After a romantic afternoon on the swing, the emperor went to Xihe Palace as expected, had a heartwarming dinner with Zhuang Yuyan, talked about life and ideals, then rolled into bed and fell asleep contentedly.
In the backyard of the palace, there may be many people who can't sleep, but the night in this place couldn't be quieter, like a net of silence that wraps up all the restlessness hidden in the darkness.
When the first thunder sounded, the queen suddenly sat up from the bed with sweat all over her head, looked around, and then slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Highness?" The maid who was on night watch noticed the movement and asked quietly outside the gauze tent, "What's wrong with you?"
"It's all right," the queen lifted the curtain, looked at the lightning outside the window, and frowned, "I'm afraid there will be some trouble tonight. I'm afraid the rare book I got a few days ago will get damp."
Looking up, she saw the palace maid standing there in a daze. She said impatiently, "Leave."
"Yes." Seeing that there was indeed nothing unusual about the empress, the palace maid lowered her head and retreated submissively.
The queen casually left the gauze curtains behind, and few of the servants were satisfied with her.
In Changtian Tower, Qian Guiren stood by the window in a single layer of clothing, looking at the heavy rain pouring down. She sighed somewhat dejectedly. The thunder was so loud tonight, and the emperor didn't know how to coax Zhao Xianrong at this moment.
Even a pig would wake up in the thunder. Zhuang Luoyan woke up later than the emperor. When she heard the sound of rain outside the window, she said with joy, "Your Majesty, is it raining?"
"Awake?" Feng Jin reached out and pulled the person into his arms. "It's been raining for quite a while."
"It will rain for a few hours," Zhuang Yuyan leaned into the emperor's arms, "It's good now. It won't be long before we have to plant rice. This rain will provide enough water for the fields."
"This year is not a year of severe drought. Most of the villages have reservoirs, so there is no shortage of water." Feng Zhen smiled, "But with such a rain, we don't have to release water to the fields."
"Your Majesty knows much more than I do. I am just kidding." Zhuang Yuyan coughed uncomfortably and poked the emperor's waist unconsciously with her fingers. "I just heard it from others."
"It's rare that you have this kind of heart," Feng Jin laughed softly, grabbing the hand that was moving around his waist, "My beloved concubine can't sleep, and I can't sleep either, so why not..."
On a stormy night, some things seem to have a special charm when done.
After a night, the heavy rain stopped, and Zhuang Yuyan personally hung a new auspicious cloud sachet with the word "Fu" on it for the refreshed emperor.
"Is this made by my beloved concubine herself?" Feng Jian picked up the sachet and took a look at it. He remembered that Zhuang Yuyan also made such a sachet for him last year. He wore it several times and later asked Gao Dezhong to put it away.
"My needlework is not good," Zhuang Yuyan stood up straight and shyly looked away, "If Your Majesty doesn't like it, just put it aside, but don't dislike it in front of me."
"If I dislike it, you won't give it to me?" Feng Jin put down the sachet, stretched out his hand to lift Zhuang Yuyan's chin, and let her look directly into his eyes, "I didn't know my Zhao Xianrong was so stingy."
"I'm very stingy," Zhuang Luoyan snorted softly, her face slightly red, and she added hesitantly, "At most, I can make it for you after I learn needlework well."
Seeing her like this, Feng Jin laughed happily, "I like your lucky bag very much, you don't have to bother making it again." After saying that, he put his hands behind his back, "I should go to court, remember to have breakfast."
"I will remember. Your Majesty, please remember to have breakfast after you leave the court." Zhuang Yuyan bowed to the emperor and said, "I will respectfully see you off."
Seeing her smiling face, Feng Jin had no choice but to promise to have breakfast before leaving Xihe Palace. From yesterday afternoon till now, the smile on his beautiful face had hardly faded, and he couldn't help but smile a lot more.
"Your Majesty is in a good mood today. I haven't seen you so happy for some days." Seeing the emperor's expression, Gao Dezhong helped Feng Jin onto the sedan chair.
"You know this again?" Although his tone was accusatory, Feng Jin smiled, "Zhao Xianrong can indeed make me happy."
The greatest victory is for the women in the harem to please the emperor. Gao Dezhong looked back at Xihe Palace. Zhao Xianrong was the only one in the harem who could make the emperor spend so much time and effort to treat her and make him so happy.
Zhuang Yuyan didn't know if she was the only one. After breakfast and putting on makeup, she went out with the palace maids. She sat in the sedan chair and passed by the Yu Garden. She looked at the fallen flowers mixed with the soil on the ground. She took a breath and found that the air after the rain was indeed exceptionally fresh.
"How dare you! Get out of the way, you old bastard!"
Zhuang Yuyan suddenly heard a child's voice and couldn't help but turn her head to look the other way. What she saw was just a child of a few years old kicking an old granny.
"Who is this?" Zhuang Yuyan raised her eyebrows and looked at the child. He looked cute, but what he did was not so decent.
"Your Majesty, that is the Second Prince." Ting Zhu answered in a low voice.
The other party noticed what Zhuang Yuyan and his group were doing. He looked at them in confusion at first, but when he saw clearly, his face darkened immediately. "It turned out to be you. It was you who caused Mother Consort Ning to be disliked by the Emperor. You are such a troublemaker."
Zhuang Yuyan calmly let the Second Prince insult her, and only spoke slowly after he had finished insulting her: "It seems that the servants around the Second Prince have not taught you what rules are, and have not let the Second Prince know what kindness is. I will ask the Emperor and the Empress to change the people who serve you, so as not to bring you bad luck."
When the Second Prince heard what Zhuang Yuyan said, he immediately became angry and shouted, "Who do you think you are? How dare you interfere in my affairs? You are incapable of giving birth to a child for my father, yet you interfere in others' affairs."
This child really doesn't look like the one raised by Hu Caixuan. How could a character as patient as Hu Caixuan raise such an outspoken prince?
You are not careful when talking in the harem. Do you really think you are an ordinary child?
The palace maids serving the Second Prince were already so frightened that they knelt on the ground and dared not say a word. After hearing what the Second Prince said, they even wanted to hide their heads.
Everyone in the palace knew that Zhao Xianrong was favored by the emperor. Who would dare to mention the matter of miscarriage in front of her? But the Second Prince was the one who touched her sorely. Isn't this just hurting people's hearts?
Not to mention that the Second Prince no longer has Concubine Ning to protect him, even if Hu Liangyi is still Concubine Ning, if the Second Prince's words were to reach the Emperor's ears, he would still be punished.
Sure enough, after the second prince said this, Zhao Xianrong did not speak for a long time. Finally, the group just left silently without even scolding the second prince. But because of this, the servants became even more worried.
"Hey, what's wrong with Zhao Xianrong? Why do you look so bad?" In Jingyang Palace, Concubine Rou saw Zhuang Yuyan's pale face and said in a neutral tone, "You can take good care of yourself."
"Thank you, Empress Roufei, for your kindness. I am fine." Zhuang Yuyan smiled faintly, but everyone present could still see the unnaturalness in her smile.
The Emperor stayed in Xihe Palace for two consecutive nights, and they also heard that the Emperor seemed to be in a good mood when he left Xihe Palace this morning. Why does Zhao Xianrong still look so bad?
After all the concubines had left, the queen rubbed her forehead and asked, "Have you figured out what happened?"
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Zhao Xianrong met the Second Prince this morning. Seeing the Second Prince scolding an elderly eunuch, she said a few words to him. Unexpectedly, the Second Prince turned around and started to scold Zhao Xianrong. Zhao Xianrong saw that the Second Prince's words and actions were vulgar, so she said that she would ask you to change the people who serve the Second Prince. Unexpectedly, the Second Prince said that Zhao Xianrong couldn't give birth to a child, so she went to discipline others."
When the queen heard that she couldn't have children, she frowned slightly, "This second prince is indeed a little unruly, but since Zhao Xianrong didn't mention it, we won't get involved in such trivial matters."
"Yes, your majesty." The eunuch in charge responded in a low voice.
The queen sneered. Miscarriage was a pain in Zhuang Luoyan's heart, but what did it have to do with her if the other person was upset?
Zhuang Yuyan didn't say much and looked gloomy before she returned to Xihe Palace. After returning to the palace, she ate two snacks and went to bed without even having lunch.
In Qianzheng Palace, Feng Jin heard that Zhuang Yuyan had not had lunch, and frowned, "What's going on? When I left today, Zhao Xianrong was fine."
"Your Majesty, I don't know what happened. If I hadn't just met Fubao from Xihe Palace, I wouldn't have known that Master Zhao was in a bad mood." Gao Dezhong paused, "But today I heard from a eunuch working in Yu Garden that Master Zhao ran into the Second Prince in Yu Garden this morning."
"In that case, summon the Second Prince to me," Feng Jin closed the memorial in his hand, "I heard from Consort Xian Gui that the Second Prince is becoming more and more outrageous. I thought Consort Xian Gui was exaggerating, but today it seems that she was not wrong in accusing him."
Gao Dezhong retreated after hearing this. The second prince had not arrived yet, but the emperor had already said this. There was no need to guess what the fate of the second prince would be.
The next day, news suddenly spread from the palace that all the servants around the second prince were beaten with ten sticks and replaced, and the second prince was also reprimanded by the emperor and knelt outside the Qianzheng Palace for three hours. Even Hu Liangyi was reprimanded by the emperor, which showed that the emperor was angry.
In Anqing Palace, Concubine Shugui listened to the news that the empress had deliberately sent over, and said with a half-smile: "Our empress is really enthusiastic. She never forgets to let me know everything."
"I'm afraid the Queen has bad intentions," Lingsha said worriedly, "The Queen has always been on guard against you, Your Majesty. Who knows what she is planning?"
"Her mind is simple, but it's just a case of the fisherman gaining the advantage while the snipe and the clam quarrel," Concubine Shu Gui's smile turned cold. "She wants to benefit from the fisherman, but she also wants to see if I will cooperate. She really thinks she is the only sensible person in the whole palace. Zhuang Luoyan has suffered such a great injustice, and the emperor dotes on her. If she plots against Zhuang Luoyan at this time, isn't she waiting for the emperor to abandon me?"
"Your Majesty is clear-minded, but Zhao Xianrong has become more popular recently," Lingsha said with some concern, "I am afraid that she will threaten you, Your Majesty."
"Some things can't be rushed," Concubine Shu Gui lowered her eyelids and said lightly, "Just wait and see."
Lingsha knew that her master had a plan, so she stopped talking.
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