Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Consort Rong sat on the chaise longue, holding a teacup in her hand, idly skimming the foam off the surface of the tea. After a long while, she finally spoke lazily:

"Please sit down. Eunuch Baozhong has the leisure to personally make a trip to Yihua Palace to deliver crabapple blossoms to me today. I feel that this thoughtfulness is a bit too much for me."

Jiang Shuo Ning was carefully arranging the dishes on the table when he heard Rong Fei's words, and his movements paused slightly.

During periods of confinement, no one would send flowers, especially not Baozhong, who was a servant of the Emperor.

Consort Rong might not be able to fully understand the reasons behind this, but she knew that Bao Zhong had taken the risk to come here not just to deliver flowers.

Bao Zhong smiled politely and bowed slightly.

"Your Majesty is too kind. This servant merely noticed that the crabapple blossoms in the flower room were in full bloom, and knowing that Your Majesty usually enjoys them, I brought them over to add a touch of color to this spring day."

Consort Rong chuckled softly, placed the teacup on the low table, looked up at him, and gave him a fleeting glance:

"Baozhong, I will remember your kindness. It is truly a rare and precious thing that someone still cares about me during these days of confinement."

Bao Zhong lowered his eyes, his expression unchanged, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty has always been kind and generous to her servants, and we all remember Your Majesty's kindness."

Consort Rong lightly flicked the jade bracelet on her wrist with her fingertips and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Although I am currently under house arrest, I can still see the winds blowing in this palace clearly. Baozhong, you are a person who serves the Emperor, you have seen many people and heard many things. I cherish talent and do not want to see truly intelligent people buried. Some paths, if taken correctly, can last a lifetime, but if taken incorrectly, there is no turning back."

Bao Zhong understood Rong Fei's unspoken meaning: she was intentionally trying to win him over. Neither Rong Fei nor Feng Xi were easy to deal with; he couldn't afford to offend either of them.

However, Feng Xi is currently promoting the selection of concubines. If he is truly promoted, Feng Xi will naturally discard him after he has served his purpose, and may even pin all the dirty deeds on him.

Since that's the case, and Consort Rong is currently short of people, if a rope is handed over now, it will provide an alternative in the future.

Thinking of this, Bao Zhong bowed slightly, his smile unchanged:

"Your Majesty's kindness is too much. This servant is merely doing his duty. Serving before the Emperor is all about serving His Majesty. How could I dare to talk about treasuring talent?"

He paused, as if mentioning it casually, "It's just that this servant has a few words to add. Recently, His Majesty has appointed a new palace maid as a concubine, and I've heard that she's very much in His Majesty's favor. Your Highness has been confined to your quarters for four months, and things in the palace always change quickly. By the time Your Highness gets out, the outside world will probably be a completely different place."

Upon hearing this, Consort Rong smiled dismissively, as if she didn't take the words to heart: "What trouble can a mere palace maid who's been appointed a concubine cause?"

Bao Zhong didn't respond to that, but simply lowered his eyes slightly:

"Your Majesty is right. However, next month is Qingming Festival, when we traditionally have to pay respects to our ancestors. If Your Majesty has some free time, you might as well copy some scriptures."

Consort Rong paused slightly in her teacup, glanced at him, as if she had discerned something, yet also seemed oblivious to what he meant. After a long while, she finally said, "Copying scriptures?"

Bao Zhong didn't explain further, and bowed, saying, "This servant will not disturb Your Highness's breakfast any longer. This servant will take his leave now."

He took two steps back, glanced at Jiang Shuoning, and then turned and walked towards the door, his steps steady and unhurried.

Consort Rong sat where she was, holding the half-cooled teacup, watching his figure disappear through the doorway, her fingertips gently stroking the rim of the cup.

Jiang Shuo stood to the side, eyes downcast, silently repeating Bao Zhong's last words to him: Qingming Festival, ancestor worship, scripture copying.

She vaguely guessed what it was, but didn't rush to speak.

"Your Highness, this servant will go see Eunuch Baozhong off right away."

She slightly bent her knees. Consort Rong seemed not to hear what she said, only giving a soft "hmm".

(under)

Bao Zhong deliberately slowed his pace as he walked along the corridor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Shuoning following behind. He didn't stop and continued walking forward.

Jiang Shuoning clasped her hands over her lower abdomen, head bowed, and hurried to catch up. As their shoulders passed each other, she deliberately raised her voice slightly:

"Her Majesty said she really liked the crabapple blossoms that Eunuch Baozhong sent."

Bao Zhong's lips curled slightly, but he didn't turn around or reply. His steps remained unhurried, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Fengchun and Xiahe came over from the west corridor. Xiahe spoke first, smiling obsequiously, "Eunuch Baozhong, the flowers are all arranged. Those few pots of crabapple blossoms are really blooming beautifully, so lovely."

Feng Chun glanced at Xia He, then bowed and leaned forward, her face full of smiles: "Is Father-in-law leaving already?"

Bao Zhong nodded slightly and said in a calm tone, "Yes, I have other duties to attend to before the Emperor, so I cannot stay any longer."

After saying that, he turned his head to look at the few potted plants in the courtyard, frowned slightly, and said, "Those potted plants don't seem to be blooming very well. Why don't we move them back to the greenhouse and fertilize them again?"

Jiang Shuoning followed his gaze and glanced at the potted plants, which were clearly growing well. A thought flashed through her mind, and she smiled:

"Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Baozhong." He then looked at Fengchun and Xiahe, "Aren't you going to lend a hand?"

Feng Chun and Xia He quickly responded and went over to instruct the young eunuch to move the flowers.

Bao Zhong didn't stop and continued walking towards the front corridor. Jiang Shuoning followed behind, the two of them one in front and one behind, as if they were just seeing a guest off. Bao Zhong still had a smile on his lips, but his voice turned cold:

"Where is that kid?"

Jiang Shuoning's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his eyes and whispered, "In my room."

Bao Zhong paused, glanced at her sideways, gritted his teeth, and said, "Very good, very good." He then continued walking forward, lowering his voice even further, "Make a commotion later, and I'll take him away."

Jiang Shuoning clenched her sleeve, didn't reply, and continued to follow steadily beside him. She slipped her fingers into her sleeve and quietly placed the key into his palm: "I've locked the door."

Bao Zhong clenched his fists suddenly, and the veins on his temples throbbed a few times. His thin lips were pressed tightly together, his jaw was clenched, and he didn't look at her or say another word.

Jiang Shuoning lowered her eyes and withdrew her hand. She knew that Bao Zhong had come here today for this very reason.

A moment later, several flowerpots clattered to the ground in the front yard, shards and dirt scattering everywhere. Jiang Shuoning coldly reprimanded Xia He and the others:

"How can you do things like this? You can't even hold a flowerpot steady?"

Xia He and the others were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down: "Sister Shuoning, we didn't mean to..."

They clearly saw Jiang Shuoning stagger and bump into them as he walked by, causing them to drop the flowerpots, but no one dared to say it aloud.

"Alright, stop standing there! Hurry up and clean up, so as not to disturb Her Majesty."

Jiang Shuoning raised his voice, calling for everyone to come and clean up, but his eyes remained fixed on Bao Zhong. Taking advantage of the chaos, he led six eunuchs quickly toward the backyard, his figure flashing swiftly among the people carrying flowers.

She clenched her fists, her heart pounding in her throat.

Zhou Zhengyin was flipping through a book in the room when he suddenly heard a hurried unlocking sound at the door. He quickly went to meet him, thinking that Jiang Shuoning had returned.

The door opened a crack, and Bao Zhong's cold, stern face peeked in. Bao Zhong grabbed his wrist, pulled him out, and whispered, "Stay close to me, and don't make a sound."

After saying that, he casually pulled down the brim of his hat and pushed him into the middle of six eunuchs. The seven men each held a potted plant, blocking him in the middle.

The people in the front yard were still busy cleaning up the debris, dust and dirt scattered all over the ground. Baozhong led his men through the porch, his steps quick and steady.

As he approached the palace gate, he glanced at Jiang Shuoning out of the corner of his eye. She was bending over to pick up the broken pieces, her back taut like a bow.

He didn't stop, and stepped out the door.

Just as he stepped across the threshold, Consort Rong's unhurried voice came from behind him: "Eunuch Baozhong, please wait."