Chapter 85 085 "Starting tomorrow, all princes and princesses will continue to go..."
When Luo Fu and her son arrived at the palace gates outside the capital city, which were used by noblewomen from outside the capital, Eunuch Liu, who had been sent by Consort Li to guide them, was already waiting there.
Luo Fu first greeted Eunuch Liu, and then, according to custom, handed over her waist token bearing the title of Fifth-Rank Imperial Lady and the palace pass issued by Consort Li to the Imperial Guards for verification. Xiao Yu's position as Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince was only concurrent; his primary post was the Fifth-Rank Chief Censor of the Censorate. Therefore, Luo Fu's title remained that of a Fifth-Rank Imperial Lady. In addition to an annual salary of 180 taels of silver, this title also granted her the right to be exempt from kneeling before officials.
After the guards checked their records, Luo Fu and her son were allowed to enter the palace.
Eunuch Liu wanted to take Luo Fu directly to the West Palace, but Luo Fu looked towards the Central Palace and said, "This humble woman is also eager to pay her respects to Consort Li, but according to the rules, shouldn't this humble woman first pay her respects to Her Majesty the Empress?"
Eunuch Liu smiled and said, "Her Majesty the Empress is easygoing and dislikes being bound by formalities. Besides, our Lady already consulted with Her Majesty the Empress yesterday, and Madam can go directly to Yanfu Palace."
Luo Fu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said timidly, "This humble woman has not paid her respects to Her Majesty the Empress for a long time. Today, I am honored to be summoned by Consort Li. Now that I have entered the palace, I should pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress according to the rules, so as not to leave any grounds for disrespect to Her Majesty the Empress in the hands of the Imperial Censor."
Eunuch Liu: "..." As expected of the wife of Imperial Censor Xiao, she even remembers clearly what the Imperial Censors of the Censorate and the Palace Censorate can impeach.
Fearing that he would displease Consort Li, Eunuch Liu continued to try to persuade Luo Fu to listen to him, but Luo Fu insisted on going to the Central Palace first. The two lingered by the palace gate for too long, attracting the frequent glances of the Imperial Guards. In the end, Eunuch Liu could not persuade Luo Fu with his reasoning, so he had no choice but to lead his men to the Central Palace and ask someone outside the gate to go in and announce their arrival.
In the main hall of the central palace, Empress Xie was talking with her eldest daughter, Princess Yi'an.
Fifteen-year-old Princess Yi'an deliberately chose this time to come, in order to make a bet with her mother: "I bet the Third Consort will come to pay her respects to Mother. Where is Mother?"
Empress Xie found it amusing: "What's there to gamble on? Whether the Third Madam comes or not, she'll be in a difficult position. I won't mind."
Princess Yi'an only inherited her mother's appearance and had a noble and pure temperament like the moon, but she had a very clever mind: "My mother has no interest in competing for anything. While not caring can save a lot of trouble, it also allows others to become arrogant and conceited. Ambitious people are insatiable. Perhaps one day they will even want to take away my mother's empress's palace."
Empress Xie wanted to say that she didn't care about the honor of being an empress, and that whoever had the ability could take it. However, she was not alone and could not act so impulsively.
"Alright, alright, Yi'an, don't worry, your mother knows what she's doing." Empress Xie soothingly patted her daughter's cheek.
Just then, a palace servant came to deliver a message, saying that the Third Lady of the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence requested an audience.
The mother and daughter smiled at each other.
A moment later, Luo Fu, accompanied by Hong Ge'er, respectfully performed a kneeling bow to Empress Xie.
Empress Xie remained seated, waiting for Luo Fu to stand up before asking, "You know I don't like this, especially with people close to you. Why do you still do it?"
She disliked empty formalities, but if others insisted on doing so, Empress Xie wasn't the type to rush to stop them.
Luo Fu patted Hong Ge'er's head and said with a smile, "I still remember when Her Majesty was making the Crown Princess, I was pregnant with Hong Ge'er. Her Majesty exempted me from the grand ceremony, but I vowed in my heart that I would make up for the missing kneeling for Her Majesty in the future. Well, today I not only made up for it, but I also made up for it extra."
Empress Xie smiled and looked at Hongge, who was now three years old.
Hongge'er was also observing the empress, who was as beautiful as the moon, as his mother had described, his dark eyes fixed on her without blinking.
Empress Xie asked softly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hongge'er: "Mother says you are as beautiful as the moon. I'm looking to see exactly where you resemble the moon."
Empress Xie: "..."
Princess Yi'an chuckled. Still a young girl, she rose from her chair, bent down, and leaned close to Hongge'er, teasing the child deliberately: "Then, do you notice any resemblance between your mother and me?"
Hongge shook his head: "The Empress is much prettier than the moon. The moon has grayish things on it, while the Empress's skin is as smooth as jade..."
Luo Fu quickly covered the little boy's mouth, blushing as she said, "The child heard these lines from a play somewhere, Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart."
Even if "skin as smooth as jade" is a compliment, it's still considered frivolous for a man to use that phrase to praise a woman to her face, and even a three-year-old boy wouldn't do it!
Empress Xie glanced meaningfully at Luo Fu, whose skin was also as smooth as jade. In her mind, she could already picture the heartwarming scene of Xiao Yu praising his wife in this way, which was remembered by the young child beside him.
Princess Yi'an was very fond of Hong Ge'er and wanted to take the little guy to her chair to feed him cakes, but Empress Xie disagreed, saying, "Let the Third Madam go to Consort Li's place first, so as not to keep Consort Li waiting."
Empress Xie didn't care about Consort Li's feelings, but Consort Li, in a bad mood, might vent her frustrations on Luo Fu.
Princess Yi'an: "Can't I at least have a bite? I've already invited Hong-ge'er, I can't go back on my word."
Luo Fu hurriedly said, "No rush, no rush. Hong-ge'er has never tasted palace pastries before. Thank you for the cakes, Princess."
While the two of them were sharing the cake, Luo Fu moved closer to Empress Xie, taking the opportunity to admire the beauty while muttering a complaint: "The Princess invited me to go horseback riding as soon as the mourning period ended. After the ride, I've been eagerly awaiting Your Majesty's invitation every day. But I never expected that the person in the palace who misses me the most isn't Your Majesty, but rather Consort Li, whom I've barely spoken to before..."
Empress Xie: "...I was planning to hold a flower banquet when the chrysanthemums bloom, to formally invite the ladies of the capital, both inside and outside the capital, and then hold a few smaller banquets like the Empress Dowager did. Who would have thought that Consort Li's longing for the Lady was even greater than my interest in appreciating chrysanthemums?"
The two men, one using Consort Li to express their resentment and the other using Consort Li to satirize her, revealed the same underlying intimacy.
A few witty remarks and teasing glances instantly erased the three years that had been separated by the heavy palace walls.
Having pledged her "loyalty," Luo Fu led Hong Ge'er, who had eaten a whole piece of cake, away from the central palace and followed Eunuch Liu to Consort Li's Yanfu Palace.
Consort Li was angry because she had given Luo Fu face, but Luo Fu had actually trampled on her kindness.
"Tell them to wait outside!" Consort Li said without hesitation upon hearing the palace servant's announcement.
Another invited female guest, Lady Dou, who was also the daughter-in-law of the newly appointed Imperial Secretary Chen Ruliang and the cousin-in-law of Consort Li, quickly leaned close to her ear and advised, "Your Majesty, the West Palace is full of palace maids and eunuchs. There might be someone's spies. If word gets out that you invited the wife of Imperial Censor Xiao but let her wait outside the palace for so long, I'm afraid..."
Xiao Yu is now a favorite of Emperor Xianping.
Consort Li listened and then had Luo Fu and her son brought in. After all, she had promoted Luo Fu to curry favor with Xiao Yu, lest that hotheaded Xiao Yu, like Yang Sheng, oppose his uncle's entry into the Secretariat. Although Xiao Yu did not have the power to interfere with the transfer of officials in the Ministry of Personnel, the Emperor might consult Xiao Yu's opinion if he faced too much opposition from his ministers.
Consort Li suppressed her anger. Her two children were right beside her. Whether it was the three-year-old Second Prince or the two-year-old Second Princess, they were both at an age where they didn't understand many profound truths but could perfectly read the expressions on adults' faces. In particular, the Second Prince, who was loved and pampered by his mother and spoiled by the palace servants around him, had witnessed his mother's angry face after learning that the Third Madam of the Xiao family had gone to the Empress's palace, and had also heard his mother's voice saying that she didn't want the Third Madam and her son to come in. As a result, the Second Prince disliked the mother and son from the start.
After Luo Fu brought Hong Ge'er in, she also bowed to Consort Li first.
Consort Li smiled as if nothing unpleasant had happened, warmly offering Luo Fu a seat and calling Hong Ge'er to her side, wanting to hug him.
"Don't let Mother hug him!" The Second Prince, who was sitting next to his mother, suddenly jumped off the daybed and pushed Hong Ge'er, who was unprepared and had never fought much, so he fell on his bottom.
Luo Fu's heart skipped a beat, and she almost stood up, but she managed to hold back.
Hongge landed on his bottom first. He wasn't hurt, but he was more frightened. He instinctively turned his head to look at his mother.
Luo Fu then asked encouragingly, "Can Hong-ge'er stand up by himself?"
Hongge nodded, stood up and went straight back to his mother's side, leaning against her dependently, his dark eyes looking at the second prince with puzzlement.
Consort Li turned the Second Prince's small shoulder, her expression questioning yet smiling: "What are you doing, Xia-ge'er? That's Man'er, the Man'er from the Xiao family whom Father Emperor and I often mention to you. Don't you also want to meet him?"
The Second Prince glared at Hong Ge'er and said, "I've waited for him for so long and he still hasn't come. I don't like him!"
These words truly struck a chord with Consort Li. She glanced at Luo Fu, and was just about to appease her son and move on from the topic, when suddenly a palace servant announced from outside: "His Majesty has arrived!"
At this, everyone in the hall stood up. When Emperor Xianping, dressed in a blue robe with gold dragon embroidery, stepped in, Luo Fu and Lady Dou knelt down with their children to greet him.
Consort Li, leading the Second Prince and the Second Princess, greeted Emperor Xianping. The two children affectionately hugged Emperor Xianping's legs, and Consort Li asked in surprise, "Why has Your Majesty come?"
Emperor Xianping came to see Xiao Yu's son. The night before, when he heard that Consort Li wanted to summon the mother and son, he had this idea. However, he was not sure if he could find the time, so he did not tell Consort Li. He had just finished reviewing the memorials in the Imperial Study and guessed that Luo Fu and her son had not left yet, so he came here.
Emperor Xianping first dismissed everyone's formalities, then picked up the Second Princess and, as he walked towards the main seat, asked the Second Prince, "I think I just heard you calling out, 'Who do you not like?'"
The second prince, oblivious to his mother's meaningful glance, angrily pointed at Hongge'er and said, "Father, I don't like him. He made me wait for so long!"
Luo Fu quickly apologized: "It was because I went to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress after entering the palace that I was delayed on the way there and back. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Second Prince: "It was clearly your mother who summoned you to the palace, so why did you go to pay your respects to the Empress?"
Emperor Xianping's face darkened abruptly, and he shouted, "How dare you! That's your mother!"
The second prince trembled, then burst into tears and threw himself into his mother's arms.
Consort Li was both angry that her own son was too young to be cunning and annoyed that Emperor Xianping had shown her no mercy in front of her cousin-in-law and Luo Fu. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I was just too eager to see Man'er, so I called Xia'er over early to wait with us. He's young and impatient; he didn't mean to disrespect his sister..."
Emperor Xianping: "It's all because you spoiled them. Starting tomorrow, all princes and princesses will continue to go to the Empress's palace to pay their respects morning and evening."
The Empress preferred quiet and was too lazy to socialize with the concubines and princes. She had long since given up the custom of morning and evening greetings. The concubines understood the Empress's benevolence, but the children were ignorant and had to be reinstated to prevent them from becoming too accustomed to their mother.
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Author's Note: Empress Xie: ...Ugly, please!
Here it is! 100 little red envelopes, see you in the middle of the night. If you're sleepy, wait until tomorrow morning to see them, don't stay up late!
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