An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Since moving to Suiyu Pavilion, An Lingrong's complexion has indeed improved considerably.

Firstly, because Zhen Huan took good care of her daily needs, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were still far more refined than when she lived in Yanxi Palace. Secondly, Shuangxue had finally breathed a sigh of relief recently, perhaps because she was keeping a closer eye on things, and no one had tampered with An Lingrong's food anymore.

In addition, the person serving her was replaced by Shuangxue.

Unlike Baojuan, Shuangxue was a lively and active person. She served An Lingrong very well on a daily basis, but because she was playful herself, she always encouraged An Lingrong to go out.

When the weather is fine, Shuangxue would prepare warm clothes for An Lingrong in advance. Seeing that she was in a good mood, she would praise the things she had prepared like a peddler, and insist that An Lingrong wear them and go out for a walk.

An Lingrong had tentatively asked Shuangxue about the Emperor's planned visit to the garden that day. Shuangxue, however, looked alarmed and stared at An Lingrong with wide eyes, asking if they should avoid the area to enjoy themselves more.

These words startled An Lingrong at first, but she quickly realized that Shuangxue was still young. No matter how mature she was in learning the rules, she was just imitating them rigidly. In the end, she was still a child at heart.

This question made An Lingrong feel even more grateful to Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang.

Although An Lingrong was not present on the day of Fucha's accident, she knew from the accounts of Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang that there must have been a perilous situation in Yanxi Palace that day.

Whether this matter was orchestrated by the Empress or Consort Hua, in their contest, one side will inevitably pursue it relentlessly, while the other will certainly handle it with caution. Whether or not others are harmed in the process is probably beyond their control, and they likely don't care.

At this time, Zhen Huan was not only thinking about self-preservation.

Instead, she calmly presented what she had seen and heard to the Emperor, and even helped her when her fate was uncertain, for which An Lingrong was truly grateful.

Lately, An Lingrong has often been trying to recall when and what happened in her past life that caused her to develop resentment towards Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang. However, in recent days, she has found that the more she tries to remember, the less she can recall.

Thinking too much about it can make you laugh at yourself.

Perhaps I was too short-sighted in my past life. I only knew that everyone in the harem had to use their connections to rise in rank, but I didn't realize that in this cold and indifferent harem, the days when you could truly find someone you could rely on and walk, laugh, and watch with, were the days that were truly worth fighting for.

Compared to the arduous struggles of her past life, these peaceful days now felt like a stolen treasure, and An Lingrong often felt that each day was somewhat unreal. But whenever she saw the lively and spirited Shuangxue beside her, she felt that perhaps spending her years in the palace like this wouldn't be so bad.

As she was pondering this, a snowball suddenly appeared from nowhere and struck An Lingrong squarely in the waist. Shuangxue reacted swiftly, immediately stepping in front of An Lingrong and angrily shouting in the direction the snowball came from, "Who is it, so rude as to disturb such an important person?"

Yesterday, a heavy snow fell, and palace servants were clearing snow throughout the palace. Since the Yimei Garden was located quite far away, the servants responsible for clearing the frequently used paths there were assigned to clear other areas.

The path An Lingrong was walking on had not yet been completely cleared, and there was still a thin layer of snow on the ground. Because it was so thin, some of the bricks and stones had a layer of shaved ice. As a result, An Lingrong, supported by frost and snow, was so focused on walking carefully with her head down that she did not notice that there were other people around. So the snowball startled the two of them.

An Lingrong quickly turned around and saw that a young man had emerged from the plum grove.

The boy had delicate features, but a very slender build. He looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing only a thin, padded jacket trimmed with rabbit fur.

An Lingrong knew that any child who could move freely in the palace was either a prince or the son of a royal prince, so she adjusted her expression slightly and smiled at the boy, "Who are you?"

The young man also showed some surprise, but he still tried to remain calm. He looked at An Lingrong's attire, took half a step back, and bowed, saying, "Your subject is Hongzhou. I don't know which palace you belong to. I have never seen you before."

It turned out to be the Fifth Prince. An Lingrong quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Consort An from Suiyu Pavilion."

The Fifth Prince pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I only heard that there is a Consort Wan living in Suiyu Pavilion, but I never heard that there is also a Lady An. Just now, I was being playful and reckless and offended Lady An. I, Hongzhou, apologize to Lady An here and hope that she will forgive me."

An Lingrong hadn't seen this prince much before. He was the emperor's fifth son, and his birth mother, Consort Yu, was unfortunate, passing away before the emperor ascended the throne. So, the child was temporarily placed in the care of the Empress Dowager. In her previous life, An Lingrong wasn't favored by the Empress Dowager and rarely visited Shou Kang Palace, so she hadn't seen this fifth prince much.

Now it seems that the child, indeed personally taught by the Empress Dowager, is very well-mannered.

However, she was only seventeen years old, and the polite and seemingly mature young man in front of her was only a few years younger than her, yet he kept calling her "Your Majesty" and "Your Majesty," which made An Lingrong feel embarrassed. She could only force herself to act like an elder and quickly help Hongzhou up.

Seeing that he was dressed very thinly, she asked, "It snowed heavily yesterday, and today is the coldest day. Why didn't the servants around you help you put on more clothes?"

The Fifth Prince's cheeks were red from the cold, but he showed no fear of the cold. He looked up proudly and said, "Father said that in addition to studying hard, a man should also strengthen his body. Only with a strong body can one achieve great things."

Therefore, I would like to take advantage of my free time today to exercise in the courtyard. The people serving me also advised me to wear more clothes, but the clothes are too thick and heavy, which is really inconvenient.

"Just now, because the attendants around me kept holding onto the cloak and refused to leave, I tried to drive them away with snowballs, but I didn't expect to accidentally injure Consort An." When he talked about his desire to strengthen his body in accordance with his father's wishes, his expression showed some youthful spirit, but as he spoke, he changed back to a mature demeanor and bowed apologetically to An Lingrong.

Only after the Fifth Prince mentioned it did An Lingrong notice that there were indeed some rolling marks in the snow not far behind the Fifth Prince. She also thought that the palace had always kept wrestlers, so it was probably because the young prince and the wrestler warriors had just practiced wrestling in the snow.

"Fifth Prince, please don't worry. It's good to exercise, but it's also important to balance work and rest. It's cold, so you should go back early so as not to worry the Emperor." After saying this, An Lingrong gave a slight bow and prepared to leave.

The Fifth Prince quickly cupped his hands in farewell and replied, "Your subject respectfully sees off Consort An."

An Lingrong smiled slightly, thinking to herself that this Fifth Prince was quite a well-behaved child.

Yimei Garden was indeed remote; following the path further in, it turned out that no one had even cleared the snow. Supported by Shuangxue, An Lingrong walked deeper into the garden, her steps uneven.

Seeing that she was leading her mistress further and further astray, Shuangxue finally couldn't contain her anxiety and asked softly, "My mistress, I'm so sorry, how could I not have thought that this garden is so remote and no one cleans it! Should we go back? If we go any further in, I'm afraid there really won't be a way to go."

An Lingrong found Shuangxue's appearance amusing and decided to tease her. "Yes, Sister Wan once assured me that you were the most intelligent maid in her palace, but it seems that's not entirely true." After saying that, she shook her head in a fake manner and said, "I wonder if it's too late to ask my sister to send you back now."

Upon hearing this, Shuangxue was terrified and pleaded with tears in her eyes, "My lady, I will never dare to do it again. Please don't send me back."

Seeing Shuangxue's anxious face, An Lingrong couldn't bear it and burst out laughing. "Hmm, Jinxi said that she used to make excellent velvet flowers when she served you, but thinking back, she's never made any for me since she came to my side. So I'll punish you by making you make five velvet flowers for me, no, ten!"

Upon hearing this, Shuangxue knew that her mistress was not really not going to punish her, but was just teasing her. She immediately stopped crying and smiled, saying, "Whatever you say, mistress, is what I'll do!" Then she turned her face and said aggrievedly, "But, but why did you suddenly make fun of me, mistress? It scared me to death."

An Lingrong couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. Shuangxue's personality was truly straightforward and adorable; it was rare to encounter someone with such a clear mind in the harem. After laughing for a while, An Lingrong was stunned. It turned out that in all those years in her previous life, she had never laughed so genuinely as she did now.

Seeing that An Lingrong suddenly froze, Shuangxue assumed that her mistress was freezing, and quickly helped An Lingrong tuck her cloak in again.

An Lingrong was slightly taken aback, then suddenly pulled Shuangxue's hand and laughed, "Hurry up and help me back. My shoes and socks are all wet from standing here for so long!"