Chapter 523 Drunkenness
Halfway through the banquet, Jiang Fenghua made an excuse to leave; she just wanted to get some fresh air.
Her face was almost stiff from smiling all evening as she dealt with the wives of officials, as well as the imperial relatives. Xie Shang also interacted frequently with the concubines.
At this moment, Bai Yuhan also came out, "Your Majesty, please wait."
Jiang Fenghua stopped and gestured for Granny Wang to step aside. "Does Consort Han have something to discuss with me?" She could tell that Bai Yuhan was also restless tonight, and her mind wasn't on Xie Shang. Instead, she was secretly observing the Empress.
She gave her a chance to speak.
Bai Yuhan felt awkward upon hearing "Sister Hanfei," and said, "Actually, I'm not..."
“A woman who enters the palace will eventually become one, even if she doesn’t,” Jiang Fenghua said deliberately, knowing what she meant.
Regardless of how many women Xie Shang had, whether they were real or fake, she harbored no hatred towards them and would not harbor any great resentment towards them.
She can get along with them calmly and peacefully.
Bai Yuhan was stunned. Remembering the Emperor's instructions, she had no choice but to agree with what the Empress said.
Bai Yuhan suddenly said, "Sometimes what the eyes see and the ears hear may not be the truth. Your Majesty the Empress is very beautiful. Yuhan has no intention of being your enemy. Please do not misunderstand."
"I have no misunderstanding. I am happy for Consort Han that you are favored by the Emperor. However, for a woman to survive in the palace, the only way is to give birth to an imperial heir as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuhan's lips twitched. She knew that having a child was necessary to secure the emperor's favor, so she exclaimed urgently, "I don't want to have a child!"
Jiang Fenghua was stunned, then composed herself. "Consort Han, you can't say such things carelessly. The Empress Dowager values imperial offspring the most. If you don't have children, you have no value in her eyes."
"The Empress Dowager..." She dared not say the rest, feeling that every moment wasted in the palace was torture. "I... Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."
Jiang Fenghua stared at her departing figure for a while. She had said long ago that Bai Yuhan was not suitable for living in the palace.
Why is Xie Shang keeping trying to get information out of people?
At this moment, Feng Jingyuan also appeared beside her, and only when the servants were away did she dare to call her "Ruan Ruan".
"Mother, why did you come out?"
"That was Consort Han, newly appointed by the Emperor." Feng Jingyuan had heard of her, but had never seen her. "Is there something wrong in your relationship with the Emperor? Why did he suddenly..."
Jiang Fenghua quickly stopped him, "No, Mother, don't worry. I have a very good relationship with the Emperor. With so many concubines in the harem, and him being the Emperor, he has to consider other factors. If it were to spread that the Emperor favors the Empress alone, that would be terrible. People would think that you, his daughter, are domineering and that it would be detrimental to his control of the court if he only likes you."
Feng Jingyuan was still very worried. "If anything happens, you must tell your mother so that she knows if you are doing well in the palace."
“Of course my daughter will be fine!” she said to her mother sweetly, then changed the subject: “It’s been two years, and my sister-in-law still shows no signs of waking up?”
When mentioning Zhang Yumo, Feng Jingyuan couldn't hold back her tears. "Doctor Mei often goes to her for acupuncture. He only said that her pulse has stabilized and her damaged heart meridians are gradually being repaired. But he just can't wake her up. Xiao Chu stays by her bedside every day calling for her mother."
Jiang Jinyan and Zhang Yumo's daughter was named Jiang Ruochu. She was granted the title of Princess at birth, whereas she would normally only be granted the title of County Princess or Township Princess. However, Jiang Jinyan already held the title of Marquis, so granting his daughter the title of Princess was seen as recognition of the Jiang family.
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "If there's nothing wrong with his body, why can't he be woken up? Even Physician Mei is helpless?"
“I don’t know. I’m planning to go to Huguo Temple in a while to ask Master Wu to exorcise the evil spirits from Yu Mo. Maybe some kind of evil spirit is haunting her and that’s why she can’t wake up.” Feng Jingyuan added, “I’ve actually been to Huguo Temple several times already, but the master has been in seclusion and not seeing any visitors.”
Jiang Fenghua thought to herself: How could there be some unclean thing haunting her? Zhang Yumo was supposed to be dead, but she changed her fate. She has been awake all this time, but she doesn't know if it has anything to do with this.
She had actually heard of Master Wu's name, but had never met him.
Jiang Fenghua originally did not believe that all things in the world had a spirit, but that it was just that people had ghosts in their hearts and that inner demons were causing trouble. However, after she came back to life, she felt that not only did all things in the world have a spirit, but she also believed in the Buddhist concept of the six realms of reincarnation, where every cause has its effect.
Master Wu has returned; shouldn't she also go and seek an audience to inquire about the cause and effect?
The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer before returning to the banquet.
When they returned to the banquet, Xie Shang was already drunk. She stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is not a good drinker, why did you drink so much? Why didn't you stop him?"
Wuxin was also troubled. How could they stop the emperor? The emperor and his ministers were drinking heartily, but the emperor couldn't hold his liquor.
"I am pleased." He grabbed Jiang Fenghua's hand. "Ruan Ruan, it's my birthday again today. What gift do you want to give me? The lotus lantern you made, I'll go with you to release it."
By this time, almost everyone at the banquet was quite drunk. Jiang Fenghua ordered the ministers and their families to leave the palace, while she had the emperor helped up and escorted back to the palace.
Just as Wuxin was about to take Xie Shang to the Qianqing Palace, Xie Shang suddenly pulled Jiang Fenghua and headed towards the Chenxi Palace, saying, "I'm going to visit Xiao Yan'er; she must miss me."
"His Majesty is drunk. Let's see tomorrow. Now, let's go back to the palace to rest." He even knows to use Xie Ziyan as an excuse; it seems he's not that drunk after all!
"I will return to Chenxi Palace tonight to retire. I wish to summon the Empress to my bedchamber."
Upon hearing this, the servants around lowered their heads. Jiang Fenghua was even more embarrassed and quickly said, "Wuxin, quickly have someone help the Emperor to the Qianqing Palace." This was to prevent him from vomiting all over the Chenxi Palace while drunk. Xie Shang was not a good drinker, and she dared not get close to him for fear of being vomited on.
As if on cue, Xie Shang felt a churning in his stomach and wanted to vomit. He pulled Jiang Fenghua into his arms, but Jiang Fenghua quickly pulled away.
After a brief struggle, he vomited as soon as he uttered the name "Ruan Ruan".
Jiang Fenghua slid very quickly. Seeing that Xie Shang hadn't vomited on her, she patted her chest and said, "Thank goodness."
The next moment, Xie Shang pounced on her again, pressing her down so hard she almost lost her balance, while shouting, "Ruan Ruan, why don't you like me?"
Jiang Fenghua was now completely unable to push him away. "Your Majesty, you've had too much to drink. Please return to the palace!"
"Very well, I'm going back to Chenxi Palace to see Xiao Yan'er." He said, "I will definitely ignore Jiang Fenghua."
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