northernbook Chapter 437 Concubine
Chapter 437 Concubine
Yang Manman looked panicked and her face turned pale, and she quickly denied it.
"Nonsense! You are slandering me! What does the destruction of those orchids have to do with me?"
"Then how do you explain the marks on your sleeves and the scent of the lotus orchid!" Concubine Shu stared at Yang Manman coldly, and she had already determined in her heart that she was the one who did it.
Although the issue of the destruction of the lotus orchids was successfully resolved, and Concubine Shu is very satisfied with the result, it does not mean that she can easily forgive the people who destroyed those orchids.
"Yang Manman, you are so brave. I don't know how I have offended you to make you so unhappy that you destroy my flowers!"
"Your Majesty, I don't have any, your humble servant, your humble servant..."
Yang Manman was so panicked that she stuttered and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Jiang Suining and the others must have done it on purpose. No wonder they suddenly brought some butterflies. It turned out to be for this purpose!
Seeing that she hadn't spoken yet, Concubine Shu's tone became even harsher.
"If you don't tell the truth, don't blame me for being rude. There are plenty of places in this palace that can pry open your mouth!"
Yang Manman was so frightened that her legs went limp and she fell to her knees. Just as she was hesitating whether to tell the truth, a report suddenly came from outside the palace gate.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is here."
Concubine Shu frowned. She didn't expect that Concubine Cheng would suddenly come over at this time. However, since she was already here, there was no reason to turn her away, not to mention that her status was higher than hers.
Seeing Concubine Cheng walking in from outside, Jiang Suining and the others immediately bowed, and Concubine Shu also stood up and bowed.
"Your Highness, I have met your Highness."
"Sister, you don't have to be so polite. I was not feeling well before, and I was afraid of disturbing your mood, so I didn't go to your birthday party. But I always felt bad in my heart, so I thought of coming to see you now. I hope I didn't disturb you?"
Concubine Cheng was wearing a purple palace dress with wide sleeves and trailing down to the ground. On the hem of her dress was a phoenix bird embroidered with colorful threads. She wore a gold and kingfisher hairpin on her head, and she looked dignified and elegant.
The other person is Xiao Yi's biological mother. She looks about four or five percent similar to Xiao Yi in her eyes and eyebrows. Although she is almost forty years old, she still looks very beautiful at first glance.
Shufei looked at Concubine Cheng's good complexion, which did not look like she was sick at all. Although she did not believe her reason for attending the birthday banquet, she did not expose her.
"Sister, you really have good intentions, but since you are not feeling well, you should rest well. I know your intentions."
Coming here at this time, who knows whether the other party wanted to celebrate his birthday or he was thinking that the emperor would be in his palace and deliberately showed up.
"It's good that you understand. I was afraid that my sister would misunderstand me." Concubine Cheng smiled softly and glanced at Yang Manman who was kneeling on the ground. "However, did I come at an untimely time? Did Miss Yang do something wrong to annoy my sister?"
The smile on Concubine Shu's face froze for a moment, but she smiled again the next moment.
"It's just that he was a little rude and arrogant in his words and didn't know the rules. It's just a small matter."
The fact that the lotus orchid was destroyed must not be let know by Concubine Cheng. Otherwise, if she complains to the emperor, all the prayers said tonight will be of no value.
"Since it is a trivial matter, then it is better not to punish her. After all, today is Sister Shufei's birthday. It is such a good day, don't ruin her mood because of a few words." Concubine Cheng said with a smile in her eyes.
Concubine Shu glanced at Yang Manman. Although she was unhappy, she decided to let her go for the time being after weighing the pros and cons.
"Since the Imperial Concubine has pleaded for you, I will not bother with you about what happened today. But you have to remember this: since you are in this palace, you must be careful with your words and actions, especially your mouth. You should know what to say and what not to say."
"Yes, I'll remember it!" Yang Manman said quickly, and her panicked heart finally heaved a sigh of relief. She raised her head and glanced at Concubine Cheng carefully.
"Okay, you all may leave. Today's birthday banquet is thanks to you. As I said before, I will reward you later." Concubine Shu waved her hand, signaling everyone to leave.
Jiang Suining and the others did not stay any longer and bowed and left together with Yang Manman.
After leaving Concubine Shu's palace, Yang Manman looked at Jiang Suining and the others fiercely.
"Singing the same tune, what a good trick!"
"If you hadn't destroyed those orchids, we wouldn't be able to do anything to you even if we had other means." Jiang Suining also looked at Yang Manman.
The reason for offering those butterflies was indeed to bring up the matter of Yang Manman destroying the orchids.
Those butterflies were not prepared in advance. Instead, when I went to the greenhouse to check on the orchids, I accidentally discovered that the asters and chrysanthemums in the greenhouse attracted a lot of butterflies. So I caught them temporarily when I was preparing the lotus lanterns.
As for accidentally opening the cage and releasing the butterfly, and the butterfly landing on Yang Manman's cuff, it was all arranged.
Yang Manman's sleeves were indeed stained with the scent of lotus orchids. She had confirmed this when she talked to Yang Manman by the lake. However, the scent alone was not enough to attract butterflies. The real reason was that when Yang Manman pulled her sleeves, she took the opportunity to smear on them the sugar water specially prepared to attract butterflies, which was also mixed with chrysanthemum nectar.
The sugar water had no odor, and the smell of chrysanthemum nectar was very faint, which could not cover the fragrance of the orchid. Therefore, even when the maidservant beside Concubine Shu checked her sleeves, she did not find it.
Lu Yan also spoke up: "That's right, you were the one who destroyed those lotus orchids first. How dare you say that we were playing tricks on you?"
The panic on Yang Manman's face had completely faded away. She looked back in the direction of Concubine Shu's palace, raised her chin and said, "Oh, so what if I destroyed it? I'm still safe and sound now!"
"Yang Manman, don't be so arrogant. If the imperial concubine hadn't suddenly arrived just now, do you think you could have escaped unscathed?" He Qingrui said unwillingly.
"No matter what the reason is, I have escaped safely now. What's the point of you going through so much trouble to do all that? What can you do to me?" Yang Manman said arrogantly.
Seeing this, He Qingrui was so angry that she wanted to go up and slap her, but this was in the palace after all, so it was impossible for her to do that.
Seeing Yang Manman leave arrogantly, He Qingrui couldn't help but grit her teeth, "She is really lucky!"
"Is it just luck?" Jiang Suining asked quietly.
Lu Yan looked at her, "Sui Ning, do you also think that the Imperial Concubine's coming here is just too coincidental?"
Jiang Suining nodded, "It's indeed too much of a coincidence."
When she was in Concubine Shu's palace, Yang Manman was obviously very frightened, but after seeing Concubine Cheng again, she seemed to relax a lot.
He has just come out, but he can say with such confidence that he is safe and sound, and he does not seem to be afraid that Concubine Shu will pursue the matter later.
Moreover, she had previously doubted how Yang Manman had the courage to destroy those orchids.
In addition, the maid who was guarding the palace suddenly left due to abdominal pain. If it wasn't a coincidence, it would be difficult for Yang Manman to do this alone...
All these things combined can only mean that there is someone behind Yang Manman directing her, and that person is most likely Concubine Cheng!