Chapter 16 Good Luck

Chen Kang'an was also lamenting his bad luck in his heart. He wondered which concubine in the harem had come up with such a vicious plan to harm Miss Lanwu. If His Majesty hadn't left someone by Miss Lanwu's side, something terrible would have really happened.

Thinking about this, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"The flower viewing banquet isn't over yet?" Suddenly, he heard His Majesty ask this question.

So he carefully replied, "Your Majesty, not yet."

Chu Mingheng stared at the empty table in front of him and said, "Go, take the things to Xu Garden and tell Consort Shu that I have a reward for her."

Chen Kang'an paused for a moment, then quickly agreed, but then asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, what is the reward?"

"Isn't this a flower viewing banquet? Go to Lin Heng's residence and pick out a good-looking tamarisk tree to send over."

The emperor's actions naturally had their own meaning, and although Chen Kang'an did not understand, he still made the preparations accordingly.

When Lin Hengshu delivered the potted tamarisk, a sudden realization flashed through his mind: it turned out that this was the tamarisk that His Majesty wanted to send.

The willow that was planted unintentionally.

Chen Kang'an arrived at Xu Garden with the tamarisk tree. When he arrived, the banquet was still going on. The concubines had drunk wine at the banquet. Although they were not drunk, many of them who could not hold their liquor stopped drinking.

When everyone saw Chen Kang'an coming, they all thought it was His Majesty coming and looked over curiously. But when they saw that Chen Kang'an was bringing things, their expectations were greatly disappointed.

Consort Shu glanced at the red silk-covered object being carried by the eunuchs behind Chen Kang'an, and then her eyes seemed to drift to Consort Rou, who remained silent to the side.

"This servant greets Your Highness the Princess and the two ladies."

Princess Yizhen looked at him curiously and asked, "Get up. Since your brother isn't coming, what brings you here?"

Chen Kang'an stood up, beaming as he bowed to the group and reported, "Your Highness, this servant is here on His Majesty's orders to deliver something to Consort Shu."

The expressions on the faces of the three people changed.

Princess Yizhen became even more curious and looked at Consort Shu with a smile: "So you're here to deliver something to Consort Shu. We can also come along and see what kind of good thing it is. We've made you come all this way."

Consort Shu was also somewhat surprised. She had been drinking, and her face flushed slightly upon hearing this. Her eyes were fixed on the object being carried by the eunuch.

Chen Kang'an instructed someone to lift the red silk, revealing the tamarisk bonsai inside, and said, "His Majesty said that Consort Shu put a lot of effort into organizing the flower appreciation banquet, and this tamarisk was specially selected by Lin Hengshu on His Majesty's orders."

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu rose from her seat and said to Chen Kang'an, "I hope you will return and inform His Majesty that I thank His Majesty for his kindness."

Then she went to see the exceptionally large tamarisk bonsai.

Consort Shu didn't actually like these bonsai trees, which weren't very vibrant and were even somewhat bland and uninteresting. But since they were a gift from His Majesty, she had to pretend to like them very much, even if she didn't like them.

"Why did Your Majesty send me such a bonsai? I always thought that only Consort Rou would like such a tranquil and elegant bonsai, but now that I see it, it seems that I like it very much too."

Consort Rou did not respond to her seemingly sarcastic remark, but instead looked at the potted tamarisk tree.

Not only was Consort Rou gazing at the tamarisk tree, but Consort Rong was also looking at it, seemingly quite fond of it as well.

The surrounding concubines offered their compliments, all saying that His Majesty favored Consort Shu and must be praising her for organizing such a wonderful flower-viewing banquet.

"It's not just well done. In my opinion, His Majesty must be concerned about the Empress's hard work. Although His Majesty didn't come in person, he still sent things to the Empress. He must be thinking of the Empress."

Hearing these words, Consort Shu felt pleased and even found Consort Rou more agreeable. However, she did not show it on her face, but simply smiled and said while fanning herself, "My sisters have all gone to great lengths. It is His Majesty's wish that we all live in harmony and happiness."

"However, if we're talking about favor, I think Consort Rong is the one His Majesty loves the most. I've heard that Consort Rong spends her days appreciating poetry and painting, and she has quite a leisurely and refined taste."

After these words were spoken, everyone stopped watching the dance and music and watched the spectacle cautiously.

Someone chimed in, "Yes, everyone says that Sister Rong is always clinging to His Majesty. I didn't know that. She spends all day writing and drawing, not in her own palace, but going so far away. You must say she has a refined taste."

Consort Rong's aloof nature destined her to suffer in the palace, but now is the time when she is favored.

For the past month, His Majesty has not entered the inner palace. Ordinary people do not even have the opportunity to see His Majesty. However, she is an exception and spends time with His Majesty every few days.

Although no one talks about it openly, everyone can see that Consort Rong deliberately reads poetry and paints in a place so far away from her palace just so she can occasionally bump into His Majesty.

She wants to win favor, and so do others, but it's not very effective. They can only feel annoyed in their hearts and further slander her for being hypocritical.

Consort Shu dared not utter a single word against His Majesty, for these words would only incite dissatisfaction among the people towards Consort Rong.

Consort Rong stepped forward, first kneeling and bowing to Consort Shu, then lowering her head and speaking slowly: "This concubine dares not speak of favor, but rather that this concubine thought the scenery of Biwei Lake was beautiful, so she went there several times. Sometimes, if she was lucky, she would exchange a few words with His Majesty, but it cannot compare to the honor and favor of Consort Shu."

"Good luck?" Consort Shu smiled and walked gently toward her. Her fan was embroidered with pearls, and she casually patted Consort Rong's face with the fan, the force was very light, as if she were playing with her.

"By the way, it was also a coincidence that Consort Rong was in Liuyuan last time. At that time, you also said that it was good luck to meet His Majesty."

After speaking, Consort Shu straightened up and slowly told her to get up: "I really don't know how the good fortune of the imperial family can come true just because you casually said something."

Upon hearing this, Consort Rong's face turned deathly pale. She immediately opened her mouth to say something, but before she could defend herself, Consort Shu stepped forward to help her up, smiling as she said:

"Don't take it to heart, Sister Rong. I was just mentioning it casually. You said you've been lucky, so I suppose you've always been lucky. I'm waiting to see what kind of good fortune you'll have in the future."

Although she spoke with a smile, her beautiful face, reflected in Rong Meiren's pupils, resembled a venomous snake.

Seeing this, Consort Rou spoke up softly to defuse the situation: "Sister Shufei, please don't frighten Sister Rong. Sister Rong's good fortune is naturally due to His Majesty's protection after she entered the palace, which is why she has recovered."

Consort Rong stiffly turned her gaze to Consort Rou, who had spoken up for her. When she met Consort Rou's gentle gaze, she lowered her eyes and said, "Yes."

Consort Shu did not insist on dwelling on this point, after all, they were still at the flower appreciation banquet, and Princess Yizhen was still watching.

She gave a soft, cold snort and returned to her seat.

Yi Zhen appeared calm as she watched them talk back and forth, but in reality, she found the scene even more exciting than the dance and music in the garden. She couldn't help but click her tongue a few times and sigh, "It's really lively!"