Chapter 72 Bathing in Qingluan Soup

Without waiting for Zhou Ninghai to repeat, the concubines bowed and took their leave. "Congratulations, Your Majesty. We will take our leave now without disturbing you."

The concubines left, and An Lingrong deliberately slowed down her pace and stayed last.

When she reached the palace gate, she turned her head and looked at Concubine Hua standing among the flowers.

Carefully hold the peony flower against your chest.

Zhou Ninghai explained, "Just now, Aunt Zhuxi from Shoukang Palace came over in person and said that the Empress Dowager had ordered you to accompany her to Tangquan Palace. Miss Songzhi, why don't you hurry up and get ready?"

"Yes, I will order someone to prepare it now."

Songzhi glanced at her own queen and happily took people to clean up.

"The Empress Dowager's decree? Does that mean the Empress Dowager is going too?"

"Yes my lady."

"Why would the Queen Mother go there?"

Although the Queen Mother did not explicitly target her, she clearly disliked her. Her brother might get into trouble because of her, as a mother.

Nian Shilan thought about it and it was probably about the war in the northwest.

These royal family members like to claim that they are considering the overall situation.

"I don't know about that." Zhou Ninghai said truthfully, "But I heard that the Empress left Shoukang Palace not long ago."

Is it the Queen?

Nian Shilan recalled that in her previous life, the empress today should be in her own Jingren Palace. When she was waiting for Jianqiu to report, she lied that she was not feeling well and could not go with her.

For this, Qi Erha praised her and stepped on his own foot.

How did I end up in Shoukang Palace in this life?

When you become suspicious, all kinds of coincidences and mishaps will flood your mind.

Nian Shilan realized that many things were wrong.

If Sun Miaoqing was reborn and relied on her own efforts to change her fate, which affected many things that happened later, then what about Cui Jinxi?

Sun Miaoqing hadn't even entered the palace yet, but she had left.

And what about that little Yunzi, why did she move to another place?

Why did the empress move her table next to the emperor's for the New Year's Eve family dinner? Why did she drag herself to the Plum Garden?

On the day when the Emperor and Zhen Huan were swinging on the swing, I went to eavesdrop, how come she just happened to show up?

If the queen was also reborn, many things should have changed before she thought of them, but these things in front of her seemed to have happened after she thought of them.

As the carriage set off, Nian Shilan had more and more questions that she couldn't figure out.

"Songzhi?"

"I'm here." Songzhi came up, "Madam, do you want some water or some snacks?"

"Can a person see into another person's mind?"

"See through? Does it mean that everyone else can know what the queen is thinking?"

Nian Shilan nodded, even though she herself thought the idea was absurd.

"How much more do you need to know to see through it?"

Songzhi thought about it seriously. "I have been following the Empress since I was young. It is said that no one can understand the Empress better than me. I dare not say that I can see through the Empress. Who can completely see through the Empress's mind?"

"Then, then could there be a kind of..."

Should I call it magic? Sorcery? Or a special ability?

Nian Shilan didn't know, "Is it possible to hear directly what I'm thinking without having to understand?"

"Listen to the heart?" Songzhi had never heard of it. She shook her head blankly, then said confidently, "If there really is such a thing, then it should be mine. I have to be devoted to the majesty to have this qualification, right? Otherwise it's too unfair."

Songzhi felt that she and the empress were the best in the world, and that only she was worthy of possessing such wonderful magic.

"I have seen that among the people in this palace, even the emperor is not wholeheartedly devoted to the queen. As for others... at most, it is Zhou Ninghai, no more than that."

My own queen has a hot temper and can say some extremely outrageous things. When she gets angry, who knows what she might say that shouldn't be said.

If other people knew about this, wouldn't Your Majesty be in big trouble?

Nian Shilan supported her chin with her hand and looked at the moving scenery outside the window. She could think of everything that Songzhi could think of.

The Empress, that old woman, is very scheming. She would like to kill me if she gets the chance. If she could hear my inner voice, I'm afraid she would have used her ability to detect my weaknesses and killed me long ago. How could she have allowed me to survive until today?

However, if she knew that she had let a wolf into the house and that the one who ended up hurting her was Zhen Huan instead of me, would she be willing to make overtures and join forces with me to deal with Zhen Huan?

"Show your goodwill..."

If you want to show your goodwill, why don't you just tell me directly?

I can't figure it out.

Nian Shilan shook her head. "It's such a headache."

"Don't think about your headache. The most important thing is that your Majesty is happy." Songzhi rubbed Nian Shilan's temples. "Your Majesty has just recovered from a serious illness. Soaking in the hot spring to get rid of the disease is the best thing."

“Hehe.”

This sounds so familiar. Huanbi also said that Zhen Huan is physically weak and is best suited to hot spring bathing.

Qingluan Soup and Bifeng Soup are not in the same place, but there are several small hot spring pools in Qingluan Soup, separated by walls.

As the chief concubine, Nian Shilan naturally had the largest pool of Qingluan Tang.

Songzhi took off her hairpins, tied her long hair gently, and helped her into the pool.

The whole palace was filled with white mist, and the candlelight became dim and lingering. Without any gold and jade embellishments, Concubine Hua was serene and elegant, with a unique charm.

[Is hot spring bathing suitable for those with weak constitution? 】

[The feng shui of the Forbidden City is really good for nurturing people. It has made all these beauties lose their beauty and charm, and become worthless.]

[I shouldn't be the only one here today. You should bring Shen Meizhuang, An Lingrong, and the others along as well.]

[No, it’s best to have Lipin and Xinchang here. They talk a lot and have no control over their words. They dare to say anything. It will definitely be lively when they come.]

【Oh, what a pity. 】

Nian Shilan was feeling regretful when she felt the water in the pool move and she slowly opened her eyes.

You don’t know until you see it. It’s shocking.

"Queen? What are you doing here?"

[Old woman! Are you planning to plot against me while I'm taking off my clothes? ]

Queen: “…” What is she afraid of?

With her physique, can I beat her or what?

Nian Shilan's eyes were filled with "You want to fight me?" In order to prevent her from getting close, she leaned against the other side of the stone wall and said to the outside: "Song."

"Hua Fei seems to be very afraid of me?"

The Queen, wearing a gauze dress, stepped into the pool and sat opposite Nian Shilan.

[Afraid of you? I am the general's sister, not some delicate young lady! ]

"Your Majesty, you are overthinking. I am just worried that Your Majesty is old and can't stand the heat and faint in the pool. If something happens, others will think that I am the murderer."

He is not young anymore...but what he said was quite tactful.

"I have been ill for a long time and am weak, so I would like to ask Concubine Hua to take care of me more."

[Old woman! I knew you had bad intentions. You are going through all this trouble just to get me to serve you, right?]

[Do you believe that I will push you into the water and let your life end here? ]

Not to mention, the Queen believed that she could really do it.

"The Queen Mother is bathing in the Green Phoenix Hot Spring. I didn't want to disturb her, so I came here. I wanted to have someone tell you, Concubine Hua, but I didn't know you were already here. If I move, I'm afraid it will alarm the Emperor. They are all my sisters, so I'll just have to put up with it."

The Queen was reminding her that Zhen Huan and the Emperor were coming next door, so she should be more obedient.

Nian Shilan rolled her eyes.

[Should I thank you? 】

The Queen held a high position, so Jianqiu and Huichun added a few plates of cut fruits, snacks, and tea to the poolside table and then left.

[But she came just in time! I can try to see if she can hear my thoughts. ]

"!"

As soon as the queen sat down, a string started to linger in her mind.