Isn't that the courtyard next to the cold palace? No one in the harem has ever been willing to live there.
After all, who wouldn’t want to fight for a better future when entering the palace?
The name of Hanlu Pavilion sounds a bit cold, and it is next to the Cold Palace, which is really unlucky.
But did she have a choice? No.
The emperor might have other bad ideas in his mind.
Just as Zhao Yunzhu was thinking about this, the emperor's little plan began to emerge, "Sister-in-law, these days, can I ask you to take care of the one in the cold palace..."
Zhao Yunzhu didn't respond, but didn't refuse either.
The emperor ordered the palace maids to take her to Hanlu Pavilion.
The palace had already sent people to Prince An's Mansion to pack some clothes for her to change into. She brought Linglong and Xia Yue into the palace today.
"Concubine Yun, I will withdraw now."
When they arrived at the place, the palace maid stopped at the gate and bowed.
"Thank you very much."
Zhao Yunzhu looked at Linglong, who quickly took out some small change from her purse and stuffed it into the maid's hand. "Thank you, sister."
"Thank you very much, Concubine Yun, for your kindness."
The maid lowered her head and bowed again before taking her leave.
Stepping into the yard, although the yard had been ordered to be cleaned up long ago, there were still traces of moss on the bluestone slabs.
Everywhere there is evidence that no one has lived here for a long time.
Xia Yue closed the distant door.
There were only three of them, the master and the servant, in Hanlu Pavilion.
Linglong glanced around and saw that no one was around before stepping forward. "Miss, when do you think we can leave the palace? If the prince knew about this, would he come to take you back?"
"I'm afraid that even if the prince comes, he won't be able to take her back."
The emperor asked her, his sister-in-law, to help him select the best girls under the pretext of a beauty contest, but secretly he wanted her to take care of his beloved aunt in the cold palace. The empress dowager was planning to detain her in the palace to threaten Prince An.
Neither this mother nor the son has good intentions.
"Miss, what should we do..."
There was a hint of fear in Linglong's eyes.
"Let's take it one step at a time."
Zhao Yunzhu sighed helplessly. What good solution could he come up with right now?
We can only make the best of it.
The emperor ordered people to clean up the side hall of Hanlu Pavilion. The furniture and furnishings inside were all of great value. Even the quilt on the bed was made of priceless brocade.
"Why is the young lady asked to live in the side hall?" Linglong clicked her tongue as she looked at the furnishings in the room.
Zhao Yunzhu glanced at the room's layout. "What else could it be? It's all about the one in the cold palace."
Her eyes fell on the gray-white wall. Just across the wall was Aunt Qing's residence in the cold palace.
Walking slowly forward, I saw a picture of children playing hanging on the wall.
She raised her hand to pick up the painting hanging on the wall, and reached out to touch the white wall. She raised her hand and knocked, and saw that one place seemed to be covered with plain white rice paper.
He pressed lightly with his finger, and suddenly a huge hole appeared on the wall.
As her fingers slowly moved down, she saw that the hole in the wall was as big as two palms.
The furnishings in the next room are clearly visible.
Zhao Yunzhu sneered, the emperor really put a lot of thought into it.
She was about to put down the painting hanging on the wall when she suddenly heard a creaking sound coming from the door of the next room. Zhao Yunzhu stopped and looked towards the door.
I saw Aunt Qing walking into the house carrying a bamboo basket.
Aunt Qing saw a huge hole suddenly appear on the wall of the room, and there was a woman's face inside.
Aunt Qing was stunned for a few seconds. When she came to her senses, she realized that the person was Zhao Yunzhu!
"Yunzhu!"
Aunt Qing dropped the bamboo basket in her hand and quickly walked to the wall. "Why are you here?"
"The Emperor wants to hold a beauty pageant and asked me to come to the palace to help. How is Aunt Qing these days?"
Zhao Yunzhu asked with a smile, and Aunt Qing nodded repeatedly.
She kept talking to her for a long time, and only stopped when Zhao Yunzhu yawned.
…
Zhao Yunzhu stayed in the palace for two days. Apart from chatting with Aunt Qing every day, she would bask in the sun in the yard.
There has been no progress on the palace selection.
Zhao Yunzhu was getting a little impatient waiting.
"Linglong, go out and ask around to see when the audition will be held."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Fortunately, this time, Linglong finally found out some useful information.
The draft is scheduled for three days later.
She just needs to wait patiently for three days.
The day before the selection, the emperor sent the list of beauties and their portraits to her, under the pretext of asking her to familiarize herself with them.
This is not for her to see. The emperor wants the person in the cold palace to see it.
She handed the roster to Aunt Qing next door and said, "Aunt Qing, the emperor wants you to help take a look."
Aunt Qing's eyes were filled with tears of excitement. She smiled and her hands trembled as she carefully flipped through the book in her hands.
"All good, all good."
Aunt Qing sighed with a smile.
"Aunt Qing, do you intend to never recognize the Emperor again in your life? Are you willing?"
Zhao Yunzhu suddenly spoke.
Aunt Qing paused and looked up at Zhao Yunzhu. She thought that with Zhao Yunzhu's intelligence, she must have guessed it long ago.
But I didn't expect that she would ask it to my face.
Her hands hung limply at her sides, but she was holding the roster tightly in her hands.
"You guessed it after all."
"As a mother, how can I help but miss my child? But what can I do? I am just a daughter abandoned by the Liu family. From the moment my name was crossed out from the family tree, I was destined to be the Empress Dowager's foil for the rest of my life."
"It's not that I don't want to recognize him, it's just... the emperor is too young. He needs the queen mother and even more so, he needs the Liu family behind her!"
Tears welled up in Aunt Qing's eyes.
Zhao Yunzhu sighed, "But if the emperor is able to fight against the Liu family, would Aunt Qing be willing to recognize him?"
Aunt Qing stared wide-eyed, stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly, "Yunzhu, don't lie to me, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait any longer."
"Aunt Qing, maybe such an opportunity will come soon?"
Perhaps Zhao Yunzhu's words gave Aunt Qing strength, "Okay, then I will definitely wait for that day to come."
…
On the day of the selection, Zhao Yunzhu brought a purse embroidered with bamboo leaves by Aunt Qing.
"Your Majesty, someone asked me to deliver this to you, and also to say, she is waiting to be recognized by you."
There were only two people in the Yangxin Palace.
The emperor took the purse with trembling hands and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
He tied the purse around his waist, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
Zhao Yunzhu followed the emperor to the imperial garden, and Empress Dowager Liu came later.
I saw the ladies from the noble families kneeling in the yard to pay homage to the emperor.
Empress Dowager Liu took one look at the purse on the emperor's waist and frowned secretly, "The purse on the emperor's body, I don't think it is the style of the palace."
"Does the Empress Dowager like it too? Then I will give this gift to you as a filial gift. However, this was brought in from outside the palace by Concubine Yun. I saw that I liked it, so I asked the Empress Dowager for it."
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