Chapter 108
The Queen Mother was not at all surprised by Shen Jin's arrival. Instead, she had the room cleaned up and didn't even send anyone to see her.
Although An Yi and the others had been picked up by people from the palace, they did not start packing because of Shen Jin's order. Only after they arrived at the Empress Dowager's palace did they start to organize their things. Shen Jin did not bring much luggage into the palace, so it was not difficult to pack.
The Empress Dowager arranged a side hall for Shen Jin. It was not big but it was fully equipped with everything. There was also a separate small kitchen. Because the Empress Dowager had instructed, it was also cleaned up separately and even the things were delivered. The things in Shen Jin's kitchen were all allocated by the Empress Dowager. Before Shen Jin could finish cleaning, the Queen also sent the things over, saying only that Shen Jin would follow Princess Ruyang's share in the future.
At this time, Shen Jin had already fallen asleep in the cleaned-up inner room. The bed curtains were carefully drawn. An Ning was guarding outside, while An Yuan and the others were packing in a low voice so as not to disturb Shen Jin.
Compared with Shen Jin's comfort, Ganlu Palace was shrouded in dark clouds. The only thing that Concubine Lu could rely on was that she was pregnant with the dragon heir and was favored by Emperor Cheng. Now Emperor Cheng obviously didn't care about her anymore and would not see her again in a short time. And she didn't even have the right to step out of Ganlu Palace. As a result, Concubine Lu lowered her eyes slightly and looked at her belly. She could only wait until the child was born.
Emperor Cheng was upset in Ganlu Palace and didn't want to go anywhere else, so he went directly to Concubine Lan's palace.
Concubine Lan is now over 30 years old and naturally no longer young, but she has a unique demeanor. Even if Emperor Cheng likes Concubine Lu and others very much, he will come to Concubine Lan's place to sit and rest for two days every month. So naturally no one in the palace dares to neglect Concubine Lan.
When Emperor Cheng arrived, Concubine Lan was having a meal. Her meal was very simple, just four dishes and one soup, three of which were vegetarian and one meat. Emperor Cheng was about to lose his temper, but Concubine Lan said softly, "Your Majesty, please try it. This is what I grew in my small garden. I wanted to try how it tastes. If it's good, I'll invite Your Majesty tomorrow."
"Eh." Emperor Cheng knew that Concubine Lan had specially ordered people to open up a small garden in the palace and plant a lot of these things. He didn't take it seriously, but he didn't expect that it could be used. He smiled and said, "Even so, my beloved concubine used it too simply."
Concubine Lan smiled when she heard this, and simply said, "I don't need so much by myself. When His Majesty comes, just ask them to make some more." After the Queen knew that Concubine Lan could not get pregnant, she opened her small kitchen so that it would be convenient for people to send some things over.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Cheng said, "Just serve a few more meat dishes."
Concubine Lan nodded and told the maids around her to go to the small kitchen. The dishes she mentioned were all Emperor Cheng's favorites. Seeing Concubine Lan like this, Emperor Cheng felt much more comfortable. Concubine Lan personally went to get tea, made tea for Emperor Cheng and said, "Your Majesty, try it. I discovered a few days ago that adding some dried fruits to this tea also tastes good."
Emperor Cheng took a look but said nothing. He took a sip and found that it had a fruity aroma that suppressed the taste of tea leaves. It was a little sweet and sour, not bad to drink, but women liked it. When Concubine Lan saw Emperor Cheng taste it, she took the rest and drank it herself. She brewed it for Emperor Cheng again and said, "I just wanted Your Majesty to try it."
"Naughty." Emperor Cheng said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Lan smiled but said nothing. The tea had just been brewed and the palace maids had cleared away all the food and served new dishes. Emperor Cheng and Concubine Lan ate together. The two of them didn't talk while eating, but Concubine Lan didn't say anything either. She just served Emperor Cheng. Before he knew it, Emperor Cheng had eaten a lot and finally drank a bowl of soup.
After finishing the meal, Emperor Cheng was in a much better mood. Concubine Lan did not ask anything, but Emperor Cheng told Concubine Lan about the Ganlu Palace. Concubine Lan frowned slightly and said with some displeasure, "Logically, I shouldn't say anything to Concubine Lu, but she did this and implicated Your Majesty. It's really wrong."
Emperor Cheng was a little unhappy when he heard this, thinking that Concubine Lan was speaking for Shen Jin. Concubine Lan pretended not to know and continued, "The wife of the Marquis of Yongning was first a princess and then a marquis' wife. How did she become a princess? She only relied on the status of your majesty's niece. With Concubine Lu saying this... no wonder Princess Ruyang felt uncomfortable at the time."
Concubine Lan spoke softly, looking at Emperor Cheng's sincere eyes, "Even I feel angry."
Emperor Cheng understood it all at once. Concubine Lan was angry at Concubine Lu for ruining her reputation. In fact, it was also true that Shen Jin was, after all, a princess of the royal family. To compare her with a prostitute was not only an insult to the wife of Marquis Yongning, but also the princess of Tianqi and the niece of Emperor Cheng.
"Concubine Lu is young and ignorant." Emperor Cheng also felt uncomfortable, but he still had some affection for Concubine Lu, so he defended her.
Concubine Lan was not angry either, she just said, "I think the Queen thinks the same, that's why she arranged this for Concubine Lu."
Emperor Cheng nodded, and Concubine Lan frowned and said, "But this Marquis's wife is also making such a fuss in the palace... If outsiders knew about it, I'm afraid they would misunderstand Your Majesty."
"Yeah." Emperor Cheng was dissatisfied. If not for this, he wouldn't be in such a difficult situation today.
Concubine Lan lowered her eyes slightly, poured another cup of tea for Emperor Cheng, and said, "I know that Your Majesty loves your niece. In fact, it would be good for the princess to live in the Empress Dowager's palace. The Empress Dowager is the elder, and no matter how noisy the princess is...but the princess is of her true nature." Before she finished her words, Emperor Cheng was already satisfied.
Emperor Cheng hugged Concubine Lan and said, "Concubine Lan knows my heart."
Concubine Lan responded softly, "I hope your majesty is in good health and happy forever."
Emperor Cheng laughed out loud. In fact, it was Concubine Lan's words that touched Emperor Cheng's mind. Why could Shen Jin be the Marquis of Yongning? It was because she was his niece. Without this status, Shen Jin would never have been the Marquis of Yongning. And Shen Jin dared to cry and make trouble in the palace. Wasn't it because of her status as a princess? Although he felt that Shen Jin had caused him a lot of trouble, Emperor Cheng felt much more at ease. If Shen Jin was on his side, there would be more things that could be done.
The position of the wife of Marquis Yongning is not only valuable but also very useful.
In the border town, Chu Xiuyuan is now in charge, while Chu Xiuming secretly led his troops away. He went to meet Xu Yuan and others. There has been no news from Xu Yuan so far, but he had promised Xu Yuan, and it was time. In fact, before this, Chu Xiuming had already sent people to the meeting place.
As a result, Chu Xiuming naturally could not take Dongdong with him and could only leave Dongdong to be taken care of by Concubine Chen. However, it was okay at night. During the day, Dongdong had become a little wild because of Chu Xiuming's treatment and naturally did not want to stay in the house. Chu Xiuyuan also felt sorry for his nephew, so he held Dongdong in his arms all day long, just like before, taking him wherever he went and sending him to Concubine Chen at night. Dongdong's three meals a day were taken care of by Nanny Zhao and the others.
Dongdong was quite well-behaved. He only cried for a while two days before Chu Xiuming left. Now he stopped making trouble and just sat on the soft couch specially prepared for him, playing with the nine-linked rings in his hand. From time to time, he looked at the people below as if he could understand what he was saying, and occasionally made a sound as if he agreed.
Zhao Duan and his men were already used to it. Sometimes General Lin and his men would bring things to play with Dongdong. But it was the first time that King Rui had seen such a situation. He knew how important he was. Although he was dissatisfied with Chu Xiuming's departure and handing over the affairs of the border town to Chu Xiuyuan instead of himself, seeing Zhao Duan's appearance and the things he couldn't understand, King Rui also became obedient. Although he was forced to come to the meeting hall every day, he never expressed any opinions, but just listened. Today, when the discussion reached a stage, several generals left first, and Zhao Duan, General Manager Wang and others stayed to continue to handle the affairs, and suddenly said, "Why does Dongdong look familiar to me?"
Manager Zhao and Zhao Duan looked at each other, and Chu Xiuyuan wiped Dongdong's saliva with a handkerchief and said, "I think it's because Dongdong is somewhat similar to my sister-in-law when she was a child."
Zhao Duan also laughed and said, "Brother-in-law, Dongdong is your grandson, so it's normal for him to look familiar."
In fact, King Rui couldn't remember clearly, and he didn't even remember what Shen Jin looked like when he was a child. Hearing this, he said, "That's right." He didn't take it to heart anymore. Compared with Dongdong, the grandson, Shen Qing, the son, and Baozhu, the granddaughter who looked like him, were more important to King Rui. "But Dongdong is quite well-behaved and doesn't make trouble."
Chu Xiuyuan held Dongdong in his arms, and Anping brought the egg custard. Chu Xiuyuan asked Dongdong to sit on a special small table, tied a sling around his neck, and let him eat by himself. The sling was embroidered by Concubine Chen, and there were a few little yellow ducks on it. Dongdong couldn't hold the spoon steadily, but he lowered his head and grabbed the spoon to put the egg custard into his mouth, eating all over his face and the table. Zhao Duan looked at it and remembered his son when he was a child, and laughed, "Is Dongdong delicious?"
Dongdong remembered that his father said he couldn't talk with something in his mouth, so he swallowed the food in his mouth first and then said, "Good job!" There were still egg residues on his little face and his eyes were bright. He looked particularly cute, but he was still not as pleasing to the eye as when he was chubby before. After all, he had lost weight.
Zhao Duan didn't despise him, he wiped Dongdong's face and said, "Then eat more."
Dongdong nodded and continued to eat hard with his head down. But King Rui was distracted again. He felt that Dongdong looked very familiar... but a child of such age... he thought about it and didn't take it seriously. Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, he went back home first.
Zhao Duan then asked, "Young General, is this really okay?"
Chu Xiuyuan said, "My brother told me to do this. I think he has his own ideas."
Zhao Duan stopped talking after hearing this, and when Prince Rui returned to the palace, he saw Princess Rui playing shuttlecock with several maids, and Shen Qi was sitting beside them with Baozhu counting for Princess Rui. Prince Rui had never known that Princess Rui could play shuttlecock, he always thought that Princess Rui liked such elegant things as painting.
When she saw Prince Rui, Princess Rui kicked the shuttlecock to someone else and said, "Why did your Highness come back so early today?"
"Oh, I'm back when everything is fine." Prince Rui didn't react for a moment. Princess Rui had already asked the maid to pack up, and she also went into the inner room and asked the maid to help her wash and dress.
After Shen Qi paid his respects to Prince Rui, he left with his daughter. Prince Rui followed Princess Rui and suddenly asked, "Princess, do you think Dongdong looks familiar?"
"Dongdong is Jin's son, so of course he looks familiar." Princess Rui said with a smile.
King Rui shook his head and said nothing more.
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