Chapter 262: The Truth Revealed 1

Although everything is fine in the south of the Yangtze River, heavy rains are frequent as summer approaches, and the annual floods are a headache.

Although he had left the palace, Xiao Jingheng was still concerned about state affairs.

He had no mood for sightseeing during this period, but instead went to various river embankments with Suzhou's Water Transport Bureau every day to inspect and discuss how to rebuild and reinforce them to minimize the losses caused by floods.

Therefore, during the time they came to Suzhou, the concubines just strolled around the city every day.

The people of Suzhou are devoted to Buddhism, and there are as many as 66 Buddhist temples, especially the Hanshan Temple outside the city. The Puming Pagoda inside the temple is said to be the bone pagoda of the Puming Patriarch, which is a Buddhist relic.

The Queen Mother was devoted to worshipping Buddha, so now that she was here, she certainly couldn't miss a place like this.

However, the empress dowager would spend most of the day in each temple to worship the Buddha. How could these young and beautiful concubines bear that?

Only Song Zhao did not complain throughout the whole process and served the empress dowager wholeheartedly, which made the empress dowager like her even more.

Now that she had arrived in Suzhou, she had come to Huipin's mother's home, so Huipin had fulfilled her duties as a good host.

Not only did he arrange for everyone to have good accommodation and good food, but he also gave everyone valuable gifts according to their preferences.

On this day, after all the concubines went to the Imperial Concubine's room to pay their respects,

As the crowd dispersed, Song Zhao saw that several more pimples had appeared on Concubine Yao's face.

The south of the Yangtze River is the first to experience summer, and as the area is humid, the skin is prone to oiliness. Concubine Yao carries a wet handkerchief with her and is always remembering to wipe off the oil stains on her face, which looks like she is working hard.

Song Zhao called her over, smiled and went over to her, saying in a very intimate way:

"We can leave the palace in time. The Fairy Jade Girl Powder from the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not been made yet. My sister's powder should have been used up, right?"

Yaopin was a little embarrassed. She raised her silk to cover the acne on her face and said, "It was enough in Kyoto, but it got humid in Suzhou. I had three acne a day, and now it's all gone."

"Sister, are you alienated from me?" Song Zhao pretended to be angry and said, "She said that we sisters should take care of each other, but she didn't tell me when she used up something in the palace."

Yaopin hurriedly said, "How dare I bother Concubine Yi with such a small matter?"

Song Zhao's face darkened, and he said unhappily, "If my sister continues to be so distant with me, I will be really angry."

Seeing that Concubine Yao was embarrassed, he smiled and took her hand.

"I was just joking with my sister. It's just that I entered the palace with my sister, but since I was made a concubine, my sister has rarely come to visit me, which is bound to make my sister sad."

Yaopin held Song Zhao's hand tightly and said, "It's not that I don't want to look for you. It's just that you gave birth to a son and are the head of the four concubines. If I go and bother you again, I'm afraid you will dislike me."

Song Zhao shook his head repeatedly, "It's not right to dislike anyone but my sister. I still have a lot of the Fairy Jade Girl Powder in my palace. If you don't mind, you can take it back and use it."

Hearing this, Concubine Yao's brows relaxed instantly and she couldn't help laughing:

"Thank you very much, sister. No wonder you still have so much left. Look at your natural beauty. Your skin is as good as a peeled egg. I'd be really envious if I saw it."

"How can there be so many naturally beautiful people?" Song Zhaojiao smiled and stroked her cheek. "Women are like flowers. No matter how delicate they are, they still need to pay attention to maintenance. Sister, please come to my place and I have some maintenance tips to share with you."

What Song Zhao said was exactly the treasure that Concubine Yao had been longing for.

She hurriedly followed Song Zhao to her room, took out the Fairy Jade Girl Powder, and followed her to learn the sutras, and felt that she benefited a lot.

As he was talking, a pendant on Concubine Yao's neck caught Song Zhao's attention.

She picked up the pendant and looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but praise it: "Sister, this jade pendant is very delicate. It looks like an icy jadeite?"

Yaopin smiled and said, "I don't often have such good things, but it's thanks to sister Huipin that I got them."

Song Zhao sighed, "That's right, we sisters don't have the good fortune that Huipin has."

She moved closer to Concubine Yao and lowered her voice slightly, "I heard from the emperor the other day that Suzhou was going to build a new river embankment, and Lord Wei also went with him when he was inspecting that day.

The man from the Water Transport Department had just finished speaking, and the Emperor hadn't spoken yet, but Lord Wei volunteered to pay 30,000 taels of silver from his own pocket, saying that he wanted to help the court solve problems and benefit the people of his family. My sister didn't see it, but when the Emperor talked about it, he was so happy. It shows that the mother's family is financially strong, which is also a kind of confidence for the concubines. "

"That requires reincarnation, and a great fortune like Huipin."

Yaopin smiled self-deprecatingly and shook her head, looking at her own reflection and feeling sorry for herself: "Now, I don't expect anything. My family has no money or power, so what can I dream of? I only hope to have a son or daughter, so that my life in the palace will be better in the future."

"Sister is very lucky. It is only a matter of time before she gives birth to an heir to the Emperor."

Song Zhao comforted her and then changed the subject lightly, "Hiss... Seeing that there is still a vacancy among the four concubines, and Huipin's mother's family is planning and supporting her like this, how long do you think it will take for her to be crowned as a concubine?"

Yaopin smiled bitterly and said, "After all, I am not that lucky. Huipin entered the palace with me, and she is worthy of the title of concubine."

As they were talking, Yunshan suddenly came in holding a pot of kumquats.

The green leaves of the potted plant are made of thin jade, and the orange fruits are made of pure gold. You can tell at a glance that they are of great value.

Yunshan placed it very carefully on the rosewood table in the main hall and said, "My Lady, this kumquat has been cleaned."

Song Zhao nodded in agreement, "Don't put it there, move it to the inner room. After all, it is a gift from Huipin, it would be bad if it got bumped."

Hearing this, Concubine Yao couldn't help but sigh: "She is really very generous."

Song Zhao smiled, "Sister Huipin is thoughtful. It's rude not to reciprocate. I also want to give her something. But the Wei family is not short of gold and silver jewelry. We are too embarrassed to give out our monthly allowance. I thought it would be better to prepare some food that Huipin likes, which would be considered as catering to her tastes and showing my appreciation."

After a pause, he held his chin and frowned slightly, "But when I think about it, I am also confused. I usually see that Sister Huipin likes to eat everything in the palace, as if she never refuses anything. I don't know what her favorite flavor is. Forget it, isn't this just in her home? When I have time later, I will go to Madam Wei to ask for information."

When Concubine Yao heard this, her eyes became empty for a moment. It seemed that she had taken Song Zhao's casual words to heart and was thinking about something.

Later, when Song Zhao was seeing Concubine Yao off, he kept saying that he would go find Madam Wei later.

But just as he reached the door, Yunshan hurriedly followed him out.

"My queen, the eldest prince is crying so hard that even the nurse can't stop him. Can you go and take a look?"

"Why are you suddenly making a fuss again? Weren't you fine just now?"

When Song Zhao heard that the child was not well, his expression immediately changed with nervousness.

Yaopin said hurriedly: "Then sister, go take care of the eldest prince first, I will go back first."

Song Zhao nodded in agreement and hurried to the side room.

But it was just a fake move, and he stopped after running only two steps.

Instead, he turned around to look at Concubine Yao's hurriedly departing back, his brows relaxed and he smiled silently.