20demayo Chapter 481 The undercurrent is surging
Chapter 481 The undercurrent is surging
"Master, I have just received reliable news that the Emperor will be personally visiting Ganlu Temple to burn incense soon. I heard that it seems that because of the misfortunes that happened to Prince Guo and Prince Yong'an, he is going to pray for the Emperor's descendants."
Songzhi walked hurriedly into the hall with an anxious look on her face to report.
Concubine Hua leisurely took a sip of the osmanthus honey in her hand, with a look of indifference in her eyes.
"How can we arbitrarily interfere with the Emperor's whereabouts? He can go wherever he wants. What does it have to do with me?"
Seeing her master's lazy look, Songzhi became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Master, Zhen Huan is currently cultivating in Ganlu Temple. If the Emperor were to encounter her during this trip and develop other thoughts about her, the consequences would be disastrous!"
"Your Majesty, he... can't do anything. Even if Zhen Huan is lucky enough to return to the palace, I will not be afraid of her at all."
Concubine Hua gently nudged Songzhi and said, "The osmanthus honey from Lingrong is still the best. Go make a cup too to relieve your restlessness."
Songzhi stretched her head and saw the new honey pot, which was only less than the depth of her little finger nail, and suddenly her eyes went dark.
"Your Highness, why did you secretly take the honey jar from the tea room in the Yangxin Palace? If you really wanted to drink it, why didn't you ask Noble Concubine Shu for it directly?"
The emperor also has a fixed amount of osmanthus honey.
The master has to get some back every month. What will the emperor think if this goes on for a long time?
Concubine Hua waved her hand nonchalantly and said nonchalantly.
"How could the Emperor mind a mere jar of osmanthus honey? Besides, it has a unique flavor since it's 'borrowed' from the Emperor."
"Our relationship with Yongshou Palace cannot be made public. It would be better to snatch this osmanthus honey from the emperor."
Songzhi was helpless about Concubine Hua's indifferent attitude. She stomped her feet, turned around and ran towards Yongshou Palace.
"Empress Shu, news has come from the Yangxin Palace... The Emperor intends to go to Ganlu Temple to pray. My master... What do you think?"
"Songzhi, this lady..."
An Lingrong originally wanted to say that she agreed with Concubine Hua and to ignore the matter for the time being.
Only by locking Zhen Huan in the palace can the shadow of Queen Chun Yuan be eliminated from her.
But on second thought, the reason why Songzhi was so anxious was probably because Concubine Hua did not reveal to her the complicated relationship between the Emperor, Prince Guo and Zhen Huan.
She pretended to think for a moment and spoke in a low voice.
"Songzhi, there are only two concubines in the harem now. Sister Nian and I are attracting attention for our every move. Please spread the news that the emperor is going to Ganlu Temple to pray. Especially make sure to let Concubine Hui, Concubine Qi, and Concubine He know."
"Your Majesty, this is a brilliant move. Concubine He once betrayed her master and climbed into the emperor's bed, and Concubine Qi's father was the culprit who caused the Zhen family to be exiled. If these two knew that the emperor was going to Ganlu Temple, they would definitely be the most nervous in the entire harem."
Songzhi thought that An Lingrong also mentioned Shen Meiyu, and she asked in confusion.
"Your Majesty, this Concubine Hui and Zhen are like sisters. If she knew that the Emperor was going to Ganlu Temple, she would definitely try every possible way to plead for Zhen."
"Why did you ask this servant to inform her as well?"
An Lingrong signaled Baoge to pass the prepared osmanthus honey water to Songzhi.
She explained with a smile.
"Just because Zhen Huan's biological daughter, Princess Longyue, was registered under Shen Meizhuang's name, these two are destined to be at odds with each other."
The most important thing is that Shen Meizhuang had already seen through Zhen Huan's true face, and even secretly made a move against her when Zhen Huan was confined to Shuyuxuan.
An Lingrong was not worried at all that Shen Meizhuang would try her best to help her adopted daughter's biological mother.
News came from Chuxiu Palace that Shen Meizhuang was being taken care of by the strict and meticulous Nanny Jia, who was sent by the Emperor. The baby in her womb was being taken care of very well and nothing went wrong with her anymore.
The palace servants were all saying that Concubine Hui was virtuous and generous. She was afraid that Princess Longyue would feel uncomfortable after she became pregnant, so she treated her even better than before.
When An Lingrong heard this, she knew that Shen Meiyu would not be able to find a chance to get rid of the baby in her belly. In a panic, she regarded Longyue as her life-saving straw.
As long as Longyue is always registered under her name, if the situation gets bad one day, she can take the initiative to find the emperor and confess her guilt, and she will also have the nerve to ask the emperor not to implicate her family.
Perhaps among the three people An Lingrong just mentioned, the one who least wanted Zhen Huan to return to the palace was Shen Meizhuang.
"Thank you for your guidance, Madam Shu Guifei. I will have my servants pass on the message."
Songzhi bowed respectfully, then she secretly glanced at An Lingrong and spoke awkwardly.
"My Lady, my master has been craving sweets lately. Could you please give up your sweets and give me a jar of osmanthus honey?"
An Lingrong looked at Songzhi in surprise.
"Didn't Sister Nian take two jars from the Emperor's tea room? One jar a month is more than enough for her. Imperial Physician Wei says that neither honey nor sugar should be consumed in excess, otherwise it will cause a fatal toothache."
"Empress Shu, if the Emperor knew about this, it would not be good."
Songzhi felt her face burning. A noble concubine who held the Phoenix Seal sent someone to steal nectar from the emperor's tea room. If this were to get out, who knows how big a joke it would become.
"Songzhi, don't forget how Sister Nian was viewed by others. If she had been well-behaved, that would have been a big problem."
An Lingrong advised in a low voice.
"Don't worry, I accidentally discovered that Sister Nian also likes to drink osmanthus honey, so I asked Baoge to increase the supply of osmanthus honey in Yangxin Palace."
"I suspect the Emperor knows about Concubine Hua taking osmanthus honey from the tea room."
"If I ever stop supplying the Yangxin Palace, Sister Nian's share won't be cut off."
In the past, Concubine Hua was full of flaws, but after Nian Gengrao passed away, she unexpectedly settled down.
This is also the reason why An Lingrong did not stop Concubine Hua in time when she discovered that she sometimes acted in a biased manner.
Who made there a suspicious emperor in this palace?
Even she herself could not show too close to Hongzhan, otherwise the emperor would say in words and deeds that she had not learned the rules well.
Su Peisheng, who was temporarily exiled from the palace, is a lesson for us.
After listening to An Lingrong's explanation, Songzhi thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense.
From then on, whenever there was something that her master didn't care about, she would come to An Lingrong for advice.
Of course, that’s a story for later!
Songzhi worked efficiently, and before dark all the masters in the harem knew that the emperor was going to Ganlu Temple to pray for blessings.
What was rare was that everyone tacitly remained silent, and no one rashly went to the Yangxin Palace to ask the emperor to withdraw his order to leave the palace to pray for blessings.
As for what was going on behind the scenes between them, An Lingrong, who was walking with Hongyao and Zhaohua in the backyard to digest their food, didn't care.