Chapter 85 Schemes, Both Overt and Covert
"Your Majesty, please stop looking. In the past two months, apart from visiting Consort Xian a few times, it has been Consort Rou who has accompanied you. She is the only one eating meat, while the other ladies haven't even had a sip of soup." Consort Fucha covered her face with a silk scarf, and her tone was somewhat indistinct. However, it was not difficult to hear the strong dissatisfaction in her words.
Consort Xian placed her hand on her six-month pregnant belly. Upon hearing this, she raised an eyebrow and glanced at Consort Fucha, who looked unconvinced. Then she looked at the Empress, who was dressed in a magnanimous and generous manner and was flipping through the records of the Imperial Household Department. She couldn't help but smile and say, "Is Consort Fucha not getting to drink the soup because of Consort Rou? I've never seen you drink it more than a few times before. You're just joining in the fun and smelling the aroma."
Her words were not very polite, and even Nian Shilan, who was sullen after being released from confinement, covered her mouth with her handkerchief.
Noble Lady Fucha dared not argue with her, but secretly rolled her eyes, exhaled heavily, and said no more.
Yixiu knew that An Lingrong would definitely be favored, but she really didn't expect that she would be even more favored than Zhen Huan was back then.
On second thought, it makes sense. When Zhen Huan was favored, which of her rivals—Lü Jiaying, Nian Shilan, or Shen Meizhuang—couldn't share her spoils? Consort Fucha and Consort Li in the Cold Palace were also eyeing her covetously. Now, the only one in the palace who could share some favor, Consort Xian, is pregnant, making An Lingrong the only one worthy of attention.
Her gaze unconsciously swept over Consort Xian, lingering for a moment on her round belly before quickly looking away.
It's been six months already. Yixiu never intended to simply abort her child until this month.
Children, Consort Xian, none of them can be spared.
That night.
Hongzhao was watching Zhen Huan and Prince Guo's midnight rendezvous through the surveillance camera with great satisfaction.
Prince Guo led her into the courtyard with the sound of his flute, "Chang Xiang Shou." Looking at Zhen Huan's pale and thin face, he seemed at a loss, clenched his fist, and frowned slightly as he spoke apologetically, "You... seem to have lost a lot of weight."
Zhen Huan followed the sound of the flute. When they were confined to the Yuanmingyuan Garden, the two of them used the zither and flute to comfort each other. She couldn't possibly not recognize who the flute player was. At this moment, he lowered his head and refused to look up at her. His voice was also soft - "At this time of year, the west wind rolls up the curtain, and naturally, people are thinner than yellow flowers."
After a long pause, Prince Guo spoke again: "That day... I am truly sorry, my brother no longer invites me to the palace. This time, I was able to speak to you in person under the pretext of visiting the Empress Dowager."
Zhen Huan remained dejected, silently shaking her head – “The Prince meant well, wanting to save me from this predicament. I am not an ungrateful person who cannot distinguish right from wrong. That child... is ultimately not meant to be with me.”
Prince Guo leaned forward slightly, his voice no longer hesitant as before, but carrying a hint of urgency—"I just hope you are well! I... consider you a confidant."
Seeing that Zhen Huan seemed unsure how to respond, she took a half step back and remained silent. Prince Guo gave a self-deprecating smile and then said, "Just now, I passed by the Hall of Mental Cultivation and heard melodious singing coming from inside. It sounded somewhat familiar."
With a look of melancholy in her eyes, Zhen Huan said, "It's the former Consort Rou, whom the Prince has met before."
"Although the voice is very beautiful, it has lost its own essence. Rather than imitating others, it is better to please yourself." He looked at Zhen Huan's lowered eyes and said sincerely, "Uncut jade and pure gold, natural beauty, it is more important not to lose one's true nature."
Zhen Huan felt slightly strange and turned her head away, replying vaguely, "It's just a song, what matters is that the Emperor likes it."
Prince Guo shook his head, seeing her deceiving herself like this, and stopped trying to comfort her—"I don't believe you think the same way. You understand people's hearts, and so do I."
Hongzhao was engrossed in watching when the sudden sound of voices beside him startled him.
"Your Highness! You must go and see! Consort Xian has fallen in front of Zhongcui Palace and is in great pain!"
It was a familiar-looking eunuch named Xiao Shizi. He was always seen following Hong Xihai around busily. Now he was sweating profusely and stamping his feet in anxiety.
Hongzhao sprang up from the couch like a spring, anxiously bending down to put on his shoes. Zhongcui Palace... An Lingrong's residence? Could it be that he guessed wrong, and she really had completely sided with the Empress?
Without time to think, he called out twice—"Xiao Dezi, Xiao Dezi!"
After waiting for a while without any response, Xiao Dezi, who used to always tell him where he was going, had never left so quietly. He frowned and was about to go look for him when the little eunuch grabbed him and anxiously led him outside, muttering, "My good brother, please hurry! The Noble Consort Xian is six months pregnant, and this fall must have been quite a fall."
Since An Lingrong gained favor, he wisely stopped lingering in the Hall of Mental Cultivation every day. He would only stay occasionally when his father didn't choose a concubine. The reason was simple: the nightly revelry was not suitable for his five-year-old age, and listening to too much of it would hinder his healthy development.
Hongzhao came out hastily, his clothes not very neat. He shivered a little from the cool autumn wind, and his mind cleared up immediately. He looked around at the palace road—"This is not the way to Yongshou Palace. Where is Mother?"
The little pebble led the way without looking back, his already faint voice becoming even more delicate in the wind—"Since Her Majesty has fallen and is not easy to move, she should rest at Zhongcui Palace and call the imperial physician."
Hongzhao couldn't find any flaws in his words and kept following his footsteps. He could only mentally tap the system—"Brother Tong, is it true?"
"It's fake!" The system's usually calm electronic voice finally showed some fluctuation, and even a hint of urgency could be heard—"But it's estimated that it will become real soon."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Hongzhao paused, his gaze dark as he stared at the back of the small stone in front of him, and slowly lowered his pace.
"I'm waiting for you to ask! I've already been warned for proactively providing you with the Emperor's whereabouts twice!" The urgency in the system's words was genuine. Hongzhao also knew that this was not the time to speak. He glanced at the fork in the road ahead, took small steps, and silently hid in the shadows, turning around and concealing himself behind the Kunning Gate.
The little pebble continued walking ahead, oblivious to everything around it.
Hongzhao listened to his heart pounding like a drum and thought to himself that someone must be plotting against him, most likely the Empress.
The guards who used to patrol the streets at night are now nowhere to be seen, as if they have all been moved away.
No, he had to go find his mother. He didn't know what the Empress was up to, and he couldn't let his mother fall for her tricks!
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