The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 250 The Art of Balance
The concubines paid their respects to Yinzhen and the Empress Dowager one by one according to etiquette, and then sat down. Yinzhen said.

"According to our ancestors' rules, the New Year's Eve family dinner should be held on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

But my three-year mourning period for the late emperor has come to an end, and I am thinking privately,

My kingdom and foundation are inseparable from the hard work of ministers and royal relatives in the court.

Therefore, I deliberately gave the day that should have been celebrated with my beloved concubines to the ministers in the court to show that I have not forgotten their support.

Today is the Chinese New Year's Eve. I am sitting with you to celebrate the New Year.
To show that the royal family also shares the joy with the people and protects the foundation of their ancestors. "

All the concubines stood up and said in unison.

"Your Majesty is wise and enlightened. Long live the Emperor!"

Yinzhen raised his hand and smiled.

"I am not the high and mighty emperor today.

Just be the head of a big family.

The concubines can sing, dance, laugh and drink.

I will stay up with you to celebrate the New Year and look forward to the blessings of the New Year together!"

When Ulanara saw that Yinzhen stopped the concubines from expressing their gratitude again, she raised the wine glass at hand and smiled.

"Your Majesty is so gracious, we, the concubines, will bathe together.

Please drink this cup to the full, Your Majesty, and enjoy the happiness with me."

Yinzhen laughed heartily, raised his glass, and spoke to the Empress Dowager first.

"I, Empress Dowager, let me offer you a toast first. I wish you good health in the new year and longevity in the world."

The empress dowager, who was only forty-five years old, had a well-maintained fair face with hardly any wrinkles. She raised her glass, nodded and smiled.

"The wind and frost of heaven and earth have gone, and the world is in harmony. The calendar adds a new year, and spring fills the old mountains and rivers.

Today is a beautiful night, and I am only waiting for the Emperor to have many children and more happiness. "

After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she drank all the wine in her hand.

Yinzhen smiled.

"Thank you, my son, Empress Dowager."

Yinzhen raised his head and drank the wine in the cup, and Su Peisheng hurriedly added more wine.

Yinzhen then said to Ulanara.

"The Queen has worked hard for another year, I toast this cup to you alone.

The peace and harmony of the harem is due to the Queen’s hard work.”

When Ulanara saw Yinzhen pick up the wine glass again, she also hurriedly picked up the wine glass and waited for Yinzhen and the concubines to drink together.

Unexpectedly, Yinzhen's wine was only for her. Ulanara was flattered but she kept a polite smile on her face.

"I thank you very much, Your Majesty. I don't know anything else, I just do my best to manage the harem for Your Majesty.

I will drink first as a sign of respect."

After saying this, Ulanara drank the wine in one gulp.

Yinzhen also drank the wine with a smile, waiting for Su Peisheng to add more wine.

Yinzhen raised his glass and looked at Nian Shilan, who looked exceptionally beautiful today.

Three months after giving birth to Hongli, Nian Shilan's condition remained the same as before.

Perhaps it was because she had given birth to a child, she had lost her girlish cuteness, but became more charming.

Yinzhen looked at the beautiful face that he had personally asked to marry, and the smile on his face became more genuine.

"I want to drink this cup with Shilan. Shilan is also working hard to help manage the six palaces.

You must be exhausted from being busy with New Year affairs these days.

How about having a few more drinks today to relieve your fatigue?"

Nian Shilan looked at Yinzhen and suddenly felt dazed.

In her previous life, no matter how hard she tried to manage the six palaces, Yinzhen never said a word.

Even the people in the palace privately disliked her for being hard-hearted and unyielding.

She was unaware of the situation at that time and arranged red plum blossoms at the palace banquet, which reminded Yinzhen of his sad memories.

In this life, it was still Hongmei, so why didn't Yinzhen look different? Nian Shilan couldn't help but think wildly and didn't say anything for a while.

Songzhi, who was standing by, quietly pulled her clothes from behind. When Nian Shilan came to her senses, she saw Yinzhen still smiling and staring at her.

"Shilan is distracted, but is he thinking about something else?"

Nian Shilan put on a smile and said.

"Your Majesty has honored me. I was so flattered and grateful that I was speechless.

I drink this cup to the fullest, thanking His Majesty for his great grace."

After saying this, without waiting for Yinzhen's reaction, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Then Nian Shilan took the wine jug from Songzhi's hand that was about to add wine to her, poured herself a full glass, and then said.

“You should be like a rock, and I should be like a reed. The reed is as tough as silk, and the rock is immovable.

I, your humble servant, have been ordered by His Majesty to assist in the management of the six palaces, both to relieve His Majesty's worries and to
It also relieves the pressure on the Queen.

Her Majesty the Queen has not been in good health and has been taking medicine all the time, and I, your concubine, am very distressed.

I have no other skills, so I can only devote myself to these trivial matters.
I just hope that His Majesty can rest assured and His Majesty can be healthy.

I beg Your Majesty to do me the honor of drinking this cup with you."

Yinzhen looked at Nian Shilan with a smile. This little fox now wanted to involve Ulanara in every sentence he spoke.

The Ulanara clan now relies on the fact that they have two queens in one family and are very arrogant in the court.

However, with the Nian brothers and sisters in the front court and the harem to restrain them, they were not allowed to act too recklessly.

It's not that Yinzhen was unaware of the conspiracy between Nian Shilan and Ulanara, but rather than letting Ulanara be the only one in power, Yinzhen chose to let Nian Shilan be domineering.

The art of balance is also the way to control subordinates.

"Okay, I'll drink with you."

After Yinzhen drank the three glasses of wine, he looked at Su Peisheng's new glass of wine and said.

"I will drink this cup with all my beloved concubines."

The concubines then raised their wine glasses, thanked him, and drank with a smile.

At this point, the Queen Mother spoke.

“The emperor is diligent and has had a hard year.

I heard that the emperor spends five or six hours reviewing memorials every day.
The emperor should also take care of himself.

There is also a banquet at the Cining Palace. I should go back and talk to them.

I will return to the Cining Palace first."

Yinzhen and everyone in the palace knew that the "they" the Empress Dowager was referring to were naturally the concubines of the previous emperor and several of the previous princes who had not yet married and established their own households.

Yinzhen stood up and said respectfully.

"My son knows that the Empress Dowager is concerned about the concubines and imperial concubines, so I will not force her to stay.

My son and all the concubines respectfully send off the Empress Dowager~"

When the Empress Dowager left the Qianqing Palace with her maids and eunuchs, Yinzhen sat down again and waved.

"Okay, everyone sit down."

After all the concubines sat down, the sounds of singing and dancing began to sound in the palace, and Su Peisheng stood beside Yinzhen with a smile in his eyes.

Yinzhen watched everyone in the hall greet each other and clink glasses, and inadvertently glanced at the bottles of red plums on the windowsill.

The red plum blossoms in the white porcelain vase are very beautiful. Against the backdrop of the three-intersecting and six-diamond patterns on the window lattice, it looks like a painting.

Yinzhen thought that Yunxi used to like red plum blossoms the most.

Although Ulanara looked at everyone with a smile, the corner of her eyes was always following Yinzhen.

When she saw Yinzhen looking at Hongmei, she knew that he was thinking of his sister again.

On this day when everyone was happy, Ulanara felt an inexplicable restlessness in her heart.

It was obvious that she was the first one to enter the palace, and she came there to visit her sister who was pregnant. This left an indelible mark in the heart of the man in front of her, whom Ulanara loved most in her life.

Ulanara took a deep breath quietly and adjusted her mood when no one was paying attention.

She thought, that's fine, as long as the emperor didn't forget her sister, her position as queen would be secure.