Chapter 132 An Lingrong 73
After Hua Fei came out, she looked the same as before, and it seemed that she did not take the punishment seriously.
Even towards the empress, she still acted arrogantly, and only paid her respects to her emperor after relying on his favor.
After coming out of the Queen's Jingren Palace, Lingrong was about to take the sedan chair back, but Zhen Huan pulled her hand and asked cautiously, "Sister, do you have time recently? The weather is beautiful today, and I want to invite you to go to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the spring scenery. I wonder if you are free?"
"Sister Wan, I'm free as long as we have an appointment." Ling Rong smiled at her gently and took her hand. Zhen Huan seemed to be relieved. The two of them chatted all the way to the Imperial Garden.
Lingrong was just talking about Hua'er being able to stand up on her own two days ago when she saw Hua Fei's procession coming towards them.
"Who did I think it was? Isn't this the concubine Wan, the apple of the emperor's eye? You didn't expect it, concubine Wan, that no matter how many schemes you have, the emperor still trusts me." At this moment, Concubine Hua had no eyes for Ling Rong at all. Instead, she believed that Zhen Huan's miscarriage caused her to fall out of favor, and she only wanted to take revenge on her.
"Your Majesty, you are joking. In the harem, who can compare with you, Your Majesty Hua, in terms of favor? The Emperor only feels pity for me and has some sympathy for me." Unexpectedly, Zhen Huan humbled herself to the level of the world and spoke to her with great respect.
However, Concubine Hua did not appreciate it. She was about to say something when she heard Concubine Yi say coldly, "If Concubine Hua has nothing to do, you might as well go back to Yiku Palace first." Then she pointed behind her.
Nian Shilan subconsciously turned around and saw Su Peisheng and his men approaching quickly. "So the Empress Hua is here. It was really easy for me to find her."
"Eunuch Su? But what are the emperor's instructions?"
"The Emperor went to Yikun Palace to see you after leaving court. I didn't expect you weren't there, so I sent this servant out to look for you."
When Concubine Hua heard this, a smug look immediately appeared on her face: "Your Majesty is really something. He was thinking about me but didn't send someone to inform me earlier. Instead, he made Your Majesty wait in vain."
After saying this, he no longer had the mood to argue with them, so he hurried back home and headed for Yikun Palace.
"Her impetuous personality hasn't changed at all." Lingrong looked at Hua Fei's back and sighed lightly.
"It's easy to change the landscape, but hard to change one's nature. Someone like her, who only cares about being happy, how could she possibly change?"
"Sister Mei really should see your murderous look right now. If she sees it, she will no longer think that you are trying to please Concubine Hua just to curry favor with the Emperor." Lingrong casually caught a fallen flower and said meaningfully while holding the flower.
Zhen Huan was shocked when she heard this: "Rong'er, you already... know everything?"
"It's easy to imagine. You grew up together. If it weren't for this, why would she humiliate you in public these days?" Ling Rong casually threw the blooming flowers aside, turned her head to look at Zhen Huan who was a little at a loss, and couldn't help but sigh at her immaturity at the moment.
"What about you, Rong'er? Aren't you going to ask me why I do this?" Zhen Huan pinched the handkerchief nervously, not knowing what kind of answer she was expecting.
"The story of Duke Zheng defeating Duke Duan in Yuyan has endured for so long, there must be a reason for it." Ling Rong stared into the bright sunshine, not knowing who she was mocking: "It's a pity that everyone knows the story, yet it has become just a story."
"You know what?" Ling Rong looked at Zhen Huan, her tone filled with a desolateness that she couldn't understand at the moment: "I suddenly thought of something."
"What is it?"
"There is nothing new under the sun."
………
Not long after that, the emperor took them all to the Old Summer Palace to escape the summer heat, and Meizhuang remained in the palace.
Despite being favored by the emperor, Nian Shilan felt inexplicably uneasy and could only believe in the emperor's sincerity with the comfort of her servants. Unfortunately, things did not go as she wished.
As time went by, the opportunity the emperor had been patiently waiting for became more and more mature. Suddenly, "upright" officials headed by Zhen Yuandao appeared in the court and began to impeach Nian Gengyao's servants. But in fact, the emperor had already collected a lot of evidence about Nian's own crimes.
Nian Shilan only knew that the emperor would not come to her again.
…
"Empress Wan, Empress Wan!"
Zhen Huan was talking to Ling Rong about the scene when they first came to the Old Summer Palace, when she suddenly heard a clear child's voice. Turning around, she saw the Fourth Prince, whom she had met once, standing on the rockery, waving a willow grass ring in his hand.
"Fourth Prince, come down quickly! It's dangerous up there!" Zhen Huan hurriedly called the child down and carefully checked whether he was injured.
The Fourth Prince saluted her politely, then turned to look at Ling Rong: "Greetings to Concubine Yi."
"Please stand up, Fourth Prince." Lingrong stood aside and watched the two of them talking happily. When he was about to leave, he hesitated for a moment, looked at her, and finally put the grass ring in his hand on Zhen Huan's head.
"This child." Zhen Huan took it down, but her eyes were full of love for the child.
"This child is quite clever." Ling Rong glanced at the grass ring in her hand, said something ambiguous, and changed the subject.
On the way back, Bi Qing looked at her hesitantly, then asked, "Your Majesty seems... not quite convinced that Concubine Wan is too close to the Fourth Prince?"
Seeing her carefully choosing her words, Lingrong smiled: "Yes, you are right. But do you know why I disagree?"
"Well... because the Emperor doesn't like the Fourth Prince?"
"That could be considered one of the reasons." Seeing Bi Qing racking her brains but unable to come up with an idea, Ling Rong finally spoke: "It's nothing, really. I just think this kid is too deep-minded. But I can't blame him. Anyone who is born into a noble family but is abandoned here would inevitably suffer the same fate."
Ling Rong shook her head: "He is just a poor man, but what does he have to do with me?"
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