PDLP Chapter 534 Newcomers
Chapter 534 Newcomers
Lan Qingwu said no more. The two of them had been with him for many years and had long become his family.
Ruping set up the piano table, Lan Qingwu sat on the ground, and with every stroke of his fingertips, a string of beautiful piano sounds poured out.
The Crown Princess arrived in the early morning sunlight. Just as she reached the palace gate, she heard clear, beautiful and melancholy singing accompanied by the sound of a piano.
Fallen flowers intoxicate the plum garden
As if life is the first time we meet
Black silk dyed with frost smoke
Join hands and go through the world together
The beauty of my mind has faded
The lovesickness in front of me is already a mess
Tears hide the oath
A lifetime together, how could it ever change
Flowers bloom beautifully but fade easily
Who is plucking the strings?
When love is deep, people tend to disperse
Singing a farewell song alone
The dusk is late and spring is already late
Lan Yin sighs in vain as if in a dream
Let him flow like water
The endless years make it hard to tell when to return
I hate that I don’t know how much I care in my heart
The moonlight is like water, washing away the vanity of the past
I just want to leave something to depend on
In the long night, I can't let go of my white hair and chase my black hair
I dare not see you quietly leaving
If there is an afterlife, I hope you and I can be ordinary people
Let's meet again and never leave
Time has passed
Never forget the old face
A wisp of plum fragrance
It's like meeting an old friend in a dream
The Crown Princess stood at the doorway, stunned, wondering why the current emperor was so obsessed with the Empress. Her voice was as ethereal as a mermaid's, graceful and moving, touching the heart and enchanting. She looked up and saw Lan Qingwu, dressed in the simplest clothes, without a single ornament. She instantly felt that if she were a man, she would surely lavish such a stunning woman with silks, satins, and a head full of jewels to preserve her eternal beauty.
While Lan Qingwu was daydreaming, he had already finished playing a song.
The Crown Princess stepped forward: "Daughter-in-law pays respects to the Queen Mother!"
Lan Qingwu extended his hand to support her: "Princess, please stand up!"
The Crown Princess cared about Lan Qingwu's food, clothing, housing and transportation, and even asked the palace servants to bring him phoenix robes and casual clothes made by the Shangyi Bureau.
Ru Ping secretly glanced at the Crown Princess from the side. The Crown Princess didn't know that the four-season costumes displayed by the Shangyi Bureau were just for show, and Lan Qingwu never wore these clothes.
As usual, Lan Qingwu gave the Crown Princess a few instructions and then let her leave.
But the Crown Princess hesitated to speak, so Lan Qingwu asked, "What's wrong? Did you encounter any difficulties?"
The Crown Princess glanced at Lan Qingwu cautiously before saying, "Early this morning, the Imperial Grandmother summoned the consorts from all the palaces, and a moment later, she summoned the wife of Duke Cheng'en to the palace. I heard that the Imperial Grandmother asked the wife of Duke Cheng'en to bring a few noble ladies from aristocratic families to accompany the Imperial Grandmother!"
Lan Qingwu frowned slightly and nodded gently, "Don't worry too much. After today, you should not come to Fengqi Palace again. Since His Majesty and the Crown Prince have left the palace, just take care of your own Dongde Palace and remember not to interfere in the affairs of Cining Palace."
The Crown Princess responded respectfully, bowed and slowly left.
When she couldn't see the Crown Princess, Ruhan lost her temper and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the Queen Mother going to do?"
Ru Ping's tone was slightly cold: "What else can I do! I'm definitely causing trouble for my master."
Lan Qingwu lowered his head slightly, his eyes lingering on Feng Wuqin: "Looks like I need to find a way to get out as soon as possible. This incident has really upset Mother."
I'm afraid that Empress Dowager Li reacted so strongly because she was concerned about the future situation and status of her natal family, the Li family.
Ru Ping and Ru Han looked at each other. There were no outsiders around at the moment, so Lan Qingwu told them calmly why he was confined to Fengqi Palace by Emperor Shenwu.
Both were somewhat surprised. In Ruping's opinion, this matter was somewhat difficult, but not that difficult. As the Emperor Shenwu had said, the next emperor was their son, and burying their parents together was natural. The difficulty lay in the fear that if the Emperor Shenwu mishandled the matter, it would affect the reputations of the Emperor and Empress. After all, Empress Duanhui was the Emperor Shenwu's first wife, and some ministers would surely take the opportunity to advise against it.
Ru Han didn't think too much: "Your Majesty, just let His Majesty worry about these things. You can't change anything, so why not let nature take its course!"
A bitter smile appeared on Lan Qingwu's lips, fearing that the Emperor Shenwu would not be so easy to deal with at this moment.
When the Crown Princess was about to reach the palace gate, she saw two second-class palace maids beside the Queen, Furong and Qingqi, leading a team of palace maids coming from the side of the palace.
"I've met the Crown Princess!"
The two led the palace maids in paying their respects. The Crown Princess saw that the maids were all holding trays with their hands. The items on them were covered with dark-patterned brocade. The shapes looked so familiar that she asked in surprise, "What's on these trays?"
Furong took the initiative to step forward and smiled as she lifted up the dark-patterned brocade. "This is the Empress' phoenix robe, regular clothes, inner garments, etc. that were delivered a few days ago."
The palace maids below had no suspicion of the Crown Princess. In their eyes, she was a family member after all.
Little did she know that when the Crown Princess saw the texture, fabric and pattern of the phoenix robe, her mind was stunned for a moment. Her pupils constricted and she looked at it several times. After confirming what she thought in her mind, she looked away and walked away pretending to be calm.
Empress Dowager Li was also decisive and swift. She asked her sister-in-law, the wife of Duke Cheng'en, to join forces with other ladies from aristocratic families who wanted to curry favor with the rich and powerful and rise to prominence, and she recruited more than a dozen noble ladies from aristocratic families into the palace.
Empress Dowager Li summoned them to the Cining Palace and examined and questioned them one by one. In the end, six were left. Empress Dowager Li took the lead and directly issued an imperial decree to make all of them concubines. She personally arranged for them to live in the Chuxiu Palace, waiting for Emperor Shenwu to return from the military camp in the suburbs so that she could turn over the card to sleep with him.
The commotion in the Cining Palace was like a drop of boiling oil into calm water, and the entire harem was in an uproar. The lower-ranking concubines went around to inquire about the news, and joined forces with several people to pay a visit to the higher-ranking concubines, trying to know the latest and most important news.
Concubine Jiang was also a little confused. She didn't expect that Empress Dowager Li would make such a big fuss this time, and she took advantage of the fact that Emperor Shenwu was out of the palace and Lan Qingwu was under house arrest.
Imperial Concubine Jiang dismissed one concubine after another, but high-ranking concubines such as Concubine Wan, Concubine Liang, and Concubine Han were difficult to dismiss, so Imperial Concubine Jiang had no choice but to invite them to drink fragrant tea.
Concubine Wan asked cautiously and softly, "When His Majesty returns, will he be angry when he sees these extra beauties in the palace? The Empress Dowager did this without consulting the Emperor and Empress!"
The remaining concubines all looked at Concubine Jiang.
Imperial Concubine Jiang frowned deeply. "It's not like there haven't been people offering beauties to Your Majesty through various channels over the past few years, only for Your Majesty to prevaricate with various excuses and bestow them upon the civil and military ministers. These are unimportant. What I'm worried about is the addition of newcomers, and I'm afraid this will once again change the structure of the palace."
Concubine Liang smiled slightly coldly: "I'm afraid these peaceful days will no longer exist."
Concubine Han was genuinely upset for Lan Qingwu. "Now that there's a new person, all the princes' wives have to be extra careful! Those who have children or are pregnant have to be wary of strangers!"
This reminded Concubine Jiang and Concubine Wan that some of their daughters-in-law were pregnant, some had small children, and more people meant more worries. For them, the eldest prince and the second prince had already chosen their future paths. It made no difference whether there were new people or whether a new prince was born. In fact, the disadvantages might even outweigh the advantages.
After figuring this out, Concubine Wan also gave up her desire to watch the fun. She raised her eyelids and said, "The Empress Dowager has done this. His Majesty will have a headache when he returns."
Concubine Han's face was slightly worried. "Will Your Majesty send them away again?"
Concubine Jiang shook her head. "The Empress Dowager acted first and asked for permission later. She has already secured the status for a few newcomers. They are now officially His Majesty's concubines! There is no other way out!"
Concubine Liang said, "The Empress Dowager is afraid that His Majesty will drive them out of the palace!"
Concubine Han thought of the Queen who was still under house arrest and whispered, "The Queen is still under house arrest and certainly doesn't know about this. Noble Concubine, what did the Queen do to anger His Majesty? I've never seen His Majesty so angry with the Queen!"
Concubine Jiang shook her head. She had also secretly speculated about this matter, but had no clue. In short, it must be related to what happened in the Cining Palace that day.