The morning sun was bright, and rays of sunlight shone into the front hall of the Taiwei Mansion. Ji Ruoyu happened to come to the front hall to drink tea and chat with Gao Xinman.
While the mother and daughter were enjoying their time together, Ji Pingchuan left the court. As soon as he entered the door, he saw his wife and daughter waiting for him, and his heart warmed up in an instant, but when he thought of the trivial matters of the morning court just now, his mood suddenly changed.
"You're back? Why are you back so early today? Come and have some tea to warm your body." Gao Xinman stepped forward to take off Ji Pingchuan's cloak. "Fortunately, it's not too cold today." Ji Pingchuan sat down and drank a sip of tea. Thinking of the troubles of the previous dynasty, his eyebrows were wrinkled.
Gao Xinman saw that Ji Pingchuan was in a bad mood, and she said softly: "My husband, what are your troubles? Why don't you tell me and Ayu?" Ji Pingchuan sighed and said slowly: "Your Majesty adjourned the court today, so he came back early."
Gao Xinman was puzzled: "Then why is your husband frowning?" Ji Pingchuan frowned even deeper when he thought of this: "The reason why your Majesty adjourned the court was not because of illness, but because he was tempted by the concubines..."
"Concubines? Doesn't your Majesty rarely go in and out of the harem on weekdays? And doesn't he indulge in women? How could it be..." Although Gao Xinman didn't understand the things of the previous dynasty, she occasionally heard some groundless rumors.
"It was the beautiful Rou who entered the palace yesterday..." Ji Pingchuan said this, and Ji Ruoyu was stunned "Beautiful Rou?"
"What? Does Ayu recognize this person?" Ji Pingchuan couldn't help asking after seeing Ji Ruoyu's reaction. "Not that I know her. Yesterday, I went to the Minister's Mansion and heard Sister Mengqiu tell me a lot about Rou Meiren... I heard that Rou Meiren is very beautiful. I thought it was a bit exaggerated when I first heard it, but now it sounds somewhat credible."
Gao Xinman was already guessing Rou Meiren's appearance, while Ji Pingchuan's brows were still furrowed. He muttered to himself: "I'm afraid this is not a good thing..."
After speaking, he looked at the two of them and said: "This woman is not simple... The censors were already dissatisfied with Rou Meiren because of the position yesterday, and this happened again today... I'm afraid Your Majesty..." Before Ji Pingchuan finished speaking, the two of them had already understood.
"But if Rou Meiren's entry into the palace can make the Queen Mother's condition better, she can escape." After speaking, Ji Pingchuan looked at his wife and daughter and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty is not that kind of person..." Ji Pingchuan said this, and he himself could not guarantee it.
On the other side, Teng Haojue had already entered the palace to visit Concubine Shu. He had already learned about today's news before entering the palace, and he also felt that this matter was not simple.
When he arrived at Chuxiu Palace, Teng Haojue saw Concubine Shu's head nanny Lin standing at the palace gate. Nanny Lin saw Teng Haojue coming and hurried to greet him, lowering her voice and saying to him: "Your Highness, you are finally here. The Queen is in a bad mood today."
Teng Haojue glanced at Chuxiu Palace, as if he could see through the thick walls and see through the people inside. "Is it because of what happened this morning?" Teng Haojue said in a calm tone.
"Yes and no. The Queen has been worried about the assassination of the Highness a few days ago. What happened yesterday and today... Your Highness, you also know that the Queen is infatuated with His Majesty..." Teng Haojue naturally knew that his father had not come to rest in the mother's palace for several years, and even if he came, he would just sit for a while and leave.
Teng Haojue said no more and entered Chuxiu Palace. As soon as she entered the palace, she saw Concubine Shu leaning on a chair, her eyes were dull. When she saw Teng Haojue, she forced herself to smile and greeted him, "Jue'er is here. Come and sit here, mother."
After Teng Haojue sat down, he said to Concubine Shu, "Forgive me, mother, I was busy a few days ago and couldn't come to the palace to pay my respects to you in time." Concubine Shu muttered, "It's okay, you are my son, how can a mother and a child be fussy... Nanny Lin, go get Jue'er's favorite snacks." Nanny Lin just agreed when she was interrupted by Teng Haojue, "Nanny Lin, get some more plum cakes."
Concubine Shu looked at her son's unusual behavior and couldn't help but doubt, "Jue'er, don't you always dislike sweet desserts?"
Teng Haojue seemed to have thought of something and was a little embarrassed to say, "Mother, just treat it as your son trying something new." Concubine Shu was an experienced person after all, and she could see that Teng Haojue was different at a glance.
"Jue'er, you don't have a favorite girl, do you?" Teng Haojue didn't say anything, but just lowered his head, but his red ears had already betrayed him.
"Tell mother, whose daughter is this?" Shufei's greatest wish is to see her children get married, and she was naturally overjoyed to know that her son has a favorite girl.
"She is the second daughter of Taiwei Ji Pingchuan, named Ji Ruoyu." When Teng Haojue said the name of the girl he admired, his voice was particularly gentle.
"Ji Ruoyu? Nice name, what is she like? How old is she? What's her personality like?" Shufei asked a series of questions, which confused Teng Haojue.
"She is very nice and cute. She just came of age this year. She has a gentle and cheerful personality and is a good girl." Shufei was very satisfied after hearing this.
"Then go find your father and ask him to grant you a marriage!" Teng Haojue was helpless. "Mother... She doesn't know me yet..." As soon as he said this, he was interrupted by Concubine Shu. "What's so difficult about this? Mother, please invite her to the palace in a few days. You just wait here."
"Mother, you will damage her reputation... Mother, don't worry, I will find a chance myself. If it doesn't work, I will ask my father to grant me a marriage. Mother, do you think this method is good?" Although Concubine Shu didn't want to agree, she had to agree at this time. "You said so."
Teng Haojue nodded and agreed. At this time, Nanny Lin brought the snacks. Teng Haojue picked up a piece of plum blossom cake and put it in his mouth. It was sweet but not greasy, and there was a faint plum blossom flavor.
After half a quarter of an hour, Teng Haojue had left Chuxiu Palace, still holding the plum blossom cake from Concubine Shu's palace. The most important thing now is to go to the Yangxin Palace...
"Eunuch Fuen, is my father in there?" Upon arriving at the Yangxin Palace, Teng Haojue did not see Fulai, but only Fuen. "Greetings to Prince An, but His Majesty is not here..." Fuen said somewhat awkwardly.
"Father is not here? Then where is he?" Fu En wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and replied carefully: "Your Majesty is in Chenghuan Palace."
Chenghuan Palace is the palace closest to Yangxin Palace. As far as he can remember, no concubine has ever lived there. "Who lives in Chenghuan Palace now?"
Fu En replied: "Your Highness, it's the palace of Rou Meiren." Ah, it turned out to be her... It seems that my father really dotes on her and even gave her Chenghuan Palace. Seeing that Teng Haojue's face remained the same, Fu En boldly continued to speak: "Rou Meiren was still living in Cuiqing Palace yesterday. His Majesty gave her Chenghuan Palace early this morning."
"Oh? Thank you, eunuch. Then I will take my leave first. Please tell my father that I have been here." After Fu En agreed, Teng Haojue leaned over and left.
After leaving the palace, the first thing Teng Haojue did was not to return to the palace, but to secretly come to the Taiwei Mansion. He quietly climbed onto the eaves while no one was paying attention. He groped his way to the courtyard where Ji Ruoyu lived. Seeing that there was no one in the house, he came down carefully and placed the plum blossom cake he brought from the palace on the coffee table, with a small note he wrote on it. After finishing, Teng Haojue did not dare to stay for long, and climbed over the eaves and left.
Ji Ruoyu, who had just returned from the front hall, smelled a strong plum blossom scent as soon as she entered the house. She murmured to herself: "Could it be that Qiuyu made it for me secretly?" As soon as she opened the grease on the coffee table, the plum blossom smell became stronger. "Eh? There is also a small note?" After reading the small note, she looked around vigilantly, and after making sure that no one was there, she continued to think about who brought her the plum blossom cake?
The handwriting on the note was clear and angular, and it was obviously the handwriting of a man. But I haven't met many men... Could it be him?
When Ji Ruoyu thought that it might be sent by a mysterious man, she put away the note for some reason and took a bite of the mysterious plum blossom cake. Ji Ruoyu suddenly felt that the taste was a little familiar, as if she had eaten it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where it was.
After finishing the last bite of plum blossom cake, she carefully folded the oil paper and quietly went to the small kitchen to throw the oil paper into the toilet. Then pretending to be calm and returning to the yard, Ji Ruoyu kept thinking about where she had eaten this plum blossom cake, and accidentally fell asleep while thinking about it.
In Chuxiu Palace, Concubine Ren Yin happily shared the happy event with Nanny Lin after her son left. "Jue'er has a woman he loves. Do you think I should prepare a gift for Jue'er now?" After saying this, Ren Yin remembered the ancestral bracelet of the Ren family.
She reached down to the cabinet and took out a wooden box that looked a little old. The wooden box was square and a little small, and there was a little dust on it. Ren Yin brushed off the dust with her hand without caring, and carefully opened the wooden box.
There was only a bracelet in the wooden box. The bracelet was made of ruby, and there was something like a mechanism inside the bracelet. But Ren Yin had never opened it before, and didn't know what was hidden inside.
Ren Yin said to Nanny Lin excitedly, "Look, this is what my mother left me. She asked me to leave it to Jue'er's wife and pass it down from generation to generation." Just as Ren Yin was looking at the bracelet, the maid suddenly walked in. "Your Majesty, Eunuch Fulai is here."
"I pay my respects to your Majesty." Ren Yin was very surprised. She hadn't seen Fulai come to Chuxiu Palace for a long time.
"Get up. Is there something that His Majesty asked you to come?" Just when Ren Yin was thinking wildly and thought that Fulai was here to announce that she would sleep with him tonight. Fulai spoke up: "Your Majesty's oral order to deprive Concubine Xian of her rights and the rights of the six palaces, and Concubine Shu will temporarily assist the six palaces to do so."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ren Yin was confused. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, there has been no queen, so Concubine Xian has always been in charge of the six palaces. What happened today?
"Excuse me, eunuch, why did His Majesty issue this decree?" Fulai narrowed his eyes and explained, "Last night, Lady Rou served the emperor, but she had no idea how to serve the emperor. When His Majesty asked, he found out that no one sent a nanny to teach Lady Rou. Today, he found out that it was Concubine Xian who secretly instructed her to make His Majesty dislike Lady Rou..."
Ren Yin understood that Lady Rou was wronged, and Concubine Xian was deprived of the right to manage the six palaces. "By the way, my lady, His Majesty will come to see you tonight, so you should prepare to receive him."
After Lian Fulai left, Ren Yin was still in a daze. What happened today? Her son had a woman he loved, and she was chosen to manage the six palaces, and His Majesty would come back to see her tonight. This series of happy events made Ren Yin unable to recover.
At night, Teng Chengping really came to Chuxiu Palace as Fulai said. For tonight, Ren Yin dressed more exquisitely than usual.
"Greetings to His Majesty." Teng Chengping found a seat and sat down before asking her to stand up. "Shufei." As soon as Teng Chengping opened his mouth, Ren Yin answered, "I am here."
Anyone could see that Ren Yin was nervous and shy, but Teng Chengping didn't. He came here for only one purpose, and now he was thinking about Chu Zijing.
"I'll give you the power to manage the six palaces, you can't let me down." Ren Yin said nervously: "Yes, I will manage the six palaces well and will not let your majesty down."
"Also, Zijing is still young, you have to take good care of her. The Ministry of Internal Affairs doesn't have to pay for all her expenses, I'll pay for her." Ren Yin was dumbfounded when Teng Chengping said this.
"Shufei, it's getting late, I'll go back first. By the way, remember my words, don't let me down." After saying that, Teng Chengping got up and left.
"Hehe... So he came here for that woman... He didn't want to say a word to me even though his purpose was achieved..." Ren Yin fell to the floor in despair. Tears silently slid down her cheeks, and she didn't wipe them away and let them slide.
"My lady..." Nanny Lin also cried beside her, and finally hugged Ren Yin tightly in her arms: "My lady... haven't you been through this for the past few years? The emperor's heart is out of reach, my lady..."
"Yes, but I was still foolish enough to hope to get his true heart..." Nanny Lin was afraid that Ren Yin would go against Chu Zijing, so she quickly persuaded her: "My lady, don't you think that Rou Meiren is very similar to our princess? In fact, she was also helpless. The queen mother was seriously ill, and she was sent to the palace by her family. A girl of only fifteen or sixteen years old was forced to serve in the palace and serve the same age as her father... My lady, think about it, if it were the princess, the mother Would mother bear to see the princess marry like this? "
"No, yes, you are right. She is about the same age as my Yao'er, and she is still a little girl..." Seeing that Ren Yin had let it go, Nanny Lin continued, "So, madam, madam, please don't hate her, she can't help it..."
"I never said I hated her, it's not her fault, it's him..." After saying that, Ren Yin wiped away her tears, patted Nanny Lin and comforted her, "Madam, don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."
"With your words, I feel relieved..." After the two finished talking, Ren Yin rested alone on the bed.
How could she hate the innocent her? She only hated herself for falling in love with the most unmovable man in the world...