Chapter 40: Palace Secrets? Shocking!
Ever since her last disagreement with the Third Prince, He Zhaojun had been staying in Yongle Palace during the day, studying with Concubine Yue. From poetry and the Analects of Confucius to knitting and needlework,[22] or music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she was busy all day long. Even Concubine Yue often comforted her, telling her not to overwork herself.
Perhaps it was because the He family had many followers and a wealthy family, Concubine Yue ruled strictly, and Old Lady Bai took care of everything, so no one was so blind as to dare to openly embarrass He Zhaojun.
In a blink of an eye, the day arrived when Emperor Wen summoned Cheng Shi and his family to the palace. He Zhaojun waited on the road they had to pass and showed up. Shao Shang looked out from the carriage and saw He Zhaojun smiling at her. She was no longer nervous for a moment.
He Zhaojun waited for a while, and as expected, Emperor Wen gave an oral order to keep Cheng Shi and his family for lunch in the palace. Many princes, princesses, and noble ladies came in a crowd.
"Zhaojun, please keep an eye on them for me and don't let them cause any trouble," Concubine Yue ordered while humming a piece of music. He Zhaojun agreed and led the female officials to the main hall.
A palace servant poked his head out from behind, "Young Master, you've only been here a few days, and yet Concubine Yue has asked you to represent her. This is truly a great honor."
He Zhaojun remained calm, glanced at her, and frowned, "Good sister, don't tease me like that. If someone with ulterior motives heard it, they'd think I was eager to show off and had bad intentions."
"Besides, I'm here to relieve Concubine Yue's worries, not to cause her trouble. You must also restrain your words and actions. After all, Zhaojun still needs to follow your example and continue to learn."
The people behind him saluted hurriedly: "Young lady, you are right. We all understand that you absolutely do not have such thoughts. We will never dare to say it again."
Old Lady Bai was pleased. With her combination of kindness and authority, He Zhaojun had made remarkable progress in just a few days. No wonder Concubine Yue praised her as a talented person, often letting her exercise freely and rarely confining her to her room to study.
Suddenly, Zhaojun caught a glimpse of a figure sneaking around behind the rockery. The figure exchanged glances with Old Lady Bai, and two servants immediately came over and pulled the figure out.
Old Lady Bai recognized that this little girl was one of the third princess's dowry. What was she doing here now?
"Young lady, these are the things we found on her body. I wonder what this package contains?" He Zhaojun opened the cloth bag, which contained a kind of herbal powder. She handed it to Bai Lao, but Bai Lao's face changed when she saw it.
"This is... an aphrodisiac." Old Bai thought for a moment and did not expose it in public. She just whispered it to He Zhaojun.
He Zhaojun led her men back to the side hall, threw the item in front of her, and waited for someone to speak. "The Third Princess is currently in Concubine Yue's Yongle Palace. Tell me, if I capture you and bring you before Concubine Yue, where will your Third Princess's reputation be? What good will come of it?"
The woman kowtowed repeatedly: "Young Master, this was given to me by the Third Princess's aunt. She said that the Third Princess has been married for some time, but she has been driving her husband to the concubines' courtyard all day long, so her pregnancy has not moved..."
"Then you can't just put this thing in the Third Princess's medicine! If it doesn't work, that's fine, but if something goes wrong, how are you going to explain it?"
"I also feel sorry for the Third Princess. Without any children, her life is really difficult..."
He Zhaojun kept frowning. "Old Lady Bai, please take this girl away and take her to a safe place. I will find an opportunity to mention this to Concubine Yue. I believe she is also worried about the Third Princess."
My goodness, the mother-in-law gave her daughter-in-law aphrodisiacs. How outrageous can this royal family be?
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