Seeing the eunuch's expression, Wan Jinlan raised a finger to his mouth.
She tiptoed, breathing lightly, and sat down opposite the stone table. Just as she was about to tease him with the petals of the four-season flowers in her hand, she saw him open his eyes and look straight at her.
The eunuch beside him tactfully stepped back a little.
Wan Jinlan said angrily, "Why did you wake up?"
Xiao Feng sat up straight, the laziness he had in his previous nap disappeared silently, and the look in his eyes became clearer.
He looked at her and found that compared to a few months ago, her facial features had grown a little more, her figure had become slimmer and more graceful, her appearance showed a kind of heroic beauty, and her phoenix eyes were like the finishing touch, making her anger more vivid.
"Is breakfast ready?" He spoke in a gentle tone and with a calm demeanor.
Wan Jinlan nodded and said with a smile: "Every time the Empress Dowager summons me to the palace, she always gives me time to have breakfast in her mansion."
"The long fish you brought back from Yangzhou is indeed delicious, without a trace of earthy smell, but the chefs in your mansion are not as good as the chefs in Yangzhou, and cannot make it taste like Yangzhou. But thank you, Your Highness, for still thinking of me."
She spoke frankly, her eyes sparkled, and a smile played on the corners of her lips. Xiao Feng suddenly wanted to pinch the flesh on her cheeks, and a silent warmth flowed in his heart.
"What kind of flowers and plants do you like? I'll have the craftsmen decorate the courtyard in advance, and I'll have someone send you the layout of the palace in a few days."
This was the first time that Xiao Feng wanted to renovate and decorate his own palace. In the past, although he was particular about details, he had never changed the layout of the palace. He was too lazy to bother with it. As long as it was neat and elegant, he would accept it.
But since they were going to get married, he should let her live comfortably in the palace.
"Like the prince, I enjoy the coolness of a place like this in the summer. A lotus pond and waterside pavilion in my mansion would be the best. As for my yard, I want to plant a pomegranate tree. When it blooms in the summer, the bright red flowers will bring joy to the eyes, and in the fall and winter, there will be pomegranate fruit to eat. I will also plant banana trees on both sides of the front porch. I love to listen to the sound of raindrops hitting the banana leaves when it rains..."
Wan Jinlan had thought about this question before, so he talked about it endlessly.
Xiao Feng listened carefully and took notes silently.
There seemed to be a silent understanding between the two, and Wan Jinlan enjoyed this feeling to some extent.
She had chosen her future husband herself, and she was currently very satisfied. Her mother had said that a marital relationship needed to be carefully cultivated, and since she and Xiao Feng hadn't yet married, maintaining their relationship in advance would ensure a more harmonious future.
Of course, if one day he wanted to take a concubine, she would just live her own life behind closed doors.
"Did Diandian come back with you?"
Xiao Feng nodded, "It's big in size, so I placed it on a farm outside Beijing to raise it."
"Uncle Emperor, may you be safe and sound."
Anyang came back from the rockery with a thin layer of sweat on his head.
"The Imperial Grandmother should send someone to call Sister Jinlan for dinner. We'll be heading back first. Imperial Uncle, do you want to come with us?"
Xiao Feng refused, "No, I still need to see His Majesty. You two go first."
Wan Jinlan shouted maliciously, "Goodbye, uncle."
Xiao Feng froze when he heard that.
Wan Jinlan picked up the round fan to cover her mouth, brushed her eyebrows with a smile, and left with Anyang who was trying to hold back his smile.
In Lai Zhaoyi's Chonghua Palace, Emperor Jian'an and Lai Zhaoyi sat at the top, while Prince Rui and the Eighth Princess sat below.
Emperor Jian'an, who was a strict father to his other sons, now softened his expression and praised, "Jing'er has grown up and knows how to make decisions with discretion."
Prince Rui Xiao Mingjing said ashamedly: "It's all because of my father's good teaching. It's just that my son is weak, and I still embarrassed my father."
When talking about yesterday, Xiao Mingjing felt some hatred.
When he left the palace, he was naturally accompanied by guards, but a playboy like Wang Quan was surrounded by just as many guards and servants as he was. He looked weak, but he had practiced martial arts, so he was actually not that weak. Compared with Wang Quan, who was strong and healthy and spent his days fighting cocks, riding horses, strolling the streets and causing trouble, he was far superior to Wang Quan. However, in a fight, fists and feet have no rules, so he was bound to get beaten, and that was also intentional on his part.
But he was a descendant of the royal family. Why did Wang Quan dare to attack him? He was just relying on his royal family background to be so arrogant. He was humiliated, so how could he not use this incident to gain some benefits for himself?
Although his father saw him seldom, he knew clearly that his father treated him differently from his sister and mother.
Lai Zhaoyi wiped her red eyes and said bitterly, "My two children and I have always been law-abiding. I never thought we would encounter such a disaster after leaving the palace. If Your Majesty had not intervened for me and my children, I and Jing'er would have died of grievance."
Emperor Jian'an held her hand tightly with pity, "I have wronged you over the years."
Lai Zhaoyi forced herself to hold back her tears and smiled, "As long as Your Majesty remembers me and my two children, I will not feel wronged."
"I ask for nothing else but Your Majesty's good health and that we, mother and child, remain safe and sound. As long as we are safe and sound, everything will be fine."
Emperor Jian'an looked at Concubine Lai with gentle eyes. In the whole palace, only Concubine Lai was sincere to him, unlike other concubines who all had something in mind.
"I have something else to do, so I can't stay any longer." Emperor Jian'an took two steps and looked at Xiao Mingjing with a solemn expression. "Jing'er, you are a prince. You must not be cowardly in the future. Otherwise, how can you shoulder such a heavy responsibility?"
Xiao Mingjing responded, "I'll remember this."
His expression was gloomy. Yesterday he attacked Wang Quan but did not hold back. He only put himself in a weak position in order to secure his position as the victim. He did not expect that his father would think he was cowardly.
Xiao Mingjing felt a little regretful, but he had always followed his mother's advice and lived in the palace with a frail and sickly image to reduce the attention of the queen and other concubines and princes. It seemed that his health would gradually get better in the future.
This farce in the palace ended with Wang Quan becoming a night-drinking servant in Prince Rui's mansion.
After receiving the news, Lord Wang, who had been kneeling outside the Taiji Palace for the entire morning, forced a smile just like the Queen.
Lord Wang didn't know whether he should be happy or not. Although his son's life was saved, his reputation was completely ruined. He would be laughed at for the rest of his life for doing this!
Not only that, he also had to prepare generous gifts for King Rui to thank him for his magnanimity.
Without mentioning the feelings of Queen Wang and the Wang family, Prince Shun, who planned this matter and watched the development of the situation, understood after hearing the whole process of the incident that the content of the secret letter he received two days ago was very likely to be true.
Looking back at the years when he and Prince An had been fighting, each faction had its own members who were defeated, and those who took up the vacant positions were mostly members of the royalist party.
He also secretly checked the Jingshifang records and carefully inquired about the spies planted in Taiji Palace. Finally, he concluded that Lai Zhaoyi was not the most favored concubine in the palace. Her favor was not as great as Wan Guifei, but on average, she came at least once every two months. Moreover, as long as the emperor turned over Lai Zhaoyi's card, he would go to Chonghua Palace in advance.
His father, the emperor, is really kind-hearted!
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