Chapter 64 Good Times
Consort Li was so angry she wanted to tear Lan Wu's mouth apart, but the jade ring on Lan Wu's hand was dazzlingly displayed, proclaiming the Emperor's favor towards her and also saying that no one could touch her.
Upon hearing Lan Wu's words, the surrounding concubines all lowered their heads, unwilling to get involved, but also happy to watch the show, cautiously observing the scene.
Faced with Lan Wu's accusation of her so-called 'insincerity', Consort Li glanced at Consort Shu and Consort Rou above her, and could only suppress her anger. With a slightly ferocious smile on her face, she spoke again: "I misspoke just now, Sister Zhen, please don't take it to heart. I will punish myself with three cups to celebrate Sister He's birthday."
After saying that, she picked up a wine glass from the low table at her seat and poured three glasses into her stomach in a row.
Lan Wu watched as she drank the three cups of wine. Before anyone else could speak, she clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Sister Li Fei, you have such a good capacity for alcohol! I suppose you were just talking nonsense because you were drunk. The scenery is so beautiful today, you should take a good look."
She's right, today's scene is truly a rare sight.
Kongshan Garden is a small piece of land surrounded by a lake. You can't see the beautiful scenery inside from the outside, but once you enter Kongshan Garden, you can see the unique scenery around it.
It was summer, and the trees were in full bloom. The trees were dense yet orderly, and they were arranged in a staggered manner on both sides of the road. The cobblestone path was clean, and exquisite palace lanterns hung high on the side. Even at night, it was still a beautiful scene.
Passing through the carved wooden archway, one enters a long corridor, at least three zhang wide, with glass lanterns hanging in the air and colorful paintings and inscriptions on the beams. The corridor is near the water, where fish swim and sway, and the potted plants on the bank are all different, yet they complement each other perfectly.
The openwork carved wooden door on the inner side of the corridor is close to the main hall, casting light and shadow into the hall. The carved shadows are reflected on the brocade carpet, and the shadows of the trees outside the hall are also reflected.
Lan Wu had just arrived and looked at the scenery around the garden. She had to admit that the garden was really beautiful, surrounded by water on all sides, and cool inside, so it didn't feel hot even in the summer.
Although His Majesty ordered the concubines to ascend Kongshan Garden for sightseeing, it was originally built by the late Emperor for Empress Dowager Jingwen, so no one dared to frolic excessively in the garden. Even if they were curious, they would only take a look around.
Lan Wu wanted to stroll around the garden. If she didn't, and instead stayed here exchanging pleasantries with them, she wouldn't be able to appreciate the garden's beauty when it got dark. Wouldn't that be a pity?
She drank a cup of tea and then stood up, making no attempt to hide her feelings, and said with a smile, "This is my first time visiting this garden. I am not as knowledgeable as Your Highnesses. I am going to see the beautiful scenery of this garden. Please don't laugh at me for being playful."
No one dared to stop her.
As she walked away happily, the concubines present became restless. They had come all this way, so who wanted to just sit there and do nothing?
But they are not Lan Wu; they have neither imperial favor nor power, so they dare not do anything wrong.
Kongshan Garden is quite large, and it has everything one would expect. The palace servants had started preparations earlier for the grand banquet that evening.
"Your Highness, there are few people ahead, and it looks quite spacious. Should we still go?" Lianxi and Lianqiao were accompanying her, and seeing that there were some weeds growing ahead, they immediately tried to persuade Lanwu to turn back.
Lan Wu looked down thoughtfully at the weeds that reached above her calves, then looked ahead and saw a small vegetable patch that had been carefully tended.
Does someone grow vegetables here?
Not only Lan Wu saw it, but Lian Xi and Lian Qiao also noticed the neat vegetable garden.
"Who are you?" A somewhat rough female voice sounded from behind.
The three of them turned around and saw a woman wearing old clothes with gray hair.
The woman looked no young; deep wrinkles lined her brows, as if she were always frowning and never relaxed; her eyes were sharp and unforgiving.
Lian Qiao felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze and dared not utter a word.
Lianxi spoke up at this moment: "How dare you be so disrespectful to Consort Shuyi!"
The man's gaze fell on Lan Wu. Upon seeing her face and attire, he frowned slightly, then bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Consort Shuyi."
Her words weren't exactly respectful, and before Lan Wu could even speak, she adopted a dismissive tone: "This place is remote and dirty, Your Highness should go further ahead."
As she spoke, she walked forward, ignoring the reactions of Lan Wu and the others, and went to the small vegetable garden on her own, squatting down to pull out the weeds around it.
Lianxi glanced at Lanwu first, and seeing Lanwu gently shake her head, she stood silently to the side.
Lan Wu looked at the woman curiously, certain that she had never seen her before, yet the woman gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
She stood there thinking for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution, so she had to give up for the time being and turn around to walk back.
Once they were out of sight, Lianqiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Her sigh of relief was so obvious that Lan Wu found it amusing: "What, you know her? You're too scared to speak?"
Lian Qiao quickly shook her head, then nodded repeatedly, and explained in a low voice, "Your Highness, please don't laugh at me. I just felt that the aunt had a rather fierce aura, like the aunt who used to discipline the new palace maids in the inner palace. Those aunts were all very good at using boards and were very fierce."
Lan Wu had been in the music hall since she was a child, so she had no impression of the aunts from the inner palace that Lan Wu mentioned. However, there were also older aunts in the music hall who taught the new batch of girls who were learning dance and music. If they didn't learn well, they would always be beaten.
So she probably understood what Lianqiao was afraid of.
But that woman...
If Lan Wu is not mistaken, she should be a palace maid who served Empress Dowager Jingwen before her death.
Look at those vegetables; it wasn't something that could be done in a day. Only someone close to Empress Dowager Jingwen, who has His Majesty's permission, could come to the garden every day to tend to this vegetable patch.
Following the fairly wide path around to the front, I bumped into a group of people.
Lan Wu narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the gentle and concerned look on the face of Consort Rou as she pulled Rong Shuyi along. She curled her lips and a wicked idea popped into her mind.
She did not bow, but took two steps forward, looked Rong Shuyi up and down, and slowly asked, "How is Rong Shuyi's health?"
Rong Shuyi looked at her, but didn't say anything for a moment.
Consort Rou watched this scene with satisfaction. After a moment, she gently pulled Consort Rong behind her to stand, a gesture that was clearly one of protection. She then spoke to Lan Wu, "Sister Zhen, have you finished your stroll? There is a butterfly forest ahead. If you haven't seen it, you can go and take a look."
Her obvious attempt to change the subject only deepened Lan Wu's smile. She replied unhurriedly, "Really? Then I really must go and see. She must be very beautiful. However, I heard from the physician that people who are cold should not go near water. Consort Rou is so concerned about Consort Rong, why did you tell her to walk by the water?"
As she spoke, Lan Wu turned her head to look at the pool beside her.
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