Chapter 149: Volume One – Chapter 149 The Consort

Volume One – Chapter 149 The Consort's Imperial Carriage

In fact, the distance from the Dong Gong to the Hou Gong is not far; it is the path Rong Luoge usually takes when going to pay her respects.

But Han Xinglan insisted that Rong Luoge wait in the Dong Gong; he sent a consort's imperial carriage to the Dong Gong, without any special announcement, yet such a carriage entering the Dong Gong makes it impossible to stay low‑key.

With the new emperor's enthronement, the Hou Gong naturally needs to be reordered. The Late Emperor's concubines have become Grand Consorts, and arranging these Grand Consorts is a headache.

Han Xinglan must be busy with the enthronement ceremony, a series of ennoblements for the ministers, and, in addition, he must first send the Late Emperor's coffin to the imperial tomb.

One matter follows another, leaving no time to attend to the Grand Consorts' arrangements, so having someone to oversee the Hou Gong's overall affairs becomes crucial.

Han Xinglan did not hesitate to bring Rong Luoge into the Hou Gong, and the news spread, leaving everyone greatly surprised.

Although Rong Good Lady caused no trouble after entering the Dong Gong, she was once the Princess Consort Qi, and the word "divorce" remains her greatest shackles.

People speculated who the new emperor would first bring into the Hou Gong to oversee matters; the most favored was Song Good Lady, the daughter of the Marquis Ningyuan, whose family background and rank were both sufficient.

Who could have thought it would be Rong Good Lady.

Marquis Ningyuan fumed at home, secretly contacting ministers to prepare a petition to impeach Rong Good Lady for a blemished reputation, claiming she is insufficient to bear the Hou Gong's heavy responsibilities.

At this moment, Rong Luoge entered the Hou Gong riding the consort's carriage; she noticed an additional guarded palace gate leading into the Hou Gong—previously there was no guard, but now there was.

Rong Xin stepped forward, produced a waist badge, and the guard's elite troops, after inspecting it, let her pass.

Rong Luoge entered the Hou Gong not knowing where to go; any palace within the Hou Gong that Han Xinglan had reviewed the petitions for was occupied by the Late Emperor's Grand Consorts.

In other words, unless the Grand Consorts are first settled, Rong Luoge has no preferred palace to choose.

However, since Han Xinglan sent her here, it must have been arranged; she never asked along the way. When the carriage finally stopped, she stepped down and looked up to see a plaque bearing the three characters Yuzhao Gong.

Rong Luoge did not expect Han Xinglan to place her here; Yuzhao Gong had been left idle since the Late Emperor's time. It once housed palace concubines, but after some incident, the Empress Dowager sealed it off, and no concubine has lived there since.

Yet the current Yuzhao Gong is clearly renovated; pushing the door open, one can see the cleared weeds on the ground and even the courtyard plants appear freshly transplanted.

Rong Luoge was surprised; she knew a bit about Yuzhao Gong, having passed by it before and glimpsed it from afar. At that time the tiles were aged, the outer wall's paint peeled, and the doors and windows bore repair marks.

But the present Yuzhao Gong is unmistakably brand new; Rong Luoge thought it must have been the Inner Court Office that Han Xinglan ordered to refurbish overnight.

Such a short time—only the Inner Court Office could pull it off.

"Good Lady, go in first and have a look," Zhao Mama said with a smile.

Rong Luoge stepped onto the steps, walked a few paces, stood before the main hall, and gently pushed the hall's door open.

Opposite the main hall of Yuzhao Gong stood a throne; to the west was a floor‑standing four‑panel landscape screen. Beyond the screen one could see a warm couch by the window; against the western wall sat a petite, exquisite Duobao Pavilion, displaying her favorite white‑jade ornaments, while the opposite side featured a half‑lattice partition adorned with winding grape motifs.

The warm couch was covered with bright‑yellow cushions, matching pillows and armrests; on the windowsill a white‑jade incense burner released curling white smoke, and the scent of dragon‑scent incense filled the air, pleasant and fragrant.

Everything was brand new; Rong Luoge did not expect Han Xinglan to be so thoughtful—clearly he had paid attention to her preferences, so every item here was something she liked.

The moment she stepped inside, she felt the palace's aura resonated with her; she liked it very much.

Because during the mourning period, everything in the hall was in plain colors; all the bright red lacquered pillars in the palace were wrapped in gray‑blue cloth, giving a dull, muted appearance.

Zhao Mama, Rong Xin and others hurried to set up the boxes and cages she had brought—items she was accustomed to using in the Dong Gong—so Yuzhao Gong became lively in an instant.

Rong Luoge sat on the warm couch by the bedside, pondering when Han Xinglan might find time to see her, so she could ask what she could do to help him.

Just as she was thinking, Shi An hurried over, saluted Rong Luoge immediately, and said, "Good Lady, His Majesty has sent you to Hanliang Hall."

Rong Luoge rose at the words, "Your Majesty, is everything alright now?"

Shi An replied at once, "Your Majesty is fine, just too busy; since yesterday he has only slept two hours, his eyes are blood‑shot."

Hearing that, Rong Luoge became a bit worried, said nothing else, and followed Shi An to Hanliang Hall.

The advantage of staying in Yuzhao Gong became clear then, for the walk from Yuzhao Gong to Hanliang Hall was quick—about a quarter of an hour was enough.

A palace gate connects the Hou Gong to the former court, heavily guarded; Rong Luoge followed Shi An through this gate, then along the palace corridor winding past the long alley behind Yuzhang Palace to reach Hanliang Hall.

Shi An ushered Rong Good Lady inside, then said, "Good Lady, please wait here for a moment; Your Majesty is still in Zichen Hall handling the petitions, and will come over once he is done."

Rong Luoge nodded, "You go attend to your duties; I'll wait here for Your Majesty."

Shi An responded promptly and hurried to report back to Your Majesty.

Rong Luoge had never set foot in the former court's territory; when the Late Emperor was alive, her status forbade her from coming to such places.

Now she surveyed Hanliang Hall and found that all the furnishings had been replaced; she instantly felt much more comfortable.

Rong Xin and Que Cai were also newcomers to such a place, feeling very restrained, unsure where to place their hands and feet.

Seeing them like that, Rong Luoge smiled and said softly, "What are you afraid of? Go check the little tea room to see if there's tea."

Having rushed all the way without a break, Rong Luoge was indeed a bit thirsty.

Que Cai promptly replied and went out; a moment later she returned carrying a cup of tea, looking at Good Lady and saying with a smile, "I couldn't find the place, had to ask someone to learn where the little tea room is; I almost made a joke."

Rong Luoge smiled, "No rush, you'll get familiar quickly."

Just as she finished speaking, a greeting voice came from outside, followed by familiar footsteps; Rong Luoge immediately set down her tea cup, rose, and went to the doorway to welcome them.

At the doorway, the hall's doors were thrown open; her vision dimmed for a moment as a familiar figure with a familiar scent appeared before her, and before she could speak, he lifted her into his arms with great force.