Empress, she is rising step by step

Chapter 16 Cao Baolin

"I heard that the pear blossoms in Chunse Garden not far from here are in bloom, like clouds and snow, and you can smell the fragrance from a distance."

Zhu Ci winked at Zhuying, "We just went to relax, and by the way, we folded some pear blossoms and put them in the vase."

The show hasn't even begun yet. If she goes back too early, wouldn't it spoil other people's interest?

Zhuying nodded with a smile and followed Zhu Ci towards Chunse Garden.

After walking around for a stick of incense, we arrived at Chunse Garden. White pear blossoms bloom in clusters on the branches of the onions, carrying a faint fragrance. The warm wind blows on my face, rustling like snow.

There was also white snow falling on the ground. There were also many pear petals falling on Zhu Ci's hair and shoulders.

She couldn't help but remember that her grandmother's backyard was full of pear trees when she was a child, and her grandmother would make her sweet pear blossom cakes every spring.

Since she left her hometown to work hard outside, she can no longer eat, and she doesn’t know what happened to her grandma and the others.

I was lost in thought when I suddenly heard a woman's voice not far away. The tone was sharp and full of anger.

Zhu Ci frowned and looked at Zhuying, looking for the voice.

Under the cover of the pear tree, she saw Zhuang's graceful figure standing by the lake, gently shaking the eight-treasure fan in his hand, looking arrogantly at the woman in front of her, the crystal tassels on her temples swaying in the air. Through a beautiful arc.

Opposite her stood a young woman, wearing a ginger-yellow straight-collared double-breasted jacket, a high-waisted skirt with a pale crimson pattern, and a sachet hanging from her waist.

Bee-waisted pink face, beautiful appearance. She wasn't dressed up much, but she was very fresh and attractive, except for the faintly sick look on her face.

"Hey, isn't this Cao Baolin from Weiyang Palace? I heard that you have been sick every three days since you entered the palace. Why, if you don't stay well in your own palace, what are you doing here? You're getting sick again If you kill someone else, it’s really bad luck!”

Zhuang Xiaoxiao glanced at Cao Wenxi up and down and smiled. She finally found out that the emperor would be passing through the opera garden today, so she dressed up specially to meet him by chance.

As a result, the emperor was not seen, but instead he met the sickly Cao Wenxi. She also soiled her newly made shoes. She was really unlucky. Why did she run out here if she couldn't just stay in her own palace?
  Could it be that she has never been favored, seeing that the emperor has long forgotten that there is someone like her in the palace, and she also wants to have a chance encounter with the emperor? !
  Thinking of this, Zhuang Xiaoxiao's face turned slightly.

"The imperial doctor said that staying in the palace will make it even harder for her to recover. She asked the concubine to move around a lot."

Cao Wenxi covered his lips with a handkerchief and coughed twice, his lips turning slightly white.

She has been in poor health since she was born, and she always gets sick every three days. After entering the palace, her body became even weaker, and she felt uncomfortable all over when the cold wind blew.

"Concubine, seeing that the weather is not bad today and Weiyang Palace is close to Chunse Garden, I wanted to come over and take a look. I didn't expect to meet Sister Zhuang here."

"Who is your sister? I am a direct descendant of the family. My parents only have one precious daughter like me. I have never heard of a sister whose maiden name is Cao. Don't get too close!"

Zhuang Xiaoxiao curled his lips in displeasure and raised his chin slightly proudly.

"Since the imperial doctor told you to move around more, why didn't you go to the Queen's Palace today to say hello? Could it be that you deliberately lied about your illness and wanted to avoid saying hello?!"

These words were so serious that Cao Wenxi didn't understand why she was targeting him in such a weird way. After all, the two of them have never met again except for one meeting during the draft. "Zhuang Jieyu misunderstood my concubine, and my concubine's illness has not yet recovered. I was worried that the illness would be passed on to all the empresses, so I did not go to Zhaoyang Palace to pay my respects. It was not intentional."

"Really? Who can prove that your words are true? It stands to reason that there are many skilled doctors in the palace. You have been treating me with soup and medicine for so long, but there is no improvement at all. Do you dare to say that there is nothing fishy in this?"

Zhuang Xiaoxiao stared at her face and suddenly sneered: "I see that your face is rosy, your words are full of energy, and your rebuttal is clear. You are obviously lying!"

"I really don't have any concubines." Cao Wenxi couldn't refute even though he knew that Zhuang Xiaoxiao was deliberately making things difficult for him.

She has been in the palace for several years, but she has never been favored. The emperor has obviously forgotten her. At first, the palace maids and eunuchs were kind to her, but as time went by, their true colors were exposed and they often ridiculed her.

Even the imperial doctor was like this. The medicines he gave her were the worst, and at best they were better than nothing.

She bit the soft flesh in her lips, leaned down and saluted, "Everything I said is true. If Jieyu doesn't believe it, I will swear on my life."

"If the oath works, there won't be so many double-dealing and treacherous people in this world. Even if what you say is true, it is true that you have trampled on my shoes."

Zhuang Xiaoxiao slightly lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing the Yunzhi embroidered shoes on her left foot. It was embroidered with exquisite patterns and decorated with rice beads. As she moved, a dark footprint suddenly appeared on the side of the shoe, breaking the beauty.

"This is made of Shu brocade. You don't know how rare Shu brocade is, right? It's not an exaggeration to say it's priceless. You stepped on it the first time I wore it. What should I do? "

Cao Wenxi's eyelashes trembled slightly. Although Zhuang Xiaoxiao accidentally bumped into her, it was true that she accidentally stepped on her shoes.

Although she has never seen Shu brocade, she knows how precious it is. She simply couldn't afford to pay, and even if she could, Zhuang Xiaoxiao wouldn't accept it.

"Jieyu, what do you want to do?"

"Looking at you, your clothes are so torn that you don't want to replace them with new ones. I'm afraid you won't be able to afford the compensation."

The corners of Zhuang Xiaoxiao's lips raised slightly, and he sighed softly, looking at Cao Wenxi with an arrogant expression.

"Well, I know you didn't mean it. Just kneel down and wipe it clean, and I will forget about it and treat it as if it never happened."

Cao Wenxi was stunned and thought he heard wrongly. Even if she was at fault, she would not have broken her shoes if she hadn't looked at the road and bumped into him.

How could she humiliate herself so much? No matter how unfavored she was, she was still the emperor's concubine after all.

"Concubine and Zhuang Jieyu, you have never had any grievances or grudges. We didn't even say a few words. Why did Jieyu use such a humiliating method? And it was just now clear that it was you, Jieyu, who bumped into me first without looking at the road. Concubine, please forgive me for not obeying my order."

Zhu Ci frowned and looked at it, then asked Zhuying in a low voice: "Who is that empress? I seem to have never seen her in the palace before."

"It's Cao Baolin from Weiyang Palace. He entered the palace in the same year as Zhuang Jieyu."

Zhuying looked at it carefully, "It is said that Cao Baolin's father is a seventh-rank and sixth-grade Cao who joined the army. He is also a commoner in the family and is not favored by his father."

(End of this chapter)