C21

"Miss, the palace is so big. All the way from the palace entrance to here, my feet have turned soft." Cui'er said with an extremely excited tone as she helped to comb Yun Sheng's hair.

Yun Shengyue looked at Cui'er's happy face in the bronze mirror. Her heart gradually calmed down, and last night, she had been tense and unable to fall asleep. It was unknown when she fell asleep, but Murong Yu had already disappeared by the time she woke up, relieving her of a lot of awkwardness.

She let out a sigh of relief and got out of bed to put on her clothes before calling him over. She did not expect Cui Er to arrive so soon, as soon as the palace doors were opened, she had heard that they were going to enter the palace. Last night she had been very excited, but today she had woken up early again.

"Miss, how many days are we staying in the palace?"

"Three days. The crown prince will be returning soon after his birthday."

"Oh, miss..." "The prince was here last night …" Cui'er cautiously asked. Her round eyes were sparkling and she couldn't hide her curiosity. It seemed that she had entered very early. She must have seen Murong Yu leave the room.

She said that she was going to prepare breakfast, but this time, she did not see anyone. As such, she instructed cautiously, "The palace is not comparable to the manor. Cui'er, do you have to be careful when you speak?"

It was rare for Cui'er to see Yun Sheng explain in such a serious manner. She hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, Cui'er understands."

After combing her hair, she changed into a layer dress with a hundred flowers embroidered on it. Looking in the mirror, she let Cui'er shake her head. She didn't need any rouge or cosmetic powder, Ruo Lan came in and reported that breakfast was ready.

"Miss, this Golden Silk Jadeite Phoenix Steps looks really good, why did you pick it?" After all, Cui Er was a commoner, so she still didn't understand many things. Yesterday, when she had just met the emperor, she had to put on a huge act, but there was no need for that now, not to mention that Murong Yu had already told her not to leave the Hua and Qing Palace, so there was no need to waste Cui Er's time cleaning up and bringing all those things into the palace.

Yun Sheng did not want to explain, but said, "Let's not go out today. We'll just stay at Hua Qing Palace. There's no need to make things less troublesome."

"Oh …" Cui'er seemed to be disappointed.

Shi Xiaobai gave her a funny look before walking out. This lass thought entering the palace was very fun, but he never expected her to be so boring. Furthermore, it was filled with dangers.

After eating a small bowl of the Swallow's Nest porridge, Yun Shengyue asked Ruo Lan in a tone of discussion, "When does muhou have breakfast? Is it appropriate for me to head over to see Ann at this hour?"

"Princess, there's no need to be anxious. The morning meal should be just over." With that, she glanced at Yun Shengyue and said, "Esteemed Empress pays great attention to appearances and looks. There are many concubines she pays respects to every day. Princess Consort, please don't be too pure."

"I told you, miss, you don't want me to dress you up." Cui'er heartlessly rushed to say. Ruo Lan looked at her, her eyes flashing, but she didn't say anything …

She spoke bluntly and did not understand the situation. It seemed like she could not bring her out of the palace in a while, so she smiled and said: "The palace must be more particular than the palace. I'll have to trouble Rulan to help me dress up so that I do not lose my identity as the prince."

If only she had such a smart and sensible girl by her side. When she looked back at Cui'er's innocent expression, she felt that it was better to be a silly girl. If she was too smart, she would not know who her heart was for.

With Ruo Lan leading the way, they were much more familiar with the road to Phoenix Perch Palace.

It took him a while to change his clothes and comb his hair. Unlike yesterday, he had entered the palace with his colorful clothes and beaded jade. There were countless beauties in the harem. Those who could greet the empress would at least be second rank noble concubines, so they would only be in the top ten or twenty.

Other than the empress, Sheng Yue had only met Xian, Liang, Sue, Fourth Concubine. He knew no one else, but when he arrived at the entrance, he saw everyone looking at him with an impeccable smile. He was actually saddened that so many women wanted to share a man with him.

"Since Sheng Yue is here, there's no need to be so polite. Come and sit over here." The Queen beamed as her tone sounded intimate. She was much friendlier than yesterday, as though she had attracted the envy of some people. Slightly flattered, Sheng Yue hurriedly sat down at the spot pointed out by the Queen.

"Big sister is so lucky. It's clear that this new daughter-in-law is a virtuous and well-educated girl." An egg-faced woman at the bottom said with an envious tone. The Working King was always raised by the Queen in name. It was true that Sheng Yue could be considered her daughter-in-law.

Before the empress could reply, Imperial Concubine Fu added, "Naturally, the daughter of the Prime Minister is well-informed and well-mannered. It's just that I've come a little too late. I don't understand the palace's rules."

There was a hint of sarcasm in those words, but it was also just a casual remark. Yun Shengyue looked at the Queen with feigned terror, while the latter gave a comforting smile and said, "This is the first time that Sheng Yue and Yu'er have entered the palace. How do we have these rules? I'm not that naughty nanny."

"Of course. Sister is kind and doting. She loves you more than junior does. However, there is still a rule. Why is the princess still not showing her face?" Imperial Concubine Su continued. Her tone was calm, but it also caused the other concubines to be silenced. They all remained silent and did not dare to speak again.

She picked up her teacup and took a sip before slowly saying, "I've already agreed that there's no need for you to have a daily rest, but little sister is rather concerned about you."

"Chenqie also heard that the Crown Princess lives alone in the Ronghua Palace while the Crown Prince stays in the Eastwood Palace." Chenqie also heard that the Crown Princess lives alone in the Ronghua Palace, but the Crown Prince stays in the Eastwood Palace.

It was a pity that other than the Empress, she did not know anything about the backgrounds of the concubines. Hearing those words, it was clear that there was a flurry of conversation and had even placed her in a passive position. Her mind was spinning while her head was drooping.

"Yesterday, your concubines saw that the crown prince seemed to be in better health. Our royal family's heirs are very thin, let's see if elder sister can arrange a few more concubines for the crown prince so that we can open up some leaves and have a few children. It'll be more lively in our palace." Consort Xian, who had been keeping her head down the whole time, suddenly raised it.

"That's right, that's right. The Crown Princess is still young after all. The Crown Prince should be living in some rooms."

"That's right, Yun Gui concubine, the last time you came to the palace to visit your niece was already quite good."

"Yes, General Zheng's daughter should be around the age of 15."

The empress didn't stop her. She took two sips of tea and listened to everyone talk for a while before she answered, "The suggestions from the younger sisters are all very good. Qing'er is really great now, she should have a few more concubines."

"Little sister Shufei, may I trouble you to help me choose some candidates for this selection?" The queen smiled.

Imperial Concubine Su also smiled sweetly and said, "Elder sister's orders, chenqie will do her best."

"It'll be hard on you then, little sister. Qing'er's birthday is coming up in two days. When the time comes, young ladies are invited to come to the palace for dinner. How about we take a look first, big fellow?"

"Elder sister is truly thoughtful. I naturally feel more at ease seeing it with my own eyes."

The Crown Prince was the future emperor and had to be from the three palaces and six courtyards. However, the people from the three palaces and six courtyards were all beauties and most of them were the daughters of officials and officials from various places.

Remembering the beautiful crown prince in Merlin, Yun Shengyue cast a glance at the empress. The crown prince's beauty seemed to come from the heavens, not that similar to the emperor's. On the other hand, Murong Yu was more like the emperor.

Thankfully, all the concubines had gone to enthusiastically discuss the matter of Crown Prince's consort. On the other hand, a rookie like Yun Shengyue had been left to the sidelines.

She originally wanted to keep a low profile, so she naturally listened more. However, after hearing this, she felt that although the room was filled with people who looked like they were having a family affair on the surface, they were hiding everywhere. Everyone was smiling and calling each other 'elder sister' or 'elder sister' extremely affectionately, what was the reality?

It wasn't until they were out of the palace that they dared to let go of the heavy burden that weighed on their hearts. Although the Empress looked amiable on the surface, she seemed to have some deeper meaning when she looked at her. It wasn't easy for her to guess, but it was hard to avoid feeling anxious and uneasy.

"Ruo Lan, the empress dowager has to pay respects to mother every day?" Yun Sheng asked shamelessly.

Although Ruo Lan didn't talk much, she still answered her own question. "Reporting to Princess Hua-Yang, it's not every day. The moon ends, the moon ends, the moon ends, and when we meet, we come over to say hello."

"Oh, it's still early, how about we go to the imperial garden for a walk? I saw many flowers in the garden yesterday, can you pick some? " Shi Xiaobai opened his eyes wide and laughed in a manner that seemed as though he did not know what to do.

Ruo Lan nodded. "Alright, let's go to the garden and see what kind of flowers Princess likes. This servant will immediately send someone to pick them and send them to her sleeping quarters. Hua Qinggong's flowers are indeed fewer, but this servant hasn't thought it through properly."

"No, Ruo Lan, you don't have to be so reserved. Come, let's go look at the flowers." She pulled Rowland's hand happily as she walked toward the imperial garden, where the latter's arm appeared somewhat stiff.

Back at the Baili family, Baili Yu had always instructed people to change the fresh flowers in her room every day. Regardless of whether it was spring, summer, autumn or winter, when she looked at the fresh, tender, and colorful flowers, she always felt much better.

"These dainty flowers are really beautiful. I've never seen them before." Holding a bright red flower that was the size of a jade bowl, Yun Shengyue asked in surprise. Although there were many Jiangnan Flowers, the Northern Territories also had their own treasures.

"Danzhu is a tribute given by a foreign country, but not elsewhere. The palace took great pains to raise these plants, and it's unknown how many years it has been growing them, but these two years, the flowers were beautiful and huge, even more luxurious than peonies. Furthermore, the flowers were always in the waning winter, until the spring of the next year, so the people in the palace loved it very much."

So that was the case. No wonder there were many Jiangnan Flowers, but they had never seen one before. Just as Ruo Lan wanted to stop her, she heard a sharp shout from behind her.

"How dare you! Who dares to pick Danzhu?!"

However, her face was petite and her childish looks had yet to fade, but she appeared slightly younger than her. However, she had a woman's hairstyle and dressed very extravagantly. Beside her were three or four palace maids, who also looked angrily at her.

Could it be that there was a concubine at such an age in the palace? While they were still in shock, Ruo Lan had already bowed and said, "Your servant greets the princess consort."

So this was the princess consort. She clearly looked like a little girl, but it wasn't enough for Imperial Concubine to say something to add on to her grandson. She hadn't grown up yet and was still pretty and cute, but she felt like she couldn't match up with the immortal crown prince.

"Greetings, Crown Princess." Shi Xiaobai respectfully saluted and revealed his identity. Although the other party was young, his identity was that of her royal sister-in-law.

The girl was slightly taken aback when she heard that, but her expression turned even worse. She sized up Yun Shengyue before saying, "So she's the royal consort. After all, she's the prime minister's daughter. Why are you so lacking manners? Were you the one who randomly picked the flower in the imperial garden?"

Ruo Lan, who was beside her, seemed to want to explain, but Sheng Lingyue said first, "It's our first time entering the palace. I don't know the rules. Thank you for your advice, imperial concubine."

The Crown Prince's consort, Duanmu Rong'er, was also furious. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she managed to endure it. With a flick of her sleeves, she turned and left.

"Your servant is bad, but I've caused the wangfei to suffer." As soon as the Crown Princess left, Ruo Lan immediately apologized.

She had previously said that Sheng Yue could pick any flower he liked and had forgotten to remind him that there were a few flowers that were forbidden from picking. For example, Dan Zhu was the empress and imperial concubine's favorite flower.

Yun Sheng said with a laugh, "It's not your fault. I did not ask for a clear answer and have already taken it off. Tomorrow, I will tell my Queen Mother that the Crown Princess will not mind for too long."

Ruo Lan looked gratefully at her and suggested, "There are still some trees in the south. It's just right that it's opened. Princess, if you like it, you can fold a few branches and go back to insert the bottle."

"Heh, this is good. The plum blossoms are beautiful and they smell good. They fit perfectly in the room." After taking a few steps, he casually asked, "I have always been ignorant and ill-informed. Do you know which family the Crown Prince's consort is from?"

"The Crown Princess is the youngest daughter of my uncle." Ruo Lan quietly replied.

So it was like this, the empress's niece, no wonder her position was different. The noble and powerful of Jincheng City usually didn't know much, it seemed like they needed to know some things in the future. They couldn't care less about the outside world, they might accidentally offend someone, or they might become cannon fodder.

She knew a little about the Duanmu family. The Duanmu family had a lot of sons, but very few daughters. For example, the empress only had two daughters in her generation. One was the empress while the other married the son of the imperial physician. He could only blame the royal family for being too thin and lacking a suitable wife. Otherwise, they would have definitely married into the royal family. Naturally, she was extremely doting. The Crown Prince could have gotten married at the age of sixteen, but since she was young, the empress had used the Crown Prince's indisposition as a reason to drag it out for a few years. When she was young, she entered the palace.

Although Duanmu Rong'er and the crown prince weren't really that close, the empress would of course have her own family sit on the empress's seat in the future. As for how many concubines the concubine would marry, there was no need to be on guard. As long as Duanmu Rong'er entered the palace, he wouldn't be afraid of marrying as many concubines as he could.

However, these matters did not have much to do with her. She was only secretly feeling pity for the crown prince, but such a jade-like person was in fact not free at all. So what if Eastwood Plum Garden was beautiful like a paradise, it was only a prison cell.

When he returned to Hua Qing Palace, Cui'er was walking back and forth in the empty yard out of boredom. When she saw Yun Shengyue looking wronged, she said, "Miss, Hua Qing Palace is too quiet. There's nothing here at all. I thought there were too many problems in the palace but didn't bring any needlework. I really don't know what to do."

"Girl, you really can't stay idle. Didn't I tell you to rest properly?" Seeing how dark you are right now, and how you clearly haven't had a good rest, don't you feel tired? "

"The wind last night was too scary, and with such a new place, Cui'er won't be able to sleep so easily."

In any case, the Prince has instructed us not to leave Eastwood Palace if there's nothing else. You should see whether Ruo Lan should give you some needlework or take my guqin to the pavilion to practice, or go and rest for a while. Miss, I'm a bit tired right now, so I want to go to sleep for a while.

After saying this, Yun Kangyue ignored them and returned to her room alone. She did not sleep well last night and was very sleepy. The palace was quiet. Since there was nothing to do, it was better to sleep late.