"The weather is just right in April. This trip will probably take a month or two. Since Your Highness has summoned me, I will go." The main reason is that if she goes on the northern tour, she will probably see Yan Lingyun, and she still needs to see her father.

Shu Chengfeng probably knew what she was thinking, but he didn't say anything.

When the two of them are together, they talk about everything, both serious and not serious.

After drinking tea, Shu Chengfeng became less serious.

He held Yan Nangui in his arms and, through her thin clothes, gently squeezed her waist.

“Your Highness, in broad daylight, you don’t care about appearances at all. This is the courtyard.” Yan Nangui poked his chest.

Shu Chengfeng hugged her even tighter: "Is Tang'er so timid?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of trouble, but I just think this Consort Murong is no good. She kept you for three nights and still let you go hungry?" Yan Nangui said with a smile, covering her mouth.

"Is Tang'er jealous? It's not my fault." Shu Chengfeng pinched her waist again.

"Then you must have so many people in the manor every day," Yan Nangui said with a smile, softening her body and snuggling closer to him. "Your Highness has really had a hard time."

"You're so humble, but do you think everyone else can be like you?" Shu Chengfeng pinched her cheek.

"I was just joking. I do know that I'm not the best, but I'm not the worst either. I know Your Highness's good qualities, of course." Yan Nangui said, and kissed him on the cheek.

Shu Chengfeng seized the opportunity and turned her face towards him, kissing her directly.

You can't fool around in the courtyard, but if Shu Chengfeng picks you up and carries you inside, then you can fool around.

During dinner at Jiangyun Pavilion, after finishing her meal, Consort Murong served tea and asked, "Did Your Highness go to Jiyue Pavilion?"

"Yes, Liangyuan, I went this afternoon," Wanxia replied.

Wanxia was a maid assigned to the household, and her name was changed by Consort Murong.

The maid she brought with her was named Wuyu. She was here at that moment.

"I've been in the manor for a few days now. You two, tell me, what's it like here?" Murong Liangyuan said with a smile, her tone still gentle.

Wu Yu smiled and said, "This servant is foolish, and I'm sure you've already thought of what I was thinking. Why don't you ask Sister Wanxia to tell me?"

Murong Liangyuan smiled and nodded.

Wanxia hurriedly replied, "This servant is incompetent and knows little. I only know that the most favored person in this household was Consort Su before. Next was Consort Xia."

She cleverly said the first two words.

"Oh? Consort Su is alright, I've heard a bit about her. After all, she was summoned to the residence around the same time as the Crown Princess and Consort Ye. She was also someone His Highness brought back from the north. But this Consort Xia, she seems to be quite favored?"

"In my humble opinion, based on my observations during this year in this household, Consort Xia has spent roughly the same amount of time serving the emperor as Consort Su, though a few days less. But she is merely a Consort, her background is nothing special. Yet she can serve the emperor in such a way, which shows that she is still favored," Wanxia said.

“You’re right. Then… what about Consort Yan? With her background, she must be favored to have been able to establish herself in the household, right?” Murong asked.

“What Consort Liang says is true, but Consort Yan… compared to the other two, she hasn’t served the emperor much. As for how much favored she is, the prince hasn’t had many. But to say she’s not favored… that’s not entirely true. After all, just recently, she crippled Consort Ding, and His Highness didn’t say a word about punishing her. It was only the Crown Princess who gave her a token fine.”

"And before that, when she was sick, His Highness bestowed gifts upon her for three consecutive days. In fact, she has only been in the palace for four or five months, and His Highness has already bestowed gifts upon her several times. In winter, he also bestowed those precious flowers upon her several times."

"There was another time when Consort Ye caused trouble and the kitchen didn't supply her with anything. She went to the front courtyard to complain, and His Highness got angry and punished Steward Song in the back courtyard, directly promoting the deputy to the head, and the head became the deputy, and even got a beating."

"Oh? If that's the case, then Consort Yan is still favored," said Madam Murong.

"Well, how should I put it... Yan Liangyuan does have a certain background, after all. But don't worry, she... can't have children anymore. She ruined her health before. They say she had a miscarriage and suffered severe bleeding, almost losing her life." Wanxia said these last few sentences softly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Murong laughed. "But what am I worried about? She is a concubine, and so am I. It's not me who should be worried."

“You’re right, Lady Liangyuan. I misspoke,” Wanxia quickly replied.

"It's alright, we're just chatting. The weather's nice today, let's go for a walk." With that, he got up.

Wanxia hurriedly followed, but she didn't really think her master was that gentle.

After dinner at Jiyue Pavilion, Yan Nangui also pulled people out.

Carrying a lantern, they strolled into the pear blossom grove.

"Looking at flowers under this lamp is quite interesting." As a way to aid digestion, the sweet aroma seemed to intensify in the evening.

Shu Chengfeng walked with a rare relaxed pace, occasionally picking a flower and twirling it between his fingers.

"There's also a patch of pear blossoms in the palace." Shu Chengfeng smiled, took the lantern from her hand, and carried it himself.

When Yun offered to help, he simply waved his hand.

"Hmm, it seems there's a story behind these pear blossoms," Yan Nangui said.

“In the palace, there is a place called Feixue Pavilion. The ‘flying snow’ refers to pear blossom petals. It is said that this name was given by one of the late emperor’s favorite concubines. In previous years, the pear trees in front of Feixue Pavilion grew exceptionally well.”

"However, after a heavy rain, something unpleasant was revealed. Two wooden puppets, on which were clearly the birth dates of Empress Dowager Jiang and her youngest son. Over the years, it was unknown when they were buried there."

Yan Nangui chuckled, "As expected, there are many ghosts and monsters in this palace."

"What do you mean?" Shu Chengfeng asked as he led her by the hand.

"What else can I say? No matter how magical this thing is, it's just a piece of wood. Buried for so long, under a tree, how could it not rot? Even if the shape is still there, how can you still see the birth date and time? And it's exactly the same?" Yan Nangui shook his head.

"Even if it doesn't rain, the pear trees in the palace still need to be watered regularly. We can't let the ladies have withered trees in front of them, can we?"

"You're so smart, you understand without me even having to tell you," Shu Chengfeng smiled.

"However, naturally some people believed such a thing. Whether they were using it as an excuse or genuinely believed it, Empress Dowager Jiang did not believe it. She immediately ordered the thing to be burned, saying it was just a ploy to bewitch people. The palace conducted a thorough investigation, but to no avail. The matter was thus left unresolved," Shu Chengfeng said.

"I can only say that there are no simple people in the palace." Yan Nangui shook his head and sighed, "The struggles of the previous generation haven't completely ended yet, and this generation's are even more intense. What kind of struggles will there be once His Highness enters the palace?"