Chapter 3438 Full of Irony
After the emperor stayed briefly in the provincial capital, he moved to the Nannan Courtyard.
Nan Yan was still a little confused as she sat in the carriage. She wondered when a "Southern Courtyard" had appeared in Yongzhou. Could it be that Cui Yuanmei and his men had built it specifically for the emperor's southern tour? If so, it would be too extravagant. Zhu Feng would probably be angry.
However, when the carriage arrived at the gate of the South Courtyard, she got off the carriage, looked up, and understood everything.
What South Courtyard? It's clearly the Prince Jing's Mansion back then.
When Prince Jing's rebellion was dealt with, his entourage was utterly slain with the Emperor's sword, leaving behind an empty palace where no one dared to move for years. This time, Zhu Feng had sent someone to warn everyone not to overdo it during his southern tour, which gave Cui Yuanmei a headache. Although Yongzhou was located on the border and had traded extensively with the Kingdom of Yue over the years, few wealthy merchants would build homes there. Consequently, there were no fine courtyards in the entire state suitable for the emperor and his concubine to rest in.
Cui Yuanmei simply renovated Prince Jing's Mansion and renamed it South Courtyard, providing a place for the emperor and the imperial concubine to rest during their southern tour.
Upon seeing the familiar scenery, Nan Yan whispered, "So this is it."
Xinping jumped off the carriage and heard her talking. He asked softly, "Mother, what's going on here?"
Nan Yan smiled and shook her head slightly.
Zhu Feng in front was also standing beside the golden carriage, looking at the newly renovated mansion. The gate was completely different from before, but when he walked in, he found that some of the houses inside were exquisite and still had some traces of the past. However, more than ten years had passed, and he could not remember what the Prince Jing's Mansion looked like back then.
Cui Yuanmei followed behind him and said softly, "I dare to say this, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Zhu Feng walked a long way in silence with his hands behind his back.
Then he said, "It's okay."
In fact, when Cui Yuanmei made this decision, many people opposed it. Prince Jing was convicted, and the people in Prince Jing's mansion were killed. Leaving such a place and then renovating it for the emperor to live in would be a disgrace. If it aroused the emperor's wrath, they would have more than ten heads to chop off.
But Cui Yuanmei insisted on going against the majority opinion.
He knew very well that compared to the unpleasant memories that this place brought to the emperor, saving money seemed to be what the emperor cared about more at this time.
Sure enough, after walking for a while, Zhu Feng asked again, "How much did it cost to repair this place?"
Cui Yuanmei immediately said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Prince Jing's Mansion is already magnificent. Although it has been abandoned for many years, it has remained largely unchanged. The cost of my renovation here is not much."
Zhu Feng nodded and said, "That's right."
Xinping had been walking beside Nanyan in a depressed mood. When she heard these words, she snorted softly.
Nan Yan turned around and looked at her.
She knew that the girl must be feeling unfair. The people of Yan State, from the emperor to the common people, were so frugal, but in the end, the people of Yue State lived a prosperous life. Such frugality seemed like a complete irony to her.
Although her voice was soft, Cui Yuanmei still looked back.
Although he didn't know what had happened, based on his years of ups and downs in the officialdom, he was keenly aware that the eldest princess, who had a gloomy face from the beginning, seemed to be a little unhappy.
But the Emperor didn't seem to care at all. He simply said, "Alright, all of you go down. I need to rest now. If there's any news from Yue, send someone to report it to me immediately."
Cui Yuanmei immediately said, "Yes."
After saying that, he retreated.
Zhu Feng said, "Okay, we've been busy all day, you all should go down and rest."
Nan Yan bowed to him, and everyone went to their rooms. Nan Yan led Xin Ping to the courtyard where she was staying temporarily. Cui Yuanmei was thoughtful and had people place a lot of small things in the room, but Xin Ping had no interest at all. She just walked to the chair and sat down angrily with a dark face.
Nan Yan sighed, walked over and said, "Why do you have to make things difficult for your father?"
He said calmly, "Why does mother have to protect father?"
Nan Yan was both angry and amused when she heard this. She simply squatted down and said, "He is my husband, he is one of our own. What is one of our own? One of our own means admonishing him when he makes big mistakes, tolerating him when he makes small mistakes, and defending him when he is misunderstood and wronged. Why can't I defend him?"
Xinping said with red eyes: "Mother, do you think that Father has been wronged? It's obviously his fault."
Nan Yan looked at her stubborn appearance and suddenly remembered herself back then.
It seems that he is so stubborn that he is not afraid of being torn to pieces.
However, Xinping is neither too old nor too young now. She has grown up, but she still doesn’t fully understand the ways of the world and has her own opinions. However, in many things, she is not mature enough to see the overall situation.
Ultimately, it's because our vision is too narrow.
So she said, "Forget it. No matter how much I say to you now, you won't listen. This time, your father brought you here so that you can walk around and see more. Xinping, you must remember one thing: the world is so big, and countless things happen every day. If you care too much about trivial matters, small gains and losses, you will miss a lot."
Xinping pouted, looking unconvinced.
Nan Yan sighed, shook her head and left.
It was already very late, so they went to rest. They slept soundly, and when Nan Yan woke up the next day, it was already bright.
Nan Yan hurriedly got out of bed and scolded Ruoshui and the others while washing up: "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"
It would be fine if she was in the palace, but now she is following Zhu Feng on an imperial tour of Yongzhou. The dignified imperial concubine is still staying in bed. If this gets out, she won't even be able to continue her life.
Ruoshui and the others only smiled bitterly and said, "It was the Emperor's order."
Nan Yan sat down in front of the dressing table and let Ruo Shui comb her hair. Hearing this, she raised her head and looked at Ruo Shui in the bronze mirror: "Has the emperor been here?"
Ruoshui said, "The Emperor got up early this morning and came to check on us. When he heard that the Empress hadn't gotten up yet, he told the servants not to call her, saying that she had been tired from the journey over the past two days and wanted her to rest a little longer."
Nan Yan said with a sullen face, "You bastard, you only listen to him?"
Ruoshui and the others all begged for mercy.
Nan Yan frowned and asked again: "Where is the emperor now?"
Ruoshui said, "I heard he went to inspect the military camp."
Nan Yan nodded slightly.
Although Zhu Feng didn't say anything and didn't bring the army this time, she had some idea in her mind. Zhu Feng went to inspect the military camp the day after he arrived here, and she understood it in her heart.
However, if Zhu Feng didn't take her with him, she would be a bit idle today and didn't know what to do.
Just as she was thinking about it, Delu hurried in from outside: "Your Majesty, Madam Li has come into the mansion to pay her respects to you."
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