The next day, the greetings, which had been suspended for half a month, resumed as usual.
Ning Chen stayed overnight at Fengqi Palace yesterday. It was rare that he was there when I went to pay my respects today.
The queen sat side by side with him in the main seat, with a smile on her face, looking like she was in a good mood.
With the emperor around, there was naturally no quarreling and everyone was very well-behaved and sensible.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have never left the palace for inspection. This year, I plan to go north to take a look at the Zasak area. It is scheduled to set off in February and return to Beijing in early April. It will take some time." Ning Chen said.
Since he was going out and would be gone for such a long time, he must have someone to accompany him. The concubines immediately became excited.
There was a glimmer of understanding in Yao Xiang's eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
As expected, the Queen replied at the right time, "Since you are going out, you must have someone to accompany you. Who do you want to take with you, Your Majesty?"
This is just a formality. In fact, the two of them had almost discussed it last night.
Ning Chen looked around and said directly, "Empress Jing hasn't gone out for a walk for many years, so we have to go together. Also, there are Yan Xiuyi, Concubine Lin, Lady Ming, Lady Yi, Chen Wanrong, Lady Fang, Yang Baolin, and Zhou Baolin."
Finally, he asked, "Are you willing to go out this time? I am afraid that you are worried about Jiayu, but when you pass through Yuzhou, I will let you see your family."
Shufei was feeling upset because it hadn't been mentioned just now. Now that she understood the whole story, she felt happy again.
After thinking for a while, she said, "Jia Yu is already two years old. Her wet nurse has taken good care of her. I won't be away for long this time. I miss home, so I'll go with Your Majesty. However, servants are bound to make mistakes, and I..."
Concubine Shu wanted to say something but stopped herself.
"You don't have to worry. With the Queen in the palace, nothing will go wrong," Ning Chen said directly, patting the Queen's hand. "This time, Concubine Wende will stay in the palace to recuperate. The eldest prince, the eldest princess, Concubine Wang, and Concubine Xia all need your care."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will take good care of it and prevent any trouble from happening in the harem." The Queen felt sad, but she still agreed.
Yan Xiuyi suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Xia is about to give birth. I am worried whether she should be given to me to raise. This time when I go north, I will ask to stay in the palace so that I can take care of Concubine Xia. After all, there are many things to do in the palace, and there will always be times when the Queen can't take care of it."
Ning Chen didn't object and nodded in agreement.
But later, Yan Xiuyi recommended Li Wanrong to go with her, saying that even if she took her place, Ning Chen agreed.
It doesn’t matter if there is one more or one less.
After coming out of Fengqi Palace, Yao Xiang has been in deep thought.
The list of people going north this time has changed slightly compared to the previous life. Zhang Baolin did not go, and was replaced by Zhou Baolin instead.
But if you think about it carefully, Zhou was closer to Ye Jun than Zhang during these times.
It seems that we must take advantage of this opportunity to go north and wipe out the Ye family in one fell swoop.
At that time, Zhang Baolin, who did not get the chance to leave the palace, felt particularly upset.
Apart from those with prominent family backgrounds, she was obviously the first among the remaining newcomers to sleep with the emperor. But why could Zhou accompany him but she could not
The fact that Ye Jun gave Zhou Baolin a scarf was not something to be hidden, and everyone in the harem knew about it.
After making this connection, Zhang Baolin hated Ye Jun even more, thinking that it must be because Zhou Baolin had curryed favor with her that she got the opportunity to leave the palace to accompany the emperor.
"Baolin, why don't we go and ask the Concubine Shu for help? The reason why Li Wanrong was brought along just now was because Yan Xiuyi asked for it. After all, the Concubine Shu has had a long-standing relationship with the Emperor. If she is willing to speak, the Emperor will definitely agree."
Shuang Tao carefully supported her master and reminded him in a low voice.
Even if Zhang Baolin was unwilling, this was the only way left for him.
He took a deep breath and turned to go to Changchun Palace.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Baolin outside wants to see you." Xiangluo came in and delivered the message.
At this moment, Concubine Shu was very happy. She was holding the eldest princess on the small couch and teaching her to read. When she heard that Zhang was coming, her face turned unhappy.
"What can she do here? She can't do anything to help, but she can only cause trouble."
Liuying said, "I guess it's because I want to accompany the emperor out of the palace. I think I came to ask for help from the queen."
Concubine Shu snorted coldly, "The emperor doesn't like her, why should I waste my breath to talk to him? It's just a waste of the relationship between me and the emperor."
During this time, when Zhang came to seek refuge, she also helped her a lot, but the emperor didn't visit her many times, which showed that he didn't like Zhang.
Moreover, after the incident a few years ago, Concubine Shu realized belatedly that she was being used as a gun by Zhang. Not only did she fail to teach Ye Jun a lesson, but she was punished by the Queen instead. She blamed Zhang Baolin in her heart and naturally didn't want to see her.
Xiangluo walked a few steps closer and tried to persuade her, "Your Majesty, calm down. I think Zhang Baolin still depends on you. Although you can't take her out of the palace, the Queen will have bad intentions if the princess stays in the palace. It would be better if someone from your own family could take care of her."
Shufei thought about it and nodded.
Zhang Baolin was brought in. He bowed and saluted first, then gritted his teeth and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I came here to ask for a favor. I think you can guess that I also want to accompany you out of the palace. Please support me. I will fight for you in the future, even if it means death."
"Get up quickly, and let's talk nicely. Since you trust me, there is no reason for me not to support you." Concubine Shu waved her hand.
Xiangluo hurried to help Zhang up, and a little maid brought an embroidered stool and asked her to sit down.
Concubine Shu then spoke again, with a look of worry on her face, "You also know that I have not been favored by the emperor for many years. If I had not given birth to the eldest princess, how could the emperor have set foot in Changchun Palace? Whenever the emperor came to my place, I did not forget to speak well of you, but the effect was minimal, you also know this."
This is not a lie. After all, the emperor rarely goes to Changchun Palace.
"It's my fault that I'm useless and have disappointed Your Majesty." Zhang Baolin clenched her handkerchief tightly, feeling powerless.
Concubine Shu's eyes flickered, and she sighed again, "I don't think the emperor wanted to take me with him on this trip north. I'm afraid he only remembered it later. I'm talking to him alone now. I can't even protect myself, so how can I mention you in front of the emperor? You should also understand my difficulties."
Zhang Baolin didn't say anything, but he knew in his heart that this matter would not succeed.
As expected, Concubine Shu changed the subject and said, "However, since I can go out, I can also take the opportunity to have more contact with the emperor. I also have some affection for him. I believe that this time when I leave the palace and come back, it will be better than before. I am out, but I am worried about the eldest princess. I don't trust the queen. If you can take care of her in the palace, I will remember your contribution. You are still young. In the future, I will always ask you to have your own children."
This was a promise. As long as Zhang Baolin stayed in the palace and looked after the child for her, when Concubine Shu returned, she would give her more opportunities to sleep with him and allow her to have children.
Zhang Baolin was filled with resentment. It was obvious that Concubine Shu wanted him to stay and look after the eldest princess for her, yet she said it in such nice words, making it seem like he was doing her a favor.
But she had no room to refuse and had to gratefully agree.
After leaving Changchun Palace, the early spring sunshine fell on her body, but Zhang still felt very cold in her heart.
Besides the coldness, what is more is still resentment.