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

Fortunately, the Queen did not let An Lingrong wait too long. At dusk, she summoned An Lingrong to Jingren Palace to sit with her.

When Xiao Shi saw Huichun enter the Yanx Palace, she immediately ran back to the palace to deliver the message, but Shen Meizhuang became even more uneasy.

An Lingrong settled down. At least the Queen didn't plan to kill her directly, so she decided to fight with the Queen!

"I, my concubine, pay my respects to the Queen!"

The Queen's tone was emotionless. "Get up."

"Thank you, empress!"

An Lingrong's tone has always been soft and sweet.

The Queen's eyes moved. "I heard you coughing a few days ago, so I ordered someone to make Sichuan Fritillary Bulb and Loquat Dew. Drinking it will help you recover soon."

A bowl of black soup with a sweet smell was held in front of An Lingrong.

Jianqiu looked at her with a smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

An Lingrong's mind raced. Surely the Queen wouldn't openly poison her in Jingren Palace? If she didn't drink, she wouldn't even be qualified to negotiate with the Queen!

Forget it, the Queen shouldn’t be that crazy!

"Thank you, Your Majesty." An Lingrong picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp.

The queen secretly praised him in her heart, thinking that he had some courage.

"I heard that Concubine Wen was from Jiangnan?" The Queen started chatting about family matters.

"Yes, I am from Songyang County, Chuzhou Prefecture." As the daughter of the county magistrate of Songyang County, her identity is known to everyone in the palace.

"Yes, Jiangnan is beautiful. I'm familiar with its scenery. At sunrise, the flowers on the river are redder than fire. In spring, the river water is as green as blue. It's a wonderful place."

"Your Majesty likes Bai Letian?"

"Bai Jutian's poems are plain and easy to understand, full of emotion. I like them very much."

"Your Majesty is well-read, and I admire you. So, I would like to offer my best wishes to the Emperor and the Empress, quoting Bai Juyi's poem: 'In the sky, I wish to be a pair of wings, and on the ground, I wish to be a pair of branches.'"

I wish you two will end up like Emperor Minghuang of Tang and Yang Guifei, one living alone in the palace, the other dying in the wilderness.

The two of them asked and answered each other, which was a scene of harmony between wife and concubine.

"Articles are written for the times, poems for the events. Bai Juyi's philosophy can be summed up in one word: be timely. Not only in writing and poetry, but also in our conduct and actions, we must be timely. Wen Changzai, what do you think?" The Queen suddenly changed the subject. "I am the Queen, so of course you must come to me."

"Your Majesty is right. Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which stays in its place and all the other stars revolve around it." If you are a virtuous person, others will naturally gather around you.

"Empress, it is Concubine Wan who will sleep with you today." Jianqiu entered the palace to report.

"I understand. Go away!" the Queen said calmly. "Even this summer's splendor cannot compare to the popularity of Concubine Wan!"

An Lingrong pretended not to understand her: "Noble Lady Wan is intelligent and clever, so it's only natural that the Emperor likes her!"

"Noble Lady Wan is favored. If you make friends with her, you will be able to show your face more often in front of the emperor."

"I am a foolish concubine, and I dare not ask for the emperor's favor. But your majesty is dignified and respectful, and is a model for the country, so she deserves the emperor's love and respect."

Looking at An Lingrong's obedient expression, a crack appeared on the queen's gentle face.

"The title of Wen Changzai is Wen, which shows that the emperor praises your literary talent. But you know that you are good at speaking and appearing amiable, but you are not kind enough to deceive her." The queen meant that An Lingrong was using sweet words and pretending to be amiable to fool her.

"King Ling of Chu liked people with thin waists, so all his ministers used to eat only one meal as a restraint, took a deep breath before wearing a belt, and stood up with the support of a wall. After a year, they had a dark complexion. Why? Because the king liked it, so his ministers were able to do it. Don't you know that if the ruler likes something, the subordinates will like it even more?" You like to hear nice words, so of course I have to say nice words to make you happy!

After saying this, he looked at the queen with a smile.

The Queen did not want to engage in a verbal battle with her and went straight to the point, "Wen Changzai has unique insights. I wonder why a wise bird chooses a good tree to roost in?"

It’s so direct, aren’t you pretending anymore?

"A lonely man walks back and forth alone, like the misty shadow of a solitary wild goose. He picks all the cold branches but refuses to rest. The lonely sandbank is cold. If it were a warm branch, he would naturally rest there." An Lingrong spoke at the right time.

Can’t you see that the queen is about to burst!

The queen finally heard the answer she wanted to hear, "Wen Changzai is very knowledgeable. It's really interesting to talk to you. Please come often in the future!"

"I would like to thank you, Queen Mother."

"Jianqiu, I'm tired. Please send Wen Changzai back!"

"Concubine, please retire!"

Jianqiu escorted An Lingrong to the door, bowed, and then returned to the main hall.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Wen has left!" Jianqiu helped the Queen take off her hairpins and untied her hair.

"Well, she's meticulous and sharp-tongued, making her difficult to control. Fortunately, she's always wearing the hairpin, which reassures me. As for whether it can be used, I still need to test it carefully. By the way, do we still need to use the spies in Yanxi Palace?"

Jianqiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam, she hasn't revealed her true intentions yet."

"Keep a close eye on it!"

"Yes."

An Lingrong returned to the Yanxi Palace and placed the Queen's gifts on the table. Looking at Baojuan who was peeking in, she deliberately sighed, "The Queen is so kind that she actually gave me so many things. Many of them I have never seen before. Su Ye, put them away in the storehouse. I will thank you another day."

"Yes." Su Ye went happily!

The east side hall of Xianfu Palace.

Shen Meizhuang didn't know how many laps she had walked.

Caiyue looked at her dignified mistress, who was like a thing pulling a millstone, and sighed inwardly, "My mistress, you should take a rest for a while. Xiao Shi will be back as soon as he gets the news!"

"Why haven't you come back yet? Go to the palace gate and take a look."

Having heard this eight times, Cai Xing stood up and just as she reached the door, she saw Xiao Shi running in at an 800-meter sprint.

"My lord, my lord."

"Say it!"

"Mistress Wen didn't say anything!" Xiao Shi raised his right hand, circled his thumb and index finger, and held up the other three fingers. "Mistress Wen made this gesture to me, asking me to tell you."

Shen Meizhuang finally felt relieved. Rong'er liked to make this gesture very much, which meant that it was done!