mtl008 Chapter 167 Small talk
Chapter 167 Small talk
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to Her Majesty Shufei. I wish Her Majesty good health and a long life of blessings."
Lin knelt on the ground and paid her respects respectfully.
The stunned An Lingrong didn't react for a moment, so she was allowed to finish the ceremony.
"Bao Que, quickly help Madam up."
After she gave the order, she looked at her mother with disapproval.
"Mother, you are Rong'er's biological mother. Why are you being so polite? Aren't you embarrassing your daughter?"
"Your Majesty, palace rules cannot be abolished."
Lin went forward and helped her out of bed, gently put clothes on her, and explained carefully.
"Ever since I received the letter from the Madam, I have learned many etiquette from her."
"The palace has strict rules, and I don't want to become a burden to your majesty."
She can have a good life today thanks to her daughter, and the cautious Lin knows what to do.
"Mother, the people guarding the main hall are all our own people, you don't have to be so cautious."
Lin held her hand gently and spoke softly.
"Mother knows that you brought Chengle and me into the palace at this time for our safety. It is precisely because of this that Mother cannot cause you any trouble."
Their home was repeatedly spied on by criminals, but they were able to cope with it with the help of someone secretly.
An Lingrong had to work very hard to convince her mother that they didn't need to be so polite when they were in private.
"When did mother and brother enter the palace?"
The process of visiting relatives and entering the palace was very complicated and required several inspections. An Lingrong originally thought that her family would enter the palace in the afternoon.
"The father-in-law who came to pick us up at the end of the Mao hour went to Guihua Hutong. Chengle is young and sleepy, so we set off at the beginning of the Si hour."
"After going through several inspections, it was already past noon when we arrived at Yonghe Palace."
Although they were ready to enter the palace, they also packed some things in advance.
But the palace notified her too late, so she and Aunt Xiao got up at the beginning of the morning to arrange household affairs.
"Your concubine Xiao was reluctant to leave Chengle and insisted on following her into the palace to serve. Mother has left the household to the care of Nanny."
According to the rules, the concubines' families can bring one maid when visiting the palace.
Thinking of Aunt Xiao's love for her son, Lin softened her heart and took her into the palace.
"Mother, Aunt Xiao is a good person, and Madam is a reliable person. You have made good arrangements."
"Where are Aunt Xiao and my brother?"
This was the first time An Lingrong met her younger brother, and she was very curious about the difference between her younger brother and Hongzhan.
"Chengle is a little sleepy, so Aunt Xiao took him to the back hall to rest."
The rear hall of Yonghe Palace is called Tongshunzhai, which is five rooms wide, with three rooms in each of the east and west side halls.
When no one lived there before, palace servants cleaned the house every day.
After Lin's mother and son and Aunt Xiao entered the palace, Baoque directly arranged them to live in the main house of Tongshunzhai.
The mistress is about to give birth, and the emperor and concubines will come to visit at any time, so it will be more comfortable for them to live in the back hall.
"Mother, there are many disputes in the harem, so I have no choice but to ask you and your brother to stay in Yonghe Palace."
When she has power in the future, she will definitely not let her mother and brother stay in Yonghe Palace and be unable to go out.
At this moment, a strong light burst out from An Lingrong's eyes.
Lin held her hand lovingly, wondering how much suffering her daughter had endured to become the independent person she is today.
"Mother understands. Chengle is also very well behaved and never runs around."
When talking about her son, Lin exuded a special tenderness.
"We just moved in, and we don't interact much with the neighbors in the alley. Today, we saw the palace carriage coming to pick someone up, and many neighbors were watching in the alley."
"Many kids who think our Chengle is too young have come forward to talk to him."
An Lingrong chose Guihua Hutong because there were many scholars there and she wanted her brother to be influenced by them.
But she didn't expect that the An family moved in so quickly, and Lin's mother was so busy that she didn't have time to take care of the neighbors.
Scholars have always been aloof, so when they saw that there was no man in the An family to support their family, they naturally didn't want to have much contact with them.
The attitude of the head of the family also affected the women and children in the family, resulting in the An family having a lukewarm relationship with their neighbors after living in Beijing for more than half a year.
Lin had been holding all these in her heart, but she couldn't help but say them out loud when she saw her daughter, feeling quite proud.
"Mother, it's all my fault for not having considered it enough and not inviting the nanny over in advance."
It was simple enough that the nanny did not interact with the neighbors after she left. With the people from the Qi Mansion watching, she did not dare to let the master's family interact with outsiders easily.
After all, there are only a few legitimate masters in the An family, and any injury to one of them would be a huge loss.
"This has nothing to do with you. Mom has lived in the backyard for more than ten years and didn't think about these things at the moment."
"Now that the people from the palace have shown up, our neighbors will no longer exclude our family."
"Rong'er is still the best."
The An family underwent earth-shaking changes after their daughter entered the palace.
The nanny often said that wealth and risk coexist. Her daughter was being watched everywhere in the palace, and as her family, she could not allow anyone to catch her.
The family has good things given by the emperor to Zhuangzi and subsidized by his daughter. After eating simple meals for more than ten years, Lin is very satisfied with her current life.
"Rong'er, there's something the Emperor won't tell you. Mother thought I should let you know."
Seeing that there was no one in the room, Lin lowered her voice and explained.
"A group of thugs failed to gain any advantage in Guihua Hutong and severely injured the old man recuperating at the farm."
Mother just said that father can't speak and his limbs can't move.
An Lingrong was somewhat curious about how badly injured he could be.
Seeing her daughter's face full of confusion, Lin gritted her teeth.
"The master's legs were broken alive. Now he lives like a zombie, silent and even his eyes hardly move."
"Mom, when did this happen?"
It is impossible that An Bihuai, who had just arrived in Beijing, had offended the nobles. It was only while she was in the palace that she was an eyesore to others.
"Mom doesn't know the exact time, but I estimated it would be early August."
At that time, Hongshi and Hongli were fighting in Changchun Garden, and he happened to injure his leg.
Is the emperor covering up for his adopted son?
No matter what the truth is, she can't pursue it, nor does she want to pursue it.
An Lingrong shook her mother's hand back under her mother's concerned gaze.
"Mother, the Emperor loves me dearly and is afraid that something might happen to me because of my father, so he didn't let you know."
"My daughter, just pretend you don't know about this."
"When you leave the palace, bring some supplements for your father."
She didn't want to talk about her terrible father, so she changed the subject subtly.
"Mother, I heard that the women visiting the palace have to pay their respects to the Empress. Have you been taken to Jingren Palace?"
Lin shook his head and said with a smile.
"The Empress is so kind that she has someone waiting at Shenwu Gate, telling me to cancel this audience and come to Yonghe Palace to meet you as soon as possible."
An Lingrong knew that she had used some tricks to make the emperor hurriedly bring his family in, which was an eyesore to the queen.
But this was exactly what she wanted.
Although Jingren Palace was a place longed for by the ladies of the previous dynasty, An Lingrong was reluctant to let her mother face the queen with ill intentions.
"Mother, since the Queen has ordered this, then you can rest assured and stay in Yonghe Palace. When the Queen is free, I will take you to pay you respects."