20demayo Chapter 219 Old Clothes
Chapter 219 Old Clothes
"This servant congratulates Her Majesty on her promotion to Consort Wan!"
The palace servants of Suiyuxuan happily congratulated their master.
"Everyone, get up."
Zhen Huan smiled and asked Bai Zhi to send the official to be appointed and give him some rewards.
Cui Jinxi reminded softly.
"Your Majesty, after the enthronement ceremony, you must go to Jingren Palace to listen to the Queen's instructions and express your gratitude to the Emperor and the Queen."
"The conferring official has just reminded me of this, and I've kept it in mind."
"Liu Zhu, bring me the dress for me to change into."
Liu Zhu carefully presented the dress that had been delivered by the Imperial Household Department early that morning. As soon as she unfolded the dress, she exclaimed in surprise.
"Master, this... this dress is damaged."
A striking cut suddenly appeared on the front of the exquisite dress and could not be concealed.
"Master, what should I do?"
A trace of panic flashed in Cui Jinxi's eyes. How could such a mistake occur at such an important moment?
Zhen Huan's expression also changed, but she tried to remain calm.
"The enthronement robe is a gift from the emperor, how can it be damaged in the slightest?"
"If I were caught while thanking you, wouldn't that be a crime of deceiving the king?"
"Liu Zhu, where is the Imperial Household Department's Chief Steward Jiang who just delivered the formal attire?"
"Your Majesty, Chief Steward Jiang has just delivered the gift and is still in the courtyard."
Liu Zhu knew that this matter was of great importance and answered quickly.
As soon as Jiang Zhongmin came in, Liu Zhu showed him the torn dress.
"My servant has failed to perform his duties properly. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
"Chief Steward Jiang, this torn dress came from the Imperial Household Department. If the higher-ups investigate, you won't be able to escape responsibility."
"I didn't come here to accuse you, but to ask if there is any way to remedy the situation?"
Jiang Zhongmin was so scared that he knelt on the ground and reported.
"Your Highness, this gown is woven with gold thread and is extremely valuable. If you want to repair it, you need to reopen the storehouse and retrieve the gold thread. However, this will be very noisy and will take two or three days to complete."
Cui Jinxi nodded beside him.
"Master, what Chief Steward Jiang said is true."
"But I wanted to go to Jingren Palace to express my gratitude right now. What should I do?"
Zhen Huan understood the seriousness of the matter. She had to go through the entire process of being appointed as a concubine before she could be considered to have secured her position as one of the Four Concubines.
As the auspicious moment approached, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Jiang Zhongmin suddenly remembered something.
"My lady, there may be a way to save the situation."
"Manager Jiang, please speak."
Everyone in the room cast hopeful eyes at the person kneeling on the ground.
"Two days ago, the Empress sent a dress from the palace for repair. Although the style of that dress is slightly different from this one, it should be sufficient for emergency use."
"Manager Jiang, will this work?"
Seeing that the auspicious time was approaching, Zhen Huan asked anxiously.
"That dress is a bit old-fashioned, and must have been worn by the Empress. Perhaps because it's old, Jingren Palace hasn't sent anyone to retrieve it. Right now, we can only use that dress as a temporary solution."
Based on Cui Jinxi's understanding of the queen, she realized that there might be something wrong with the dress.
"Master, that dress was worn by the Queen, so it's not appropriate after all."
"Noble Consort Hua and Noble Consort Shu should have some imperial concubine's formal attire. We can explain the pros and cons of each and borrow them for our use."
Zhen Huan first eliminated Concubine Hua, who was at odds with her, and then she thought of Concubine Shu, who was petite and wore the imperial concubine's dress after giving birth to the Sixth Prince.
She simply waved her hand.
"My belly is bulky, and my body shape is very different from that of the two concubines."
"Butler Jiang, please send the Queen's dress over as soon as possible."
Not long after, Jiang Zhongmin, panting, brought the dress as quickly as possible.
"Even though the Queen's clothes look a little old, they are still beautiful."
Liu Zhu, who was helping her master dress, praised in a low voice.
"Master, this dress looks familiar to me. How about we go to Yonghe Palace and ask the Imperial Concubine Shu for help?"
"You entered the palace in the same year as the Imperial Concubine Shu, so I'm sure she wouldn't..."
Zhen Huan interrupted her with a smile on her face.
"Aunt Jinxi, you are too cautious. Time is running out. Let's go to Jingren Palace quickly."
The queen, who was sitting on the couch, saw the bead curtain by the door moving without wind, and she pressed her head in pain.
"Your Majesty, I see that Concubine Wan has not yet come to pay her respects, and I have a headache. I am afraid that the auspicious time will be delayed."
"It's okay. It's the same if you go out after you get better."
The emperor was thinking that Concubine Jing had come early to express her gratitude, but Concubine Wan was nowhere to be seen.
Concubine Wan missed the auspicious time, so she couldn't blame others.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Concubine Wan has arrived."
Jianqiu lifted the pearl curtain and came in respectfully to report.
The queen glanced at the emperor who was about to stand up and made a considerate suggestion.
"How about you, Your Majesty, go ahead and I'll come out later?"
"Okay, I'll go out and take a look first."
The emperor, who was eager to get out, agreed casually.
Jianqiu approached the queen quietly and began to rub her head skillfully.
As soon as the emperor went out, his eyes were attracted by the woman behind the curtain who had been haunting him.
His chest began to beat violently, and he couldn't help but speak with infinite nostalgia.
"Wanwan? My Wanwan, why don't you call me Silang?"
This was how Zhen Huan addressed the Emperor in private, and she called out obediently.
"Shiro."
After receiving the response, the emperor stepped forward excitedly.
"Wanwan! You're finally back."
The strong longing in his words struck Zhen Huan's heart. Who is the emperor missing?
Or who is he looking through her?
Zhen Huan, feeling as if her heart was being stabbed by needles, suppressed the heat in her eyes and knelt on the ground to pay her respects.
"Your servant Zhen Huan pays respect to His Majesty!"
The emperor came to his senses and suddenly opened the curtain, questioning with a stern face.
"How could it be you?"
He pulled Zhen Huan over forcefully, not hiding his anger at all.
"Where did you get that outfit? It's totally outrageous!"
"Your Majesty? How could you..."
The queen came out and glanced at Zhen Huan, and was horrified.
"How could this happen? Huichun, how could this happen!"
Huichun knelt heavily on the ground and explained in a crying voice.
"A few days ago, when Her Majesty was sorting through Empress Chunyuan's belongings, she discovered that two southern pearls had fallen off her gown and the thread was loose, so she asked me to take it to the Imperial Household Department to mend it."
"I wanted to get it after I finished mending it, but I was so busy these past two days that I forgot."
"I don't know how Empress Chunyuan's clothes ended up on Concubine Wan's body. I beg the Emperor and Empress to forgive me!"
The Queen scolded her harshly, "How foolish! I told you to keep Queen Chunyuan's things safe, but you ignored me."
"Forget about the other clothes, why this one?"
"Your Majesty, I remember that when you first met my sister, she was wearing this dress."
"Yes, when I first met Wanwan, she was wearing this dress."
The emperor's tone revealed infinite nostalgia, and then he shouted sternly.
"Zhen, take it off!"
Zhen Huan, with her heart beating wildly, took off her clothes and apologized.
"I was careless and accidentally wore Queen Chunyuan's clothes."
The queen also pleaded for mercy.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Wan has always been cautious in her actions. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose. There must be a reason behind this. Tell me."
Zhen Huan explained with a red face.
"The formal dress sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs this morning was damaged, so I borrowed this dress. Your humble concubine..."
The extremely disappointed emperor interrupted her with a loud shout.
"That's enough! You haven't received the Queen's instruction yet, so the ceremony is not complete. Wanpin, please return to Suiyuxuan and reflect on your mistakes."