The journey to the Rehe Imperial Palace was slower than the last time the emperor made his southern tour. It was July, unlike the April when the tour began. The weather was scorching, and apart from the emperor himself, almost no one escaped the sweltering heat along the way.
Oh, the Crown Prince probably won't suffer either, since His Majesty has granted him only a slight reduction of 10% in his expenses.
In reality, the ice used in the Crown Prince's carriage was almost identical to the ice used in His Majesty's carriage.
However, according to the imperial physician, the Crown Prince's body could not withstand such a bumpy ride. But since His Majesty had spoken, he wanted to share the joy with the Crown Prince, which was a great favor to the Crown Prince. Even though the Crown Prince was not well, he still had to follow the Emperor.
However, the Emperor and the Crown Prince were still too far away from Li Chenjiao, so her expenses naturally followed those of the Fourth Prince. At noon, the Fourth Prince had Su Peisheng deliver ice to him again.
Li Chenjiao asked once, and it turned out that after leaving the capital, the Fourth Prince returned to his carriage, and now the one accompanying the Emperor was the Prince of Zhi.
Riding a horse in this weather is indeed quite tiring; I heard that it was Prince Zhi who stayed behind of his own accord.
The imperial procession stopped briefly before noon, but since the trip was for escaping the summer heat and the midday sun was intense, the stop was not long. It was said that they were only waiting for the imperial kitchen to prepare the meals for His Majesty before setting off again.
In the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, Li Chenjiao silently took a bite of the dry and hard meat pie.
Although the Manchus had a habit of eating only two meals a day after entering the pass, many Han Chinese in the countryside also ate only two meals a day, but this was mostly limited to farming families who were busy making a living.
The wealthier the family, the more complete their three meals a day, and it's not uncommon for them to have extra meals occasionally.
The maids dared not criticize His Majesty's daily life, but they vaguely mentioned that His Majesty said he only ate two meals a day, but the daily snacks and tea were extra.
Li Chenjiao sighed again. She didn't even dare to imagine how comfortable those days would be. But then she thought about it again and stopped being envious. Comfortable as it may be, the suffering was real.
However, these words should naturally not be said.
Li Chenjiao silently took another bite of the meat pie, and soon the carriage started swaying again.
Alright, let's keep going.
In the evening, the imperial procession arrived at a place that Li Chenjiao couldn't name. The moon was bright and the stars were few, and there was nothing to see. There were tents everywhere, but they were just temporary resting places and were still very simple.
Once again in a fairly familiar tent, Li Chenjiao was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open, and she collapsed onto the hard and narrow couch.
It seems that Fourth Master is also busy; Qiu Hu said he hasn't even returned to his tent.
Li Chenjiao was very sleepy, but three maids pulled her up to eat longevity noodles. They said that Xiao Lu had used his connections to get them, which gave Li Chenjiao the energy to eat.
Oh, and there's also the little horse that the Second Princess gave her before she left, so that her mother could see it and reminisce.
However, when Li Chenjiao was eating longevity noodles, she accidentally splashed some oily soup onto Xiao Ma Ma Ti.
Li Chenjiao was instantly awakened from her drowsiness, and the sound of the Second Princess crying seemed to echo in her ears.
The little girl stopped crying as much after she learned to speak, but she would still cry before she was weaned, and her voice was just as loud as the current Fourth Prince's...
Li Chenjiao swallowed hard: "Bring some clean water and soapberry. Wash off the oil first, then dry it in the sun tomorrow morning. Wash it again when we get to the Rehe Imperial Palace."
Now Li Chenjiao was no longer sleepy. No, actually she was still sleepy, but lying on the couch, after closing her eyes, she could hear the sound of horses' hooves and the orderly patrolling sounds in the distance from time to time. The sound of footsteps was really hard to fall asleep.
The thought of spending the next two weeks like this caused Li Chenjiao to fall asleep as soon as she got into the carriage the next day.
Otherwise, it's hard to get a good night's sleep. Although the daytime is a bit bumpy, people are just too tired.
As the carriage moved along, Li Chenjiao naturally had little chance to see the Fourth Master. During her daily rest, she didn't know what the Fourth Master was busy with, and she couldn't see him anywhere.
Presumably because it was too hot, His Majesty did not stay for long along the way, and later the journey was accelerated because the Crown Prince's old illness relapsed.
Li Chenjiao ate hot meals five or six times along the way. Two or three times were delivered by Fourth Master, and the other two or three times were ordered by Li Chenjiao herself. However, they were all simple meals, but they were already very good for Li Chenjiao, who had been eating dry rations for several days.
When the imperial procession finally arrived at the Rehe Imperial Palace on the first day of the eighth lunar month, Li Chenjiao's eyes lit up.
Although she hadn't arrived at the Rehe Imperial Palace yet, she had to admit that touring the Rehe Imperial Palace was not as pleasant as the Southern Tour. The Southern Tour, with its leisurely pace, was indeed much more comfortable.
The journey to the Rehe Imperial Palace was short, so the imperial kitchen staff naturally prioritized meals for the Emperor, the Crown Prince, favored concubines, Prince Zhi, and the Fourth Prince. Li Chenjiao and others had to take a backseat, and surprisingly, Li Chenjiao's treatment was quite good...
This is truly... incomparable, absolutely incomparable...
When Li Chenjiao stepped down from the carriage, her steps were unsteady. She had almost forgotten whether she had ever been to the Rehe Imperial Palace before, but the Rehe Imperial Palace in front of her had changed a lot.
When Li Chenjiao and the others got off the carriage, the Fourth Prince was nowhere to be seen. They heard that the princes were all by the Emperor's side. At this moment, Fulu, who was by the Fourth Prince's side, led Li Chenjiao and the others into the palace.
The view is of a vast lake surrounded by peaks. When we arrived at the palace, it was evening, and the reflection of the pavilion on the water was reddish-gold. The lake water rippled and sparkled, creating another beautiful scene.
Even Lady Niohuru couldn't help but stop and take a few more glances. This was no small scene in the garden of the Fourth Prince's mansion, but truly an endless expanse of water and scenery within sight.
"His Majesty and his concubines all live in Songhe Qingyue on the south bank of the lake..." Fulu said, then pointed vaguely, implying that it was best not to go there on weekdays.
"The Crown Prince lives in the East Palace, which is further south, while the other princes live in Wanhesongfeng on the other side..." This is self-explanatory; the Winter Palace and Wanhesongfeng guard Songhe Qingyue on the left and right sides, respectively.
The lake is really big; a whole day wouldn't be enough to explore it by boat. And from what Fu Lu said along the way, the lake in front of us is only a part of it.
The wind blew through the pines in the valleys. The Fourth Prince was given a large courtyard by himself, which was in front of the courtyard of the Prince of Zhi.
The front courtyard was naturally the residence of the Fourth Prince. It seemed that the Fourth Prince had arranged the courtyards for the women in advance. Li Chenjiao lived in the eastern courtyard in the mansion, and this time she lived in the easternmost courtyard in the imperial palace. So the maid was called the one from the east courtyard.
Bai Jia and Niu Hulu lived in two small courtyards on the south side, one on the left and one on the right. I wonder if this was also arranged in advance by the Fourth Prince.
Li Chenjiao was quite satisfied with the courtyard. The layout was somewhat similar to the Xinlutang where she used to live on the estate. Tall locust trees shaded the courtyard from the evening glow. Li Chenjiao watched the maids packing their luggage, but she didn't offer to help at all. She was busy at the moment, washing the little horse that the Second Princess had brought her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
