Chapter 668 One generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade
Soon the Lantern Festival arrived, and the surrounding area was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, making the palace increasingly lively.
Jiang Fenghua arrived ahead of time with her concubines. As they passed through the plum garden, they could see young women dressed in their finest attire strolling and admiring the flowers.
"This plum garden in the palace is truly unique," Gao Qingtong exclaimed.
"The spring chill is still lingering, and the weather is unpredictable. The plum blossoms in the plum garden are in full bloom, attracting many charming young women to admire them. It seems that everyone has carefully inquired about the story of the plum garden before coming here to stroll around."
Song Qing continued, "Back then, Consort Zhu's sister, Zhu Yiyi, often picked plum blossoms in the plum garden in an attempt to attract the Emperor's attention. Unfortunately, she was short-lived. Now, so many women are coming here, but they don't realize that no matter what they do, it will all be in vain."
She meant to say that the emperor would not be attracted to other women and only liked the empress, but it sounded sour to the ear.
Shu Yan had also come to the plum garden to attract the emperor, but unfortunately she failed. She said sarcastically, "I heard that this plum garden was planted by the emperor when he was a prince. Plum trees are planted in almost the entire imperial garden. Who would have thought that our majestic emperor would do such an elegant thing when he was young? Look at them, doesn't it sound like a common saying?"
"What proverb?"
Shu Yan added, "The predecessors planted the trees, and the successors enjoy the shade; it's actually a boon for them."
The concubines all looked at her, "What do you mean by that, Consort Shu?"
"The plum trees were planted by His Majesty when he was young, and they have grown to their current size. With such a beautiful scene in the palace, isn't it just the right thing to attract many beauties to come and admire it?" Shu Yan added.
"If you're going to admire it, then admire it. Why say that it's a bargain for them? Shu Ronghua's words are rather impolite."
"Am I wrong? If any of these young girls in front of us were to be favored by the Emperor and taken into the harem, wouldn't that be a great benefit for them? I heard that the Emperor's favorite concubine was Consort Su. Could this plum garden have been planted specifically for Consort Su?" After all, these older women have never enjoyed the Emperor's favor, yet a group of young and beautiful girls have come to seduce the Emperor.
Hearing this, Gao Qingtong said in a deep voice, "The Emperor planted the plum garden before he met Consort Su, which means that the plum garden has nothing to do with Consort Su. If Consort Shu can't speak properly, she shouldn't talk nonsense. If the women outside the palace hear this and spread it as a joke, then Consort Shu is spreading rumors. If this also falls into the Emperor's ears, Consort Shu will probably have to spend her days in the Cold Palace."
Shu Yan was startled when she heard the words "cold palace". Even if she was not favored in the palace, she would not want to go to the cold palace. Tang Qianran was still living in the cold palace, crying out to heaven and earth in vain. Her life there was worse than death.
Granny Wang helped Jiang Fenghua and whispered, "Your Majesty, don't listen to their nonsense. I've investigated the origins of the Plum Garden. When His Majesty was still a prince, he suddenly had the idea to plant plum blossoms, and Empress Dowager Cheng agreed. What His Majesty admires is the integrity of the plum blossom."
"So this plum garden really was planted by him." Jiang Fenghua also loved plum blossoms very much, and she never expected that Xie Shang, who was in such a state, would personally plant plum trees.
Granny Wang then thought of the Emperor who had been searching for a woman in a white dress. That woman could not possibly be Consort Su. As for who she was, no one knew to this day.
Just then, a group of richly dressed women approached from afar. Granny Wang whispered, "The one in red is Princess Zhao, the one in blue is Princess Yuan, the third princess; and the one in the lotus-pink dress is Princess Zhang, the fourth princess, and the fifth princess..."
Jiang Fenghua was dressed in her finest attire today, wearing a majestic phoenix robe. Her makeup was impeccable and her demeanor was impeccable. In fact, she didn't need to come out so early; she could have come with Xie Shang. However, in order to find out who was behind this, she took the initiative to bring the concubines early, ostensibly to stroll in the garden and admire the flowers.
With a gentle reminder from Granny Wang, she quickly figured out everyone's temperament.
Gao Qingtong saw Granny Wang whispering something to the Empress. She followed their gaze and saw several princesses entering the palace together. But what was wrong with the Empress? She seemed not to recognize them.
Gao Qingtong also noticed the Empress's unusual behavior. She had always had this feeling. In the past, the Empress and she were quite compatible, but after she returned to the palace, it seemed that she had forgotten everything.
Has Her Majesty really forgotten her and them?
The Third Princess Consort approached her affectionately, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Third Princess Consort, please do not stand on ceremony."
Following closely behind, the Second Princess and the Fourth Princess also greeted, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
"Second Princess Consort, Fourth Princess Consort, please rise. I and my sisters-in-law are all family, so there's no need for formalities. Today's banquet can be considered a family feast. Let's celebrate the Lantern Festival together and do whatever makes us happy." She acted generously and appropriately. Jiang Fenghua had always been gentle yet dignified. The gentleness that came from Granny Wang's words was just a facade.
The group didn't stand on ceremony any longer. The one closest to her was the Third Princess Yuan Wenqiang. She was the most skilled at interpersonal relationships among the princesses. To put it bluntly, she was a smiling tiger who would never get angry and liked to play peacemaker.
Jiang Fenghua and she had always had a good relationship. However, the two had also been at odds over some trivial matters. The Third Princess wanted to promote her family members and even wanted to send a woman into the palace to become Xie Shang's concubine. Jiang Fenghua politely refused. The Third Princess was certainly unhappy, but she never showed it, and Jiang Fenghua pretended not to know.
The Second Princess Consort Zhao was the successor to Prince Yu. Prince Yu had a grudge against Jiang Fenghua, and his first wife was Luo Ziqiong. She hadn't expected this. Granny Wang said that it was only with her help that Luo Ziqiong was able to get rid of Prince Yu. She and Zhao would never become close, because she was close to Luo Ziqiong, while she and Zhao were not even acquaintances.
When Jiang Fenghua was still the Princess Consort of Heng, the Fourth Princess Consort was very aloof and never liked to mingle with other princess consorts. Let alone building good relationships, she was unwilling to even offer a few words of flattery because she was both aloof and arrogant.
The Fourth Princess Consort, Zhang Yurou, was born into a Duke's family, which is why she felt superior to others.
Jiang Fenghua glanced at them casually and thought, "They are all truly remarkable in their own way!"
At this moment, the Fourth Princess Consort suddenly stepped forward and said, "Why didn't Your Majesty bring Princess Danyang with you? Ruoyi has been wanting to play with Princess Danyang."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Yan'er hasn't gotten up yet. Has Princess Ruoyi also entered the palace?"
"The maid took her to the West Palace to kowtow to the Dowager Consort. She'll be back soon," the Fourth Princess Consort explained. "When Ruoyi returns, I'll have the maid take her to play with Danyang. She loves her little sister the most and has been asking me to give her a little sister."
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