boyutpedia Chapter 217 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 30
Chapter 217 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 30
At midday, the sun shone brightly, its rays scattering across the eaves and gilding the glazed tiles of the palace with a dazzling golden edge. The auspicious beasts on the eaves appeared lifelike in the sunlight.
Inside Yongshou Palace, there was a deathly silence.
Zhen Huan, dressed in a plain palace gown, sat quietly by the window, her face haggard.
Sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice, casting dappled shadows on her face, but failed to illuminate the loneliness in her eyes.
Since Prince Guo—no, now Prince Guo, the Emperor, out of pity for Yunli's great suffering, specially promoted Yunli's title.
"My lady, you've been looking downcast lately, which isn't good for your pregnancy." Jinxi tiptoed in, her voice soft, afraid of disturbing Zhen Huan. She looked at Zhen Huan's empty eyes, devoid of their usual brightness, filled with worry.
Zhen Huan sighed softly, her voice full of exhaustion: "Alas, life in the harem is truly like an eternity." She had only been in the palace for less than three months, yet it felt as if she had experienced a thousand hardships, with one distressing thing after another coming one after another.
She was Longyue's biological mother, but Longyue was extremely distant from her.
A few days ago, she saw Consort Duan playing with Princess Longyue in the Imperial Garden from afar. Princess Longyue's unfamiliar gaze pierced straight into her heart.
She was filled with regret. If she had known this would happen, she would have been better off entrusting Longyue to other concubines to raise.
For Mei Jie's sake, she had cautiously mentioned it to the Emperor, trying to plead for her release, but the Emperor's attitude was unusually firm, and it seemed that Mei Jie would not be released easily.
"Your Highness should take it easy. The other concubines are hoping something bad will happen to you. How can you give up on yourself?" Huanbi urged anxiously from the side. Now her fate was intertwined with Zhen Huan's; they would share both glory and ruin.
Zhen Huan gazed at the orchid before her. The delicate, vibrant blossoms, which should have been a symbol of beauty, now stirred her emotions within her.
She slowly reached out and plucked the orchid, her expression dazed, and murmured to herself, "For now, I can only lie low and wait until I give birth before making any further plans."
On the other hand, An Lingrong's life was not easy either. She had been trying to conceive for many years without success, and the Empress was watching her very closely. She always felt that there were spies of the Empress around her.
Now the Empress is focused on how to deal with Zhen Huan's pregnancy, and is also hinting that she should take action against Zhen Huan as soon as possible. In order to keep the Empress in check, she has no choice but to obey her arrangements.
In recent days, she has tried to mend her relationship with Zhen Huan, but Zhen Huan's perfunctory attitude has made her feel extremely humiliated.
She was now a concubine, but Huanbi's disdainful gaze still made her grit her teeth in hatred.
She came from a humble background and had no children, so the emperor's favor towards her gradually diminished.
Recalling the night a few days ago, a palace maid quietly slipped her a note that read, "Baojuan, you have another master."
After returning home, she subtly tested the waters a few times, and her heart sank instantly. The Empress indeed harbored suspicions about her.
However, Baojuan cannot be moved for the time being. We can only wait until a suitable opportunity arises to get rid of her.
As for the owner of that note, they must have some influence to have discovered this matter. In this harem, the Empress has offended quite a few people over the years. Was it Consort Jin, Consort Jing, or Consort Duan? She couldn't guess for the time being.
An Lingrong suppressed her doubts and obeyed the Empress's order to continue getting closer to Zhen Huan. She had always disliked Zhen Huan's smugness, and the two were already like oil and water.
Seeing Zhen Huan so dejected, Jinxi was anxious. After thinking it over and over again, she came up with a solution.
She secretly sent a message to Su Peisheng, saying that Consort Xuan was in a bad mood, which was not good for her pregnancy, and that she hoped to see her family.
The Emperor, mindful of Zhen Huan's pregnancy, had always been accommodating to her. Upon hearing of this, he came to Yongshou Palace.
When Zhen Huan met the Emperor, she spoke to him in a gentle and tactful manner, her words filled with sorrow. The Emperor listened, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
At this moment, the people from the Imperial Household Department came in, and the Emperor originally intended to take the opportunity to stay with Zhen Huan.
Upon hearing this, Zhen Huan refused without hesitation, saying softly, "Your Majesty, I do not wish to wrong you."
The Emperor's gaze swept across the screen, where the pink mimosa flowers embroidered on it were particularly glaring. Previously, this screen was embroidered with apricot blossoms, but now Zhen Huan's thoughts, like this screen, had changed.
"In that case, I'll go see Consort Jin and the Sixth and Seventh Princes. You should rest well." The Emperor's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible disappointment. He stood up and left without looking back.
Originally, the Emperor's overnight stay at Yongshou Palace was a good opportunity for the two to break the ice in their relationship, but Zhen Huan was preoccupied with Prince Guo and did not notice the Emperor's ambiguous gaze at all.
How could the Emperor be so attached to her? Since she wouldn't take the opportunity offered to him, the Emperor couldn't bring himself to do it.
The relationship between the two was already fragile, with too much love and hate between them.
Zhen Huan thought that the Emperor had sent her mother and sister back to the capital, and that the matter of Shen Meizhuang poisoning Longyue was over. In addition, she didn't have much affection for the Emperor to begin with, so she naturally didn't notice the Emperor's increasingly cold gaze.
The emperor sat in his sedan chair, feeling extremely troubled.
Suddenly, the clear and melodious laughter of children drifted from afar, instantly soothing the Emperor's annoyance. His furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he gave Su Peisheng a gesture before slowly alighting from the sedan chair and walking towards the main gate of Chuxiu Palace.
Su Peisheng stood by, not daring to breathe. He really didn't understand what Consort Xuan was thinking. Jinxi sent a message asking him to bring the Emperor to the capital. The Emperor comforted her and allowed her family to return to the capital, but Consort Xuan didn't know how to serve the Emperor properly and cultivate their relationship. In the blink of an eye, she offended the Emperor.
"Hahaha, what are you talking about?" The Emperor walked into the courtyard with a gentle smile on his face.
The courtyard of Chuxiu Palace had been completely transformed. The right side was now filled with wisteria, with clusters of pale purple flowers hanging down like a purple waterfall.
A gentle breeze carries the delicate fragrance of flowers, its subtle aroma lingering around the nose and bringing a sense of comfort and tranquility.
A large swing was placed on the left side, where Princess Wenyi sat and played happily, while Hongxi pushed her hard from behind. Three or four people stood guard nearby, watching over their safety at all times.
Princess Shuhe sat quietly beside Consort Xin, embroidering, while Wen Yuan and Feng Ruozhao were playing chess comfortably.
As soon as the Emperor entered, the once lively courtyard instantly fell silent.
Everyone bowed and said, "Greetings to Your Majesty! May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace!"
"Greetings to Father Emperor! May Father Emperor enjoy boundless blessings and peace!"
"Alright, get up." The Emperor walked straight to the main seat and sat down.
Wen Yuan smiled at the Emperor, but secretly rolled her eyes, thinking: Wasn't he with Zhen Huan? How come he ran to Chuxiu Palace after getting frustrated?
“Your Majesty, I was talking to my sister about playing chess, and Hongxi has recently finished reading the Three Character Classic, the Thousand Character Classic, and the Analects. I was praising Hongxi.” Wen Yuan said, and then sat down in Feng Ruozhao’s seat.
"Oh? Is that so? I'll have to test him!" The Emperor raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
Consort Xin sat quietly at the lower end of the table, listening to Hongxi's youthful yet earnest voice answering the Emperor's questions, her heart filled with satisfaction.
Shuhe has been engaged to the second son of Lady Fucha in the past few days. She will be married when she turns sixteen. Thinking that Shuhe will be able to stay in the capital in the future, Consort Xin felt relieved.
The Emperor originally intended to promote Xin Guiren to elevate the status of Shuhe's birth mother, but Yixiu intervened to stop him.
Consort Xin was originally Consort Jin's person, and now Consort Jing is also in close contact with Consort Jin. Both of them are allied with Consort Jin, and Yixiu does not want to expand Consort Jin's power.
Yixiu was only thinking about her own interests and failed to notice the growing chill in the Emperor's eyes.
The empress's lack of concern for her offspring, coupled with her suppression of the children's birth mothers, has created a rift in the emperor's heart regarding her supposed benevolence.
The Emperor thought that once the Third Prince's primary consort was decided, he would promote Consort Li and Consort Xin to the same rank.
The Third Prince is currently the eldest son, and the selection of his primary consort is related to the political situation of the court, so it naturally needs to be carefully considered.
"Indeed, Hongxi is indeed intelligent. Wenyuan, you've worked hard." The Emperor couldn't help but smile. He recalled testing the Third Prince Hongshi's studies, which was truly a torment. Many topics had been explained many times, but Hongshi still looked dull and couldn't understand at all.
Everyone laughed and chatted. In the evening, the Emperor kept Feng Ruozhao, Consort Xin, and several children for dinner.
Hongxu is only a little over a year old. He sleeps a lot during the day. When he wakes up and sees the Emperor, he is immediately overjoyed. The Emperor is amused by his cute little expression and laughs heartily.