C85

The horse carriage travelled through the bustling streets, passing by all the way until it reached the palace gates.

Inside the palace, one could neither ride a horse nor ride a horse carriage, and had to walk. Thus, when they arrived at the entrance, the two of them got off the horse carriage.

Because they were familiar with the palace, both Ming Chengyan and Madame Ye did not need a eunuch to lead them in.

Ming Chengyan had to go in the right direction to head to the Imperial Study Palace to meet the Emperor, while Madame Ye went in the left direction to visit the Empress and the Great Eldest Princess.

"Prince, Princess."

Suddenly, a beautiful female voice came from not too far away, following that, a girl wearing a dark blue brocade dress walked over to the two of them.

The woman had an oval face with bright eyes and white teeth. Her every movement exuded an indescribable charm. Even though she was close to forty years old, the skin on her face was exquisite, and she did not seem to be more than twenty years old.

As soon as she finished speaking, she slowly walked towards Ming Chengyan and Madame Ye, followed by the four palace maids and the two eunuchs.

"This old official greets Imperial Concubine Noble Consort."

"This subject greets Imperial Consort Noble Consort."

When Ming Chengyan and the Madame Ye saw this person, they immediately bowed.

"Your Highness, Princess, there's no need to be so courteous." Noble Consort Su opened his mouth, his words and actions were dignified and refined.

"The prince entered the palace to look for the emperor, right?" She had just come out from the Emperor's Imperial Study, so she instantly guessed Ming Chengyan's motive for coming here.

"Exactly." Ming Chengyan nodded.

"Since that's the case, I won't delay Your Highness any longer. It's been a long time since I've had a talk with Princess Hua-Yang. You can rest assured, Your Highness." Noble Consort Su held onto Madame Ye's hand, the words were filled with intimacy.

"Yes, this official will take his leave." Ming Chengyan did not linger after hearing what he said, and started to walk towards the Imperial Study.

"Is the wangfei here to pay respects to the empress?" Seeing that he had left, Noble Consort Su turned to look at him.

"That's right, I came to visit elder sister as well." Madame Ye nodded. Looking at Noble Consort Su's glowing face, he felt more at ease.

The Noble Consort Su laughed, "Since the wangfei is going to the empress palace, and I have to go back, why not go with me?"

"Of course it's good." The Madame Ye nodded and followed him as he walked forward.

"How has Noble Consort been lately?" In fact, there was no need to say much. Just from Noble Consort Su's face, she could tell that Noble Consort Su had been living quite well recently.

"I've been doing quite well recently. I'll have to trouble you, Princess Consort, to remember this." The two of them started chatting, talking about family matters.

After walking for some time, coincidentally, there was a pavilion for resting not far away, so Noble Consort Su suggested that they should rest here first. Madame Ye nodded with a smile.

Noble Consort Su pulled Madame Ye's hand and sat down, then he waved Gong'e away from him, allowing them to stand guard on the small path not far away, while he and Madame Ye sat in the pavilion and chatted.

"I heard that the wangfei and the prince went to the village in Clear Water Town this year to celebrate the new year. In those years, my big brother's family was demoted to that place, I don't know …" Noble Consort Su couldn't help but ask about his eldest son.

"The prince and I have met. The fourth prince is doing very well and has already gotten married. Minister Su's family is also doing quite well …" Seeing that Gong'e had been dispersed, Madame Ye was at ease to explain the situation to him.

When Noble Consort Su heard that Su Zongwen had already gotten married and had children, and that his days were already quite good, and that his character was extremely good, she became extremely excited. In a blink of an eye, twenty years had passed, and the news she heard again was about her son's good news.

"All these years, it was thanks to the Prince's Mansion secretly helping me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have such a day." Noble Consort Su said, visibly moved.

She knew that if it weren't for Prince Xian's Mansion helping her a few times over these years, she and Prince Su wouldn't be alive right now.

"Let's not talk about the past anymore. Our families will get better and better in the future." Madame Ye patted the back of his hand as he consoled Noble Consort Su.

Twenty years had passed, but he didn't mind waiting for a few more months.

The two did not chat for long in the pavilion, as the harem was crowded with people. In order to prevent others from becoming suspicious, the two only chatted for a short while before separating.

Madame Ye headed to the Queen's Palace alone to pay his respects, while Noble Consort Su returned to his own palace.

When Noble Consort Su returned to his room, he immediately summoned Prince Su Ming Jiling over.

"This son pays his respects to Consort Mother. I wonder what business does Consort Mother have in summoning this son?"

Within the palace that was filled with smoke, a man wearing a crescent moon-shaped robe bowed respectfully in a gentle voice.

The way he stood gave others a feeling of excellence. His face which was extremely similar to Su Zongwen had a gentle and elegant smile, with every movement he made, he was graceful and noble.

Prince Su, who was slightly cold in front of others, had a rare trace of gentleness on his face.

"Come, Ling'er, come and sit at Consort Mother's place." Noble Consort Su ordered the palace maids to withdraw, and at the same time called his son to sit beside him.

"Yes, Consort Mother." Ming Jiling lifted his clothes and sat down, tilting his head to look at Noble Consort Su.

"Consort Mother met Princess Xian on the palace path today." Noble Consort Su took a tangerine peel and said, "She told me a lot of things. She also said that she had already seen your brother's scripture …"

Noble Consort Su told Ming Jiling all of the news he heard from Princess Xian's wife with a joyous expression.

Ming Jiling listened patiently.

He didn't have much interest in the throne, but he and the Crown Prince were already at odds with each other, so he had no choice but to fight for it. If he could stabilize the situation, he would rather live a carefree life, and as for the throne, in his opinion, it was something that only his elder brother was capable of.

"Consort Mother, actually, I have already seen brother before."

Ming Jiling took a sip of the hot tea and asked.

"You have never been to that Clear Water Town before, how can you possibly see Zong Wen?" Noble Consort Su thought that her youngest son was trying to make her laugh.

"I should have told Consort Mother about this long ago, it's just that this son has been busy with official affairs and forgot to inform Consort Mother in time." Ming Jiling thought for a moment and then slowly explained the situation.

"Earlier, when the Royal Father sent me to supervise the commotion in the small countries near the border, I met with brother in the tent. Not only that, he even saved your son's life on the battlefield, and later on I even became sworn brothers with him …" Ming Jiling thought back to the past and thought that it was really funny.

If his elder brother acknowledged him as his ancestor in the future, the scene would definitely be extremely interesting.

When Noble Consort Su heard that Ming Jiling had become sworn brothers with Su Zongwen, she became even more interested. Her memories of Su Zongwen still rested on the appearance of a baby for twenty-three years.