Wang Lingyi bought Huang Mengling's farm next door, firstly to expand it, and secondly to try to see if she could open a hot spring there. Now the business contract has been completed and construction is underway. If the Queen agrees to come, construction on the garden next door will be stopped first.
As expected, the Empress received the news and sent two maids and two guards to inspect the garden, accompanied by Wang Lingyi. The maids were very pleased with the garden. The guards were very thorough, not only inspecting the garden itself but also the paths leading back and forth, and the surrounding area. They probably thought this was a good place for guarding, and they nodded in agreement.
Next, Wang Lingyi entered the palace to pay her respects to the queen, and afterwards palace maids and imperial guards went to the manor to make arrangements.
The Empress met Wang Lingyi, and both sides were interested in probing each other. However, people from the Empress's palace kept coming to ask for instructions. Wang Lingyi started talking several times, but seeing the people coming, she felt it was difficult to continue.
The Queen simply invited Wang Lingyi to stroll around the Imperial Garden. When they reached a deserted place, the Queen said, "I'm going to your garden to hold a banquet this time. I wonder if you could invite Master Wang, Madam, and you three siblings to join us? You are the host family, so it's only right for the host family to accompany you." This was certainly a great honor, but it was also a test.
Because Wang Lingyi married into the Marquis's Mansion, although the manor was given by Shen, it was under Wang Lingyi's name, and the young Marquis was in charge of the Nine Gates. According to the rules, both her husband's family and her natal family should be mentioned. Only her natal family was mentioned because the focus of this statement was actually on Wang Xipei, and Wang Xipei was a girl in the boudoir. His Majesty had made the statement, and it depended on her and her natal family's thoughts.
Wang Lingyi said, "Thank you, Queen, for your kindness. My father, mother, and brother dared not violate the rules at Your Majesty's family banquet. I'm a laid-back person, usually fooling around with other girls my age, and I had no intention of doing anything like that."
The Queen asked, "Do your father and brother mean the same thing?"
Wang Lingyi said, "Forgive me for being so nervous. I shall obey the orders of the Heavenly Family. But my father and brothers have always wished that I could live a comfortable life."
Wang Lingyi had pondered what she had learned over the past few days and felt that the Queen didn't want her sister to enter the palace, so she made it clear. Could they join forces?
Zhang Ru understood. This meant that the Wang family had no such intention, but if the emperor wanted to issue an edict, the Wang family had no choice but to obey.
so……
The Queen looked at the myriad of charming flowers in the Imperial Garden and said slowly, "Originally, there was a peony in this garden, but later... the palace servants removed it. But no matter how many other flowers there were in the garden, whether rare or precious, that peony was always the only one, one-of-a-kind. Even if it was removed, it will always be special in my heart."
Wang Lingyi didn't quite understand, but she figured she might never have another chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with the empress in a private setting. After all, saying something might change her sister's prospects for joining the imperial family, but if she didn't, nothing would likely change.
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "If there's only one, it's naturally unique. But if there are ten or a hundred, there's nothing unique about it."
Zhang Ru was stunned.
Wang Lingyi then continued, "Back when I was in the girls' school, there was a classmate who was very gentle and kind. One day, this good-tempered classmate finally lost her temper. Everyone thought it was the other classmate who was going too far. If the other classmate hadn't been so wrong, why would such a good-tempered classmate lose his temper?"
"The Queen is the mother of the nation, and the husband is the supreme ruler of the land. Naturally, they must be self-disciplined, respectful, and cautious. But even ordinary couples, even those where the husband is the leader of the wife, often see each other arguing, arms akimbo, and throwing pillows. When a normally well-behaved wife turns into a tiger, the husband usually thinks she's pissed him off and hopes she can change back to normal as soon as possible."
Zhang Ru laughed and said, "Throw a pillow?" Although she rarely lost her composure and didn't throw things, she still found the mention of throwing a pillow amusing. After all, Xuanyuan Hao wouldn't throw a pillow when he got angry, and in the dream, Huang Mengling had broken so many beautiful things when she was angry... Zhang Ru's heart ached again.
Wang Lingyi said, "Of course, life goes on even after reconciliation. Even ordinary people know their limits when they're angry or quarreling, and they only smash things but don't break them."
Zhang Ru thought about what Wang Lingyi had said: "You are such a wonderful person."
He continued, "I heard from Madam that your hot spring villa is wonderful. I'd like to borrow it for a banquet. I'll definitely prepare a thank-you gift. Does the Marquis have any ideas?"
Wang Lingyi said, "I have a request for the Strange Doctor of Guigu Valley. If you could find him, I would be very grateful."
Zhang Ru said, "If you want to find a strange doctor, I'm afraid it would be most convenient to have your sister enter the royal family and ask His Majesty directly."
Even if Wang Lingyi didn't live past thirty, she never considered asking her sister to marry in order to seek medical treatment for her. She said, "Then there's no need for me to do that. My sister has her own life."
Zhang Ru nodded: "I'll keep an eye on this matter for you."
The two of them didn't realize that as the conversation went on, they went from cautious probing to open and frank.
The fifth princess' birthday was more than a month away. During this almost one month, Emperor Mingzheng Xuanyuan Hao discovered that something was wrong.
Suddenly, there were a number of strange yet familiar palace maids in his palace, in front of the hall, and in the imperial study. Strange because they were all new, familiar because they all looked alike.
They all look like Huang Mengling, or Wang Xipei.
After all, more than ten years have passed, and he has no idea what Huang Mengling is like now.
Not only do they look similar, they are also 567% similar. Their personalities and temperaments are also innocent, lively and cute, and they are not scheming. Looking at that smile, I was shocked at first, but then... I was annoyed.
When he first saw this face, he was stunned for a moment and, for the first time ever, asked its name. Then, he found another one after another. Each one different, yet all alike. There must be more than a dozen of them?
If he knew that there would be girl groups or girl group selections in the future... In short, these twelve or thirteen palace maids with similar height, weight, appearance and hairstyle still made Xuanyuan Hao a little confused and annoyed.
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