An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

This banquet was originally a family dinner hosted by the Queen, but because of the presence of the Emperor, many princes and ministers were invited, and it was no longer just a family dinner.

In the distance, the Eight Banners descendants had already been ready, and the racing boats were lined up, waiting for the emperor's order, then they would blow the horn and charge forward to compete for the prize of first place.

Upon hearing that Hua Fei's nephews Nian Xi and Nian Fu had both signed up for the dragon boat race, the Emperor, to show his respect, also allowed Hua Fei to meet with her nephews and talk about her homesickness.

"Your Majesty, I thank you." Hua Fei smiled particularly charmingly, which was different from her usual arrogant attitude. It was the kind of happy smile that showed when she saw her closest relatives, letting down her guard.

Being able to meet her family made countless people jealous and envious, especially those concubines who had just entered the palace. Almost everyone was chasing after Concubine Hua, hoping that they could also gain the emperor's favor and see their family.

Especially Shen Meizhuang, who was sitting opposite, had been secretly wiping the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. After all, there was a joyful atmosphere all around her, and she dared not cry openly at such a festive moment and cause trouble for the emperor.

Ling Rong looked at Shen Meiyu for a long time before she slowly moved her eyes away - forget it, they were sitting too far away, and it wouldn't be a big deal if she didn't go to comfort them.

"Are you missing home, Lady An?" Wen Yi poked her head out from Cao Qinmo's arms and looked around curiously. Although Ling Rong was surprised that Cao Qinmo took the initiative to talk to her, she looked relaxed and casual.

She nodded, her eyes following Wen Yi's childish face, "I've never been so far away from home, I really miss home. Looking at Sister Cao, it seems that she doesn't miss home that much. I guess with Princess Wen Yi, everything is enough."

Speaking of Wen Yi, Cao Qinmo's eyes softened a lot. She held Wen Yi's little hand and gently weighed it in her palm. "Wen Yi is still young and needs my constant care. I can't spare too much energy to think about other things."

"Yes, if I had a child of my own in this deep palace, I wouldn't have to worry about the long days and nights." Until now, Ling Rong still felt sad when she thought of the lost child. She stroked her belly slowly, "I'm afraid there will be no chance in the future."

Cao Qinmo knew that Lingrong was sad because of the loss of her child. Although she wanted to continue to sow discord between Lingrong and Zhen Huan, she did not want to continue speaking at this time.

Perhaps because Wen Yi was there, she did not reveal those sinister methods. Instead, she smiled lightly, took Wen Yi's little hand and touched Ling Rong's fingers.

"My sister is blessed and will get what she wants."

When touched by that tender little hand, Lingrong felt as if her whole body was burning from her fingers. She looked down at her hands, her heart softened.

Although Cao Qinmo has schemed against many people, as a mother, she is truly blameless.

"Then I'll take advantage of your good wishes, sister." Ling Rong put her clenched hands back into her sleeves and gave Princess Wen Yi a gentle smile. Wen Yi was also very considerate and smiled at her, shaking her little hands.

The two chatted for a long time about Wen Yi, until the emperor gave an order and the bird boats sailed out like arrows.

The war drums on the bow were beating loudly, and the five-colored flags were fluttering in the air. The emperor led everyone to the observation deck to watch the game from a high vantage point.

Ling Rong followed the concubines to another place. Although the view was not as good as the emperor's, it was still possible to get a general idea.

Xia Dongchun was the most excited. He pointed at the bird boats passing by and introduced to her which families they belonged to.

"This leader is too fast, which company is it?"

"The leader of the Nian family is Nian Xi, and the second is Nian Fu." Xia Dongchun held up his chin and looked at Concubine Hua who was called by the emperor to accompany him. "A tiger father will have a dog son. Everyone in the Nian family is an elite."

"Your Xia family is not bad either." Ling Rong held onto the fence, her eyes following the leading boat, "I've never heard of the name Nian Xi." She seemed to have never heard of it in her previous life either. Ling Rong thought carefully but still couldn't find any memory of it.

After all, she had little contact with the previous dynasty, and even the name Nian Fu was only heard from other people's words when she was paying her respects, because Concubine Hua asked for a title for him.

"Nian Gengyao's eldest son, his maternal grandfather is Nalan Rongruo." Xia Dongchun knew it clearly. She leaned close to Lingrong's ear and said, "Have you never heard of that poem, 'If life could only be as good as the first encounter?'"

"So, what ranking do you have in the Xia family?" Ling Rong just nodded. No matter what happened to Nian Xi, it had little to do with her.

"This matter is not important." Xia Dongchun curled her lips and refused to speak. She pulled Ling Rong away from the crowd and found a corner to whisper, "We did find out a little about the matter between Prince Guo and Zhen Huan."

Lingrong looked at Xia Dongchun, waiting for her to say the next words without saying a word.

Xia Dongchun wanted to whet Lingrong's appetite, but when she saw her calm face, she lost interest instantly. "You are really boring. Prince Guo and Zhen Huan knew each other on New Year's Eve. They met in Yimei Garden and talked for a long time."

"But that day, Zhen Huan and the Emperor went to the banquet together, right?"

Seeing that Lingrong's face finally showed the expected curiosity, Xia Dongchun immediately hugged his shoulders and snorted. Relying on the fact that he was taller than Lingrong, he deliberately raised his chin and refused to say anything.

Lingrong knew Xia Dongchun's temper best. It was useless to coax her. It would be better to just leave her alone. She couldn't help but vomit it all out.

As expected, seeing that Ling Rong was not fooled at all, Xia Dongchun immediately became dispirited and told the rest of the story with gritted teeth, "The emperor only sent someone to pick her up, and they met her when they passed by Yimei Garden, and almost caught her and Prince Guo doing something nice."

No wonder Prince Guo’s eyes kept following Zhen Huan that night. Could it be that Prince Guo heard the phrase “even if the wind is against you, you will understand my meaning”?

"Are you surprised? Actually, there is another secret, but it is just hearsay and may not be true."

Ling Rong became interested. She pulled Xia Dongchun's arm and her eyes lit up.

Xia Dongchun finally felt relieved. She approached with a smug look on her face, looking around with vigilant eyes. "I heard that Zhen Huan was at the lake, taking off her shoes and playing in the water for Prince Guo to see."

Lingrong was stunned by these words. This piece of news that she heard from others was too shocking. Although she no longer thought that Zhen Huan was a good person, she would not do such a despicable thing.

"This... must be fake." Ling Rong said hesitantly, "Have you found the source of the rumor?"

“Not sure if this was the source, my people followed the clues and traced it back to the servant named A Jin who was beside Prince Guo.

It is said that Prince Guo often talks about the pale jade fairy, and drinks while holding a portrait, and the portrait looks like Zhen Huan. "

Ling Rong was really surprised that Xia Dongchun could find out such a secret matter. What other secrets in the harem could be hidden from her?

Ling Rong stepped back subconsciously, blinking her eyes, and after a while she calmed down and spoke, "This Prince Guo is too bold, is he crazy?"

No matter how romantic and presumptuous Prince Guo was, he was still the emperor's younger brother. Considering his own reputation, the emperor would not sentence his seventeenth brother to death.

As for Zhen Huan, if she was really as despicable as the rumors said, and took the initiative to seduce the emperor's playboy young brother, wouldn't she have made the emperor faint from anger?

"It's not important. Rumors are interesting only when they are half true and half false." Xia Dongchun didn't care. She shrugged as if they were just discussing a plate of dessert. "It's Zhen Huan's ability to make me happy."

Ling Rong opened her mouth. She really wanted to ask Xia Dongchun if there was anything else she didn't know. This person died too early in his previous life, which caused the structure of the harem to change completely.

Now that she is alive and well, the Imperial Household Department is full of her father's acquaintances, and these spies are almost spread throughout the entire harem. No wonder the queen wanted to win her over from the beginning.

Fortunately, I have no grudge against the daughter of the Xia family now, otherwise I would have been trampled underfoot in this deep palace.

Ling Rong fell silent for a moment. Xia Dongchun didn't understand what was going on, so he waved his hand in front of her eyes several times.

Ling Rong smiled, and just as she was about to speak, she heard a scream. The two hurried back to the original platform and looked down at the bird boats.

The leading boat had already sunk halfway, and Nian Xi lost his balance and fell into the water. Although Nian Fu jumped in immediately, he failed to rescue Nian Xi onto the boat, and was almost hit by the boat behind.

The boat continued to speed up and directly hit Nian Xi who was struggling in the water.

Concubine Hua saw the whole process and screamed immediately when she saw Nian Xi being hit by the boat. She held the railing and tried to look down, tears already falling down her face.

The emperor stood behind her, his face expressionless, as calm as a bird falling into the water. Even though his favorite concubine had lost her usual demeanor due to anxiety, he did not show any sign of distress.

But soon, the emperor supported Concubine Hua, and his expression changed quickly like in an opera. He angrily shouted hastily, asking Su Peisheng to send someone to rescue Nian Xi immediately.

Su Peisheng knew the emperor's heart best. He ran down the platform in panic and called on the guards to go to the lake to rescue General Nian's eldest son.

Hua Fei lay in the emperor's arms, crying anxiously. She begged the emperor to save Nian Xi, "My nephew has been in poor health since he was a child. Now he has suddenly suffered a disaster... I am really worried... Your Majesty..."

"I have sent someone to go. The imperial doctors in the palace are all from the medical field. They will make sure that Nian Xi is safe and sound."

Seeing this, Lingrong and others did not dare to stay on the platform any longer, for fear of saying or doing something wrong and being blamed by Concubine Nian or the Emperor.

She pulled Xia Dongchun back to the banquet. Concubine Jing, Shen Meizhuang and others had already taken their seats. Because the Queen and Concubine Hua were accompanying the Emperor, Concubine Jing had to make arrangements for these concubines to prevent them from walking around and running into ministers from the previous dynasty.

"It's really worrying." Ling Rong murmured, she turned her head to look at Cao Qinmo, their eyes met for a long time before they separated.

Ling Rong had a feeling that there was something fishy about Nian Xi falling into the water. If it was just a problem with the boat and it was leaking, then it would be fine. However, the boat that rushed towards Nian Xi and Nian Fu was obviously intentional.

After all, the first two were too fast, and the boats behind were not even a little behind. As long as they didn't do it on purpose, they would have seen immediately when they caught up that it was impossible for a boat rowed by human power to stop.

Ling Rong couldn't figure out who wanted Nian Xi's life. The father of these two people was General Nian, and her aunt was Concubine Hua, who was the emperor's favorite. Unless she didn't want to live, she would never do such a thing that would cost her life.

Soon, Ling Rong recalled that in her previous life, the emperor had sentenced Nian Gengyao to death. Considering today's shipwreck and the collision with Nian Xi, it was very likely that the emperor had sent someone to deliberately kill Nian Gengyao's offspring.

Unfortunately, she failed, and Ling Rong looked at Xia Dongchun who was sitting on the other side. She was very curious about which family the person who just rowed the boat and bumped into Nian Xi was from.

If there were concubines from that family in the harem, I wonder what kind of wrath Hua Fei would have to endure.

But now she only had Xia Dongchun to ask, and she felt a little anxious for a moment. She looked at Xia Dongchun several times, but got no response.

Xia Dongchun pulled Fuzi next to him, and the two of them were talking about something. Anyway, looking at Fuzi's increasingly stiff smile, it was obviously not a good thing to make people happy.

Concubine Cao was neither hurried nor slow. She drank a cup of chrysanthemum tea, and a peaceful atmosphere filled her whole body.

Even though she was on Concubine Hua's side, she did not show the slightest sign of worry when she heard that Nian Xi fell into the water.

After all, for her, Concubine Hua is not only her support behind her, but also a huge rock above her head. If she wants to ensure that Princess Wen Yi lives a worry-free life, it is obviously not enough to rely solely on Concubine Hua.

If necessary, she wouldn't even mind stepping on Concubine Hua to get to the top. So how could she truly open up to Concubine Hua just because of her temporary care?

In this respect, she is completely similar to the emperor.

Soon, the Emperor returned to the banquet with Concubine Hua. Su Peisheng also rushed back and informed the Emperor that Nian Xi had been rescued and brought to shore, and all the imperial doctors in the palace had rushed to treat him.

"The second son of the Nian family just fell into the water, he is not seriously injured." Su Peisheng took a deep breath and bowed to the emperor. "All the precious medicinal materials have been sent according to the emperor's instructions. The eldest son must be fine."

After hearing Su Peisheng's reply, Concubine Hua felt relieved. She obviously didn't want to embarrass herself in front of all the concubines. Although her eyes were red, she didn't cry.

She even took the initiative to advise the emperor, asking the sisters in the palace not to worry and to enjoy their meals in peace.

The emperor pondered for only a moment, then waved his hand and asked Xiao Xiazi to go down and prepare. Basins of iced lychees were brought up and distributed to everyone's table.

The singing and dancing in the hall started again. The dancers swung their sleeves and spun gracefully in the hall. Gusts of fragrant wind blew by, and Lingrong felt a little "drunk" just by smelling them.

While everyone's attention was caught by the graceful dance, Fu Da Ying quietly left the last seat and ran to the side hall to change into the pink dance costume.

When the dance in the hall ended, the sound of stringed instruments immediately changed. Fu Ying moved slightly with lotus steps, covered her face with her wide sleeves, and stood in the center of the hall like a puff of light smoke.

Ling Rong stared at it in a daze. This Fu Da Ying looked so much like Zhen Huan that she almost thought it was Zhen Huan who escaped from Yongshou Palace and was trying to regain favor with a stunning dance.

The emperor was planning to leave and go to another banquet to feast with his ministers, but he was tripped by the sudden appearance of the dancer.

His eyes were shining as he stared at the beauty with her face covered.