Chapter 226 A Sleepless Night
Inside the Imperial Clan Court.
Hongli looked at the rare, hot and meaty meal laid out on the dilapidated table and couldn't help but let out a sneer from the bottom of his heart.
Even when he was down on his luck and disliked in the Old Summer Palace, such food would never have been served to him. Now that he's spent several years here, eating a meal like this is a real treat.
Combined with what the person who delivered the food said earlier—"The Empress's orders are to share in the Crown Prince's good fortune."
News from outside the mansion is scarce and timeless; any news that gets through is often outdated and has been replaced long ago. Yet, the joyous occasion sounds like a clear indication of today's events.
"Excuse me, is the Crown Prince getting married today in the palace?" He looked up at the guards who were still outside the door. Years of confinement had taught him to speak politely. The guard was not one to make things difficult for people, so it was fine to tell him something that everyone outside knew.
"Of course, otherwise how could you benefit from this meal?"
The people here always speak with barbs and sarcasm, and Hongli, as if used to it, twitched the corners of his mouth and said leisurely, "That is indeed a momentous event, a day that must be a happy day for everyone, otherwise they wouldn't have thought of me."
"I wonder which young lady from the Ulanara family she is?"
He remembered that he had asked someone to inquire at the time. The Ulanara family only had Qingying as their only daughter of marriageable age, and the Uya family had given both of their daughters to Hongkai. He really couldn't imagine how a Crown Princess could appear out of thin air.
The guard was taken aback, raising his eyebrows dramatically as he looked at Hongli and the concubine huddled at the far end of the room. "Ulanara? So you haven't come to terms with reality yet? The Crown Prince's bride is from the Fuca clan, Princess Jinghua's study companion, and Lord Li Rongbao's daughter. Ulanara... This is the Imperial Clan Court, not a sanatorium. There aren't any courtyards for him to live in; there's only a small room that you can see the end of. Qingying, as his concubine, naturally has to live with him and serve him."
The guard stood watch outside the house every day and could often hear the two arguing inside. One thought he was a descendant of a dragon, and the other thought he was from a noble family. They hadn't had a peaceful day since they first moved in, and now they still harbored such thoughts.
"Fucha? Not Ulanara?" Hongli's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't help but stand up from the stool, his thigh slamming hard against the wobbly wooden table before he belatedly stopped. His voice was uncertain—"Didn't they say... that the Empress Dowager summoned another grandniece to the palace before she passed away?"
The guard suddenly realized—"Oh, you mean that one? That's a princess from the Hui Fa Na La family. Her Majesty the Empress has decided that she will become the Crown Prince's concubine."
After finishing his sentence, the guard didn't want to waste any more time on the matter. He carefully closed the door and coldly left behind the words, "Eat quickly. It's rare to have something hot, why do you have to let it get cold?" Then he left without looking back.
"Hui Fa Na La... U Lana La..."
Hongli stood there muttering to himself for a long time. He felt a blur in his mind, and a sudden dizziness made him feel unsteady and fall back to his original position.
For so many years, he had felt that he had failed because of his birth and his relationship with his father, the Emperor. But today he realized that perhaps everything he did was wrong from the very first step, and all his efforts had been in vain.
No wonder... no wonder no matter how I got closer to Ulanara, Hongzhao was never in a hurry or stopped me. No wonder the look he gave me in the main hall was full of amusement. He had always been wrong. Ulanara was not the future Crown Princess at all.
It wasn't true from beginning to end.
The aroma of the food rose upwards, emanating from the lingering heat in the cramped and stuffy little room, almost making him feel nauseous. He slowly turned his head to look at Qingying, who was sitting at the innermost part of the room with her legs drawn up to her chest. Her eyes were glazed over, and she stared at him with her mouth half open, making him feel increasingly disgusted.
She often spoke of "young men on the wall and horse," as if it were a scene from a play, but only Hongli knew how much emotion he had poured into these encounters. Now, they had all become blatant evidence of his foolish actions.
Angry, disappointed, frustrated...
A mix of emotions welled up inside him, and Hongli swept all the delicious food that he might not see on the table even once a year onto the floor, leaving a sticky mess of soup mixed with broken porcelain pieces.
Tonight, both the Crown Prince's Palace and the Imperial Clan Court will be sleepless.
The next morning.
Fucha Yingjun slowly woke up, and as she groggily opened her eyes, she saw an apricot-yellow figure holding a folded book, leaning against the headboard and looking at it intently.
She had no time to admire her husband's handsome appearance; she suddenly woke up quite a bit and propped herself up—"Your Highness, did I oversleep? I have to pay my respects to Father Emperor and Mother Emperor today, I can't..."
She hurriedly tried to get up and put on her clothes, but before she could sit up completely, a pair of hands steadily supported her on her shoulders.
Hongzhao put down the memorial and patted her back reassuringly—"It's not too late, it's not too late. Yingjun, calm down. You'll get a headache if you're like this right after waking up."
He reached back and took her clothes off the rack, handing them to her. "Father Emperor instructed us to go directly to Yongshou Palace to find Mother, as he will go after court. There's still plenty of time. I'm used to getting up early, that's why I startled you."
After hearing his words, Fucha Yingjun patted her chest in relief. Looking at the Crown Prince holding her soothingly in his arms, two blushes involuntarily crept onto her face. Luckily, she hadn't overslept; otherwise, having just vowed yesterday to set an example and fulfill her duties, to fail on the very first day due to not getting up early would have been truly embarrassing.
Hongzhao found her appearance both amusing and endearing, and softened his tone considerably as he spoke: "Let someone come in and help with your makeup. There are many people going today, so it's best if we arrive early."
Although she had lived in the palace for several years and was very familiar with Yongshou Palace, this was the first time she had changed her identity, and Hongzhao still wanted to say something to comfort her.
"You know most of the people who came today. Your sister and Amur will also go to Mother's this morning, so you don't need to prepare anything. She is supposed to give you a gift. You've also met your two younger brothers, as well as Wenyi. The gift list is with Jinxi. Just have your maid carry the gifts."
"Then, my third brother and sister-in-law will also be coming, so we don't need to bring any gifts. But there's one more person coming along."
Fucha Yingjun paused as she listened to the selection of hairpins, then turned her head and cast a probing glance at her.
Seeing this, Hongzhao stepped forward, took out a double happiness patterned hair ornament from the makeup box, compared it to the hair bun of the person in the mirror, and casually said, "Third Brother's concubine, surnamed Jiang, this needs to be prepared as a separate gift. I have prepared it for you and will bring it with me in a while."
"This Jiang Gege is pregnant. Third Brother is going to ask her to be made a concubine. We should offer our congratulations."
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