Entering the palace again, the newlyweds first went to Chengtian Hall.
The emperor had just finished his court session and for some unknown reason got angry and called the Minister of Revenue and the Crown Prince to the imperial study.
Lu Baocheng hunched over and saluted Prince Rui with a bitter face, "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty and Princess. It's really not a good time to go in and report."
Song Chengze waved his hand and said, "It's okay." Then he walked to the chair in the main hall farthest from the inner room and sat down.
Looking at the couple who were sitting there waiting obediently, Lu Chengbao thought to himself that this prince was really indifferent. He neither asked why the emperor was angry nor sat closer to listen.
Then he thought about the concubines in the harem, who all asked for this and that after serving the emperor. But Concubine Lian, whether serving the emperor or giving him a massage, would leave as soon as the service was completed without a single unnecessary word.
Furthermore, since last autumn, when she had performed a massage for the Emperor's headache, the Emperor had hinted at some sort of reward, but she hadn't spoken for herself or Prince Rui. Finally, it was the Empress's suggestion, and the Emperor, mindful of Prince Rui's upcoming wedding, who gave her a proper promotion from concubine to consort at the start of winter. While this was the lowest rank among consorts, it was a rare opportunity for her at her age to be promoted again.
The young eunuch poured tea for Song Chengze and Meng Qi. The two sat across a coffee table from each other, neither speaking to the other, concentrating on sipping their tea.
When Meng Qi felt that the tea had cooled down, the cotton curtain in the inner room was lifted, and Gao Zhan, the Minister of Revenue and the Empress's brother, walked out first with a gloomy face.
The young eunuch handed Gao Shangshu's cloak respectfully to him. Gao Zhan grabbed it and put it on his shoulders. He looked up and saw Prince Rui. He just bowed and walked out without saying a word.
The Crown Prince then came out. His originally calm face smiled when he saw Song Chengze. "Sixth brother and his wife, how long have you been waiting?"
Song Chengze stood up and greeted the prince, "Just arrived, are you going back, my royal brother?"
The Crown Prince gave a bitter smile, "I was just talking to Father about Ping..." At this point, the Crown Prince stopped talking when he saw Meng Qi standing behind Song Chengze, "It's really difficult to invite you today. Next time you come to the palace, my sister-in-law should go to the East Palace with my sixth brother. The Crown Princess didn't go yesterday, and I feel very sorry."
Meng Qi bowed, "Princess Aihua's health is more important. Children can't stand such cold weather."
Aihua is the daughter of the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's only child. Both the husband and wife treat her as their precious child.
Song Chengze also took over the conversation, "Is the princess feeling better?"
"Fortunately, I didn't cough much this morning."
Before the Crown Prince could say anything else, Lu Chengbao lifted the cotton curtain of the inner room and came out, saying respectfully, "The Emperor summons Prince Rui and Princess Rui."
Upon hearing this, the prince patted Song Chengze's shoulder and took his cloak while whispering, "Come to the East Palace when you have time."
Song Chengze nodded, and the couple bowed and said goodbye to the prince and then entered the east room of the imperial study.
There were only Emperor Jing'an and a young eunuch in the room. The young eunuch was grinding ink, and the emperor was flipping through a memorial in his hand. His frown showed that he was probably not in a very good mood.
The two men knelt down to pay their respects. Emperor Jing'an sighed and said, "Get up."
Lu Chengbao brought a tray to the two men, and they each offered tea to the emperor. The emperor touched the corner of his lips with a hint of satisfaction.
"Was it lively yesterday?"
"Yes, my brother and his wives have all gone. The Imperial Clan Court has also done its job very well. The people from the Imperial Household Department only left this morning."
Emperor Jing'an nodded and called out to Lu Chengbao. Lu Chengbao bent over and answered, bringing over a small box.
"Ms. Meng, since you have married into the royal family, you must abide by your duties and support your husband and raise your children. You are also from a prominent family, so please do not bring shame to the Huainan Marquisate."
Meng Qi stepped forward, took the box handed to him by the emperor with both hands, and responded respectfully.
"Go ahead. The Queen should have something to say to you. Then go pay your respects to your mother." Emperor Jing'an waved at the two of them and picked up the memorial he had just submitted to read.
When Song Chengze and Meng Qi stepped out of the east room, they heard the emperor instructing Lu Chengbao to call the Minister of Personnel over.
What surprised Meng Qi was that Concubine Lian was actually in the Queen's Palace.
The Queen was dressed very festively. Seeing the two people paying their respects to her, she smiled and said, "Since it's your big day, I specially chose a brightly colored dress."
Meng Qi looked up and saw that Concubine Lian had come to pay her respects on the first day after her son's wedding. She was wearing a lavender palace dress with a red edge. Her face didn't show much joy, but she didn't look unhappy either.
After the two men paid their respects to the Queen, they kowtowed to Concubine Lian in a proper manner.
"Just now, the emperor told us to go to mother's palace to pay our respects, but he didn't want to see you here." Song Chengze said politely.
Concubine Lian hummed, "It's cold and the roads are slippery. Why don't I come to the Queen's place and you can pay your respects together? There's no need to go back and forth, and we can go back early."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty." Meng Qi said crisply.
The Empress's lips curled slightly. This Fourth Miss Meng was truly interesting. Not only was her brain slow, but she also couldn't understand what she was told. Anyone else would have pondered the reasons long ago, but she genuinely believed Concubine Lian was thinking of them.
Concubine Lian frowned slightly and looked at her third daughter-in-law. She saw that Meng Qi's thick black hair was all combed to the top of her head, with long phoenix six-bead hairpins inserted on both sides. The red gems were finely inlaid on the gold wire, swaying gently as she walked, and occasionally when it touched her delicate cheek, it would playfully escape.
She is indeed a beautiful one. If her reputation in the outside world could be better, if the Huainan Marquisate could be more progressive, and if she herself could be more outstanding, her son's path would be smoother.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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