Chapter 84 An Lingrong 25
"I plan to go to the Old Summer Palace to escape the summer heat in a few days."
Seeing that Lingrong's cheeks were slightly flushed after just a few plays, Yinzhen reached out and poured her a cup of tea, which she drank from her hand.
Lingrong was drinking tea when she heard the news. She hurriedly drank the tea in one gulp, looking at the emperor with blinking eyes.
"Is there any place you like?" Yinzhen took the round fan from her hand and tapped it gently on Lingrong's head.
"Your Majesty, aren't you deliberately trying to please me? I've never been there before." Ling Rong said, then she lay in the emperor's arms again: "Your Majesty doesn't care about me."
"I don't care about you?" Yinzhen placed his index finger and thumb on Lingrong's lips, pinching them up and down, blocking her cherry mouth that was unable to say nice things to him: "Except for the Queen, you are the first one in the palace to know."
"Beep...mmmm, mmmmmmmm!"
Yinzhen frowned and released his hand: "Talk properly, why are you acting so weird?"
Ling Rong simply ignored his self-righteous and confident speech and continued to protest: "I have never been there, so it is useless to know."
Yinzhen felt that he was becoming more and more patient in front of Anshi, and he hadn't even left yet: "So what do you want?"
"Your Majesty, please choose for me." Lingrong saw Yinzhen raise an eyebrow at her and added softly, "As long as there are fewer people, I don't socialize much."
Yinzhen didn't doubt her words. The emperor thought this girl, who was awkward even in expressing her feelings and always had a cold expression, would have a hard time getting along with others. "Don't bother with those who don't matter. I see you're on good terms with the Shen and Zhen families who came to the palace with you. If anything goes wrong, just follow them."
Lingrong nodded in agreement, and then pulled Yinzhen aside to discuss what they needed to pack for the trip to the Old Summer Palace.
The emperor had no doubts; in fact, he even enjoyed it. Whether in history or in the drama, the emperor was known to be very diligent. They also had an extreme desire for control, wishing to handle everything themselves.
Lingrong unconsciously guided his desire for control, gradually making Yinzhen more and more accustomed to taking care of her, cherishing her, and trusting her.
The beautiful woman in Manchu clothing sat on the couch, supporting her face with her hands, and looked at the emperor with a smile as he called the servants. As he gave orders one by one, the entire Heyi Hall started to operate at high speed to prepare supplies for her to leave the palace.
………
"It's just a hairpin, but the emperor actually thought of Concubine Hua and lifted her confinement. How abominable."
Mei Zhuang drank the jasmine tea on the table in one gulp. The specially chilled tea slid down her throat with a refreshing fragrance, finally easing her dissatisfaction a little.
Zhen Huan and Ling Rong, who were sitting opposite her, looked at each other, ate their cakes silently without saying a word, and let Mei Zhuang vent.
"You guys... forget it, there's nothing we can do about it." Mei Zhuang sighed, as if she had figured it out. "After all, there's still a long way to go, and right now, ourselves are more important."
"That's well said, sister." Seeing this, Zhen Huan hurriedly praised her. "No wonder the Emperor wants you to manage the palace affairs. But that day I thought you would ask for a reduction in the mung bean soup quota and convert it into cash to distribute to the people below."
When Mei Zhuang heard her mention this, she looked at Ling Rong and smiled, "Thank you so much, Ling Rong."
"Earlier, when we were discussing the difficulties of managing a harem, it was Lingrong who advised me to be cautious. How could I arbitrarily change something that the Empress has managed the harem for years without changing it? Although I haven't fully understood the circumstances involved, I have a vague feeling that this matter cannot be resolved with my one-size-fits-all approach."
Ling Rong pretended to be confused and tugged at Zhen Huan's sleeve. After they finished explaining the whole story, she smiled and said, "Sister, this is new. Although I know that many servants are hypocritical and flatter the powerful, I didn't realize that they are also the first-class eyes of wealth and luxury."
"Take the issue of converting silver into money. Let's not even talk about whether it can be distributed to the young eunuchs and palace maids. Even if they can get the money that belongs to them, the palace maids will be fine, but I'm afraid the lowly eunuchs will all hate you."
"They love forming cliques and bullying those below them. If they were to make mung bean soup, the top brass would at most cut corners on the ingredients, but the mung bean soup would definitely be there. And only if it's cooked well enough, the eunuchs below them would be able to drink it."
"But if it's converted into silver, I'm afraid I can only voluntarily offer it to the eunuchs above."
Mei Zhuang simply lacked experience, and her words of advice were enough to enlighten her. "So, this can only be ordered by someone higher up. The Emperor and Empress are the most powerful people in the palace, so the servants dare not gossip about them. They also dare not offend Concubine Hua, as she is so powerful. But if it were just me, a mere noble, I'm afraid they wouldn't let it go so easily."
"Yes, it's easy to hide from the King of Hell, but it's hard to deal with little devils. Our foundation in the palace is not stable yet, so it's not easy to make too many enemies. It's better to be careful." Zhen Huan felt scared after hearing what Ling Rong and Mei Zhuang said.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Have you packed all your things for our trip to the Old Summer Palace?" Mei Zhuang saw that the atmosphere was a bit solemn, so she smiled and spoke to break the dull atmosphere.
Ling Rong on the other side immediately took over the conversation: "I've packed it a long time ago and am just waiting to go."
"Speaking of which, this is our first time to the Old Summer Palace. I wonder where we will be assigned and what the scenery is like." Zhen Huan looked fascinated, as if she had already lived there.
"Sister will definitely be assigned a good position." Ling Rong pursed her lips and smiled softly: "The Emperor cares about Sister."
"What are you talking about!" Zhen Huan glared at Ling Rong coquettishly, but her blushing face revealed her true feelings.
"Rong'er, stop talking. Our Concubine Wan is about to leave." Mei Zhuang also teased her with a smile, calling Zhen Huan "sister" in anger.
………
It was a sunny day when we went to the Old Summer Palace. After a long day of traveling by boat and horse, we finally arrived.
Zhen Huan was assigned to Bitong Academy, Mei Zhuang was assigned to Xianyue Pavilion, and Ling Rong was assigned to Xinghuachun Pavilion.
This view reminded her of Tao Yuanming's "Returning to the Garden and Farmland". Looking at the various well-maintained fields in front of the house and the vast expanse of apricot trees, Lingrong felt relaxed and happy.
Since she was the only one living there, she didn't need to be so polite in the garden. Yinzhen specially sent someone to give her instructions and let her stay in the main hall.
Ling Rong naturally would not refuse. She ordered someone to deliver the reward to the eunuch who delivered the message, and then led He Ronglu and Ziyuan to the main hall, Chunyuxuan.
The servants of Xinghuachun Pavilion were already waiting there.
Two young eunuchs and a palace maid were kneeling on the ground in front of her, performing the ceremony in a very proper manner. Although she didn't know if there was anything wrong with them, the way they looked had already won Lingrong's favor.
"Get up." Lingrong sat in the main seat, too lazy to waste time with these servants assigned to Yuanmingyuan. If they were useful, she would take them away. If not, it didn't matter.
"Little Jinzi and Aunt He will teach you my rules later. I only have one thing to say: perform your duties conscientiously and don't do anything you shouldn't do, or else our master-servant relationship will end badly."
After saying that, he supported Ziyuan and went straight to the tidied bedroom to rest.
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