Di Jinghan just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. His beautiful sister-in-law smelled so good; her fragrance was light and delicate, like the scent of lilies, which was incredibly pleasant.
The beautiful sister-in-law didn't haphazardly apply any makeup; her light lip rouge and rosy blush made her skin so tender it looked like it could be pinched to release moisture—it was truly a visual feast.
"I have things to attend to. If there's nothing else, you can go back now." Di Jinghan waved her hand casually, trying to send the two away.
Seeing that Di Jinghan was about to leave, the two became anxious: "Princess, please wait."
Consort Li and Lady Liu exchanged a glance, and Lady Liu put on what she thought was an extremely sincere smile:
"What would Your Highness like to do today? Could you please take us with you? It's quite boring in the palace. I saw Your Highness and the Empress having a great time in the Imperial Garden the other day, and I'd like to join them."
Consort Li stepped forward and chimed in, "I wonder if Your Highness would do us the honor of bringing your concubines along? We certainly won't cause you any trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Di Jinghan's lips twitched slightly, and his smile almost froze. So he wanted to get close to his beautiful sister-in-law!
However, upon closer reflection, it becomes clear that the concubines who have lost favor in the palace must not have an easy time. I heard that the emperor recently punished these two, so they must be living in dire straits and trying to find a way out.
Di Jinghan initially wanted to refuse, but then suddenly thought of some fun ideas and gave a warm smile: "In that case, this princess is willing to take you along. Today we'll go to the Plum Garden in the Imperial Garden to play hide-and-seek. You go ahead first, and this princess will arrive shortly."
The two women were overjoyed upon hearing this. Now that Consort Wu had lost favor and her backing, and the Imperial Household Department was changing its tune with the wind, their lives were not easy either.
Unexpectedly, the eldest princess was still willing to play with them. If she could get close to the Empress and befriend her, things would probably be better in the future.
The two quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, we thank you!"
"It's nothing, you can go ahead." After saying that, Di Jinghan quickly left and headed towards the Qian Yuan Hall.
The remaining two were not annoyed and happily led their maids to the Plum Garden.
After careful consideration, Consort Liu's maidservant spoke up, "My lady, Your Highness, it seems that Prince Yuan has ordered us not to approach the Plum Garden. We're afraid our journey here might be..."
Upon hearing this, Consort Li suddenly grasped Consort Liu's hand, as if waking from a dream: "That's right, if we go in, we'll offend Prince Yuan!"
Liu Meiren nodded: "That's right, could it be that the Princess is trying to play a trick on us?"
Consort Li wore a resentful expression: "I knew that unruly Princess Changning couldn't be trusted!"
Consort Liu was also somewhat discouraged: "If we don't come up with a solution soon, I'm afraid we won't be able to get through this winter. The Emperor fined us for half a year's salary, and now we can't even afford charcoal!" She stomped her foot in distress.
Consort Li lowered her head and pondered for a moment. Indeed, if she couldn't win the Emperor's favor, she couldn't possibly have trouble surviving!
As if she had made a momentous decision, she took Liu Meiren's hand and headed towards the Imperial Garden.
Caught off guard, Liu Meiren could only follow her, asking, "What's wrong? What are you doing?"
"No matter what, we must find a way to see Her Majesty the Empress."
“But…” Liu Meiren hesitated.
“No buts, we have to fight for ourselves. Since entering the palace, we haven’t had a good few days! When Nalan Yun’er was in power, she was domineering and tyrannical, and Consort Xian couldn’t stand us. We were walking on thin ice. Later, we relied on Consort Shu and had two months of peace. Now, Consort Wu is in trouble herself, and our living expenses have been cut so drastically!”
Consort Li simply couldn't take it anymore. She had been eating stir-fried cabbage and boiled tofu for almost half a month, and charcoal was a luxury she couldn't even dream of.
Upon hearing this, Consort Liu lowered her head silently, feeling very distressed: "Sometimes I really think, if only I hadn't participated in the imperial concubine selection and hadn't entered the palace."
Liu Meiren sighed deeply. Although her father was only a minor official of the sixth rank in the court, she was the only daughter of her parents, who doted on her since she was a child.
However, after entering the palace, she was forced to fight for interests, just to survive.
Consort Li felt quite bitter. Her father was a fifth-rank official, and she had three siblings. She was the youngest daughter, with two older brothers. She wasn't valued by her father at home, but her two brothers doted on her, and her mother loved her very much.
After entering the palace, she soon discovered that all her beautiful fantasies had been shattered, and her hopes for the emperor had gradually faded away. All she had left was the thought of wanting to live a better life.
Therefore, she and Liu Meiren became close confidantes. To outsiders, they were hypocritical, opportunistic, and calculating, but they just wanted someone to rely on to make their lives a little better.
The two burst into tears, completely at a loss for what to do.
Liu Meiren gently held Li Guiren's hands, their two cold hands clasped together, finding solace in each other.
“Sister Ningyu (Consort Li’s original name was Li Ningyu), let’s go together to plead with Her Majesty the Empress!”
Consort Li nodded: "Yes! Let's go together, Xingchen (Consort Liu's original name was Liu Xingchen), I believe we will live well forever!"
The two, accompanied by their maid, went to the Plum Garden...
Di Jinghan was in an extremely good mood after getting rid of those two women.
At this moment, she was sitting in the Qian Yuan Palace, gloating and happily sharing the chestnut cakes she had specially brought with her beautiful sister-in-law.
"Sister-in-law, try this chestnut cake. It's the best in the capital!" Di Jinghan rested his chin on his hands as he watched his beautiful sister-in-law enjoy the dessert.
She found it extremely pleasing to the eye and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, "A beauty is a beauty; even eating looks so beautiful!"
As Azi savored the chestnut cake, her taste buds were stimulated by the sweet and soft aroma of chestnuts, which whetted her appetite. She ate several pieces of chestnut cake before stopping, even though she hadn't eaten much for breakfast.
"Jinghan, this chestnut cake is delicious!"
"I'm glad you like it, sister-in-law! I'll bring you more next time!"
Azi nodded happily, then her little face turned melancholy: "Sigh... I wish I could go to the capital to taste all kinds of delicious food. Last time I was in a hurry, and I didn't get to try so many things."
"Sister-in-law, talk to the Emperor and I'll take you out to try all kinds of delicious food!"
Will this work?
Di Jinghan thought of her domineering brother's personality and realized that he was indeed not up to the task, but since he loved his beautiful sister-in-law so much, he would certainly not let her down!
She winked at Azi: "Sister-in-law, if you act cute with your brother, he'll definitely agree to anything!"
Azi also looked excited; she really wanted to go out and play!
"I'll talk to him about it tonight."
Upon hearing this, Di Jinghan nodded happily. She then remembered the incident of encountering the two concubines earlier and told her sister-in-law about it as amusement.
As for what happened to the two parties involved in the freezing weather, our Princess Changning has completely forgotten.
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