Chapter 315 Gift
315 Gift
At night, as soon as the emperor arrived at Kunning Palace, he lay down on the couch, his face full of fatigue: "Tell me, what happened today?"
The Queen immediately stepped forward to give him a full body massage. The Emperor sighed and gently held her hand:
"Okay, stop busying yourself. You've been tired all day, so save your energy and talk!"
"emperor--"
"Well, I'm listening!"
The emperor closed his eyes to rest, and the queen gritted her teeth secretly: I lie down as soon as I come, looking extremely tired and sleepy. If I go to other palaces, I can be full of energy and play all night long without sleep. Does she treat Kunning Palace as a place to recuperate? Then what is she as the queen?
"Yang'er's foot was injured and he was bleeding a lot!"
"I heard about it. He can still walk, right? It's just a minor injury. It's nothing serious. When I was his age, I was also wounded on the battlefield."
"Your Majesty is wise and powerful. Although Yang'er is your eldest son, he is not as good as you... He was injured because he was trying to hold Meiyi back. If Meifu hadn't risked her life to pull him back, Yang'er would have fallen into the lotus pond!"
"Meiyi is still so naughty! Then Meifu is... also a child of the Xu family?"
"Alas, Meifu is my eldest brother's daughter. She is thirteen years old this year and is entering the palace for the first time."
"Huh! Your elder brother is so old and still has a thirteen-year-old daughter? I didn't know that! But, it seems that you, the Queen, were also born when the old Duke Dingguo was over sixty years old?"
"emperor!"
"Okay, you talk... I'm listening!"
"They were born to my sister-in-law Pang. They have two daughters. The one who saved the prince is called Meifu, and the other is eleven years old. Her name is Meiling. The Sun family has very strict rules. My brother and sister-in-law disciplined her well. She only studies and learns rules at home. She is never allowed to show her face in public. She is very dignified and well-behaved... Alas, why am I saying all this? This is not important. What is important is Yang'er's injury. It is not a minor injury. There is a long cut. It makes me so sad!"
"Well, I will go see him later, or I will take him to Guiyun Villa tomorrow to let Jingyun treat him. Jingyun is teaching students, making medicine, and writing books in the villa. He has nothing to do - Queen, you don't have to worry!"
"well!"
"What's the matter?"
"I just remembered what the director of the Imperial Observatory said... It takes a long time to talk about it, so let's talk about it tomorrow. Your Majesty is tired. I will help you bathe and change your clothes, and then go to bed to rest, okay?"
The emperor closed his eyes and did not answer the queen's words, as if he was asleep. The slightly wrinkled brows made the queen feel tangled. She wanted to reach out and smooth them down, but just as she got close to him, the emperor suddenly turned over and walked out:
"Queen, please rest. I will go see the Crown Prince. He has memorials to review tonight. Let's go to the Crown Prince!"
The queen followed him in shock and took a few steps, too late to stop him. A group of imperial guards surrounded the emperor and quickly disappeared outside the palace gate. She then came to her senses and stood there in anger and hatred, her breath stuck in her chest and she almost fainted.
When did it become like this? Asking him to stay in Kunning Palace for a night was like asking him to torture her. He once loved her so deeply and caringly. He promised that no matter how many women there were in the harem, he would never let her down in this life... Whose problem was it? Did she become too strong and disappoint him?
But if she is not strong, can she survive? What about her crown prince and the fifth prince?
Meimei remembered that she had told her to be herself again. A gentle, kind, harmless, pure girl like a lotus. Then the emperor would not leave her and would continue to love her. She had tried, but it was useless! And if she lived like that, there would only be one result, and that was that the mother and her two children would sit and wait for death!
She must defend herself, must take action, to maintain the status of queen and the interests of the prince.
When the emperor loved her deeply, he promised her that he would give her at least two years to give birth to the eldest prince before allowing other concubines to get pregnant. However, less than two years had passed and her eldest prince was less than ten months old when Rong Fei became pregnant. Then An Fei also became pregnant. She was terrified. The emperor favored more and more concubines, and each new face that appeared in the central palace to pay his respects was more beautiful and fresh than the other, like a flower blooming with morning dew. She was afraid that one day she would be replaced and her son would be suppressed... She began to move Rong Fei and An Fei. An Fei's child was gone, and it was originally impossible to find out. She tried to move Rong Fei, who was pregnant, but failed. Rong Fei seemed unintentional, but the maids around her were powerful. They saved the second prince and also made the emperor... The emperor noticed her movements and ignored her for three consecutive days for the first time. He also sent her to the imperial temple hundreds of miles away to pray for the eldest prince without mercy. She was greatly shocked. Fortunately, the eldest prince was smart and could walk and talk a lot at that critical moment, which made the emperor very happy. He returned to Kunning Palace to accompany the mother and son for a long time until Rong Fei gave birth. He went to comfort Rong Fei and fell in love with the newly born second prince. After that, the concubines in the palace became pregnant one after another, and she also became pregnant with the fifth prince. Later, Shu Fei won the emperor's special favor. Relying on the support of the empress dowager, she and the virtuous concubine Chen forced the emperor to abdicate. She was pregnant with a big belly and took the prince with her, struggling to deal with the wolf-like concubines in the harem. Where was the emperor at this time? He was greedy for beauty and indulged in pleasure without caring about the life and death of her and her son. If she didn't become strong and use vicious means, could she do it?
What love and affection? Get lost. The Sun family sent her to the palace just to save the crumbling Duke Dingguo Mansion. What about hereditary succession? Three generations of mediocre and useless for the country, facing the danger of being stripped of their titles. Fortunately, she succeeded in gaining the emperor's favor, sat on the throne of the queen, and gave birth to the prince. Her mission has been completed. She no longer expects too much. The most important thing is to consolidate her own and the prince's positions and preserve the wealth of the Sun family!
The next day, Xu Junying went to the morning court. After the court was dismissed, the emperor invited him to go to Guiyun Villa and bring the prince to have Jingyun treat his injured leg.
Xu Junying apologized deeply: "It's all because of Meiyi. This child is naughty and doesn't listen to advice. Otherwise, the prince wouldn't... I will just invite Jingyun to the palace. Why should the prince run around?"
The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's okay for him to sit in the chariot. Let's ride horses. We haven't been out for a long time. I want to go to the villa to take a breath!"
Surrounded by guards and eunuchs, a large group of people and horses marched out of the city. Pedestrians and carriages on the road avoided the side paths. Those who were close knelt on the ground and waited for the emperor to pass by, and those who were far away bowed their heads and bent over, not allowed to watch casually. The King of Jinling, who was accompanying the emperor, looked at a red-robed boy in the distance. He hid behind a pure white horse and looked at them. He looked once, and the boy hid again. The King of Jinling looked back frequently, looked again and again, and finally simply turned his horse back and turned onto the side path. Four guards immediately followed him at the same time. Ah Heng looked back and saw it. He said something to the emperor and his father, and rode over.
The handsome face of the red-robed boy was filled with indignation. He put his hands on his hips and glared at King Jinling: "Zhao Hua, go on your way. Why are you always looking at me?"
The King of Jinling was also very unhappy: "How do you know I am looking at you if you don't look at me? Where are you going?"
"What do you care about me?"
"You...your brother is here!"
Ah Heng jumped off his horse and said, "Meijuan? Why did you come out? Meiyi is confined at home. Who followed you?"
"Brother, I want to walk alone and I don't want anyone to follow me!"
Ah Heng looked at King Jinling and scolded the concubine, "Nonsense!"
The King of Jinling said, "This is just ridiculous!"
The beautiful wife looked at him disdainfully: "Please don't meddle in other people's business!"
Finally, the concubine was brought before Xu Junying and the emperor. She saluted the emperor first, and then her father. Xu Junying acted quite surprised:
"Does your mother know that you ran away?"
"No! My daughter just wants to get out of town for some fresh air and will be back soon!"
The emperor smiled and said, "Little girl, what are you angry about? Are you also very busy? Well, follow your brother and the King of Jinling, I will take you out for a walk and return to the city later!"
"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
When they arrived at Guiyun Villa, Xu Junying seized the opportunity to grab his daughter and interrogate her: "Did you come here by yourself, or did your mother ask you to come?"
The beautiful wife did not dare to hide it: "My daughter wanted to ride a horse, so my mother asked her to go to Xiankelai and ask Uncle Lu for two freshly made sour plum ducks. She sent them to Guiyun Villa..."
Xu Junying felt jealous. Ever since Zhang Jingyun returned to Guiyun Mountain Villa to live permanently two years ago, Meimei had allowed the children to have close contact with him and affectionately called him Uncle Jingyun. What she couldn't stand the most was that she never forgot him during festivals and often asked the children to send him his favorite food, such as sour plum duck, and she would send double the amount. She explained to Xu Junying that she hoped Jingyun would find a pair soon.
"Where's the duck?"
"Father, it's sour plum duck."
“Bring it here!”
The beautiful wife handed Xu Junying a white cloth bag, inside which were two steaming sour plum ducks wrapped tightly in lotus leaves.
"There's nothing good on the farm, so this will be the emperor's lunch. Just tell your mother when you get home that it's been delivered, understand?"
"Father……"
"Be good and obey me, or you will never be allowed to ride out of the city again!"
The concubine had to agree, and Xu Junying allowed her to leave, beckoning two personal guards to follow her secretly. The emperor was here, and the villa was heavily guarded. He was not afraid of danger, but he was afraid that she would be naughty and climb around and fall and get hurt. There was another thing that made him very helpless - the little girl seemed to have a good impression of Zhang Jingyun's eldest apprentice, his cousin Song He, a handsome 15-year-old boy with a demeanor and temperament similar to Zhang Jingyun. Xu Junying didn't like him, but he promised Meimei not to impose his preferences on his children, so he had to send guards to follow and investigate, wanting to know what happened between his daughter and the boy.
He soon received satisfactory information - someone had tried to destroy the relationship between Meijuan and Song He. As soon as Prince Jinling arrived at Guiyun Villa, he went to find Song He and they were inseparable. When Meijuan saw Song He, Prince Jinling had already stuck to Song He like a dog-skin plaster and followed him wherever he went. Meijuan could only follow them around and had no chance to talk to Song He in private.
At dusk, everyone mounted their horses and prepared to leave Guiyun Villa. King Jinling looked around and found Meijuan missing. He quickly dismounted to look for her. As expected, he saw Song He and Meijuan standing behind the flower tree. Song He handed a small box to Meijuan and said with a smile:
"Sister Meijuan, I made this scented tea specially for you. It has a faint rose scent, just like the scent of a newly blooming rose on a branch!"
The beautiful lady happily took it and said, "Thank you, Brother Ah He. I just said it casually, but you really did it."
Song He said: "I have been learning medicine and refining pills from my master since I was young, and I also know some methods of making incense. As long as the fragrance you like, I can make it..."
"I just like the smell of roses."
"I know. I'll do it for you again!"
Prince Jinling hid behind the bushes and pursed his lips. His concubines loved roses, Song He could make rose incense, but what could he do?
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