This palace comes back in this life, only to be Nian Shilan

Chapter 48: Treating Bad Breath

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The seal is closed on the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month and opened on the 19th day of the first lunar month.

During the seal period, princes and nobles could also travel around and pay New Year's greetings.

Concubines of low rank were only eligible to have their family members enter the palace to accompany them after they became pregnant.

However, the emperor sympathized with the Nian family's hard work in the northwestern war, leaving only the frail eldest son Nian Xi behind in the capital, so he allowed Nian Xi to enter the palace to pay a visit to Concubine Hua in order to relieve Concubine Hua's pain of missing her family.

Nian Xi entered the Yiku Palace and did not dare to take a step or look more.

"Nian Xi pays respect to Auntie, and wishes Auntie good health and longevity."

Concubine Hua looked at her nephew who was kneeling respectfully on the ground, thinking that he had unfortunately passed away at the age of twenty in his previous life, and that such a child who was treated poorly by God wished her a long and healthy life.

A tear rolled down the corner of Concubine Hua's eye and she quickly wiped it away. Only Songzhi noticed it keenly.

"Young Master, please get up quickly. You are so weak and still have to perform the ceremony. Empress Hua must be so distressed seeing this." Zhou Ninghai looked at Song Zhi's expression and helped Nian Xi to sit up.

After all, Nian Xi is a foreign man, and it is not easy for Concubine Hua to see him once, so it is not easy for her to do anything more.

"I have sent a royal doctor to see you. Are you feeling better?"

Concubine Hua adjusted her attitude and talked about business.

"Thank you for your concern, aunt. Doctor Wen is very skilled in medicine. I feel this winter is much better than in previous years."

It seems that the prescription in the ancient book that Wen Shichu mentioned is indeed effective, and Concubine Hua felt relieved.

"Aunt, the emperor originally wanted me to go to Zhejiang to serve as a censor, and I was going to leave in the spring. But I thought you would be lonely in the capital, so I have already submitted a letter to the emperor to resign." Putting aside his chronic illness, Nian Xi was actually the most talented child among the Nian family's nephews and nephews in terms of imperial examination skills. He inherited the talent of his maternal grandfather, Nalan Xingde.

How could Concubine Hua not be anxious when she heard that Nian Xi had resigned? This child might have died early. If he had never served as an official and had never displayed his talents in the limited time, then his life would be filled with regrets.

"How can you resign so easily?" Hua Fei was a little anxious. In fact, she didn't want too many people from the Nian family to be officials in the court, but she was reluctant to let a handsome young man's life be buried because of the fate of his family.

"Aunt, the Nian family is at the peak of their career in the court. Although this wealth and prosperity is enviable, it is difficult for the Nian family to withdraw from the court now. Why not start with your nephew? In the future, the Nian family's nephews will withdraw from the court little by little." Nian Xi spoke in a steady tone and looked at Concubine Hua with a firm gaze. Concubine Hua knew what Nian Xi knew.

In fact, Nian Xi received a letter from his father. In the letter, Nian Gengyao told his eldest son that he had a dream about the downfall of the Nian family. Nian Xi thought it was unlucky, so in order to prevent any disaster from happening, Nian Xi thought it would be better to prepare early.

"In that case, you have a plan in mind, and your aunt won't stop you." Hua Fei felt that she had not misjudged her nephew. As expected, his brain, which read more books, was much smarter than his second and third brothers.

Speaking of reading, Hua Fei's previous idea came up again.

"Since you don't want to be an official anymore, why don't you find something else to do in Beijing?"

"Aunt, what advice do you have?"

When Nian Xi saw his aunt's eyes sparkling, he knew that she had already made up her mind.

In fact, Nian Xi and Hua Fei are not much different in age. When Hua Fei was still in the Nian Mansion and had not yet married, she would take Nian Xi and Nian Fu out to play every day, such as climbing trees to dig out bird nests and going to the river to catch fish. These were all done by Hua Fei and her brothers. Nian Xi was weak, so she could only watch them laughing from the side. That was also a very happy memory.

"Why not open a bookstore?" Hua Fei almost blurted out, why not sell storybooks.

Thinking that her nephew was a scholar, Hua Fei changed her mind when the words were about to come out.

"My nephew and my aunt have the same idea." Nian Xi has been thinking about it carefully for a long time in recent days. The Nian family is made up of military generals, and the power of literati in the court is too weak. If the Nian family falls, the literati in the court can drown the Nian family with a single spit.

But now, in my generation, I am weak and sickly. I have to throw away the pen after holding it for only a few seconds. If the Nian family wants to cultivate scholars, they have to start from the next generation.

Now that I have resigned from my official position and returned home, I might as well start with a bookstore. Once I open a bookstore, it will be much more convenient to deal with scholars. In the future, I can hire a teacher for my children and nephews, and their path to imperial examinations and officialdom will be much smoother.

My maternal grandfather, Nalan Xingde, opened Tongzhitang in his time. He engraved and printed books himself. The books he published were widely circulated, and he made friends with countless literati and poets. My grandfather's talent was also well-known at that time.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, a scholar named Wu Zhaoqian who was exiled to Ningguta moved my grandfather with a poem, and my grandfather tried hard to rescue him from that bitter and cold place.

Sometimes, a writer's pen can kill people, but at a critical moment, it can also save people from danger.

Of course, my aunt loves to read storybooks, and with a bookstore, it would be more convenient to find storybooks for her. When the bookstore opened, I signed Mr. Sanjin and asked him to write 5,000 words every day for my aunt to read, so that my aunt wouldn't have to wait anxiously.

Eunuch Zhou said that my aunt liked to read the storybook written by Mr. Sanjin the most. Unfortunately, Mr. Sanjin updated too slowly, and my aunt often lost her temper in Yikun Palace.

Except for the last sentence, Nian Xi analyzed the rest to Hua Fei one by one. Hua Fei listened very clearly and agreed repeatedly. With Nian Xi in the front court and outside the palace, and herself in charge of the harem, the Nian family will definitely be safe in this life.

Concubine Hua couldn't help but sigh that people who know how to read have very useful brains.

After seeing Nian Xi off, An Lingrong came over with Baoque.

Baoque was a clever girl. After receiving the news from Songzhi, she secretly took a box of perfume powder popular among palace maids and bribed Sang'er, the maidservant of Noble Lady Fucha. Early in the morning, Sang'er asked a little palace maid to tell Baojuan that she had a secret recipe for curing bad breath. Baojuan was overjoyed when she heard it. Seeing that An Lingrong was fine, she ran to find Sang'er.

"Your servant pays respects to Concubine Hua." An Lingrong has not met Concubine Hua in private since she last came to Yikun Palace to give her a heater cover.

Today, Baoque advised her to pay New Year's greetings to Concubine Hua to make her presence felt. An Lingrong thought it made sense. The last time Concubine Hua said she would help her gain favor, it didn't seem like a lie. Now even a palace maid is more favored than herself. Perhaps she could make some effort.

"Get up, Songzhi will serve tea to An Lingrong." Concubine Hua asked An Lingrong to get up and sit down.

Concubine Hua saw that An Lingrong was wearing the sable fur cloak that she had awarded her last time. An Lingrong also saw that the heater cover in Concubine Hua's hand was the one she had embroidered.

The two looked at each other and naturally understood each other's feelings.

An honest person doesn’t beat around the bush, so Concubine Hua went straight to the point.

"Thank you for coming to pay New Year's greetings to me, sister. I heard that you learned embroidery from your mother?"