strictlysupreme Chapter 299 Why tease me?
Chapter 299 Why tease me?
Chapter 299 Why tease me?
Stepping out of Dieqiong Pavilion, Green Willow's tense heartstrings finally relaxed completely.
Seeing that Hua Yan still seemed unaffected, she couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Shu'er, has Consort Guo... figured out Chun Tao's background?"
Hua Yan didn't stop walking, and calmly shook her head: "No, I was just testing the waters."
"She prides herself on being clever, but she's doing foolish things." Hua Yan didn't care about Guo Xiuyi's probing.
When Consort Guo pledged allegiance to Consort Chun, she naturally assumed that Consort Chun would have placed spies around her. In that case, whether Chun Tao was exposed became irrelevant; it would only make Consort Guo more hesitant to act rashly.
At least, the incident of harming Shen Jieyu will not happen again in the future.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival, Consort Guo's palace had requested several kinds of beans from the Imperial Kitchen, including red beans and glutinous rice. The daily accounts of the four departments and six bureaus were all sent to Consort Chun. If Hua Yan hadn't noticed this anomaly, she would have been dead long ago. A little investigation revealed the clues, and with Chun Tao's vigilance and secret communication, Hua Yan had already placed orders at every stage before Consort Guo could even act, making it impossible for anyone to succeed.
Green Willow pondered for a while and felt it made sense, but there was one thing she had been holding back for almost a month and still couldn't figure out.
"Why should Shu'er cover for her? Consort Guo deliberately harmed someone, and even if the investigation continues, it has nothing to do with Consort Chun. It won't implicate our Huining Palace, so why not take this opportunity to get rid of Consort Shen? After all, she is the Empress's person. If she gives birth to a prince..."
"Do I look like a pushover to you?" Hua Yan raised an eyebrow and asked.
Green Willow was taken aback. "...Uh, it doesn't seem like it." Green Willow still remembered the fate of Chrysanthemum Dress and her son.
Hua Yan turned to face Lü Liu, and said solemnly, "It's good that you have talent, but you must act with caution and never be concerned with temporary gains or losses. If Consort Shen miscarries, other concubines will give birth to princes for the Emperor..."
......
Huining Hall.
Consort Chun had already sent Xiao Nianzi out to gather information. When Hua Yan returned and heard about this, she comforted Consort Chun:
"Aunt Mei returned to the manor ten days ago. If there were any matters, Madam would have informed her in advance. Since Lord Xu is also here, it must be related to a case involving the Ministry of Revenue. Your Highness need not worry."
At this point, Hua Yan suddenly recalled the look in the Empress's eyes when she paid her respects at Renming Hall that morning.
"The case of the Li family's collateral branch forcibly abducting a woman seems to be still not officially closed. Could it be that the Li family has been involved in other matters?"
After listening to Hua Yan's analysis, Consort Chun relaxed before continuing the conversation: "Last time, Mother mentioned that in order to quell this matter, the Li family donated all the private wharves and boats along the canal route from Luoyang to Yuhang to the imperial court, including even two canal boats."
(Caofang: a large vessel used for transporting grain across the canal)
Perhaps recalling the Emperor's temperament, Consort Chun's tone carried a hint of mischief, "Otherwise, Consort Rong would probably still be waiting in the Ganlu Palace, and how could she possibly wait for 'sweet dew'?"
Even though Hua Yan was used to Consort Chun's outspokenness, she was still taken aback by these words.
It must be said that since Consort Chun stopped pouring her heart into unfounded feelings, she has gradually returned to the true nature of the Second Miss of Lin'an.
Since the Emperor is not dining, it is a good opportunity for Hua Yan and Consort Chun to enjoy the meal together.
Donggua added, "This servant specially prepared dishes that His Majesty likes. If Xiao Nianzi had told me earlier, this servant would not have made so many sweets."
Upon hearing this, Consort Chun smiled and pointed to the two dishes on the table, saying, "It's alright. Winter Melon, pack these two dishes into a food box. Green Willow, take them to Funing Palace and tell Jingming that they were sent by Consort Meng."
Hua Yan: "...If Your Highness wants to give it to the Emperor, why make fun of me? Mengzhu should be the one to deliver it."
Seeing them joking with each other, Aunt Mei didn't know whether to feel gratified or saddened. She watched as the Empress's affection for the Emperor gradually faded away—if it were before, the Empress would never have said such a thing.
"Why bother about whose intention it is? In any case, it was sent from Huining Palace." Mengzhu immediately got to work, displaying the demeanor of a palace maid in charge of affairs.
Green Willow chimed in with a smile, "Sister Mengzhu is right. Why don't we have Donggua fetch two cups of cooled milk tea, and I'll take them with me?"
Ruizhu covered her mouth and chuckled, "With the Empress and the Beauty's good intentions, even if the Emperor is extremely angry, he should calm down."
Aunt Mei feigned anger, glared at Mengzhu and the others, and then happily went to prepare the food boxes.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
We've had lunch.
Hua Yan recounted the incident of reprimanding Consort Guo to Consort Chun.
Consort Chun sighed, "It's not even certain whether this child will be a prince, yet she's already starting to plan for it. Isn't that a bit ruthless?"
Aunt Mei chimed in, "Although Consort Shen is the Empress's person, Consort Guo's intention to harm others is chilling."
Ruizhu, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but interject: "In my opinion, Consort Guo is a very scheming person, while Consort Shen is of a good nature. Although she is willful, she has never mistreated the palace servants. Once, when I went to Shujing Palace to deliver a message for Your Highness, I saw that Yuehuan accidentally spilled the soup. Consort Shen only said a few words and did not really get angry."
Mingyue rolled her eyes. "It's just a little soup spilled. We can just replace it with another one. Is it really worth praising me for not getting angry?"
Ruizhu protested, "Our Lady is kind and benevolent, that's fine. But after being a servant for so long, I'm afraid of comparisons. Once before the New Year, I went to Consort Qu's palace to deliver charcoal, and a maid who was combing her hair was punished for simply hurting Consort Qu while doing her makeup, and was made to kneel in the snow..."
After delivering the food box, Mengzhu and Ruizhu returned to Huining Palace, bringing back the news.
Just as Hua Yan had guessed, the Li family of Zhao County had gotten into big trouble—the two vaguely learned that it involved the Grand Canal and smuggled salt.
Xiao Nianzi learned more details: "I heard that when the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review woke up one night, there was a ledger on his desk in his study showing that the Transport Commissioner and the Li family had colluded in smuggling. It involved more than ten officials of various ranks, including the Inspector of Grain Transport and the Director of the Granary."
Hua Yan frowned, thinking to herself that the Jiang family was probably taking advantage of her misfortune.
However, what Hua Yan didn't know was that Tang Xian, that old fox, had already secretly inspected the south of the Yangtze River before the new year by imperial decree. He was also the one who secretly instigated this matter behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could the Jiang family have obtained the "evidence" so hastily?
"I'm afraid Consort Rong will be affected," Consort Chun said after a moment's thought.
Hua Yan nodded, "Serving at Changchun Garden is out of the question."
......
Renming Hall.
The Empress was in a very good mood, and Granny Gui also brought some good news.
"Your Majesty, the General has sent word that the Young General has personally gone to the southwest to find a female doctor. Once she arrives at the Changchun Garden Palace, she can take Your Majesty's pulse there."
The Empress clapped her hands, her smile deepening. Thinking of her imminent departure from the palace, she said, "Zhixue, go to Hanxiang Pavilion and summon Consort Song to see me."
While instructing Consort Song to take good care of Consort Shen during her pregnancy, the Empress also prepared for her trip to the imperial palace.
into the night.
Hua Yan rode in a palanquin to the Funing Palace. As soon as she stepped into the bedchamber, she saw that the Emperor seemed to be waiting for her.
She had visited the palace many times before and knew that the Emperor preferred women who were poised and dignified, so she had never deliberately restrained herself. Now, by the candlelight, she looked up and saw that the Emperor's expression was relaxed, with not a trace of gloom between his brows.
Hua Yan instantly understood that the things the Li family had done were probably all under his control.
As the beauty walked towards him step by step, the emperor's lips curled up slightly, and his eyes made no attempt to hide his favoritism towards her, especially when he saw the golden phoenix hairpin he had bestowed upon her in her hair.
After embracing the beauty for a moment, the Emperor spoke slowly: "I intend to appoint Minister Zhou as the Transport Commissioner. What do you think, Shu'er?"