Chapter 333 Don’t Do Stupid Things
"Absolutely not, Your Highness!"
When Butler Li saw that the Ninth Prince was about to leave for Xizhou, he was shocked.
He immediately advised earnestly, "Don't forget, the Emperor has ordered you to stay at home to recuperate, and the Imperial Concubine is still in the palace to reflect on her past. If you go to Xizhou now, and someone with ulterior motives reports it to the Emperor, what will you do to the Imperial Concubine?"
Huo Yan frowned at what Butler Li said. It was okay for him to be punished, but it would be wrong to implicate his mother.
But he had been looking for Honeysuckle for so long, and this matter was on his mind every day. Now that he had finally found the person, he wished he could catch the person in front of him and watch him all the time.
Xizhou is Huo Zheng's fiefdom. From the current situation, it seems that Rendong and Mu Chunzhi have a close relationship. It is difficult to send someone to Xizhou to bring Rendong back unless he goes there in person.
Seeing Huo Yan remained silent, Steward Li continued to advise, "Prince Chang'an, in search of someone, had just received a hundred lashes when he left for Nanzhou injured. He nearly died from his injuries on the way. At that time, His Highness called him foolish. Now that this has fallen upon you, you must not do the same foolish thing as Prince Chang'an!"
There are still some things that Butler Li didn't say.
The person that Prince Chang'an risked everything to find was his wife.
Who is the Ninth Prince looking for now?
Why bother?
Huo Yan had previously laughed at Huo Zheng for being obsessed with love and doing stupid things, but his words in the past turned into ruthless arrows, which made a big circle and hit him in the vital point.
Huo Yan's expression instantly turned ugly, "I'm different from him."
"It's different," said Steward Li. "At least the Prince of Chang'an found his beloved wife and brought her home. Now you're running off to Xizhou. Can Miss Rendong return to the capital with you?"
Huo Yan became furious when he heard this. "I don't care if she's willing or not! If I want to take her back to Beijing, she has to agree."
"My Lord! Love between men and women is different from other matters. It cannot be forced or coerced." Butler Li said, "Besides, you are going to Xizhou now and seizing someone right under the nose of Prince Chang'an. It would be strange if he didn't tell the emperor about this. You can't displease the emperor again..."
Butler Li tried to persuade the Ninth Prince at first, but he didn't give in for a long time. Finally, he could only say that without the Imperial Concubine's permission, he would never let the Ninth Prince go to Xizhou.
Butler Li was the person assigned to Huo Yan by the Imperial Concubine. He could report any important events in the Ninth Prince's Mansion directly to the Imperial Concubine.
Huo Yan was annoyed by his repeated persuasion, and was really worried that his mother would be implicated again because of his willful behavior, so he thought about it and did not set off for Xizhou immediately, but went to the palace to see his mother.
It was imperative for His Highness the Ninth Prince to go to Xizhou, but he couldn't let his mother worry about it anymore, so he thought of going to the palace to discuss with his mother first. He asked someone to pretend to be sick in the mansion, and he would go to Xizhou to bring back honeysuckle. He should go and come back quickly, and let his mother help cover for him. As long as things were done quickly and secretly, the emperor might not know.
Huo Yan had a good idea, but Concubine Zhao's situation was worse than he thought.
After Qianhua Palace was sealed, it became deserted and no longer as bustling as it used to be.
Concubine Zhao was the most favored concubine in the harem for many years, but she could fall out of favor at any time. The concubines who had been suppressed by her took the opportunity to take revenge secretly.
These days, the meals delivered to Qianhua Palace by the imperial kitchen are completely different from the ones before. The weather is getting hotter and the flowers are dying but no one cares. Summer time items are not distributed on time. One unpleasant thing after another makes people feel upset.
The palace maids from Qianhua Palace went to make a fuss, but they just said that the emperor asked the imperial concubine to reflect on her mistakes and that all expenses should be reduced.
The lady-in-waiting in the imperial concubine's palace wanted to report the matter to the queen, but was stopped by imperial concubine Zhao.
In Concubine Zhao's view, the sealing of Qianhua Palace was an order from Queen Wang. Nothing these women in the harem did could escape the Queen's eyes. The concubines dared to do so with the tacit approval of Queen Wang.
Seeing that the imperial concubine did not want to bring the matter to the attention of the empress, the female official said that she would report it to the emperor.
Whenever Concubine Zhao was in favor, she could tell the emperor everything. But now she dares not bother the emperor with such trivial matters, and spends the whole day lamenting the passing of her youth and the end of her favor.
When Huo Yan came to Qianhua Palace and saw Concubine Zhao, she had lost a lot of weight.
"Mother..." Huo Yan couldn't recognize the thin person in the bedroom who was not wearing any makeup or bright clothes.
Everyone knows that Concubine Zhao is the woman in the palace who loves dressing up the most, and she likes to wear bright dresses and luxurious jewelry the most.
She loves to laugh and make noises, has been favored for many years, and is the emperor's favorite.
How long has Qianhua Palace been closed?
Although it was called a ban, the imperial guards had actually been withdrawn long ago. The emperor simply did not allow people in the imperial concubine's palace to move around freely.
But Huo Yan was really surprised that Concubine Zhao had become so decadent.
"Yan'er?" When Concubine Zhao saw Huo Yan coming, her eyes, which had been filled with pain, regained some clarity. "How did you get in? Let me see how your injuries are healing."
Huo Yan stepped forward and asked Concubine Zhao to take a closer look. "My son's injury has fully healed. But mother, how did you become so thin?"
"The people in the harem flatter the powerful and bully the weak. When I was favored, everyone flattered me; even the Empress had to step away from the spotlight. Now that I've fallen out of favor, everyone wants to step on me. Your father..."
Concubine Zhao spoke with resentment and sighed when she mentioned the emperor.
She said, "When I heard people say that the imperial family was the most ruthless, I didn't believe it before, but now, I have no choice but to believe it."
Seeing this, Huo Yan whispered, "Mother, please be more open-minded and take care of your health first. How can you continue to lose weight like this? Where's the imperial physician? Is he dead?"
"People say that His Highness and His Majesty have fallen out of favor, and the imperial physician is no longer as attentive to His Majesty..."
The female official at the side wiped away her tears and told His Highness the Ninth Prince about the recent situation in Qianhua Palace, such as the eunuchs deliberately sending inferior goods and some palace maids secretly running to other concubines' palaces to show their loyalty.
Huo Yan became more and more annoyed as he listened. "They look down on others. I think they are tired of living."
The female official wanted to say something else, but Concubine Zhao scolded her lightly, "Why are you saying all this to Yan'er? Yan'er's injuries have just healed a little. If he gets upset by these people, who can bear it?"
The female official quickly knelt down and admitted her mistake.
Huo Yan had been staying at home to recuperate from his injuries, and had no idea that his mother was living such a miserable life. He frowned and began to blame himself for rejecting the marriage so directly. If he had said something nicer at the time, if he had pretended that his injuries were too serious to get married, would he not have implicated his mother and made her suffer so much?
Noticing Huo Yan's expression was off, Concubine Zhao quickly said, "Yan'er, don't listen to their nonsense. I was just angry with the Emperor and couldn't eat, so I lost some weight. It's nothing serious, you don't have to worry."
Without waiting for Huo Yan to speak, she asked again, "By the way, what's the important matter that brought you to the palace suddenly today?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
