Momo Kong had taught the Sheng"s girls a few ways to size up their surroundings without any traces when they were in a respectful posture with their heads lowered. Minglan chose one of the ways which was turning her face slightly and only moving her eyes with her eyelids staying unmoved, which made her able to see the things around her clearly.

There were lots of women in imperial costumes gathering in the palace. Minglan glimpsed at them in a hurry, finding Empress Dowager De sitting in the middle, beside whom seated the Empress, beside whom stood Little Shen shi, the Empress"s sister. Right now, the look on the sisters" faces seemed quite sullen. In the meantime, Minglan found Empress Dowager De talking and behaving in a very elegant and delightful way. Then she a.s.sumed that the latter must be a lively and gorgeous woman when she had been young. Then, Empress Dowager De said to the three newcomers, “I received a new kind of tea lately, so I invited the Empress and her sister to have tea together. Sorry that I have asked you three to make another trip up here.”

Minglan and the other two women showed humble expressions right away and thanked the Empress Dowager De for her graciousness.

Little Shen shi put on a reluctant smile and walked down. After she walked over to the two women of the Zhang family, she gave an obeisance to her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law"s mother. The Empress chuckled, “I was thinking about you. I have the Eight Treasures Steamed Cake in my room which the chef in the imperial kitchen made according to the recipe from southern area of the Shu State. It"s hard to find a taste like this in the capital. You can bring some with you when you go back.”

Madam Zhang (Zhang shi"s mother) thanked the Empress first, followed by Minglan and Zhang shi. Then, she said with a smile, “I heard that the snacks of the southern area have lots of flavors, we have lived in the capital for our whole lives. Thanks to you, Your Highness, today we could taste that.”

The Empress also said some courteous words with a beaming smile. As she glanced at Zhao"yi Yu who showed a baby b.u.mp (Zhao"yi is Lady of Bright Deportment), she said with her eyebrows slightly knitted, “You should go back to have a rest, it"s not convenient for a pregnant woman to stay here.” After Zhao"yi Yu had got pregnant, she looked even more charming than before. Hearing the Empress"s words, she only replied with a smile, “Your Highness, thanks for your consideration, but I seldom have the chance to drink such delicious tea. I always liked to eat when I was a little girl, please let me stay.”

Empress Dowager De, with a joyful look, said, “What a naughty girl! Are you made of sugar? No wonder the Emperor and Empress are both so fond of you lately!”

“Your Highness, what do you mean by that? Aren"t you fond of me?” Zhao"yi Yu said adorably.

There was another woman sitting beside Empress Dowager De, who was Princess Consort Yu and also the wife of Empress Dowager De"s blood son. Princess Consort Yu also chimed in from time to time, laughing happily with others in the palace. Only the look on the Empress"s face turned gloomier, but she still had to maintain a graceful manner.

Minglan averted her eyes at once and lowered her head.

The Emperor was afraid that her blood mother would suffer grievance, so he had accommodated the two Empress Dowagers in different places in order to let Empress Dowager Sheng An live more comfortably. However, that arrangement gave the Empress a hard time because she had to give obeisance to her two mothers-in-law at two different places every day and then returned to her own palace to receive the obeisance from the Imperial Consorts.

Duke Ying was the head of all the other dukes with a high position and respected by everyone. Therefore, Empress Dowager De offered a seat to Madam Zhang right away. Thanks to that, Minglan, Little Shen shi and Zhang shi also had the chance to sit on the stools together. Minglan couldn"t help but cry out "Hurray" inwardly.

The moment they sat down, they heard Empress Dowager De said to Madam Zhang with a light smile, “I won"t hide anything from you then. Please check these two girls…”

She pointed to two women who were wearing imperial costumes. As Minglan looked over, she was surprised to see a pair of exceedingly beautiful women! They seemed both under twenty. Although they were both above teenage age, they were really gorgeous and glamorous.

“They have served me for many years. They are gentle, tame and always follow the disciplines. I like them a lot. Now they are not so young anymore and I want to find them good men to marry… Alas, I really hate to part with them, so I planned to let them marry the Emperor. Little did I know that the Empress would be so unhappy about that.” Empress Dowager De kept sighing with her eyes fixed straightly on Madam Zhang.

She was accusing the Empress of being so jealous.

Minglan counted the beads on her dress silently while saying inwardly the words, "I am not the leading character here, I am a walk-on actor who doesn"t have a line.”

Madam Zhang was not easy to fool, so she only smiled gently and said, “His Majesty now has lots of descendants, it must be because of our Empress"s virtue. I know that you must have meant good for them by proposing that, your highness, but I guess our Empress must have her own thought too. Since the two ladies are so outstanding, why don"t you choose other great and talented young men for them, Your Highness?”

Hearing that, the Empress put on a vague smile and looked at Madam Zhang with a satisfied look as a compliment to the latter.

Facing such a soft retort, Empress Dowager De said with a reluctant smile, “I don"t expect that they would marry any talented guys. Since they cannot stay in the Palace, I think it would be better to let them marry into the families which live near here. Perhaps, the Empress"s brother or General Zheng…” As she glanced at the people in the Palace with cold eyes, she saw Minglan and added, “And Commander Gu, could take in those girls as their concubines. In this way, I can meet my girls more often.”

Minglan couldn"t help but moan inwardly— "How come I am involved? Obviously Empress Dowager is targeting the Shen family and only mentioned Gu Tingye incidentally."

Little Shen shi was the first one that jumped up. Then she tried her best to hold back the shocked look on her face and spoke calmly, “How can we do this? Your Highness, the girls who serve you are all delicate girls. We have to let them marry well, how can we let them become concubines?”

Empress Dowager De chuckled and looked at Little Shen shi who was in a panic, saying, “They are not as delicate as you thought. They arrived at the Royal Palace from the countryside when they were little girls and don"t have any powerful background. The thing I want is finding them kind and tender Madams who could treat them nicely for my sake instead of great men. So, would all you ladies do me this favor?”

Her last words were in a rising tone as if she was threatening them.

The Empress"s face turned pale while Little Shen shi"s face turned deadly red as if it was about to bleed. Only Zhang shi stood up with a calm look and gave an obeisance, “Anything you said, Your Highness.”

Madam Zhang looked at her daughter, her eyes full of sympathy, caring and self-accusation.

Hearing that, Minglan almost said to Zhang shi,“Since then, you should take in two girls, in case I will have a headache. You are such a virtuous Madam; Empress Dowager should rest a.s.sured.”

Luckily, Minglan still remembered what kind of condition this was and stopped herself from saying those bold words.

However, Empress Dowager De still had a back-up plan. She sighed in a feigned sad tone, “The marriage of the girls around me are all delayed because they have to observe mourning for our former emperor. I have been thinking about finding them great families to marry into.”

Minglan couldn"t help glancing at the two girls again. Now the girls, head lowered, looked quite enchanting and beautiful with their pink faces. Minglan was a bit stunned.

Suddenly, she understood one thing: Those women should be the ones whom Empress Dowager De prepared for her blood son. Unfortunately, the sudden catastrophe took her son"s throne away and got her arrested. As a result, the marriages of the girls who served her were also delayed.

Behind the screen beside the two girls, there seemed to be another group of beauties. Minglan then started to wonder if Empress Dowager De had a reserve team.

Empress Dowager De asked Little Shen shi again, but the latter only kept silent while looking at the Empress, seeming to be asking for help.

Empress Dowager De wasn"t in a hurry and only watched Little Shen shi"s embarra.s.sment with a smile. Then she turned to Minglan and wanted to ask something. At this moment, Princess Consort Yu suddenly said, “Madam Gu, what are you laughing at?”

After that, everyone in the palace fixed their eyes on one place. Then they found Gu Tingye"s wife standing there reverently and gracefully with a smile on her face and seeming to have something on her mind.

“Madam Gu, I am asking you what you are laughing at right now. Do you think that our Empress Dowager is funny?” Princess Consort Yu used to be a kind and gentle woman and enjoyed a great reputation in the capital. However, ever since she had witnessed her husband drinking the poisonous wine, she had a great change in her temperament and became a bit mean.