on the stage even if she held wild hopes. It was hard to imagine that she could coax the empress dowager into liking her this much. But the truth was staring her in the face, saying otherwise.
“Get Aunt He. This wang fei will accompany Empress Dowager to Baihua Garden tomorrow.” Lu Wushuang was so cold that the chambers felt frigid. She refused to believe that the empress dowager could stop her from going along.
Qiu Yan heeded her mistress orders, turned round to go out and fetch Aunt He.
Soon, accompanied by Aunt He, Lu Wushuang went to Cining Palace to see the empress dowager. However, the dowager did not let her in. She had to recite the scriptures and refused to be disturbed. So she ordered Lu Wushuang to return to her palace.
What an old woman! Lu Wushuang cursed in her heart. If she was not afraid that the empress dowager wanted to bring Lu Yaoyao into the palace, she wouldn’t try to please her at all!
Right as she turned on her heels, she met Xu Huiru. Seemingly she too was her to see the empress dowager.
Lu Wushuang immediately composed herself, straightened her back, chin slightly raised, haughtily stared at the other.
Xu Huiru bent her knees and said, “Greetings to Wang Fei.”
“Sister Xu is not in Xinhe Palace at the moment. What brings one here?” Lu Wushuang hated Xu Huiru in her heart, but she knew well not that she couldn’t express her dissatisfaction at will. She was an imperial concubine and didn’t need to dispute with other women whose status was inferior to hers.
“I’m going to pay my respects to Empress Dowager. I didn’t expect that Wang Fei Lu is concerned about Empress Dowager,” Xu Huiru said with a smile, her tone so respectful and polite that no one could pick the slightest fault.
Lu Wushuang chuckled. “Of course. This wang fei is the epitome of the imperial concubines. If one cannot be more filial than you, can one be the first among the four palaces?”
Without an empress in the palace, Lu Wushuang was naturally the highest-ranking concubine. Xu Huiru just nodded with a smile. “As Wang Fei pleases.”
“I advise you not to disturb Empress Dowager. She may not want to see you.” Lu Wushuang’s tone still held traces of anger.
Xu Huiru smiled. “We have all come here. Even if Empress Dowager is busy, it is a matter of one’s heart.”
The last thing Lu Wushuang liked was a hypocrite like Xu Huiru. “Suit yourself!”
“Don’t bother to send me off, Wang Fei.” Xu Huiru curtsied.
Lu Wushuang turned her head and left. After taking several steps, she stopped again and whispered to Qiu Yan, “Go and see if Empress Dowager met her.”
Xu Huiru stood outside Cining Palace for a while. Aunt Cheng came out and greeted her with a smile.
The empress dowager had just stepped out of the Buddhist temple and looked at Xu Huiru with a smile. “Xian Fei, you need not come here every day. Aijia knows your heart.”
“One helped Her Imperial Highness transcribe the scriptures recently. One felt calmed down a lot.” Xu Huiru came forward and held the empress dowager’s arm. “Empress Dowager, I shall recite sutras with you in the future.”
The empress dowager said with a smile, “Why should you? You are still young. If you have nothing to do, just think about how to take care of the emperor and give birth to a fat boy in Aijia’s family as soon as possible. You can’t think about chanting scriptures.”
Xu Huiru bowed her head bashfully. “Empress Dowager, why mention such things.”
“Although the emperor doesn’t speak much, it is not difficult to get along. You should pay more attention to the emperor, and he will naturally understand your heart,” the empress dowager said, very satisfied with Xu Huiru.