Chapter 38
The early spring is warm, and the ice and snow have melted. The green grass has sprouted, and the withered branches in winter have put on a green coat. The palace has always paid attention to spring. Even if the concubines are not feeling well, they have to come out and show their faces, and give the servants a happy spring greeting. The warm light shines, and the solemn red walls are covered with a thick layer of gold. Liu Qinqin sits in the pavilion in the middle of the lake in the imperial garden, holding a gorgeous silk palace fan, fanning the white smoke from the gilded hollow incense burner in front of her. No one knows what she is thinking. In the eyes of the palace maids Lvyi and Lvguo, the words and actions of this noble lady Qin are always unexpected.
"This is white agarwood powder. If you can smell the agarwood fragrance in this life, you will have good karma in three lives. Some people will never smell this agarwood fragrance once in their entire life. Today, you are very lucky." Liu Qinqin turned her head and said to the palace maid Luguo behind her.
Lu Guo was not good at speaking on weekdays, and now, she didn't know how to respond. Coincidentally, at this moment, the eunuch in charge of food came running over from not far away. The maid Lu Yi reacted quickly and immediately went to take the cakes brought by the eunuch in charge of food, and sent the eunuch to prepare a pot of warm flower tea.
"My lady, please have some cakes. This Jade Flower Cake is specially prepared for you by the Imperial Kitchen."
Liu Qinqin hummed without raising her eyes. She held the five-petal cake with her orchid finger and examined it. The cake was light pink all over with a hint of yellow in the middle, and it looked very delicious.
She couldn't help laughing. "Such an exquisite thing doesn't seem to match my face. If you try to put incompatible things together, one of them will get hurt. I'm timid and I know I'm not worthy of such an exquisite pastry. Green fruit, I give it to you."
After receiving the cake, Lu Guo knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude. Lu Yi, who was standing by, looked at Lu Guo on the ground with a gloomy expression and a slight frown. Since the Spring Festival, there has been a young lady in the palace. She and Lu Guo were like sisters in childhood and entered the palace together. She was originally a servant in the palace of Concubine Cihe until one day after the Spring Festival, when she was awarded by Concubine Cihe to Concubine Qin as a personal maid. Of course, she knew Concubine Cihe's intentions. However, Lu Guo's character was relatively weak and dull. Concubine Qin must have discovered it in recent days, so she would bully Lu Guo, a maid, whenever she could. Concubine Qin was also a smart person. She never verbally abused you. She always seemed to give you some benefits, but in fact, she helped her take the blame behind her back. Take today for example, she must have seen that there was something fishy about the Jade Flower Pastry, and she was very self-aware. Even if she was favored, the Jade Flower Pastry was indeed not something a little noble could eat. Moreover, she had never seen the emperor during the time she was invited by Consort Cihe. She was favored, right? The emperor never turned over the name card. She was not favored, right? She was a noble lady as soon as she entered the palace. This noble lady Qin was not simple, Luyi had always thought so. Regardless of how noble lady Qin knew about Yuhuasu, just the look of knowing the whole situation and not saying anything to fight back, I am afraid that the harem will not be peaceful in the future.
But at the moment, the jade flower crisp green fruit must not be eaten. Lv Yi was worried that she could not intervene, so she could only wait beside her and worry. Seeing that the jade flower crisp was about to enter Lv Guo's mouth, the eunuch Xiao Dezi who was waiting in the distance came running over to report: "My lady, Concubine Ru is walking towards the pavilion in the center of the lake, and she will be there soon."
Lu Guo stopped what he was doing, gently put the piece of jade flower crisp that had not entered his mouth back into the jade plate, and quickly stood up and retreated to Lu Yi's side. Lu Yi glanced at Lu Guo from the corner of his eye, and Lu Guo was startled, and immediately understood, and tried to hide himself as much as possible to reduce his presence.
Lu Guo took a step forward, intending to direct Liu Qinqin's thoughts to Concubine Ru, "Reporting to my lady, Concubine Ru is Ran Ruting, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. This person is meticulous and a smiling tiger. She is very difficult to deal with. Your Majesty, be careful."
Liu Qinqin didn't take it seriously. She snorted and laughed, "How difficult is it? Is there an heir to the throne?"
"Yes. The third princess and the ninth prince were both born to Concubine Ru." Lu Yi said.
"Oh?" Liu Qinqin finally reacted after hearing this. She lowered her head and gently stroked the emerald bracelet on her arm. She snorted and laughed again, not taking Concubine Ru seriously at all. "She actually has two heirs. She has the capital to be domineering. As long as she doesn't make a big mistake, who dares to mess with a concubine with a prince?"
At this moment, a female voice with a strained voice was heard.
"Isn't this the new sister Qin who entered the palace?"
On the left and right sides of Concubine Ru stood two palace maids holding purple lotus umbrellas, followed by a large group of palace maids and eunuchs. This scene was really enviable. Liu Qinqin retracted her gaze and raised her hand forward. Luyi immediately stepped forward and bowed to take it, and helped Liu Qinqin to greet Concubine Ru.
Liu Qinqin pretended to be warm and welcoming, Fu Li, "Oh, as soon as I saw this favor, I knew it must be Sister Rufei."
"Sister Qin has good eyesight. When I heard that you entered the palace, I was busy taking care of the Ninth Prince and failed to greet you in time. Please don't blame me." Concubine Ru gently covered Liu Qinqin's hand with a smile on her face. "Today, the emperor met the Ninth Prince. The father and son spent a long time together. At noon, he was very sweet under the coaxing of his father. So I took this opportunity to come and find you."
Liu Qinqin looked flattered: "Sister Rufei is thoughtful. I am very worried. How can it be worth your concern?"
Concubine Ru looked stern and pretended to be angry: "Sister, your words are really polite. I didn't care that I was worried that you had just left home and entered the palace and that you were not used to the life in the palace, so I came to visit you eagerly. It seems that you are doing well. I was worrying too much."
Liu Qinqin's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. Concubine Ru looked like she had suffered a great injustice. She described her as ungrateful in just a few words. She was indeed difficult to deal with. So she immediately stepped forward and bowed again: "Sister Ru, you misunderstood me. How could I have been favored by you? I was just flattered. I know that I am of low status and not worthy of your concern. You care about me so much, I am really moved, so I said stupid things in a hurry, and my words did not express my meaning."
Seeing Liu Qinqin's humble look, Concubine Ru raised her lips and gave a look to the maid behind her. The maid helped Liu Qinqin up, and Liu Qinqin also stood up. But the moment she stood up, her eyes were cold. Liu Qinqin felt that Concubine Ru was trying to intimidate her. She even asked the maid to help her up. Wasn't it a clear signal for her to always remember her position and not to dream of other things?
But who is Concubine Ru? Having been stable in the harem for many years, she has seen all the details of Liu Qinqin's expression. Concubine Ru certainly knows that Liu Qinqin is dissatisfied, but so what, she did it on purpose. After Liu Qinqin stood firm, Concubine Ru's slightly shrill voice sounded: "Sister, just remember that if anyone bullies you in the palace, come to me for justice."
Liu Qinqin looked like she had been favored, and excitedly lifted up Ru Fei's hand: "Then sister, please don't think I'm bothering you when the time comes."
Concubine Ru didn't stay for long. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, she returned to Ruyi Palace on the pretext that the Ninth Prince was about to wake up. After seeing Concubine Ru off, Liu Qinqin raised her head. She stared at the disappearing figures with hateful eyes and laughed a few times. The laughter was creepy. Lu Guo and Lu Yi looked at each other, lowered their heads, and dared not say anything more.
"Lüyi, tell me more about Concubine Ru." After Liu Qinqin finished laughing, she turned around and sat calmly in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, continuing to fan the gilded hollow incense burner.
"Reporting to my lady, I don't know much about Concubine Ru. I just have been in the palace for a long time and have met her several times. Concubine Ru's mind is very difficult to guess, and what she says cannot be believed. Usually, what Concubine Ru says and what she does may be completely contradictory." Lu Yi said.
"Oh? What did you say?" Liu Qinqin became interested and motioned Lvyi to continue.
"Empress Ru has a cousin, Concubine Xiang." Lu Yi said.
"Xiang Fei?" Liu Qinqin muttered to herself. She thought about it for a long time but couldn't think of this person. So she asked, "Why have I never heard of this person?"
Lu Yi said: "Xiang Fei has always lived in seclusion, and she was sent to the cold palace after only a few years of being favored."
"That's not to say you've never heard of it at all." Liu Qinqin frowned.
Lu Yi said, "No one mentions Concubine Xiang because she and Concubine Ru are too similar, so they are often confused. In addition, Concubine Xiang is aloof and rarely sees people. Concubine Ru often appears, so few people in the palace know that there is a Concubine Xiang. Even if Concubine Xiang occasionally appears, she is mistaken for Concubine Ru."
Liu Qinqin said: "There is such a thing. Then why did she go to the cold palace?"
Lu Yi said, "It was sent in by Xiang Fei."
"What?" Liu Qinqin raised her voice, "Aren't they very close?"
Lu Yi nodded, "Yes, everyone thinks so. In the past, palace maids often mistook Concubine Xiang for Concubine Ru, and Concubine Ru helped Concubine Xiang vent her anger. If it weren't for Concubine Ru, Concubine Xiang wouldn't have such an easy life. How could a forgotten concubine be valued by the palaces? So with Concubine Ru's secret help, Concubine Xiang was favored for a few years. But five years ago, sage was put in the food of the third prince Fu Yu. This thing is not poisonous to ordinary people, but it is a deadly poison to the third prince who has been bedridden for a long time. It took the imperial physician a long time to thoroughly investigate. In the end, it was Concubine Ru who pointed out that it was Concubine Xiang who put the drug."
"Concubine Xiang had no motive to commit the crime. On the contrary, it was Concubine Ru. The two of them are so similar, and Concubine Ru has an imperial heir. It seems that Concubine Ru wanted Concubine Xiang to take the blame." Liu Qinqin said.
Lv Yi smiled and said while making tea: "Yes, everyone thinks so. However, everyone also understands one thing. The more everyone can see something, the less real it is."
"When you say that, does it mean that Concubine Xiang really did it?" Liu Qinqin asked.
Lu Yi recalled, "I don't know. I'm afraid only the emperor and Concubine Ru knew about it. Later, no one was allowed to talk about it. Concubine Xiang was banished to the cold palace and died soon after. No matter who poisoned Concubine Ru, she should not be underestimated for being able to disregard their past friendship and do such a thing."
Liu Qinqin was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "It's really high."
Green was unclear, and his eyes were full of doubts. Liu Qinqin laughed even more: "I was talking about Ru Fei Gao. She made a risky move. Sometimes, the more it seems that the answer is right in front of you, the more foggy it is. This reminds me of someone. She and Ru Fei have some similarities."
At the same time, Bai Tiao, who was far away in the Prime Minister's Mansion, shivered for no apparent reason. Haitang immediately asked, "Miss? Did you catch a cold?"
Bai Tiao smoothed her chest, feeling a little short of breath, and she herself was a little confused. She was sitting on the couch drinking tea, and suddenly a chill ran through her body, and she felt very flustered.
"It's okay. Maybe it's because the days have gotten warmer and my body hasn't adapted to it yet," she said.
Haitang still looked worried. She went to the cabinet, took out a blanket and spread it on Baitiao's legs, and reminded her, "Miss, you should be more careful and don't be careless. Being sick is not comfortable."
Bai Tiao smiled faintly: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
She took a few sips of tea and asked, "How's it going?"
"The day has almost arrived." Haitang said.
She stroked the teacup in her hand, looked at it again and again, and smiled faintly: "The Prime Minister's Mansion can only have one child." After a half-breath of silence, she put down the teacup, turned around and asked: "What day is it? Has Wu Bai sent a letter?"
Haitang shook her head: "I went to the mansion to do some undercover work when I got up this morning, and I haven't received any letter from Master Feng for more than half a month."
Bai Tiao frowned, feeling a sense of deception. Things that are out of one's control are really frustrating. At the moment, she didn't know where Wu Bai was, and Lan Yueming was with him. After all, she was also a woman. It seemed that she couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
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