The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

After a few days, An Lingrong was able to walk slowly, so she picked a good time and asked Xiao Luzi to pass on the message that she should go to Xianfu Palace for dinner.

An Lingrong embroidered for a while, then glanced at the sky. "Su Ye, bring me the chrysanthemum table screen I embroidered. Let's go to Sister Mei's palace."

When An Lingrong arrived, Shen Meizhuang had been waiting for a long time.

"Why are you here so late, sister? I'm hungry!" Shen Meizhuang said angrily.

"Please forgive me, sister. This desk screen lunchbox is my apology. I'm really not used to these clogs. My soles hurt when I walk." An Lingrong complained.

Shen Meizhuang looked at her shoes and said to Caiyue, "Go and get my soft-soled embroidered shoes."

"Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, so wear embroidered shoes in the palace!"

"Thank you, sister." An Lingrong didn't hesitate to accept her offer and took the shoes and let Su Ye help her put them on. "What did you prepare for dinner, sister?"

"I don't know what you like, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent Shaoxing rice wine, which is best to drink in winter. Would you like a glass, sister?" Shen Meizhuang pulled An Lingrong to the table. She knew that An Lingrong was not used to being served while eating, so she sent away the servants in the hall, leaving only the two sisters.

"Is it Nv'erhong?" There are many types of Shaoxing rice wine, among which Nv'erhong is the most famous.

"It's Huadiao. It's already warmed up, try it." Shen Meizhuang was very happy to see her greedy look, and poured a cup for An Lingrong herself.

An Lingrong took it carefully and sniffed it carefully. It was rich and fragrant, and the wine was a clear orange-yellow color.

Seeing her lowering her head and stroking the cup, Shen Meizhuang asked curiously, "Why, don't you like it?"

An Lingrong raised her head, revealing a face that looked like she was about to cry but couldn't. "Sister Mei, ever since what happened last time, I've decided to quit drinking."

"That's a shame! This is authentic Shaoxing 10-year-old Huadiao." Shen Meizhuang tasted it slowly, deliberately teasing her, "Hmm, sweet and mellow, a good wine."

Seeing Shen Meizhuang's intoxicated face, An Lingrong also drank the wine in her hand.

"You've given up drinking, haven't you?"

"I'll quit tomorrow."

Shen Meizhuang looked at her rogue appearance and said, "Okay, this wine is not easy to get drunk, just drink three cups to warm yourself up!"

Halfway through the meal, An Lingrong put down her chopsticks and said directly, "Sister Mei, you're not unhappy that I'm sleeping with you, are you?"

Hearing An Lingrong ask so openly, Shen Meizhuang no longer hid her thoughts: "If it's not you, there will be someone else. If it's someone else, then I would rather it be you."

An Lingrong looked at Shen Meizhuang's expression and blurted out, "Sister, do you like the Emperor?"

Shen Meizhuang didn't expect her to ask such a question, and her face quickly flushed. "The emperor treats me very well."

An Lingrong sighed. This was clearly the look of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl experiencing the beginnings of love.

Although it is a bit cruel, she must be silenced.

An Lingrong moved to Shen Meiyu's side and looked at her intently.

It was rare for Shen Meizhuang to see such a solemn expression on An Lingrong's face. "But what's the matter?"

"Sister, the Emperor is the Emperor of all the people in the world. Although we are his concubines, in the final analysis, we are also his appendages. We can respect him, fear him, and rely on him, but we cannot love him. His heart is for the common people and the country. We are just pawns for him to reproduce his descendants and stabilize the court."

"Even if someone as noble as the Empress, the beloved Concubine Hua, were to disrupt the peace and stability of the court one day, the Emperor would abandon them without hesitation. Sister, do you believe it?"

Shen Meizhuang was shocked by her words, "You, you..."

It has to be said that although An Lingrong's words were extremely outrageous, every word was true.

Seeing that Shen Meiyu was lost in thought, An Lingrong picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.

Shen Meizhuang slowly began to understand. Seeing An Lingrong enjoying her meal, she asked, "What about you?"

An Lingrong put down her chopsticks again, "Sister, the day before yesterday I was punished, with so many people coming and going from the Linzhi Sect, do you think the Emperor wouldn't know about it? It was an unintentional mistake, and it was a small matter. He could have exempted me from punishment with just one word, so why didn't he say anything? Because he doesn't care. He needs to rely on Nian Gengyao to help him quell the rebellion, so he wants to indulge Concubine Hua in the harem. As for whether I have been wronged or how much I have been wronged, it is not within his consideration at all!"

Shen Meizhuang felt a little distressed, "Are you very sad that the emperor did this?"

"No, I'm not sad. As an emperor, his actions were not wrong. I would even praise him for his skill and ability to make choices, and for his ability to govern the country to peace and prosperity. But as a man, I look down on him because he sold his body to please a woman in order to get her brother to do him a favor. How is this any different from a prostitute trying to curry favor with a client in exchange for money? As a husband, I have never been truly sincere to him from the beginning, so how can I expect him to be truly sincere to me?"

Kneeling on the ground yesterday, she had once wishfully hoped that the Emperor would send someone to rescue her, but that fleeting thought had proved so ridiculous. The night before, they had engaged in the most intimate act of love and intimacy, yet now he had allowed others to bully her, never taking her seriously. To say she wasn't heartbroken and pained would be a lie, but she was also thankful that the Emperor hadn't rescued her. Otherwise, she couldn't guarantee that her heart, as calm as the water in a dead well, wouldn't have stirred a single ripple.

And now her heart was indeed in turmoil, but it was only for Shen Meizhuang, who had saved her last bit of dignity, making her appear less embarrassed and less humble. There was no longer any affection between her and the emperor!

Shen Meizhuang was completely shocked and, without caring about etiquette, she reached out to cover An Lingrong's mouth and shouted in a low voice, "What are you talking about? Are you trying to kill yourself?

He let go of An Lingrong's hand only after seeing that she had calmed down, and thought carefully about what An Lingrong had said.

"Sister, what exactly do you think of the Emperor?"

An Lingrong thought for a moment and said, "Sister, let me tell you this, I only consider him my superior."

"Boss?" This was the first time Shen Meizhuang heard this term.

"For example," An Lingrong picked up a chicken wing, "Sister is a noble lady. She gets eight chickens a month, which allows her to eat chicken wings twice. But I'm just a maid. I get five chickens a month, which allows me to eat one meal. If I want more, there won't be any left."

"From the small things like charcoal fire in winter, ice in summer, clothes for all seasons, and two meals a day, to the big things like my life and my family, everything is in his hands. I can only please him and cater to him in exchange for my living space."

Promotion and salary increase are the serious things, everything else is just empty talk.

In her previous life, in order to earn a little money, she had to work hard and suffer all kinds of grievances. But now, she only needs to please a man who rarely appears in front of her to have a good life. After comparing, An Lingrong feels that her current situation is not bad.

Shen Meizhuang was stunned.

Before she entered the palace, everyone told her that she should serve the emperor wholeheartedly, love the emperor, and regard the emperor's joys and sorrows as her top priority. After entering the palace, she did so. Now, hearing these words that contradicted Tiangang, her blood seemed to stop flowing.

But she couldn't refute a single word, and in her heart she actually agreed with the outrageous remarks.

An Lingrong looked at the petrified Shen Meizhuang and felt a little distressed. First love at the age of seventeen or eighteen was so beautiful, with the first blossoming of love, green and innocent. It was a pity that her love was misplaced, and the emperor was not her ideal man.

Because Zhen Huan was always ill, An Lingrong and Shen Meiyu interacted more and more frequently, and she liked this sister Mei more and more.

An Lingrong knew the pride of being the eldest daughter of the Shen family, knew her waist that never bent, knew her determination to sever ties with a sword, and also knew her loneliness and despair.

"Sister," he held Shen Meizhuang's hand tightly, "Sister."

"Sister, I will think carefully about what you said." Shen Meizhuang came back to her senses.

An Lingrong smiled brightly, "I will always be with you, sister."

Shen Meizhuang caressed An Lingrong's face and said, "Thank you, Rong'er."

"Do you like chicken wings?"

"Correct!"

"Then I'll keep all the chicken wings in my palace for you."

"it is good!"