Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

Yi Qiu Palace, main hall, and inner bedroom.

Mei Ruoqin was really bored. After hearing a bunch of jokes from Mei Ran, she thought about it and decided to just ask the maid to quietly call Wang Xifeng over: "If she has time, she can come and chat with me. It's okay, no one will know!"

When Wang Xifeng heard that Mei Ruoqin had made such a proposal, how could she not agree?

At the second watch, when everyone was asleep, she left Ru'er on the bed in the palace to pretend to be herself, while she sneaked into Mei Ruoqin's bedroom.

The two of them hid in the dark bed curtains that had just been changed, whispering to each other in private.

When Mei Ruoqin suppressed her laughter and mentioned the lotus leaf painting, Wang Xifeng's eyes rolled and she burst out laughing: "I guessed it! This must have been printed by Tao Ge'er with his chubby little butt!"

"You mischievous ghost! How did you know that? Tell me quickly!" Mei Ruoqin laughed so hard that her cheeks felt sore, and her shoulders were shaking as she leaned on the pillow!

Wang Xifeng waved her hands repeatedly, laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe: "Have you never heard of it? There is a folk legend about this idiot monk who paints!"

This time Mei Ruoqin was stunned: "Really?"

"Really!" Wang Xifeng nodded while wiping away tears from laughter, "Last year, I was tired from walking outside and had tea in a teahouse. I heard the tea master downstairs making the guests laugh.

"I still remember it. The teahouse was called Qingxiang Teahouse, and it was located on Gulou Street, at the south end!"

Mei Ruoqin fell silent.

Wang Xifeng leaned over curiously: "What's wrong?"

"If these two children came up with this idea themselves, then it's childish and shows the deep love between siblings, which is great. But if it's mentioned in unofficial history, and they just copied it, then it's just copying, it's plagiarism."

Mei Ruoqin frowned slightly, "I don't even know such a folk joke. Let alone the prince?

"But if the prince finds it interesting, go to the palace tomorrow and tell the emperor. I don't think the emperor will know it. If he finds it interesting later, tell the court officials.

"Won't this be laughed at?"

Wang Xifeng was dumbfounded: "Ah?!"

"Don't try to fool me!" Mei Ruoqin glared at her. "I don't believe you didn't think of this! I asked you to come here today, but I didn't have any hope -

“The prince has summoned you twice to serve dinner, which shows that he has eyes for you.

"Girl, you are such a sly person, you are willing to risk the world's disapproval and actually come to play a joke on me. I was shocked.

"Now that you have told me this half-truth, and even the source of the evidence, isn't it just for me to remind the Crown Prince not to embarrass himself in front of His Majesty?"

As he said this, he couldn't help but pinch her face and said through gritted teeth, "Little thing, you are playing tricks on me again!"

Wang Xifeng hid with a giggle, and then grabbed Mei Ruoqin's hands and held them down, whispering in her ear: "If the princess still has Li's servants left by Li Shuren, who can tell the princess such folk gossip, then it's fine.

"But the Crown Princess took the person into Cheng'en Palace alone, and I'm afraid that even if the Li family had access to the sky, they wouldn't be able to get in.

"Then where did the princess get this joke from?

“My sister told the prince not to ask any more questions. If he couldn’t find out anything, it would only embarrass the princess.

"Why not just treat it as a joke between the children, let the parents laugh, and keep it to add to their sibling relationship in the future, that would be great.

"Just don't tell others about it as a joke."

Mei Ruoqin nodded slightly and kept it in mind.

The two sisters huddled together again and shared the latest news. When they talked about Geng Chenghui's birthday peach, they smiled bitterly at each other.

"Sister Geng's snacks are always sweet but not greasy, melt in your mouth, have a pleasant fragrance and are exceptionally delicious. Why are the longevity peaches she made this time so... unpalatable?" Wang Xifeng complained.

Mei Ruoqin sighed and whispered, "Her birthday peaches must be delivered by the Crown Princess. If she makes them delicious, then who will they belong to after the Crown Princess delivers them?

“Besides, it’s really delicious. Who can tell whether the one the Crown Princess sent was made by her?

"But everyone knows that she thinks about food every day in Yiqiu Palace.

"So, she did it, but her skills were average. This situation is the most suitable."

Wang Xifeng suddenly realized, "I really didn't think of this. I've been eating that thing for two days and I'm almost anxious.

"This afternoon, I forced Aunt Meng to write a recipe for the palace's longevity peaches, and I planned to have Sister Geng make it accordingly.

"It seems that I have overdone it."

Mei Ruoqin smiled and stretched out her hand to pinch her face again: "Oh my! It's true that when you haven't seen someone for three days, you should look at him with new eyes. Look, in just a short while, you have come up with a lot of idioms!

"How many books has he read behind our backs? My Wang Chenghui?!"

Wang Xifeng blushed and snuggled into her arms and acted coquettishly.

The two sisters laughed and joked for a while.

The sound was a little louder, so Mei Ran coughed outside.

The two of them quickly covered their mouths and giggled for a while. Seeing that it was almost three o'clock in the morning, Wang Xifeng said goodbye and secretly climbed back through the window.

The next morning, when the Crown Prince had just returned from court, Qinghai reported with a strange look on his face: "Mei Liangyuan sent me a painting of autumn osmanthus that she had just painted this morning. Please appreciate it, Crown Prince."

The prince raised his eyebrows and took the painting to look at it. Although it was well painted, it was not very good. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Let's go to Yiqiu Palace."

Mei Ruoqin, who had waited for the prince as she wished, greeted him for a while, expressed concern about his health, and then showed him the birthday gift she was about to present to the emperor: a set of pink and purple crystal Go pieces.

Finally, he mentioned the events of the previous day. He picked and chose the folk gossip he had heard from Wang Xifeng, and then smiled and said, "It was a coincidence that the two children happened to meet. They are so smart and clever that they came across this legend!

"When we grow up, maybe this will become the closest childhood bond between the two siblings!

"The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are so lucky to have such a pair of loving children. It must save them so much worry!"

The prince's smile faded as he listened, and finally he fell silent.

Mei Ruoqin nudged him lightly with some concern: "Prince, did I say something wrong?"

The prince was surprised and twitched his lips slightly: "No. It's just that I suddenly remembered that there is something urgent to deal with. You are thoughtful.

"What are you going to eat for lunch? Send me a portion at Lizheng Palace when the time comes! Just think of it as me eating with you."

Mei Ruoqin blushed and lowered her head: "Goodbye. These days, I have been eating the birthday peaches that Geng Chenghui made with me. I think that the prince has been busy recently, so it would be better for him to eat more light and peaceful vegetables."

Speaking of this, the prince's face was full of indescribable expression: "Her birthday peach...ah, her filial piety is commendable."

Lift your legs and walk away.

Mei Ruoqin saw him off with a smile.

After entering the Lizheng Hall and sitting down, the prince began to daydream.

Qing Hai stole a glance at his expressionless face, pondered for a while, and then whispered: "Mei Liangyuan is smart. She knew to report to the prince in time..."

"In time? Ha!" The prince sneered, "How could she, a lady from a well-off family who never leaves her house, know such nonsense?

"It's obvious that Wang heard about this outside, so I told her last night and asked her to persuade me today not to go out and embarrass myself!"

Qinghai bowed his head deeply.

——Prince Consort Yongning arrived early today, and when the Crown Prince was waiting with him for the court session, he had already told the incident to the Prince Consort as a joke!