Chapter 289: Volume 1, Chapter 289 – His Heart Beats Violently

Rong Luoge nodded thoughtfully, thought it was fine, and said with a smile, "That'll do. That way the internal‑external communication can improve a bit, but it's only a temporary fix; the fundamental solution is to gradually replace the palace staff. Before the Empress Dowager left the palace, she handed all her contacts to me, which I can use for now."

Han Xinglan thought seriously, "We can't start a big conflict this year; next year we can select palace staff again and replace them batch by batch."

Rong Luoge knew the palace staff couldn't be swapped all at once; there had to be an old‑to‑new transition, otherwise the newcomers would know nothing and everything would fall into chaos.

After finishing that talk, the two of them no longer mentioned the Empress Dowager. Han Xinglan was in a bad mood and didn't want to bring it up; Rong Luoge felt it was unnecessary—if the Empress Dowager no longer even cherishes the last mother‑child bond, any future regret would be useless.

After the meal, the two teased the child on the warm couch. Kang Kang was now very sensitive to people and sounds; Rong Luoge also intended to train him slowly, doing some sound training whenever she had time, and found it quite interesting.

The official office outside the West Palace Gate finally moved, and a new Weaving Workshop began construction soon after. Rong Luoge was instantly busy; people from the Ministry of Works came to supervise, and as the workshop gradually took shape, she prepared to visit it herself.

Han Xinglan, after learning this, simply took a day off to accompany her.

Kang Kang stayed at Fengyi Palace, leaving Rong Xin and Que Cai to guard; the couple, with a light carriage and simple retinue, changed into casual clothes and went to the workshop.

Rong Luoge stood outside the workshop, looked at the imposing building, and said with a smile, "It looks quite proper."

"The Ministry of Works handles this; if they can't even do it right, they can go home and eat themselves." Han Xinglan pushed the door open and strode in, holding Rong Luoge's hand.

The whole workshop was built very grandly; after entering and passing the screen wall a short distance, a large spinning wheel stood there. Originally Rong Luoge wanted a water‑powered large spinning wheel to save labor, but drawing water here was difficult, so it had to be changed to manual.

The spinning wheel's structure isn't too complex; there are about seven or eight such wheels, enough for now.

Outside there were neatly arranged jacquard machines and loom frames, plus commonly used waist looms. Going further north through the second gate led to the dye workshop, which had five or six reservoirs and dozens of colored dye vats neatly lined up against the wall.

She also checked the warehouse for incoming dyes; they aren't all here yet and are being received gradually.

The outermost area was the cloth storage; everything there was undyed fabric, piled in abundance, enough for several months.

"How does it look?" Han Xinglan asked Rong Luoge.

Rong Luoge smiled, "It looks decent; once we start, we'll need to see the production process. As long as it runs smoothly, there'll be no problem."

"When do you plan to start?"

"First keep it low‑key; we can pick an auspicious day ourselves." Rong Luoge looked at Han Xinglan, "We haven't achieved any notable results yet; broadcasting widely would be unwise, we should stay modest."

Han Xinglan smiled, "Fine, you're in charge of your workshop."

Rong Luoge and Han Xinglan exited through the side gate; Shi An had already cleared the road, and they hadn't met anyone along the way. Now out of the workshop and onto the street, watching the crowd, Rong Luoge said to Han Xinglan, "It's rare to come out; let's stroll, feels like ages since we last shopped."

Han Xinglan took her hand, "Alright, wherever you want to go, I'll accompany you."

He felt a bit guilty; it had been a long time since Rong Luoge left the palace, and the outside world was somewhat unfamiliar to her. Seeing her so interested, he naturally agreed to accompany her.

Rong Luoge had no particular destination; the two just walked along the street, the thoroughfare bustling with pedestrians, chatter, and hawkers' cries nonstop.

Rong Luoge bought two sticks of candied hawthorn, gave one to Han Xinglan and kept one for herself. Shopping without eating feels like missing a soul.

Han Xinglan, both amused and exasperated, looked at the candied hawthorn in his hand, then at Rong Luoge naturally biting one and eating slowly, so he also bit one, the sweet‑sour taste. He rarely eats this; the palace never had them when he was young, and only later did he try them for novelty.

Rong Luoge walked a street, entering each cloth and silk shop to inspect; each time she emerged she told Han Xinglan. Overall, the cloth shops had too few patterns, while the embroidery shop offered embroidered pieces, but the prices were too high for common folk.

Rong Luoge aims to produce fabric that ordinary people can afford. Although rank restrictions prevent many patterns and textures from being available to commoners, cotton and linen can still be patterned.

She gradually shared her thoughts with Han Xinglan; he looked at her, "Why are you always thinking of the common folk?"

Rong Luoge thought the question was apt; before transmigrating she was a commoner, only later was she selected and trained as a special elite talent.

In her mind, the people are her roots; she wants the masses to enjoy good lives.

But she knew she couldn't say it like that to Han Xinglan, paused, then said, "To set the heart for heaven and earth, to give destiny to the people, to inherit the lost teachings of the sages, to bring peace for all ages. I cannot achieve such grand feats, but I am willing to improve the everyday lives of the common folk, so that girls growing up in rural villages can also wear beautiful clothes—who doesn't love beauty?"

"To set the heart for heaven and earth, to give destiny to the people, to inherit the sages' teachings, to bring peace for all ages. That's a wonderful saying; it's easy to speak, hard to accomplish." Han Xinglan turned his head to look at Rong Luoge, "We will devote our whole lives to this; we, as a couple, will walk this path together."

Rong Luoge looked up at Han Xinglan, tiptoed slightly, and whispered into his ear, "Han Xinglan, when you look at me like that, I really want to kiss you—you're just so handsome!"

Han Xinglan's face flushed instantly; before he could recover, he heard Rong Luoge laugh, turn around, and run off.

He instinctively touched his chest—his heart was beating wildly.

Han Xinglan hurriedly caught up to Rong Luoge, gripping her hand tightly in his palm.

Rong Luoge's face was all smiles; she thought how wonderful it would be to be this happy forever.

When she first transmigrated, she never imagined she could have a day like this.

"Mother, is that… Rong Luoge?" Rong Dai, standing on the second floor of the tavern, frowned at the people passing below and asked.

Di Yue Nu replied, "How could Rong Luoge be here? You must have mistaken. First, clarify what you said earlier; what's the situation between you and Prince Qi?"