Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

"He is angry. This matter has already involved two princes. How dare I hide it from him?"

Wang Xifeng cast a cold gaze towards the small bronze incense burner from which smoke was curling on the long table in the hall.

Jing Li sighed softly: "It's just that the two princes are young and naughty, and they are a little too much. What's there to worry about?"

Wang Xifeng smiled, said nothing, and waved her hand to let Jing Li leave.

An'er looked at her and didn't know what to say, so he simply went out and called Chunsui, and went together to clean up the small warehouse so that they could put away the cloth given by Emperor Chongzhao.

Only Aunt Meng and Chunsheng were left in the hall.

Aunt Meng looked at Chunsheng. Chunsheng said nothing, turned around and walked out, guarding the door of the inner hall.

"Is the queen okay?" Aunt Meng asked in a low voice.

Wang Xifeng had been staring at the small bronze tripod with smoke rising from it with one hand on her chin, and when she heard these words, she pulled the corners of her mouth out of habit, then turned her gaze and looked at Aunt Meng:

"pretty good."

Seeing her holding her head high and chest puffed out, Aunt Meng thought she was just pretending, so she softened her voice and gently advised:

"This is a big deal. It is already your Majesty's private storehouse, but Prime Minister Dai knows about it, the Supreme Lord knows about it, but your Majesty doesn't know about it.

“The emperor’s mind and nature are all in me.

“It’s understandable that he’s unhappy.”

Wang Xifeng laughed and shook her head: "No, aunt.

"Our Majesty is an ambitious monarch.

“Don’t think that he has just ascended the throne and it seems that he has not yet sorted out the affairs inside and outside the court. Everyone thinks that he will focus on Xuanzheng Hall, the capital, and internal affairs.

"But how great were the achievements of the Holy Ancestor? How majestic was the reputation of the Supreme Lord? Although the throne fell to him by accident, he might not be willing to let the history books of later generations regard him as an insignificant emperor.

"The world has been at peace for thirty years.

"Thirty years is like changing a lifetime!

"Why is the Supreme no longer willing to pamper the Four Kings and Eight Dukes? It is because the Four Barbarians are beginning to become unstable.

"Prince Xiaonan had already submitted this chapter and planned to return to Guangdong and Guangxi after the Dragon Boat Festival.

"The Duke of Xi was previously criticized for his ineffective suppression of the bandits, and he was already very angry. He submitted a petition the other day to request permission to fight again.

"Don't mention the north, it's always been on the alert.

"The other day, the shopkeeper of my shop sent me the bill and wrote a letter saying that half of the foreign goods on the sea have been reduced recently because of the rampant pirates, especially the Japanese pirates.

"Under such circumstances, Prince Su was sent out of the capital to perform Fengshan rituals in various places.

"I heard that he had already left the dragon vein. Instead of going directly to Mount Tai, he went to the Jieshi Mountain in Changli."

Aunt Meng was slightly startled: "Jieshi Mountain? Is it the Jieshi in Cao Mengde's poem 'Looking east to Jieshi, to see the vast ocean'?"

Wang Xifeng chuckled, her brows full of coldness: "That's right."

The first stop for Fengshan is the place where the dragon rises and the source of the dragon vein. The second stop is naturally Mount Tai. Why would we go anywhere else?!

"Maybe it was the order of the Supreme? Want to visit all the famous mountains and rivers?" Aunt Meng hesitated.

Wang Xifeng chuckled: "Why go to any other mountain? Why go to the place Cao Aman has been to? Is he planning to 'Spit out food for the guests and bring the whole world back to their hearts'?!"

Aunt Meng: ...

"Viewing the Sea" and "Short Song" are still different.

But, who knows if Prince Su only thought of Cao Cao?

"So, what does the Queen mean?"

"What I mean is that the four barbarians are unstable and the brothers are not at peace. Your Majesty is now carrying ten thousand doubts.

“Unexpectedly, Prince Su was also involved in this matter—he instigated Prince Xiaoyao to plant a rat in the emperor’s private vault.

“This matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either.

"Who knows if Prince Su used this incident to do anything else with Prince Xiaoyao or Prince Xiaoyao's mother?"

Aunt Meng frowned: "Prince Xiaoyao's mother, Concubine Song?"

"Yes!" Wang Xifeng smiled slightly, "Our Concubine Song is different from others.

“She was born in Jiangnan, a singer and an orphan.

"In such a turbulent time, she was able to secretly give birth to a child, and she was able to let the child grow up safely. She also gave the child a title different from that of her eighteen brothers, and even had the Supreme Lord write the word 'Xiao Yao' as the title himself!

"This time, the Grand Master took all the concubines and imperial concubines to another palace. Even the sick Empress Dowager did not stay in the palace. But our Concubine Song stayed behind without a word."

Aunt Meng's eyebrows jumped slightly, and she whispered, "It's true! The Linbo Palace where she lives seems to be adjacent to the Linzhao Palace, both of which are quite remote.

"Besides, she didn't even come to see the Queen off when she left the palace!"

Wang Xifeng smiled and nodded: "Yes. She broke her leg the day before the abdication ceremony.

"Because there was a suspicion of bloodshed, she didn't say a word and waited until the abdication ceremony was over before quietly telling the Supreme.

"The imperial physician went to see him and said that it was too late and he was afraid that it would not be good. So he had to stay in the palace to recuperate.

"I heard the other day that he might be disabled for life, with his two legs of different lengths. Moreover, in the future, when it is cloudy or rainy, his body will itch and become red and swollen as if he were bitten by thousands of ants."

Aunt Meng was speechless.

"Originally, I shouldn't have made such a wild guess. But I discovered something strange."

Wang Xifeng beckoned her to come closer and whispered, "The one who examined her leg is the imperial physician from Jiangnan who had been examining Zhen's pulse before. His surname is also Song."

Aunt Meng was surprised: "Also surnamed Song, and from Jiangnan?"

Wang Xifeng smiled and nodded, sighed softly, and leaned lazily on the couch: "The most interesting thing is, didn't Zhang Yuanpan go to the other palace?

"Yesterday, a message came back from the other palace saying that Zhang Yuanpan was kept in the other palace by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

“Let the Imperial Hospital appoint another skilled imperial physician to replace Zhang Yuanpan as the hospital judge. With this title, he will be able to serve the Empress and the concubines in the harem.

"Then, Judge Zhang tried his best to recommend this Mr. Song.

"Then comes the most interesting thing: Zhang Yuanpan is the left judge, and there is also a right judge and a court envoy.

"But these two worked together to not let Mr. Song take the position, and instead recommended another imperial physician, whose surname is Zhao."

Aunt Meng was stunned when she heard this.

"It's so lively in the Imperial Hospital. I heard that His Majesty sneered for a long time after hearing this." Wang Xifeng also laughed, "This group of imperial doctors fighting for power and profit is nothing.

"But the relationship between Imperial Physician Song and Concubine Song, Concubine Zhen, and even Judge Zhang is very intriguing."

Aunt Meng sighed softly and looked at Wang Xifeng sympathetically: "It's hard for the imperial concubine to unravel the mystery and trace the source like this."

"What's this for me? I just heard some random news when I was free, and I sorted it out.

"I think the one who is most worried is Your Majesty." Wang Xifeng curled her lips, "One wave has not yet subsided when another wave comes."

Prince Su was still hanging outside and no one knew what trouble he would cause, and Prince Xiaoyao suddenly appeared in the palace.