MM Racing Chapter 143 The Grand Ceremony of Conferring the Title of Imperial Concubine
Chapter 143 The Grand Ceremony of Conferring the Title of Imperial Concubine
Shen Shixi then casually delivered the good news to the Empress before leaving.
The Empress remained puzzled. "Granny, do you think what she said is true or false? Even though my health won't fully recover in a month, I can still manage affairs. By then, will she really be willing to return power to me?"
Tingqin said, "This servant thinks she's just cunning and deliberately trying to disrupt Your Highness, giving you a month to cooperate with her. Once she's sorted things out in the harem, let's see if she'll be willing to return it to Your Highness then."
The Empress also shared this concern.
Granny Qu shook her head. "Your Majesty, I think Consort Chen's words might not be untrue. Think about it, with the Emperor's favor, what can't she have?"
She's so young, and I've heard she's not even very attentive to the Emperor. Does she really have the patience to manage the harem?
When Shen Shixi returned to Zhaoyang Palace, the stewards from various parts of the palace had already arrived. She ordered the warm room to be prepared and went there to report back.
Everyone wanted to ask for instructions, and Shen Shixi said, "Let's proceed in order. Today's most important event is the New Year's Eve dinner. Is there anything the Imperial Kitchen needs to report?"
The Imperial Household Department is in charge of today's New Year's Eve dinner, but the Imperial Kitchen will definitely be involved. This is a matter of utmost importance and cannot be neglected in the slightest.
"Your Highness, the menu this year is quite different from previous years. There are six fewer cold dishes on the tables of the noble ministers and officials, and they have all been replaced with hot dishes. They are all new dishes from Your Highness's small kitchen. We have all learned how to cook them, but there are not enough stoves."
Shen Shixi didn't say why she hadn't told her earlier. She called Chao En over and said, "Go to the imperial kitchen, find an open space, and build a circle with bricks to make a stove. Put the pot on top and light a fire with coal underneath."
"yes!"
Shen Shixi instructed, "Add a few green vegetables to the boiled pork slices. Add them when it's done cooking. Pick the green vegetables from Liulifang."
The imperial kitchen staff asked, "We would like to ask Consort Chen whether to add it only to the tables of a few masters, or to all of them?"
"Add them all!"
The imperial kitchen staff hurried off to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner, which was to begin around 5:30 p.m., a time for family reunion and gatherings of imperial relatives, nobles, and ministers.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Jin's residence has lost a concubine. According to past practice, the palace will bestow a reward upon them. Please provide the list of rewards for this occasion."
Shen Shixi took the money and glanced at it; it was about a thousand taels. She smiled and said, "The Prince of Jin's mansion only lost a concubine, yet they rewarded him with this much. Would other princes' mansions also reward their concubines like this?"
Will Li Yuanke still be able to save money?
The steward said, "Other princely residences only receive rewards from the palace when a concubine or higher rank dies."
That's normal. A concubine should be officially conferred a title and be listed in the imperial genealogy, receiving honors in life and mourning in death.
"Regardless of Her Majesty the Empress's decision, this clause is hereby waived. You may leave!"
The steward refused to leave, saying, "Your Majesty, this is all precedent. Her Majesty the Empress has handled several such cases already. I did not falsify anything; this is how things are done in the past. How can Your Majesty just exempt me from this? How can I explain this to Her Majesty the Empress!"
"Is it that human life is worthless in the Prince of Jin's mansion, or is the Prince of Jin eating his concubines, or is it simply to get an extra thousand taels of silver from the palace? The Emperor has only been on the throne for a few years, and there have already been six or seven deaths. Has the Prince of Jin's mansion gone mad with poverty?"
And you, you unruly servant, dare to jump around in front of me! Guards, take you to the Imperial Prison! I want to see what kind of loyalty you've shown!
Immediately, someone came in and dragged the manager away. The deputy manager came over and, being quite pragmatic, crossed out that clause.
The rest was much easier.
Finally, Shen Shixi said, "Starting today, before you finish your shifts each day, each of you must report your work situation for the day and your work plan for tomorrow. Those who can write should write it themselves, and those who cannot should find my head maid Bai Kui and have her write it down. There must be no mistakes."
It has to be said that Shen Shixi used to hate this system, calling it a load of rubbish about daily settlements, but now that she's in charge, she finds it very useful.
Sure enough, your perspective is determined by where you are.
Too tired, after assigning tasks, Shen Shixi asked Bai Ping, Chao En, and Lan Ying to keep an eye on things, and then she soaked in the hot spring for a while before falling asleep when she felt sleepy.
Around noon, Lan Tan woke Shen Shixi up, "Your Highness, get up quickly, you need to dress up for the investiture ceremony."
Shen Shixi felt better after sleeping for a while, and the crown and robes were also delivered. They had been prepared in advance, and they fit her perfectly and were very luxurious.
The court officials gathered in the Taiji Hall. Today, the emperor was to offer sacrifices to his ancestors and worship the gods, and he would also write the character "福" (fortune) to bestow upon them. He also invited his relatives and key ministers to watch a play, and the officials had arrived long ago.
When Shen Shixi arrived, the investiture envoy and officials from the Ministry of Rites were already prepared.
The news that a fire broke out in the palace yesterday, that Consort Li went into premature labor, and that the Empress suffered a miscarriage due to shock has spread throughout the court and the country today.
Prime Minister Pei led the assembled officials to stand on either side.
When Shen Shixi arrived at the palace gate in full regalia, Li Yuanke looked over. He stood up and extended his hand to Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi glanced at the assembled officials, his gaze meeting that of Prime Minister Pei.
She naturally understood what Li Yuanke wanted to do, and the significance of his actions at this opportune moment, and she was not afraid.
Back then, she pushed her grandfather to help Li Yuanke compete for the throne not because of Li Yuanke himself, but because the Shen family was tied to Li Yuanke.
As long as Prime Minister Pei remains in power, Li Yuanke is certain to die, regardless of who takes the throne.
Grandfather thought that he was just being Li Yuanke's teacher and that his desire to remain neutral and stay out of the struggle for succession was just the mind of a scholar.
From the moment Li Yuanke stepped into the Shen family's gate and addressed them as "Grandfather" and "Teacher," the Shen family was on Li Yuanke's side.
As long as the Pei family remains in power, Li Yuanke's throne will be unstable.
Shen Shixi calmly and composedly stepped across the threshold of the Taiji Hall and arrived before the Emperor.
The investiture ceremony was conducted by the chief and deputy envoys. Today, the chief envoy was still Prince An, and the deputy envoy was Chen Bingzheng, the Grand Secretary. All the officials witnessed the ceremony, which was undoubtedly a grand occasion.
After receiving the golden book and seal, Shen Shixi bowed deeply to the emperor.
The emperor descended the steps and personally helped Shen Shixi up, holding her hand as they stood side by side before the imperial platform to receive congratulatory gifts from the officials.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to the Emperor and Consort Chen!"
At this moment, neither the Prince of Jin nor Prime Minister Pei were at peace.
Prime Minister Pei was thinking about the time when the emperor conferred titles on the empresses and concubines. The ceremony was held together, and the emperor sat on his throne the whole time, expressionless, and never stepped down to help the empress.
How is today's scene any different from the coronation ceremony of the empress?
Furthermore, with the title bestowed upon Lady Shen and the fact that she has now gained control of the palace, the Emperor's intentions are crystal clear.
The Prince of Jin was thinking, "That wretched woman, Shen, has already become a concubine in just half a year."
Yes, the Prince of Jin has also come. He has been recuperating for almost three months now, and even if he had a fracture, he would have recovered by now.
He could choose not to come, but what would the emperor think if he didn't?
Although my beloved concubine hit you, it wasn't without reason. Why are you still not getting better?
Never again!
For the time being, Prince Jin does not yet have the confidence to break ties with the emperor.
"My beloved subjects, rise!"
The emperor was very pleased. After the ceremony of bestowing the title of imperial concubine was completed, Shen Shixi was able to leave.
The emperor escorted Shen Shixi to the entrance of the Taiji Hall and ordered Li Fude to take her back to Zhaoyang Palace.
The Empress is bedridden and cannot attend today's palace banquet. The harem has to rely on Shen Shixi. The Emperor's favoritism is so great that no one can say anything about favoring a concubine over his wife.
After Shen Shixi returned, someone from Cining Palace came to deliver a message, saying that Consort Chen had many things to do today, and the grand ceremony would be held at Qianyuan Palace during the New Year's Eve banquet, so Consort Chen would not have to make an extra trip.
Shen Shixi expressed his gratitude and summoned everyone from Zhaoyang Palace to listen to his instructions.
"Now that I hold the reins of the palace, you will naturally feel superior to others when you go out. This sense of superiority is understandable. However, you must remember that I will return this power to you after one month."
So, live your lives as you always have. But if I find out you're swaggering around outside, behaving improperly, bullying the weak and oppressing the strong, don't blame me for not showing any mercy!
She absolutely refused to work extra jobs, nor did she want her subordinates to act recklessly and make a fool of themselves during this month.
"We will remember Your Majesty's teachings!"
These words were naturally spread very quickly.
After everything was done, Shen Shixi could finally lie in bed. Being a cow or a horse was indeed difficult. There was nothing wrong with using her beauty to serve the emperor. She had never been so tired in her life. She didn't even want to go to the palace banquet that night.
Shen Shixi had only slept for an hour when she was woken up again. The palace banquet was about to begin, and she needed to dress up and go to the banquet.