The princess only wants to get rich and support her family

The concubines in the harem stood in front of the door of Nuanchun Pavilion under the pretext of inviting Princess Zhan to appreciate the flowers in the imperial garden.

They gathered in groups of three or four, chattering non-stop, waiting for someone to invite them in.

The weather was mild and the wind was blowing. The leading concubine Shu deliberately mentioned the rumors in the palace, and many concubines echoed them.

Wanpin said: "Princess Zhan is already a married woman, how could she stay in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace? I think someone must have made a mistake."

During the chat, it was still early, and I saw the gardeners sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs taking care of the flowers and plants near the palaces. Concubine Shu couldn't help but smile and said, "People are like flowers and plants. If you don't pay attention, they will go astray."

Xian Fei came up with a smile on her face and said, "How can there be a 'red apricot out of the wall'? Today, all the sisters are gathered here to visit Princess Zhan, so don't say anything without basis, lest some servants with loose lips hear it. If it gets to the ears of the person involved, it will be a big deal. If His Majesty blames us, won't we lose face?"

Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Princess Zhan is upright and has nothing to fear. A few rumors cannot make her angry. I was just walking this way when I saw the crabapple blossoms in the imperial garden blooming in an unusual way. If I look closely, I can see that the same crabapple blossoms have two different colors. It's really strange."

The concubines were all interested in gossiping, and when Concubine Shu mentioned this, everyone loved the fun and they all used flowers to compare people.

Sure enough, as they were talking, they came to the topic of Hu Luanfei.

When Hu Luanfei heard from the palace servants that the concubines were waiting in Nuanchun Pavilion and invited her to go to the Imperial Garden to appreciate the flowers, she knew that this matter was not simple.

She sent Nanny Sang to check whether it was true, and the result was positive.

"Why would they invite me to the Imperial Garden for no reason?" Hu Luanfei stared at the bougainvillea planted in the East Palace. There were a few flower buds among the green branches and leaves, like rouge smudged by water, and they looked like the shy cheeks of a virgin. They had not yet bloomed, but the faint fragrance was wafting in the air, as if telling her implicitly that she had fallen into someone else's conspiracy.

Nanny Sang thought about the recent situation and said, "If my guess is correct, Concubine Shu and the others must be trying to throw dirty water on you and His Highness."

Hu Luanfei immediately interjected: "You go to and from the Yangxin Palace all day long. What have you noticed?"

"I don't know which servants have not learned their lesson. Knowing that the princess has been coming to the East Palace recently, they went to the other servants and said nonsense, making you and His Highness lose even the most basic decency."

Hu Luanfei had forgotten her own identity. Those who knew her knew that she and Xuanyuan Yuchuan were siblings, and those who didn't know thought that she and Xuanyuan Yuchuan were having an affair, so she could guess what it was without Nanny Sang explaining anything.

"In my opinion, the servants are tongue-tied and cannot come up with anything interesting. Someone must be secretly fanning the flames."

Madam Sang said, "It is true that we servants are not good at speaking, but we have all our teeth. The more we cannot explain clearly, the more likely people will be suspicious."

"They love to spread rumors so much. If I, the person involved, don't come forward to meet them, won't I disappoint them?"

"The innocent are innocent. Don't worry about those groundless rumors. I will report to His Majesty and everything will be fine."

"Well, why make such a wasted trip?" Hu Luanfei stopped Nanny Sang from going forward. "If Your Majesty intervenes, the rumor will only get worse."

"According to your Majesty's wishes..."

"Has anyone taken care of the Imperial Garden recently?"

Madam Sang thought for a moment and said, "A gardener has come to the palace today, but he has not yet taken care of the Imperial Garden."

"Mammy, do you know of any other way to get to the Imperial Garden without passing through Nuancun Pavilion?"

Nanny Sang was an old and shrewd woman. She didn't know any corner of the harem, so she took Hu Luan and flew away along a path that few people took.

The two arrived at the Imperial Garden together. Hu Luanfei took a look at the crabapple flowers in full bloom and realized that the two colors on one tree were very beautiful.

It was also because of this crabapple tree with many broken branches that Hu Luanfei easily found the place where Concubine Shu met the man that night.

Just a few steps away from the carp pond, there is a large flat stone among the green grass, with many colorful petals scattered on it.

Hu Luanfei stared at the stone head, and the charming plot between Concubine Shu and someone inexplicably emerged in his mind, and his face turned red with shame.

I vaguely remember that Concubine Shu's hair was messy that night, and the jewelry on her head was crookedly stuck in her hair, about to fall off.

In a flash, she saw a red glittering under the flowers, and she picked it up to play with it, "I want to see if you have a guilty conscience."

In order to avoid further gossip, Hu Luanfei asked Nanny Sang to return to the East Palace first, and she walked back to Nuanchun Pavilion from the Imperial Garden.

As June approached, the sun was blazing high in the sky. When the concubines went out, they would dress themselves up gorgeously. When exposed to the sun, they sweated profusely and their makeup was ruined.

Concubine Shu couldn't stand the wait. Hu Luanfei didn't come back, so she started to get angry. "I've been knocking on the door for a while. Why doesn't Princess Zhan open the door?"

Wanpin smiled and said, "Princess Zhan is pregnant, so her movements are inevitably slow. Madam Shufei, please wait for a moment. Perhaps the princess is on her way."

"You look so tired, aren't you tired of waiting for others?"

"It was us who were rude, but I, your concubine, would never feel annoyed."

Hu Luanfei happened to appear from the opposite direction of the East Palace and pretended to be surprised: "Oh, why are all the ladies gathered here?"

Hearing this, everyone turned around to look at her.

Concubine Shu was stunned: "Why are you here?"

Hu Luanfei tilted her head: "Where else should I be?"

As she spoke, she opened the door of Nuanchun Pavilion and said, "I have the habit of stretching my muscles, so I took a stroll in the Imperial Garden early in the morning."

Concubine Shu asked, "Aren't you staying in the East Palace?"

"Why should I stay in the East Palace?" Hu Luanfei welcomed the concubines into the palace and said with a smile, "Could it be that everyone believes the rumors that I am having an affair with the Crown Prince?"

The concubines laughed awkwardly, and Wanpin stepped forward and said, "In spring, the flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. We are here to invite the princess to enjoy the flowers."

Concubine Shu also said: "I haven't been to the Imperial Garden for a long time. Princess Zhan is magnanimous. Would you be willing to accompany me for a walk?"

Hu Luanfei pretended to understand the situation and said "Oh~" with a long tail sound: "I'm sorry, Queen Wan and Queen Shu, I just came back from the Imperial Garden."

Wanpin noticed the jewelry in Hu Luanfei's hand and said, "I think I've seen this hairpin somewhere before."

The attention of all the concubines was attracted. Hu Luan raised her hairpin and secretly observed everyone's expressions. Only Concubine Shu seemed a little panicked and her face suddenly lost its color.

"I found this in the imperial garden. Madam Wan, please think carefully about who this hairpin belongs to so that I can return it to you."

Wanpin shook her head. "It's very familiar, but I can't remember who wore it."

However, Concubine Xian recognized it at a glance, "I remember Concubine Shu had an identical one. Maybe she didn't like it. I rarely see her wearing it in her hair."