When Jin Xi led the palace maids and eunuchs from the kitchen to Fengxin Palace, Chuchun, Shengxia, Wandong, Lüluo, Jiyun, Hongxia, and others were all waiting outside with hand warmers, each of them smiling and talking.
"What are the sisters saying? They're laughing so happily," Jin Xi asked as she walked up the steps, lifting her skirt.
Ji Yun gestured for her to be quiet, indicating that she should look inside the hall. "Shh, keep your voice down, they're having a lot of fun inside."
Despite the strict separation between men and women, the palace doors were not closed, allowing a clear view of everyone inside. The Crown Prince and Prince Yong were playing chess, while Zhao Shu, the Empress Dowager, and Sun Yun were playing a card game. The scene was warm and peaceful.
Jin Xi looked at it and couldn't help but smile knowingly. How wonderful it would be if it could always be like this.
Zhao Shu happily exclaimed, "Grandmother, I'm sorry, I'm going to win!" With that, she knocked the two kings away.
The Empress Dowager grabbed a handful of gold leaves and presented them to her, her face full of regret. "You two little brats, you've surrounded me. Just you wait."
Zhao Shu pouted smugly, handed a few gold leaves to Sun Yun, and they exchanged a high five with each other, both laughing.
Zhang Chuhou was shuffling the cards on the side. As he spoke, the cards were shuffled and dealt to all three of them. "Princess, you are the dealer."
Zhao Shu didn't know what "being the dealer" meant, but since playing cards in Dayong couldn't be called playing cards, she just made up a name for it and called the dealer "being the dealer".
She glanced at her terrible hand; not only could she not make any connections, but she also had no high-ranking cards, just a string of numbers. The Empress Dowager and Sun Yun opposite her seemed to have pretty good hands. They looked at her with ambiguous expressions and a particularly 'cunning' smile on their lips. "Ah Yun, you wouldn't believe it, would you?"
Sun Yun closed the cards and said seriously, "There are no personal relationships at the card table."
The Empress Dowager burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face. Seeing the Empress Dowager's joy, Zhao Shu was also pleased. She then feigned defiance and said, "I refuse to believe in such superstitions. As a grandmaster, I can't possibly defeat you!" With that, she took down the three cards from the table.
Luck was pretty good; he managed to connect a string of numbered cards, but he still had a single card. He glanced at the Empress Dowager and Sun Yun, then played a straight first. Sun Yun passed, and the Empress Dowager said, "Ah Jun is going to lose."
After the Empress Dowager crushed him, Zhao Shu immediately put on a dejected expression, shrugged her head and regretted it deeply, "I made a mistake, I made a mistake, I shouldn't have done that."
"Hahaha, you little monkey." The Empress Dowager quickly played all the cards in her hand, and Zhao Shu then distributed the gold leaves she had won to Sun Yun and the Empress Dowager.
"The Empress Dowager is laughing so happily. Only the Princess can make her laugh." Ji Yun said with satisfaction outside the hall, "I wonder where the Princess gets so many fun things from."
“The princess is the female Gan Luo.” Chu Chun said after hearing Ji Yun’s words, her words filled with pride.
"May I ask, sisters, are His Highness the Prince and His Highness the Crown Prince here?" Peng Rui and the old imperial physician Peng suddenly came over, and Peng Rui asked loudly.
The group turned around and saw Peng Rui bowing respectfully in the distance. They quickly curtsied in return, saying, "Young General, please wait a moment while we go and inform him."
"Please, elder sister." Peng Rui bowed again.
Ji Yun entered the hall and came to the Empress Dowager's side, saying softly, "Empress Dowager, the young general has arrived."
The Empress Dowager's smile remained unchanged as she focused intently on the cards in her hand. She was the landlord again this round. "Bring out the screen. This old woman likes a lively atmosphere."
"Sigh." Ji Yun said, no longer disturbing them. He turned and called Hongxia and Du Bai to take out the white jade carved red plum blossom screen that was placed in the inner room and put it in the middle. Fortunately, the hall was spacious enough that the screen did not feel crowded at all.
Separated by a screen, the man and woman could not see each other, but they could still hear each other's voices.
After setting up the screen, Chu Chun went out to welcome Peng Rui and the old imperial physician Peng in. Peng Rui walked in and first greeted the Empress Dowager through the screen, saying, "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, greet you. May Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace."
Physician Peng also bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"No need for that. You'll stay up with the Crown Prince to celebrate the New Year later." This was an invitation for the two of them to spend New Year's Eve together. Although Ji Yun had already conveyed the Empress Dowager's instructions to the two of them, the Empress Dowager's repeated mention of it now showed that she attached great importance to it.
Upon hearing this, the two knelt down and kowtowed three times, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Get up. It's New Year's Eve today. Let's skip the formalities if possible." Even though she wasn't in the capital, she really wanted to have a normal New Year's Eve.
Zhao Shu played a card but smiled without speaking. However, several thoughts were swirling in her mind. Emperor Mingde's health was not as good as before, and Liang Yunsi must not have told the Empress Dowager. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager would not be smiling so happily. With her current status, there was no need for her to force a smile. Moreover, reporting good news and not bad news was the usual practice of a son. Liang Yunsi's choice to tell her was to persuade the Empress Dowager to bow down to Emperor Mingde and return to the capital as soon as possible.
So here comes the big question: how many people know that Emperor Mingde's health is not as good as before? It seems we need to send someone to investigate. Judging from my memories of my past life, Emperor Mingde was supposed to pass away after the rebellion of the princes was quelled, which was still several years away. Could it be that my rebirth disrupted many things and changed his fate?
If that's the case, chaos will be imminent, and many people will likely avoid taking such a risky step unless they're desperate.
Regardless, she was extremely worried about Emperor Mingde, who was far better than any of her other uncles.
"Ah Jun, you've only lost two rounds, you're not going to go crazy, are you?" Sun Yun teased, pushing her and grabbing a handful of gold leaves to present to the Empress Dowager. "Ten leaves."
Zhao Shu snapped out of her daze and pretended to be unhappy, "I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore, I'm losing anyway."
Behind the screen, Physician Peng immediately chimed in, "Your Highness, I wish to play."
"Uncle, why don't you play chess with me?" Peng Rui said with a smile.
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