The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 135

On the 23rd, sticky sugar melons. After the Little New Year, the always diligent Emperor Kangxi also sealed his seal and moved from the Forbidden City to the Old Summer Palace to celebrate the New Year.

Yinzhen traveled between the palace and the Old Summer Palace every day.

On this day, Yinzhen was on his way to Changchun Garden where Emperor Kangxi lived. When he passed the west side hall, he saw a sneaky figure.

Su Peisheng quickly stepped forward and grabbed the person, who was a little palace maid, who was about to run away with her back to Yinzhen.

"Why don't you kneel before the prince?"

Su Peisheng loosened his hand, and the little palace maid turned around tremblingly, lowered her head, and knelt in front of Yinzhen, her throat seemed to be strangled.

"I greet the prince and wish him good health and happiness."

Yinzhen felt strange in his heart, but looked cold and indifferent.

"Which palace maid are you from? Why did you run away when you saw me? Are you spying on me?"

The little palace maid almost lowered her head to the ground, still speaking in a pinched voice.

"Your Highness, I am a maid sweeping the East Side Hall. I lost my handkerchief here yesterday and was afraid that someone might pick it up and I would be unable to explain myself, so I came here early this morning to look for it. I didn't expect Your Highness to pass by, and I was afraid of offending You, so I wanted to leave quickly."

"If that's the case, why don't you just bow and leave?"

Yinzhen said coldly.

"Look up, my king, take a look. Maybe some spy from somewhere has sneaked into the garden!"

The little maid was shaking like a sieve, and she lowered her head even lower. Su Peisheng got a signal from Yinzhen, took two steps forward, and lifted up the little maid's chin.

Yinzhen took a good look at the little palace maid's appearance and sneered.

"So it's you. I heard that you fell ill and became devastated after your aunt passed away, so your second brother sent you to the farm. How come I didn't know that this garden was your Nian family's farm?!"

When Nian Zhilan saw that she was recognized by Yinzhen, she was no longer afraid. A shy expression appeared on her face and her voice returned to normal.

"Zhilan is grateful that His Majesty remembered me. I am very happy."

Yinzhen looked at several palace servants who were looking over here curiously and gave instructions to Su Peisheng.

"Take this maid with you and go with me to see the Emperor."

Nian Zhilan said anxiously.

"Your Highness, please be careful! I am just a little palace maid, I should be happy to be favored by Your Highness, but I am humble, how can I serve you in the palace! Even if I have been interested in Your Highness for a long time, I should not follow Your Highness into the palace under such circumstances!"

Yinzhen was so angry that he laughed instantly.

"You are dreaming! You are Concubine Hua's sister. I just want to ask the Emperor for you and send you back to the Nian family!"

Nian Zhilan knelt up and was about to speak, but the prince clapped his hands and laughed, then walked out from the corner, followed by his personal eunuch Ji Li.

"Fourth brother has always been calm and composed. Why is he no longer calm and composed today because of a little palace maid?"

When Yinzhen saw that it was the prince, he knelt down and greeted him.

"Your Highness has met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. May His Royal Highness live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."

Su Peisheng followed his master and knelt down.

The prince gave him a false support and said with a smile, "Please stand up, fourth brother. I didn't know that Gui Wan was actually your sister-in-law. She was a girl I rescued outside the capital, but she refused to tell me anything. I saw that she was pretty and weak, so I brought her into the palace and gave her a job. I didn't expect the truth to be like this."

Nian Zhilan kowtowed to the prince.

"Thank you very much, His Royal Highness, for saving me, but I don't want to go back to the Nian family. I'd rather stay in the palace."

The prince looked at Nian Zhilan who was crawling at his feet.

"That's strange. You've given up being a daughter of an official family and are willing to be a slave. Your father, Nian Xialing, is a second-rank official in the court. Your elder brother and second brother have made great achievements. Your elder sister is the concubine of Prince Yong, and she is a concubine with a title. With such a family background, why did I meet you in the mud outside the capital?"

Nian Zhilan raised her head, glanced quickly at Yinzhen, and then spoke to the prince.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I did not mean to deceive you. I am a concubine's daughter and was not favored at home. My aunt also passed away and I fell ill. My second brother thought I was a nuisance at home and wanted to send me to the farm to recuperate. However, I met a bad guy on the way and the servants tried their best to protect me. I was able to escape. Fortunately, Your Highness rescued me when I was desperate. I would rather be a slave in the palace than go back to the Nian family and be sent to the farm by my brother."

Yinzhen looked at Nian Zhilan, with no emotion in his eyes.

The prince pondered for a while and said.

"Well, now that I know your life story, and you've said that you've long been in love with my fourth brother, there's no need for you to keep calling me a slave. Just follow me and my fourth brother to see the emperor, and tell him that I'm the one giving you to my fourth brother as a concubine. That way, it won't be considered a disgrace to your status. But the twists and turns in this matter must not be known to the emperor, and neither can your family. Do you understand?"

Yinzhen bowed.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I cannot take her back home. I already have a virtuous wife and several beautiful concubines. Your Highness may have heard that my wife, Hua, is very jealous and petty. It would be inappropriate to bring her sister back home as a concubine. Besides, she is coming back late. Your Highness knows her real name, Nian Zhilan."

The prince smiled and patted Yinzhen's shoulder, gently brushing his sleeves.

"It's settled. If your concubine is jealous, just ask her to come and argue with me. Guiwan, ah, that's not right, Zhilan is pretty and she really cares about you, you should be content."

Yinzhen turned his head to look at Nian Zhilan, gritted his teeth, and bowed to the prince.

"I have always followed Your Highness. Your Highness says one thing and I will not say another. So, there is no need to rush these few days. These few days happen to be the New Year's Day. It is better to wait until the New Year is over. The second day of February is a good day. I will then welcome Zhilan into the mansion. But I still ask Your Highness to mediate and let Zhilan return to the Nian Mansion first. I will carry her here from the Nian Mansion, which will be a clear way out. During this period, my concubine must not be informed. I wonder if Your Highness can approve it?"

The prince smiled.

"Since Fourth Brother has said so, how can I not agree? I have helped others to achieve their goals. Fourth Brother, you don't need to worry about other things. Just wait for the second day of February to bring Zhilan into the mansion."

After the prince and his men walked away, Yinzhen's face had become so gloomy that ink could drip from it. Su Peisheng said cautiously.

"Your Majesty, you still have to go see the Emperor."

Yinzhen went to Changchun Garden with his hands clenched into fists behind his back.

Nian Shilan was busy preparing the New Year's Eve banquet in the mansion. She looked up and saw that the sky, which was bright in the morning, had become gloomy. She then ordered her servants to prepare enough charcoal in each courtyard so that if it snowed at night, no one would be frozen due to lack of charcoal.

Taking advantage of the New Year's Day, Ulanara promoted another maidservant by her side to a first-class maid like Qiu Mei.

In this way, Ulanara family had two first-class maids and two second-class maids.

He also said that it was a festive occasion, so he gave the four maids new names.

Qiumei was renamed Jianqiu, and the remaining three maids were named Huichun, Xiuxia, and Randong respectively.

When Nian Shilan heard this, she just smiled. It seemed that some people and some things were slowly moving towards the trajectory of the previous life.

This is good, so I can be more proficient in it.

　Please give me a small ticket, thank you for your support

　　
　
(End of this chapter)