The Queen has arrived: An Lingrong does not want to fight in the palace after her rebirth

It's raining.

The sky was dark, like a monster lurking in the darkness, ready to devour any passing creature.

Zhen Huan stood under the eaves, looking at the heavy rain. She felt like a duckweed drifting in the river waves, rootless and chased by the waves. She didn't know which wave would bring her disaster. She stretched out her hand to catch the pouring water, as if she wanted to support her unknown fate. The noisy raindrops could not cover her sad voice:

"Jinxi, the Imperial Hospital said that Doctor Wen died of infection from his injuries. Is that true?"

The series of misfortunes made Jing Xi very sad, but she had to look forward to the future, so she could only comfort Zhen Huan:

"I asked Su Peisheng, and when the Imperial Hospital sent someone, Doctor Wen had already been buried. Your Majesty, everything is predestined, please accept my condolences."

Perhaps it was because the rain was so depressing, or perhaps it was because the death of an old friend was particularly heartbreaking, Zhen Huan felt that all her spirit had been drained away, leaving only loneliness:

"Sister Mei is gone, and Doctor Wen is gone too. Life is unpredictable, and I don't know what my fate will be."

Jin Xi knew that she was heartbroken and no amount of words of comfort would help. Only time could soothe her pain, so she stopped trying to persuade her and just stepped forward to support her:

"My lady, the strong wind and heavy rain can easily lead to illness. Liuzhu has made some ginger soup. Please go back to your room and drink some. No matter what, we servants will stay with you."

Zhen Huan didn't want to go into the house. Although it was cold outside, it was open and spacious, unlike the oppressive feeling inside the house. But seeing Jin Xi's anxious expression, she let Jin Xi support her and walk back.

There is a lingering aroma in Wufu Hall.

An Lingrong, who had returned from quarantine, was quietly copying the "Manjushri Vow Sutra" to the sound of the rain. This was the 130th volume, and she wanted to copy a thousand volumes to accumulate blessings for the summer, winter and spring, hoping that she would have no disasters or pain in her next life and live a long life.

In addition to mourning, rainy days are also suitable for farewell.

Outside the Xinghuachun Pavilion, the Third Prince saw off Wang Maohong, who had to return home to mourn his mother's death.

Looking at the figure of his master, who was over fifty years old, gradually moving away, Hongshi unconsciously relaxed.

Hongshi was both afraid and daunted by this master who was solid in his studies and a self-disciplined and polite person.

In addition to daily homework, the master taught the third prince the most about how to be a good person. At first, the third prince could still listen to a few things, but as time went on, these principles bound him like shackles, making him more and more irritated. Why should he live according to other people's ideas?

But he didn't dare show this rebelliousness in front of anyone, for fear of attracting even harsher lectures.

Now that the master who was in charge of disciplining him was gone, Hongshi felt that the huge rock pressing on his head had loosened a little. He could finally live a more relaxed life in the next three years.

Thinking of this, the Third Prince returned to the house briskly.

The Zhongyuan Festival passed in a blink of an eye, and the emperor was still bedridden. However, because of Shen Meiyu's incident, in order to prevent other people from getting sick, the emperor ordered that all concubines be exempted from serving him.

The harem was peaceful. After a while, everyone came out of the panic of smallpox and enjoyed themselves in the garden. Only the Queen and Zhen Huan had their own concerns.

The emperor fell into a coma at midnight, and the queen made excuses to delay. It was thought that the emperor would be furious when he woke up, and the queen was ready to deal with it, but for many days there was no question of punishment.

The Queen thought that either the Emperor was unaware of her intentions that night, or he was keeping it to himself.

The former is beneficial to her, while the latter is like hanging a sharp blade over her head that could fall at any time. Before knowing the emperor's attitude, she decided to find someone to give it a try first, and that person was Zhen Huan.

Zhen Huan was extremely reluctant to accept the Queen's proposal, but she had no power to fight against the Queen at this time, so she could only politely refuse:

"I am able to return to the palace thanks to the great grace of the Empress. According to what the Empress said, I dare not refuse. But the Empress also sees my situation. It will be difficult for me to see the Emperor after returning to the palace. I am worried that if I rashly go to see the Emperor, it will make him unhappy and make him dislike me even more."

The Queen didn't think so. "I don't think so. The Emperor agreed to let you return to the palace, which means that he still loves you. But the Emperor is the Son of Heaven after all, and the dignity of the Son of Heaven cannot be offended. The Emperor and you had feelings for each other back then."

Her words were gentle and bewitching: "Love is easy to be misunderstood. Now that the emperor is ill, his body is in need of someone to love him. If the emperor doesn't come, you can put in more effort. You must believe that sincerity can move mountains and open rocks."

Love? Zhen Huan felt bitter in her heart. She was no longer the naive girl when she first entered the palace. In this palace full of power struggles, the king's heart was only focused on the imperial power, and the harem was just a tool for him to balance. That little bit of love as thin as a veil was simply not worth mentioning in front of the country.

Besides, the affection that she once treasured turned out to be nothing more than an illusion similar to that of an old friend.

Now, judging from the emperor's attitude, he no longer cares about her face. She has lost her greatest support in front of the emperor, and it is no longer wise to rely on her beauty to compete.

In the past few months, she paid close attention to the behaviors of Concubine Xi, Concubine Jing and Concubine Wen, and only then did she realize how ostentatious and ignorant she was in the beginning. The emperor's fight for the throne was extremely difficult, and his scheming and scheming were far beyond the reach of a woman in the harem. However, she had actually made suggestions on state affairs in the hope that the emperor would see that she was as talented as any man, so that she could remain invincible in the harem.

Thinking about it now, the power she had been exposed to before was nothing more than the emperor's pastime after a hard day's work.

Including the so-called palace power that is allowed to be fought among all the women in the harem, which is also deliberately allowed by the emperor in order to consume the forces of all parties in the harem and reduce the influence of the concubines on the family.

She hated herself. Even though she saw through it, she couldn't break free or escape. For the safety of her family, she had to get involved in this power struggle.

The Queen was still guiding her, but other thoughts were churning in Zhen Huan's mind. What the Queen did that night made her see the Queen's ambition clearly. She had no one to rely on, but she could choose.

Thinking of this, she smiled softly: "I will follow the Queen's instructions and will serve the Emperor attentively to relieve the Queen's worries."

From then on, Zhen Huan would pay her respects outside Jiuzhou Qingyan every day. Even though the emperor had never summoned her alone, it did not affect her determination at all.

This continued until August, when the emperor finally met her amid the discussions of the palace maids and eunuchs in the garden.

This was the first time the two had been alone in more than three years.

When the emperor saw this face again in private, he would still be distracted for a moment, but he would regain his senses in an instant. Even though the looks were similar, their personalities were worlds apart. His gentleness was pure as ice, and he would never dare to do anything to deceive the emperor and abuse his power.

Therefore, the emperor did not intend to say anything else to Zhen Huan. He just wanted to hear what else Zhen Huan wanted from him?

But Zhen Huan didn't say much. She just bowed respectfully and then left according to the rules.

It was as if all she had hoped for was just a way to ask for peace.

This continued for several days. When Zhen Huan was about to leave, the Emperor spoke up:

"Tell me, what do you want?"

Zhen Huan put her head on the floor tiles, looking particularly humble and submissive: "It is a great blessing for me to be able to return to the palace. I have nothing to ask for. I only hope that the emperor will give me a chance to serve the emperor wholeheartedly to atone for my past sins."

The emperor smiled softly, "As you said before, how can a child speak lightly of the faults of his parents? What crime have you committed? Besides, the matter is over, Zhen Yuandao is dead. If I continue to hold on to it, wouldn't it show that I don't have the bearing of a king? Stand up now."

Zhen Huan's voice became softer: "Your Majesty is magnanimous, but I have to reflect on myself. I used to be frivolous and arrogant, which caused many criticisms. It was all thanks to Your Majesty's grace that I was able to be well. Your Majesty's kindness, after what happened to my father, I am more grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. Now that Your Majesty is ill, I wish I could take care of him myself. Please allow me to serve you with soup and medicine, so that I can do my best."

Zhen Huan could not shake the powerful, so she had to lower her posture and try to please the emperor. Only by gaining a firm foothold with the emperor could she slowly get rid of the queen's control over her, and take the opportunity to accumulate strength to secretly investigate the queen.

The emperor was ill, and after saying a few words, he couldn't help feeling exhausted. He could guess what Zhen Huan was planning. She just wanted to ask for mercy for her widowed mother and younger sister, but the court had its own rules for recalling the families of criminals. The Zhen family had made no great contributions to the court, and secondly, the Zhen family had no one available in the court, so they were not within the scope of the amnesty to return to Beijing. Therefore, the emperor didn't want to see Zhen Huan's loyalty anymore, and only said lightly:

"Since you have such intention, I will not stop you. I have given you my permission. You may leave now."

Finally, the emperor relented. As long as she could be in his presence, even if it was just to serve tea and water, it would be a great change to her current situation. Zhen Huan bowed and took her leave with great satisfaction.

Afterwards, Zhen Huan came to Jiuzhou Qingyan every day and was extremely cautious and meticulous. Apart from serving the emperor medicine and food, she didn't say a word extra the rest of the time.

While Zhen Huan was busy repairing her relationship with the Emperor, An Lingrong was extremely anxious.

On August 19, there will be an earthquake in the capital. Countless houses will collapse, and even the Old Summer Palace and the palace will be affected, causing casualties. Afterwards, heavy rain will fall in the Kanto region for thousands of miles. The rain is so heavy that it will cause severe floods. Countless people will be displaced.

An Lingrong thought of her previous life. Because the disaster came suddenly, the court did not take any precautions. Some people took advantage of the natural disaster to question the emperor's moral character. Rumors were rampant during that time, and even they in the harem had heard about it. The emperor was furious in the previous dynasty and issued many decrees to support the people for many consecutive days before he stabilized the people's hearts.

In this life, An Lingrong thought that it would be great if she could give the emperor a reminder. If the people in the capital could take precautions in advance, they would not panic when the earthquake struck, thus reducing casualties.

As for the heavy rain in Kanto, it would be a good deed if an advance warning could be given so that people living in low-lying areas could evacuate in advance.

But how to say it?

Although the emperor believes in Buddhism, he can predict matters that concern the lives of countless people. If he is not careful, he will be regarded as spreading rumors to confuse the people and incite them. Even if it is verified afterwards, he will be falsely accused by people with ulterior motives of deliberately cursing, which will lead to disaster from heaven.

Unable to find a suitable solution for a while, An Lingrong became very anxious.

On the sixth day of August, she finally thought of a solution and decided to take a risk.