Changning truly experienced the grandeur of ancient imperial processions this time.
She lifted the curtain in the carriage and looked out. There were so many carriages and horses that she couldn't count them all. She couldn't see the beginning or the end of the procession at a glance.
Bored while sitting, she started to urge Yinzhen to eat.
The carriage was moving, and Eunuch Ma couldn't start a fire. Just before getting on the carriage, the pickled cabbage and pork bones that Changning had specifically requested the night before were still simmering on the stove.
This time is a little different from the last one.
Last time, she was particularly good at eating spicy food. In the later stages of her pregnancy, she replaced all her snacks with crispy fried chili pepper pieces. Sometimes she would even spread chili sauce on steamed buns and eat them directly.
After she found out she was pregnant, she really craved sour foods.
Master Ma's stewed pickled cabbage and pork bone soup is quite authentic. He first stir-fries the pickled cabbage until it's glossy and golden, then stews it with the pork bones. He simmers it for several hours until the pickled cabbage is almost completely absorbed into the broth.
The meat on the bone was so tender that it easily came off the bone with a gentle pinch of chopsticks.
Changning's favorite part is the slippery tendon on the bone; chewing it together with the meat makes it taste especially delicious.
The best thing to eat was the sauerkraut soup. Yinzhen personally served her a bowl. The golden soup was infused with the flavor of meat, and the crisp sauerkraut helped to cut through the richness.
Even Yinzhen drank two bowls.
You feel comfortable once you've eaten and drunk your fill.
Changning lifted the curtain. Outside was an official road with no scenery to see, and she was a little disappointed. She really wanted to travel all over the country if she had the chance!
In ancient times, there was no environmental pollution, so the scenery described in ancient poems was probably documentary literature, not an exaggeration. It's just that we won't be able to see it in a few hundred years.
She really wanted to see things like "a waterfall plunging three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the ninth heaven", "light flashes like gold, still shadows form like jade", and "mountains on both banks, with no gaps".
But once Yinzhen ascends the throne, he should be able to make a southern tour, right? Or when he's on official business, Changning plans to use her charm to ask him to take her along.
Seeing that Changning was restless, Yinzhen thought she might be bored during the carriage ride, so he asked Su Peisheng to bring over the chessboard.
Although Changning had learned music, chess, calligraphy and painting at home, her level was only similar to that of an extracurricular class she had taken in elementary school.
Speaking of which, back in modern times, she even enrolled in a dance class in elementary school. It was a free course offered by the school, and she was very enthusiastic about it at the time. However, the first dance class she attended was a peacock dance.
Changning thought that pinching her thumb and middle finger together and sticking out the other three fingers made her look like a chicken, so she quietly complained to the classmate next to her, "It looks like the chicken dance."
The dance teacher overheard this and told her she didn't need to come to the next class.
This shows that Changning's artistic talent has never been awakened.
She loved listening to Suzhou storytelling, and the Fourth Master even specially bought a troupe from the south for her. After giving birth, she would occasionally listen to it in the small garden, which made everyone extremely envious.
Changning enjoys listening to others sing because she can't sing well herself. The only song she sings without going off-key is Phoenix Legend's "I Come from the Grassland," which made her a karaoke queen.
She had blocked all avenues for singing and dancing, and the same went for painting. The Fourth Prince even painted a portrait of her, which was truly captivating. Upon closer inspection, it was as if a beautiful woman was floating in the clouds, stirring the heartstrings. Meanwhile, she herself could only draw stick figures.
When the Fourth Prince first saw it, he found it hard to accept Chang Ning's art style. He simply couldn't imagine how someone as handsome and dashing as him could be reduced to a few lines in her paintings.
And now, the Fourth Master wants to play chess with her again.
Changning was in tears.
However, she still forced herself to play chess, because she couldn't afford to lose face. Maybe Yinzhen's chess skills weren't that good either?
As it turned out, even if Yinzhen deliberately lost, placing four out of the five pieces randomly, he still won very easily.
After being repeatedly defeated, she became unhappy, carelessly threw the chess pieces onto the board, and started throwing a tantrum, shouting, "I'm not playing anymore! I'm not playing anymore!"
This was the first time Yinzhen had ever seen someone with such terrible chess skills, leaving him with no reason to praise them.
However, to make the pregnant woman happy, he racked his brains to come up with some words of praise: "Yaoxian is very skillful. The sachet you embroidered last time was very elegant. Look, I've been wearing it with me all this time!"
Having said that, she tore off a light purple sachet from her waist as if to claim credit. The stitches on it were even and the embroidery was exquisite; it was indeed quite nice.
Changning finally regained some confidence and smiled. "Hey, these are just small skills. I still need to embroider a little dress for the baby in my belly."
"You can't use needles and thread now, it'll hurt your eyes. You should focus on resting and taking care of your pregnancy, that's the most important thing."
As the two were talking, the line in front of them suddenly stopped.
Su Peisheng whispered from outside the carriage curtain, "Your Highness, the Emperor has summoned the Crown Prince."
Yinzhen frowned. They were still on their way. Why did Father Emperor summon the Crown Prince?
Furthermore, if they were summoned, why did they stop the procession?
That evening, news arrived that Lord Suo'etu was seriously ill and the Crown Prince had requested to return to the capital.
Yinzhen's brows furrowed even more.
They set up camp for the night. Su Peisheng and Granny Zhang packed up the tents and let Changning go in to rest. The two of them stayed together.
Yinzhen held a black chess piece in his hand, staring at the chessboard in front of him.
Changning was impatient with chess; she preferred writing storybooks. However, once she became pregnant, Yinzhen forbade her from writing, resulting in "The Domineering Prince Falls in Love with Me" currently only progressing to the point where the second female lead keeps causing trouble and driving a wedge between the main characters.
Yinzhen sat down at the table and played a game by himself, pondering the events of the day as he played.
Soetu was the Crown Prince's maternal uncle. If he was simply ill, it would be reasonable for the Crown Prince to want to go back and visit him.
But the imperial carriage has already come this far. Is the Crown Prince truly concerned about Suo'etu? Or does he want to return to the capital to oversee government affairs?
If the Crown Prince were to go to the Mulan Hunting Grounds, although he could make an appearance before the various Mongol tribes, with the Emperor present, who would dare to get close to him? Isn't this clearly a sign of harboring malicious intentions?
However, things would be different if the Crown Prince returned to the capital.
With the Emperor absent from the capital, it would be logical for the Crown Prince to oversee the country. However, the Emperor might not agree to this.
The more Yinzhen thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
Over the past year, the Emperor's attitude has become somewhat ambiguous.
His control over the Crown Prince's palace has almost reached a pathological level.
It is said that the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince have become quite intimate over the past few days, which has made the Emperor somewhat unhappy.
But the Crown Princess has not yet given birth!
The Crown Prince, a man of great stature, cannot be close to his Crown Princess, and hasn't even had a son yet! Is this acceptable?
The Crown Prince currently has only two sons, both born out of wedlock. One is Hongxi, and the other is the newborn Hongjin.
Consort Li gave birth to two princesses, but neither of them survived, and both died shortly after birth, which devastated the Crown Prince for a long time.
Seeing Hutu's healthy and lively appearance, the Crown Prince's eyes welled up with tears.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
