Prince Qi was guided into the side hall. He was a little surprised that the consort dowager was not in the main hall. What was there to do in the side hall?
When he entered the side hall and lifted the thick curtain, the aroma became even stronger. Prince Qi even heard the gurgling sound of the heating pot.
Prince Qi had no time to think as he took off his cloak and greeted the consort dowager: “This son greets the consort dowager and pays his respects.”
“Prince Qi. It must have been hard on you to take a trip on this snowy day. Get up!” Consort Dowager Hui motioned to the palace servants to quickly help Prince Qi up.
“Mother empress was worried about the consort dowager’s health and asked this son to send some royal food and other dishes for the consort dowager. Mother empress also said to have the consort dowager take care of her health; there is no need to go to pay respects,” Prince Qi said while bowing.
[Muhou (母后) means mother empress, a term for princes and princesses to call the empress, even if they are not the empress’s biological children]
“Thank jiejie for thinking of me.” Consort Dowager Hui had no interest in royal food. The taste was the same every time.
Besides, it was likely the case that the royal dishes were already cold and tasteless.
Fang-momo took a few royal dishes out, and it turned out that they really were cold. “This servant will have the dining room heat them up?”
Consort Dowager Hui nodded; she was not a person who deprived herself for the sake of maintaining face.
Prince Qi stood aside, pretending he hadn’t heard the slightly-disrespectful words.
“The snow is heavy outside, so you don’t need to go back—just eat here. Have someone go back and inform them.” Consort Dowager Hui looked at the heavy snow outside, pretending to be polite.
Prince Qi knew that he should refuse. He glanced at the wind and snow outside, then smelled the scent in the air. Prince Qi couldn’t voice his refusal. He also wanted to indulge once in a while—it should be okay, right?
“Then, I thank the consort dowager for her kindness and hospitality,” Prince Qi replied with a smile.
…
Consort Dowager Hui did not expect that Prince Qi would agree. She put on a smile and asked people to prepare some hotpot for him.
Along with the hotpot, there were various vegetables and meat. In addition to the things in front of Prince Qi, there was also something behind the screen.
Prince Qi found that there was a person behind the screen. At the time when he had just come in, he had found that the layout was off—but it was the palace where the consort dowager lived, so he couldn’t simply casually look around. Only at this moment did he find out that someone was behind the screen.
He suddenly thought of those palace rumors.
In his opinion, the consort dowager was indeed a little too kind to that court lady. But, in this deep palace, everyone had their own secrets, more or less. He had no intention of pursuing it.
In his planning, there was no such thing as Consort Dowager Hui. After all, when Consort Dowager Hui had appeared, his mother had already been deceased for many years. Moreover, Consort Dowager Hui herself did not want to enter the palace in the first place—and when she entered the palace in the end, it could only be said that it was a mistake!
Behind the screen, Li Huairou felt a bit bored. She wasn’t afraid of Prince Qi. After all, she had transmigrated so many times and seen people of all kinds, and many of them were more ruthless and cruel than Prince Qi. It was just that Prince Qi was here, so she couldn’t speak.
In desperation, Li Huairou could only turn her grief and anger into appetite; her hunger then grew.
Prince Qi was a little dumbfounded. Who was that person with such a good appetite behind the screen?! This was the third time she’d ordered more dishes. In order to keep in shape, the women in the palace ate almost like birds at each meal. Few women could eat this way.
Had it not been for Consort Dowager Hui’s character and the guards in the palace, Prince Qi would have suspected that the person behind the screen was a man.
He looked at Consort Dowager Hui again. Her face was full of smiles, and she looked at the back of the screen with that grin on her face, unknowingly eating a lot.
Prince Qi could only immerse himself in his embarrassment.
When he walked out of Qingning Palace and touched his bulging belly, Prince Qi was a little regretful. How could he unknowingly eat so much? He was so full that, just now, he’d even had a very big hiccup! Thinking of the eyes of the consort dowager and those palace servants looking at him, he was embarrassed and wanted to find a place to seclude himself and sink into the earth on the spot!
It wasn’t in line with his usual image! Too shameful.
The snow was still falling, but it had already grown much lighter. Prince Qi turned his head and looked at the plaque, which was engraved with the three characters of “Qingning Palace”. In the years before the death of his father emperor, he had learned that he did not have the sharpness and courage of the past; he just wanted to pretend to be peaceful. It was probably because of Consort Dowager Hui’s influence!
[Fuhuang (父皇) means father emperor, a term used by the princes and princesses to call the emperor]
With such a flower around, everyone would lose their fighting spirit. It seemed that in the future, it would be better for him to come to Qingning Palace less.
When Prince Qi returned, the palace banquet was over, and the empress dowager had returned to Ningsheng Palace.
Prince Qi went to Ningsheng Palace, but the empress dowager was already resting. The palace people want to pass his message on to her. Prince Qi hurriedly stopped them. “Don’t disturb mother empress’s rest. Momo just needs to inform her after she wakes up. I shall leave the palace now.”
“Your Royal Highness, the empress dowager said that the snowy road is slippery, and that Your Highness should take a sedan chair to leave the palace!” the momo quickly replied.
“No need, momo. You know me—I love this snowy scenery. It’s great to walk in the snow!” Prince Qi grinned heartily.
“So Your Highness is still like this!” the momo exclaimed with a smile.
Prince Qi turned and left Ningsheng Palace, but did not immediately leave the palace. Instead, he took a detour to the plum grove. “The white snow and red plum flowers are most beautiful. This prince is going to appreciate the plum blossoms. You need not follow; I shall go alone.”
[Benwang (本王), “this prince”, is used by the prince to refer himself in place of “I”]
Inside the plum grove, a woman with the appearance of a court lady heard the sound of footsteps behind her and turned around.
When Prince Qi saw the women, his expression fell a little. “Yingyue, why are you here? What is the matter you needed to find this prince for?”
“My lady wants to ask Your Highness for help. In addition, this servant heard that Your Highness did not participate in the palace banquet today and was worried. This servant wanted to see Your Highness, so she volunteered to come meet Your Highness,” the court lady named Yingyue softly explained.
At the palace banquet, the emperor restored the noble consort’s position, which made Concubine Ling very sad. After experiencing this sadness, the wool fell from her eyes, and she finally decided to fight for favor. Thinking about it, only Prince Qi could help her; that was why Yingyue had come to find him.
“This prince is fine, and you don’t have to worry.” Prince Qi smiled, then looked Yingyue up and down. “You look very nice in that blue dress today, especially against the background of white snow and red plum blossoms.”
Yingyue was ecstatic. “Really?”
Prince Qi nodded sincerely.
Yingyue was overjoyed. Her face was a little shy as she looked down at her blue dress. She used to only like goose yellow, cherry blossom pink, and other colors. When her lady had given her this blue-colored palace dress, she’d been a little unhappy. So, did His Highness like her in blue clothes?
“In fact, Concubine Ling looks good in red—red flowers and green leaves are the best match. It’s a pity that Concubine Ling thinks red is tacky, so she doesn’t want to wear it,” Prince Qi added.
Yingyue’s excitement suddenly sank. Red flowers and green leaves? So it turns out that, in His Highness’s heart, I’ve always been the backdrop? What’s so good about Concubine Ling, that she makes His Highness so worried and obsessed?
Yingyue was a court lady who had been transferred to Concubine Ling’s side from the Clothing Bureau before. At first, she was very grateful to Concubine Ling; after all, it was Concubine Ling who had arranged for her transferral from the Clothing Bureau to Yunxian Palace, straight from hell to heaven.
And Concubine Ling was so beautiful. No wonder the emperor had taken her into his heart.
But after a long time, Yingyue’s attitude slowly changed.
His Highness was a good person. She couldn’t bear to see His Highness being wronged!
Concubine Ling already had so many things! Why did she still have to occupy His Highness’s heart?
Yingyue knew that she was wrong, but she couldn’t control her thoughts. His Highness was so gentle and so considerate to her, a little court lady. He always had a smile, and he was considerate.
“By the way, Yingyue, you said that Concubine Ling requested my help. What’s going on?” Prince Qi asked.
Yingyue smiled and lowered her gaze. “My lady said that she thinks…” Yingyue leaned into Prince Qi’s ear and whispered something.
This was the first time she’d gotten so close to His Highness, and she could hardly conceal the excitement in her heart.
After Yingyue finished speaking, she raised her head to look at Prince Qi, and she saw the fleeting sadness on his face. In her heart, she felt more indignant for the prince.
Why did Concubine Ling have to do this to His Highness! She knew what the prince felt for her, but she still ignored it. That was all. Because of her status, it was impossible for her and the prince to further develop their relationship, so why did she meet with the prince so often and have the prince help her regain her favor?!
This was so cruel to the prince! How could Concubine Ling have such a hard heart?!
“Alright, I understand. Go back and tell Concubine Ling that this matter will be this prince’s responsibility. She’ll be satisfied for sure.” Prince Qi gave a reluctant smile.
Then he turned around to leave.
After walking a few steps, he thought of something else and turned around to say, “It’s cold outside, so go back quickly! If there is something that needs to be done on this snowy day, just let Xiaoluzi and the others do it.”
After that, he turned around and walked away, step by step.
Yingyue didn’t know whether it was her imagination, but she looked at the prince’s back, only to feel that his steps were heavy.
She understood the prince’s feelings. The prince must be very sad now, and he needed someone to comfort him and stay by his side!
Unfortunately, she was not qualified.
Li Huairou was still recuperating until the end of February before finally being allowed to go outside.
Standing in the corridor and feeling the warm spring sun, Li Huairou stretched out comfortably, and then moved her limbs while twisting her neck and bending over.
Qi-momo saw her from not far away. With a righteous temper, she was just about to step forward to stop Li Huairou; what did she think a girl was supposed to look like? But she was held back by Fang-momo, who signaled for her to look in another direction.
Qi-momo looked over and saw Consort Dowager Hui, who was smiling and watching Li Huairou.
“The consort dowager is happy. Let her do what she wants!” Fang-momo urged. In the days when Huairou was ill, Qingning Palace was too quiet, and there was no spirit at all; even Fang-momo was a little uncomfortable, let alone the consort dowager.
Qi-momo could only give up. She turned around and made a detour. Forget it. If she wasn’t looking directly at it, she wouldn’t be as angry.
Li Huairou moved her body around for a while. Then she turned around to see Consort Dowager Hui leaning against the window and looking at her with a smile. Fearing that she would once again be caught by Consort Dowager Hui and forced to tell that story, she hurried to speak first: “Consort dowager, I’m going to Taiye Pond to catch a few fish and add a few extra dishes for today’s lunch!”
Then she ran away.
Fang-momo looked at Consort Dowager Hui, and Consort Dowager Hui looked up. “Today is a good day. Let’s go out too!”
Fang-momo smiled and nodded. She quickly ordered someone to make preparations.
Finally, Consort Dowager Hui found Li Huairou at Taiye Pool.
Li Huairou sat on the edge of the pool with a banana leaf on her head, holding a bamboo pole in her hand.
Consort Dowager Hui stood to one side and watched for a long time. She shook her head in disgust. “With this fishing rod, how could it be possible to catch any fish? Momo.”
Fang-momo hurriedly turned around to pick a fishing rod up and have a little eunuch put on some good bait. She passed it to Consort Dowager Hui, then ordered someone to move a chair over, cushioned the chair with a goose feather pillow, and helped Consort Dowager Hui sit on it. Then she took a blanket and put it on the Consort Dowager’s lap.
Behind her, a court lady was holding an umbrella to shield Consort Dowager Hui from the sun, while another massaged Consort Dowager Hui’s shoulders.
How does this posture look at all like that of someone who’s fishing?
The corners of Li Huairou’s mouth twitched slightly.
Another person whose mouth was twitching was the eunuch—the chief of the imperial garden—who had come after hearing the news. His distorted expression became even worse when he saw Consort Dowager Hui successfully catching a golden koi.
Gods, this was a golden koi—a koi that a thousand gold could hardly buy! His Royal Highness Prince Qi had spent a lot of time buying a dozen of them and keeping them in a corner of Taiye Pool. The empress dowager and the emperor liked it so much that they came here to watch the fish every day.
Why did the madam have to choose this huge Taiye Pool?!
