In the Longevity Palace, the Empress Dowager now keeps a cat.
She was holding the cat and gently stroking it when she asked, "The Emperor spent the whole morning with Consort Yan?"
"Your Majesty, that's right. At first, Consort Xiao was there too, but she bumped into it herself. She was sent back later. His Majesty and Consort Yan had lunch in the Imperial Garden after their lake tour before they dispersed." Pengyue gently massaged her legs.
"This Lady Yan does have some skill in vying for favor," said the Empress Dowager.
“Why does Your Highness say that? If we’re talking about favor, she’s not the first one to serve you after the mourning period ended,” Pengyue said.
"She's not the first, but how many people spend a whole morning boating on the lake like that? Besides, she's a remarried woman who can't have children, yet she hasn't been neglected these past few years; in fact, the Emperor is even more enthusiastic about her. During the mourning period, she often went to the Beichen Palace to accompany the Emperor. What's so impressive about just sleeping with the Emperor? It's not about sleeping with him but frequently visiting him; that's real skill," said the Empress Dowager.
“That’s true. Then Your Highness, shall we…” Pengyue hesitated.
“We? We’ll do nothing. Didn’t you see how ruthless Yan Shi is? More than two years ago, how did she treat Rong Ning? She was the kind of person who could force her own father to admit to treating a concubine as a wife and who didn’t manage her household properly. She can’t have children and doesn’t care about her own family. I admit I can’t handle her.”
"Ah... was that what she meant? All these years I've only thought she was trying to annoy Princess Rongning." Pengyue was stunned, and her hands stopped moving.
"This woman is truly clever. You think she's just like that? Of course not. If Rong Ning's hidden worry isn't addressed now, it might become a future problem. Her father holds military power, but he'll get old eventually. If His Majesty has any ideas then, where will he start? He might just bring up Rong Ning's hidden worry later. In any case, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty both dislike her."
"Now that His Majesty has just ascended the throne, he only wants to appease his old ministers. He also dotes on Consort Yan. Isn't it perfect for her to expose this matter now?"
“But what if… His Majesty has a change of heart in the future and turns around and says that the Yan family mistreated the royal family?” Pengyue asked.
"Hehe, if Ye Qingpei could eat back what she spat out, I'd admire her. Even if she could, our Emperor couldn't. He was almost disgusted to death by this 'good aunt' since he was a child. One day, he would rather cause trouble for Consort Yan than say anything about mistreating the royal family," the Empress Dowager said confidently.
"Yes, that's because I don't understand. But the Empress Dowager is really anxious these days. She really wants to bring her two daughters to the palace every day."
"The Empress has no legitimate son, so of course she wants the Ye family's daughter to give birth to him. The Ye family has been kind to His Majesty. Over the years, without the Ye family, His Majesty would not have been able to achieve anything. His Majesty still cares about the Ye family to some extent. But the position of Empress is out of the question; it will not fall into the Ye family's hands."
“Then… they just want the position of Crown Prince, right?” Pengyue said.
The Empress Dowager smiled again, but said nothing more.
The position of Crown Prince.
Shu Chengfeng is not even twenty-five yet.
She couldn't predict the final outcome, but the more anxious Empress Dowager Ye became, the less likely she was to succeed.
When Shu Chengfeng arrived at Zhaochun Palace, it was almost time for dinner.
Yan Nangui had naturally ordered dinner in advance, so the meal served was quite sumptuous.
Shu Chengfeng was extremely hungry. After washing his hands, he began to eat, finishing three bowls of rice in one go. He also drank a bowl of soup.
He's young, and it took him a lot of mental effort to get here all afternoon, plus all the hard work.
Naturally, his appetite returned.
After eating and drinking to your heart's content and washing up, he said, "You live too far away. I was thinking of having you choose Jade Essence Palace or Jade Hibiscus Palace, but you chose this one because it's so far away."
Yan Nangui rolled her eyes: "Why do you always lie after you became His Majesty? There are pear blossoms in front of Zhaochun Palace, and it's quiet with no pavilions in the back. It's not too far from the Imperial Garden. It's also quite large, and it's well-maintained. You're telling me you never thought I would choose it?"
Shu Chengfeng laughed heartily: "Good, good, good, I've thought of that! But those two places to stay are fine too. Why didn't you think of choosing one?"
“This is the best in your heart, and those two are just okay. Why would I give up the best and ask for something okay? Isn’t it the same as getting married? If you have the best, why would you ask for something okay?” Yan Nangui said.
"So, how is the Meng family doing?" Shu Chengfeng suddenly asked.
Yan Nangui burst out laughing.
"What a jar of aged vinegar! People can go blind sometimes, right? You're really going to use a scumbag as a comparison. Can't you be any better?" With that, he dragged the person towards the study.
The study is very large and is located on the other side of the hall.
Now that the weather is warmer, the mats on the floor have naturally been replaced with regular carpets.
On the unfolded drawing paper on the table, there really are two people sitting opposite each other, with peach blossoms below.
Yan Nangui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please sit down. I will add a few more strokes."
Shu Chengfeng then sat down.
As Yan Nangui picked up his brush, he mixed a few colors and painted a hazy moon shadow on the horizon. A similar hazy moon shadow was reflected in the lake beneath the flowers, but it was easily missed if not looked closely.
With a new pen, Yan Nangui wrote two lines: "The moon in the water is the moon in the sky; the person before my eyes is the person in my heart."
Shu Chengfeng smiled, but frowned: "The painting is excellent. The lyrics are excellent too. It's just your handwriting..."
"How is it?" Yan Nangui tilted his head.
"Your handwriting is excellent, full of spirit and vigor, sharp and unstoppable. But don't you think it's too menacing to use it for love poems?" Shu Chengfeng frowned. "Your handwriting is truly..."
"You're so annoying! I asked you to look at this!" Yan Nangui snorted, throwing down his pen.
"Hahaha, good, good, good, this is indeed a good scene. Hahaha..." Shu Chengfeng was in a good mood at the moment.
I was indeed moved.
But this word...
Yan Nangui snorted, rolled her eyes at him, and was about to leave.
He grabbed her and said, "I didn't know Tang'er's calligraphy was so good. This painting is for me."
"Dream on! I never intended to give it to you anyway," Yan Nangui said resentfully.
"Hahaha, what a temper. Since you won't give me the painting, then give yourself to me." With that, he picked her up and said, "Tang'er is angry, I must properly comfort and coax you."
There were no witnesses to know exactly how he was coaxed.
However, the way she was coaxed was probably not quite right, because Consort Yan was coaxed into crying.
After that, most of the night had passed.
The palace maids, who were finally able to bring hot water, lowered their heads and thought, "His Majesty has it tough too."
The next morning, when Yan Nangui woke up, Shu Chengfeng had already left for the morning court session.
Chanyi smiled and said, "His Majesty said to come again tonight."
Yan Nangui rolled his eyes at the sky but didn't say anything. He still had to go and pay his respects, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ask for leave today.
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