frightfiction Chapter 186 Surrender
Chapter 186 Surrender
When An Lingrong heard Concubine Hua's reply of "it's up to fate", she felt an indescribable envy in her heart.
She could clearly feel that Concubine Hua had undergone a subtle change in her attitude towards childbirth and was no longer as resistant as before.
But I still can't let go of some of the emperor's actions.
An Lingrong asked herself, she also hated the emperor very much before she died in her previous life.
The emperor had never looked at her straight in the eye. At Princess Wen Yi's first birthday banquet, a casual word of "reward" pushed her into endless humiliation.
He summoned her to sing songs many times, but he only treated her as a plaything for his entertainment.
How could An Lingrong not hate this?
But no matter how much hatred she had in her heart, when she decided to enter the palace again, she would bury these emotions deep in her heart.
Every time she opened her eyes, she would gaze towards Shoukang Palace.
The attentive Baoque mistakenly thought that she was looking at the Yangxin Palace from afar, and whenever the emperor visited other people, she would carefully comfort her.
An Lingrong really enjoyed the feeling of being cared for, so she never gave Baoque an explanation.
But she didn't dare reveal her ambition to anyone.
Hongzhan, Hongyao and Zhaohua are still young. When they grow up, the opinions of those close to them may change without An Lingrong saying anything.
Another heavy snow covered the entire capital city. The queen, out of sympathy for everyone, waived the need to pay respects.
After Zhen Huan was crowned as a concubine, Shen Meizhuang came to congratulate her.
She knew that Zhen Huan was pregnant and would not be able to deal with too many visitors, so she considerately took everyone away.
After breakfast today, she took Caiyue and Caixing to Suiyuxuan again.
She didn't forget to remind the two of them while walking on the road.
"Caiyue, Caixing, you must keep the matter of ginseng a secret."
In a letter home, my aunt mentioned that the emperor had exiled a group of people to Ningguta because of the fake ginseng incident, and asked her not to offend the emperor.
So, she decided to destroy the "old ginseng" in her hand by herself to avoid getting into trouble.
After Zhen Huan was promoted from Wanpin to concubine, her treatment naturally increased.
As soon as Shen Meizhuang and her group arrived at the entrance of Suiyuxuan, a sharp-eyed eunuch went to report.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Hui is here to visit."
"Liu Zhu, go make a pot of Biluochun."
"Baizhi, tell the kitchen to make jujube and yam cake. Sister Mei loves it."
Zhen Huan, supported by Cui Jinxi, walked into the courtyard to greet Shen Meizhuang who came with a smile.
"I pay my respects..."
Before Shen Meizhuang could finish her words, Zhen Huan helped her up.
"Sister Mei, why do we have to be so distant with each other?"
"Come into the house with your sister and warm up."
She naturally pulled Shen Meizhuang over, but was startled by the cold hand.
"Sister Mei, why are your hands so cold?"
"Huan'er, my sister was injured last time. The doctor said she will be fine after some rest."
"You're still pregnant, so don't worry about your sister."
Shen Meizhuang pulled out her hand that was being held and gently supported Zhen Huan's arm, as if to prevent her from falling.
Caiyue and Caixing, who were walking behind their master, looked at each other and followed obediently.
As soon as the curtain was opened, a wave of heat hit me in the face.
"Huan'er, you feel so comfortable here."
"If Sister Mei doesn't mind, you can rest with me like before and we can have a good chat."
When they were young, they went up the mountain to worship Buddha and often stayed in the same room.
Shen Meizhuang's brows softened and she shook her head.
"This is against palace rules. Huan'er, you have just been promoted, so you can't give people anything to talk about you."
The emperor comes to Suiyuxuan to visit Huan'er every now and then. What's the point of her staying here?
As soon as the two of them sat down on the couch, Liu Zhu came in carrying a teapot.
"Madam Wanpin, the master ordered me to brew your favorite Biluochun tea. Please have some tea."
"Sister Mei, this Biluochun was just delivered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I have already packed your portion and am about to have someone deliver it to you."
Biluochun was a tribute tea to the imperial court, and my father would receive a reward from the emperor every year.
When Shen Meizhuang heard the name, she couldn't help but recall the scenes of her interactions with her family in the past.
"Thank you, Huan'er, for thinking of me. When I smell Biluochun, I remember the days before I entered the palace."
She picked up the teacup with emotion and took a sip. The elegant fruity aroma entered her throat, still the familiar taste from before.
Seeing that Shen Meizhuang was about to take another sip, Caiyue quickly spoke out to stop her.
"Master, Doctor Chen has warned you that Biluochun is slightly cold in nature and you should not use it too much."
Upon seeing this, Zhen Huan quickly asked Liu Zhu to remove the teapot and replace it with mild scented tea leaves.
When Fubao saw Liuzhu leaving, he turned around and carried a teapot into the small room.
"Sister Liuzhu, why did you come out so soon to change the tea?"
"Master, if you want to try something different today, I'll change the pot of tea."
Liu Zhu skillfully poured the boiling water from the small clay stove into the teapot filled with scented tea leaves.
She was afraid that her master couldn't wait any longer, so she took it out the door.
When Fubao saw that there was still a lot of steaming tea left in the teapot, he had an idea in mind.
She rolled her eyes and quietly sprinkled a few drops of water on the lid of the teapot she brought, and added a ladle of water into the almost empty teapot.
Then, she calmly carried the teapot that Liu Zhu had placed aside and returned to the east hall.
"My lady, Sister Liu Zhu was making tea just now. She gave me a pot. Please try it."
Fubao said respectfully to Huanbi.
Huanbi, who was sitting on the couch, looked at the small table and signaled Fubao to pour tea as soon as possible.
She frowned slightly, feeling something was wrong.
"Sister Wan is always so considerate, why did it take so long to serve tea?"
"My lady, I don't know, but I noticed that the other pot of tea Sister Liuzhu brewed seemed to be scented tea."
Huanbi snorted in her heart, thinking that after her elder sister was promoted, she took action against Shen Meiyu.
They actually served guests with inferior smoked flower tea.
Huanbi, who was shivering with cold, couldn't wait to pick up the tea after Fubao poured it.
A familiar fruity scent lingered at the tip of her nose, and she sensed something was wrong.
"Fubao, where did this tea come from?"
Although Huanbi had never drunk Biluochun, she had made it for her elder sister many times.
In the past, only when Shen Meizhuang or the emperor came to Suiyuxuan would the eldest sister be willing to take it out to entertain others.
Liu Zhu knew that her elder sister valued Biluochun and would not make tea on her own without the master's order.
"My dear lady, when I entered the small room, Sister Liuzhu was pouring water into the teapot..."
Fubao was choked with sobs and unable to utter the following words.
A hint of coldness flashed in Huanbi's eyes, not knowing what she was thinking about.
"Fubao, do you think that Concubine Wan really doesn't know that the people from the Imperial Household Department have withheld my charcoal?"
"The main hall is as warm as spring, but my side hall is as cold as an ice cellar."
"My lady, I've heard that people freeze to death every year. How about we ask other high-ranking ladies to help you?"
Fu Baocai received the order to persuade He Changzai to surrender to Jingren Palace as soon as possible.