Quick Transmigration: Irresistible Beauty-Chapter 159: Loyal Maid Who Died Because of Beauty (29)

"Noble Lady Jin heard it right," Bai Fen joined in. "The sound of the wheels was so loud that no one would not hear it passing by."

Hui Na followed suit by saying, "Last night, the emperor did not turn over the sign, so who was actually picked up by the Imperial Favor Carriage?"

(*The Imperial Favor Carriage: It is a special carriage used by the emperor to take the concubine to the emperor's bedroom when he summons the concubine to attend the bed.) novelbuddy.cσ๓

"Could it be the noble consort?" Bai Fen asked aloud, then gave out a sarcastic sigh. "The emperor has always doted on the noble concubine, after all."

These people's words were simply saying that Yue Ran's domination over the emperor was over and that it was time for the emperor to favor another. The sound of the Imperial Favor Carriage last night must have been to fetch the emperor's new lover over to attend to the bed and not Yue Ran.

Yue Ran does not even bother to lift her eyelids as she simply counters, "I have always been waiting for the emperor to come to my own palace."

Lu Heng has always felt distressed for Yue Ran, and so he did not want Yue Ran to run around in this bitterly cold winter. He did not want her to catch a cold, whether by accident or not. He would rather wrong himself by walking in the snow than let Yue Ran do it.

Others were not so lucky. It would be good enough for the emperor to remember their faces or even their names, but the cruel fact is that the emperor does not even know most of the concubines' existences at all. The majority of the concubines could not do anything about it.

Yue Ran's simple remark made everyone feel uncomfortable. It was a painful slap in their faces.

In this harem, only Yue Ran and the empress do not need to fight for preferential treatment by gaining the emperor's attention. The reason why the emperor paid attention to the empress was to purely show his respect for his wife for the public to see.

Hearing the heart-wrenching words, the concubines in the room immediately stopped irritating one another. They were all stabbed the same way by Yue Ran anyway.

If anyone wanted to know who was hurt the most, then that person would undoubtedly be Yi Lin, the female protagonist herself. And everyone also understood why, even if no one were to talk about or discuss it.

…

"Greetings to the empress," everyone said in unison when Chu Ning came into the room.

"Everyone, get up," Chu Ning said in a generous tone.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," everyone replied as they took their respective seats.

"I just heard that the sisters were chatting in a very lively way from outside of the hall," Chu Ning said. "What is everyone talking so happily about?"

"Your Majesty, the empress, we sisters were only joking with one another just now," Bai Fen said. "We were talking about how the emperor did not turn over the brand yesterday, but the Imperial Favor Carriage was still pulled along the imperial street, and no one knew who it was."

"Oh, it turned out to be this," Chu Ning answered knowingly. "This is the blessing of our new sister. The one in the Imperial Favor Carriage is also her. Today, we will welcome another younger sister to join and accompany us in the Six Palaces."

"There is a new younger sister?" One of the concubines asked, followed by a sudden, loud discussion among the many others. The hall was instantly restless.

Chu Ning's smile was a little ugly. She had seen this "new younger sister" before, and she herself felt that Bai Ji's identity and appearance were a little too unattractive. But this was what the emperor wanted, so what else could she do?

"Just now, His Majesty, the Emperor, has sent a verbal order to title our new younger sister, Bai Ji, as the Second Class Attendant," Chu Ning said. "Second Class Attendant Bai will be allocated in the Palace of Peace and Harmony. She will live with us sisters from now on."

"But is she not...?" Li Xin's words trailed off. She had blurted this out in surprise.

After all, Li Xin was clearly aware that this newcomer, titled Second Class Attendant Bai, was just a lowly musician, not of noble descent. A musician's status was even lower than that of an imperial maid. So could His Majesty, the Emperor, actually be attracted to such a woman?

"It stands to reason that some of the sisters have seen her before," Chu Ning said. "After all, some of you have gone to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to see the Emperor. It was said that she is a prostitute who can play the short-necked Chinese lute."

"A prostitute?" Bai Fen asked with a disgusted tone. She immediately nailed down the main point of Chu Ning's sentence. "With such a lowly status, she actually deserves to sit on an equal footing with us? Besides, the emperor is still in the period of filial piety."

The period of filial piety? Yue Ran almost laughed out loud when she heard this sentence.

Not only did Lu Heng want to replace the moon and the sun itself, but he also could not wait to get in touch with Yue Ran, even if the young man's imperial father had just died long ago.

Bai Fen had said this in a sarcastic tone. No matter whether she was pretending to be of kind and flattering character or not, she really did think that a prostitute's status was very low. She really does look down on those who prostitute themselves.

However, Bai Fen does not know that she is just a plaything in Lu Heng's eyes. So how noble could she be if she were to compare herself to those who prostitute themselves? There was no difference since they were all just concubines of the emperor, no matter what status they had. Only the emperor's special preference would make a difference.

"Noble Lady Jin, you should have some sense of propriety in your speech," Chu Ning said sternly, although there was some satisfaction in her eyes. "No matter what, Second Class Attendant Bai is the first newcomer that was accepted by the emperor after he had ascended the throne. As long as the emperor likes it, no one has much to say." After a pause, she continued, "I have said before that the Six Palaces must be harmonious and peaceful. If anyone dares to get jealous and plot against others, I will definitely not tolerate this."

No matter how unhappy Chu Ning feels in her heart, she still has to put on the guise of a wise, generous, and magnanimous empress in public.

"I, your servant, will follow Your Majesty, the empress', teachings," everyone replied in unison.

…

"Second Class Attendant Bai."

Everyone looked as a woman in an exquisite pink dress walked in. She could barely be considered beautiful with that appearance of hers. Not to mention, which of the concubines in the harem was not a beauty? Let alone Yue Ran, who was the most beautiful of all.

Why has His Majesty, the Emperor, suddenly changed his taste? And also into something like plain water instead of a grand feast.

Bai Ji walked with great confidence in front of the empress and asked Chu Ning for peace: "The concubine of the Palace of Peace and Harmony, titled the Second Class Attendant Bai, Bai Ji, greets Your Majesty, the Empress. May Your Majesty, the Empress, always be blessed."

"Get up and take a seat," Chu Ning said in a generous tone.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Bai Ji replied as she walked to the only empty seat in the hall.

But before Bai Ji had taken her seat, Bai Fen started saying, "I thought it was some kind of beauty, but it turned out to be nothing more than that. The most beautiful one must be Noble Consort Yue, then the next one would be Consort Li."

The tone of voice that Bai Fen had used was not loud, but it could be heard in the silence of the hall. It was especially penetrating and harsh when it traveled into Bai Ji's ears.

"What are you talking about?" Li Xin said jokingly, "In terms of beauty in the harem, the first one would be Noble Consort Yue, followed by you, Sister Bai."

Hui Na only smiled at the chattering as she said, "Second Class Attendant Bai, let me introduce the sisters in the hall for you. I am Concubine Hui. This is Noble Consort Yue, that is, Consort Li, followed by Consort Yi…"

All the concubines in the harem were slowly and calmly introduced to Bai Ji, one by one.

It was only now that Bai Ji finally met the noble consort, whom the emperor had never forgotten since the day she came into the palace.

Noble Consort Yue is indeed a peerless beauty that could never be forgotten with just one glance. She looked very fascinating and beguiling just by sitting there so quietly without doing anything. It was no wonder that the emperor was so captivated by her.

Originally, Bai Ji had planned to let the emperor dote on her so that she would be able to give birth to the emperor's first legitimate son after he had ascended the throne, but the emperor had never touched her, not even a finger or a nick of skin at all.