After leaving Zhangliu Palace, the further west you go, the quieter it becomes. The wind blows through the palace alleys, leaving behind a whirring sound that shows it has passed by here.
Covering the shivering cat with his sleeve, the King of Chen turned his head to look at Jiuzhu: "Little pig, are you cold?"
Jiuzhu shook her head: "The cloak that the queen prepared for me is very warm. Your Highness, it looks so desolate here."
Aunt Xiangjun never brought her here when she took her around the palace.
"The people living here are the concubines of the previous emperor." Prince Chen slowed down his pace. "Most of them are of low rank and have no children. They entered the palace when they were young and have only seen the emperor's face a few times in their lives."
He vaguely remembered that when he was very young, a palace maid who was only fifteen years old died in a well on the third day after being favored by the late emperor.
"According to the ancestral system, these concubines without children should be sent to the nunnery in Chong'an Prefecture to pray for the late emperor until they die." Prince Chen pointed to the high wall that separated the palace of the dowager concubines and said, "In fact, the life of an old dowager concubine who has no children, no favors, and no support from her natal family is worse than that of an ordinary person in a nunnery."
"Don't the people who sent them there know this?" Jiuzhu clutched her cloak tightly.
"So what if they know?" Prince Chen looked down at the kitten in his arms and said, "No one will care."
"Then why do these concubines stay in the palace now?" Jiuzhu asked curiously, and felt lucky for these concubines.
"It was my mother who decided to keep them here. To avoid being talked about, my mother even had a high wall built to separate the dowager's palace from the harem." At this point, Prince Chen suddenly laughed: "Do you know why my mother was scolded as a demon concubine by a civil official for the first time?"
Jiuzhu shook her head.
"It's because of this." Prince Chen smiled sarcastically, "Some ministers think that keeping these concubines to serve is against the ancestral system. My mother did not follow the ancestral law and is a demon concubine who is causing chaos in the harem."
"But the queen is helping these concubines."
Chong'an Prefecture is hundreds of kilometers away from the capital. These old concubines live in a nunnery, so even if they are bullied, no one will know.
The ministers who opposed the empress saw the ancestral rules, but the empress saw the women who could not decide their own destiny.
"In fact, there has never been a clear statement in the ancestral family precepts of the royal Yun family that concubines must be sent to a nunnery after the emperor's death." Prince Chen raised his chin proudly: "Back then, I accompanied my father and mother to review the Yun family rules and precepts three times. In the end, those ministers had to accept it with a pinch of their noses, and even praised my father for his filial piety."
Those ministers who lost the argument did not dare to scold the emperor, and could only say a few words behind his back, such as "Concubine Su was corrupting the emperor's heart."
"Wow." Jiuzhu looked at him in admiration: "Your Highness, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty are all amazing."
"Then..." She turned her head to look at the palace maids and eunuchs following behind her, moved closer to Prince Chen, and asked in a low voice: "My family didn't quarrel with you, did they?"
"Why do you think those ministers had to hold their noses and praise our father for his filial piety?" Prince Chen guessed what she was thinking and said with a smile, "This is also due to the contributions of the three adults of the Ming family."
"Tell me quickly, tell me quickly." Knowing that his family and His Highness were on the same side, Jiuzhu immediately perked up: "What did my father and uncles do?"
"The three masters of the Ming family found the list of officials who were awarded Xiaolian by Daqing, and found those officials who were praised for their kindness in supporting my stepmother." Prince Chen couldn't help laughing: "Especially your second uncle, he is eloquent and talented. After a verbal battle, he made those opposing officials speechless and almost burst into tears."
"Second uncle is so powerful." Jiuzhu heard from her mother that Second uncle is now the governor of Huaizhou and his family has moved to Huaizhou. The letters sent back by Second uncle are usually humorous and amiable. She couldn't imagine how such a Second uncle could scold the courtiers to tears.
"We're here." Prince Chen pointed to a closed red door and said, "Go through this door and you'll reach Jing'an Palace where the concubines live."
"Your Highness, please wait for a moment with the county lord." A young eunuch knocked on the door and soon someone came to open it. It was an elderly eunuch who saw the young eunuch and bowed to ask cautiously, "What can I do for you, young eunuch?"
"Eunuch, I was working in the Zhangliu Palace, and now I am serving His Royal Highness Prince Chen. I heard that an old concubine lost her cat, so His Royal Highness Prince Chen personally sent the cat here."
"Your Highness Prince Chen?" When the old eunuch heard the name Prince Chen, her expression was shocked and she hurried out to greet him: "I didn't know it was Prince Chen who came in person. I am sorry for not coming to greet him from afar. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"Don't be so polite, sir." Jiuzhuxu helped the old eunuch and said, "Please take us to see the old concubine."
"This is Ming County Lady, the daughter of Minister Ming." The young eunuch was afraid that the old eunuch would make fun of her because she didn't know her, so he reminded her quietly, "She is also the fiancée that His Majesty has chosen for His Royal Highness Prince Chen."
"Mr. Ming's daughter..." the old eunuch murmured in a low voice, looking at Jiuzhu with cloudy eyes: "The two nobles, please come in quickly, and follow me this way."
Stepping through the red painted wooden door, there is a large garden with a palace built on each of the three sides. The white-haired concubines sat together in groups of three or four, some were talking and chatting, while others were holding embroidery needles, slowly poking two stitches on the embroidery cloth, and tilting their heads to listen to what the other old sisters said.
Those who looked younger were discussing calligraphy and painting around the table. When they noticed outsiders coming in, their expressions suddenly became tense.
"Is he from the Palace Department?"
“No.”
"Do you want us to go...to Chong'an Prefecture?"
"Don't scare yourself. Look at their attire. It's obvious that some prince is with his..." The concubine paused and said, "That's not right. Why are they wearing girlish buns?"
Isn't she an unmarried girl?
"Don't make wild guesses. I saw the prince holding a cat in his arms. Didn't Sister Zhao from Jing'an Palace lose her cat? I think they are here to give Sister Zhao a cat."
"The cat was found?" A concubine breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great. Zhao cried all night last night and I couldn't sleep well."
"Say less, that prince looks familiar to me, maybe his Royal Highness Prince Chen." The embroidered concubine was not sure. So many years had passed, and the child at that time had already changed a lot.
"Your Highness Prince Chen..."
The chattering concubines quieted down. They all knew that without Concubine Su, they would not have the peaceful life they have now.
"There are three palaces here, Jing'an Palace, Ningkang Palace, and Fushou Palace." Prince Chen whispered to Jiuzhu, "Jing'an Palace is where several concubines live, and the other two palaces are where some old concubines of lower ranks live."
Jiuzhu noticed that there were cloth tigers, cloth rabbits and other things hanging on the trees in the yard. The stitches were not very fine. She thought that it was because the eyesight of these old people was not very good, so the stitches were a little crooked when they were sewn.
However, these toffees were all dressed neatly, had rosy complexions, and were healthy, and seemed to be leading a pretty good life.
She stood on tiptoe and touched the cloth tiger hanging from the branch with some curiosity.
"Does the girl like this?" an old voice sounded behind her.
Jiuzhu withdrew her hand, turned to look at the old lady who was speaking, and bowed to her.
"If you like it, take it away." The old lady walked up to her, her gray hair neatly combed. "I made these when I was bored."
"Thank you." Jiuzhu wanted to refuse, but seeing the expectation in the old man's eyes, she reached out and took the cat from Prince Chen's arms: "Your Highness, can you help me take it down?"
Prince Chen raised his eyebrows, looked at Jiuzhu who was only as tall as his chin, and reached out to pick up the little tiger.
"Meow." The kitten lay in Jiuzhu's arms and made a soft sound.
"Oh, this little thing." The old lady saw the cat and immediately laughed: "I asked someone to look for it all night and finally found it."
When the kitten heard its owner's voice, it lazily wagged its tail and turned its head towards the old toffee.
"It turns out to be your cat, Dowager Consort." Jiuzhu stroked the kitten's furry head and returned the cat to the Dowager Consort. "The cat's foot is injured. I have asked the imperial physician to check it out."
The eunuch of Zhangliu Palace brought out the medicine and said, "This is the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician. Change it every morning and evening."
"Thank you, young lady and Your Highness." The old concubine took the cat into her arms and put her face against its head. "Little thing, I told you not to run around, but you didn't listen and got hurt. It hurts so much. Let's see if you dare to run around next time. If you dare to run around again, I will not care about you anymore."
The old concubine said she didn't care, but her actions were extremely gentle, without even causing any injuries.
"Your Highness and Miss have worked hard to bring this little rascal back." The old concubine looked at the two of them gratefully and said, "Please come in and have some tea before leaving."
There was a hint of pleading in her tone, as if she was afraid they would refuse. Jiuzhu turned her head to look at the King, but did not agree immediately.
"Then I am sorry to bother you." The Prince of Chen placed the little tiger in Jiuzhu's hand, put one hand behind his back, and supported the old concubine's arm with the other hand awkwardly: "Let's go."
The old concubine looked at the young man's hand on her arm and smiled: "Except for the palace maids and eunuchs, there have been no other young people here for a long time."
As he walked into the inner hall, Jiuzhu smelled a faint scent of medicine.
"Is someone sick?" Prince Chen helped the concubine to sit down and looked around.
"We are all old, so it is inevitable that we have some headaches and fevers." The concubine said gratefully: "Fortunately, the noble concubine asked the Imperial Hospital to arrange for the imperial physician to check the pulse of us old ladies every five days, so we don't have any serious problems."
As she spoke, a nanny who was about forty or fifty years old came in with tea and snacks. She glanced at Prince Chen, lowered her waist even lower respectfully, and placed the tea and snacks on the table.
"If I am not mistaken, Your Highness should be the child of the Imperial Concubine, Yun Duqing?" The old concubine pointed to a plate of cakes on the table and said, "This tastes good, come and try it."
"Thank you, Concubine." Jiuzhu grabbed a piece of snack before the King of Chen, broke it in half, took two bites, and nodded with a smile: "It's delicious."
While chatting and laughing, she put the other half into Prince Chen's hand.
Prince Chen put half of the snack into his mouth. The taste was neither good nor bad, but it suited the old man's taste.
"Your Highness has a good name. He is a blessed person." The old concubine touched the kitten's head lovingly. The kitten meowed and soon fell asleep.
Jiuzhu looked at the man and the cat and smiled while eating snacks.
"What are you laughing at?" Prince Chen looked at her with a smile.
"I just think that His Highness and His Majesty are amazing." Jiuzhu looked at Prince Chen, her eyes curved into crescents with a smile.
How can there be such good, such nice people in the world?
Prince Chen raised his eyebrows and nodded: "Well, you have a good eye for this."
"Your Highness, I will be going home tomorrow." Jiuzhu's smile faded a little: "Mother wrote to say that the 28th of the following month is a good day. My uncle has asked someone to go to the Zhou family to propose marriage to Brother Fuliu."
"Then, after New Year's Eve, I'll ask my mother to pick you up."
Concubine Zhao looked at the two young men whose heads were almost touching each other and a kind smile appeared on her face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
