Chapter 360: Prince Ning is extremely stable
Princess Duan Hui...
His Majesty and His Royal Highness actually bestowed upon her the title of Princess!
"Congratulations, my lady."
Li Zongguan's congratulations brought Jiang Rumin back to her senses. She quickly raised her hands to receive the imperial edict, "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace."
"Princess, your mansion has begun construction. Someone will inform you when it is completed. I have to return to the palace to serve His Majesty, so I will take my leave now."
"Manager Li, take care."
After Manager Li left, Jiang Rumin heard the cheers of the crowd.
She also raised the corners of her lips and looked down at the imperial edict in her hand with joy. At first glance, she found that the handwriting of this imperial edict was different from the previous imperial edict of reward, and it did not seem to be written by the emperor himself.
Could it be that...
Well, never mind. Some things don’t need to be pondered.
On the other side, in the Chaohe Hall—
The old ministers could not hide their excitement when they saw Jun Li Luo, who had not appeared for several days.
Your Majesty has finally come to court in person.
Although His Majesty's face was still a little pale and he didn't say much, at least they could see him sitting there safely, which was much better than just looking at Song Yunchu alone.
"I have been feeling unwell these past few days. I am grateful that Prince Ning is here to discuss government affairs with you. Otherwise, I am afraid that a lot of things would have been delayed... ahem!"
Seeing Jun Li Luo coughing as he spoke, a minister spoke with great concern, "Your Majesty, your current condition...what does the imperial physician say?"
"Envoy Lin said that I am still anxious and have a cough, so it is not appropriate to talk too much."
Jun Liluo coughed again, then took the warm water from Song Yunchu. "Prince Ning came to take care of me after the court session these days, and told me what you discussed. I think she is very prudent. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty is right."
"Prince Ning has assisted Your Majesty for a long time, so there is naturally nothing wrong with him."
"Your Majesty has always been wise, and we, the ministers, will trust those whom Your Majesty approves."
Gong Mingyuan, Minister Xin and others began to speak in agreement.
A relieved smile appeared on Jun Liluo's face, and then he glanced in the direction of Master Chen.
Mr. Chen and others didn't say anything more.
Your Majesty is obviously not fully recovered yet. If they say something disobedient to Your Majesty at this time, wouldn't it be foolish?
Besides, there wasn't anything they could find fault with Prince Ning these days.
After attending court, they have to go back to report to the emperor. In the eyes of most people, this is quite diligent and responsible. What they do now is not more than her. It is indeed difficult to target her before catching her handle.
Jun Liluo naturally did not expect the old ministers to praise Song Yunchu, as long as they did not go against him, it would be good enough.
After the court was dismissed, Song Yunchu and Jun Liluo went to the imperial study.
As soon as the two of them sat down, a palace servant came in and reported, "Your Majesty, Scholar Ye wants to see you."
"Ask him what's the important matter. If he's just visiting a patient, forget it."
The palace servant left and returned soon, "Your Majesty, Scholar Ye said that today is Concubine Zhen's birthday. Can you allow Madam Ye to come to the palace to celebrate Concubine Zhen's birthday?"
Such a request was not excessive, so Jun Liluo responded, "Okay."
I still remember that when my father was alive, he would hold grand banquets for the birthdays of his favored concubines, and it was very lively.
By his generation, let alone holding a banquet, if no one reminded him, he would not be able to remember which concubine had a birthday, and most of the concubines probably could not remember him either.
This saved the palace a lot of money.
…
The elegant bedroom was filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Concubine Li was concentrating on embroidering the peony in front of her when she suddenly heard a "hissing" sound beside her. She turned around and saw that it was Concubine Zhen who accidentally pricked her finger.
"Hey, how did you prick yourself and make it bleed? Hurry up and get some medicine to rub it on."
"It's just a prick. It's nothing serious."
"You seem to be in a bad mood recently. Are you still thinking about Sister Defei?" Li Fei sighed. "I also think of her from time to time, but I think... she is such a gentle person. She must hope that those of us who are still alive can live well. You should be more open-minded."
"Yes, my cousin has always loved me, and she definitely doesn't want me to be sad for her all the time."
Concubine Zhen murmured, turning her head to glance at Concubine Li, "I used to dislike you the most, but I didn't expect that it would be you who would accompany me to the end..."
"Then you must not have any opinions about me in the future, otherwise no one will want to play with you."
As Concubine Li spoke, she took out a purse from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Concubine Zhen, "This is a birthday gift for you."
Concubine Zhen was stunned at first, then a trace of joy flashed in her eyes, "You remember my birthday?"
Li Fei smiled and said, "I remember all three of you. If you don't even have this kind of memory, what's the point of playing cards with me? Don't you know my birthday?"
"Of course I know, December 13th! I just didn't expect that I always found fault with you in the past, but you actually..."
"Okay, okay, open it and see if you like it. I made this for you myself."
Zhen Fei quickly lowered her head, opened her purse, and took out the red agate bracelet inside.
This bracelet is made of red rope and eighteen agates. The weaving craftsmanship is extremely fine and the length can be adjusted according to the wrist.
The number of eighteen also symbolizes the eighteenth year that she has been in this world.
"It's so beautiful, I like it!" Zhenfei smiled and immediately put the agate bracelet on her wrist.
"I'll make you a nice meal later." Concubine Li said, "I haven't cooked for a long time since I played cards with you guys."
Zhen Fei's face lit up with joy. Just as she was about to reply, she heard the palace maid come to report:
"Your Majesty, Madam and Scholar Ye are here to visit you! I believe they have asked for His Majesty's permission to come and celebrate your birthday."
When she heard that her mother had also come, the joy on Zhenfei's face quickly faded and her expression became a little stiff.
I still remember that when my mother saw her at the end of last month, she kept asking her to give birth to children for His Majesty, saying that she had been in the palace for quite some time and could not be without any progress.
She told her mother that the emperor had no interest in anyone in the harem, and she really didn't want to flatter him. She hoped her mother would understand her, but her mother said she was naive and ignorant, and they parted unhappily.
Today is her birthday, her mother can't bring up anything that makes her unhappy, right?
"Your mother and elder brother are here, so I'll go back first." Concubine Li stood up and said, "It's rare for them to be with you, so you should have a good talk with them. Anyway, we can see each other anytime."
After Concubine Li left, Ye Fengmian and Madam Ye were led into the bedroom by palace servants.
In order to celebrate her daughter's birthday today, Mrs. Ye wore an orange dress, which was festive yet dignified. Her thick black hair was carefully combed and decorated with an exquisite kingfisher pearl hairpin and tasseled gold hairpin, making her look elegant and luxurious at first glance.
"Zhen'er, I made two boxes of your favorite snacks. You haven't eaten them for a long time, right? Come and try them."
Looking at the food box in Mrs. Ye's hand, Zhenfei also smiled.
"It's rare for mother to come to the palace to see me. I will definitely eat all the snacks you made."
As she spoke, she opened the food box, took out a piece of her favorite lotus cake and put it into her mouth.
"You've lost weight recently. Eat more."
Madam Ye smiled gently at Concubine Zhen, and after she had eaten a few pieces of dessert, she asked her, "I heard from your elder brother that His Majesty is ill and looked a little weak when he attended court today. His Majesty refused to be visited by officials, so your elder brother doesn't know much about His Majesty's condition. As a concubine, don't you know anything about it?"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhen paused while eating her snacks, and then said, "I'm afraid only Prince Ning and Chief Steward Li know the exact state of your Majesty's health. Mother asked me the wrong person."
Seeing her daughter's indifferent attitude, Madam Ye frowned slightly, "Your Majesty is ill, and Prince Bingjian is acting as the governor. How can you not be anxious about such a thing? Although Prince Ning has not been crowned as the queen, she has always monopolized Your Majesty. Now Your Majesty even dares to let her control the government. Do you know what this means to you concubines?"
"Mother, you don't need to worry about me." Concubine Zhen remained calm and said in a neutral tone, "Prince Ning's opponent is in the court. She should be very happy competing with those old ministers. We concubines are insignificant to her. As long as we don't take the initiative to provoke her, she should take good care of us."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ye frowned even tighter, "What are you talking about?"
"Tell me the truth. Mother, you don't think that I can get promoted just by flattering others, right? If this trick really works, do you still need me to remind you? I don't quite understand. My father is a general in the court, and my brother is the youngest scholar in the court. They have earned enough glory for our Ye family. What else do I need to fight for?"
"Do you think you can live a peaceful life without fighting or competing?!" Madam Ye stood up angrily. "I say you are naive, but you still don't believe me! You are too young and haven't experienced any storms. Do you know that I suffered a lot because I was too content? I have told you more than once not to be a fish that can be slaughtered at will. Do you think I am only thinking about the Ye family? I am also thinking about you! You don't have the emperor's favor and you don't have children. How will others laugh at you?"
"Prince Ning doesn't hurt you now because she is not yet firmly seated in the position of the King of Side by Side. She doesn't want to be criticized, so she treats you concubines well for the time being. When her position is stable one day, your life and death will only be a matter of her words! Think about it yourself, if you have the ability to decide everything, would you keep the woman who served your husband? Is it better to keep her as an eyesore, or is it better to turn a blind eye?"
Madam Ye was shaking with anger as she spoke. "While she is still on guard against you, you should find a way to deal with her as soon as possible. Do you really want to gamble her life on your soft heart?"
"She's soft-hearted, so we don't have to gamble at all."
Concubine Zhen looked at her mother in front of her, her eyebrows full of helplessness, "Mother, you use your own experience in the harem to over-criticize a woman you don't know at all. Don't you think it's a bit absurd? Yes, I know you have suffered before, and there are women who love your father who have hurt you, but not all women in this world have inexplicable jealousy. At least Prince Ning is not that kind of person."
"When I first entered the palace, I also thought about striving to rise to the top, but even if I had great abilities, it would be boring to face a pool of stagnant water for a long time."
"Dead water?" Mrs. Ye's eyes widened. She obviously didn't expect her daughter to dare to use such a word to describe the king of a country.
"Yes, Your Majesty is like a pool of stagnant water in my eyes, not as lively as the fish in the pond."
"I know it's presumptuous to say this, but this is what I really think. Since you guys won't tell anyone, I'm not afraid to tell you."
"You!" Mrs. Ye's face turned pale. When Ye Fengmian saw her pointing at Concubine Zhen, he knew that she wanted to tame someone again, so he took a big step and stood between the two of them.
"Mother, Zhen'er has made your words clear enough, and we all know your concerns. Please forgive me for not agreeing with you this time. Like Zhen'er, I believe in the heart of King Ning."
"We know how hard it has been for you over the years, and Zhen'er also understands that you are thinking about her, but we have eyes and can see things clearly. We also have a scale in our hearts and know our own weight. Even my father can't do anything to Prince Ning, so why do you pin your hopes on Zhen'er?"
"I heard that on the day when cousin Alan passed away, my uncle and aunt burst into tears. My uncle regretted that he had been too harsh on my cousin, not knowing that she had already suffered from depression. Mother would not want Zhen'er to become a depressed person in the future, right?"
Mrs. Ye opened her mouth, but didn't know how to refute the brother and sister.
Was she wrong to use her many years of experience to advise them?
The three of them were in a stalemate when they heard the palace maid come to announce: "Madam, General Zheng is here."
The General Zheng mentioned by the palace maid is the Concubine Shu who has already left the harem.
Concubine Zhen quickly calmed down and said to the palace maid, "Please invite her in."
When Zheng Qingshu entered the palace, he saw that Concubine Zhen's family was also there, so he smiled and went forward to greet them, "Mrs. Ye, Scholar Ye."
After her identity as a secret guard was exposed during her southern tour, she was granted the title of General Dingyuan, a fifth-rank position, upon her return to the court.
She originally only had a code name but no real name. Because she had been pretending to be the daughter of Master Zheng, she took Master Zheng's last name. The name Qingshu was given to her by Master Zheng.
"General Zheng has arrived just in time. My mother and I have already celebrated the birthday of Concubine Zhen. It's rare that General Zheng has time to come back and visit Concubine Zhen. He should have more personal conversations. We'll leave now."
As Mr. Ye spoke, he supported Mrs. Ye's arm and said, "Mother, let's go back first."
In front of outsiders, Mrs. Ye couldn't say much and could only let Master Ye take her away.
Zheng Qingshu saw them leave, then turned around and asked Concubine Zhen, "I saw that Madam Ye's face was not very good. Did you have an argument just now?"
Concubine Zhen looked in the direction where Madam Ye left and sighed softly, "If only I could be as free as you, Ah Shu. Unfortunately, I don't have your ability..."
She really couldn't think of any merit she could use to exchange for what she wanted.
Zheng Qingshu was silent for a moment, then said: "Maybe... it's not impossible."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhen suddenly turned to look at her, "Do you have a solution?!"
"Before we come up with a solution, you have to answer a question for me first."
"You ask."
"If you can leave the palace, what do you and Concubine Li want to do?"
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