Rong'er thought to himself: In this palace, there will always be people who are happy, and people who are sad, and who are always alternating. If someone wants to seize all the happiness, that person will be asking for trouble.
He looked at the Great Wall, surrounded by green trees, rippling green water, serene and comfortable. Most of the time, the empress dowager stayed near the temple, and during the day, Rong'er and the other imperial concubines would accompany the empress dowager as they recited the Buddha, while Xuan Ye and his three bros would patrol the vicinity, most of the time not within the palace.
One day in July, after Xuan Ye returned to the palace, his face was filled with joy. At that time, Rong'er and a few imperial concubines were chatting with the empress dowager in her palace. Seeing that Xuan Ye had suddenly returned to pay his respects, Xuan Ye smiled and waved his hands.
"Your majesty, why are you so happy today?" The wrinkles on her face had deepened, and her tone was not as angry as it was in the past. However, there was still a dignified carving of time that remained on her face. Of course, in the face of Xuan Ye, the current her didn't have the sternness she once had, and was more like a kind grandmother.
"Royal Grandmother, your grandson just received a good news from the capital. Shi Lang's war in Taiwan has already conquered Penghu." Xuan Ye said happily.
"Really!?" So fast! This is truly a cause for celebration! " The empress dowager smiled as she spoke.
"That's right, that's why I've already instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hold a banquet at the palace tonight. We'll stop Shi Lang and take Taiwan as soon as possible!" Xuan Ye nodded.
When she saw her grandson's confident and strong face, the empress dowager smiled in relief. Back then, the Zheng family of Taiwan had always been a sore point in her son's heart, but now, her grandson was finally about to fulfill his last wish. "Your majesty, we've already been out for more than a month, it's time to return to the palace. Now that the south side of Taiwan is at war, the emperor should sit in the palace and direct."
"Royal Grandmother, it's alright. This trip is to let you take the summer off. It's fine to stay here for a few more days." Xuan Ye softly said to his royal grandmother.
A few days ago, This Dowager asked the people who came to the palace whether they were happy or not. They said that Yi Yi Fei cried like she was crying every day, and how it would be of any use if the empress dowager was by your side. The empress dowager smiled bitterly.
Seeing the empress dowager's expression, Rong'er's heart ached for no reason. She felt that it was too little for a woman to be able to reach the empress dowager, and she was so strong, that she watched her own man, Taizong, leave, and watched her own son, Greatest Ancestor, leave. She even watched as so many of her great-grandsons and great-granddaughters passed away, and admired the empress dowager from the bottom of her heart.
Xuan Ye naturally saw the empress dowager's expression and couldn't help but feel unwell. He forced a smile and said, "If grandma wants to return to the palace, we'll set off in two days."
The empress dowager smiled and nodded. "This Dowager's summer shelter is quite good. Let's head back to the palace."
On the way back to the palace, Xuan Ye received a piece of news that he was extremely unwilling to hear: Imperial Noble Concubine Yi's little princess had passed away. When Xuan Ye told the empress dowager the news, they had just set out on their way. After they arrived at the capital that night, Xuan Ye knew that sooner or later they would let the empress dowager know, so he didn't hide anything from her. At that time, Rong'er was accompanying the empress dowager for a meal, and when the empress dowager heard the news, she didn't say a single word.
After a long while, the empress dowager raised her head and said, "Actually, we've already guessed it. We're staying here to take shelter, so it must be very sad for the palace. Ah, especially for your mother, she was already very pampering to XiuNing. XiuNing is too pitiful. Let's bring some things back for her and comfort them a little more."
Xuan Ye nodded in agreement. He raised his eyes to meet Rong'er's, and both of their eyes were filled with helplessness and heartache.
The next day, Xuanye played the letter of the empress, saying that he was on his way back to the palace, but that the time of return was difficult to determine. He personally made Lu Wei serve with the empress dowager, and after leaving the palace for almost two months, he missed his mother very much, and at the same time prepared some hazelnuts to send along with the letters and horses back to the palace.
Because of the news of the death of our royal daughter, everyone became a little less cheerful and silent. The concubine that accompanied them this time wasn't a talkative person and because she was usually kind to others, we couldn't help but feel a little bit sad.
As they travelled forward, just as they were about to reach the capital, everyone received news that the Imperial Concubine Yi had given birth to a prince. This made the empress dowager's face darken for a few days, and then reveal a smile. Along the way, Rong'er felt that she had truly paid for her sorrow and joy. After a day, the imperial carriage finally arrived at the capital.
Rong'er had visited Yi Fei on the same night as he returned to the palace, bringing some food from places he had brought along for her on the way. His sister, Xiu Shan, was currently accompanying his sister, while his sister, Xiu Shan, was lying beside him, while his sister, Xiu Shan, was also lying on her bed, pale, with tears in her eyes that could fall at any moment. She had cried for quite a while when she heard that the emperor had come to see her last time, and it was indeed a pity that she had cried for her son. On his way to Kubei Kou, the former emperor gave the little princess the name of Zhukang, hoping that the princess would be healthy, but in the end, there was no healthy person who survived. Rong'er silently accompanied her in her grief, causing her to be filled with sorrow. This was actually good for her body, and she was afraid that if she did not release her sorrow, it would eventually become a disease. Back then, this was how the filial piety Queen felt, and Rong'er knew that her heart was in pain, but she did not say it, nor did she cry.
When she came out of the Imperial Concubine Yi's room, it was raining. It was late summer and early autumn, and the drizzle was slightly chilly. Did the heavens even feel sad? And why so brutally take the life of the little princess?
Before Rong'er returned to the palace, he once again visited the Imperial Concubine Yi, where he was being led by Master Le. The Imperial Concubine Yi, whose body was still weak, laid down on the warm brick bed, and when he saw Rong'er, he greeted her happily, "Sister Rong, you've come back, and missed me to death."
"Yeah, you're here too?" Congratulations, little sister. Another Dragon Queen has appeared. " Rong'er said with a smile.
He held a bowl of soup and curled his lips. "I wonder what kind of good luck my sister had, to have produced two princes in a row!"
"What kind of luck? This was good luck! Your sister and I are blessed people, are you jealous? " The Imperial Concubine Yi said with a chuckle.
"Yu Qi'er, come here and feed the soup to your master!" Master Le raised his head and called for the palace maid of the Imperial Concubine Yi.
Imperial Concubine Yi looked at her sister in amusement, "I never asked you to feed me, you had to do it yourself, I was afraid that you would say that I bullied you, a pregnant person."
If it wasn't for Ah Ma and my eldest mother saying that you had just finished giving birth, I, as their younger sister, would have taken care of you for a while longer. Do you think I would be willing to take care of you? As he finished speaking, he gave Rong'er a big smile, and with the support of his palace maids, led Yue Jing out of the warm pavilion in Imperial Concubine Yi.
Imperial Concubine Yi shook her head and laughed, then said to Rong'er: "My sister has a bad temper, and doesn't follow the rules, don't mind her!"
"Why would I mind!? I just like the way you sisters are. Being together with you two makes me feel very happy. " Rong'er laughed lightly. Coming to the Imperial Concubine Yi, the two sisters always made people smile, and the sadness from the Imperial Noble Concubine Yi just now lessened.
Rong'er's expression became serious, and said softly, "I just came over from Imperial Noble Concubine Yi, her body seems to be getting skinnier."
"Ai!" The Imperial Concubine Yi let out a light sigh, "I, as a prince, just happened to be born not long after the little princess passed away. "You know that ever since the empress dowager raised Yin Qi, she has treated me well, but no matter how nice she is, she can't compare to Imperial Consort Yi, so ah, even a prince like me can't compare to his princess."
The empress dowager had indeed treated you well when she was growing up. When the empress dowager raised Changhua, she actually treated me pretty well, and after Changhua died, there was news of me in the palace, so the empress dowager's feelings towards me had also gradually lightened. The empress dowager isn't a person with a hot temper, after all, the Imperial Noble Concubine Yi was someone she grew up to look after, so it's only right for her to feel a little heartache. Rong'er thought of his past with the Empress Dowager and said quietly.
"I was just saying, how could I really think like that …" The Imperial Concubine Yi smiled and said, "At least I am luckier than her, I already have two princes, a woman without her own son is quite sad."
"That's right, it's not easy for any of us in the palace. We should understand each other!" Rong'er sighed lightly. This was the imperial harem. There would always be people happy, but there would always be people sad. In this palace, happiness would never belong to just one person.
A few days later, the Emperor bestowed upon the new prince of Imperial Concubine Yi the name of Yin.