Huang Quan’s forehead was covered in sweat by Feng Yu Heng’s shouting. Raising a hand, she wiped her forehead and helplessly said: “Young miss, can we change the way you shout? Those that do not know might assume something is happening inside the room.”
At that time, Feng Yu Heng was lying down on a soft sofa, while Huang Quan massaged her shoulders.
“However, speaking about it. The dumplings young miss made yesterday were too delicious!” Huang Quan massaged while praising, “Even the imperial chefs aren’t able to create such a good flavor.”
Feng Yu Heng rolled her eyes, “For the sake of making those dumplings for everyone, I nearly died from exhaustion. It was much more tiring for me than everyone else! Up a little higher and put in some more strength.” It was rare for her to be able to receive a massage from someone else, and it was quite good. Speaking of those dumplings, it was nothing more than her finding some filling in her pharmacy space and taking it out. Bringing something from the 21st century to this era would always result in something of a different flavor. Moreover, she had also added some medical herbs inside. With the aromas of medical herbs and meat mingling together, the flavor was just right.
“Young miss, the news that you have been spreading has caused everyone to explode. The elder madam spends all day sending people over here to inquire. Regardless of whether it’s via the Liu courtyard or the main entrance of the manor, they have all been contacted. Even though they have not entered once, they have not given up at all. Jin Zhen also came over once. Chen Yu and Fen Dai are doing the same thing the elder madam is and are sending people over all day long. They do not come forward, but they do not leave either. But it is concubine mother An’s side that is most peaceful. They once sent over some pickled vegetables she made herself. After that, they did not come again.”
Huang Quan reported the entirety of Tong Sheng pavilion’s situation in one breath. At the end, she did not forget to lament: “Each and every single member of the Feng family is a coward.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed, “They were able to cause this much trouble even though they are cowards. If they were not cowards, wouldn’t the heavens be overturned? Today, we must pay more attention to the movements outside. Also, I want you to personally go over to concubine mother An’s side and tell her to remain calm for a little while longer. There is no need to worry. If grandmother wants Xiang Rong to visit the Chun Palace to inquire about something, Xiang Rong should just go and visit. She just needs to treat it as dropping in. Perhaps there will be some even bigger movements at today’s court session. Just wait and see, who in the Feng family is familiar and who is distant. This will reveal it.”
Huang Quan nodded, “Young miss, do not worry. This servant has remembered.”
“Un.” She nodded, “Both Wang Chuan and Qing Yu are not here, so you will need to keep more of an eye on the manor. If we are truly lacking too many people, just borrow Qing Ling from mother’s side.” She paused for a moment then stood up from the sofa. Looking at Huang Quan, she very seriously said to her: “There is another matter for you to do right now.”
“Young miss, please speak.”
“Go to the kitchen and bring another plate of dumplings. I’m hungry.”
Huang Quan’s eyes immediately became wide, “You’re still eating? Young miss, you just ate 26 two hours ago!”
“Un.” Feng Yu Heng did not refute it, but she continued to stress, “I am currently growing. I should be eating more. Go quickly.”
As Feng Yu Heng predicted, the court session the next day was wild like a gathering storm. The Emperor reprimanded the ninth prince, whom he had always favored. Not only did he scold him for being lazy and disrespectful, he also pointed at his legs and called him a worthless person. The ninth prince became furious and gave the Emperor no face, as he turned and left the court. As for the Emperor, he departed from his usual actions and turned to the eldest prince, Xuan Tian Qi, and said: “Son truly is the best. My Da Shun has always supported the eldest and the one born of the first wife. Presently, the main palace does not have a son, so We have great expectations for Qi’er as the eldest son.”
With this, the morning court session caused every official to be dazed.
The eldest prince, Xuan Tian Qi, was strictly a business person. Over the years, he had very rarely asked about the matters of the court, unless the Emperor personally called for him to appear. Otherwise, he would not even attend the court sessions. The people had fully thought the eldest prince was fully devoted to doing business and earning money. He was different from the the people who competed for the position of born of the first wife like the third prince. In the end, however, he was the son of the Emperor. Otherwise, why would the Emperor suddenly say such a thing. When they applied it to the Emperor’s image, did it look out of place?
Xuan Tian Ye coldly turned his gaze towards Xuan Tian Qi, his mind returning to the words Feng Yu Heng had said that night at the Refined Deity Building “Your earrings are made of the same material as the jade gourd elder brother wore at the Mid-Autumn banquet.” Could it be that it was true?
That was not the only unexpected event from the morning’s court session. From Bu Cong’s disappearance, to head imperial concubine Bu’s death, to Bu Ni Shang being sent to a nunnery, everyone believe that the Bu family was at an end. The Emperor, however, promoted Bu Bai Qi to standard third rank. As for the deceased Bu Bai Ping, she regained the title of head imperial concubine and was moved to the Imperial Mausoleum.
With these words, the return of the Bu family to the court was announced.
Some people recalled how they had heard that the Bu family’s matriarch had entered the palace a few days prior. Could it be that the Emperor made the decision at that time?
The day’s morning court session filled everyone’s minds with question marks. Everyone had countless questions; however, nobody ever noticed the devilish smile on the Emperor’s face, as he stood next to the dragon throne.
“Ming’er was right. Messing with the officials from time to time is quite entertaining.” The Emperor asked Zhang Yuan, who stood at his side: “Tell me, Us reprimanding Ming’er like that, will she get angry?”
Zhang Yuan naturally understood who the Emperor was referring to by “she.” Thus he quickly said: “Imperial concubine Yun has never paid any attention to the happenings of the court. Moreover, this idea was provided by the ninth prince. His Highness must have told her about it ahead of time.”
The Emperor nodded, but he still let out a long sigh, “We truly do hope that she could angrily charge out of Winter Moon Palace to come settle debts with Us. Like that, We could see her once more. Sometimes, I feel that an argument would even be better than this.”
Inside Winter Moon Palace, Xuan Tian Hua was in the moon-viewing building and was playing a song called “Worry-Free Desire” to help imperial concubine Yun relax. Xuan Tian Ming was currently sitting in a soft chair and taking bites from a pear.
Not long later, a palace maid went forward and whispered a few things into Xuan Tian Ming’s ear. Xuan Tian Ming then asked: “Court was dismissed so quickly? I thought that old man would continue to rant for a while.”
Xuan Tian Hua’s “Worry-Free Desire” was reaching its climax when it suddenly went up a chord, as though it had become a priceless zither, as the sound was clear and calming.
Imperial concubine Yun opened her eyes and looked at the two brothers before faintly saying: “This one has not seen that daughter-in-law for a long time.”
Xuan Tian Ming took another bite of his pear and replied: “Isn’t she currently hiding in her manor, pretending to have been scolded. The dumplings that were delivered last night, did they taste good?”
Imperial concubine Yun nodded, “The dumplings were indeed very delicious.”
“She made them herself.”
Imperial concubine Yun casually picked up a small mirror that was at her side, “That girl always has something new and fresh. Like this mirror, its reflection is almost exactly like the person. The first time this one saw it, I believed that I had been enchanted.”
Xuan Tian Hua’s hands continued to move, as the song reached another high point. At the same time, he said: “Imperial concubine mother, where would there ever be a person who would say they had been enchanted.”
Imperial concubine Yun giggled, “Hua’er really knows how to make imperial concubine mother laugh. But speaking of the dumplings, you two both had a chance to eat them, right? The flavor is truly too much better than what is made by the chefs in the palace. This imperial palace truly is becoming less and less ideal. It can not even make food properly.” Her words were filled with emotion and seemed to be careless, but if it were said by another imperial concubine, not even one hundred lives would be enough.
Xuan Tian Ming tugged the corners of his lips into a sly smile: “Speaking of, that nuisance of a throne is something I do not want; however, if I do get it, you can live a better life.”
“I do not need you worrying about me.” Imperial concubine Yun’s smile was even more sly, “Whenever that old man dies, this one will no longer need to stay in this palace. When that time comes, I will be live freely and happily. Who would want to continue suffering with you.”
Xuan Tian Hua played and laughed, “That’s good too.”
“Nobody can be relied upon. You two just take care of yourselves. None of that guy’s sons allows others to feel at ease. You two brothers need to be more careful. Don’t allow for others to plot against you.”
“Don’t worry about that sort of thing.” Xuan Tian Ming consoled her, “If there’s no problem, then look in the mirror some more. Take a look to see if there are any wrinkles that have appeared on your face.”
Imperial concubine Yun rolled her eyes but her expression sank, “Your legs and face, this one still feels uneasy looking at them.”
Finally, “Worry-Free Desire” came to an end, and the final string on the instrument ceased moving. Xuan Tian Hua looked at the two and said: “Ming’er just said yesterday that this mask looked quite good.”
“Either way, it is not as good as the face this one gave birth to.” Imperial concubine Yun was very satisfied with the product she created, “That’s right.” She finally remembered an important matter, “That phoenix hairpin has been secured properly?”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “The things taken care of by Heng Heng, none can find.”
Xuan Tian Hua asked him: “I also think it’s odd. Something the deity with miraculous hands was unable to find, where exactly did younger sister hide it? That day, she had clearly put it into her sleeve before all of our eyes. How was it that the divine thief acted three times yet failed to acquire it?”
Xuan Tian Ming smiled even more devilishly this time. It seemed as though they had spoken about something he was very proud of, as he raised his head slightly higher. But when he opened his mouth, he still said: “I also do not know. When it comes to her matters, I will ask fewer questions.”
Imperial concubine Yun was slightly stunned, “How could you ask fewer questions? Aren’t you quite interested in that girl?”
“It’s because I am interested that I do not ask.” Xuan Tian Ming’s response was very matter of fact, “When I first met her in the mountains of the Northwest, she had some odd things. At that time, I was severely injured. She said it was medicine, and it was medicine. She let me use it, and I did not worry and used it. I did not ask. So long as I remember that she will not harm me, it is fine.”
The hand Xuan Tian Hua had on the instrument slightly moved, causing the string to slightly vibrate. It seemed as though something in his mind clicked, as something connected, but it was not too profound, as he immediately calmed down.
“People who do not ask questions can be considered good matches. Ming’er, you truly are fortunate.”
Imperial concubine Yun suddenly stretched while yawning then stood up. Holding her long dress, she walked towards the outside, “But that poor cat of mine. Bu family, since you guys want to play, then stick around for a while longer. Otherwise, this one will always feel that Bu Ni Shang being sent to a nunnery was too good for her.
When she finished speaking, she had already walked out onto the moon-viewing platform.
Ming and Hua looked at each other and smiled bitterly. This imperial concubine mother lived even more casually than the two of them did.
In the Feng manor’s Shu Ya courtyard, granny Zhao was chatting with the matriarch, “News came from the court saying that the ninth prince has no hope of becoming the Emperor because of his legs. He also lost the Emperor’s favor, at the same time, our second young miss also lost his favor. I heard that even imperial daughter Wu Yang is avoiding second young miss. That day this old servant went to pick up second young miss from the palace, did I not say I saw the Bu family’s matriarch coming out from the palace. Sure enough, the Bu family’s Lord Bu was promoted to the standard third rank, and even head imperial concubine Bu was re-conferred her title. Thinking about it, at that time, the Bu family had offended imperial concubine Yun. Now that the ninth prince has lost his influence, the Emperor no longer cares about imperial concubine Yun. It seems that he is about to begin compensating the Bu family.”
Granny Zhao’s words caused the matriarch to become more and more panicked. Just as she wanted to ask a few more questions, a servant quickly walked in and bowed, saying: “Elder madam, someone from the palace has come. The two grannies at the fourth young miss’ side have been called back.”