I only had one hour to talk to my family, so I quickly talked about the things at home, and that was enough.
Chu and Yang went to Qionghua Palace first, and Ye Jun went later after changing his clothes.
Along the way, I unexpectedly met Ning Lin.
"Greetings to Concubine Ming."
Logically, Ye Jun can be considered Ning Lin's sister-in-law, so she should pay her respects.
But Ye Jun knew that she was just a concubine, and being polite was just a courtesy, so she couldn't take advantage of it.
So he returned the greeting, "Princess, you are too polite. Are you going to the Qionghua Palace too? Why don't you see Concubine De?"
"I'm going exactly that way. My mother drank a few extra glasses of cold wine at the dinner yesterday and felt a little unwell this morning. I won't be attending the luncheon today. How about Concubine Ming go with me?" Ning Lin smiled.
Ye Jun nodded naturally.
I was also thinking that, after all, she was a royal princess, so her demeanor was different.
Although Ning Lin is not as cheerful as Ning Jin, she is also quiet, generous and dignified.
Concubine Dowager De really knows how to raise daughters. Although the two princesses have different personalities, they both look good.
The two were of similar age, and Ye Jun was good at chatting, so he had a great time talking with Ning Lin along the way, and they only parted when they arrived at the Qionghua Palace.
"If Concubine Ming doesn't mind my being too noisy, could I come and sit with her when I have time?" Ning Lin asked shyly.
Ye Jun was a little surprised, but she didn't refuse. She smiled and said, "Princess, you can come anytime. I have prepared some tea and snacks for you."
Ning Lin nodded, then separated from her and went to her seat.
Ning Jin was already sitting there at this moment.
He saw everything that happened just now, and when he saw his sister coming over, he pulled her over to talk to her.
"You like Ming Jieyu very much?"
"She is different from others. It's very comfortable to talk to her." Ning Lin said.
Ning Jin frowned slightly, "It's just that she is very favored by the emperor. If you have more contact with her, it's inevitable that you will be involved in gossip. You can be friends with her, but don't get involved in any trivial matters in the harem."
"Don't worry, sister. It's just that I rarely meet someone I can talk to, so I just said a few more words. I will be leaving the palace next year, so there is no chance for me to have a deep friendship with him."
Ning Lin gently held her sister's hand to comfort her.
Having said this, Ning Jin didn't say anything more.
After all, her younger sister is grown up, and she, as the older sister, cannot take care of her for the rest of her life.
The atmosphere at today's palace banquet was better than last night.
The empress dowager seemed to have been persuaded by those around her, so she remained calm and didn't say anything unpleasant. She also gave New Year's money to several princes and princesses according to the rules.
Since Imperial Concubine Yao and Imperial Concubine De were not around, the two princes and princesses below kept praising the Empress Dowager in a sweet-talking manner, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
It has to be said that Ning Chen’s greatest luck is that these two brothers are really people without ambition and never covet the throne.
Otherwise, the government is half controlled by old ministers, he himself is young, and his brothers are coveting the throne. I am afraid he will not be able to keep the throne stable for many years.
But these two princes are honest. I think it is because the previous emperor had few offspring. Now it seems that Ning Chen does not have few offspring.
Ye Jun lowered his eyes and looked at the wine on the table, feeling mixed emotions.
She will definitely give birth to a son, and if she does, the fight will be even more intense.
Thinking that the road ahead is still very long, it is rare to feel melancholy.
But this melancholy was only momentary.
She had no choice at the beginning, and she won't have a choice in the future. Since she has no choice, she will just keep going.
Such palace banquets continued until the fifth day of the New Year.
Starting from the sixth day of the New Year, we finally don’t have to get together every day.
After these few days, I have been smiling all day, but my face has become stiff.
Ning Chen rested in Fengqi Palace from the first to the third day of the New Year, and in Jiuchen Palace on the fourth and fifth days.
Normally, the concubines could be summoned to sleep with the emperor on the sixth day, so everyone in the harem was looking forward to it.
But surprisingly, Ning Chen still didn't go anywhere that day.
It was not until the eighth day of the first lunar month that I went to Concubine Shu's palace for lunch.
But this was enough to surprise everyone.
After all, in previous years, the first place the emperor went to was always Chuxiu Palace.
"An is too careless. Does she think that I don't know about her invitation to the emperor's favor on New Year's Eve?" The Queen sneered, "The Emperor has always been very clear about the rules of his ancestors. On New Year's Eve, if you don't come to Fengqi Palace, you can only stay in Jiuchen Palace. An overstepped her boundaries, and the Emperor is still dissatisfied."
Although it seems that this time the emperor went to see Concubine Shu first because she had the highest rank, but the four concubines, Gui, Xian, Shu and De, are actually all of the first rank and are essentially the same.
Therefore, the emperor must be warning Concubine Wende.
But obviously, in such matters, those involved are often confused while those who are not involved can see things more clearly.
In Chuxiu Palace, Concubine Wende looked at the table full of dishes and felt very bitter when she thought that the Emperor was having dinner with Concubine Shu at that moment.
"Bai Lu, the emperor really doesn't love me anymore. In previous years, he would always come to see me first."
"Don't think too much, Your Majesty." Bai Lu tried to comfort her softly, "I think it's because the eldest princess is old, and the emperor should give Shufei some respect, so he went to see her first. Shufei rarely sleeps with the emperor, so the emperor will definitely leave after lunch."
"Really?" Concubine Wende's eyes were filled with tears, and she held Bai Lu's hand tightly and refused to let go.
Bailu nodded affirmatively, and so did Baishuang.
Only after the two maids persuaded her did Concubine Wende feel a little comforted.
"I know that the eldest prince is in poor health. The emperor must be blaming me. I will definitely take good care of the eldest prince's health. Wasn't Prince Kang also weak in the past, but he grew up safely and got married now? My son will definitely be safe." Concubine Wende murmured to herself.
Bai Shuang served her food and coaxed her softly, "Our eldest prince is blessed with great fortune, and will surely grow up safely. Besides, Your Majesty is still young, and she can give birth again after she recovers, right? The eldest prince is weak because of neglect, and the next prince will surely be healthy."
"Yes, you are right. I can still give birth again!" Concubine Wende suddenly seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, her eyes bright and frightening. "Go to the Imperial Hospital later and ask an imperial physician to come and nurse me back to health. As long as I give birth to another healthy prince for His Majesty, His Majesty will definitely be happy!"
"Okay, okay, your Majesty, please have your meal first, I will go later." Bai Shuang said.
After coaxing Concubine Wende into having lunch and persuading her to take a nap, the two maids finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sitting in the outer room, they all said nothing.
They both knew that their master had suffered from premature birth and her health was seriously damaged, and it would not be easy to recover.
In fact, Concubine Wende's menstruation has been irregular since she gave birth to the eldest prince. She has been taking tonic medicine for more than a year, but the effect is not great.
The main reason was that her body had lost its vitality and she was very weak inside. The imperial physician did not dare to give her any supplements, fearing that she was too weak to be nourished. So he could only use a small amount of medicine to nourish her slowly.
Unfortunately, the eldest prince is in poor health, and Concubine Wende is always worrying too much, so how can she keep him in good health
Given the current situation, I'm afraid it's unlikely that I'll get pregnant in the next few years.
But I can't tell her this, otherwise she would probably feel even more upset.
It's not easy for anyone in the deep palace.