Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

After a busy day, the prince returned to Lizheng Palace, too tired to say a word.

Qing Hai, who had been working hard for a whole day, was actually exhausted, but it was not time for him to rest. He ran around to arrange bathing and changing clothes, arranged for the imperial physician to give him a massage, and then arranged a table of food. Only then did he wipe the sweat off his face.

"It's going to be hot this year. It's still so hot at this time of day." Qinghai wiped his sweat and bowed to the prince to apologize, "I stink, go clean it up."

The prince said nothing. He looked at the table full of chicken, duck, fish and meat without any appetite at all.

Without the prince's permission, Qing Hai dared not move. He blinked and looked at his master: "Master?"

"This is so greasy..." The prince frowned and leaned on the back of a large armchair, looking listless.

Qinghai glanced at the full table, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He tilted his head and called the servant who was delivering the dishes to the kitchen, and asked him, "Are these also for the Crown Princess and Gu Liangyuan's dinner tonight?"

"Masters and ladies, this is the case. The two young masters don't like to eat, so the Crown Princess asked for duck meat porridge, with spinach and peanuts mixed in. The young masters ate it with relish."

Qinghai glanced at the prince again, and seeing that he was motionless, he continued to ask, "What about Yiqiu Palace?"

"I heard that Geng Chenghui saved the watermelon from the day, squeezed the pulp into juice and made noodles, and fried the rind with tomatoes. For dinner, the three of you had noodles with rind.

"Well, I heard that Wang Chenghui ate three bowls of rice and was ordered by Meng Sixun to read for an extra half hour at night. He was not allowed to sit and had to read while walking..."

The servant was trembling with fear, but spoke vividly.

Qinghai first watched the prince sit up straight and asked hurriedly, "Can the kitchen make this noodle?"

"This pastry is ingenious and complicated, but it is very easy to make. It will be ready in a quarter of an hour." The errand boy had already understood Qinghai's intention and followed his words very quickly.

Qing Hai smiled with satisfaction: "My Lord, I don't have an appetite for the moment, I want to drink a cup of tea first.

"It's a hot day, and you guys have worked hard to serve. This table of food is a reward from the prince.

"In two quarters of an hour, send some over according to Yiqiu Palace's wishes."

After a pause, he pointed at the servant and said, "You'd better deliver it. If it doesn't taste good, someone in my family can be punished too!"

The servant was so excited that his shoulders were shaking. He knelt down and kowtowed: "We, the bastards in the kitchen, often talk nonsense in private:

"In the entire Eastern Palace, the one with the most discerning taste and the best appetite is Wang Chenghui; but the one with the best personal cooking skills is Geng Chenghui.

"This noodle was made by Geng Chenghui today, and Wang Chenghui ate three bowls in a row. It must be good.

"If I guessed wrong, I am willing to let Eunuch Zhao punish me!"

The prince found this interesting. He turned around to look at the servant and said with a smile, "This boy has a clear mind. Qinghai might as well trust him for once."

Qinghai agreed with a smile: "How can I not believe that the Crown Prince would praise me like this?" He waved his hand and told the servant to do it quickly.

The prince then let Qinghai leave.

When Qinghai came back after taking a bath and changing into clean clothes, the servant had already brought back the cooked noodles and fried cucumber strips with tomato sauce. He stood there obediently, watching the palace maid come forward to serve the noodles to the prince.

Seeing that he did not rush to be in the limelight, Qinghai felt even more satisfied. He waved and called him aside, quietly asked his name, and whispered a few instructions before going forward to serve the prince.

After eating a big bowl, it tastes sour, sweet and refreshing, very satisfying!

The prince was happy, but he didn't want to give rewards without reason, so he just nodded, praised the noodles, and then stood up to eat.

Qinghai hurried to follow.

Strolling along, the master and servant easily arrived at Yi Qiu Palace.

"The evening clouds have all disappeared, leaving behind the chill, the Milky Way silently turns like a jade plate... This night in this life will not last long, where can I see the bright moon next year..." The prince recited as he walked, admiring the bright moon.

Qing Hai heard a hint of sadness and chuckled, "Although it was the 15th yesterday, it was a bit cloudy, so the moonlight was not as good as it is today. The old people always say that the moon on the 15th is fullest on the 16th, and it came true this year."

The prince did not follow his words and turned his attention away. He sighed softly and whispered, "Actually... my second brother was very good to me back then... the queen was also very good to me..."

Qinghai didn't dare to say anything.

He first deposed the crown prince and posthumously bestowed the title of Prince Yizhong. He was only nice to those who did not compete with him.

When the Crown Prince was still the Prince of Cheng, he was young but not the youngest son; the Emperor paid no attention to him, his mother did not love him, and his brothers did not support him. He was the most lonely and helpless.

The deposed prince was happy to win over this non-threatening "brother" to accumulate a good reputation for himself as a "filial and brotherly man", and he could also train a "prince" minister who would be loyal to him and work for him in the future.

Therefore, the crown prince, who had not been involved in the previous storm of succession struggle, had never had any personal and direct experience of the cruelty and brutality of the first deposed crown prince.

As for the late Queen Xiaoren, she was a truly kind and good person.

Among all the princes and princesses in the palace, there was none whom she hated, suppressed, or treated harshly.

"I still remember ten years ago, my brothers were all fine... That year I had just arranged a marriage, and it was also the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, they all surrounded me and teased me, my second brother came to my rescue, but he was also held down by my brothers and forced to drink...

"The queen smiled so much that her eyes curved. She called me over and asked me to hide behind her throne. She said I was still young and personally blocked the wine for me...

"My second brother was stamping his feet and clenching his fists, shouting: I am the prince, if you force me to drink again, tomorrow I, I, I...

"He talked for a long time but couldn't come up with a rule. Father laughed so hard that the wine in his hand spilled.

"I hid behind the empress, and when I showed my head I shouted for him: Tomorrow I will give them two of the most beautiful concubines, and let the sisters-in-law pull their ears!"

The prince laughed as he spoke, but his eyes turned red and tears fell.

Qinghai also bent down and sighed softly.

He was also present at the banquet. As he was young, he could only hide outside and listen. He listened so intently that his master gave him a kick...

There were six or seven princes who surrounded the crown prince and played around at the banquet...

Later, they fought for the throne, formed their own factions, and then suddenly stabbed each other in the back, killing each other...

Now, it's all gone.

Even the late Empress Xiaoren passed away three years ago.

"At the banquet yesterday, apart from Ah Xiang, Ah Xu and I, the nineteen sons of the dragon that my father was so proud of back then have all died...

"If Ah Xiang hadn't been chatting and joking with Prince Consort Yongning, the banquet would have been even more deserted."

The prince became more and more sad as he spoke.

Until he stepped into the back door of Yi Qiu Palace and walked to the small door of the east side hall.

In the corridor in front of the courtyard, a drunken young girl, supported by a maid, knelt crookedly in front of the incense table, clasped her hands together and bowed:

"Oh, the moon, the big moon!

"My dear lady, Wang Xifeng, I have something to ask of you!

"If you can help me achieve this, I will make a golden statue for you tomorrow and worship you for the rest of my life!"

Having said this, he kowtowed.

Bang!

The frightened maid reached out to pull her: "Cheng Hui, be gentle!"

"My wish is big, it won't work if it's too light!" The girl pushed the maid's hand away, kowtowed again, then raised her head, put her hands together again, and said her shocking wish:

"The secrets of our family and relatives that are causing death, things that shouldn't be hidden, people who shouldn't be hidden -

"Please, help me bury it!"