bookcurios Chapter 181: Feng Palace Play
Chapter 181: Feng Palace Play
Officials from the Censorate would sigh and lament every time they passed by that small teahouse. They would not normally discuss state affairs in it, because everyone knew that it was the shop of Princess He.
They go to the small teahouse and just have a simple meal. The waiter will ask you how the food is, whether it tastes good, and if there is anything you want to improve. The waiter will then write it down and make some adjustments the next time the dishes are served.
He doesn't ask any questions and just wants to make money and do business like an honest person.
It is precisely because of this honest style that so many officials come here to dine.
The imperial city is so big that there are people coming out all day long, and there are always people who are short of money. The food in the comprador's office is too expensive and is far less affordable than this small teahouse.
Therefore, the disappearance of the small teahouse was a major blow to the cash-strapped officials.
Another morning court session ended. On the way out of the court, several imperial censors rolled their eyes at the Third Prince, and he felt puzzled.
I wanted to snarl back, but I thought it was impolite. If I endured it, I would feel angry, and he is not a very magnanimous person.
In order to maintain her elegant image outside, Yang Xiaofei returned to her own Rong Palace with a lot of anger. She was about to enter the palace with her child in her arms.
"You want to go see my mother? It's a good opportunity to take Qiao'er to visit his royal grandfather. How can a grandfather and grandson not be close?"
"Have you learned the bow that I asked you to teach last time?"
At this point, Yang Xiaofei was speechless. The baby was only one or two months old and couldn't even crawl, so why should he learn to bow?
Bowing while lying down?
After casually saying something to change the subject, Yang Xiaofei took Qiao'er into the palace.
This is the eldest grandson of the emperor. The emperor wanted to give him a nickname first, for fear that a name that was too big would not be able to suppress the child's spirit. When he was three or four years old and had grown up, he would be directly ranked and put into the jade record.
On the road to the palace, he met Zhao Fangyu who was also entering the palace.
Concubine Dan gave a sedan chair to pick her up, and Yang Xiaofei's sedan chair was a reward from the Imperial Concubine.
When we meet on a narrow road, the sedan is not big, so there is no need for anyone to give way.
Zhao Fangyu just smiled and nodded to Yang Xiaofei from a distance. Yang Xiaofei pretended not to see it and lowered her head to help Qiaoer pack the quilt.
As soon as they met, Zhao Fangyu knew that Yang Xiaofei did not inherit her mother's cruelty.
Her mother was a murderer the moment she met him, but she was better, just a little stupid, not vicious.
The original plan was to pay respects to the Queen first and then go to Yanyun Palace to look for Meng Yanzhen.
As soon as he entered the Queen's Fengyi Palace, Zhao Fangyu saw a woman in gorgeous clothes sitting below the Queen.
The woman was over thirty years old, with a slender figure, wearing a red and gold palace dress, which was pieced together from top to bottom, covering a lotus pond in spring. On her head was a pearl crown, and the white beads swayed with the owner's laughter and anger, and the white and round beads became more and more attractive.
The queen was much simpler, but her graceful and elegant demeanor was enough to suppress the arrogant imperial concubine.
When Zhao Fangyu arrived, he heard the Queen say:
"Come to think of it, has Qiao'er managed to turn things around now?"
The imperial concubine's smile froze, and she immediately shook her fan and said angrily, "You still can't do it. You just eat and sleep, sleep and eat all day long, and you're so fat."
The Queen smiled with an ambiguous tone, turned around and told Zhao Fangyu to excuse herself. Someone served tea, and Zhao Fangyu could not refuse the Queen, so he sat down and listened to the two women of their grandmothers' generation chatting about children.
The Queen said, "Qiao'er's matter cannot be neglected. Your Majesty originally wanted to have Qiao'er live in the palace, but he was afraid that they would be separated, so he never issued an order."
"But your majesty still has Qiao'er in his heart."
The imperial concubine sneered in her heart. The emperor's heart was on Meng Yanzhen's son. How could there be any place for her Qiao'er?
Meng Yanzhen's child is only one or two years younger than Qiao'er. When Qiao'er is still blowing bubbles, Meng Yanzhen's child can already run towards the emperor and call him "Daddy" in a tender voice.
Meng Yanzhen's child was the emperor's late-born son, so naturally he doted on her. How could he have forgotten Qiao'er, who was raised outside the palace and whom he had only seen a few times!
"Your Majesty's intention is to ask Qiaoer to go to the palace to study when the children are grown up. If they are smart, it would be good for them to go to school earlier."
The queen's eyes were smiling, but the imperial concubine couldn't smile anymore. She wiped her temples with a pink handkerchief without making a sound. She cursed the emperor over and over again in her heart. The old man was really distracted. What did he mean by being smart and going to school earlier? It was clearly an idea to let her precious grandson be a companion to the son of that bitch Meng Yanzhen!
Using her grandson as a stepping stone for Meng Yanzhen's son? Maybe she even wants to leave the position of crown prince to Meng Yanzhen's child!
Zhao Fangyu understood the rhetoric, but pretended not to understand, picking up the cakes on the table and eating them in small bites.
Naturally, she didn't dare to do anything with the things in the Queen's palace. The Imperial Concubine was sitting right in front of her, and it was not like the Queen to put such a big handle in someone else's face.
The queen turned her gaze towards Zhao Fangyu and advised with a kind motherly look: "You too, should hurry up during these days of marriage."
Zhao Fangyu smiled shyly and did not answer. He was so embarrassed that even the tips of his ears turned red.
After a while, he raised his head, and there was a hint of bitterness on his face unconsciously.
The people in the harem know this expression best. If the couple has a harmonious relationship, they will definitely not smile bitterly like this.
The imperial concubine happily shook her handkerchief, picked up a cup of tea, and drank it with relish: "You are newlyweds, so you should have a child now, so that you don't have to envy other people's children in the future."
Fortunately, Zhao Fangyu took the initiative to not want a child, otherwise how heartbroken would he be to hear this?
The bitter smile on Zhao Fangyu's face deepened. He lowered his head and said nothing. Although he didn't say a word, his meaning was very clear.
The Queen didn't quite believe it. When Zhou Qinghe had refused to take a concubine so confidently, how could it be the case that he didn't like Zhao Fangyu?
The next moment, Zhao Fangyu said, "If Your Majesty is not in a hurry about this matter, then I am not in a hurry either."
"What is destined to happen will happen, and what is not destined to happen cannot be forced."
The Queen glanced at Zhao Fangyu and was about to send someone to look for Concubine Dan. But before she could finish her words, she heard Yang Xiaofei coming with the child to pay her respects.
Yang Xiaofei was dressed in a turquoise palace dress and wore two golden pomegranate hairpins on her head. Her hair was adorned with a string of pearls, just like a royal concubine.
Zhao Fangyu was wearing a lilac palace dress, which she had deliberately avoided, but it gave off a sense of nobility and leisure.
"Is my sister-in-law here too?"
Yang Xiaofei was not very willing to salute Zhao Fangyu. She had avoided him on the palace road just now, but now she could not avoid him. The two of them could only salute each other again.
Qiao'er was held in her arms, dazed and half asleep and half awake.
Full-term babies are all good-looking. Neither Yang Xiaofei nor the third prince are ugly, so they naturally won’t give birth to ugly children. Even though the queen doesn’t like the third prince, she still hugged the child out of softness.
The longer they waited, the more people came, even the two princesses born to the Queen came, surrounding and teasing Qiao'er. Zhao Fangyu just stood by and looked at them with envy, then lowered his head and drank tea.
"Empress Dan is here!"