Chapter 28 Are you afraid of me?
"Huanbi!" Zhen Huan said coldly, "The osmanthus flowers I left out to dry are ready. Go and bring them in for me."
Seeing Zhen Huan's cold expression, Huan Bi snorted defiantly, flicked her sleeves, and walked out heavily.
An Lingrong pursed her lips. Every step Huanbi took felt like a heavy blow to her heart. She didn't understand what she had done wrong to deserve such humiliation from a mere servant.
Perhaps seeing the atmosphere was too tense, Shen Meizhuang stepped in to ease the tension and said, "To be honest, Lingrong and I are lucky. My Lady Consort Jing is a kind person, and although Consort Xin has not had much contact with her, she always mentions Lingrong, so she must be easy to get along with. Just look at these fabrics and charcoal."
As she spoke, she gave Zhen Huan a look, and Zhen Huan leaned forward and continued, "Yes, I am currently seriously ill and unable to move around. I would like to trouble you, sister, to pass on my message and thank Consort Xin for me. I will definitely pay a visit to express my gratitude in the future!"
Lingrong forced a smile, refusing to look up again, and said with difficulty, "Sister Mei is right. I am just a concubine who has entered the palace without being favored. I can only live a peaceful life by relying on Consort Xin's help. How could I deserve so many good things?"
After these words were spoken, the room fell silent again.
Seeing that she couldn't continue the conversation, An Lingrong wisely got up, said goodbye, and left.
Jinxi listened to the whole thing from the side. When she saw that Xiao An was about to leave, she looked at Zhen Huan with a troubled expression and wanted to see her off, but An Lingrong stopped her without saying a word.
Meizhuang watched the blurry pink figure disappear into the distance and sighed softly, "Lingrong has always been a sensitive person, so I'm afraid she'll overthink things now."
"I'm just afraid she'll overthink things, so I have to think things through carefully every time I talk to her," Zhen Huan said listlessly, her spirits dampened.
Meizhuang gently shook her head. "Don't blame me for being nosy, but you should restrain Huanbi a bit. I think Lingrong means well. I don't have many of these silver charcoal firewoods. I guess Consort Xin didn't keep much of what she received and brought it all here."
Zhen Huan lowered her head, fiddling with a cushion in her hands, and said softly, "As you know, Huanbi and I grew up together, and I've always indulged her more. I'll talk to her about what happened today."
The two of them had grown up together since childhood. Judging from her expression, Shen Meizhuang knew that she hadn't listened to much, so she sighed and didn't say anything more.
——
"Did she really say that?" Lu Yingfeng looked up in shock, seeing Xue Xin and Hong Xihai's confident expressions, and after a moment of silence, handed Hongzhou in her arms to the wet nurse.
"Judging from how clever Consort Wan was when she met the Empress, how could she be someone who doesn't know how to discipline her servants?" Lü Yingfeng couldn't quite understand.
In the inner palace, the attitude of servants often represented the will of their masters. Empress and Consort Hua were self-evident, and Songzhi and Jianqiu were all extremely loyal and capable. Jianqiu, in particular, was unwavering and possessed an air of authority. She managed the concubines in place of the Empress with remarkable competence.
Even Consort Qi has the loyal and cautious Cuiguo by her side, and Consort Duan has Jixiang who will never abandon her. Judging from this... could it be that the pile of charcoal and cloth was given to the wrong person?
Just then, she heard slightly disordered footsteps outside. Lü Yingfeng quickly went out and bumped into An Lingrong, who was rushing inside with red eyes and her head down.
Upon suddenly seeing Consort Xin standing at the entrance of the main hall, he paused, his lips trembling as tears welled up in his eyes.
She quickly lowered her head to cover herself, gave a curtsy, and hurriedly entered the west wing hall.
"Look, when she left just now, she was practically skipping, and her shadow almost couldn't keep up with her. And now she's back like this after only half an hour," Lü Yingfeng said to Xue Xin with some concern.
"If I were her, I would throw the thing in her face right then and there. It would be better to be punished than to just sit here and sulk."
Xuexin smiled helplessly as she watched her mistress argue with someone again, and said soothingly, "It's good that Consort An understands sooner rather than later. You have to keep some of the good things for yourself."
Having made up her mind, Lü Yingfeng casually straightened her sleeves and said, "His Majesty hasn't visited Hongzhou for some time. Hong Xihai, go and invite His Majesty to dinner."
"Yes." Hong Xihai bowed and listened, then quickly walked out of the inner hall.
"Xuexin, go tell Consort An before dinner to prepare."
Seeing Lü Yingfeng's gaze, Xue Xin naturally understood what was being prepared and nodded earnestly in agreement.
——
“Huanbi, Consort An has not offended you, why do you speak to her like that?”
After everyone had left, Zhen Huan called Huan Bi into the room. Her tone was less accusatory and more instructive.
Huanbi was still fuming. "I just can't stand her attitude. We used to give her the best things in the manor, but now that she's hooked up with Consort Xin, she comes here to show off." Still not satisfied, she scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Zhen Huan said, “Princess An means well. If it weren’t for these charcoal fires, we would still be freezing and having to smoke out those thick black charcoal embers. How am I supposed to get along with people like this?”
Seeing that her mistress's voice had risen a bit, Huanbi stopped being stubborn and lowered her head, still muttering, "Miss Meizhuang will send it to us, so there's no need for her to play the good guy."
Seeing her sigh, Zhen Huan couldn't bear to criticize her any further. After a long pause, she finally said, "If you really don't like her, just avoid her next time she comes and let Liu Zhu and Jin Xi serve you."
Seeing that her mistress was still on her side, Huanbi nodded happily.
——
"Then I will certainly go."
The Emperor stood with his hands behind his back in front of the main hall, smiling as he looked at the woman who had borne him three children. Under the moonlight, her fair and delicate skin appeared even more beautiful. Her eyes, which were always smiling, seemed as clear as a spring under the moonlight, yet they were also captivating.
Lu Yingfeng smiled and gently punched the Emperor's chest with her fist. Her shy and smiling appearance was even more captivating.
"Your Majesty has already taken the first step, yet you still insist that I play the villain. I know that I am old and no longer attractive, so Your Majesty should naturally seek out a fresh young lady." Lü Yingfeng said in a pretentious tone, but before she finished speaking, she couldn't help but laugh.
Yinzhen chuckled twice, reaching out to pinch the smooth cheek of the person before him—"You're quite the smooth talker, aren't you? You were the one who told me to bestow my favors evenly upon the people of Yongshou Palace, and now you've accused me of being fickle and tired of the old, huh?"
The emperor pinched Lü Yingfeng until she begged for mercy repeatedly. After the two of them played around for a while, the emperor finally walked towards the west side hall.
Only after the figure disappeared behind the door of the west hall did Lü Yingfeng lose her captivating expression, tighten her cloak, and turn her gaze away, saying calmly to Xue Xin, "Go back and close the door."
"Is Your Highness sad? The Emperor went to Consort An's quarters." Xuexin carefully observed her mistress's expression and asked uncertainly.
"What's there to be sad about?" Lü Yingfeng raised an eyebrow and gently tapped Xue Xin's head. "There are so many concubines in the harem, and the Emperor has to take care of all of them. Why would I be sad about An Yingying, whom I just met the Emperor?"
Xuexin shrank back, playfully sticking out her tongue—"Then what's wrong, Your Highness?"
Lu Yingfeng removed all the hairpins and ornaments from her head and moved her stiff neck. "I just feel too tired. I'm tired from doing things and talking. I'm supposed to introduce the Emperor to someone else, but I have to pretend to be extremely reluctant and looking back. If I don't do this, our Emperor might become suspicious."
After saying that, she let out another long sigh—"It's really exhausting."
——
Although An Lingrong had received news of Xue Xin during dinner and had learned the etiquette of serving the emperor in bed from the nanny, she was still so nervous that her breathing began to tremble when she actually saw the emperor walk in.
Seeing the stiff bow of Consort An, whose body was trembling slightly, Yinzhen's smile, which had been on his face, froze, and his brows furrowed.
"Are you afraid of me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
