Chapter 101 The Legend of Zhen Huan: An Lingrong 11
An Lingrong seemed to have just noticed the Emperor, and quickly rose to greet him while holding her Yueqin. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Get up," the Emperor said with a smile as he walked over.
An Lingrong stood up and handed the moon zither to Qingwu. "When did the Emperor arrive? None of the eunuchs and maids in Shengyutang announced it."
The Emperor accepted the tea handed to him by Siyun, took a sip to warm himself, and replied, "I haven't been here long. Rong'er plays the moon zither so well that I can't bear to interrupt her."
"I was just chatting out of boredom. It's been a long time since I've played, and my skills have become rusty," An Lingrong said with a modest smile.
"Where is she rusty? I didn't notice it at all. Rong'er played the guqin very well at the New Year's Eve banquet a few days ago."
The Emperor pointed to the purse on his waist, "And Rong'er's embroidery. No embroiderer in the palace can compare to you. My Rong'er is very talented. I just don't know if there's anything else I don't know."
"Yes, there is, but I won't say anything. I want Your Majesty to discover it for yourself." An Lingrong blushed at the praise and said shyly with her eyes lowered.
"Alright, then I'll discover it myself." The Emperor replied with a hearty laugh.
An Lingrong looked up at the Emperor. The Emperor had gone to Yimei Garden for the New Year's Eve banquet, but she hadn't heard of a new palace maid who could sing Kunqu Opera in the Yangxin Hall these past few days.
However, Consort Wan was also at the banquet and did not go to Yimei Garden to pray for blessings. Naturally, Yu Ying'er could not use the poem to enter Yangxin Hall to serve. The current situation is quite normal.
Without thinking further, An Lingrong picked up her lute and continued playing. The Emperor listened with his eyes closed, occasionally tapping his hand to the beat.
"My lady." Si Yun entered the palace carrying several sprigs of forsythia.
An Lingrong looked at the forsythia blossoms still glistening with dew and asked, "These forsythia are blooming so beautifully. Did you pick them from the Imperial Garden?"
Siyun replied, "Yes, I heard that the forsythia in the Imperial Garden is blooming beautifully, so I thought it would be fitting for the occasion and I went to pick a few branches to put in a vase."
"Forsythia, forsythia." An Lingrong smiled radiantly. "It is indeed quite fitting for the season."
"I overheard on the way that Consort Wan of Suiyu Pavilion was arranged by the Emperor to learn how to assist in managing the affairs of the six palaces. Even though Your Highness's favor is no less than hers, why did the Emperor only let Consort Wan learn?"
Si Yun pouted, somewhat dissatisfied. Her mistress was no less favored than Consort Wan in terms of family background and social standing.
"Who told you that?" Qingwu asked Siyun upon hearing this.
"Yeah, I haven't heard anything about this."
An Lingrong was also puzzled, as only Consort Wan was arranged to learn how to assist in managing the affairs of the six palaces this time.
That's right. Nowadays, besides Consort Hua, she and Consort Wan are the most favored.
In the emperor's eyes, she was a delicate woman who regarded him as heaven, and she only liked musical instruments and embroidery.
Consort Wan was intelligent and learned, gentle yet resolute. She rarely suffered a loss against Consort Hua, and occasionally even made Consort Hua furious.
She is indeed more suitable to learn how to manage the six palaces and become a pawn against Consort Hua than someone who only lets Consort Hua make sarcastic remarks and nitpick.
"It was Huanbi. When she was picking forsythia, I overheard her arrogantly bragging to a palace maid, saying things like our mistress isn't as favored as Consort Wan."
I get angry just thinking about it; it would be better if I hadn't been caught eavesdropping.
She was carrying a carefully selected branch of forsythia, which made things inconvenient; otherwise, she would have definitely run over to argue with Huanbi!
"Alright, alright, don't be angry." An Lingrong was both amused and exasperated. She was the one being talked about, but she ended up having to coax her. What was this all about?
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