After coming out of Chuxiu Palace, Teng Chengping didn't know why he always felt that his series of behaviors were weird.
Shufei gave birth to a son and a daughter for him, and he respected her very much. Even on weekdays, he would not embarrass Shufei like this. But tonight, he came to Chuxiu Palace specifically to let Shufei take good care of Chu Zijing... It seems that he is really crazy...
While thinking, he unknowingly came to the gate of Chenghuan Palace. He turned his head and glanced at the eunuchs and guards who were accompanying him. They were all a few steps away from him. When Teng Chengping was hesitating whether to go in, the palace gate opened.
Teng Chengping saw that the person who came out was Chu Zijing. Chu Zijing raised her thin lips slightly and said, "Your Majesty, won't you come in?" Teng Chengping wanted to go in but wanted to tease her, so he raised his eyebrows and looked at her and said, "How did you know that I was here? How did you know that I would go in?"
"Your Majesty is standing at the gate of Chenghuan Palace. It's hard for me not to know." After saying that, she suddenly moved close to Teng Chengping, leaned her face against his chest, put one hand on his chest, and grabbed his hand with the other hand. She said in a voice that only the two of them could hear. "And Zijing is sure that Chenglang will come to find Zijing." After saying that, she looked at Teng Chengping with sparkling eyes.
...
The next morning, Teng Chengping didn't want to go to the morning court, but he couldn't stand the little wild cat acting cute, so he had to compromise. Teng Chengping went to the morning court with his neck bitten.
"Princess..." After no one was around, Caiyue looked at Chu Zijing and spoke slowly. "I know what you want to ask. Send someone to tell the Demon Lord that I will definitely do what he ordered..."
After getting a satisfactory answer, Caiyue smiled contentedly and retreated. After Caiyue retreated, Caixian dared to step forward and looked at Chu Zijing nervously. "Princess, are you okay..."
Chu Zijing touched Caixian's head and comforted her, "I'm fine... I'm used to it anyway..." Caiyue and Caixian both grew up serving Chu Zijing, but Caiyue was a person close to Chu Yunfeng, and Caixian was rescued by Chu Zijing when she was in danger as a child. In the final analysis, the two are loyal, but Caiyue is loyal to Chu Yunfeng and Caixian is loyal to herself.
In the past ten years, the only person who has devoted his heart to her is Caixian...
"Princess, don't worry. Caixian will never betray you no matter what happens." Caixian's serious look made Chu Zijing laugh. Chu Zijing also spoke with relief, "I know your loyalty, and you also know the task Chu Yunfeng gave me..."
"Princess, the most important thing now is that you have to hold the heart of His Majesty. Because of the events of the past few days, the former court and the harem all regard you as an enemy..." Chu Zijing looked at herself in the bronze mirror, and she retorted: "I know they hate me, but even if they hate me, what can they do? His Majesty pampers me, and they can't do anything to me." After that, she touched her face: "The only useful thing about me is my face. If it is useful, then I will use it more."
"It's getting late... Shouldn't I go to the Shufei Palace?" Caixian replied: "What the young lady said is that Shufei is the highest-ranking among the concubines, but she is not competitive. But Xianfei..."
"Humph, a mere Xianfei wants to drag me down. What a pity, she miscalculated." After that, Chu Zijing supported the hairpin on her head, stood up and said: "Let's go."
In Chuxiu Palace, the concubines have already sat in their seats. Although all the concubines have come, there are still only eight of them, including Chu Zijing who has just entered the palace.
The lower concubines were talking among themselves, mostly talking about Concubine Xian being deprived of the right to manage the six palaces. Concubine Xian's face was naturally not good, and she was so angry that her teeth itched. She looked at Concubine Shu who was in the main seat and came up with a plan: "Speaking of which, what time is it now? Why hasn't Roumei, who entered the palace, come to pay her respects yet?" She even chuckled while speaking: "Hey, didn't your majesty say that it was Concubine Shu's place last night? How come she left before sitting for half a quarter of an hour?"
In the past few years, Concubine Xian has been arrogant and overbearing. She has always been unwilling to let Concubine Shu, who has a mediocre family background, occupy the highest position among the four concubines. In the past few years, the two have become incompatible.
"Yes, Roumei has just entered the palace. She dared to be late for the first visit. If it were me, Concubine Shu, she should be taught a lesson later." The person who spoke was the eldest princess's biological mother, Concubine Qi. She was upset because Chu Zijing had a higher position than her when she just entered the palace. Now she has caught her handle.
"The beautiful Rou has arrived!" As soon as the eunuch said this, the whole place fell silent. Everyone wanted to see what kind of woman could be so infatuated with the emperor.
As soon as Chu Zijing entered the palace, she saw many pairs of eyes staring at her. She ignored them and went straight to the front to salute the Concubine Shu: "Greetings to the Concubine Shu." Ren Yin saw the woman in front of her, her appearance was really stunning. "Get up." After getting Ren Yin's approval, Chu Zijing stood up without hesitation.
After standing up, she simply saluted the concubines. At this time, the Concubine Xian was not happy, and said aggressively: "Could it be that this beautiful Rou has not learned the rules before entering the palace, and doesn't she know how to salute me when she sees me?"
Chu Zijing looked at the woman in front of her, and it turned out that she was the Concubine Xian, who looked mean. Chu Zijing bowed politely because she didn't want to argue with her. Concubine Xian was pressing again: "Is that all? Have you really never learned etiquette? Has no one ever taught you to bow to a concubine who is higher than you for the first time?"
Chu Zijing remained silent. She was thinking whether to fight back now or go back and talk to her. But in the eyes of others, this scene was just her being frightened. Seeing this, Concubine Xian became even more arrogant and said to Chu Zijing as if she was giving alms: "How about this, you bow to all the concubines here, and I will forgive you."
Seeing that something was not right, Concubine Shu quickly spoke up to help Chu Zijing out: "Sister Xianfei, Lady Rou is also entering the palace for the first time, so it is normal that she does not know some rules..." Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted: "Sister Shufei, since she does not know the rules, she must be taught. It happens that everyone is free today, so let's teach Lady Rou the rules together..."
Chu Zijing also figured it out. Instead of tearing her face with them here, it is better to compromise and get the mercy of His Majesty when she returns. "What the Concubine Xian said is right. I will pay my respects to all the ladies. Please forgive my ignorance..."
After speaking, Chu Zijing paid her respects to everyone, and even the concubines with lower ranks than her. When it came to the last person, Lady Qi, she watched Chu Zijing pay her respects to her, and then made her kneel on the ground and did not ask her to stand up. She was still saying, "Sister Rou, although my position is lower than yours, I am older than you and I gave birth to the eldest princess for His Majesty. When you see me in the future, you have to bow to me. This is called etiquette."
"Yes, I'll remember it." Which man would not feel sorry for Chu Zijing's appearance? It's a pity that she is facing a group of women now.
After returning, Caixian rubbed Chu Zijing's feet with heartache, and said indignantly, "Xianfei is too bullying. Asking the young lady to bow to all the concubines is obviously bullying the young lady. Why don't you fight back, young lady?"
"Why should I resist? If I resist, it will be what they want. Then they can charge me with disrespect." Chu Zijing's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, revealing a hint of sneer. "But young lady, you are injured like this." Chu Zijing's knees were bruised, which still made Caixian unable to calm down.
"Caixian, if you were a man, and saw your woman being bullied, and your woman refused to tell you, what would your reaction be?" Caixian immediately put on the role and said angrily: "Then I would definitely feel sorry for her, and I would kill those who bullied her... What does the young lady mean?"
Chu Zijing gave her a look, and she immediately knew what Chu Zijing's purpose was.
At night, Teng Chengping, who had been reviewing memorials in the Yangxin Palace for an afternoon, finally had time to find Chu Zijing. But as soon as he arrived at Chenghuan Palace, he was stopped by the palace maid. "Your Majesty, our young lady has gone to bed."
Fulai immediately scolded him when he heard it: "How dare you stop your majesty, do you want your head?!" Caixian herself was also very panicked. She was also afraid that Teng Chengping would kill her in anger, but she could only bite the bullet and complete the master's task.
"The young lady really rested..." Teng Chengping was not angry, but a little confused: "She rested now? Didn't she say before that she would wait for me at any time?" Teng Chengping's eyes made Caixian a little panicked. "The young lady... rested... rested..."
Teng Chengping knew something was fishy at first glance, and gave a cold order to Fulai: "Fulai!" Fulai immediately grabbed Caixian's hand, muttering, "Your Majesty, please go in! Miss Caixian, please stop stopping me." Caixian shouted, "Your Majesty can't go in." But there was no panic in her eyes.
Teng Chengping trotted all the way to the bedroom, and saw Chu Zijing's figure appear on the bed. The weft covered Chu Zijing's body, but the looming figure could still be seen.
Teng Chengping walked to the bedside and uncovered the weft, only to see Chu Zijing looking at him in horror. Chu Zijing bit her lip and looked at Teng Chengping softly and said, "Your Majesty? Why are you here?"
"Why? Can't I come?" As soon as Teng Chengping said this, Chu Zijing pretended to be frightened and shook her body, and then said, "That's not what I meant..."
"What are you afraid of? I'm not mean to you. Why did you go to bed so early tonight? Hmm? Are you feeling unwell?" Teng Chengping put his hand on Chu Zijing's forehead while speaking.
"No... If your majesty is fine, you should hurry back to the Yangxin Palace..." Teng Chengping was unhappy when he heard it: "What's wrong?" Chu Zijing kept covering her body with a quilt, and Teng Chengping directly uncovered it.
Chu Zijing was wearing a nightgown made of gauze, and if you look closely, you can still see the bellyband inside. Teng Chengping swallowed his saliva, and with a glance, he saw the injury on Chu Zijing's knee.
"What's wrong? Let me see." After saying that, Teng Chengping went to roll up Chu Zijing's pajamas. "Be gentle, it hurts a little." Teng Chengping promised, but he couldn't help getting angry when he saw the wound.
"Who did it!" Chu Zijing pretended to be wronged, holding Teng Chengping's hand and persuading him: "Your Majesty, don't ask, I'm fine..."
"You still call it fine? Fulai!" Fulai, who was outside the door, walked in after hearing it, and saw the wound on Chu Zijing's leg as soon as he came in. "Go to the Imperial Hospital and bring Doctor Li to me." Fulai hurriedly agreed and left.
Teng Chengping was afraid that he would scare Chu Zijing, so he softened his voice and said: "Why is it so injured? Why don't you send someone to tell me?" Chu Zijing said with a nasal voice: "I don't want to disturb Your Majesty, and..." Chu Zijing had already cried at the end.
She hugged Teng Chengping tightly with both hands, and tears fell from her eyes one by one. Teng Chengping was very distressed, hugged her and comforted her softly: "What's wrong? Don't be afraid. Tell me if there is anything, I will solve it for you. Don't cry, Zijing, don't cry."
Chu Zijing originally just pretended to cry a few times, but Teng Chengping's comfort, especially his words, made her tears flow uncontrollably. She choked and said: "Your Majesty... Chenglang, wuwuwu Chenglang..." Chu Zijing's cry really made Teng Chengping heartbroken.
"Don't cry, come and tell me what happened." Chu Zijing still shook her head and refused to tell the truth. Teng Chengping had no choice but to summon Caixian in.
"If your master doesn't say it, you say it." Caixian's hesitant look made Teng Chengping sure that Chu Zijing must have been bullied. "This morning, I accompanied the young master to the Chuxiu Palace to pay respects. Because we arrived a little late, the virtuous concubine was very unhappy... and... and..."
"Just say it." Teng Chengping saw Caixian's hesitation. "The Concubine Xian said that when the young lady first entered the palace, she should pay respect to all the concubines, and Qi Cairen even made the young lady kneel on the ground for a long time... But Qi Cairen's position is far below that of the young lady..." Teng Chengping's eyes flashed with hostility, and he couldn't help but sneered: "Concubine Xian... Qi Cairen... where are the others?"
"Except for Concubine Shu who helped the young lady out of the predicament, everyone else is secretly laughing at the young lady..." Chu Zijing pulled Teng Chengping's hand and said in a crying voice: "Your Majesty, I am fine... Your Majesty, please don't pursue it anymore." Teng Chengping looked at Chu Zijing and said nothing, just holding her hand tighter and tighter.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Doctor Li is here." Fulai hurriedly brought Imperial Doctor Li, who was the most skilled doctor in the Imperial Hospital. Teng Chengping directly interrupted Imperial Doctor Li's action of saluting: "Look at the knee of Lady Rou first."
Teng Chengping wrapped Chu Zijing tightly with a quilt, leaving only the injured knee exposed. Doctor Li went forward to check and bowed to Teng Chengping: "Your Majesty, you only need to apply wound ointment to Lady Rou's knee. It's just that in this cold winter, if you don't take good care of Lady Rou's leg, I'm afraid she will suffer from leg cold."
"Doctor Li, from today on, you only need to take care of Lady Rou's body. Don't bother with the rest." Doctor Li agreed, turned around and took out a special wound ointment from the medicine box and gave it to Caixian, telling Caixian how to apply the ointment. Teng Chengping was also listening silently on the side. Doctor Li left after explaining everything.
Caixian was about to apply the ointment to Chu Zijing but was stopped by Teng Chengping. "I'm here, you all leave." After Caixian put down the ointment, he and Fulai left.
"I'll apply it gently to you, just bear with it." After saying that, he gently scooped a small spoonful of ointment and applied it on Chu Zijing's knee. It was cold, but Chu Zijing didn't feel any pain.
For a while, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was a little frozen. After applying the medicine, Teng Chengping said, "Don't take everything on your own in the future. Come and tell me and I will solve it for you. Do you understand?"
Chu Zijing nodded obediently, and Teng Chengping continued, "Don't worry about what happens next. You just need to know that I won't let you suffer for no reason."
"Go to sleep, I'll be by your side." Chu Zijing shook her head, patted the empty seat beside her, and said softly, "Your Majesty, too." How could Teng Chengping not agree with her look? After responding, he lay on the bed with Chu Zijing.
Chu Zijing was probably exhausted and fell asleep in a short while. Teng Chengping couldn't sleep. He looked at Chu Zijing's sleeping face and remembered how she cried just now. When he thought of this, Teng Chengping's heart ached inexplicably, and it ached his heart.
Fulai, who was on guard outside the door, knew that something big would happen in the harem tomorrow...