"I have already discussed this with the Emperor. We will celebrate the New Year as usual, except that the maids in the Phoenix Palace are not allowed to be replaced, and the ancestor worship will still be carried out according to the rules. There will be no other matters."
"Well, you understand. Everything should be done according to the emperor's wishes. By the way, do the concubines in the palace have any complaints or comments? If anyone says something strange, tell me and I will make the decision for you."
"Thank you, Queen Mother. Everything has been normal in the palace these days. No one has gossiped. I was just in charge temporarily. If there are mistakes, I'm sure no one will take it too seriously. Besides, there are precedents and precedents, so I dare not make decisions at will, so it's fine."
"Well, that's right. Before, I was afraid that you were young and couldn't convince the public. Now I think I was overly worried. Since everything is going well for you, you don't have to come to see me every day. You can also tell those concubines that I only love quietness. I know they are filial, but it gives me a headache to have them come to quarrel every day. When I get tired of the quiet and want to chat, I will naturally come to you..." said the Queen Mother with a smile.
The virtuous concubine came out after receiving the order.
She had not walked far when she saw Concubine Shu coming towards her. The two of them walked past each other. Concubine Xian hurriedly saluted, knowing that she was going to the Empress Dowager's palace. The Empress Dowager had just said that she did not want anyone to disturb her, but Concubine Shu was different from others. Concubine Xian knew that if she mentioned the Empress Dowager's intention at this moment, she would be guilty of talking too much and deserved to be punished. So, she just smiled, said a few words, and went back.
Later, I heard from the palace maid that Concubine Shu had a very bad temper in the palace, and no one knew why.
Concubine Xian thought about it carefully but couldn't figure it out. Could it be that she went to ask the Queen Mother for something but was rejected? But she was too impatient. If the Queen Mother heard about her actions, she was afraid that many more problems would arise.
An Qingran was not at all surprised that Concubine Xian was in power. Concubine Shu and her son were not forgiven. Anyone in the harem could be in power except her.
This is actually a good thing for me.
As the New Year was approaching, An Qingran decided to go back to the general's mansion to take a look.
When she talked to the prince, he actually agreed and allowed her to go home and stay for a while.
He said he was busy recently and couldn't always accompany her. Indeed, he had been out early and back late recently and no one knew what he was busy with. An Qingran only asked once, and he didn't answer directly, so she stopped asking. I guess it was something that couldn't be said.
After Dongfang Jin sent An Qingran back to the general's mansion, he went about his own business.
When An Qingran came back, the general's mansion was even more lively than during the Chinese New Year.
Let alone others, even Jin Yu didn't know what to do. When she first saw An Qingran, she just wiped her tears and laughed while crying. An Zhongtao could only smile helplessly when he saw his wife like this. The mother and son were connected by heart, and he couldn't persuade them. After letting the mother and son toss around enough, he went up to talk to An Qingran, because An Qingran had ordered that all the rules in the family should still be followed as before and could not be discussed according to the rules of the palace. Therefore, her parents and family members did not kowtow three times and nine times. The first thing An Zhongtao did when he saw her was to ask about Dongfang Yan.
This made An Qingran stunned: "Why did father ask him?"
"Ran'er, you don't know that there are rumors that Dongfang Yan is deeply loved by the emperor and is more favored than the prince. That's why I am worried."
"Crown Prince Chao?" An Qingran didn't know about this in the palace, so she smiled when she heard it. "So what if he is Crown Prince Chao?"
"How is the prince's health lately?" An Zhongtao continued to ask.
An Qingran nodded.
"There is some residual poison in the prince's body. Have you thought of a way to help him get rid of it?" An Zhongtao asked again.
An Qingran did not answer immediately after hearing this. Normally, she could have answered directly since her father asked about this matter. However, she suddenly thought that she did not know whether the prince was willing for others to know the truth. If he did not want to, and wanted to use his physical weakness to make a fuss, he could not say it out loud if he was well. So, she shook her head and said, "I have not thought of a good solution yet. But there is no rush. He is still well."
An Zhongtao didn't ask any other questions after hearing this.
After he left, Lian Jinyu held her hand and just kept looking at her: "Daughter, are you used to life in the palace?"
"Of course I'm not used to it. This is not my home where I can't sleep in." An Qingran showed the demeanor of a little girl.
Lian Jinyu's eyes were filled with distress: "There is no other way, you have to get married. Seeing that the prince is treating you well, I am relieved. By the way, what does your father mean by asking you these questions? Do you understand?"
"I guess father is worried about the crown prince and me. Now Concubine Xian is likely to be promoted to queen. If she is the queen, then Dongfang Yan will be the legitimate son, so..."
Lian Jinyu nodded in understanding, but then said, "No matter who is the queen, the position of the crown prince has been established, who dares to move?"
An Qingran understood that her mother loved her, and she didn't want her to worry, so she said, "Mom, don't worry about these things. After all, they are just rumors. The emperor treats me and the prince very well. The emperor loves Queen Yun, so he naturally loves his son..."
Lian Jinyu felt relieved when she heard this. She secretly asked An Qingran if she had slept with the prince. An Qingran shook her head. Lian Jinyu was a little worried: "An Yanran is even pregnant. You entered the palace early, but I don't know when you can hold your grandson."
"Mom, there's no rush for this kind of thing. Besides, I'm still growing and shouldn't have children." An Qingran said with a smile.
Now she is not shy about this matter, especially telling her mother, what does it matter.
Before Lian Jinyu could say anything, An Mingchen became unhappy and sat on the bed next to her, asking her sister to hold him. An Qingran happily picked him up and said, "How are you? Do you miss me? Have you forgotten me?"
"How could I forget? I have to yell at him several times every day. You don't know, when you first got married, he cried all the time. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would worry."
"Really?" An Qingran felt a pang in her heart when she heard that. She hugged An Mingchen and kissed him non-stop. When An Mingchen saw her, he laughed and drooled.
The brother and sister laughed at each other, and the sound of their laughter spread out. People outside who heard it were all envious.
The general's legitimate son and daughter have a very good relationship.
An Qingran held her younger brother in her arms and refused to let go until dinner time, when An Mingchen was taken away by the nanny to eat. Otherwise, if he was there, he would have to sit at the table, or he would have cried non-stop.
An Qingran still lived in his own Qiwu Courtyard at night. All the furnishings in the house remained the same as before, without any changes. Rendong still slept on the small bed in the outer room. Both the master and the servant were filled with emotion.
An Qingran had never thought that she would be able to come back again for such a leisurely visit to her relatives. Obviously, both the emperor and the prince treated her specially.
These days, she felt that life in the palace was becoming more and more comfortable.
It seems that everything is really different from what I thought. The ugliness and sins of my previous life all happened without my knowledge. Maybe in this life, someone is secretly harming me, but I don’t know it yet?
She felt that she didn't need to worry for the time being. If she didn't enjoy this good time, wouldn't it be a waste?
An Qingran looked at her treasured medicinal herbs again. Compared with those given by the emperor in the palace, her herbs were too cheap.
She sorted out the herbs again and gave away those that could be given away, such as honeysuckle and wolfberry, which people could soak in water to drink, while the others were put into the warehouse of the general's mansion. This time when she came home to visit her parents, An Qingran brought back many good things, which were also put into the warehouse.
As soon as Shen Zhiyun learned that An Qingran had returned home, she immediately became busy. She was truly happy. If she surrounded her well, she could easily achieve her goal.
How could An Qingran not know about Shen Zhiyun's passion? It was just that she hadn't seen An Yanran recently, and she heard that she had a child. Her own life was so comfortable, so she hated her less. She had thought a few days ago that if she just stopped like this, she might give up her revenge on her.
Therefore, An Qingran planned not to use Shen Zhiyun as a chess piece for the time being.
Shen Zhiyun was like a burning coal, helping An Qingran to organize her things: "Crown Princess, you have been visiting your parents so frequently recently, the Crown Prince really dotes on you."
An Qingran paused: "Well, it's okay."
In fact, she now felt that the prince had been so busy these days that he had no time to take care of her.
Shen Zhiyun had an envious expression on his face: "Crown Princess, I was really worried about you at the last palace banquet. I didn't expect someone would dare to question you in person. I guess life in the palace is really thrilling..."
When she mentioned the last palace banquet, An Qingran put down what she was holding and smiled: "Fortunately, what everyone said makes sense. After all, I am the Crown Princess. This is related to the state system, so I can't blame them for having such thoughts."
"Crown Princess, you are so broad-minded to think like this. I admire you..."
"Don't praise me. You, on the other hand, have been bored these days at home."
"Crown Princess, I would have said it even if you hadn't mentioned it. It's not that it's boring in the General's Mansion, but since you and Yanran got married together, the Mansion has become deserted. There is only Ranyue, and we don't usually interact with each other. So, I miss you." Shen Zhiyun is very good at speaking.
An Qingran smiled when she heard this: "Okay, I'll summon you to the palace more often when I have time, and we can have a good talk."
"Okay, but I don't know if the Crown Princess thinks I'm stupid and boring." Shen Zhiyun said with a smile.
"No, I think we can get along well." An Qingran said this, and she also felt that she was a little hypocritical. She would never forget the persecution Shen Zhiyun inflicted on her in her previous life.
She wanted to let them go, but their desires were insatiable and she couldn't blame herself.
In just a moment, An Qingran's mind changed.
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