Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Legend of Zhen Huan - An Lingrong 9
The gentle and considerate confidante – Lady Wan; the delicate and pitiful parasitic flower – An Lingrong.
Oh, by the way, don't misunderstand, dodder may look delicate, but it's not weak at all! It will make use of everything around it.
Because Xia Changzai offended Consort Hua, she became even more attentive to the Empress and was eventually accepted by the Empress, becoming one of her subordinates.
Yanxi Palace —
When the Emperor came to see An Lingrong again, he was greeted by Consort Xia with an impatient look in his eyes. He then turned to Su Peisheng behind him and asked, "How is the repair of Yongshou Palace going?"
Su Peisheng replied, "This servant has inquired, and the Imperial Household Department said it can be completed today."
He originally intended to confirm it again tomorrow before telling the Emperor, but he didn't expect the Emperor to be bothered by Consort Xia and ask now.
That Consort Xia is really something. Didn't she see that Consort Fucha always stays quietly in the palace? Yet she always tries to come up to her.
"That's good." The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief and strode towards Qutai Pavilion.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." An Lingrong curtsied in greeting.
"Get up." The Emperor raised the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, helped An Lingrong up, and pulled her to sit on the couch.
"Even Consort Xia knows that she rushed over to pay her respects as soon as I arrived, while you remained well-behaved in the palace."
"I dare not go. If I go and the Emperor does not return to Qutai Pavilion with me, I will lose all face."
But if His Majesty comes to Qu Tai Xuan to see someone else, wouldn't I offend my other sisters?
An Lingrong looked at the Emperor with a sincere expression and explained.
"Yes, it's something everyone can understand, but Xia Changzai just can't figure it out." The Emperor sighed, not wanting to mention Xia Changzai any further.
"I had wanted to bestow upon you the title of Noble Lady before, but since Noble Lady Fucha resides in the main hall of Yanxi Palace, it makes no sense for a Noble Lady with a title to reside in the east wing of Yanxi Palace."
Now that Yongshou Palace has been repaired, there's no need to worry anymore. I hereby promote you to the rank of Noble Lady Shu and move you to the East Annex Hall of Yongshou Palace.
"Your Majesty, I thank you very much." An Lingrong curtsied and expressed her gratitude.
"No need for formalities." The Emperor pulled An Lingrong up. "Yongshou Palace is now the closest palace to my Yangxin Hall. It will be convenient for me to visit you and for you to visit me in the future."
"Is Your Majesty implying that I should visit you more often at the Hall of Mental Cultivation?" An Lingrong asked playfully, a rare occurrence for her.
"That's one way to understand it," the Emperor nodded with a smile.
An Lingrong stood up, sat down next to the Emperor, and snuggled close to him, saying coquettishly, "Then Your Majesty must not be annoyed with me."
The Emperor embraced An Lingrong's slender waist, "How could I possibly tire of Rong'er's beauty?"
The next day, during the morning greetings, An Lingrong, who had been promoted to the rank of Noble Lady Shu and moved to Yongshou Palace, became the target of public criticism, and even Noble Lady Wan was somewhat implicated.
At Consort Hua's prompting, Consort Cao spoke first, "I originally thought that His Majesty preferred Consort Wan to Consort Shu."
After all, Consort Wan was the first to be promoted, but unexpectedly Consort Shu was promoted much earlier; the Emperor was simply waiting for the Yongshou Palace to be renovated.
"Yes, I thought this Yongshou Palace was renovated for Consort Wan, since Consort Wan's Suiyu Pavilion is remote and small, and is not among the Twelve Palaces."
Consort Hua's eyes held a hint of anticipation, knowing that she wasn't the only one who thought Yongshou Palace was being renovated for Consort Wan.
All the concubines thought so, after all, the Broken Jade Pavilion was where Consort Fang went mad after a miscarriage, and it was a universally recognized unlucky place.
Consort Wan was truly favored; she was promoted to the rank of Noble Lady after only three days of serving the Emperor, a unique honor among the newly promoted concubines.
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