King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 619 The concubine returns to the mansion
When Zhu Jingyuan returned to the back garden, Zhu Jinghong also took Zhu Yunsheng back to his seat and was talking to Baochai Yuanchun and others.

After the previous test, Wang Xifeng knew exactly what to do and now moved freely among the girls, giving full play to her strengths.

"What books does Thirteenth Master read?"

"I...I read Spring and Autumn Period!"

The person asking the question was Tanchun. She was still relatively brave, so she spoke to Zhu Jinghong openly at this time.

Next to Tanchun was Yingchun. This girl had been frightened before, but she lowered her head and did not dare to look at Zhu Jinghong.

Just when Zhu Jinghong was about to have an in-depth exchange with Tan Chun, Yuan Chun suddenly said: "The prince is back!"

Everyone looked towards the east corridor and saw the prince surrounded by eunuchs.

"Fourth brother, it's been a long trip for you!"

The prince approached and looked at the smiling younger brother. At this moment, he only felt that his face was ferocious, as if he might rush to devour him at any time.

"Thirteenth brother, I had a few words with Xu Xueshi, so I was delayed!"

Although the prince behaved very easily, Zhu Jinghong still noticed something was wrong.

He did not delve into the matter because he could already guess that Zhu Jingyuan's attitude changed after Xu Xinan said something slanderous about him.

The following banquet seemed harmonious on the surface and lasted for nearly an hour.

When he was about to leave, Zhu Yunsheng had no intention of returning to the palace, but wanted to be a guest at Zhu Jinghong's mansion.

Zhu Jinghong knew her thoughts, so she agreed after a brief wrangling. As for explaining to the queen, it fell on the prince, who made him the eldest brother.

After leaving the imperial city and on the carriage, Baochai asked: "The Chinese New Year will be celebrated in less than ten days. Isn't it just a fool's errand for you to bring Sheng'er to our house?"

Zhu Jinghong said to himself: "Time is very tight, so we must hurry up!"

"What to do?"

"Sheng'er..."

Zhu Jinghong explained the situation again, and after understanding it, Baochai looked dissatisfied: "You agreed happily, but then I will have to explain it to you!"

"Haha... Princess, you can do more work!" As he spoke, Zhu Jinghong had already pulled Baochai into his arms.

After the two made a fuss, Baochai broke away, straightened the hairpin ring, and said slowly: "I think we don't have to come forward in this matter. It's better for you to calm down recently!"

"If we don't have to step in, how should we deal with it?" Zhu Jinghong was also worried about this matter.

Nowadays, there are many people who want to cause trouble for him. Although he is not afraid of criticism from these people, it is of course better to have less trouble.

"Let the fourteenth and fifteenth elders do it!"

"What should I do?" Zhu Jinghong asked.

"Just...in the name of preparing for the polo competition at the beginning of the year, let's let them form a team to practice, and take this opportunity to recruit people into the team!"

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became. Baochai smiled and continued: "This way we can leave no trace, and it makes sense logically. The key is that Fourteenth and Fifteenth are also willing!"

"It's interesting!" Zhu Jinghong nodded slightly.

It does seem too deliberate to directly summon those individuals into the mansion, and it would be more appropriate to treat them like fish.

Of course, Zhu Jinghong felt that this was feasible, not just because of Zhu Yunsheng's affairs.

His thinking is relatively flexible. In his opinion, since he wants to organize a polo match, this matter itself can also be used.

For example, the scope of participation is expanded to the entire circle of nobles, and the elite among the nobles' children are absorbed into this process.

"It's interesting!" Zhu Jinghong smiled even more.

Of course, when it comes to the entire circle of nobles, things will be very sensitive. In the early stage, Zhu Jinghong had to downplay his intentions as much as possible to avoid unnecessary suspicion from the emperor.

At least in the early stages of the polo match, he can't stand out too much. It would be better if he gradually blends in later.

"As you said, it is inconvenient for me to intervene in this matter, so how should I deal with it?"

Baochai didn't know Zhu Jinghong's plan at this time, so he said lightly: "This matter is simple. I just ask my two younger siblings to come to the house and explain it clearly to them!"

"Speak in your name and don't let them think that it has anything to do with me!"

"Ok!"

As a result, the matter was agreed upon, and soon Zhu Jinghong and his party returned to the mansion.

After returning home, Baochai ordered people to send a message to Qingyang Palace and Jinghai Palace, asking the two princesses to come to the palace the next day to talk.

After arranging these things, Baochai started to get involved in the affairs of the house. There were many things that she needed to deal with as the new year was approaching.

The storage list of gifts sent by various governments and the list of return gifts drawn up by the people below all required her to carefully calculate and finalize.

These things were very complicated. When Zhu Jinghong rushed into the harem to enjoy it, Baochai was still busy in the study.

"Princess, the princess is here!"

Hearing Ying'er's reminder, Baochai looked up and saw Zhu Yunsheng entering the study.

The legitimate princess can enter and exit Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace without any need to report, and of course there is no need to wait to enter Baochai's study.

"Sheng'er, aren't you playing with Bao Qin? Why are you here?"

Arriving in front of Baochai's calligraphy case, Zhu Yunsheng replied: "I asked Brother Thirteen just now, and he said... He said that all that matter should be left to my sister-in-law!"

Zhu Yunsheng is still a little shy when talking about his life events, so he hesitates at the moment.

Wen Xing brought a stool over, and a maid brought tea, all of which were placed next to Zhu Yunsheng.

"It's not like you don't know... He always tries to take it easy and always blames me for anything!"

Putting down the brush in his hand, Baochai continued: "Don't worry... I have already arranged this matter, and I will get it done for you in the next two days!"

Lowering his head, Zhu Yunsheng said even more shyly: "I'm sorry to bother you, sister-in-law!"

Baochai smiled and said, "What you said is obvious!"

Then the two of them chatted about other things. During this period, Baochai also asked about Zhu Yunsheng's "likes", which made the girl even more embarrassed.

"Sister-in-law, there's something... I don't know whether I should say it or not!"

Having just teased Zhu Yunsheng, Baochai smiled happily and then said, "If you have something to say, just say it!"

"Maybe after the new year...Sister Ting will come out!"

With just one word, Baochai's smile faded, but then she said: "It's a good thing that she's back, otherwise there will always be someone missing in the house, and it won't sound good to say it out!"

"How did you find out about this?"

"My aunt has come to the palace many times in the past two days to plead for Sister Ting... The Queen Mother summoned the host of the Jade Emperor Palace and learned that Sister Ting has changed her ways!"

Mrs. Yongtaibo came to the palace to meet her. Baochai knew about it and didn't care about it, because it happened every year.

The host of the Jade Emperor Palace had been bribed by Chen Zhi, so he tried his best to defend Yang Jingting, so that she could get the opportunity to be summoned by the queen.

A year later, Yang Jingting met the queen for the first time.

This is an assessment. Only with the Queen's approval can Yang Jingting have the chance to be released from house arrest. Zhu Yunsheng didn't know about these latter situations, so it was her inference that Yang Jingting was going to come out.

"That's it!" Baochai was in a complicated mood at this time.

If Yang Jingting was to come back, she would have to prepare many things in advance to avoid being ruined by this person again.

Can this be prevented?
This idea popped up in Baochai's mind, and then was dismissed by Baochai because it was too late.

The most important thing is that if the queen feels pity for her niece and feels that the punishment imposed is enough, then it is basically impossible to imprison Yang Jingting.

The two chatted for a while, and then Zhu Yunsheng left alone, leaving Baochai alone to think.

It didn't take long for her to regain her inner peace and start flipping through the documents in front of her again.

In the blink of an eye, the next day came. Princess Qingyang and Princess Jinghai arrived at Prince Xiang's Mansion and obeyed Baochai's instructions.

"If you have any difficulties, tell me now!" Baochai held the tea cup and fiddled with the calm tea soup on the surface.

"Sister-in-law always takes care of us. Now that we are useful, we are naturally willing to do our best. What's more... it's for the princess!" Princess Xu of Qingyang said.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, we will definitely get it done when we get back!" Princess Zhao of Jinghai said.

Putting down the tea cup, Baochai continued: "Although this incident was caused by Sheng'er, you have to be more secretive... strictly follow the polo team's charter, and don't let others see your intentions!"

"Yes!" The two princesses agreed quickly.

"The Queen Mother came to Yizhi last night, and Sheng'er can only stay outside the palace for three days... You should hurry up and organize things when you go back, don't waste time!"

"Yes!"

Baochai arranged the details and then asked the two princesses to leave. The two stayed in Prince Xiang's Mansion for less than half an hour.

Zhu Yunsheng wanted to meet his future consort in secret. Although this was very unseemly, it actually had the tacit consent of the emperor and the empress. Obviously, they also wanted their daughter to be happy.

From the perspective of current values, Zhu Xianming and his wife are indeed taking an unusual path.

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed, and Zhu Jingchun and his two polo teams had basically selected people, including several teenagers pre-selected by the emperor.

When the training was called, these people were gathered together and allowed to see Zhu Yunsheng who was hiding in the attic.

Objectively speaking, these people are indeed excellent, but none of them are favored by Zhu Yunsheng. Instead, they are the ones who are brought in to cover, which makes Zhu Yunsheng develop a different kind of affection.

There are many noble children in Beijing, and most of them like to play, so there are sixty or seventy people who come to participate in the selection.

Among these people, it is child's play for Zhu Jinghong to find people he likes in a quick glance.

When Zhu Yunsheng said that he was not satisfied with the person chosen by his father and instead fell in love with another boy, Zhu Jinghong's face didn't look good.

In the Cunxin Hall of Prince Qingyang's Mansion, Zhu Jinghong sat in the top position with a stern expression. Sitting next to him was Baochai.

Downstairs, Princess Xu of Qingyang and Princess Zhao of Jinghai stood on the left and right, with a stubborn-looking Zhu Yunsheng in the middle.

"Sheng'er, don't be hasty about your marriage. The people chosen by your father are all top-notch in character, talent and learning. You are still young..."

Now it was Baochai who was trying to persuade him, and the two princesses and sisters-in-law on the left and right were also trying to persuade him, but it was a pity that Zhu Yunsheng didn't listen to a word of it.

She was feeling aggrieved right now. She finally found someone she liked, but she encountered opposition from her loved ones!
"Two sisters-in-law, you and your fourteenth and fifteenth brothers are in love, why can't you make your sister happy?"

Zhu Yunsheng was telling the two county princesses that last year, Baochai helped them select the princesses they liked.

Zhu Yunsheng has always been stubborn, but now her fighting power is at its peak. After quarreling with the two concubines, she glanced directly at Baochai who was sitting on the throne.

"Sister-in-law, when Thirteenth Brother chose you as the princess, didn't he risk the disapproval of the world? What can you do that I can't do?"

"What's more... I'm not as outrageous as Thirteenth Brother back then!"

Hearing these words, Baochai felt a headache. She really didn't expect this girl to be so stubborn.

But then she thought about it, this princess was pampered by the emperor and empress and grew up, so it seemed normal to be pampered and independent.

"Have you said enough?"

Zhu Jinghong finally spoke, and his face became increasingly ugly at this moment.

He actually didn't care who Zhu Yunsheng liked. The key was that overturning the emperor's pre-selection plan might make the old man angry with him.

So the problem with this matter is that if Zhu Yunsheng insists on making trouble, his brother will have to take the blame.

Of course Zhu Jinghong would not be willing to take the blame, so it was understandable that he felt uncomfortable at the moment.

"Brother Thirteen, this is the most important event in my sister's life, don't you want to help?"

With tears in her eyes, Zhu Yunsheng walked up to Zhu Jinghong and half-knelt in front of him without any image.

"Sheng'er, why are you doing this..." Baochai stood up quickly and was about to help Zhu Yunsheng up.

At this time, Qingyang King Zhu Jingchun entered the palace and trotted up to Zhu Jinghong.

Zhu Jingchun leaned close to his brother and whispered, "Thirteenth brother, I found out that the man is the eldest son of Liang Zhengming, the second-class son, named Liang Yi!"

Second-class male is the lowest title. Under the current system of downgrading to nobility, Liang Yi is almost equal to Bai Shen.

"Liang Zhengming is currently serving as General Manager Qian of the Beijing Camp. He was injured in the northwest battle this year and is now resting at home..."

Taken together, this means that the Liang family is at the bottom of the hierarchy.

It is unlikely that a dignified royal princess would be allowed to marry into a family with the lowest title.

Later, Zhu Jinghong asked Zhu Jingchun to explain the situation again, and after the latter finished speaking, he reminded: "Sheng'er... you have heard it, their family is really bad!"

"No matter how much you tell me, it's useless. Dad will never agree!"

Zhu Jinghong pointed out the most critical issue, and his words were like a sharp sword piercing Zhu Yunsheng's heart, which immediately made him lose his temper.

Seeing Zhu Yunsheng's bleak expression, Zhu Jinghong also felt distressed in his heart. He had feelings for this girl.

"Sheng'er, I've allowed you to make trouble today. It's over here... You should go back to the palace!" Zhu Jinghong slowed down his tone.

"Forget it...I'll take you back to the palace myself!" Zhu Jinghong stood up and said.

He planned to give Zhu Yunsheng some guidance on his way back to the palace and try his best to make her feel better.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that Zhu Yunsheng did not respond, Zhu Jinghong directly ordered the maid to support her, and then led the people out.

In Cunxin Hall, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

After a long time, Baochai sighed: "What the hell is this!"

At this time, Zhu Jingchun raised his waist and asked for instructions: "Sister-in-law, this polo match...should we continue?"

"Of course you have to continue, but you stopped suddenly... Others thought you were full and had nothing to do!"

"Yes..." Zhu Jingchun quickly agreed, just because he also likes polo.

Just as Baochai was about to leave, she saw someone hurriedly coming in from outside. It was her confidant Lin Hongyu.

Coming to Baochai's ear, Lin Hongyu whispered: "Empress... Concubine Yang Empress is back!"

(End of this chapter)