A Promotion Guide in the Harem - C153
He was relieved to find that he had managed to do some practical work, as he had always done with the benefits of Consort Rongrong.
Just as the imperial carriage landed in front of the door of the Jade Magnolia Temple, Rong Fei came out to welcome them. She welcomed them with a face full of smiles, but she didn’t know that someone was about to set them up.
Dongfang Haotian alighted from the imperial carriage and carried consort Rong into the palace. Rong Fei had already prepared a table of food and wine, and they were all things that Dongfang Haotian loved to eat.
Dongfang Haotian ate a few mouthfuls of food, put down his chopsticks, and let out a long sigh as he said: “Consort Rong is the most meticulous and knows my preferences, it’s a pity …” He purposely stopped talking.
As expected, Rong Fei went up and asked, “Your majesty, what’s a pity?”
Dongfang Haotian put on a worried look and said: “It’s a pity that the Phoenix Seal has never been left behind in the palace. Otherwise, consort Rong wouldn’t have to take the position of concubine.”
As soon as Rong Fei heard this, her heart sank. She knew that the phoenix seal had gone missing, so she had to have the phoenix seal after it was sealed. Otherwise, she would have been a queen a long time ago.
“I heard from Imperial Concubine a few days ago that she obtained a strange seal. Zhen was just thinking that the empress dowager might have been the one who found the phoenix imprint that the empress dowager had lost, but …”
Rong Fei immediately became spirited when she heard this and asked anxiously, “Your majesty, why didn’t you bring it back?”
Dongfang Haotian sighed: “It’s not that we don’t want it back, but when she heard that she was going to die, she refused to tell us the whereabouts of that seal.”
Rong Fei became anxious and twisted her handkerchief, “Then what do we do? The empress dowager will have to watch the beheading tomorrow. ”
Dongfang Haotian took Concubine Rong’s hand and said lovingly, “Don’t worry, my beloved concubine. Without the Phoenix Seal, it doesn’t matter. After Leng Qiyue dies, I will grant you the title of Imperial Consort. You can be considered the head of the Six Palaces.”
How could Rong Fei be willing to carry the title of concubine all her life? Her goal was to be the empress, and judging by the emperor’s tone of voice, he would immediately bestow her with the title of empress once they found the Phoenix Seal.
Dongfang Haotian saw that he had achieved his goal. He rubbed his forehead and said, “I still have to prepare an imperial edict. The empress dowager is waiting for it. My beloved concubine, rest early.”
For the first time, Rong Fei didn’t ask the emperor to stay, but instead bowed and said, “Chén qie will respectfully send you off, Your Majesty.”
Rong Fei looked at the departing carriage of Dongfang Haotian and immediately said, “Someone, take charge of the Palace of Virtue.”
The servant quickly prepared a palanquin and carried Rong Fei to the Palace of Virtue. The people carrying the palanquin were almost forced to run all the way to the front of the Palace of Virtue due to Rong Fei’s urging.
Rong Fei got out of the sedan chair, tidied up her appearance, and walked up to her father-in-law.
“Your servant greets esteemed empress Rong.”
“Get up and help me spread the news. I have matters to discuss with the empress dowager.” Rong Fei urged without waiting for the eunuch to kneel down.
The eunuch was also quick-witted and decided not to kneel anymore. He replied and ran inside.
Not long after, the eunuch ran out again and said, “Esteemed Empress Dowager, please invite Esteemed Empress Rong in.”
Rong Fei walked into the palace. The empress dowager hadn’t slept yet, so there were two cups of tea on her table. It looked like Lin Fei was there as well, but she hid herself when she heard she’d come.
She didn’t bother with these matters and bowed. “Chenqie greets Esteemed Empress Dowager and Esteemed Empress Dowager’s blessings.”
The empress dowager gave her an indifferent glance. Although she didn’t like this Rong Fei, she didn’t want to provoke her either. He then said, “Exempt from formalities, why did Rong Fei come to see This Dowager so late at night?”
“To reply Esteemed Empress Dowager, chenqie learned that Leng Qiyue found a strange seal in the Moon Palace. I wonder if it was the empress dowager who lost the phoenix imprint.”
The empress dowager’s eyes lit up. She raised her head and asked, “Did you get it?”
Imperial Concubine Rong feigned disappointment. “To reply esteemed empress dowager, chenqie didn’t get it. Now that Leng Qiyue’s in prison, chenqie can’t investigate even if she wanted to.”
The empress dowager was rather disappointed. She looked thoughtfully at Rong Fei and said, “This Dowager understands. Go back and rest first. This Dowager will ask her.”
Rong Fei was even more disappointed when she heard this. She knew the empress dowager wouldn’t allow her to visit a prison, so she could only say bitterly, “Chenqie will take her leave.”
The empress dowager waited until Consort Rong had left before saying, “Come out.”
As expected, Lin Fei was there. She walked out from behind the screen, her face pale because of the miscarriage.
“You just ran over here like that, why don’t you take care of your body?” Her Majesty was both pained and annoyed.
Lin Fei’s eyes were filled with tears. “That slut killed my son. Esteemed Empress Dowager definitely won’t forgive her and let her pay for my son’s life.”
The empress dowager pondered for a moment, then said, “You can go back first. This Dowager has her own plans.”
When Lin Fei saw that the empress dowager didn’t directly answer her, she knew that her heart began to waver upon hearing her words. She refused to comply and said, “Esteemed Empress Dowager …”
“Enough, this one knows what to do.” The empress dowager rarely used harsh words to speak to Lin Fei. This time, her heart was in turmoil.
Lin Fei struck a nail on her head and did not dare to say more. She drooped her head and said, “Chenqie will take her leave now.”
After Lin Fei left, the empress dowager picked up her teacup and threw it fiercely at the door. Her heart was indeed in disarray. She wanted to kill Leng Qiyue on one hand, and find out the whereabouts of the phoenix imprint on the other. He hadn’t agreed to allow Rong Fei to visit him just now because he was afraid that she would receive the phoenix seal and hand it over to the emperor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to take the left and right of the person in the back. The phoenix imprint was a key item and must not fall into the hands of Dongfang Haotian. In the future, he would need to rely on the phoenix imprint to become the Crown Prince, so this item was much more valuable than Leng Qiyue’s life …
However, the empress dowager didn’t want to let Leng Qiyue off so easily. She decided to personally head to the prison and investigate. If the news was fake, she would immediately kill Leng Qiyue.
Within the prison, Leng Qiyue was in a deep slumber. Even the empress dowager had entered the prison, so she still had not figured out the situation.
The eunuch shouted, “Insolent Consort, why aren’t you paying respects to Esteemed Empress Dowager yet?”
Leng Qiyue was frightened into a jump and came back to her senses. She quickly kneeled down on the ground. She had dreamt just now that she had found the Phoenix Seal and was holding it as she laughed with glee.
“Chenqie pays her respects to the empress dowager.”
“I heard that you found a seal in the Moon Palace. What kind of seal is it?” Her Majesty asked directly.
Leng Qiyue was stunned. She didn’t even know what the Phoenix Seal looked like. If she was wrong, wouldn’t the empress dowager have to destroy her? However, it was impossible for him to not say it. He was still going to die, so he decided to just give it his all and tell her about the phoenix imprint in his dream.
“That is a square white jade seal with a lifelike phoenix carved on it. The phoenix also holds a jade ruyi in its mouth.” As she spoke, Leng Qiyue secretly observed the empress dowager’s expression. She saw her face growing darker and darker, and her own heart growing increasingly unsettled.
The empress dowager asked again, “Where are the jade seals now?”
Seeing her ask this, Leng Qiyue felt a lot more relaxed in her heart. It seemed that she had blindly run into a mouse and killed it. “In reply to the empress dowager, I’ve already given the jade seal to Xiao Jin. I don’t know where he took it.” Leng Qiyue secretly laughed in her heart, “If you have the ability to do so, you can ask. Let’s see if you can understand the language of beasts!”