0p0 Chapter 465: Playfulness
Chapter 465: Playfulness
Chapter 465 Playful
After resolving the Dzungar issue, Yongzheng felt much more relaxed. In his spare time, he began to focus more on the princes, especially the Sixth Prince.
Yongzheng's love for him was obvious. He often kept him by his side, personally taught him how to read and write, explained how to govern the country, and often called Shen Meizhuang to accompany him.
In a pavilion by the back lake, An Lingrong was enjoying the cool air.
Ju Qing fanned her and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort invited you to play mahjong. Why don't you go? Isn't that your favorite game?"
An Lingrong rolled her eyes. "Sister went to the Qinzheng Palace. Without her to feed me the cards, your queen would have lost everything...would have lost everything. Then she wouldn't even be able to pay you your monthly allowance. Don't come crying to me!"
Ju Qing covered her mouth and smiled, "It doesn't matter. The reward you gave me is much more than my monthly allowance!"
"You'd better save your money for when you leave the palace!"
As the master and servant were talking, they suddenly heard a crisp laughter coming from not far away. An Lingrong was slightly stunned. Why did the voice sound so familiar? She stood up and went in the direction of the voice.
Passing through a patch of flowers, she saw from afar Hongxu, Longyue and Xinyue, who were bending over and carefully searching for something in the grass, with looks of concentration and excitement.
An Lingrong frowned, walked forward and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Hearing the voice, the three of them were startled and hurriedly stood in a row, bowing their heads and greeting. Hongxu lowered his head, his hands tightly clutching the corners of his clothes, while Longyue and Xinyue looked at each other, not daring to say a word.
An Lingrong's eyes swept across the three of them, finally landing on Hongxu. Her tone was questioning: "Hongxu, shouldn't you be in the study at this time? Why are you here?"
Hongxu raised his head, his eyes flickering, and he stammered, "Godmother, son...son..."
Seeing him hesitating, An Lingrong felt unhappy. "What are you doing? Wanwan, tell me."
Seeing her stern tone, Longyue didn't dare to hide anything anymore and told the truth directly: "Mother, we...we are here to catch crickets."
"Catching crickets?" An Lingrong frowned even more, her gaze falling on Hongxu again. "Why didn't you go to the study today?"
Hongxu's face turned pale, he lowered his head, and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "Master...Master gave my son half a day off."
An Lingrong saw that he looked flustered and spoke in a low voice, and it was obvious that he was lying.
She sneered and ordered, "Xiao Luzi, go to the study and ask."
"Yes, your majesty!" Xiao Luzi responded and left.
Seeing this, Hongxu's face became even more flustered, his hands were twisted together nervously, and even beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Longyue and Xinyue also lowered their heads and dared not speak.
In just a cup of tea, Xiao Luzi hurried back and reported, "Your Majesty, the Master said that the Sixth Prince said he was not feeling well, so the Master granted him half a day off."
When Hongxu heard this, he quickly covered his stomach and pretended to be in pain: "Godmother, my son... my son has a stomachache..."
An Lingrong sneered, her eyes sharp as a knife. "Stomachache? You think you can hide this little trick from me? Do you want me to invite Doctor Wei over to take a good look at you?"
Hongxu panicked when he saw the truth, but he still said stubbornly, "Son... My son really has a stomachache..."
Seeing that he refused to admit his mistake, An Lingrong became even more furious.
She looked around, broke off a branch from the tree, raised her hand and hit him hard.
"It seems that I must give you a complete childhood today!"
The branches hit his body, making a crisp sound and the leaves on the branches splashed.
Hongxu suddenly howled and tears rolled down his face, but he didn't dare to dodge and could only stand there and endure it.
After a few strokes, his crescent-colored clothes were stained with several traces of green leaf juice.
Longyue and Xinyue, who were standing by, were so frightened by the sudden noise that they burst into tears and stood there at a loss.
Ju Qing reacted and hurried forward to hold An Lingrong's arm, trying to persuade her.
An Lingrong shook her arm off without stopping her hands.
Ju Qing had no choice but to quickly run to the side of the road, grab a young eunuch, and hurriedly said, "Go and invite the Imperial Noble Consort and the Respected Noble Consort!"
The young eunuch did not dare to delay and ran away immediately.
Ju Qing returned to An Lingrong and saw Hongxu was still being beaten. She quickly shouted, "Sixth Prince, admit your mistake!"
Hongxu finally woke up from his dream and cried out in a sobbing voice: "Godmother, I was wrong! I won't dare to do it again!"
An Lingrong snorted coldly, but her hands didn't stop moving. "You only admitted your mistake after she reminded you. Do you really admit your mistake? You know the times, so I'll beat you up!"
Hongxu cried even harder and begged for mercy: "Godmother, I really know I was wrong! I will never skip class again!"
Seeing him crying miserably, An Lingrong felt a little bit sorry for him. She stopped what she was doing and leaned against a tree to catch her breath.
I didn't expect that beating someone up is such a strenuous job.
Hongxu stopped crying, but didn't dare to raise his hands to wipe the tears from his face. Longyue and Xinyue were also sobbing beside him, and the scene was in chaos for a while.
An Lingrong took a deep breath and said, "Follow me!"
The three of them didn't dare to ask any more questions and hurried to follow.
In Louyue Kaiyun Pavilion, Zhen Huan was chatting and drinking tea with Feng Ruozhao. When she heard the eunuch's report, she was shocked and quickly stood up and walked out.
As the two were walking, they saw Xiao Luzi coming to report that An Lingrong had taken the three of them to Hongci Yonghu.
Things don’t seem to be that simple!
Zhen Huan thought about it and said to Feng Ruozhao beside her, "Sister, when you see Rong'er later, please try to persuade her more."
Feng Ruozhao smiled slightly, his tone relaxed: "Don't worry, sister, Sister Wen has always been good-tempered. Even if she is angry, it is only a temporary thing. If we give her a little advice, she will naturally calm down."
Zhen Huan secretly shook her head after hearing this. Feng Ruozhao had never seen An Lingrong lose her temper, so naturally, he didn't know how powerful it was. If she was angry, she could scold people so hard that they couldn't even lift their heads. How could she be calmed down by a few light words of persuasion?
Hongci Yonghu Temple is located in the northwest corner of the Old Summer Palace. It was built in imitation of the Taimiao and is a place for worshiping ancestors.
Panoramic view of the Hongci Yonghu Temple in the Old Summer Palace
(The real Hongci Yonghu Temple was not built until the seventh year of Qianlong's reign. Book lovers should not worry about this.)
When they arrived, they happened to meet An Lingrong coming out of the hall.
An Lingrong glanced at them and said, "What are you doing here?"
Seeing her expression, Zhen Huan knew she was still angry, and quickly smiled apologetically: "Let me ask you, are you hot, thirsty, or hungry?"
“Not hot, not thirsty, not hungry!”
Feng Ruozhao hadn't noticed her emotions yet and said, "Sister, the child is still young, just teach him slowly, why get so angry?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhen Huan quickly retreated "tactically".