noffsinger Chapter 118 Secret Talk
Chapter 118 Secret Talk
On the ninth day of the fourth month, Lou Yong'er gave birth to a daughter.
On April 19th, with Lou Yong'er looking nervous, Tara came to the west wing hall with the yoke.
Sitting on the small table beside the bed, Tara pointed to the brocade box in Jia'er's arms and said, "I heard that women in the Central Plains like to use ginseng to nourish their bodies, but it's so expensive. I can't even afford ten-year-old ginseng. The imperial physician said that the medicinal properties of angelica are very good for women after childbirth, so I bought the best angelica from the Imperial Hospital."
Lou Yonger: “…”
Jiaer handed over the brocade box, and Lan Li respectfully bowed to Tara before putting it in his arms.
Lou Yong'er lowered her eyes, "Thank you very much. Your Excellency is here to visit the princess, right? The princess is with her wet nurse now, so it will take a while."
Tara shook her head. "I saw it that day. The princess is very healthy, as strong as a newborn calf. With you here, I have nothing to worry about."
Lou Yong'er looked at Tara's clear and bright eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
Tara continued, "We both live together, and you can't go out anyway, so don't get bored by yourself."
Tara spread her legs, rested her arms on her thighs and looked at Lou Yonger, "What do you usually talk about when you chat?"
Lou Yong'er was silent for a moment, recalling the content of her conversation with Zhen Huan and the others, and replied, "I don't know either."
"...I don't know the fashionable patterns of fabrics in the capital. What patterns do you like?"
Lou Yong'er opened her mouth and said, "I, I like zinnias."
Tara blinked. "It sounds very lively. Where can I find it in the palace? I can bring it to you."
In the countryside of that small county town, the most common flowers are crape myrtle, mallow, cockscomb, etc. These flowers have a common feature, which is that they are easy to grow. Often, a handful of seeds are sown and they grow wildly in an unattended corner until spring and autumn, when their bright colors stand out among the green bushes.
To keep Lou Yonger content in her hometown, Grandma planted a row of colorful zinnias outside her bedside window. The red zinnias were rare, and even in mild winters, you could still see them trembling in the chill. Zinnias grow quickly and require a lot of fertilizer, so Grandma often went around asking for unrotted soil. The stench kept Lou Yonger away. While other people display their flowers in front of their houses for the neighbors to see, Grandma planted hers behind the house, just for her.
There were pink, red, yellow, white, rose-red, and orange-red, and the petals surrounding the center were layered, like a sunflower, but with many more layers. Such gaudy flowers were rarely favored by young people. During the summer before leaving for college, I even complained about them on my WeChat Moments before riding my electric scooter to the county town to visit the only mall.
Lou Yong'er's eyes were filled with tears. "Zinnias are very eye-catching and can live for a long time. They are very warm in the sun. They have no fragrance, and the fertilizer has an unpleasant smell. But, I kind of want to see them now."
Lou Yong'er's voice and expression were both very strange. Tara stood up hurriedly and said, "There are all kinds of flowers in the greenhouse. I will bring them back to you later."
"No need, you sit down first." Lou Yong'er wiped her eyes and pulled the corner of Tara's robe.
Baidu Encyclopedia says that zinnias were not discovered by foreigners until 1789. Lou Yonger smiled and said, "I will never see this kind of flower in my lifetime. What about you? What kind of flowers do you like?"
Tara sat back down with some concern. She thought for a moment and said, "There's a kind of cotton flower, the cotton ball clematis. The flower is small and as white as cotton. The rhizome can heal injuries from falls. The tender stems and leaves can be eaten in spring, but they don't taste very good. It might be because I didn't cook it well. Eating it in winter will keep you from getting sick so easily..."
The newborn princess was very healthy, but the emperor decided to go to the Old Summer Palace at the end of April, so Lou Yong'er had to spend the princess's full moon in the palace with her daughter.
Concubine Hui asked to stay on the pretext of serving the Empress Dowager.
On the day the emperor left the palace, Lou Yong'er was still in confinement after her baby was born, so she stayed in her own bedroom to enjoy the peace and quiet.
Touching the baby's smooth and plump cheek, Lou Yong'er murmured, "It's better not to go, so as not to get involved in the Nian family's affairs."
A stack of papers pressed at the bottom of the cupboard was burned to ashes. Lou Yong'er asked for seeds from the greenhouse and started planting flowers and plants in Zhongcui Palace.
......
......
Concubine Hua officially returned to the position of Imperial Concubine.
In the emperor's increasing preference for Qingliang Palace and Concubine Hua's silence, Concubine Wen keenly sensed something was wrong.
Nian Gengyao was very proud of Concubine Hua's restoration.
He himself held the title of Grand General and Governor of two provinces, his sister was the highest-ranking Imperial Concubine in the palace, his second son was a first-class baron, and his other two sons each held an official position. He was truly second only to the emperor.
The letters from Concubine Hua one after another failed to make him calm down. They only made him feel that his sister had suffered a great injustice, which made him so worried. So he decided to show off his unstoppable momentum with his military achievements, and his contacts with Prince Dun became more frequent.
In a secluded corner of the Imperial Garden, the vibrant blossoms couldn't conceal a subtle tension. Zhen Huan wore a pale blue palace gown, the kingfisher-inlaid pearls in her hair unmoved by the breeze. Concubine Wen, dressed simply, walked in front and behind, both smiling and talking.
"Since Noble Concubine Hua is willing to inquire about my movements, I must return the favor." Zhen Huan gazed into the distance, revealing an unspeakable smile. "What does Noble Concubine Hua think of this restoration?"
Wenpin wore a subtle smile on her face. "Because of her previous fall from favor, she is intoxicated but also anxious about losing it. Because the emperor treats you so specially, she is quite wary of you."
"She has long regarded me as her mortal enemy, and I did the same in the past."
Concubine Wen walked up to Zhen Huan and said slowly, "My sister has her own plans, and I am just doing my best to help. But there is one thing." She turned and looked at Zhen Huan.
"You and I have no direct interests at stake. To put it bluntly, we're just united by interests. When the interests run out, we can go our separate ways. I'm from a humble background and can't compete with you. I'm afraid I can't be of much assistance to you."
This was asking for practical benefits. Zhen Huan laughed, stepped forward and said softly: "I also have some ideas about this matter. I have no children, and Princess Wen Yi is beautiful and lovely. I love her very much. If I can become her adoptive mother, it will be a comfort to me in this palace."
Wenpin showed hesitation, but soon regained her smile: "Sister Wanpin is so kind, but this matter concerns my daughter, so I need to think carefully."
At this moment, a breeze blew by, and the flowers beside rustled, as if they were also listening to the unusual conversation deep in the palace.