Kunning Palace has one main hall and two side halls on the left and right. Yong'an lives on the east side and Fanghua lives on the west side. They both have their own small courtyards.
Entering Princess Yong'an's East Wing Hall, there were three upper rooms and left and right side rooms, a very ordinary layout, except for the courtyard filled with magnolia trees. Generally, trees were not allowed in the imperial palace except in the imperial gardens, but these magnolia trees, each of them small, surrounded the courtyard, and one could imagine how beautiful and fragrant they would be when in bloom.
Now the trees are covered with snow, which is blown down by the wind. Meng Qi suddenly had an idea. If there is such a small courtyard and plum blossoms are planted there, the branches will be in full bloom at this time. Will the snowflakes blown by the wind also carry the fragrance of plum blossoms?
Princess Yong'an took Meng Qi's hand and said, "I didn't expect Mother to really let you live with me. How about I ask them to clean up and we can live together?"
Meng Qi collected her thoughts and said, "Thank you, Princess, for your kindness. This is against the rules. I am fortunate to be able to live in your palace. How could I dare to hope for more?"
Yong'an stopped and looked at her sideways. After a while, he said, "You are really different from before. Although we don't have many opportunities to meet, you were not like this before. I don't believe they have such a great ability. They haven't used it for a month, but you seem to have changed into a different person. Or maybe what I heard before was not true, and you now are the real you?"
Meng Qi suddenly realized that she had gone too far. Acting in the Huainan Marquis's residence was one thing, but coming to the palace and making them feel like a completely different person was too early. Especially when she didn't know what Prince Rui was thinking, she needed to think carefully and plan how to appear before everyone.
Thinking of this, Meng Qi exhaled lightly and looked around playfully, "The Queen's people can't see it, right?"
Yongan looked at her and burst out laughing, "I guess you're doing this for my mother to see."
Meng Qi nodded, then quickly shook her head. "No, I've been studying the rules for nearly a month, and Aunt Sang and Aunt Guan have praised me a lot."
The two of them had already reached the upper room of the East Palace. Yong'an said, "It's hard for you. Those maids, especially that Aunt Guan, every maid in the harem who has come into contact with her has cried."
Meng Qi took a step to follow Yong'an up the stairs, "That's right, Princess. Don't you know that my mother talked about this almost all night last night? She was afraid that I would do something wrong after entering the palace and lose face again."
Following behind them was the head aunt of Princess Yong'an's palace. Seeing Meng Wan lift her leg and want to follow, she frowned and said softly, "Miss Meng Si, please rest for a while. Your things and maids are in the east wing. If you come back and check, if there's anything missing, just tell the maids in the room."
Meng Qi seemed not to understand and continued walking forward. "I also brought some small things for the princess. Please wait a moment, I will go get them now. There are also some for Princess Fanghua, I don't know if she likes them."
Yong'an glanced at the somewhat displeased head aunt, shook his head gently, and smiled cordially, "My sister is not in the palace, and the fourth young lady won't stay for just one or two days. It won't be too late to visit again later. It's getting dark, so we should go back and pack up and rest first."
The two maids assigned to Meng Qi heard this and stepped forward, inviting her in. Meng Qi nodded, knelt in greeting, and followed them to the east wing. After taking two steps, she turned around, lifted her skirt, and asked, "Will the Empress be satisfied with my performance just now?"
Yong'an suddenly felt that the Empress's decision to have Meng Qi stay in the palace for a few days was a bit unnecessary, but he kept it to himself and said with a smile, "How could that be? The Fourth Young Lady's answers were appropriate and well-behaved. It's impossible to find fault with her."
Meng Qi exhaled and smiled. "That's good. Just like you said, although I've been to the palace before, it was only for a short while, and I didn't even have the chance to speak to the Empress. This time I'm staying for several days, and I'm really worried that I might say something wrong. To be honest, Princess, from the moment I got off the sedan chair at the palace gate until now, I haven't dared to breathe deeply."
As he spoke, he patted his chest, then bowed again and followed the two palace maids to the east wing.
Yong'an stood there, squinting his eyes as he watched Meng Qi enter the room. After a moment's thought, he instructed the head aunt, "Go tell the Queen Mother that there's no need to worry so much. I'll keep an eye on her for the next few days."
――――――
This was Meng Qi's first time to come to the East Wing Hall of Kunning Palace. In his previous life, after he turned ten and was able to attend the palace banquet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he usually went to the Jinxiu Tower in the Imperial Garden to watch the lanterns and then went to the main hall of Kunning Palace to have meals.
Meng Qi looked at the layout of the room, and Yuan Dong and two palace maids quickly put the bags they brought back in their places.
"Thank you, sisters. I've needed your care these past few days." Yuan Dong said as he took out two purses and stuffed them into the hands of the two sisters.
The two maids accepted it without hesitation, bowing to Meng Qi to express their gratitude. A small maid with a round face said with a smile, "My name is Qinxiang, and I am a second-class maid in the Shangyi Palace. Miss Fourth, please feel free to ask for anything you need."
Meng Qi nodded, turned and went into the inner room, and the two palace maids bowed and retreated.
Yuan Dong followed her into the inner room and saw Meng Qi standing quietly by the window. Ever since she had returned to the Fourth Young Lady's side, she seemed to particularly enjoy standing by the window. Even if it was a window covered with thick bast paper instead of glass, she would still stand there. No one knew what she was looking at, and sometimes she would stand there for a long time.
Even as the sky darkened, she could still see the head aunt of Yong'an coming in from outside the courtyard, heading towards the main hall. Meng Qi frowned. Was she out to report her situation to the Empress?
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