The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 2)

Chapter 210 - Lotus Seed Soup

In this way, Cui Baolin not only failed to undermine Ye Yun in front of the Emperor but ended up being despised instead.

That evening, she was unable to serve in the bedchamber and was only responsible for attending to dinner before being sent to the side hall to rest.

After this incident, Cui Shi understood that Ye Yun wouldn't easily lose the Emperor's favor and became more cautious.

Although the other concubines were unaware of this incident, the servants in Jingqian Palace all witnessed it. Thus, a few young eunuchs began to gossip.

"Cui Baolin may be just a concubine-born daughter of Lord Cui, but she is his only daughter. Her family background isn't low, and she is good-looking. Why doesn't the Emperor like her?"

"Exactly! I saw Cui Baolin come in crying so sadly today, yet no one felt sorry for her."

Suddenly, two loud slaps echoed as a feather duster struck their heads.

The two turned to see it was the second-in-command, Huai An, and they hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy.

"How dare you gossip about your superiors behind their backs! How many heads do you have that would be enough to chop off? Ming Jieyu is the daughter of the General who protects the nation, and the Ye family's father and son guard the borders. There are many civil officials capable of handling affairs; how many victorious generals are there? From now on, keep your mouths shut! If you offend someone and lose your heads, don't blame me for not reminding you!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We thank you for your teachings, Master. We will never speak recklessly again."

Both replied repeatedly, feeling a cold sweat in their hearts.

As for why Huai An spoke up for Ye Yun, it was partly because he had indeed received a lot of silver and had a close relationship with her, and partly because his mentor, Yuan Jiu, had taught him well. Additionally, he had seen the Emperor looking at the painting that Ming Jieyu had made for him last night.

Bringing a gift from a concubine to Lingxi Garden was a clear sign of favor.

The previous quarrel was likely just a moment of displeasure, and things would be back to normal in no time.

Now, the Emperor was also considering how to create an opportunity to visit Jiaotang Garden, filled with various concerns.

Thus, Cui Baolin's attempt to undermine Ye Yun was definitely not a good move.

However, there was one thing: the Emperor was currently concerned about his dignity and was reluctant to lower himself to appease others, leading to a stalemate.

Huai An pondered this in his heart, thought it over, and went to seek out his mentor to discuss a few matters.

The next afternoon, a bowl of lotus seed and silver fungus soup was presented on Ning Chen's desk.

"Your Majesty, you've been reading the memorial for an hour. Why not take a break and have some lotus seed soup?" Yuan Jiu suggested.

Ning Chen set down the vermilion brush in his hand, rubbed his forehead, and glanced out the window.

"It looks like it's going to rain; the sky is very overcast."

Yuan Jiu looked outside as well and nodded. "It's a bit muggy out. Summer often brings thunderstorms; it seems we're in for a heavy downpour. Those beautiful lotus flowers in the pond will suffer. Just a couple of days ago, they were blooming brilliantly, and Ming Jieyu took people to stroll around for quite a while; she must have liked them very much."