bookbashuk Chapter 199 Southern Tour
Chapter 199 Southern Tour
The relationship between the emperor and Ruyi is still cold, but Ruyi doesn't care and says to Rong Pei.
"Rong Pei, I often dream about Ling Yunche these days. My heart aches when I think of how he used to be such a high-spirited person, but suffered humiliation because of me!"
Rong Pei consoled him, "Didn't the Empress instruct the Fifth Prince to find a Feng Shui treasured site for Ling Yunche's burial, and also asked the housekeeper of Prince Rong's mansion to visit the grave frequently to pay respects?"
Ruyi said, "I hope Ling Yunche can rest in peace and be reborn into a wealthy family in the future without suffering these hardships."
Rong Pei said: "Yes, the Queen should pray for Ling Yunche in front of the Buddha every day, and the heaven will definitely hear it."
After listening to Rong Pei's consolation, Ruyi felt much better.
Rong Pei turned around and said worriedly, "Empress, the emperor has not set foot in the harem for a long time, except for sending Concubine Rong and Concubine Shu to the Yangxin Palace from time to time. Even Concubine Rong's Baoyue Tower has not been visited by the emperor for a long time."
"Empress, it's not a good idea for you to always be angry with the emperor. Ling Yunche is already dead, so you should stop fighting with the emperor."
Ruyi sighed, "This palace and His Majesty, and Imperial Concubine Ling and Ling Yunche, are all childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Imperial Concubine Ling betrayed Ling Yunche because of power, and this palace and His Majesty once had such a loving life, and I thought it would always be like this."
"But I never expected that the emperor would always be obsessed with Empress Xiaoxian and would listen to Concubine Ling and eventually kill Ling Yunche."
"The emperor is no longer the Hongli I knew. He is now the emperor who is high above me. If the emperor and I stay together, we will inevitably say things that hurt each other. It is better not to see each other."
Over the years, there is no difference between Yikun Palace and the Cold Palace.
Rong Pei was really worried about Ruyi's situation, and continued to persuade her: "But Queen, the Emperor values the Fifth Prince more and more. There are rumors inside and outside the palace that the Emperor intends to make the Fifth Prince the Crown Prince. If you continue like this, what will happen to the future of the Twelfth Prince?"
Ruyi was not too worried about this. "If it is Yongqi, that's good too. That way Yongqi won't be under so much pressure and he can really become a noble prince in the future."
Rong Pei thought that Ruyi really admired Yongqi and felt that as the crown prince, Yongqi was better than the princes of other concubines.
"Fifth Prince has been filial to the Queen since he was young, and Yuzhuer is even more loyal to the Queen. If Fifth Prince really inherits the throne in the future, he will definitely not treat the Queen and Twelfth Prince unfairly."
Ruyi immediately changed her words and said, "Yongqi is naturally very good, but I'm afraid Yongqi doesn't have such thoughts. Moreover, the emperor attaches the most importance to legitimate sons. Yongqi is the emperor's only legitimate son. The emperor will not agree. Such rumors are not credible. Don't say them again in the future!"
Rong Pei nodded and said, "The Emperor will be going on a southern tour soon, so the Empress should go out and relax."
Ruyi shook her head, "This time, I won't go."
Rong Pei was shocked and said, "Isn't this a bad idea? Your Highness, as the Queen, is not accompanying the Emperor on his southern tour, which will inevitably lead to speculation."
Ruyi snorted coldly, "What is there to speculate about? Everyone knows that the emperor loves Concubine Ling the most. It will be enough to have Concubine Ling accompany the emperor on his southern tour!"
The emperor was preparing to tour the south again, but Ruyi was unwilling to go. Hai Lan could not see Ruyi, so she had to ask Yongqi to go to Yikun Palace to persuade her.
"Your son pays respects to the Empress Dowager! I heard from Empress Yu that the Empress Dowager is unwilling to go on the southern tour. Is it because of the incident in the Imperial Garden last year?"
"It's all your fault that I drank too much and acted strangely in the Imperial Garden, so I asked the eunuch who served beside me to report it to the Emperor! If it weren't for this, the Emperor and the Empress wouldn't have quarreled, and Guard Ling wouldn't have died. It's all your fault!"
Ruyi comforted Yongqi, "This is not your fault. We were plotted against. The Empress Dowager and your father did not quarrel. The Empress Dowager just likes quietness."
Yongqi had grown up and such rhetoric could no longer deceive him.
Yongqi remembered Hailan's words and said to Ruyi, "Your Majesty, don't lie to me. Your Majesty hasn't been to the harem for a long time, but he still misses you, Ling Niang and Shu Niang."
"Empress Ling has four younger brothers and sisters. People in and outside the palace say that the Emperor wants to make Empress Ling the Imperial Noble Consort!"
Ruyi didn't believe such rumors at all. "According to the rules of our ancestors, the Empress and Imperial Noble Consort cannot be in office at the same time, unless it is a posthumous title like Imperial Noble Consort Zhemin, or a congratulatory title like Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui."
"Now that my mother is still alive and your Imperial Concubine is in good health, how could your Royal Father want to establish an Imperial Concubine?"
Yongqi was worried and said, "But if this is true, it will spread all over the palace. There is no smoke without fire. What should we do if it comes true?"
Ruyi comforted Yongji again. Although Ruyi said that she didn't care, she was still a little unsure in her heart.
After some ideological struggle, he decided to send someone to the Yangxin Palace to inquire.
Ruyi asked Sanbao to deliver some snacks to the emperor. When Sanbao went, the emperor was discussing the southern tour with Fucha Fuheng.
Sanbao said, "The Queen ordered me to bring some snacks to the Emperor. Please inform Eunuch Jinzhong."
Ruyi hadn't sent anyone to the Yangxin Palace for a long time, and Jinzhong immediately guessed that Ruyi had sent Sanbao to inquire about the news.
Jinzhong said, "This is unfortunate. The emperor is discussing important matters with Master Fuheng and has ordered that no one should disturb him. How about you leave the things here, and I will report to the emperor when Master Fuheng comes out?"
San Bao hurriedly declined, "This is the Queen's intention. I don't have anything else to do, so I'll just wait here."
Jinzhong didn't care and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Sanbao to wait."
Sanbao stood at the entrance of the hall, with his ears perked up to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.
The emperor said, "Before I go on my southern tour, I want to go to Yuling to pay my respects to Empress Xiaoxian and see how the construction of Yuling is going."
Fu Heng said, "Your Majesty always cares about Empress Xiaoxian, which really touches me. Yuling has been built, but it is not yet certain how many tablets will be in the main tomb chamber."
The emperor said, "Empress Xiaoxian and Imperial Noble Consort Zhemin have already been buried in Yuling. Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui has her own mausoleum, which may be moved to Yuling in the future. As for the Empress, Imperial Noble Consort Ling and Imperial Noble Consort Shu are the highest-ranking concubines, and they have given birth to princes, so they should also be buried in Yuling."
Fu Heng asked meaningfully: "Has the emperor really decided? Concubine Shu was born into the Yehenara family, and no one would say anything if she was buried in Yuling. But Concubine Ling was born into a bondservant family, so it is inevitable..."
The emperor didn't care. "So what? Haven't I already been supporting Concubine Ling's family? Concubine Ling gave birth to six children for me and is in charge of palace affairs. If anyone thinks Concubine Ling's status is not high enough, I can promote Concubine Ling to a higher position!"
Fu Heng smiled and said, "Your Majesty has done a great job in giving birth to the emperor's heir and managing the palace affairs well. Your Majesty is wise!"