RPAGF Chapter 83 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 10
Chapter 83 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 10
As time passed, it was the beginning of the third year of the Qianlong reign.
After a heavy snowfall, the Forbidden City was draped in a white coat. The golden glazed tiles were covered with snow, which, in contrast to the red palace walls, made it appear even more magnificent.
Two years later, Hongli is now increasingly adept at handling political affairs.
Although he had never been an emperor before, he had served as prime minister, so after understanding the current situation, he naturally got the hang of it quickly.
Some courtiers who wanted to take advantage of the new emperor's ascension to the throne saw his decisiveness, shrewdness, and sharp insight. They tentatively reached out a few times, but were ruthlessly thwarted each time. They immediately abandoned their underestimation of him, extinguished their little schemes, and began to work seriously.
After the court officials quieted down, Emperor Hongli had fewer people trying to trip him up, and he was able to handle government affairs more smoothly. His workload decreased dramatically, and he was even able to take some time each day to go out and relax.
After reviewing the memorials that day, Emperor Hongli prepared to visit the Yimei Garden in the palace to see the plum blossoms. It is said that the Yimei Garden was planted by the late emperor for Empress Chun Yuan, and it was also the place where the late emperor and the Empress Dowager pledged their love. Now it was the time when the red plum blossoms were blooming proudly in the snow and cold, and the scenery inside must be incomparably beautiful.
It snowed all night yesterday, so walking in the snow to find plum blossoms is a great and elegant thing to do!
Just as Hongli was excitedly preparing to go admire the plum blossoms, Wang Qin bowed and entered the hall to report: "Your Majesty, Consort Nara and the First Prince request an audience."
Consort Nara was Ruyi. In the past three years, he rarely entered the harem under the pretext of mourning the late emperor. Since the emperor did not enter the harem, the concubines had no one to compete for his favor and they all quieted down. Therefore, the harem was relatively stable in the past three years, and he did not find any opportunity to deal with Ruyi.
Yonghuang was his eldest son, and Ruyi was his concubine. They were not mother and son, so they should have avoided each other. How did they end up together?
Incense smoke curled gently from the incense burner. Suppressing his doubts, Hongli sat upright on the kang (heated brick bed), his arm casually resting on the pillow beside him. His demeanor was dignified and noble, and he uttered a single word:
"Xuan!"
"Whoo!"
Before long, Ruyi and Yonghuang entered the palace.
Ruyi still maintained her self-proclaimed aloof and arrogant demeanor, with bright red lips and an outfit whose color scheme was still indescribable, even more old-fashioned than the Empress Dowager's attire back then. Each of her two fair hands wore two jewel-encrusted enamel nail guards, and as she walked, her four nail-covered fingers wobbled and swayed, resembling a kind of food.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
Hongli sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and closed his eyes to calm himself down. "Rise, all of you!"
"How did you two get here together?"
Hongli asked directly, unlike the original owner who had private suspicions and speculations, which scared him half to death. He even had to be wary of his own woman. A dignified emperor, living like a live-in son-in-law.
A dignified smile bloomed on Ruyi's face. She hadn't seen her young lover for a long time and longed to rush into his arms and cry out her deepest love.
But one must always maintain dignity, and one cannot lose the bearing of a noble lady from a prominent family, so Ruyi stood up straight: "Your Majesty, I specially made plum blossom cakes today. They are fresh, fragrant and sweet. I thought you liked them, so I brought them over for you to try. I happened to run into the First Prince on the way, so we came together."
She explained Hongli's question in a low voice, then took out a plate of pastries from the food box that A'Ruo was carrying behind her, walked around the stove to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), pushed the teacups on the kang table further in, put down the pastries, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please try my cooking!"
Hongli stared at the exquisitely made pastries on the table, and suddenly thought of his aunt!
Is this crazy woman trying to poison him?
After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a pastry shaped like a five-petaled plum blossom and beckoned to Yonghuang: "Yonghuang, come and try Nalafei's handiwork. This is her specialty."
"Thank you for the gift, Father!" Yonghuang happily stepped forward and accepted the pastries with both hands. When he raised his hands, his sleeves were a bit too short, revealing his frostbitten wrists.
Yonghuang was wearing ill-fitting clothes. Upon closer inspection, his winter clothes were thin and even had specks of dirt on them.
Born into nobility, sons and grandsons of phoenixes and dragons! They have lived a life of luxury since childhood. Not to mention changing clothes three times a day, they never lacked clothes for any season. They were also surrounded by wet nurses and nannies. How could they allow their master to wear such dirty clothes?
"Wang Qin, go and call in the servants who attend to the First Prince!"
Wang Qin accepted the order and left. Several maids who served the eldest prince were waiting outside the door. Upon hearing the emperor's summons, they knew something was wrong and nervously entered the hall to kneel down, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty!"
Hongli's face darkened, and he angrily rebuked the group, "I asked you to take care of the eldest prince, and you dare to neglect your duties! What if the prince gets frostbite in this winter when he wears such short and thin clothes?"
Upon hearing this, the several maids panicked and prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for forgiveness: "This servant did not know..."
"You bastard! You should be dragged out and beaten to death for saying such a thing!" Hongli stood up, his brows furrowed, his entire aura terrifying.
The maids, taken aback by his imposing manner, hurriedly tried to explain: "Your Majesty, we have been diligent in taking care of the First Prince, daring not to neglect him in the slightest. We have taken meticulous care of his every need, from his clothing and food to his lodgings. It's just that the First Prince is young and likes to burrow into the snow, so his clothes get dirty quickly..."
"You still dare to argue!"
Ruyi suddenly interrupted them, her face full of tenderness as she turned to Hongli and said:
“Your Majesty, these maids are not doing their jobs properly. It's pitiful that Yonghuang, at such a young age, is being mistreated by these people. A few days ago, when I saw him in the Imperial Garden, he was wearing this short garment. I gave the maids who were serving him a warning then, but two or three days have passed, and Yonghuang is still wearing it, and…”
At this point, Ruyi walked to Yonghuang's side, raised her hand to roll up his sleeve, revealing the purplish-blue scratches on his arm:
"Your Majesty, look! These servants not only mistreat Yonghuang's food and clothing, but also secretly abuse and beat him. These servants rely on their seniority and act arrogantly, pretending to obey but disobeying, and abusing Yonghuang. Your Majesty, you must stand up for Yonghuang!"
Hongli looked at the red and swollen purple wound on Yonghuang's arm, then his sharp gaze shot towards the kneeling nanny.
"That wicked servant is hateful!"
How could the old woman dare to admit such a thing?
The crowd hurriedly explained, kowtowing repeatedly, the thumping sounds echoing throughout the hall.
"Your Majesty, spare my life! The eldest prince is mischievous and often runs around playing. This injury was probably caused by him accidentally bumping into something while playing outside. It has nothing to do with me!"