Rong Pei and Ling Yunche had no choice but to return empty-handed. Although Sanbao and others were dissatisfied, at least Manager Qin had given a promise, so they just had to wait until tomorrow.

The next day, Chief Steward Qin came to Yiku Palace in person to ask for a meeting.

When Sanbao and the others met Steward Qin, they felt more welcoming than their own relatives and wanted to immediately divide up the monthly salary that Steward Qin brought.

"Your servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen!"

Ruyi asked, "I wonder why Chief Eunuch Qin came to Yikun Palace in person?"

Qin Li apologized, "Isn't this month's salary due? It's almost the New Year and the palace is planning a banquet. I forgot about the salary for Yikun Palace."

"I took some time out of my busy schedule and thought of this matter, so I immediately brought people to deliver the monthly salary to the Empress. I hope the Empress will forgive me for my negligence!"

Although Qin Li still had the same flattering look as usual, Ruyi always felt that Qin Li was different from before.

Ruyi asked, "Was it Steward Qin's negligence? Then why was the monthly salary distributed to all the palaces, but only the Yikun Palace was left with one? Did Steward Qin forget it himself, or was he instructed by the Yongshou Palace?!"

Rong Pei had been holding a grudge in her heart for a long time, and was waiting for Ruyi to act like a queen today so that she could teach Qin Li, a fence-sitter, a lesson!

Since Qin Li dared to do such a thing, he was naturally not afraid of being punished by Ruyi.

"It's none of your business. It's indeed my negligence. The Empress knows that the New Year is coming soon. The Emperor will host a banquet for the royal family on New Year's Eve. Your Highness will have to organize the banquet and prepare for the ancestor worship. She is very busy."

"This is my fault. The Queen must not misunderstand the Royal Concubine Ling because of my mistake! Because I was busy with so many things, I didn't deliver it myself. I thought it would be the same if I asked the head maids of each palace to pick it up."

"But the Yikun Palace no longer has a maid in charge, and the eunuchs saw that I was busy and did not dare to make decisions on their own, so this matter was delayed. As soon as I finished my work, I couldn't wait to bring it to the Queen!"

Rong Pei immediately complained, "I went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs yesterday, why didn't you let Ling Yunche and I take it back?"

Qin Li retorted: "You are not the head maid of Yikun Palace, why should I give it to you?"

Rong Pei was choked, remembering what Qin Li said when he mocked Ling Yunche yesterday, and then questioned.

"Didn't you just say in front of the Empress that you were busy with the banquet and didn't have time to deliver it to the Empresses in the palaces, and asked the palace maids in charge of each palace to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get it? Then why did Chief Steward Qin say yesterday that he had sent the monthly silver to Yongshou Palace? Is Chief Steward Qin deliberately neglecting the Empress? What crime should you be punished for?"

Qin Li said, "You are wrongly accusing me! Imperial Concubine Ling is in charge of the palace affairs, so she should check the accounts before distributing the monthly salary. I was just delivering the monthly salary to Imperial Concubine Ling when I went to Yongshou Palace to listen to her instructions. How can it be considered that I am partial to her and deliberately neglecting the Empress?!"

Ruyi listened to Qin Li's sophistry and said, "General Manager Qin's words don't sound like he's coming to apologize to me, but rather he's coming to call me to task!"

Qin Li said, "How dare I? I was so busy with trivial matters that I forgot to send the monthly salary to Yikun Palace. The Queen didn't send anyone to ask, so I thought I had already sent it to Yikun Palace, so I was delayed for a few days."

"If I am negligent in the future, please send someone to inform me immediately, Your Majesty. Otherwise, if I delay the affairs of the Yikun Palace, I will feel guilty!"

Listening to Qin Li's confusing words, could it be that he deliberately didn't pay the monthly salary to the Yikun Palace servants, and it became her fault? !

But in the eyes of people like Sanbao, although Qin Li was hateful for deliberately delaying the monthly silver, they also felt disheartened by the fact that Ruyi let it go and said such inconsiderate words.

Ruyi said angrily, "Are you blaming me for not informing you in time?"

Qin Li said, "That's not what I meant! How could the Queen be wrong? I just think it's inconvenient that there's no new head maid in Yikun Palace."

"I have something to ask, but I don't know who to look for in Yikun Palace. Yikun Palace is unmanned, so how can there be no mistakes over time? Previously, Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine had the intention to ask me to find a new maid for Yikun Palace, but Her Majesty the Empress is used to using people from Yikun Palace, so let's just leave it at that."

"In order to prevent such mistakes from happening again, please ask the Queen to decide on the person in charge of the palace maids as soon as possible. If there are any problems again, it will be my responsibility!"

Ruyi said angrily, "I have my own opinion on this matter, it is not your turn to ask. Since Chief Steward Qin has delivered the monthly salary, you can leave if you have nothing else to do!"

Qin Li said: "Yes, I will take my leave!"

Hailan brought Yongqi to pay respects to Ruyi. After hearing what happened, Hailan said angrily, "Qin Li is just a small steward of the Imperial Household Department. How dare he talk back to my sister like this? It's really unreasonable!"

Yongqi said, "It's almost the New Year, why is the Yikun Palace so deserted? Did the Empress Dowager and the Emperor quarrel again?"

Ruyi said: "The Empress Dowager and the Emperor did not quarrel. It was because the Empress Dowager liked peace and quiet that she did not allow others to come and pay their respects."

Yongqi asked in confusion, "But I heard from my fifth brother that the Emperor wanted Empress Ling to preside over the Silkworm Ceremony next year. Is it because the Empress was not feeling well that the Emperor asked Empress Ling to take her place?"

Upon hearing this, Ruyi asked, "What? Did Yongqi tell you that?"

Hai Lan was also shocked. Why didn’t Yong Qi tell her?

Yongqi saw that Ruyi and Hai Lan both looked unhappy and thought he had said something wrong, so he hurriedly explained.

"I overheard the conversation between Fifth Brother and others by accident. It may not be true. Empress Dowager and Empress Yu, please don't believe it!"

Hai Lan was afraid of scaring Yongji, so she coaxed him a few words and then let him go out to play.

Ruyi said angrily, "The Silkworm Ceremony is the duty of the Queen, but the Emperor asked Noble Concubine Ling to take my place. Why didn't he just let Noble Concubine Ling take my place as Queen?!"

Hai Lan said: "Sister, calm down! Sister, the emperor is still worried about Ling Yunche's existence. For the future of sister and Yongqi, sister should give in to the emperor!"

Ruyi just felt that everyone was against her. She clearly had done nothing wrong, so why did she have to suffer so much misunderstanding and injustice?

"This palace and Ling Yunche have always been innocent. How does His Majesty want me to explain before he will believe it? Ling Yunche has already become a eunuch. What else does His Majesty want?!"

"The court officials pay the most attention to etiquette and rules. Even if the emperor favors Concubine Ling, the court officials will advise the emperor and will not let the emperor violate the ancestral rules. There is no need to worry too much about this!"

Hai Lan nodded and said, "I'll let Yong Qi take care of this matter!"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like