Ruyi helped her lower the bed curtains while saying, "I just heard that Concubine Lan said she was feeling unwell in her stomach and asked Your Majesty to come and see her."
Ning Yuxi asked casually, "Has the emperor gone yet?"
Ruyi: "If you go, the emperor will surely be more accommodating now that Concubine Lan is pregnant with the dragon fetus."
Ning Yuxi nodded, motioned for the two of them to go and rest, and then went to bed.
Chunhua Palace, Wanyi Pavilion.
Concubine Lian sat on the bed and looked at the empty palace with an angry face. This Lan Juan had been against her everywhere, and now she was even more unscrupulous because she was pregnant!
Her maid Furong stood by and carefully comforted her, "My lady, the emperor has been gone for quite some time. You should rest and don't get too cold."
Concubine Lian glanced at Furong irritably and said coldly, "Get out!"
Furong had no choice but to withdraw: "Yes."
In the darkness, Concubine Lian's cold eyes were like sharp swords. Thinking of the hateful Lan Juan, she wanted to beat her to death, but she couldn't do that.
She entered the palace with a mission. She had to gain favor and become a concubine valued by the emperor so that the nobility of her Qin family could continue. If so, she could not act recklessly, otherwise she would end up like her sister, Concubine Qin.
She had just entered the palace and her foundation was shallow. If she did anything rashly, it would easily be discovered. Even if she wanted to do something, she had to wait until her foundation was solid.
Thinking of this, Concubine Lian tried hard to calm herself down. The most important thing now was to conceive a dragon heir. As long as she had a son, her position would be secure. Then, a brainless Lan Juan would be nothing to her.
…
In the blink of an eye, a month has passed, and early February is the season when plum blossoms are in full bloom.
That afternoon, Ning Yuxi and Concubine Xian made an appointment to go to the Imperial Garden to appreciate the plum blossoms. They each brought their children with them, which could be considered an outing.
At two quarters past noon (1:30 p.m.), Ning Yuxi was peeking out of the twins' bedroom. Seeing Luoying coming out, she quickly pulled her over and whispered, "Are Chengyao and Shuyun asleep?"
Luoying suppressed a laugh and said, "My Lord, the Fifth Prince and the Fifth Princess have fallen asleep."
Ning Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and looked at Cheng Zhao behind her, who was looking at her with wide eyes and a puzzled expression, and smiled: "Okay, now we can go to appreciate the plum blossoms as promised."
After that, Ning Yuxi took Cheng Zhao's hand and left Shuqing Palace with Ruyi, Luoying and others, heading towards the plum garden in a corner of the imperial garden.
On the way, little Cheng Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Mother, why don't you bring your younger brothers and sisters?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ruyi, who was following behind him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Ning Yuxi gave her a warning look.
The two little guys are small in size, but they are very noisy. If she brings them with her, then this trip will not be for viewing the plum blossoms but for chasing the children around the garden.
It was a rare opportunity to relax, so she couldn't waste it. She could only come out when the two children were taking a nap. Besides, no one else in the palace would go to the Imperial Garden at this time, so she could avoid running into other people.
But she certainly couldn't say this to Cheng Zhao directly, so she said earnestly: "My younger brother and sister are still young. Children must take naps, otherwise they won't grow taller in the future."
Ruyi couldn't hold back her laughter behind her again, but this time she learned her lesson and quickly covered her mouth without waiting for Ning Yuxi to glare at her.
Little Cheng Zhao listened to her words and said thoughtfully: "So Cheng Zhao is a big boy now? Cheng Zhao doesn't take a nap."
Ning Yuxi glanced at the tiny creature that only reached her thighs and said unwillingly, "Well, our Cheng Zhao will be three years old after the New Year. Three years old is considered a big... child..."
Although he is only two and a half years old now, it is the eighth year of Yongli, and Chengzhao was born in the fifth year of Yongli. After adding and subtracting, it turns out that he is three years old!
She didn't say that little Chengzhao was already good at four or five years old. Some modern parents dare to say that. If you are twenty years old, they will say you are twenty-four or twenty-five, and if you are twenty-five, they will say you are thirty. She said that when he was two and a half years old, he was already three years old, okay.
After meeting up with Concubine Xian and the Third Princess in the Plum Garden, the group chatted and laughed while touring the garden to admire the plum blossoms.
Looking at the various plum blossoms before her, Concubine Xian smiled and said, "Two years ago, the greenhouse cultivated green plums, and the Emperor ordered them to be planted in the Plum Garden. I heard from Huayin that they are in bloom now. Shall we go and take a look?"
Ning Yuxi smiled and nodded. It was true. Green plums were rare, and she wanted to see them for herself.
Soon we arrived at the area where green plum blossoms were planted. After seeing so many red, white and pink plum blossoms, the light green plum blossoms were indeed fresh and refined.
It had just snowed that morning, and a layer of white snow still covered the branches. A faint fragrance filled the air, and this scene reminded Ning Yuxi of a poem: "The plum blossom is three points less white than the snow, but the snow is one part less fragrant than the plum blossom."
Ning Yuxi unconsciously recited the poem she had learned in school. As soon as she finished reciting it, she was thinking about who the author of this poem was.
Suddenly, I heard Concubine Xian's voice, full of praise, coming from beside me: "What a good poem! I didn't expect you to have such good literary talent. It's quite well hidden. I didn't notice it normally."
Ning Yuxi snapped back to her senses. Hearing her words, she hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, I don't have such great literary talent. This... This is something I came across by chance in an ancient book. I thought it was very good, so I wrote it down."
Ning Yuxi couldn't make an excuse and say that she wrote it herself. It would be embarrassing if Concubine Xian asked her to write another poem that didn't exist in history. To be on the safe side, she decided to say that she saw it by accident.
Unexpectedly, Concubine Xian asked, "Which ancient book?"
Ning Yuxicai remembered that Concubine Xian came from a noble family and was a well-known lady in the capital when she was still a girl. She was both virtuous and talented, so naturally she was quite knowledgeable about poetry.
Nowadays, when you hear a good poem, you can’t help but ask questions.
"Well, it's been so long I've forgotten about it. I remember my brother accidentally dropped the book into the water, and the words were all blurred and unreadable, so I had to throw it away."
Well, at the critical moment, she would ask her brother to come and help. Anyway, her brother is outside the palace, and it is difficult for her as his biological sister to see him once, let alone Concubine Xian.
After hearing her say this, although Concubine Xian was very disappointed, she had to let it go. However, she still asked, "What about the rest of the poem? It can't be just these two lines, right?"
Seeing that she truly loved the poem, Ning Yuxi recited the entire poem: "The plum blossoms and snow vie for spring, refusing to yield; poets have put down their pens to write their critiques. The plum blossom is three points less white than the snow, yet the snow is one point less fragrant than the plum blossom."
After reading Ning Yuxi, I remembered that the author of this poem is Lu Yue from the Song Dynasty. Well, it seems that memorizing the whole text is still useful, as it can help you remember the author of the poem︿(￣︶￣)︿
Concubine Xian repeated it, nodding her head repeatedly: "It is indeed a good poem."
Ning Yuxi was afraid that she would be inspired to compose poetry, so she quickly changed the subject: "Alright, let's not talk about poetry anymore. We're out here to have fun and relax today. There are still many plum blossoms to see ahead. Let's go."
Ning Yuxi pulled Concubine Xian to a plum forest not far ahead without saying a word.
When they got closer, they suddenly found that there seemed to be someone in the Merlin in front of them.
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