Chapter 220 Bottom Line
The next day, Zhao Xing woke up in a daze. Recalling the ripples of last night, the corners of his mouth curled up.
He glanced at Rulan who was still sleeping soundly on his left, with her arm resting on Zhao Xing's chest. She seemed to be having some sweet dream and smacked her lips.
Zhao Xing turned his head to look at Minglan on the right, only to see that her eyes were closed, as if she had not woken up yet.
However, Zhao Xing had been practicing martial arts for many years and his perception was quite sharp. He could feel that Minglan's breathing was slightly rapid.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, and slowly moved his arm around Minglan's.
Minglan's breathing became more and more rapid, and Zhao Xing didn't expose her. Let's see how long you can endure it.
At first, Minglan didn't know that Zhao Xing had discovered that she was awake, but as Zhao Xing became more and more excessive, she finally reacted.
He held down Zhao Xing's mischievous hand, opened his eyes and looked at Zhao Xing pleadingly.
"Are you not pretending to sleep anymore?" Zhao Xing looked at her with a smile and whispered.
Minglan's eyes were evasive, not knowing how to answer.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, stopped teasing her, and got up and got out of bed.
"You guys should get some more sleep."
After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he put down the tent.
Minglan couldn't sleep at all, but she felt shy and didn't know how to face Zhao Xing when she got up, so she just acted like an ostrich.
Listening to the noise outside and looking at Rulan who was sleeping soundly, Minglan felt a little envious.
After a while, there was silence outside, then footsteps were heard and the tent was opened.
"Why didn't you wake up the concubine when the Sixth Miss woke up? Get up quickly. You have to serve tea to the Crown Princess." Mother Hua urged.
"Mom Hua, let me sleep a little longer." Rulan was woken up and mumbled in a daze.
"Are you still sleeping? You think you're still at the Sheng family." Mother Hua helped Rulan sit up, took the large robe from Xi Que, wrapped Rulan in it and went to the bathroom.
Mother Cui and Xiaotao treated Minglan the same way. The difference was that Ruolan was basically supported by the two of them, while Minglan walked there by herself.
After they washed up and put on their inner and outer clothes, they were completely sober.
The two of them sat in front of the dressing table, and the maids did their makeup and hair.
After a woman gets married, she will put her hair up, which means she is now a woman.
When a personal maid is favored by the emperor, she will also tie her hair up, which means that she is different from ordinary maids.
After packing up and changing into outer clothes, Mother Hua urged Rulan to go and pay her respects to the Crown Princess and offer her tea.
A palace maid led the way, Rulan and Minglan walked side by side, and Xi Que and Xiao Tao followed behind.
"I'm so tired. I have to come back and take a nap later." Rulan said with a yawn.
"Fifth sister was very brave last night, but she is indeed a little tired." Minglan thought of what happened last night and joked with a blushing face.
Rulan's face flushed when she heard that, and she said angrily, "Well, you dare to tease me. You are a dowry, and you should take care of me when I can't do it. But you begged for mercy after a while. Your Highness just tortured me."
"Fifth sister, keep your voice down."
Minglan whispered, "I am a dowry, how can I steal Fifth Sister's favor?"
"Don't give me that. Next time if His Highness comes over, you'll have to deal with him alone." Rulan glared.
Minglan quickly changed the subject after hearing this and said, "Fifth sister, did you forget the etiquette of paying respects and serving tea to the Crown Princess? You can't make any mistakes later."
She was brought in as a dowry and now has no official status, so she doesn't need to be served tea.
"Remember it."
Rulan was a little nervous when this was mentioned, but she didn't continue arguing with Minglan. Instead, she was thinking about what to pay attention to when serving tea.
Seeing that she was nervous, Minglan tried to comfort her with a few words, but it had little effect. She felt a little regretful for a moment.
Rulan is a carefree person, and if she didn’t mention it, she might not think so much about it.
Although he would be nervous when meeting the Crown Princess, he would not necessarily make any mistakes.
If I keep thinking about it now, it will only make me more nervous, and it will be troublesome if something goes wrong.
Although the Crown Princess invited them over last time and was very kind to them.
But now that I'm in, who knows if it will be the same as before.
Generally, when a new daughter-in-law comes home, the mother-in-law will deliberately make things difficult for her and make her follow the rules. In fact, this is just to establish her authority.
When a concubine comes into the house, the wife will also look for opportunities to establish her authority.
But it was too late to say anything now. Saying too much would only make Rulan more nervous.
After a while, they arrived at Chunhe Palace. The palace maid who led the way negotiated with the people at the palace gate for a few words, and then took Rulan and the others in.
When they arrived outside the palace, the palace maid at the door asked them to wait for a moment and went in to report.
Not long after, the palace maid came out and saluted, saying, "Crown Princess, please invite Concubine Sheng to enter the palace."
Rulan walked into the palace after hearing that, and Minglan followed her in half a body behind.
Magpie and Xiaotao stayed outside.
In the hall, Zhang Guifen sat at the head of the table. Rulan bowed and said, "I pay my respects to the Crown Princess!"
"No need to be polite!" Zhang Guifen waved her hand. A palace maid who had been prepared came forward with a tray.
Rulan picked up the tea, took a few steps forward and bowed, saying, "Crown Princess, please have some tea."
Zhang Guifen took the teacup and smiled, "Before you entered the palace, the palace maid taught you the rules. In the Eastern Palace, you just need to follow the rules and serve His Highness well. In addition, the Eastern Palace concubines are almost 20 years old now. If you feel that you are compatible, you can visit them. If you feel that you are not compatible, you don't have to interact with them. You can't scheme against each other and break the Eastern Palace rules, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."
"I will keep the Crown Princess's teachings in mind!" Rulan said.
"Ah."
Zhang Guifen nodded slightly, took a sip of tea, put the teacup down, and looked at Minglan.
"Please give me a cup of tea too."
The palace maid came forward again carrying a tray with teacups.
"I am just a dowry maid. How can I be qualified to serve tea to the Crown Princess?" Minglan bowed.
"Your Highness promised you before that he would give you a status if you become pregnant in the future. In this case, I will treat you as my concubine and drink the tea you offer me together." Zhang Guifen said.
"Yes!"
Zhang Guifen has already said so. If she refuses again, she would be ungrateful.
Drinking the tea she offered was tantamount to acknowledging her identity.
Even though she is still a maid now, no palace maid or eunuch in the Eastern Palace dares to treat her as a maid anymore.
Zhang Guifen was totally helping her by doing this.
Minglan took the teacup from the tray, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Please have some tea, Crown Princess!"
Zhang Guifen took the teacup and said, "You heard what I just said, so I won't repeat it again."
"I will definitely keep it in mind!" Minglan said.
Zhang Guifen took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said, "Have you had breakfast? If not, please eat with me."
"My Lady Princess, I haven't had my meal yet," Rulan replied.
"Yes." Zhang Guifen nodded and said, "Serve the food!"
…………
After practicing martial arts, Zhao Xing did not go to Chunhe Palace, but had breakfast directly in Chaoyang Palace.
If we were to go and offer tea today, Zhao Xing would not go at this time.
After breakfast, he went to the study to review the notes.
It was not until noon that we arrived at Chunhe Palace.
Zhang Guifen personally helped Zhao Xing wash his face and then sat down at the dining table.
"Your Highness, Li Liangdi and others have been in the palace for some time. I would like to ask for a reward for them, allowing them to go home and reunite with their families for half a day the day after tomorrow." Zhang Guifen served Zhao Xing a bowl of soup and handed it to him.
"The day after tomorrow?"
Zhao Xing took the soup, put it down, and said, "I said that all of you are equally important to me, but I still know the difference between the superior and the inferior. There is no need for you to wrong yourself like this."
The day after tomorrow is the third day since Rulan entered the palace. If she were the legal wife, this day would be the day she returns home.
However, the concubines and imperial concubines have not returned home for a long time.
Zhang Guifen said that she wanted to ask for a reward on behalf of Li Liangdi and the others, but this "them" did not only include Li Liangdi and the others, but also Ruolan and the others.
Although there was no saying that concubines had to return home after three days, the fact that she was able to return represented Zhao Xing's favor.
Outsiders didn't know that this was Zhang Guifen's idea. They just thought that Zhao Xing liked the girl from the Sheng family very much and asked her to go back on that day.
"Your Highness, I have no..."
"Okay, stop talking."
Zhao Xing interrupted her and said, "It's hot now, why go out? Let them go back to visit their families when the weather cools down in a few days."
Zhao Xing treated Zhang Guifen and others equally, but this equal treatment was based on the rules of that era.
Within the scope of the rules, Zhao Xing would give them preferential treatment but would not disrupt the etiquette.
Just like Zhao Xing had people prepare wedding clothes for Minglan, but did not hold a big celebration, nor did he directly give Minglan a status.
The third day's return visit has special significance, and Zhao Xing would never let them go back on that day.
Favor must be given in moderation. Zhang Guifen may not think much about it now, but what about in the future?
Moreover, Rulan and Minglan are too favored, so it is inevitable that they will have other thoughts over time.
Minglan is very rational and is unlikely to do that.
But Rulan has a carefree personality and is spoiled too much.
What's more, he also has to consider the thoughts of the British Mansion.
"Okay, let's eat." Zhao Xing didn't want to continue this topic.
(End of this chapter)