After transforming into An Lingrong, he became the King of Juan and was crowned the Sixth Palace.

At the same time, Jin Xi, who had delivered the meal, was walking on the road and happened to meet Su Peisheng who was returning to life.

Seeing Su Peisheng who was sweating on his forehead and didn't know how to wipe it, Jin Xi said, "Eunuch Su?"

Su Peisheng, who heard the cry of the one he cared about, put a smile on his face and said, "Jinxi, why are you here?"

"My mother-in-law knows that Concubine Qi doesn't like to use the small kitchen and is afraid that it will be unclean, but she is also concerned about the health of Third Brother, so she specially asked me to deliver food."

After saying that, Jin Xi took out the handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Su Peisheng, pretending to be joking: "It's winter, if Eunuch Su doesn't go to serve the emperor, why is he wandering around this alley alone? Look at the sweat on your head. .”

Su Peisheng smiled knowingly, took the fragrant handkerchief from Jin Xi, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and put it away thoughtfully.

"You don't know something about this. The fourth elder brother fell ill in the garden not long ago. It is said to be an epidemic. Those servants did not treat the unpopular fourth elder brother as a prince. When the news reached the emperor's ears, Fourth Brother almost..."

Knowing that Su Peisheng secretly revealed the news to her.

Jin Xi looked at Su Peisheng approvingly and asked, "Now the Fourth Brother has been brought into the palace?"

Su Peisheng replied: "The body is better. The emperor wanted to send him back after he is cured. Now the fourth brother is being raised in the small yard near the Imperial Garden."

The small courtyard of the Royal Garden is relatively remote, and in spring, it is filled with mosquitoes.

On weekdays, few concubines walked around.

Hearing this, Jin Xi nodded, spoke some more words to Su Peisheng, and sent food to the place where the third elder brother was practicing martial arts.

When I got to the place, I called the third elder brother over.

Jin Xi tested the dishes with a needle in front of Third Brother, and took a few bites without damaging the dish's shape.

Seeing how delicious the meat dishes were being eaten by Jin Xi, the greedy third elder brother waved his hand and said, "I have Concubine Lao An and Aunt Jin Xi. They still remembered to bring me food all the way."

Jin Xi smiled and said, "My Lady and Imperial Concubine Qi have a lot of private contacts, and she even remembers Third Brother when it comes to cooking."

After a pause, she glanced at Third Brother, who didn't seem to like snacks very much, so she continued to ask: "Third Brother, these pastries..."

Third Brother, who had no bad intentions, waved his hand and said nonchalantly: "These are enough to eat. You can take the pastries back."

"The servant understands."

Jinxi left.

When leaving, she deliberately walked towards the path of the imperial garden, not the official path.

Jin Xi wanted to see if she could take advantage of the opportunity to meet Fourth Brother by chance and bring some news back to her mother-in-law.

Thinking like this, Jin Xi was walking on the road when the red food box with auspicious engraved words in her hand was suddenly hit by someone.

She was so frightened that she almost didn't scream. She didn't care to see who it was, so she hurriedly protected the food box and opened it to take a look. Fortunately, it didn't scatter, so it didn't matter.

Immediately afterwards, Jin Xi came back to her senses and took a look, but it was Si Age.

She quickly calmed down her expression, pretended not to know, and said, "Are you...?"

Seeing that Jinxi didn't recognize him, Hongli, who was only eight years old, said casually: "I am the emperor's prince, the fourth elder brother Hongli."

Jinxi hurriedly invited him and said, "Wish you good luck, Fourth Brother."

The Fourth Brother hummed casually and took a look at Jin Xi's outfit. She seemed to be a palace member of a high-ranking concubine's family.

Therefore, he restrained his calculating look, walked up to Jin Xi, stared at the snack box in the other person's hand, and asked, "What is this?"

Jin Xi smiled hurriedly and said: "Fourth Brother, these are the newly made snacks from Yongshou Palace. The slave sent them to Third Brother. Now there are some more pastries that have not been taken away. I want to take them back to revive my life."

When they heard that the third elder brother was stupid and didn't know how to study to please others, some people fawned over him. Hongli, who was not lagging behind the others at all, said with a straight face, "Oh."

But his eyes were fixed on the snack box, with a somewhat unclear look: "This is for the third elder brother, but the third elder brother doesn't want it, can I eat it?"

After saying that, he muttered in a low voice, "Third brother has all kinds of delicious food, and I have the love of Concubine Qi, but I have nothing."

Jinxi knew that Fourth Elder Brother was acting for her, but she still had a smile on her face even though she knew it well: "Does Fourth Elder Brother really want to eat this? Please give some to Fourth Elder Brother, slave."

Hearing this, the fourth brother pretended to be timid and looked at Jin Xi: "Which mistress gave this snack to the third brother? You gave it to me, aren't you afraid that the mistress will punish you?"

Jin Xi smiled: "I am a member of Concubine An's palace in Yongshou Palace. My mother-in-law has always been kind-hearted and will not blame me for giving food to Brother Si."

After saying this, Jin Xi opened the box, first took a piece of crab meat cake and put it in Brother Si's hand: "Brother Si, eat it quickly."

This is to reveal a message to Si Age.

If she wants to follow her mother-in-law to win the emperor's attention, she must first make it clear where she stands, and secondly, she must have confidence in An Lingrong.

For example, he ate pastries generously in front of her to show that he believed the pastries were non-toxic.

What a smart man the fourth elder brother is. Hearing that Jin Xi is from An Lingrong's palace.

He glanced at Jin Xi first, then dared to pick it up and ate it gracefully.

After finishing his meal, he stared at Jinxi's snack box again, his intention being obvious.

Jin Xi felt suspicious and said with a smile: "Brother Si, do you still want to eat? It's easy to hold up after eating too many pastries. I see that it will be lunch time in half an hour, so I will eat snacks after my brother's meal." Bar."

Jin Xi's implication is that you can't be too greedy. If you are too greedy, you must have a reasonable reason to tell her.

After all, they had just met and had not yet established confidence in each other.

In response to this, Fourth Brother shook his head sadly and fearfully, rubbed his clothes and said: "They never allowed me to eat enough, so they took away the food after eating half a bowl, saying that only in this way can I study well and let Huang Ama care about me. "

"They? Who are they?"

Brother Si looked around and saw that no one was following him, so he was willing to say, "They are the wet nurses who are taking care of me."

When young princes go out, they are always followed by seven or eight palace attendants.

Jin Xi saw that no one was following Brother Si, and asked: "Brother Si, where are the people following you?"

Brother Si clenched his fingers, hiding the expectation in his eyes, and said hesitantly: "They don't like to follow me. I got sick a few days ago, and now they just let me wander around the garden."

Jinxi felt even more pity for the fourth elder brother, but she didn't dare to ask again because she was delayed on the road for too long, so she took out the food, wrapped it in oil paper and handed it to the fourth elder brother. "Brother Si, just hide it and eat it quietly. You can't say it was given by the slave. The slave left first."

Brother Si looked carefully: "Then you can't say that I secretly ate snacks, otherwise I will also be scolded."

Jin Xi's heart sank, and she asked with a smile: "Do you dare to scold me?"

Fourth Brother lowered his face and nodded, as if he was too timid to say anything.

Jin Xi knew it was not good to ask any more questions, so she nodded quickly and hurried back to Yongshou Palace.

It was quiet in the Yongshou Palace. Baojuan and Baoping led the palace people to gently put on the pearl silk curtains used in spring.

An Lingrong stood in front of the window admiring a pot of jade and coral flowers newly sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When she heard Jin Xi's reply, she turned around and said, "So when you saw Brother Si, there were no minions following him?"

Jin Xi nodded and said, "The fourth elder brother ran out from behind the rockery alone. His clothes were stained with mud. There must be no one following him."

An Lingrong thought for a moment: "So, the maids and nuns taking care of the fourth elder brother did not take good care of the fourth elder brother. This is something worthy of my writing."

Jinxi said: "I also learned about this matter from the expression and words of Fourth Elder Brother. Specifically, I don't know whether it is the emperor's intention, so I don't dare to inquire about the truth for the empress."

The cold petals of the coral flower felt cold and slippery in the palm of my hand.

An Lingrong said without hesitation: "Whether the fourth elder brother is naughty or the slaves are deliberately neglecting me, we have to check carefully to find out. But you said that the fourth elder brother ate snacks because he was afraid of being scolded. It is really possible that the slaves bullied my elder brother. What will happen today?" Don’t tell anyone else, lest you miss it.”

Jin Xi nodded: "I know this."

An Lingrong sighed: "My fourth brother is also pitiful. He is only eight years old and his mother died early. There is no one to take care of him and he doesn't take care of anything."

Jin Xi smiled and said, "Why are you worried about this? Now that you are favored by the emperor, you will have a lucky little brother sooner or later."

An Lingrong's sigh spread out silently: "Why don't I want to have a child of my own, even if it's a princess?"

After saying that, An Lingrong laughed first, and then said: "It's just that everyone in this harem doesn't like others. I didn't dare to have children even after I climbed to the concubine position, for fear of being plotted by others. It came to a miserable end.”

Jin Xi suppressed her smile and said loyally: "Don't worry, my dear, the emperor loves you so much, you will definitely get what you want and give birth to a sensible, smart child."

An Lingrong felt a little embarrassed when Jin Xi teased her, so she hurriedly pinched her mouth: "You have such a bad mouth, but you still know everything!"

Jin Xi smiled and ran away: "My dearest lady, if I don't say anything else, please forgive me for this."

An Lingrong raised her head and looked at the sky: "It's getting late. Go and see if the bird's nest in the small kitchen is ready. If it's ready, accompany me to take the bird's nest to the Heart Cultivation Palace."

The sky was overcast, and it looked like raindrops were about to fall.

Such dark lead clouds hung overhead, as if the thick ink-like color was about to drip down.

When they arrived in front of Yangxin Hall, a group of eunuchs and guards stood outside. Su Peisheng saw An Lingrong's chariot and sedan approaching, so he stepped forward and said, "This servant wishes to pay my respects to Concubine An. May you be blessed with peace and prosperity."

An Lingrong said with a smile: "Eunuch Su, please get up quickly."

Su Peisheng said with a smile on his face: "It's going to rain today, why did Concubine An come back?"

An Lingrong smiled and said: "I stewed the bird's nest for the emperor. It's just right hot."

Su Peisheng said: "Concubine An has her heart. But this time... it's not a coincidence."

Su Peisheng glanced at him, and An Lingrong followed his gaze. Seeing Jianqiu standing in the corridor of Yangxin Hall, she understood and said, "Is the Queen here?"

Su Peisheng said with a smile: "Yes, the Queen sent the Emperor Dong'e donkey-hide gelatin made by herself."

An Lingrong smiled: "The Empress attaches great importance to the rules. When she is talking with the Emperor, the concubines are not allowed to go in. How about this? Eunuch Lao also sends a message that I will put down my things and say goodbye and leave. If the Empress feels strange, I will Receive it yourself.”

Su Peisheng bowed and said, "With your Majesty's words, I can do my job with peace of mind."

Su Peisheng turned around and went up the steps. Jin Xi looked at his back and said softly: "Empress, it's not that Su Peisheng doesn't want to help you, but the queen wants to come here to talk to the emperor about something important."

An Lingrong nodded and said without saying a word: "He has worked for the emperor for so many years and he still hasn't fallen down. Let's just count. You and Su Peisheng got to know each other early, so you have to keep in touch."

Jinxi's face turned red, but the light was not obvious. She whispered: "I understand."

After a moment, Su Peisheng came down and said: "Concubine An, the emperor said that he still has something to discuss with the empress. Just ask you to hand over the things to the servant. In addition, the emperor asked the empress to prepare and come to pick him up at night."

An Lingrong watched Jin Xi handing the bird's nest to Su Peisheng's hand, with a reserved smile: "Then it's my father-in-law."

An Lingrong held Jin Xi's hand and walked slowly back. When she arrived at the long street, she saw Concubine Duan coming from the aisle in a sedan chair for some unknown reason.

Following the rules and etiquette, An Lingrong stood aside to greet her, hoping to see something wrong with Concubine Duan's expression.

I could only hear the clatter of the eunuchs' boots and the soft creak of their steps on the stone slabs. The eunuchs carrying the chariots and sedans walked in neat steps, as if they were alone, and they arrived in the blink of an eye.

An Lingrong owes her a blessing: "Concubine Duan, may you be blessed with peace and prosperity."

Although the weather was approaching March, Concubine Duan still wore a brocade jacket with two-color gold flowers blooming all over the place and a bunch of beads inlaid with it.

The clothes were made of unborn sheepskin. Because the curly hair was like beads, it was named Yi Dou Beads. It was very light, warm and soft when worn on the body.

It is said that this dress is the most valuable thing about Concubine Duan.

Concubine Duan felt a little surprised when she saw An Lingrong. She smiled lightly and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and my complexion is getting better."

An Lingrong said: "Concubine Duan's complexion is much more rosy than the past few days."

Concubine Duan caressed her cheek and smiled tiredly: "I am not the same as before. I am tired. I would like to trouble you to take over the work of co-managing the Sixth Palace alone, so as to help the Queen and Concubine Hua share their worries."

An Lingrong heard something in these words, and she was grateful that she had pulled down Concubine Hua, so that she, an electric old man, could go out and walk around without being targeted.

Therefore, An Lingrong just smiled and said: "The emperor and the queen only think highly of the concubine. These days, my sister has also sent the account books to the queen mother for review."

"I wonder if your Majesty is traveling tonight to see the Emperor?"

Concubine Duan smiled lazily: "Concubine An is smart. I have some things I want to talk to the emperor about. If it doesn't work, I will have to count on Concubine An to help me, a frail old man, in the future."

An Lingrong knew that she was always afraid of the cold and was weak, so she smiled and said, "Sister, please don't bother Concubine Duan. It's going to rain now. Concubine Duan, stay away from the wind, let alone the raindrops, so as not to get hurt." body."

Concubine Duan nodded, and the group meandered towards the Yangxin Hall.