The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Life in the palace is hard, but sometimes it is also easy.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed.

It is time for the seventh prince to choose a princess.

Concubine Jingde flipped through the booklet every day to look at the noble ladies in the capital, and her eyes turned red before she decided on the candidate for the seventh prince's wife.

She excitedly asked someone to call the seventh prince.

"Lian'er, what do you think of Yinong?"

The Yinong mentioned by Concubine Jingde is the eldest daughter of the current Duke of Yingguo and the daughter of Concubine Jingde's brother.

The Seventh Prince stood below, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Mother, are you asking about Sister Yinong?"

Concubine Jingde nodded with a smile: "Mother has been worried about your marriage recently. After looking at all the noble ladies in the capital, I think Yi Nong is quite suitable."

"You have known each other since childhood, you can be considered childhood sweethearts, and you understand each other's personalities quite well. It's not a blind marriage."

"Yinong is quiet, elegant, intelligent, and generous. With her taking care of you, your mother will be relieved."

Concubine Jingde spoke happily, but she didn't notice that the Seventh Prince's face below didn't show much joy.

After Concubine Jingde finished speaking, the Seventh Prince slowly bowed and said, "Your son will obey all your arrangements, mother."

Concubine Jingde smiled and said, "Then mother will mention it to the Empress in two days. Then let Yinong come to the palace to meet the Empress and finalize the matter between you two."

The Seventh Prince: "Just let Mother arrange it."

After leaving Yongning Palace, the eunuchs around him saw that the Seventh Prince had been unhappy and couldn't help asking, "Empress Defei has chosen a princess for the master, why doesn't the master look happy?"

The Seventh Prince glared at him and snorted coldly: "What do you know?"

"My mother asked me to marry Sun Yinong, saying things like we were childhood sweethearts and that she was thinking about me, but those were all excuses."

"In the final analysis, it was because they saw that after the old Duke of England passed away, there was no one to support the family, and they were afraid that the Duke of England's family would fall into decline, so they pushed Sun Yinong to me."

"The status of the Seventh Prince's Consort is just a way for my mother to support her family and consolidate her position."

As he spoke, he laughed at himself, "Let alone the Seventh Prince's wife, even I, the Seventh Prince, am the same, isn't it?"

The eunuch wanted to offer some advice, but he didn't know where to start.

Suddenly, a young eunuch came in and whispered in the Seventh Prince's ear, "Master, I have found out what you asked me to find out."

The Seventh Prince's eyes narrowed and he waved his hand to let the others leave.

"You lead the way!"

The young eunuch nodded and said, "I obey your command!"

The eunuch in charge at the back looked at the direction where the seventh prince left, and it turned out to be the cold palace.

The eunuch in charge was nervous, but he didn't dare to go to Yongning Palace to find Concubine Jingde rashly, so he could only stay there anxiously.

After many twists and turns, the Seventh Prince followed the young eunuch to a remote and desolate courtyard.

He asked impatiently, "Where is this place? How long will it take to get there?!"

The young eunuch smiled flatteringly and said, "It's almost there, it's almost there!"

When they arrived at a dilapidated palace, he said, "My lord, this is the Chunyi Pavilion, and a little further is the Cold Palace."

"Cold Palace?!" The Seventh Prince frowned, "Why did you bring me to this damn place?!"

"What is Chunyi Pavilion?"

The young eunuch explained, "Chun Yi Pavilion was originally renovated to accommodate the palace masters, but it's too close to the cold palace, so not many people come here."

When he pushed the door open, the Seventh Prince saw an ordinary-looking, thin and weak middle-aged woman carrying a bucket to fetch water.

When he saw the Seventh Prince, he was shocked and immediately knelt down and called him "Your Excellency".

The young eunuch said, "Master, this man is called Hongmei. He used to be a servant of Master Wu."

"Master, please ask her anything you want to know."

Seventh Prince: "..."

……

"Right after Wu Baolin gave birth, Concubine Jingde sent someone to take the Seventh Prince away. Wu Baolin chased after him, covered in blood, and finally collapsed at the palace gate. She was stopped by Concubine Jingde's men and was not allowed to leave."

"It was also during this incident that Wu Baolin's health was damaged. He was left with postpartum illness and had to stay in bed to recover."

"Once Wu Baolin feels a little better, he wants to go to Yongning Palace to visit the Seventh Prince."

"But Concubine Jingde was very overbearing and wouldn't let Wu Baolin even set foot in the palace. Wu Baolin could only stare at Yongning Palace and cry every day, almost damaging his eyes."

"Wu Baolin was already in poor health, but Concubine Jingde also ordered her servants to treat him harshly, withholding his monthly allowance and charcoal, leaving him unable to even afford his medicine."

"It was the dead of winter, and the room was freezing cold. There wasn't even a charcoal fire."

After hearing what the palace maid Hongmei said, the Seventh Prince clenched his hands unconsciously.

It seems that one can already see the loving mother's heart that was shedding tears at Wu Baolin.

Hongmei continued, "I remember that winter was very cold. Wu Baolin was cold from morning till night and couldn't even light a charcoal brazier."

"Wu Baolin probably knew he didn't have much time left, so he wanted to take advantage of his last few days to visit the Seventh Prince more often."

"The snow was three feet deep. Wu Baolin dragged his sick body to Yongning Palace, hoping only to see the Seventh Prince. He said that at least he could remember what the Seventh Prince looked like before he died."

"But Concubine Jingde refused to allow it and even had Wu Baolin driven back... Later, it was the Empress at the time who couldn't stand it anymore and scolded Concubine Jingde, and only then did Wu Baolin's life get better."

"But even so, Wu Baolin still couldn't survive that winter..."

Just as Hongmei finished speaking, the Seventh Prince suddenly shouted angrily, "Enough!"

His eyes were red, which scared Hongmei quite a bit.

Hong Mei quickly begged for mercy: "I beg the Seventh Prince to spare my life. Concubine Jingde is extremely domineering. If she knew that I told the Seventh Prince these things, I am afraid that I will die a miserable death."

"It was because I served Wu Baolin and offended the Empress Jingde that I was sent to this place..."

Throwing a bag of silver on the ground, the Seventh Prince left without looking back, his voice deep and composed, "Don't worry, no one will know what happened today."

Hongmei picked up the silver, knelt down and kowtowed, expressing her gratitude: "Thank you very much, Seventh Prince, for saving my life!"

Three days later, Concubine Jingde brought the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion, Sun Yinong, to Fengyi Palace to pay a visit.

Concubine Jingde had already discussed this with Xie Run, so this was just a formality.

Xie Run was not very familiar with the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion. He had only seen her once or twice at banquets during festivals.

When Concubine Jingde brought the person into Fengyi Palace, Xie Run was a little surprised at first sight and liked her quite a lot.

It’s not that Miss Sun is so beautiful, but her elegant aura is so refreshing and elegant that people feel refreshed at first sight.

Xie Run smiled and took her hand, unable to help but praise her: "What a good girl, she is indeed a good match for Lian'er."

When Miss Sun heard this, she lowered her head shyly, like a shy lotus, very touching.

Concubine Jingde was listening at the side and felt extremely proud.

After all, she is a girl from the Duke's Mansion.

If Yinong had not been so outstanding, she would not have been promised to the Seventh Prince.

At this moment, someone suddenly announced, "The Seventh Prince has arrived."

Concubine Jingde was delighted and said with a smile, "It's rare to see Lian'er so enthusiastic. Could it be that she was worried that Yinong might not be used to it, so she came to see her specially?"

Sun Yinong blushed at Concubine Jingde's words.

However, the Seventh Prince entered Fengyi Palace with a face as cold as water.

He didn't seem to be here to see his fiancée, but rather to seek revenge.