Your Majesty, please do not disturb, the empress only wants to engage in business

Chapter 152: New Year's Eve

But now the Queen's attitude is unclear. Instead, she has found another Concubine Qi to take the position. He Yunqing can't tell what the Queen is thinking, otherwise she wouldn't be entangled with Qiao Yanran and others here.

Compared to her entanglement, Qiao Yanran was even more sad.

It cannot be said that there is true love between her and the emperor, but she does like him a little. After all, the tenderness and indulgence that the emperor showed towards her could not be faked. Even in recent times, when the emperor has been favoring the imperial concubine, he has not completely forgotten her.

Originally, when she went to attend the Queen's banquet today, she didn't expect to meet the Emperor, but things never developed as she expected. Not only did she meet the Emperor, she also clearly saw the Emperor being affectionate with the Imperial Concubine at the banquet, and he even seemed to be caring towards other concubines.

More importantly, she herself was not seen.

Of course, she could give herself many reasons, such as there were many people on the pavilion at that time and the space was small, so the emperor certainly couldn't tell who was who among so many concubines. What's more, the place where she was sitting was a bit remote, so it was reasonable that she was not noticed by the emperor.

But when she thought about this reason in her mind, she couldn't even deceive herself.

The emperor's heart belonged to too many women. Even if Qiao Yanran had read many novels, she would not be so stupid as to think that she could monopolize the emperor. But when she saw it with her own eyes, it was a different story after all.

Take the present moment for example, He Yunqing is concerned about their backers, but Qiao Yanran is thinking about the relationship between herself and the emperor.

"Sister, you don't have to be so anxious... In fact, we knew early on that in this harem, others are unreliable after all." She squeezed the hand that He Yunqing stretched out, as if to comfort her, but in Bai Fengping's opinion, her behavior was more like cheering herself up: "We are not favored now, and we are not pregnant like Concubine Qi, how can the Queen look up to us?"

People who have no use value are not even qualified to be pawns.

"What's wrong with you today? You never say such discouraging words before."

Qiao Yanran has had a very proud and arrogant personality since she was a child. Although she appears to be gentle and polite to everyone on the surface, there are actually very few people who can get close to her and become her close friends. He Yunqing is one of them, and Bai Fengping can only be considered half one.

With her personality, she would never easily mention words like "utilization value", but now she said it out loud, which really surprised He Yunqing.

"I'm not discouraged, I just see clearly that among so many people in the harem, the only ones we can really rely on are the three of us sisters." After what happened today, Qiao Yanran actually figured it out. Instead of pinning all her hopes on the help of the queen and the attention of the emperor who may not arrive at any time, it would be better for them to plan for themselves: "The queen may not be a backer we can rely on. After all, we have to become strong ourselves to stand firm in this harem."

"But even though that's what I said, how easy is it to do it?"

He Yunqing was naturally happy about Qiao Yanran's change, but when he thought of the many wolves and tigers around him, he couldn't help but sigh. "Sister Yun, don't say such things," Bai Fengping stretched out her hand and placed it on the two of them, comforting them, "When I was at home, I often heard my father say that nothing in this world is easy, and it depends on how people do it. The two sisters are talented, and the emperor has always been very kind to them. It's only a matter of time before they regain favor."

"Ping'er is right," Qiao Yanran grabbed the hands of the two people beside her and held them tightly. "We have only been in the harem for a short time, and our foundation is not solid. Now is the time for us to rest and recuperate. It doesn't matter who has the upper hand now. What matters is that we have a future."

There is no shortage of women in the palace who cannot see the emperor. If everyone complains about not being able to see the emperor, then there is no need to stay in the harem. Everyone can just be hanged with a white silk cloth. Why bother fighting here?

Since they want to fight, they have to get tangible benefits in their hands. They all have family backgrounds and no shortage of money. As the first batch of concubines sent into the harem after the new emperor ascends the throne, the family forces behind them naturally have their own calculations. To be specific, it would be a good thing for the emperor to take a closer look at Concubine Qi.

……

"As long as the emperor comes to the harem more often, everyone will naturally have more opportunities."

Yuxiu Palace was more lively than usual tonight. Yao Jinse took a nap in the afternoon, and suddenly became energetic again in the evening, so she invited Concubine Chen to come to Yuxiu Palace for a short visit.

Concubine Chen has always been a free and easy-going person. Among so many people in the palace, there are very few who can't get along with her. She never envies the benefits others get, nor does she compete with others for favors. Naturally, no one rushes to suppress her. In the harem, the person with whom Concubine Chen has the best relationship is only Yao Jinse.

Perhaps Zhaopin could be considered one of them, but because of her different background, she was always somewhat distant from them.

"Alas, it's only the first year, and there have been so many incidents in the palace. Who knows what will happen in the future."

Concubine Chen was obviously not optimistic about the future. In fact, at her current point, even if she really wanted to be optimistic, she might not be able to smile too happily. She was not favored in the palace, let alone in the harem where there were so many beauties.
But if one is open-minded, one's mood will always be more cheerful. She does not care too much about favor or not, as long as she can live this life and talk and laugh with her sisters. It would be even better if she could have a child, and it does not matter if it is a boy or a girl. In the harem, giving birth to a son may not be as easy as giving birth to a daughter. In the last dynasty, many concubines were implicated because of their sons. On the contrary, a daughter would be better. Even though the Xie royal family has many faults, they have one advantage after all: they are determined not to marry into another family. No matter what, the princess will be able to enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of her life.

"Having a child means having someone to rely on. I am actually very happy that you have this idea, but you should be more anxious. There is no favor from the emperor in this palace. Where will your child come from?"

Yao Jinse naturally wanted to help Concubine Chen. Having such a person in the palace, even if she couldn't play a big role, at least there would be some benefits of companionship.

"I know what you said, but you also know that the emperor has never liked me very much. It is not easy to win the emperor's heart."

Lady Chen smiled carefreely and changed the subject: "It will be the end of the year in two days, how are your preparations for this year's family banquet going?"