Xia He opened the food box and took out a plate of pastries and a steaming iced drink.
"My lord, this plate of plum blossom cakes was already sold out when I went there. I paid the servants to make them again, which took a lot of time."
"But this bowl of mung bean soup—thankfully, that servant had the foresight to leave it beforehand so no one else could take it."
Xia He arranged the plates, then reached out and closed the food box again before lifting it up.
Chen Yuwei nodded upon hearing this, and scooped a spoonful of iced soup into her mouth with a porcelain white spoon. "It's really good. No wonder the people in the palace like to drink mung bean soup."
In this hot weather, drinking mung bean soup can relieve greasiness, cool you down, and even stimulate your appetite.
Even though Chen Yuwei had heat-relieving pills, she developed a certain resistance to them after eating them every day.
Some dishes that I used to be able to eat now make me feel nauseous just looking at them.
"If there's any left, send a bowl to the children as well."
No need for plum blossom cakes, they're too sweet. Simple mung bean cakes will suffice.
They ate and drank, satisfying their parched stomachs. Chen Yuwei didn't forget to give Xia He some instructions, and only after Xia He agreed did she stop what she was doing.
Leaning back in his chair, he patted his lower abdomen. "The Emperor hasn't said when he'll return to the palace, but life in the temporary palace isn't as comfortable as in the main palace. You should try to find out what the other people are saying when you have time."
Of the concubines who came along, Chen Yuwei was doing relatively well, while the others were all suffering in silence.
Because unlike the Empress Dowager, they couldn't just order people to go back to the palace and ignore everything else.
If the emperor doesn't give the word, you can only suffer in the temporary palace, and occasionally you have to serve the emperor, which is a real pain.
Xia Re had no objection to this; she had already arranged for people to gather information elsewhere.
Honestly, even the most patient concubines couldn't help but complain in this kind of weather.
Xia He whispered a few words of gossip she had overheard, which made Chen Yuwei grin from ear to ear.
Chen Yuwei drank most of the pastries and cold drinks she brought back. She then asked Xia He to clear the table while she continued to read the book in her hand.
The days passed by like this, and occasionally when it wasn't too hot outside, Chen Yuwei would take the children out for a walk.
The palace has a pond, which is not very big, and there are several covered boats in it.
Chen Yuwei had people pick lotus flowers by boat, and then used them to make pastries.
Children don't think that complicatedly; they're happy as long as there's a place to play.
However, after spending more than half a month at the palace, his skin darkened by one shade.
Chen Yuwei found this extremely annoying and kept asking the Imperial Hospital to send over sunburn ointment to apply.
At the end of the month, the Empress, who was the first to break down, had a heart-to-heart talk with the Emperor, who finally relented and decided to send a group of concubines back to the palace ahead of schedule.
Chen Yuwei was originally among these people, but when she remembered that Hongli was still there, she discussed it with the children and the five of them decided to stay.
Rather than indulging in momentary pleasures upon returning to the palace, Chen Yuwei felt it was more important to please Hongli.
And after returning, there will be a selection of princes, Yonghong and Yongkun will go to the Prince's residence, and new concubines will enter the palace. Chen Yuwei will have to seize the time to cultivate the relationship between father and son/father and daughter.
Chen Yuwei didn't leave, and the others just paused for a moment before starting to make their own arrangements.
After all, some people really can't stand the environment of the imperial palace, and if the emperor doesn't return to the palace now, he will definitely return in August to hold the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and the imperial concubine selection.
It's only been a month. Could it be that Consort Shu could have completely captured the Emperor's heart? If she had such abilities before, no other concubine in the harem could have been promoted.
And so, in early July, the Empress left the palace with her son and other concubines, leaving only Hongli and Chen Yuwei's family of five in the entire palace.
Oh, it's not that no one else took the gamble and stayed to cultivate a relationship with the Emperor, it's just that Hongli himself was somewhat unwilling. He waved his hand and simply let the Empress take them all away. As for the remaining Chen Yuwei and the others, were they the same as the others? Their importance was different.
With the Empress gone, Hongli no longer conducted his daily work in the front hall of the palace. Instead, he moved directly to Chen Yuwei's residence and moved the children to the surrounding rooms. Good heavens, this man simply started living the daily life of an ordinary wealthy family.
Hongli was also very happy, "I wanted to do this before, but unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity."
This time, finally no one can stop our family. Wei'er, in two days, on Qixi Festival, I will take you out of the palace.
Anyway, he didn't want to go back to the palace to hold a Qixi Festival banquet in this sweltering heat.
Hongli casually announced the arrangements, leaving Chen Yuwei speechless.
In hindsight, was this the treatment of a favored concubine? Could it escalate to the point of bringing disaster to the country and its people?
"Your Majesty, is it just the two of us?"
Chen Yuwei also wanted to go out of the palace for a trip; she thought the outside world was more interesting than the palace.
Moreover, going out of the palace with the Emperor meant she wouldn't have to spend any money on food, drinks, or entertainment—what a great opportunity to get something for free! She had to seize it.
Hongli raised an eyebrow, "Does Wei'er want to bring other people along?"
Chen Yuwei smiled shyly, "I'm worried about the children."
It seems rather unfair that the parents go out to enjoy themselves while their son and daughter are left alone in the palace.
Hongli laughed heartily, "We need to leave the palace as soon as possible and return as soon as possible, so Yonghu and the others probably can't go."
Moreover, the children are too young, and they are likely to lose control of their eating habits after leaving the palace.
If they casually exchange a few casual remarks, others will realize their identities, greatly increasing the chances of them getting into trouble.
At this time, certain reactionary forces outside the palace were still frequently active.
Although the imperial court did its best to eradicate them, as the saying goes, "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
