Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Chapter 652 The Mad Daily Life of a Deposed Concubine in the Cold Palace (Part 24)

On the other side,

Feng Chengyuan finally had the chance to see his brothers, but he simply listened to their purpose and easily dismissed them, leaving no room for him to slowly probe them.

They did not delve into the information that had been embellished or distorted. In summary, they had only one attitude: the selection process would proceed as planned, without setting any quotas, but with an additional inquiry process. No woman or her family who did not wish to enter the palace should be maliciously coerced. If it was found that the selected woman did not meet her actual wishes, her mother's family and the local examiner would be held accountable.

This is an unprecedented arrangement.

Typically, daughters of officials of a certain rank in various regions would participate in the imperial concubine selection process after reaching a certain age, unless there were special circumstances. Even if they did not want to enter the palace, they would at least have to participate in the screening in the capital before entering the palace. In fact, this was also a process for maintaining family relationships.

However, Feng Chengyuan did not intend to follow this old rule. The brief gathering could only attract those who wanted to take advantage of the situation. To truly communicate with these aristocratic families, he did not necessarily need to rely on weak kinship ties, especially since he did not want the harem to be too involved in interfering with the court.

of course,

He couldn't possibly filter out all the open and covert struggles, but if a family truly wanted to escape the world and didn't want to get involved in the quagmire of infighting, he was willing to give them some face.

He hoped that a reliable minister would readily accept this kindness.

Inside the Xuan Shi Hall,

The four princes quickly grasped Feng Chengyuan's intentions and immediately added a few points, promising to hold the selection process in a low-key manner and not to publicize any competitive activities before the selection. As a semi-inner court official, he needed to clarify the emperor's intentions and direction in advance to ensure things went smoothly.

in this way,

This grand conspiracy to frame and discredit the princes took an unexpected turn and became a discussion of how to hold a talent show.

But everyone present knew very well that they had to make arrangements first to prevent the farce of forcing their daughter to come to the capital from happening again. If they made a scene and ended up in front of the Empress, they would be caught red-handed and severely punished.

Feng Chengyuan might not care, but the Gongsun family will not be lenient in this matter.

The conversation was brief, and they never heard the emperor instruct anyone to investigate the truth or to find out who was behind the scenes and caused the conflict, until they left.

However, Xia Youmi glanced at Feng Chengyuan's eyes and knew that he knew who the mastermind behind the panic among the princes was.

Another wave of panic ensued.

After the Fifth Prince returned to his residence, he discussed with the Princess Consort and then rearranged the luggage and items to be handed over before leaving the capital. Before the palace gates were locked, he sent someone to deliver them to the Emperor. This silent show of allegiance and sincerity was understood only by the two sides in silence.

in addition,

That night, the emperor still couldn't visit Consort Chan's palace to see the prince. He summoned many imperial physicians, both to inquire about the health of Consort Chan and her son, and also to treat himself. At the end of the year, the emperor was so ill that he was trembling and sweating profusely.

The crowd stirred again in alarm, but those around the emperor remained calm and kept their panic to themselves, not daring to utter a single careless word. They would only share the news privately with whoever they wanted to hear it, as it was not something that should be shown in public.

indoor,

Despite his advanced age, it was Min De who discovered the illness, and he stayed by his side day and night without collapsing.

She still had the energy to scold those who were not quick and efficient, and she kept the entire inner and outer chambers of the palace in perfect order.

However, the Imperial Concubine quickly received the news and informed the Empress to attend to her illness. The Empress obediently braved the cold wind and appeared solemnly, but was locked out of the room.

Min De spoke eloquently. As the mother of the nation, the Empress is the pillar of the nation at this moment. She must keep a firm grip on the palace's internal affairs and not allow any villains to take advantage of the situation.

The young empress was indeed extremely busy, with the New Year's banquet and the baby's third-day celebration all awaiting her approval.

She had no choice but to accept this fact. In fact, she hadn't developed any deep feelings that were worth forcing. She had just left the emperor's palace and rushed to the imperial concubine's residence to ask her aunt for help late at night.

The bright moon was partially obscured, but it couldn't hide the joy of some and the sorrow of others.

In the northwest corner of the Cold Palace, Xia Youmi and Niannian also dutifully hibernated.

Although the emperor seemed to have forgotten about this place after leaving and had not instructed anyone to take care of it, Min De still took all the things that were sent yesterday without hesitation, except for the utensils used by the emperor.

Even,

The temporary open-air dining area set up for the emperor, including the long curtains and table and chair cushions, was still there. It didn't seem to be exclusively for the emperor, so Xia Youmi made some minor modifications, giving the kittens another warm place to stay during the winter.

Furthermore, to make the most of everything and avoid wasting food that couldn't be stored, every cat, including the little eunuch outside the door, ate their fill today.

Of course, she still tried to make long-term plans. She and Niannian had keen intuition. Even though Feng Chengyuan's attitude seemed to have softened and he cared last night, he was obviously stimulated by something today. The cold look in his eyes when he occasionally glanced in this direction was something Xia Youmi dared not guess that it was for Consort Chan and the little prince.

I don't know what I did to offend him, but he was so upset that he actually got sick from the cold wind.

Although she said she wouldn't take any responsibility, Xia Youmi still lowered the emperor's credit rating for the sake of the emperor, who might be unreasonable, so that she and Niannian wouldn't run out of food and have to go out hunting in the dead of winter.

That night,

Xia Youmi and Niannian slept soundly as always, but Feng Chengyuan, lying in the hospital bed, was not feeling well. His fever was getting worse, and the heat in his body was not dissipating, instead surging into his forehead, cheeks, and the hollows of his joints, while his limbs were cold, sore, and heavy.

I managed to take the medicine and fall asleep, but I kept having horrible dreams and waking up repeatedly.

Ironically, the dreams kept piecing together to form an unsightly scene.

"The Ninth Prince went through great lengths to get into the palace while he was busy. He even deliberately used Fu Chan's childbirth to provoke Yuan Shi, talking about what true loyalty is, and how an emperor is destined not to show favoritism. They're all just laughable tools. Don't believe him, don't believe him! Haven't you heard about the Seventh Prince's character? He's a womanizer who dares to snatch any woman, and he even puts on airs to show that he's not a perfect prince, but in the end, he very luckily took the throne that belonged to the Eighth Prince!"

"The woman continued, 'Ninth Prince, I've been waiting for you to rescue me. My heart has never wavered. I'd rather starve and freeze than submit to the enemy. I want to ride freely with you, not wither and die in this small harem.' But the scene quickly shifted to her facing him. 'So what if you're the emperor? A person who can't even offer half a sincere heart is destined to gain no complete affection. You'll only be met with hypocrisy and pretense. Ask yourself honestly, how much have you truly given? Is hunger and cold a test? Alas…'"

"Seventh brother, today I formally bid you farewell. I will travel the world with my queen, for the rest of my life, and never return to face the chaotic state of the Feng family. Haha! You will always be one step behind me in this life!" The queen beside him had no visible features, but her figure was exactly the same as Yuan Shi's. She said with a charming laugh, "I will never let you down in this life!"

immediately,

They rode south in high spirits, and when the woman turned around, it was not the Fifth Prince's wife.

"No! You can't!"

But then a commotion came from the northwest. It was Lao Jiu on horseback with a woman sitting in front of him. This time, her face was not visible, but from Lao Jiu's unrestrained and arrogant demeanor, it was not hard to tell that he had found Shao Bo, found his subordinates, and brought back the people who originally belonged to his palace.

One in the south, one in the north, their figures moved so fast they were impossible to catch; Feng Chengyuan couldn't tell which one was the real one.

But behind him, his fourth brother, acting like a loving father, was already guarding the familiar imperial city, with a woman standing beside him and holding another child in his arms. The heartwarming scene was so intense that it blinded him.

"Stop it all!"

Feng Chengyuan was exhausted. In this dream, he kept running and chasing, going south and north. Looking back, he still had to circle around the capital with his fourth brother. The harder he tried, the less he could hold on.

finally,

He lay down dejectedly, and the bright moon in the sky only gradually appeared when he looked at it.

The goddess sits on the moon, holding a black cat in her arms, gazing at him with a gentle smile. It seems that everything has been resolved. It's not that he can't have her, but that the goddess needs him to complete his mission in this life and achieve merit before he can ascend to the heavens and have the opportunity to stand by her side.

All the things we used to worry about, things that seemed so unattainable, were actually part of a grand and long-term test.

The other party was still waiting for him, and he thought that the clouds had finally parted and the moon was shining, and that his suffering had finally come to an end.

but,

The black cat in the fairy's hand transformed into a human figure, tightly embracing the other person with a half-smile, silently mocking his pursuit as nothing more than a mirage.