Shipin Dalizheng

The door opened, welcoming the three people in, and then closed again, blocking out the noise from the outside world.

Rong Xiu's hands were shaking, and her voice was trembling, "Did I really scold her and hit her?"

He also cursed.

Rong Tang comforted her, "It's okay, I'll hit you if you want, and I'll scold you if you want."

Cailan was worried, "How about I hand in a sign to the palace and let Her Majesty think of a solution?"

Rong Tang was unwilling to do so. "Don't do that yet. My aunt is with His Majesty and may not be able to speak."

Cailan added, "If that doesn't work, you can ask the Seventh Princess."

Rong Tang didn't want to rely on others to solve his problems for him, especially when the person he was relying on was a weak woman. This made him feel useless. Besides, in his opinion, the situation was not yet unsolvable.

"Wait and see. Everything will become clear after the trial tomorrow."

In the palace, Emperor Xuanning retired from court and headed for the harem. He Daban had been with him for decades, like a worm in his stomach, so how could he not understand his thoughts? He whispered to his godson behind him, "Go and ask Concubine Rong to receive him."

It had been almost ten years since Emperor Xuanning had visited Qifeng Palace. The young eunuch, receiving the order, trotted off to deliver the message.

The seventh princess, Zhao Ling, was accompanying Concubine Rong in Qifeng Palace at the moment. When she heard that her father was coming, she was stunned for a moment.

Concubine Rong urged her, "Why are you in a daze? Go out and greet your father."

Zhao Ling struggled for a moment, then suddenly heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I don't want to see Father, Mother. I'm going to hide. Don't let Father find me."

Rong Fei didn't know what she was angry about. Time was pressing, so she could only say, "Then hide yourself."

After saying that, he went out to welcome the emperor.

When Emperor Xuanning stepped into the Qifeng Palace, he felt it was extremely deserted. Compared with other palaces, this place was much less popular.

He couldn't help but ask, "My beloved concubine, why are there so few people in your palace? According to the regulations, there should be at least dozens of palace maids and eunuchs."

Rong Fei replied calmly, "Your Majesty, I like quietness. I only need three or five servants in the palace. The others will be sent to other places to serve."

Emperor Xuanning looked at the people around her, all of whom had been with Concubine Rong for many years. As far as he could remember, no servants had ever been beaten to death or injured in Qifeng Palace, unlike Concubine Xie's Lanyue Palace, where people were often punished, ranging from minor injuries to death.

Apart from anything else, it is also true that Concubine Rong is kind and non-competitive.

The emperor chatted with Concubine Rong for a while and also mentioned the seventh princess's marriage.

"Zhao Ling has been coming of age for several months now. As her mother, it's time for you to consider her marriage. Have you asked her if there's a young man from aristocratic family she's interested in? Since she's my daughter, of course I want her to get what she wants."

It must be said that although Emperor Xuanning's feelings for Concubine Rong faded, he still doted on the Seventh Princess. This was also the reason why Concubine Rong lived a stable life despite not being favored in the palace.

What could Concubine Rong say? Even though Zhao Ling didn't tell her, how could a mother be completely unaware of her daughter's thoughts? Unfortunately, the man her daughter liked was also liked by other daughters.

"Your Majesty, I have lived in the harem for a long time and have rarely attended banquets outside the palace. I don't know which families have outstanding sons. Zhao Ling is still young and in no hurry to get married. I would like to keep her by my side for two years."

But he didn't directly ask whether Zhao Ling had a lover.

Emperor Xuanning misunderstood, thinking that she was lonely in the palace and wanted to keep his daughter as a companion.

"You should go out for a walk too. I'm not so unreasonable as to restrict the concubines from leaving the palace."

Rong Fei sighed a little, "It's not that I don't want to leave the palace, but my natal family has no one left. The uncle's mansion... ah! It's a mess, it makes me upset just looking at it."

Emperor Xuanning casually said, "Why is there no one from your mother's family? Didn't your nephew return to his clan? He's injured and can't come to the palace now, but you can go out to see him. Well... just say hello to the Queen before leaving the palace."

Rong Fei was overjoyed and knelt down to express her gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I have been extremely worried these past two days and I don't know if he has recovered."

Emperor Xuanning smiled and said, "If you're worried, just ask. There's no need to worry so much."

He Daban interrupted, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I saw Doctor Zhang strolling around this morning. Why not call him over to ask about his condition and reassure Your Majesty?"

"Didn't I ask him to stay with Rong Tang until he fully recovered? Why is he back? Go call him over!"

Doctor Zhang came over carrying a medicine box, his eyes evasive.

Concubine Rong opened her red lips and asked, "Doctor Zhang, how is my Tang'er? Why are you back?"

Doctor Zhang blinked twice, his expression serious, "Rong Tang's condition is very bad, he can't get up now."

Concubine Rong opened her eyes wide. She knew that Rong Tang was pretending to be injured, but she didn't expect that he was pretending so thoroughly that he even deceived the imperial physician who was treating him personally.

Emperor Xuanning was very puzzled and hissed, "It's been two days since I started treating him, why is it getting worse?"

Doctor Zhang said, "It's not that my medical skills are inadequate, but the more I treat, the worse it gets. When a person is initially injured, their senses briefly become numb, making the pain less noticeable, so they can still endure. After a night, all senses return to normal, and the pain becomes unbearable, preventing them from getting out of bed. Overall, however, there is improvement, but it's just that this time... may take a while. I also need a lot of medicinal herbs, and I came back to the palace to look for them at the pharmacy. Your Majesty knows that the best medicine in the world is in the palace; even the Imperial Hospital can't compare."

Emperor Xuanning frowned, "Is there such a thing?"

He Daban reminded him, "Your Majesty, it's true. You've forgotten that when you were eight years old, a stone hit your toe. You said it didn't hurt at the time, but the next day it hurt terribly, became red and swollen, and took half a month to heal. The nail even fell off."

Emperor Xuanning remembered this incident.

"What medicine do you need? Have you found all of them?"

Doctor Zhang lowered his head, his eyes rolling. "Not yet. Your Majesty, some herbs are very precious, and the pharmacy staff won't give them to you."

Emperor Xuanning was unhappy. He had even issued an order to use medicinal materials without hesitation, but the pharmacy was still so stingy.

"Whatever you need, the imperial physician will make a list and have Li Dequan accompany you to the pharmacy to get it."

Suddenly I remembered that I hadn’t seen Li Dequan for two days.

"Where's Li Dequan? Why hasn't he been on duty for two days?"

He Daban sighed, "Your Majesty, you were busy and didn't notice that Li Dequan had taken leave. The day before yesterday, I sent Master Rong out of the palace to recuperate. Master Rong had nowhere to go, so he moved into Concubine Rong's dowry courtyard..."

"Wait, what's the matter with having nowhere to go? What about the Jian'an Marquis's Mansion? It's his own home, why not go there?"

He Daban was certain and certain that the emperor was pretending to be confused.

"Your Majesty, you are not aware of this. I heard rumors from outside that the Earl's Mansion had long been occupied by Lord Jin's mother, concubines, and illegitimate children. Young Master Rong went to the Earl's Mansion to recuperate, like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. Young Master Rong had no choice but to go to the Empress's courtyard. Even so, Old Madam Jin did not let Young Master Rong go, blocking the door and scolding him for a long time. When Young Master Rong was carried back, Old Madam Jin went crazy for some reason and tried to hit him to death. Li Dequan was ordered to escort Young Master Rong back, so how could he bear to watch him get killed? He blocked the way himself. Li Dequan's chest hurt from the collision, so he asked for leave to rest after returning to the palace."