Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

Gu Liangyuan smiled as she took the pearl headdress and crystal pendant, held Princess Heke's hand, and returned to Yichun Palace, telling jokes all the way.

As soon as they left the palace, the Crown Princess stood up expressionlessly, took off her brocade bamboo robe and threw it on the ground: "Take a bath."

Zhu Qing hurried forward and handed over a wet towel.

The Crown Princess wiped her hands vigorously over and over again, even wiping her chin and cheeks, then threw the wet towel back to Zhu Qing and asked, "Where's Tao Ge'er?"

"I was exhausted after playing all afternoon. I forced myself to walk a few steps after dinner and then fell asleep." Zhu Qing replied softly, "Gu and the others started preparing hot water as soon as they came in. It's ready now. Please rest assured."

The Crown Princess hummed, then strode to the back.

........................

After hearing the report, the prince was silent for a moment, wondering: "At that time, Gu should have met that girl on the road, why did she bring He Ke to see Mo Yu?"

"She didn't say she was going to see Mo Yu, she just said the little princess was thinking about her brother and Mao'er!" Qing Hai curled his lips slightly.

The prince was silent for a while, and then he regretted: "I shouldn't have given He Ke to her."

Qing Hai sighed and whispered, "The Crown Princess has Prince Duan in front of her. If she insists on sending the princess over, wouldn't that be a clear sign of not giving Gu Liangyuan face?

"You can't help it."

Although Gu Liangyuan's family background was not prominent, she was one of the first two palace maids to serve the prince. Li Shuren had a miserable end, and the prince was reluctant to be too harsh on Gu Liangyuan because of their old friendship.

But I never expected that Gu was also a person with bad intentions, and she also went to Cheng'en Palace to spy under the name of the little princess...

"Forget it. Have someone keep a close eye on her. If she tries to do something, then..." The prince closed his eyes and leaned back into the candlelight, "Do it covertly."

The last half of the sentence was barely audible.

Qinghai paused, bowed his head, and said softly: "It's late at night, why don't you take a rest, Prince?

"Tomorrow there will be three or four governors-general and provincial governors coming to the capital. I'm afraid they will all come to see Your Majesty. You won't be able to avoid that scene."

The prince remained silent. After a long while, he leaned out from the shadows and said, "If you can come back for dinner tomorrow, you should take He Ke to Cheng'en Palace. I, the Crown Princess, and Tao Ge'er will have dinner with her."

Qing Hai also smiled and said, "Yes!"

..............................

Wang Xifeng returned to the east side hall and entered the bedroom. She pointed at Wu Jin and said to An Erruer, who was surprised and delighted, "Grab it and wash it. Wash it thoroughly!"

An'er couldn't help laughing.

The black cat was very unhappy.

The parrot cackled on the shelf, and as it laughed it called, "Wash it! Wash it!"

The black cat bared its teeth and breathed at it.

Wang Xifeng glared at An Er and Ru'er and said, "Still watching the fun! Hurry up! It's cold at night. It's too late to take a shower. Be careful not to catch a cold and get sick again. How am I going to explain to the Crown Princess tomorrow?"

The cat and the maid went away.

Aunt Meng and Xia Shouzhong came over. Aunt Meng asked her softly, "Why did the prince want to see Chenghui?"

Wang Xifeng sat down at the table, looking depressed. She didn't say anything for a long time. When she finally spoke, she grumbled, "There are too few people in this palace..."

Meng Fanshuang and Xia Shouzhong looked at each other in bewilderment: Few people? What does that mean?

"That's quite a lot." Xia Shouzhong hesitated for a moment and said tentatively, "Mei Liangyuan lives in the main hall, Geng Chenghui lives in the west hall, and with us, there are more than 20 people crammed into a small palace."

Wang Xifeng pouted and leaned on the table: "How come no one noticed when a stranger came in..."

Meng Fanshuang was startled and turned back to cover her mouth.

Xia Shouzhong quickly understood and asked carefully: "Prince, have you been here? Did you see Chenghui..."

As he guessed, Xia Shouzhong's face changed, "He didn't see Cheng Hui drunk yesterday, did he? Did you really not do anything wrong after drinking?"

Wang Xifeng covered her face with her hands, screamed, and stamped her feet while crying: "Still asking! It's so embarrassing! Ahhh, I want to quit drinking! I will never drink again!"

Meng Fanshuang and Xia Shouzhong finally breathed a sigh of relief, looked at each other, and couldn't help laughing.

"You can't give up drinking." Meng Fanshuang said gently, "You will have to drink a lot in the future. If you were drunk and lost your temper last night, you have to practice your drinking capacity."

Xia Shouzhong nodded in agreement: "According to the rules, the imperial concubines of the Eastern Palace must take their pulses once a month. This time, let's talk to the imperial physician and ask him to prescribe some liver-protecting medicine for Chenghui."

"Practice drinking?" Wang Xifeng put down her hand, dumbfounded.

Everyone in the East Hall of Yi Qiu was a little excited, and it was not until after the second watch that the laughter and chatter gradually subsided and the room became quiet.

Mei Liangyuan in the main hall and Geng Chenghui in the west hall knew nothing about the cause of the incident, but they heard the commotion over there and couldn't help but become curious. The next morning, they couldn't wait to send people to the east hall to deliver snacks.

Wang Xifeng laughed as soon as she saw it, and said mischievously, "You want to get information with just this little bit of food? How can that be enough? I want to eat lots of delicious food today!"

The plump maid Xiao Yuan from the West Palace opened her eyes wide and immediately became excited: "Okay, okay! Wang Chenghui, please speak!"

Seeing that this girl wanted to join in the fun, Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes and said, "Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, I still haven't had enough mooncakes! However, I only like to eat those with jujube paste and pepper salt. And they have to be crispy!"

Xiao Yuan nodded, smiling: "Anything else?"

"Yes, of course. I smelled chestnuts the other day, and I'm going to have chestnut, yam and millet porridge tonight.

"Well, as for the dishes, I want a dish of eight-treasure tofu, a dish of fried carrot meatballs, and a pot of sautéed Chinese cabbage. Finally, I want a dessert, which is hawthorn stuffed with pine nuts!"

When Xiaoyuan heard about the dish, she danced with joy and said "good, good, good!" Then she turned around and ran away.

In the second half of the day, the order list was brought into Cheng'en Hall.

The Crown Princess held the list in her hand and looked at it with raised eyebrows: "She really knows how to eat!"

Zitang squatted beside him to play with Tao Ge'er, and turned around and smiled: "Who said it wasn't true! This servant specially presented this list to the queen because when I took a look at it, I actually felt that this brother could eat every dish!"

The Crown Princess pondered it carefully and said with a smile, "It is true."

With a slight thought in his mind, he simply told Zhu Qing, "Go and ask the kitchen in Yiqiu Palace to make more of these dishes tonight. Cheng'en Palace should also have a portion."

Therefore, when the prince walked into Cheng'en Hall holding He Ke's hand in the evening, Qinghai quickly caught up with him and whispered something in his ear.

The prince couldn't help but laugh and whispered, "She's going to be a vegetarian for a year. How can vegetarian dishes be as delicious as meat? She has to think about it carefully, right?

"Look at her menu often in the future. If you find something suitable for He Ke and Tao Ge'er, let them know quietly."

Qinghai responded with a smile.

He Ke looked up at the Crown Prince, took two more steps, and then mustered up the courage to ask in a low voice: "Daddy, can I eat with the Crown Princess in the future?

“I can eat the same meals as my brother.

“This way, there’s no need to trouble Madam Gu.

"Mrs. Gu loves to eat spicy and sour fried food. I heard that we children can't eat that. She's been craving for it lately!"

The prince's eyes flashed coldly, and he smiled and lowered his head and said, "It's okay. Your Majesty Gu should cultivate her character.

"It's better for her not to eat those greasy and spicy foods. She should follow your diet.

"Don't worry, He Ke. Daddy will ask the Crown Princess to check on you and Madam Gu's food menu every day. We will make sure you both eat well and keep your bodies healthy!"