Chapter 27: A Model Woman
"This..." Concubine Rou was speechless.
Fortunately, the palace maids around her were very perceptive. As soon as Concubine Rou was embarrassed, the palace maids around her immediately came out to rescue her.
"My Lady, it's getting late. Please serve the meal."
Concubine Rou cleared her throat and said, "Um, serve, serve the meal."
When dining in the palace, each person has a small table, and dishes are served one by one in small bowls.
Every dish was beautifully presented and tasted great.
Concubine Rou chatted with others from time to time, and the atmosphere in the whole palace was particularly harmonious.
Except... Ling Chan, who was busy eating the whole time and seemed to care nothing about the people and things around her.
In fact...nothing anyone around her said escaped her ears.
It's a pity that all these words are useless...
After eating and drinking her fill, Ling Chan stopped eating and sat upright.
Concubine Rou said this to the others, but her eyes were fixed on Ling Chan...
The sixteen-year-old girl looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. She was thin and her cheeks were out of shape, but her aura was very strong and majestic.
Also, why did the Queen Mother want to see her?
After lunch, Concubine Rou asked everyone to go to Merlin on their own.
Ladies and young ladies from various families walked together in groups of three or five, talking and laughing.
Ling Chan and Gong Lan followed them, looking around. She was observing where to put the surveillance equipment.
Just as Ling Chan thought, there were many people cleaning the palace, and they hardly saw any stones or broken branches along the way.
It seems that the surveillance equipment she prepared, disguised as stones and branches, are useless.
"Ling Chan." Suddenly, someone called her from behind.
Ling Chan turned around and saw a red figure running towards her. It was the girl in red who had questioned Anyang Hou Qiu Lan.
"I'm Liu Huaiyu." The woman in red introduced herself confidently. "Can I go with you?"
Ling Chan nodded slightly, then turned around and continued walking.
But in my heart, I thought, she is General Liu's granddaughter Liu Huaiyu...
"Ling Chan." Liu Huaiyu followed Ling Chan closely and looked at her sideways. "You are worthy of being Gong Lele's daughter."
Ling Chan looked at her strangely, "What do you mean?"
Liu Huaiyu showed admiration, "I've heard my grandfather tell many stories about the Marquis of Zhenbei. She is brave and resourceful, a hero of our Daqi, a woman who is as capable as any man."
"During a battle with Da He, she was captured by his general. While my grandfather was still trying to figure out how to rescue her, she had already broken free from Da He's control without even a single blow. She even killed 5,000 of his men and returned unscathed."
"She is also kind and righteous, and has saved many women in distress, who have become her female soldiers."
"I can see that you admire her very much." Ling Chan said.
Liu Huaiyu nodded heavily, "Of course, a woman like her is the role model for women in the world."
Ling Chan smiled and reminded her, "Miss Liu, please be careful with your words. The role model for women in the world should be the current queen."
"The Empress is of noble birth, gifted with both talent and beauty. She possesses the bearing of a mother to the nation." Liu Huaiyu praised her generously. "But how could every woman in the world be like the Empress? It would be most comfortable to be as carefree and natural as the Marquis of Zhenbei."
Ling Chan couldn't help but laugh. This Liu Huaiyu was actually a fan of Gong Lele.
“I originally thought that the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei would be raised by the Ling family to be as pretentious as Ling Xueyao, and I often felt it was a pity.”
"It's okay, it's okay." She touched her chest exaggeratedly, "You are not like this."
"If it were you, I think I'd feel better," she muttered softly, looking distressed.
"What did you say?" Ling Chan heard it, but didn't understand what she meant.
But when she saw Liu Huaiyu's expression, she suddenly had an idea and remembered the reason why Liu Huaiyu and Ling Xueyao had quarreled before.
Prince Huai! Liu Huaiyu likes Prince Huai.
So...what she meant by this sentence just now was that she would feel better if she was the one with King Huai?
"Don't worry, I won't be with King Huai." Ling Chan was not trying to comfort her, she was just telling the truth.
"Ling Xueyao doesn't know either." He added again.
Ling Xueyao wants to marry Prince Huai?! Wishful thinking.
"Why?" Liu Huaiyu sighed, "You are in the Ling Mansion, you know how much Prince Huai cares about Ling Xueyao."
Ling Chan didn't stop, "If I say no, then I won't."
"Really?!" Liu Huaiyu obviously believed it.
Ling Chan suddenly stopped at this moment and turned to look at her, "You can't either."
Liu Huaiyu was stunned. "Why...?"
"If I say I can't do it, then I can't do it." Ling Chan repeated what she had just said.
King Huai Xiao Yi...is not worthy of Liu Huaiyu's feelings at all.
That man...knew the importance of a woman's reputation, yet he took Ling Xueyao away before she even reached the age of marriage. Of course, Ling Xueyao was also responsible in this matter.
What's the point of having such an irresponsible man?
Liu Huaiyu pursed his lips and quickly got over his momentary sadness.
"Let's go, they've all gone far away." She reached out to hold Ling Chan's arm.
Ling Chan subconsciously dodged away. Except for Hongdou, she was not used to having close contact with anyone.
Liu Huaiyu smiled awkwardly and retracted his outstretched hand, "Let's go."
"This Merlin was rebuilt by the Emperor specifically for Concubine Rou. It's been ten years."
Ling Chan nodded in understanding. It was now the twelfth year of Yonghe, which meant that the emperor had rebuilt Merlin for Concubine Rou shortly after he ascended the throne. It seemed that Concubine Rou was still very favored by the emperor.
"You have lived in the Ling Mansion for a long time and have not gone out for more than ten years. You must not be familiar with the situation in the palace." Liu Huaiyu explained to Ling Chan in a low voice.
"Concubine Rou has a son named Xiao Ze, who is seven years old this year. The Emperor loves him very much and has always brought him by his side to educate him."
"A mother's status is determined by her son, so Concubine Rou is the most honorable woman in the palace besides the Empress."
"You dare to remind her secretly today? Be careful that she will be angry and cause trouble to you again in the future."
Ling Chan: "Why didn't the Queen come to the plum blossom viewing banquet today?"
Although it was Concubine Rou who hosted the banquet, the Queen should at least be invited, right?
"The Empress and the Emperor were a young couple, of similar age. Early in her life, when the Empress was still the consort of Prince Wen, she suffered injuries during the birth of Princess Yongkang. Later, Princess Yongkang died young, and the Empress was heartbroken and her health deteriorated further."
“Nowadays, I rarely attend these banquets.”
After hearing Liu Huaiyu's words, Ling Chan thought of Gong Lele.
Medical conditions in this era were poor, and childbirth was extremely dangerous for women, who were particularly prone to developing illnesses.
If there really was another hidden secret behind Gong Lele's death, then if a general's mansion could be so vile, then the situation in the royal family would be even worse.
"Oh, I hate this kind of banquet where people recite poems and write couplets the most..." Liu Huaiyu sighed heavily.
Ling Chan followed her gaze and saw that the ladies of the various families had already begun to praise Mei Yinshi...
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