The next day was New Year's Eve.
As usual, the Harem Concubines were to accompany the Empress to Ningshou Palace to pay their respects.
However, the Empress was not in the palace at the moment.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager personally decreed that Noble Concubine Shih should undertake this task.
When the news reached the Harem, everyone was taken aback.
"Noble Concubine Shih?"
"Yes, Your Grace, it was the Empress Dowager herself who issued the oral decree!"
Xia Ruqing nodded thoughtfully.
She then turned to Sister Huang.
"It seems that there is no such precedent in the palace, is there?"
Sister Huang had been in the Harem for many years and knew the palace rules like the back of her hand.
But after furrowing her brow in thought, she bowed her head and said, "The ladies of the Harem only need to pay respects to the Empress and the Empress Dowager; there is no reason for them to pay respects to Noble Concubine Shih!"
