Chapter 22 An Liangdi Visits

Unexpectedly, Jun Zechen did not summon any newcomers these days.

During this period, he only went to the Crown Princess's Qiluan Palace.

Su Jingyao was nonchalantly fiddling with the peonies that had just been delivered to the greenhouse. The peonies were blooming extremely gorgeously, and the overlapping layers of petals looked like clouds in the sky. She loved them very much.

"Master, An Liangdi is here." Miaoyun reported softly.

Su Jingyao chuckled, "She really can't keep her cool."

Having said that, Su Jingyao slowly put down the scissors in her hand, gently patted the remaining water droplets on her hands, and then walked towards the hall slowly.

"I pay my respects to my sister, the concubine." An Jinyan bowed slightly, with a hint of restraint in her voice.

Su Jingyao smiled gently, "Sister, get up and come sit over here."

As she spoke, she waved towards An Jinyan, her movements soft and graceful.

An Jinyan seemed a little uncomfortable because of Su Jingyao's familiarity. She slowly walked to the couch and sat down gently on the other side of the couch.

"Sister, why did you come to my Xiyan Palace today?" Su Jingyao asked with a smile, her voice as sweet as the gurgling of running water.

"I and several other newcomers have been in the East Palace for five days, but none of us have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess has never mentioned us to His Royal Highness. I have no choice but to come and bother Sister Concubine today."

An Jinyan's face showed a trace of anxiety and uneasiness.

Su Jingyao sighed softly and lowered her eyelids. Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly like a small fan, and her face showed some helplessness and sadness.

Afterwards, she looked at An Jinyan with heartache and said softly, "Don't worry, sister. I was also ignored by His Highness for a long time. His Highness..."

An Jinyan felt anxious and asked impatiently, "What's wrong with His Highness?"

"I wonder if my sister knew before she entered the East Palace that the Crown Princess was the one that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally asked to marry. It's inevitable that the Crown Princess will feel sad when a new person enters the palace. It's normal for His Royal Highness to spend more time with her these days."

Su Jingyao spoke slowly, her tone calm and soothing.

"So sister, don't worry too much."

Her eyes fell softly on An Jinyan.

An Jinyan's brows furrowed, and the smile on her face began to become forced, "Your Highness dotes on the Crown Princess so much, isn't my sister jealous?"

"When I first entered the East Palace, His Highness told me frankly that he and the Crown Princess were in love with each other and told me not to have any delusions."

There was a hint of melancholy in Su Jingyao's voice.

"Now, I just want to give birth to a royal heir as soon as possible under your humble favor, and fulfill the expectations of your majesty and the queen."

Su Jingyao raised her head slightly and looked into the distance, her face full of helplessness and relief. Her expression seemed to be telling of her endless worries.

An Jinyan's heart was surging like waves. She gritted her teeth and was secretly angry.

This Concubine Su is so useless. She has a beautiful face but is so weak!

What a waste of this beautiful appearance!

I didn’t expect that the Crown Princess is actually the apple of His Highness’s eye. When these newcomers entered the palace, the Crown Princess not only did not recommend them to His Highness, but she has been monopolizing his Highness!

How could she accept this!

An Jinyan tried hard to calm her emotions.

"Sister, you are really calm, but the sisters can't just sit there and wait for death. The Crown Princess has been occupying His Highness all the time. Isn't this unbecoming of a legitimate wife?"

There was a barely perceptible trace of hatred and resentment on her face.

Su Jingyao frowned slightly, her beautiful eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and her face was filled with deep melancholy.

"This...sister, don't say that. It's not up to us to decide where His Highness wants to go. We have no right to make a comment."

There was a hint of helplessness and resentment in her voice.

An Jinyan, however, had a resolute look on her face, with a determined light flashing in her eyes. She entered the East Palace to serve His Highness, so naturally she could not allow the Crown Princess to have exclusive favor.

"Sister, I came here today to ask for a favor. Only the Crown Princess and I can go to His Highness's Yude Hall. I want to ask you to persuade His Highness. If things continue like this, I and the other new sisters will be waiting for His Highness every day. I feel so sad that I am about to cry."

There was a hint of pleading in her voice.

The Crown Princess and the Concubine were both on royal surveillance discs, so Su Jingyao was able to go to Yude Hall. Others could not go without His Highness's summons. If they went, the guards would be treated as assassins.

Su Jingyao looked embarrassed, "Sister, although I can go to Yude Hall, how can I easily persuade His Highness?"

"Not to mention that only your Highness's legal wife can advise your Highness to treat everyone equally. I... am not qualified to do so..."

Her face was full of confusion and helplessness.

"Sister, you are a concubine, and the marriage was arranged by His Majesty's imperial decree. The wife is jealous, so naturally I can advise her. When I meet the Empress in a few days, I will also speak well of you in front of the Empress."

An Jinyan said anxiously.

After she entered the East Palace, because of her high status, she was able to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager after sleeping with her.

Su Jingyao sighed deeply, "After His Highness returns to the palace today, I will go to Yude Hall to take a look, but I am not influential in His Highness's heart, and I am afraid that His Highness will not only not listen to my advice, but may even be angry with me."

Her face was full of worry and anxiety.

"When my sister was in the palace, I knew that she was a model of a noble lady, generous and considerate. Today, I owe her a favor. No matter what the result of my persuasion today is, I must let His Highness know that there are several new people in the East Palace waiting for His Highness's mercy."

An Jinyan's voice was full of sincerity.

"Okay, then I'll try it today." Su Jingyao finally made up her mind.

"Thank you, sister. I'll take my leave now."

After An Jinyan finished speaking, she turned and left, sneering in her heart. Although the Crown Princess was favored by His Highness, she had seen at the last tea party that she was not favored by the Queen, not to mention that she had no children.

She doesn't seem to be a smart person. As long as she is favored by His Highness, she will make the position of Crown Princess vacant sooner or later.

As for this beautiful Concubine Su, she is just as the rumors say, kind and simple, and even more vulnerable.

After An Jinyan left, the corners of Su Jingyao's mouth slightly raised, and the smile in her eyes spread like spring water, almost overflowing.

Her eyes were sparkling, flashing with a cunning and complacent light.

On the day when the new bride entered the palace, she was the one who whispered in Jun Zechen's ear to let him stay in the Crown Princess's Palace for a day or two.

After all, it was no secret that the Crown Princess was secretly saddened by the arrival of a newcomer into the palace.

She took advantage of the situation and asked Jun Zechen to go and comfort the Crown Princess.

But she only asked Jun Zechen to comfort her for a day or two.

But who could have thought that Ling Yue would be so ignorant of her limits. When the newlyweds entered the palace, Jun Zechen left them behind to visit her, but she was so happy that she forgot herself and actually monopolized Jun Zechen for five days.

This was exactly what she wanted.

An Jinyan doesn't look like a person who is easy to deal with, so let Ling Yue try out An Jinyan's methods.

By the way, let An Jinyan give Ling Yue a hint in front of the Queen. When Jun Zechen ascends the throne next year and the Queen becomes the Queen Mother, she will be the key figure to stop Jun Zechen from enthroning Ling Yue as the Queen.

"Master, are you really going to advise His Highness today?" Miaoyun asked from the side.

"Of course I'll go."

There was a smile in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

The bright sunshine gradually faded, and a brilliant glow in the sky shrouded the earth like a veil, casting a hazy and mysterious hue on the whole world.

In the Yude Hall, after Jun Zechen returned from Yu's study, he had just sat down in his seat for a short while when An Shun lowered his head and walked in with small steps to report.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess's messenger is here to ask if you will be going to Qiluan Palace for dinner today." An Shun reported carefully.

When Jun Zechen heard this, a hint of irritation unconsciously appeared between his brows, and his handsome eyebrows wrinkled as if they were tied into a knot.

His lips were tightly pursed into a straight line, and he remained silent.

An Shun stood aside, not daring to even breathe, let alone raise his head to look directly at Jun Zechen.

She just lowered her head quietly, standing there like a sculpture, motionless, waiting quietly for Jun Zechen to give a reply.

Judging from His Highness’ reaction, does His Highness not want to go to Qiluan Palace?

At this moment, the hall was so quiet that one could clearly hear a pin drop.

The silent atmosphere even made Anshun afraid that His Highness could hear his thumping heartbeat, which made him feel a little creepy for no reason.

At this unusually quiet moment, a little eunuch suddenly walked in.

"Your servant greets His Highness."

Jun Zechen's voice was obviously cold, and he asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?"

The young eunuch kept his head down, "Concubine Su wants to see you."

Jun Zechen's originally dark eyes flickered slightly, and then he said, "Let her in."

When An Shun heard that Concubine Su was coming, he immediately realized that the Crown Princess might not be able to wait for His Highness to come today.

So he retreated quietly and tactfully, with a barely perceptible helplessness in his back.

An Shun had been with His Highness for so many years and thought he had figured out His Highness's thoughts. But now the Crown Prince's attitude towards the Crown Princess and Concubine Su really left him confused.

To the point that An Shun didn't know how to reply to the people in Qiluan Palace.

Su Jingyao wore a light-colored waist-hugging veil today. The veil was as soft as mist and swayed slightly as she walked.

The outer shawl was like flowing clouds, revealing her snow-white shoulders and neck. The shawl barely reached her shoulders, perfectly showing off her charming collarbone and slender neck.

This kind of skirt makes her look extremely charming and attractive, like a fairy.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you." Su Jingyao leaned forward slightly, her voice as gentle as an oriole's chirping, with a hint of tenderness and charm.

"Wake up, what brought you here today?"

Jun Zechen spoke in a calm tone, his handsome face was calm, as if he had not experienced the slightest emotion due to her arrival.

Su Jingyao chuckled in her heart, this man is the best at pretending.

She walked slowly and gently in front of him.

At this moment, Jun Zechen was sitting there calmly, and a subtle height difference naturally formed between the two of them.

She lowered her head slightly, her watery eyes full of tenderness and affection.

Jun Zechen originally didn't want to look at her, but he couldn't resist her fiery gaze.

Their eyes met, and Su Jingyao said coquettishly, "I haven't seen Your Highness for a few days. I really miss you."

The pink-nails-dyed fingers were as slender and graceful as green onions, gently and slowly stroking the man's palm.

The gentle movements seem to carry endless tenderness.

Jun Zechen clearly felt the wonderful tingling sensation in his palms, and his eyes instantly became dim.

"Didn't Yaoyao ask me to go to Qiluan Palace? Are you unhappy that I went to comfort the Crown Princess?"

Jun Zechen's voice was still light, like the calm surface of a lake, and no one could tell there was any special emotion in his voice.

However, only he himself knew that he was testing.

He actually hoped that she would be unhappy, and even wanted to see her jealous of him.

Su Jingyao pursed her lips which were as delicate and tempting as rose petals.

"I'm not unhappy. It's not the first day I knew that His Highness likes my sister."

There was a hint of coquettishness in her voice, and her voice was gentle and melodious, as if it could captivate people.

"So what are you doing here today?"

Jun Zechen's expression turned ugly in an instant, his handsome eyebrows wrinkled slightly, and his eyes became particularly sharp, like two cold rays shooting straight at her.