9. After drinking
◎My beautiful lady, do you want to fly up to the tree and become a phoenix?◎
Rong Qianyu carefully sipped the hot tea brought by the servant. She seemed calm, but something was happening in her mind. "What do you mean, Lady Liang?"
"Your Highness and I get along very well, and I'm always happy to talk to you. It wasn't easy for me to have a daughter, and I'm afraid I won't have the chance to give birth to an heir to the throne in the future."
"Why?"
Tan Lu lowered her eyes and said as if she had something to hide: "Your Highness, how do you think I got pregnant? The Crown Prince has someone else in his heart. How could this happen if it wasn't an accident?"
Rong Qianyu was silent for a long time. She didn't know what this concubine had experienced in the past, but seeing her hesitant and not knowing how to start, she couldn't help feeling surprised.
This made her even more confused about Fu Hua, and she became more curious about Cui. Who on earth was this person who could be so bewitching to him that he didn't even like such a smart and beautiful concubine.
Is she really as unbearable as Tan Lu said? If so, why did Fu Hua give her all his heart to the point that there was no room for other women in his heart, and he didn't even want to look at the child born by that woman.
It seems that it will be difficult to gain a foothold.
"I haven't asked for your maiden name yet?" Rong Qianyu asked.
"My humble name is Lu."
"Morning dew waiting to be dried by the sun?"
"The dew on the magnolia branches is heavy." Tan Lu said calmly.
Rong Qianyu is like an unwilling child. Although she knows the dangers are ahead, she still moves forward without hesitation. There may be a cliff ahead, but she still stubbornly moves forward.
Only when pushed to the limit and unable to breathe will one want to fight back. "But Liang Di still has a daughter after all. She is the crown prince's first child. Her status as the eldest daughter will be very noble in the future."
Tan Lu smiled, a hint of sadness in her helplessness, "Your Highness, you are also the eldest daughter. If a legitimate daughter is like this, what about a daughter born out of wedlock?"
Yes, she is also the eldest daughter, but what is her fate now?
With her mother dead, she was nothing more than a floating duckweed, adrift and at the mercy of others. If her mother were favored, if she were still alive, with someone to rely on, how could she have come here to marry?
It must be referring to a good marriage with an equal status, choosing a good man with both virtue and talent, and the two of them living a harmonious and smooth life. Thinking of this, her eyes, which had been bright, dimmed in an instant, "It seems that I am not the only one who is lonely in this palace."
Tan Lu's heart was clearly no longer with Fu Hua, and she tried to comfort her, saying, "Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince's legitimate wife. In the future, he will always show some courtesy to you for the sake of your motherland. As long as you don't make any mistakes, with the favor of the entire court and the Empress, even if the Crown Prince favors Cui, it won't matter."
"It seems that the prince is really loyal." Rong Qianyu sighed.
Tan Lu had a deep understanding of Fu Hua's loyalty. His loyalty would never be partial to irrelevant people.
"For Cui Shi, it's like this for you and me. It's no better than a fleeting romance. Your Highness should have understood and seen the truth sooner rather than later. Men, especially those from the imperial family, are the least worthy of expectation. If you have expectations of him, he can use them to completely control you."
Rong Qianyu knew what Tan Lu said, but she was still hoping for a lucky break.
"Who on earth is this Cui family that makes the prince so obsessed with her?"
Speaking of her, Tan Lu's originally friendly expression suddenly changed. "Her family name is Cui, and her given name is Rumei. Her family is a declining branch of the Bo Ling Cui family. After suffering a disaster, she became a prostitute, wearing cosmetics and having a playboyish air. Princess, you know that even the most popular singer in the Qingyin troupe is not just selling her art but her body."
Hearing her say this, Rong Qianyu felt deeply moved. She didn't expect that her life experience was so miserable.
She has been living under the care of others since she was a child. Her mother died when she was young, which made her somewhat resentful, cautious and worried.
"The Empress is such a generous mother-in-law. If she really had a miserable life, she wouldn't have treated her harshly and would have raised her well to make her son happy. But she just isn't a well-behaved person, so the Empress has never liked her. But the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince now, what about the future?"
"Does Liang Di hate her so much?"
Tan Lu suddenly laughed, her eyes full of disdain for her. "A lowly, singing and laughing person like this is the same as a person like this. It's a disgrace to the royal palace. She is not a good person to begin with. We will see each other every day in the future. Seeing her currying favor with me, won't I be angry?"
"Didn't Liang Di tell me too much? Why do you think I would be hesitant?"
"Your Highness, you and I both know this. If you didn't care, why would you go to see Master Xue?"
Rong Qianyu didn't say anything, but she felt that she was clearly seen by her.
Tan Lu said a lot, and her words and deeds were meant to make her face the facts, but it didn't sound like a provocation, but more like an exhortation.
It is easy to say "stop loss in time", but it is not easy for those in the situation to extricate themselves.
"It's getting late. Shu'er should get up now. Having a daughter can only guarantee a few years of wealth and honor, but whether she will be loved by her father is still unknown. The princess is very righteous. She left her hometown for her motherland. She must want more than just wealth and honor."
Rong Qianyu also thought about what she said to her. At that time, Fu Hua stayed alone in the East Palace drinking. He had been unhappy for the past few days. He had always been arbitrary and no one had ever dared to refuse his favor like this.
Thinking of Rong Qianyu's reluctant look that day, he was so angry that he drank two more glasses of wine.
He also recalled his mother's earnest advice that day. Xue Jiming had always been a man of few words, but that day he came forward to guarantee his position for the first time.
Why should he help for no reason? Bai Yi had explained it to him that day, but he never believed it.
"Qianyu has already told me about this. She was so weak before that day that she couldn't even get out of bed. She had been trying to correct it for many days. In order not to delay, she had to set off. She encountered bandits and it rained. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep. It wasn't like we were sleeping next to each other."
"Does the Queen Mother believe it too?"
"She has no one to rely on in Rong State. Don't push her too far. Go to Weixuan Hall today and have dinner with her. Apologize to her and spend some time with her. After all, she will be your future queen."
He felt a little shaken, and then he thought of the day of the banquet and Xue Jiming's behavior, and became angry again.
"How will Jiming provide a guarantee?"
"I guarantee it with my head!"
"Don't act so pitiful, as if I'm bullying you."
"Then I'll switch to flour next time. I'm new here and don't understand a lot of things. I won't do that next time."
"Who are you trying to impress by doing this?"
Looking back, Fu Hua wondered if he was overthinking it and was being too harsh on Rong Qianyu.
Just as he was struggling with this, a voice told him that Rong Qianyu was just pretending to be weak to gain sympathy. People from such poor and remote areas just loved to curry favor with the powerful, so he must not be treated kindly to her.
Another voice said that she was so compromising and made those cakes herself. It was unintentional that she didn't know that she couldn't eat buckwheat. There was no need to embarrass her like this.
But he was unwilling to bow his head first, so the two of them could only stay like that. Thinking of this, he picked up the wine jug and drank the remaining liquor in the room.
He lay dazed on the table. In his daze, a palace maid leaned over and took the wine jug from his hand.
She patted Fu Hua's arm gently and said, "Your Highness, please stop drinking. It might hurt your body."
He must have been drunk, his eyes were blurry, and he kept muttering, "Who the hell is she? How dare she challenge me?"
"Are you talking about Her Royal Highness, Prince? In fact, Her Royal Highness made the mistake unintentionally and she was not aware of it."
Fu Hua continued drinking, one glass after another, trying to get himself drunk.
"I don't know. I'm afraid Xue Jiming told her everything. She's pretending to be innocent." When the wine jug was full, he searched around again and found a new jug of wine and continued drinking.
The palace maid kindly advised, "Don't drink, Prince. Excessive drinking is harmful to your health."
"You say she is a princess who is married to a foreign country. How dare she look down on me? What gives her the right?"
"A servant dare not discuss the master's affairs."
Fu Hua was quite generous. He waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Hey, I promise you that!"
The palace maid didn't dare to speak, but just stood silently by the side, motionless like a piece of wood.
Fu Hua raised his head and looked at the palace maid's red face. "What's your name?"
"My name is Liu Chunyan." The palace maid replied.
Fu Hua reached out and held her hand. "You are very pretty, much more pleasing to the eye than that woman."
"Your Highness, you are too kind. How can this servant compare to Her Royal Highness the Princess? I will go get him some hangover soup!"
After saying that, she pulled her hand away and tried to walk out.
"Stop!" Fu Hua stood up tremblingly, walked behind her, put his arms around her waist, and held her tightly in front of him.
Liu Chunyan was frightened and her whole body tensed up. The wine jug in her hand fell to the ground, and the wine spilled all over the floor, emitting a strong aroma of wine.
Fu Hua turned her over, gently lifted her delicate chin with his slender fingers, and looked at her with a deep gaze. "She doesn't want to accept my favor. Why don't you take her place, my beautiful lady? Do you want to fly high and become a phoenix?"
She was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly knelt down and begged for mercy, knocking her head loudly. "My humble body is not worthy of this. I beg Your Highness to spare me!"
Fu Hua was not happy. He squatted down and gently wiped her tears. "Isn't it a blessing from heaven to enter the palace as a concubine? Why, I am willing to love you, don't you want it?"
"Your Highness, please let go. Your Highness, please spare my life!" Liu Chunyan sensed the man's strong aura of conquest. He held her wrist tightly, preventing her from struggling.
Fu Hua easily controlled the person, holding her tightly in his arms, and whispered in her ear: "I will give you two choices. Either shut up or I will preserve your reputation for loyalty and filial piety right now." At the end, he did not forget to give her a lingering kiss on the earlobe.
Liu Chunyan was just a tea-serving maid in the East Palace. Her master wanted her, and whether he was willing or not was not something she could control.
What's more, the person opposite her is the prince. Perhaps she should be grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be favored by him, but how many women are willing to be imprisoned in the palace for the rest of their lives?
The man's breath rose and fell in front of her, and his clothes were taken off one by one. Although it was early winter, it was more vibrant than in spring.
Her skin was cold and smelled of alcohol. Fu Hua picked her up sideways, walked in step by step, put her on the bed, and slowly kissed the corner of her lips.
Liu Chunyan trembled silently, letting the man touch her all over her body, tears in her eyes, and she did not dare to resist.
He touched her tear-stained face and said with a foolish smile, "How wonderful! Your crying made my heart melt. Who the hell does Rong Qianyu think she is? How dare she show me such a disrespect?" The eunuch outside the door heard the woman's fluctuating breathing and closed the door tactfully.
As the sun sets, sparrows return to their nests; as dark clouds linger, the beauty weeps.
Yunzhi entered the room and reported, "Liang Di, the East Palace has closed the door."
Tan Lu was holding Shu'er and feeding her, and she deliberately said in a loud voice: "Shu'er hasn't seen her father for a long time. Go and tell the Queen that the princess misses her father. Let's go to the East Palace together to have some fun and get rid of the bad smell."
Yunzhi hesitated, "It's almost dusk now..."
"Just go." Tan Lu suddenly stopped her again, "Also, go and invite Her Royal Highness the Princess in half an hour. Tell her that the Queen is with the Crown Prince and needs her urgently."
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