Chapter 11 Daddy, be tough
"The second prince is drunk, you two go into the room to serve him, and be alert at night. If anything goes wrong, you will be held responsible." Yingxue ordered in a deep voice, followed by two eunuchs.
The thin figure saw Yingxue and the two eunuchs enter the second prince's bedroom from a distance, sighed heavily, and turned back.
In the inner room of Kunning Palace, the queen fanned her daughter with a fan. Xia Miaoyuan was already drooling in her sleep.
Yingxue walked to the queen's bed lightly and whispered, "Don't worry, madam. I have arranged everything. She won't cause any trouble tonight."
The queen curled her lips with satisfaction and said, "Be sure to keep a close eye on her. Find a reason to transfer her to Zhonghe Palace in three days."
For three consecutive days, Xia Miaoyuan was worried that Lanxiang would find an opportunity to climb into the second prince's bed, and she kept mumbling in her heart.
Especially at dinner time, she was so anxious that she babbled at the second prince, trying to remind him not to drink.
The maids and nannies thought she was anxious to eat the adults' food. Only the queen and the second prince understood what she meant.
The Queen asked someone to remove the wine, and deliberately told the Second Prince to drink less in front of her. Only then did Xia Miaoyuan feel relieved.
Three days later, Xia Miaoyuan heard the maids say that Lanxiang had been transferred to Zhonghe Hall, and only then did she feel relieved.
Late one night, Lanxiang, wearing a black cloak, followed an old maid into Concubine Jiang's Jinxiu Palace.
"My Lady Concubine, it's not that I didn't work hard, it's just that I didn't have the right opportunity to do it." Lanxiang knelt in front of Concubine Jiang, her voice full of fear.
Concubine Jiang Gui played with her armor and looked up: "Little girl, don't treat me as a fool. You were suddenly transferred from Kunning Palace to Zhonghe Palace for no reason. You paid money to the chief eunuch, right? You thought you could escape from my control this way, right?!"
"I dare not, I dare not!" Lanxiang shook her head in panic.
"Zhonghe Hall is short of staff. When the Queen found out, she asked to pick two young maids from Kunning Palace and send them there, saying that Kunning Palace didn't need so many people to serve. The old men in charge of Kunning Palace were unwilling to go there. I was new, so I was transferred there."
Concubine Jiang bent down, lifted Lanxiang's chin with her slender armor, and said softly, "I have already given you a chance. Since you failed in your mission, you are no longer useful to me. There is no point in keeping a useless person."
After saying this, she suddenly exerted force with her hands, pinched Lanxiang's jaw, and her eyes were fierce.
"Madam, please spare my life..." Lanxiang was so scared that tears were streaming down her face.
"Your Majesty, it's a pity to ruin such a little beauty like this." Nanny Wang walked up to Concubine Jiang Guifei in a gentle voice.
"Why not give her another chance? She is now working in the Zhonghe Palace. Although she is far away from Kunning Palace, it is not necessarily a bad thing." Nanny Wang raised her eyes and looked at Lanxiang meaningfully.
Concubine Jiang's eyes lit up, the corners of her lips curled up proudly, and she let go of her hand: "Madame Wang, you did remind me."
"Lanxiang, just stay at the Zhonghe Palace and do one more thing for me in a few days. Once this thing is done, I will not only let you go, but also let you out of the palace and let you enter the Jiang Mansion as a concubine. When you give birth to a child, I will guarantee you a lifetime of wealth."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will do my best to do what Your Majesty ordered." Lanxiang kowtowed to thank her, looking flattered and surprised.
Since the Qianjiang River flooded, Xia Zhengqi has been unable to sleep or eat, and he has been thinking about the situation in Jiangxia Province all day long.
He even went to the Museum of Literature and Arts, dug out the materials on Qianjiang River flood control over the past hundred years, and studied them carefully.
It was not until the Crown Prince sent him a secret report that the flood had receded, and that Master Jiang had arrived with disaster relief supplies and set up a porridge tent to provide porridge to the victims that Xia Zhengqi felt a little relieved.
Suddenly he remembered that Xia Miaoyuan would be one month old soon. Due to the recent busy government affairs, he had forgotten to discuss the little princess's full-month banquet with the Empress. Xia Zhengqi walked towards Kunning Palace.
"Miao'er, do you miss your father? I have been busy these days and have not been able to come to see you." Xia Zhengqi smiled and picked up Xia Miaoyuan.
[Emperor father, you still remember to come to see me. I haven't seen you for several days. I am very dissatisfied. You have to compensate me! 】
Xia Miaoyuan muttered in her heart, and her two small hands grabbed Xia Zhengqi's robe without any hesitation.
"My baby daughter has gained a lot of weight in the past few days." Xia Zhengqi's mouth curled up.
"Yes, children in confinement grow fast, and they are different every day." The queen said with a smile.
"Ruoyu, Miao'er is about to reach her full month. I am thinking about how to organize this full month banquet. Do you have any ideas in your mind?" Xia Zhengqi raised his eyes and looked at the queen.
"Speaking of Miao'er, she is your majesty's first princess, and the full month banquet should be held grandly." The queen said lightly.
[Haha, daddy and mother are discussing this princess's full month banquet. It's the first big event in my life! Happy! 】
Xia Miaoyuan excitedly waved her little fists twice, opened her petal-like mouth, and laughed.
Xia Zhengqi and the queen looked at her at the same time, and the corners of their mouths couldn't help but curl up wildly.
"But now the Qianjiang River is flooded, and half of the province is suffering from the disaster. If you hold a grand ceremony, I'm afraid it will give people a reason to criticize you. What if the censors use this as an excuse to say that you are extravagant..." The queen spoke with worry.
[Damn it, these censors just saw that my emperor father is soft-tempered and easy to bully. If it were another emperor with a bad temper, they would not dare to criticize the emperor at every turn. 】
Xia Miaoyuan muttered indignantly in her heart.
Xia Zhengqi frowned slightly and sighed softly.
During the years he was the emperor, he was kind to all officials and the people. But the more he did this, the more unbridled the censors seemed to be.
They watched his words and deeds all day long, and any small thing might be caught by them, written into the memorials and criticized.
For example, he felt that there were too many women in the harem and he rarely selected beauties, so the censors wrote to him, saying that he did not take procreation seriously.
He liked to tend to flowers and plants, expanded the area of the garden, and built two more greenhouses, so the censors wrote to him, accusing him of wasting his time and energy on toys, wasting the people's labor and money.
Thinking of this, Xia Zhengqi clenched his fists and said in a deep voice: "I'm almost 40 and I have such a daughter. What's wrong with making the banquet grand? The full-moon banquet must not let our Miao'er down."
"The expenses of the full-moon banquet this time will be paid from my private treasury, and those civil servants can't say anything. If they dare to talk nonsense again, I will shut them up!"
"Okay, let's do as your majesty wishes." The queen looked calm, but she was shocked beyond words.
When did the emperor change his temper and become so tough?
[Roar, the emperor father is mighty, long live the emperor father!]
Xia Miaoyuan shouted in her heart.
Xia Zhengqi discussed the full moon banquet with the empress, and seeing that it was still early, he simply carried his daughter to Yu's study.
Firstly, he had not spent enough time with his daughter, and secondly, he wanted to hear more of his daughter's thoughts.
"Your Majesty, I have found the eunuch who feeds the horses." Eunuch Debao trotted to Yu's study, closed the door, and then reported in a low voice.