An Lingrong after rebirth

"Oh? Little Lizi, have you been working in the Plum Garden all this time? Have you ever been educated before entering the palace?" Su Peisheng looked at Little Lizi suspiciously, with curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Little Li smiled flatteringly and said, "Eunuch Su, how can I be so lucky? I am just a rough man and have not read much."

Su Peisheng's face changed and he asked, "Then how did you know?"

Little Li smiled mysteriously, approached Su Peisheng, and whispered: "I heard it from others."

"Who told you that?" There was a hint of majesty in Su Peisheng's voice.

Little Li scratched his head awkwardly and replied, "I heard that from Guan Chang of Sui Yu Xuan."

When Su Peisheng heard this, his eyes flashed with surprise. He originally regarded her as an ordinary palace maid, but now he unexpectedly learned that she was the emperor's concubine - Wan Changzai!

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought, with Wan Chang's beautiful face appearing in his mind...

Thinking of this, Su Peisheng came back to his senses and asked hurriedly, "Wan Changzai? You actually know her? You work here in Yimei Garden, how did you get to know Wan Changzai?"

This series of questions came out like a string of cannonballs, leaving Leo at a loss and completely stunned.

Little Li hesitated for a moment before he stammered, "Last night, when I was passing by Yimei Garden, I saw a figure entering it. I was curious and leaned in to listen to a sentence.

I dared not stay any longer, so I left. As for how I knew that Concubine Wan was here, it was because I had seen her from afar on the day when the young ladies entered the palace.

Su Peisheng saw how nervous Xiao Li was, patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Okay, you don't have to be so nervous. You can't tell anyone about this, understand?"

Little Li nodded repeatedly, and said with a sense of relief: "I know, I will never tell anyone."

Su Peisheng smiled with satisfaction, turned to Xiao Xiazi and said, "Xiao Xiazi, reward."

When Xiao Xia Zi heard this, she quickly handed over a silver ingot. Xiao Li Zi was so happy that he thanked her repeatedly: "Thank you, Eunuch Su, thank you, Xiao Xia Zi."

Su Peisheng waved his hand, and Little Lizi stood up and turned to leave. Little Lizi stuffed the silver into his arms. When everyone saw Little Lizi coming back alone, they surrounded him and asked him questions non-stop.

Xiao Lizi said nothing to anyone. Xiao Yanzi in the crowd saw this and snorted coldly. Seeing that Xiao Lizi didn't answer, everyone dispersed in boredom.

In the Yangxin Palace, the Emperor and Prince Guo were enjoying the battle between black and white chess pieces.

Su Peisheng brought in two cups of tea, placed a cup next to each person, and watched the two people play chess. They played chess for nearly an hour.

Prince Guo surrendered: My emperor is a great chess player. I admit defeat and kept saying I don’t want to play anymore.

Upon hearing this, the emperor burst into laughter and dropped the chess piece in his hand. He said, "I've been playing for a long time today and I'm a little tired of sitting."

Come, I will take you to see the new collection of "Traveling in Mountains and Rivers". After hearing this, Prince Guo's eyes lit up. He thought that his brother had a lot of good things here. He stood up impatiently and urged, "Let's go, my brother."

The emperor stood up, looked at Su Peisheng who was not moving beside him, coughed lightly and asked: "Is there something wrong?" Su Peisheng bowed and replied that the emperor had reported to him that the eunuch in charge of the Plum Garden had something to report.

The emperor's eyes lit up after hearing this. Prince Guo saw this and said, "Since my royal brother is busy, I will look at "Traveling in Mountains and Rivers" another day. I will go to Shoukang Palace to see the Empress Dowager first."

The emperor said: "Okay, I will have someone send the "Traveling in Mountains and Rivers" to your house later." Prince Guo said happily: "Thank you, brother," bowed and retreated.

The emperor sat back and asked, "How is it?" Su Peisheng told him in detail that a young eunuch in Yimei Garden saw that the person who made the couplet last night was Wan Changzai from Suiyuxuan.

Is Concubine Wan still here? The emperor recalled what he said on the day of the selection: "Hanhuan has a slender waist, and the spring has come, the jade has faded and the fragrance has disappeared. The red gate is under the willows and beside the small bridge.

I have been to the red window several times, and mistakenly thought that someone was leaving. The heartbreaking wind and moon are pitiful at night. I can't bear to be depressed, bored in both places. "The "Slender Chu Palace Waist" in the poem.

Didn't the Queen say that she was ill? I checked and found that she was ill, so she didn't come to the palace banquet, but someone did see Wan Changzai going to Yimei Garden in the snow.

The emperor said unhappily, "It took so long to treat a seasonal disease. Is it so difficult to treat?"

Su Peisheng quickly replied, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I have asked the Imperial Hospital about this matter. The doctor in charge of treating Wan Changzai is Wen Shichu, Imperial Doctor Wen. Wan Changzai's illness was indeed caused by shock."

The emperor frowned. "A few months have passed. Has Concubine Wan's health improved?"

Su Peisheng replied: "Your Majesty, I am getting better. Your Majesty asked me: It has been several months and I am still not fully recovered."

The emperor's face darkened. "What's going on?"

Su Peisheng hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, Doctor Wen said that Concubine Wan encountered something dirty. I guess she had never encountered such a thing before entering the palace, so she was scared."

The emperor's expression eased a little after hearing this. "Su Peisheng said that maybe with your care, I'll get better faster!"

The emperor's expression softened and he said, "You are the only one who can talk. In this case, let Wen Shichu treat her well."

"I obey your command." Su Peisheng replied with a bow.

The atmosphere in Suiyuxuan was heavy and tense. Wen Shichu told Zhen Huan what Su Peisheng had asked him with a heavy face.

When Zhen Huan heard this, she was immediately anxious and asked anxiously, "Brother Shichu, you said that Eunuch Su actually asked you about my affairs?

Could it be that our secret has been exposed?" Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes full of worry and fear.

Wen Shichu knew what was on Zhen Huan's mind. What Zhen Huan was most worried about at the moment was that she was pretending to be sick to avoid favor.

The consequences are disastrous - not only might the woman herself be banished to the cold palace, but her family might also be implicated, or even charged with deceiving the emperor and suffer in prison.

In fact, deep down in his heart, Wen Shichu did not want Zhen Huan to be favored, but he also could not bear to see her suffer. This complex and tangled emotion made him torn and full of contradictions.

Facing the extremely anxious Zhen Huan, Wen Shichu remained calm and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, my lady. I am responsible for your medical records, and others cannot easily obtain them.

I have already arranged it properly. Besides, perhaps Eunuch Su asked this question only because he was concerned about your recovery. As for why he asked this question, I really don't know. "

Even so, Zhen Huan still couldn't calm down. She thought to herself, "My dear, think about what you have done recently to attract the emperor's attention?"

Thinking of this, Zhen Huan's heart sank suddenly, and the figure of the person she talked with in Yime Garden on New Year's Eve emerged in her mind.

Could it be that... that person is actually the current emperor? As soon as this thought flashed through her mind, Zhen Huan was shocked.

Zhen Huan thought: Now that the emperor remembered her, there was no way to escape.

Zhen Huan frowned, sighed and said, "Brother Shichu, I can't avoid this disease now. Please take the trouble to see when I can be cured."

Wen Shichu's face flashed with pain. But he still replied: My lady will be cured in five days. Zhen Huan said helplessly: Then five days, I need to think about what to do next?

Wen Shichu said with a dejected look on his face: "If my lord has nothing else to do, then I will take my leave first."

His voice was low and a little helpless, as if he had endless sorrow in his heart. After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly, turned around and slowly left, his steps seemed a little heavy.

Zhen Huan sat quietly on the couch, tightly holding the hot water bottle that Huanbi had just handed to her, but the melancholy on her face was like a lingering haze.

Her eyes were confused and deep, as if she was immersed in her own thoughts. The hot water bottle exuded a warm breath, but it could not dispel the chill deep in her heart.

The cold wind whistled past the window, making the window lattice rustle. Zhen Huan couldn't help but shiver and huddled in the quilt. She sighed softly and comforted herself: since it has come, we should make the best of it.

Three days later, in the early morning, screams rang out from the eunuchs' room in Yimei Garden. The sound was sharp and piercing, and continued, as if someone had suffered a great shock. Everyone in the eunuch room was awakened and could no longer fall asleep.

The noise woke up the eunuch supervisor Liu Ding, who got up cursing and rushed to the door of the eunuch's ear room where the scream came from while putting on his clothes and shoes.

Eunuch Liu kicked the door open angrily and shouted, "Little Li, what are you yelling about so early in the morning?"

However, his words were stuck in his throat. Little Li was hanging on the beam, and another little eunuch was sitting on the ground, screaming with fear on his face.

Eunuch Liu growled, "Shut up! Do you want to attract the wolf?"

Eunuch Liu heard more and more footsteps coming from outside the room, turned around and shouted angrily: "Go back to bed!"

Xiao Yanzi followed the crowd and turned back when he heard the roar. A barely perceptible chill flashed across his face, but no one noticed.

After Eunuch Liu calmed down, he said to the two eunuchs beside him: "You two, throw Xiao Lizi's body out of the palace at will. People can die in the palace at any time, and no one will notice."

The two eunuchs responded timidly, "Yes, sir."

Eunuch Liu warned again: "Be quick and don't let anyone find out."

"Got it, father-in-law."

The two eunuchs carried Xiao Lizi's body and hurriedly left the room. Eunuch Liu watched them leave, thinking something in his heart.

The weather started to warm up over the next few days, and the palace roads were cleaned up without any trace of water on the ground. An Lingrong held the hot water bottle and led Qiufang and Lian'er all the way to Shoukang Palace.

There were not many people on the road, and when they arrived at the gate of Shoukang Palace, An Lingrong felt a little sweat on her body.

Qiufang stepped forward and knelt down before the eunuch at the gate of Shoukang Palace and said, "Hello, eunuch. My lady is a noble lady of Yanxi Palace. She is here to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. Please help pass the message on." After that, she handed over a silver ingot.

The young eunuch took it with a smile and said, "Wait." Then he turned and left.

Not long after, the young eunuch came back, bowed to An Lingrong with a smile on his face and said, "The Empress Dowager is free now, Concubine Shu can go in."

An Lingrong said, "Thank you so much, eunuch."

An Lingrong led the two of them in and saw Zhu Xi waiting at the door. An Lingrong walked forward quickly and said with a smile, "It's cold, how dare I trouble my aunt to wait at the door."

Zhu Xi smiled and said, "Ms. Shu is too polite. I am here on the orders of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is waiting for us. Let's go in quickly!"

An Lingrong nodded and followed Zhu Xi into the main hall. When she looked up, she saw the Queen Mother holding a string of Buddhist beads and reciting Buddhist scriptures.

An Lingrong stepped forward, knelt down and saluted, saying, "I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health."

The Queen Mother closed the Buddhist scriptures, raised her hand and said, "Get up."

An Lingrong thanked the Empress Dowager. Qiufang helped An Lingrong up and stood silently in the distance, not saying anything more.

The Queen Mother looked up at An Lingrong and said, "I heard that Concubine Shu was unwell. Even the imperial physician said that she should stay in bed and rest. She even forgot to pay her respects to the Queen. How come she is better today and can come out?"

The Queen Mother was worried that if she became pregnant, she would be disrespectful to the Queen Mother and threaten the honor of the Ulanara and Uya clans. I never thought that the daughter of a small county magistrate would make the Queen Mother feel a sense of crisis. It was ridiculous.

In reply to the Empress Dowager, ever since I came back from paying my respects to the Emperor, I have been thinking about when I will meet the Empress Dowager and what gift I should give her. I come from a humble background and do not have any good things, so I embroidered a "Lotus Purse of Guanyin Bodhisattva".

After saying that, he turned around and took the lotus-sitting purse from Qiufang. This material was a gift from the Empress Dowager. Today, the weather is good, there is no rain or snow, and the ground is not slippery, so I dared to go out. Please accept it, Empress Dowager.

The Queen Mother raised her hand slightly, and Zhu Xi stepped forward, took the purse from An Lingrong and handed it to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother looked at it with a look of satisfaction in her eyes. She reached out to continue and said, "Shu Guiren's embroidery skills have always been amazing. This really surprises me. There is no one in the harem who can embroider like you."

An Lingrong bowed her head quickly and replied respectfully, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty the Queen Mother. You may not know that my family used to run an embroidery workshop.

If the Empress Dowager likes it, I can embroider something different and give it to her from time to time, so it won’t be considered a waste.”

The Queen Mother's expression eased, and she placed the purse on the table with a smile, and said to Zhu Xi, "You have been here for such a long time and you didn't ask me to sit down. Please take a seat."

Zhu Xi personally helped An Lingrong to sit down opposite the Empress Dowager, and thanked the imperial physician for the invitation!

The Queen Mother asked directly, "What's the matter with you coming here today?" The Queen Mother has a keen eye, and I admire her.

An Lingrong blushed and said, "The Queen Mother is far away and cannot control me. Lian'er is a little girl and doesn't understand. Qiufang doesn't understand the affairs of pregnant women. This is my first time to be pregnant. I worry day and night that I will do something wrong and hurt the dragon fetus in my belly."

So... I think that the Empress Dowager has always been kind to me, and I would like to ask the Empress Dowager to show mercy and find a nanny who understands women's pregnancy to stay by my side until I give birth.

After An Lingrong finished speaking, the Queen Mother and Zhu Xi looked at each other and saw the understanding in each other's eyes. She immediately looked up to An Lingrong.

The Queen Mother had told Zhu Xi the last time that if An Lingrong asked for help openly, she would show mercy. It had only been a few days, and Concubine Shu had spoken. It seemed that she had a clear understanding of the situation in the palace.

After a moment of silence, the Queen Mother said, "Madam Shu, do you mean that the current imperial physician is not doing a good job?"

An Lingrong stood up and knelt down, saying anxiously, "Your Highness, I absolutely do not mean that. The doctors in the Imperial Hospital are all the most skilled in the world, so their medical skills are naturally excellent.