Chapter 46 Falling into the Water
Chan Zhen looked at the expectant eyes of Princess Xuanyang and couldn't bear to refuse.
Lu Zhu was worried about her getting along with the other concubines, so she called more people to accompany her. The group walked towards the lotus pond in a mighty procession. As they approached, they heard a burst of laughter in front of them.
Aside from Lin Shuren, who was confined to the palace, the rest of the concubines were almost all present. Perhaps they hadn't anticipated the Imperial Concubine's arrival, and the moment Chan Zhen appeared, the scene suddenly became quiet.
"Greetings to the Imperial Concubine." Except for the two concubines Shude, everyone began to pay their respects to Chan Zhen one by one.
Chan Zhen nodded to them and said, "Everyone, please stand up." He then smiled at the two leading ladies, Consort Shu De, and said, "I apologize for coming here and disturbing your enjoyment."
The smile on Concubine Shu's face faded a little: "Why did your Highness the Imperial Concubine think of going out today?"
Concubine De came forward with a smile and said, "What are you talking about, Noble Concubine? We are so happy that you can come. I heard that you were a little unwell a few days ago. Are you feeling better now?"
After saying this, she looked Chan Zhen up and down and nodded. "Your complexion looks rosy, so I think you're much better now. Amitabha! I heard from Yunqi that His Majesty has been in a bad mood during the court meetings these past few days because of this. I'm glad you're okay."
Shufei had always openly expressed her dislike for her, but Chanzhen didn't care about it. Defei was always very affectionate to her whenever she saw her, so her relationship with Defei was better than that with other concubines in the palace.
It seems that there has never been any news of Defei having a conflict with any concubine in the palace. Among the original three concubines, Defei was also the easiest one to deal with.
"Thank you for your concern, Sister Defei." Zen Zhen said with a smile.
The Lady of Xuanyang County, who had been holding her arm, released her hand and walked up to Concubine Shu. With a look of hesitation and a friendly gesture, she said, "Xuanyang greets Concubine Shu."
Chanzhen remembered that His Majesty had said last night that Princess Yuzhen had asked for Xuanyang's hand in marriage to become the Princess of Jin, and wondered if Concubine Shu knew about this.
However, Concubine Shu's attitude towards Princess Xuanyang was just like that towards an ordinary junior, and there was no difference.
"I haven't seen the county lady for a long time. I wonder if Princess Yuzhen is doing well now?"
The Princess of Xuanyang County was not as generous as usual in front of her. She smiled shyly like a little girl and said, "My aunt is doing well. I ran into His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin at my aunt's place a few days ago. My Lady Shufei, has His Royal Highness been feeling better recently? When we last met, Xuanyang noticed that His Royal Highness didn't look well. It's a pity that Taoist Xuanwei is in seclusion, so His Royal Highness made a wasted trip and was unable to help His Royal Highness resolve his doubts."
Concubine Shu's expression froze for a moment. "Yun Yi is unwell? How come I don't know about this?"
Princess Xuanyang looked puzzled: "Didn't His Highness tell you?"
Concubine Shu thought of her son, who had become increasingly silent recently. The pressure of the Imperial Concubine's favor was too great. She was only concerned about Yun Yi taking the crown prince position before the Imperial Concubine gave birth to a prince. She barely noticed the change in his expression. But she couldn't admit in front of outsiders that she wasn't paying enough attention to Yun Yi's health, so she put on a fake smile.
"Yun Yi always likes to force himself. He didn't even tell me, his mother, that he wasn't feeling well. I have to trouble the county lady to care about him."
The Xuanyang County Lady's eyes dimmed, "Your Highness is always like this..."
Chan Zhen was very clear about this. Xuan Yang said he came to see the lotus flowers, but in fact he came for Concubine Shu. He wanted to find out about the recent situation of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin from Concubine Shu.
She watched silently without saying a word, but she still felt a little lost in her heart.
Fearing her thoughts would be discovered, Princess Xuanyang quickly returned to her usual cheerful demeanor. Seeing Chan Zhen standing silently with her maids, seemingly out of tune with the others, she returned to her side.
"I heard that the ladies have agreed to go boating and enjoy the lotus. Could you please include me and the Imperial Concubine?"
The Imperial Concubine has always been favored, and the lotus pond here is not privately owned by the imperial concubines. Let alone the Imperial Concubine wanting to go boating on the pond, even if she ordered them all to be driven away, I am afraid His Majesty would not agree.
Even if Concubine Shu was displeased, she didn't dare to embarrass Concubine Gui too blatantly, as the fate of Concubine Xian was still fresh in her mind.
It was afternoon, and lotus flowers stood gracefully on the vast blue water. The ebony oars pushed aside the lotus leaves and sailed towards the center of the water.
Chan Zhen stood at the bow of the boat, holding a blooming lotus flower in the water, which the boatman had just picked for her.
The twin lotus flowers are a rare auspicious sign. Concubine Shu and Concubine De on the other boat looked at them with envy, but Chan Zhen was preoccupied and stared blankly at the water in the distance.
"Empress, what happened?" Luzhu had been paying attention to her. Seeing this, she walked up and asked.
Chan Zhen came back to his senses, a hint of sadness between his brows: "I was just thinking, maybe I shouldn't have agreed to come here with the Princess of Xuanyang."
Shufei and the others didn't like her in the first place, and her coming would only disturb their good mood.
Lu Zhu sighed helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, please just follow your heart. Why worry about what others think? There is no place in the palace that you cannot go to. Even in front of His Majesty, you are not allowed to do so. Besides, we are not on the same boat with them, so how can we get in their way?"
She said that the Empress was too kind. If the Empress had not requested His Majesty, they would not have been able to come with him to the temporary palace to escape the summer heat. In previous years, before the Empress entered the palace, only a few favored concubines had this opportunity.
Chan Zhen knew that Lu Zhu had always been partial to her and protected her, and she felt a little better. Her eyes fell on the Xuanyang County Lady at the stern of the boat. She said she was admiring the lotus flowers, but after getting on the boat, she stood alone at the stern in silence, not even glancing at the lotus flowers in the pond.
It's impossible for both of them to be so distraught, so Chan Zhen walked over and held out the lotus in his hand in front of her.
"The boatman just picked a lotus with two stems. Would you like to see it, my lady?"
Twin lotus flowers symbolize a happy marriage. Although it is unlikely that Princess Xuanyang and His Royal Highness Prince Jin will be together, for the Princess, these twin lotus flowers can at least make her happier, right?
Princess Xuanyang stared blankly at the twin lotus flowers in front of her, and finally a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." She did not refuse, but reached out to take it, holding it in her palm as if it were a treasure.
Seeing this, Chan Zhen couldn't help but comfort him: "The county lady is so outstanding, why do you have to be obsessed with one person?"
The Princess of Xuanyang County smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, you don't know that my family is going to arrange a marriage for me."
Zen was a little surprised.
"My mother was seriously ill a while ago. She said she wanted to see me get married, so I had no choice but to agree. However, none of the men she looked for me were my favorites." She stared at the lotus in her hand. "I envy you and His Majesty very much. Although His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, he is so kind to you. Since you entered the palace, you have never looked at anyone else."
"County Lady, you will also find your destined person." Chan Zhen comforted her.
The Princess of Xuanyang County shook her head. "I can't find it. He has never taken me seriously."
Chanzhen thought of the similarities between Prince Jin and His Majesty's face and temperament. Although His Majesty treated her gently and caringly, she actually knew that His Majesty was actually a little ruthless. It was precisely because His Majesty was ruthless to the former concubines that she wanted to make it up to them so that they could live a better life even though they had lost favor.
I imagine His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin feels the same way, but this isn't His Royal Highness's fault. Feelings themselves can't be forced. It's better for His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to be ruthless to Princess Xuanyang than to always leave her with a glimmer of hope and then never accept it. However, these words aren't suitable for comforting Princess Xuanyang.
Perhaps the county lady did not expect to get any comfort, but just wanted to find someone to listen to her.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Actually, I just wanted to use you at first." After pouring out her heart, Princess Xuanyang felt a little better. However, when she met the Imperial Concubine's gentle gaze, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "It was my aunt who asked me to get closer to you, so I came down the mountain to find you. I asked you to come see the lotus flowers earlier because..."
"I know." Chan Zhen pursed his lips and looked at her with a warm smile, "But you, County Master, also defended me in front of so many people, so I don't blame you."
"You, the County Princess, are well aware that I don't come from a high background. Since entering the Imperial City, I've mostly been met with looks of contempt. Even His Majesty can't completely block out those glances." Chan Zhen raised an eyebrow. "I know that apart from His Majesty and the people in my palace, almost no one likes me. It's because with my background, I've received favor and status that none of them have ever received. But they haven't done anything wrong. They were the first to arrive in this palace and serve His Majesty. There's no point in making a fuss about it."
"I try not to care about other people's opinions; that makes me feel better. The same goes for the county lady. If you don't like the marriage your family has arranged for you, why don't you tell your mother or the princess?" Chan Zhen smiled. "They love you the most, so they'll naturally value your opinion."
Just like His Majesty, no matter how strong he is in front of outsiders, as long as there is something she doesn't like, His Majesty will always consider her feelings. If you truly love someone, you won't bear to make her sad.
"But..." Princess Xuanyang bit her lip and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint my mother and aunt."
My mother's health has always been poor, and my aunt has always been worried about her.
Chan Zhen chuckled softly, "If the county lady doesn't live well after getting married, that would be the cause of much worry and regret."
Princess Xuanyang suddenly felt enlightened and looked at her gratefully, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine! You are obviously younger than me, yet I still need your comfort."
Chanzhen's cheeks flushed slightly. She followed His Majesty to study every day. Sometimes His Majesty would hold her in his arms and tell her about the newly approved memorials and state affairs. Gradually, she also learned to speak some profound truths.
Moreover, although she was young, she had been married for a long time after all, and Princess Xuanyang was still an unmarried girl, so she naturally did not understand these love affairs as deeply as she did.
"It's good that the county lady has figured it out." Chan Zhen narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I envy the county lady too."
She was spoiled since childhood. As a famous noble lady in the capital, she had basically never encountered any unpleasant things except for the setbacks in her love life.
"There's nothing about me that's worth envying..." Xuan Yang muttered. Just as he was about to say something else, he saw a small boat suddenly lose its direction and crash straight towards him.
The faces of Concubine De and the others on the boat turned pale, and they shouted nervously: "Be careful!"
Chan Zhen went to the stern of the boat to comfort Princess Xuanyang, and Lu Zhu and others did not follow because they were afraid of disturbing her and Xuanyang from talking privately. At this time, there was no one else beside Chan Zhen except Princess Xuanyang.
"Empress!" Luzhu rushed up anxiously.
At the moment the boat hit him, Chan Zhen's body couldn't help but shake, and he was about to fall into the water, but the next moment he was pushed hard into the water by the Princess of Xuanyang County.
With a "splash", Chan Zhen stood up from the boat and turned around to see Princess Xuanyang falling into the water.
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