Chapter 137: Assisting Concubine Ning

Song Shicheng caused such a big disaster in Henan.

Xiao Jingheng immediately ordered the deputy commander of the Henan Army to arrest him and bring him back to Beijing for trial.

Today was supposed to be the day when Song Shicheng arrived in Beijing, but Ma Qianzu sent back news.

It is said that when they were passing Yunshan Road, falling rocks startled Song Shicheng's carriage, and he fell off the carriage and fell into a coma.

The accompanying military doctor said that forcing the journey might delay Song Shicheng's treatment.

So the vanguard rushed back to the palace at an accelerated speed of 800 miles to ask Xiao Jingheng's opinion.

Song Shicheng had made a big mistake and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. He had no chance of survival.

Xiao Jingheng didn't care about his life or death, but he cared about Song Zhao's feelings.

After all, Song Shicheng is the only relative she has left in this world.

So he said, "I want to see him alive, not his corpse. Have someone look after him and cure his illness first, then bring him back to the capital to report."

Later, this matter was passed on to Song Zhao by the mouth of Xiao Yinzi in front of the emperor.

Song Zhao knew, of course, that Xiao Jingheng had deliberately "leaked the news" to let her know.

To show how much he, the emperor, doted on her.

Song Zhao was deeply moved. When he was about to go to the emperor to express his gratitude in person, he met Concubine Yao at the door.

Concubine Yao had a big smile on her face, and was whispering something to her personal maid Fu'er.

She looked up and saw Song Zhao, then waved and asked, "Where are you going?"

Song Zhaofu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, my father had an accident on his way back to Beijing from Henan. The emperor allowed him to stay in Henan to recover before returning. I am going to Chaoyang Palace to thank the emperor for his grace."

Yaopin waved her hand and said, "Don't make a wasted trip. The emperor is now in the Empress's palace, and I just came back from there."

She took Song Zhao's hand and couldn't help laughing and said, "I just heard a strange story, which made me very happy."

Song Zhao showed great interest in what Yaopin said, and asked with a smile, "What is it that makes Her Majesty so happy?"

"Noble Lady Xiao is pregnant. The Emperor went to visit her today and wanted to have a meal in her palace. But she is sick for some reason and insisted that she needs to take a bath first and asked the Emperor to wait for her for a while. Hahaha~~~"

Yaopin laughed so hard that her shoulders trembled. Yang Juan pressed the loose powder on the tip of her nose and continued, "How could she have taken half an hour to wash? How could the emperor have the patience to wait for her? So, she turned around and went to the Empress.

Haha, tell me, her belly is already four months pregnant, and the emperor can't do anything to her, what is she expecting by washing herself so clean? Aren't you ashamed as an adult?"

After listening to this, Song Zhao did not think it was funny.

But he still smiled perfunctorily along with Concubine Yao.

Compared to laughing at Concubine Xiao, Song Zhao was actually very confused.

She had known for a long time that Concubine Xiao loved cleanliness. There was an incident in the past when she went to visit Concubine Xiao, but she was driven away by Concubine Xiao on the pretext of taking a bath.

But now it was Xiao Jingheng who went to see her,

She was never favored in the first place, and it was not easy for Xiao Jingheng to come to her palace once, so she should seize this opportunity, right?

How much time would it take for her to eat a meal? Why did she choose this time to go take a bath?

When they paid respects to the Queen the next day, the concubines couldn't help but tease Concubine Xiao about this matter.

They said she was a "water fairy" or a "mermaid beauty". In short, they picked out whatever words that were offensive to their ears.

Concubine Xiao did not dare to retort, she just sat in her seat with her head down.

Song Zhao was close to her and saw her tears dripping onto her aquamarine shirt like beads from a broken string. She looked extremely aggrieved.

After the greetings were over, Song Zhao walked with Concubine Xiao for a while.

On the way, I asked her, "Sister, have you encountered any difficulties? If you don't trust others, you can tell me. More people always give you more ideas."

Lady Xiao said, "No, nothing. I don't care what they say about me!"

She protected her belly and said firmly, "When I give birth to this baby safely, if I can deliver it before the queen, it will be your son! Then I will be the mother of your son, and I wonder who dares to laugh at me!"

After saying this, he unknowingly quickened his pace, leaving Song Zhao far behind.

Song Zhao noticed something was wrong, but she was never one to meddle in other people's business.

Since Concubine Xiao was unwilling to reveal it, she simply decided not to pursue the matter any further.

The days in the palace passed quickly, and fifteen was over in a flash.

There hasn't been any good news from the palace recently.

There was one in the previous dynasty.

All the Java sparrows in Henan were caught by Song Shicheng, and the person who took the initiative to clean up the mess for him was Ning Fei's father Ning Baichuan.

He ordered his men to capture thirty-six cartloads of sparrows from all over the country, and asked Ning Xiuqi, the elder brother of Concubine Ning, to personally transport them to Henan.

This has eliminated the hidden danger of locust plagues in Henan Province in summer.

Xiao Jingheng was very happy about this, and during the morning court today, he specially praised the Ning father and son.

Song Zhao knew very well:

On the one hand, Concubine Ning's favor stems from Xiao Jingheng's love for her.

On the other hand, it was because each member of her mother's family was a close minister in the previous dynasty.

After this incident, I'm afraid Concubine Ning will regain favor soon.

She thought that instead of letting Xiao Jingheng take the initiative to restore Concubine Ning's position, it would be better for her to add fuel to the fire and do Concubine Ning a favor.

As I was thinking about this,

Yunshan ran in happily.

"My Lord, look~"

Song Zhao raised his eyes and saw that she was holding a few magnolias in her hands.

The flowers are pale purple and have a rich fragrance, which is quite beautiful.

Yunshan said: "Last year was a warm winter, but I didn't expect it to be an early spring this year. The magnolia, which used to bloom in February, is blooming now. Looking from Guangyang Gate, the whole corridor is purple! It's so beautiful!"

Song Zhao took the magnolia, stroked the petals with his soft fingers, and said with a smile:

"People who like it are lucky, and naturally the flowers will bloom beautifully. I haven't been to Yonghe Palace since the first day of the new year. Go to Guangyang Gate to pick some more magnolias, make a bouquet, and come with me to see Concubine Ning."

Concubine Ning likes magnolia flowers the most.

Of course, she was the first person in the palace to know that the magnolia flowers had bloomed.

When Song Zhao went to visit Concubine Ning with a bouquet of flowers, the entire Yonghe Palace was already decorated with these flowers.

Song Zhao smiled awkwardly, "I thought Your Majesty would like it, so I picked it specially for you. But now it seems redundant."

"Now that you're here, why are you saying these hypocritical words?" Concubine Ning winked at the palace maid beside her, and after accepting Song Zhao's bouquet, she asked her to stand up. "The Queen Mother wants you to kill your elder sister. You can't even raise your eyes to kill a chicken, so this is really difficult for you. The Emperor has promised that you can rest and don't need to go to pay respects to the Queen. Why did you come to me today?"

Song Zhao looked respectful and knelt down again, "Lord Ning solved the hidden disaster of the locust plague, which can be regarded as making up for the mistake of my father. I am grateful for your kindness, so even though I am sick, I have to thank you."

Hearing this, Concubine Ning was obviously stunned for a moment.

She never cared about Song Shicheng's life or death.

Although Song Shicheng was attached to the Ning family, he was just an abandoned child.

Her father and brother searched all over the country for sparrows to support Henan, just to gain merit in front of the emperor and to gain face in front of Xiao Jingheng. What does it have to do with him, Song Shicheng?

However, since Song Zhao attributed the credit to her, Concubine Ning calmly accepted it.

"You are smart. You know that I am the one who is supporting you from behind. I have told you that if you follow me, I will protect you.

I speak every word with every syllable, unlike the Queen who is sweet-mouthed but treacherous, and speaks like a fake, which is disgusting."