C43

When Prince Bi returned to the prince's mansion, he was still thinking about the Plum Court. He was just going to stroll around the palace due to a sudden interest. As he stood at the doorway, he hesitated for a moment. He felt that it was time to go back. He didn't expect to see a bustling summer scenery through the gate fence.

In his memories, the courtyard had long since been abandoned, and a few plum trees had also been cut down after the accident in Imperial Consort Mei. And now, as he stood outside the door, what else could it be if the branches that had grown over the wall were not plum trees?

He pushed open the fence and walked into the courtyard. What greeted his eyes was a row of blooming hydrangea flowers, which were purple in color and bloomed along the fence. For a moment, he thought he had walked into the wrong place, but then he saw some broken pieces of the greyish tiles lying on the ground.

"Xiao Bai, Qing You is in the house."

The woman lying on the bamboo chair beside the ball of silk said with her eyes closed. Although she didn't know what she was talking about, she must have recognized the wrong person. She was lazy like a kitten, and did not look like Mei Niang at all.

The woman was so blinded by the sunlight that she couldn't even open her eyes. She frowned as she looked at me, "May I ask if you are Prince Bi?"

In an instant, she felt as if she had returned to a few years ago, when she first stepped into the Plum Garden at the age of six. The plain-clothed woman was currently fetching water.

"Prince Bi, are you tired of leaving? Why don't you come and take a seat? "

"How do you know I'm the crown prince?"

"Everyone in the capital knows that our Great Phoenix Prince Bi is outrageously beautiful. Although I don't often enter the main palace, I naturally know as well." She was praising me for being beautiful, but he didn't seem to be flattering me at all. However, Wang Bi felt very comfortable, so he followed her gaze to the chair under the plum tree and sat down. She entered the house and brought out a plate of biscuits, placed it beside me, then turned around and started to busy himself again.

The plate was just a rough ceramic plate, and the biscuits were also made by themselves. Everything seemed extremely rough. Wang Bi usually used a jade grindstone on the plate, and an exquisite little dessert made in the palace kitchen. On it were inscriptions of peach blossoms watering with Hundred Flowers Sugar, and it was placed in a beautiful shape before it was presented to him.

Wang Bi did not plan to eat it in the first place. The woman seemed to recall something and suddenly stood up to pick up the porcelain jar hanging on the windowsill.

With a wooden spoon, she scooped out a scoop of dark gold bee candy from the middle and poured it over the plate of cookies. That sweet smell suddenly entered Wang Bi's nose. The woman smiled warmly and said.

"Crown Prince, take your time and eat. These coarse foods are all made by me, so they are naturally inferior to the delicacies of the palace. You should take your time to eat and rest." Being able to make it here is already quite a distance away from the Yulan palace. "

Wang Bi was fighting with the young eunuch in the beginning, but he never thought that he would come all the way here. Hearing the woman's words, he naturally felt tired, and his stomach began to growl. The smell of the honey mixed with the biscuit kept coming into his nose. Although his mother had repeatedly instructed him not to eat any food outside the Yulan palace, he didn't care about this meeting at all.

However, he still remembered the majesty of the imperial family. He picked up a piece and took a small bite, trying to chew it with a dignified manner. The smell of the biscuit suddenly entered his internal organs.

What was deeper than a person's memories were probably their sense of taste and sense of smell. Wang Bi still remembered that kind of smell, after he had tasted all the delicacies in the world, he was unable to find the taste of that little biscuit.

When he looked at the courtyard that was neatly tidied up, the clean water platform, and the lush plum trees, he suddenly remembered the smell.

The younger Wang Bi ate a few pieces, and the more he ate, the more delicious the food became. The woman did not stay idle either, watering the plants by the well. Although the seedlings were somewhat thin, they were still perfectly straight.

Wang Bi didn't recognise any of them and just curiously looked at them. The woman was weeding them.

His nose was filled with the smell of peach trees, biscuit, honey, soil, and soft fragrance. It was very different from the smell of the incense in the Yulan palace.

Therefore, he would not like incense in the future. He would send out the incense given to him by the Western Regions. His personal maid would light up a stick of incense and he would stare blankly at the smoke as he imagined the smell of the sunlight.

"What's your name?" Wang Bi asked.

The woman raised her head, and only then did Wang Bi realize that she was very young, not as mature as her clothes. Although she had never dressed up before, she was still a bit handsome.

"Just call me Mei Niang. If the crown prince had been away from empress for too long, would she have been worried? "

It was only then that Wang Bi remembered that he had been out for too long. Although he did not want to leave, he also did not want to anger his mother. He stood up and prepared to leave, but when he looked at the small palace door at the entrance, he couldn't remember what he looked like when he had first arrived.

"I'll send you off." Mei Niang put down the kettle, went to the well and washed her hands. Then, she took Wang Bi and walked towards the Yulan palace.

Her hands were as warm as honey cookies, rough with farm work. But it made Wang Bi feel very safe.

Just like that, the two of them walked to the entrance of the Yulan palace. Then, Mei Niang crouched down and said to Wang Bi, "I can only send you here.

However, Wang Bi couldn't bear to let go of her hand for the moment.

"How dare you!" Where did this slut get the audacity to harm the crown prince! "

The two of them were stunned. When they raised their heads, they saw the empress and her personal servant riding in on a carriage and coincidentally stopped at the entrance of the palace. Wang Bi was pulled back to his mother's side.

"Someone drag her down for battle!" Don't ask why... As long as it concerned her, she was always ruthless.

The moment empress said this, the first one to be scared was actually Wang Bi. He pulled on mufei's sleeves and wanted to argue, but no one paid attention to him.

Mei Niang was naturally also shocked, but the eunuch behind her did not even give Mei Niang a chance to speak as he tied her hands behind her back.

"The emperor has arrived!"

Everyone immediately kneeled on the ground

"Reporting to your majesty, I wonder which palace's woman almost kidnapped the crown prince. Your majesty wants to seek justice for the crown prince. If anything happens to Bi'er, I'm afraid that Da Feng will suffer in the future!"

"father, Mei Niang is only sending me back." Wang Bi had already stood up, he ran to his father's side and tiptoed to pull the emperor's sleeves.

"Your majesty, the crown prince is still young and doesn't understand. If we didn't coincidentally meet him, who knows what danger we might have to face."

"Muhou!" Wang Bi still wanted to call his mother, but the Queen gave him a stern look.

The emperor lowered his head and rubbed Wang Bi's head. Wang Bi raised his head and looked at him, his expression seemingly anxious. He looked at his precious son, and a hint of softness appeared on his face.

"It's not a big deal. It's just a palace maid, don't panic, empress." He said, the eunuchs all around could only lower their heads, so as to not look at empress's ugly expression. The palace maids by the empress's side naturally didn't dare to say a word or two.

The emperor stared at Mei Niang who was still kneeling on the ground. The latter did not even dare to raise her head.

"Which palace are you from?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, my name is Mei Niang and I am the personal maid of the leisurely passing Imperial Noble Consort. After the leisurely passing of Imperial Noble Consort's death, I did not even reach the age to leave the palace, so I stayed behind in the little Plum Court at the side of the palace to accompany her."

"So relaxed." The Emperor seemed to have thought of something. The carefree Imperial Noble Consort who passed away due to the illness two years ago was only one rank lower than the Empress, and she was also blessed. It was just that she suddenly contracted an evil disease for no reason and died in less than half a month.

Thinking about it here, the emperor seemed to have a sudden impression of that little palace maid called Mei Niang.

"You unlucky fiend, you are now starting to provoke the Emperor's misfortune, how can you be so detestable! "Where is he, hurry up and drag him out."

The empress didn't seem to want the Emperor to think of some carefree Imperial Noble Consort, so she beckoned for the people on the left and right to quickly bring Mei Niang down.

"Wait!" As the old Emperor spoke slowly, the eunuchs on both sides that were preparing to drag them immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

"Look up?" His voice was calm, but it was still dignified.

After Mei Niang rested on the ground for a long time, she finally raised her head. Later on, she thought that if the Emperor did not see Mei Niang's face, would the result be completely different?

Mei Niang did not give birth to Wang Su, nor did her mother fear Mei Niang. Although Mei Niang had never been able to move her body out of his Plum Court, she could only stand there and watch him silently, willing to stay there.

The Great Wang Su of the Prince Bi was exactly six years old. That child was born because he was Mei Niang's child, and he felt that he was different from the masses.

For many years, the only thing that kept popping up in his mind was Mei Niang's warmth and Wang Su's intelligence.

There was even more, irreparable blood and mother's hatred.

But today, looking at Zhuang Li who was in the courtyard, it felt as if it had never happened before. It was as if he had known her for a long time.

The woman sat under the flowers with her eyes closed, frowning slightly. That face was already pretty, and it had even far surpassed the current Imperial Noble Consort and Empress Hanqin. She opened her eyes as if they were filled with stars. But her emotions were fleeting, no longer overflowing.

Where had I seen her?

Who was she? Why was the emperor forbidden there?

Everyone in the remote areas of the Plum Garden knew that it was almost sealed off. Even eunuchs and palace maids rarely passed by that area, and it was not a restricted area, but was even quieter than a restricted area.

And for what purpose was she going to stay there?

Wang Bi couldn't understand.

However, there was one feeling that was even more profound than the smell of honey and earth that he remembered. It quietly took root in his heart. Was it due to that woman's laziness and ease, as well as her somewhat guarded expression?

When Prince Bi walked into the Duke's Palace, he threw all of these to the back of his mind.