Chapter 101: Volume 1, Chapter 101: Just Loves Teasing the Crown Prince

Just as Rong Luoge had predicted, the Crown Prince indeed had no time to return to keep her company for lunch.

But he had Yuan Bao bring her the newly made silver-thread fish soup from the kitchen today. Rong Luoge looked at the large red lacquered food box on the table—having Yuan Bao bring back a dish of fish soup from so far away—yet her mood was very good.

This was the feeling of being cherished and held dear in someone's heart.

After lunch, Rong Xin finally returned and said to the Good Lady: "This servant has made thorough inquiries. This Liu Yingying is the daughter of the Governor of Yunjiang's first wife. Liu Yingying's birth mother suffered difficult labor when giving birth to her and died right after delivering her. Later, Governor Liu took a new wife to care for his daughter. Liu Yingying's stepmother has always had a good reputation in the Liu household—in everyone's eyes, she doted on her stepdaughter as if she were her own. But in truth, she secretly mistreated the stepdaughter. This time Liu Yingying entered the palace to seek the Empress's protection. I heard that Governor Liu's second wife wanted to marry Liu Yingying off to a widower. Liu Yingying refused and, left with no way out, took her birth mother's token to request an audience with the Empress."

Rong Luoge listened—these relationships were quite complicated. She sorted through the details, then asked: "Does Governor Liu know about his second wife mistreating his stepdaughter?"

"Governor Liu serves his posts away from home year-round. Lady Liu stays in their hometown to fulfill filial duties before his parents and raise the children. Father and daughter might not even see each other once throughout the year."

So that meant he didn't know.

"Did Liu Yingying's birth mother have some private friendship with the Empress?"

Otherwise, how would there be any token?

"The specifics are not very clear, but this token is genuine, and Liu Yingying can indeed enter the palace by virtue of it, so there presumably was some connection," Rong Xin said.

Rong Luoge recalled the scene she witnessed today—that Liu Yingying appeared delicate and frail, yet could steadily fall into the Emperor's arms; she was probably no simple character either. At the very least, that performance was utterly seamless.

So, Liu Yingying didn't want to marry the widower—she had likely reached some kind of agreement with the Empress, and that was how she entered the palace.

It's just that on her way into the palace to seek help, she happened to encounter His Majesty, and was rescued by His Majesty in a heroic manner. What came next was probably only natural.

Consort Zhong, Liu Yingying—Rong Luoge now couldn't see through what chess the Empress was playing either.

In the Empress's net, who knew how many prey there were—even she herself was caught in it.

Liu Yingying was hard to read; Rong Luoge didn't plan to have any dealings with her. But Consort Zhong was truly pitiful—living quietly and dutifully in the Hou Gong for so many years, bullied by Consort Ming from time to time, already miserable enough, and now still being used by others.

As a Good Lady of the Dong Gong, Rong Luoge of course couldn't be a Buddha to universally save her, but she could set up a ladder for her and leave a thread of hope—to see whether Consort Zhong could grasp it herself.

"Rong Xin, go do something for me," Rong Luoge said softly.

"Good Lady, please say," Rong Xin said.

"Consort Zhong's situation right now isn't good. Secretly take some tonics to her—don't let anyone find out," Rong Luoge said.

Once she showed goodwill, as long as Consort Zhong wasn't foolish to the extreme, she should know what to do.

Rong Xin heard the Good Lady's words and said: "The Good Lady is just too soft-hearted. Pitiful people like Consort Zhong are plentiful in the palace."

"Consort Zhong has a child in her belly—consider it doing good and accumulating merit," Rong Luoge said, looking at Rong Xin with a smile.

Hearing this, Rong Xin indeed stopped trying to dissuade her, and instead said: "Then this servant will go before the Hou Gong locks up for the night. There won't be many people around then, so it won't be easy to be discovered."

"Fine, handle it as you see fit." Rong Luoge was always quite at ease when directing Rong Xin to handle matters.

Rong Xin went to the storehouse to select tonics and happened to run into Que Cai coming out of the storehouse. She casually asked, "Why are you here?"

Que Cai said: "Today the Good Lady mentioned the matter of Liu Yingying and was in a poor mood, so I thought that the Good Lady and that Liu Yingying actually share some similarities—both lost their parents at a young age. So I wanted to make an outfit for the Good Lady to wear. Look, how are the fabrics I picked?"

"With the Good Lady's current status, how can she wear bright red?" Rong Xin hurriedly snatched the fabric back. "Pick another one."

"I'm not making an outer garment. I'll make an undergarment for the Good Lady to wear underneath—can anyone peel open her clothes to look? Besides, didn't Consort Ming also wear bright red some years ago? The rules in the palace are simply whatever His Majesty says goes." Que Cai took it back. "It's just an undergarment—with full embroidery, that bit of red is merely an accent. It won't cause any trouble."

"Full embroidery? That takes a lot of effort. You haven't done that in a couple of years."

"Indeed." Que Cai nodded with a smile. "The Good Lady is worth me burning the midnight oil and straining my eyes."

Rong Xin immediately laughed. "Go on and busy yourself then. I'll pick some tonics."

"The Good Lady wants to drink them?"

"They're for Consort Zhong." Rong Xin explained once more.

Que Cai recalled how the Good Lady had asked her why the Empress didn't look after Consort Zhong, and her expression darkened slightly. "The Good Lady is truly too soft-hearted. The Empress clearly has other plans."

"Don't say such things carelessly."

"I didn't even dare say it in front of the Good Lady, but she's so clever—she can probably guess something. Never mind, then you go ahead and pick. We'll just be careful and not let Fengyi Palace find out."

"Mm, His Highness will protect the Good Lady."

The two finished speaking and went their separate ways, both unable to help feeling somewhat worried in their hearts. The Empress's recent actions were truly becoming increasingly inscrutable—they should still report to His Highness.

Today, it wasn't until the sky was completely dark that Han Xinglan finally returned, traveling beneath the stars and moon.

Standing before the gates of Changxin Palace, looking at the lamplight inside, his cold eyes took on a trace of warmth, and the exhaustion of a day's rushing about seemed to fly away.

The courtyard was perfectly quiet. Rong Luoge had always been a quiet person; when there was nothing to do, Changxin Palace was always peaceful and still.

He entered the main hall and saw no one—neither of the two maids were there either—so he turned and headed toward the study.

Sure enough, outside the study he saw Que Cai doing needlework. Que Cai hurriedly rose to bow. Han Xinglan waved his hand, lifted the curtain himself, and walked in to see Rong Luoge holding a book, reading it, with a brush in her hand—the ink on the tip about to drip but not yet dripping.

He walked over, took the brush from her hand, and gently placed it on the inkstone.

Rong Luoge looked up and saw Han Xinglan. She didn't rise, just looked at him and said: "You're quite late today. How did things go?"

Han Xinglan nodded as he said: "Progress is good, everything is going according to plan..." His words suddenly stopped. He picked up the drawing on the desk and studied it carefully, taking a long while before speaking. "What is this?"

"Dowry for my husband," Rong Luoge said with a teasing laugh.

Han Xinglan turned sharply. Under the lamplight, Rong Luoge's eyes were dewy and bright, carrying a silky, alluring charm, and the words she spoke were even more captivating.

Looking at Han Xinglan, she first gave a soft laugh, and when she saw his slightly reddened eyes, she laughed even more openly. She was about to say something when her vision went dark—she was pulled tightly into someone's embrace.

"Your Highness, are you so happy you can't speak?" Rong Luoge just loved teasing him—and however she teased him, she was happy.