"Judging from your appearance, I know your cousin must be quite good. Congratulations, sister."
Luo Fei, unfamiliar with her, quickly stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
She was very shy.
"I'll make sure you get a dowry and get married in style."
After chatting for a while, Yan Nangui asked Jiangxiang to take Madam Sun and Luo Fei to visit the courtyard.
After leaving Lan Xiangyi behind, everyone else in the room also left.
"Now that you're doing well, I'm relieved. It's just that life in the palace... sigh..."
“Being born into a high-ranking family and a wealthy land is unavoidable. Even if I didn’t enter the palace, would I be spared from the struggles? I’m used to it. I never put on airs in front of His Majesty. My father is also loyal, so there’s no reason for me to have a bad life. As for the struggles in the harem, they can fight among themselves now, so there’s no need to keep an eye on me,” Yan Nangui said.
"Oh, my dear child, you've been wronged." Lan Xiangyi took her hand.
"Aunt is doing well. I thought His Majesty would continue fighting for several more years, so I asked you to persuade Uncle to resign. Now that things have calmed down, it won't be difficult for Uncle to become an official again," Yan Nangui said.
"Alright, just wait until after the mourning period, then your cousin will take the exam. He's confident he can pass the imperial examination no matter what. Let him be. If it doesn't work out, we'll try to find some connections. Your uncle isn't cut out to be an official. Since he doesn't want to be one himself, and his family has a noble title so they won't starve, let him not do it."
“Your cousin is also doing well in his studies, and those three boys didn’t follow in their father’s footsteps; they’re all quite promising themselves. It would be good if all three of them could have a bright future,” Lan Xiangyi said with a smile.
The third son, naturally, was the one born out of wedlock.
"Alright, we'll listen to Aunt. My cousin is promising and will have a bright future." Nowadays, men still value the imperial examinations the most.
After talking for a while, he asked someone to prepare lunch, since it was the New Year.
This table is very lavish.
His Majesty also ordered that two more dishes be bestowed as a reward.
This isn't exclusive to geese returning south; they've already been rewarded before.
The mother and her children spoke easily, showing that Mrs. Sun was a generous and magnanimous person. They were quite congenial.
In the afternoon, Lan Xiangyi bid farewell and left with her daughter-in-law and daughter.
The geese returning south today don't feel tired anymore; it really depends on who's supporting them.
In the evening, I heard that Qu Meiren had accompanied the emperor in the afternoon and had dinner before returning.
Yan Nangui hummed in response, seemingly unconcerned.
The next morning, however, I heard that Consort Zhen had summoned the imperial physician the night before.
Before the fifteenth of the lunar month, people don't have to pay their respects every day, which is one of the few holidays in the year.
"Have you arrived?" Yan Nangui asked.
“No, the imperial physicians aren’t as well-organized during the New Year. It was no use for her to ask them. The Empress Dowager sent someone to reprimand her this morning. I heard that she fell ill on the first night of the New Year, but she didn’t ask for an imperial physician. It must be serious now,” Luo Kui said.
Yan Nangui smiled and said, "Why bother?"
Once you've joined the old emperor's faction, you have to help yourself get back on your feet.
What good is having the title of Imperial Concubine?
Once the old emperor dies, everything will be gone.
However, she probably didn't expect Shu Zhongjing to die so easily. Shu Zhongjing was only in his forties.
But life is unpredictable.
She deserves to be in this state now.
The Empress Dowager intends to put her to the test in detail.
Inside Yingfu Palace, a eunuch's high-pitched voice announced, "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has something to say. Since Consort Zhen is ill, you must pay extra attention to your diet. The imperial physician will be here soon, but you should also change your meals. Patients should avoid greasy food. From today onwards, please eat lighter meals."
Consort Zhen looked at this eunuch, whom she would never have even glanced at before, and was so rude to her, but she could not say anything: "Yes."
The eunuch then left with a grin.
The imperial physician did arrive, but he was a new physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, the kind who had no qualifications whatsoever.
I glanced at it casually and just said it was because of the cold weather, and told her to rest well. The prescription I wrote was completely incomprehensible.
At lunchtime, only four dishes, a soup, and a staple food were served.
The four dishes were all vegetarian, which was fine, but they were also very unappetizing.
The soup was nothing more than a few bones soaking in it, looking pale and unappetizing, and even nauseating if you looked at it for too long.
The host served brown rice, saying it was good for one's health.
Even with all her restraint, Consort Zhen could no longer contain herself. She abruptly overturned the table of food, exclaiming, "I am still a Consort! I was the late Emperor's Noble Consort! How can you make me eat this?"
The people inside Yingfu Palace remained silent.
When the Empress Dowager heard about it in the afternoon, she smiled and said, "She can't hold it in anymore? I thought she could endure it for a few more days."
“She’s had a relatively smooth life in the past, so I don’t think she’s ever experienced this,” Su Jin said with a smile.
"If she has the guts to starve to death, I'll admire her," the Empress Dowager said calmly.
"How could that be? If you don't eat this meal, you'll have to eat the next one. If you really wanted to die, you wouldn't have called the imperial physician." Su Jin said disdainfully.
If Granny Fei could still feel sorry for the Eighth Princess, then Su Jin truly wished that the mother and her two children would all die together.
She had a crush on Shu Changfeng back then, and even considered asking the Empress Dowager to let her become a concubine in the mansion.
Even if it's just a minor official position, it would be fine.
But before he could do anything, the man died. He died a humiliating death.
Over the years, she had harbored deep hatred for Consort Zhen, and now she had instructed people to torment her.
She wasn't afraid of the Empress Dowager finding out; even if she did, it wouldn't matter. She not only tormented Consort Zhen, but also her two daughters.
She just wouldn't let them have an easy time.
She had long since given up on the idea of getting married and having children. Although she had no official status, she always considered herself the eldest prince's woman.
Now, she enjoys the thrill of revenge.
If it weren't for that vile woman, he might be the emperor now.
Su Jin felt only intense hatred and malice towards the mother and her two children.
So, by evening, even the four dishes and soup were gone for Consort Zhen. There were only two dishes left: stir-fried cabbage that was barely recognizable in color and a bowl of stew, clearly meant for the palace maids.
It's still brown rice.
She ultimately lacked the strength and the will to fall again.
The dishes that were meant for her had long been replaced by her servants.
What's there to be afraid of? We have the Empress Dowager's people to make the decisions.
It was already the fifteenth in no time.
This year, we can't hang lanterns or anything like that, so the fifteenth-family banquet will be kept simple.
After the fifteenth of the month, His Majesty will begin to hold court, and the women of the harem will also begin to pay their respects.
Consort Zhen did not attend today's family banquet; she is too ill to get out of bed.
The Empress Dowager said nothing, because she had other things to say.
"Rong Ning, your brother has only been gone for a short time, and your attire is a bit excessive. He doted on you the most when he was alive, and now, only a few months later, have you already forgotten?" The Empress Dowager sighed, as if to say, "How could you be so insensible?"
Rong Ning was taken aback: "Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"
She was extremely careful, and had no idea where this person had gotten hold of something against her.
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