After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 102 Yuanchun Returns Home
The next day, early morning.

Xiangyun woke up and saw that it was already light outside the window. She got up in a hurry and remembered that she had slept in the west wing of Linjing Palace last night.

Cuilu rubbed her eyes and woke up. Seeing that it was already light outside, she said in a panic: "Miss, I slept late and forgot to wake you up!"

Then he said angrily, "Last night I saw red marks all over the girl's face and neck. I asked her if she was beaten but she didn't tell me. I was worried for half the night before I fell asleep in a daze."

Xiangyun was both embarrassed and touched. She tapped her smooth face and asked, "Do you see any red marks on me? I told you I wasn't beaten..."

Cuilu took a look, then breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It really is gone!"

"You are not allowed to tell anyone about this."

"The old lady instructed us not to spread anything that happens in the palace. I remember that!"

As the two were talking, a palace maid suddenly knocked on the door, "Miss, Concubine Qin is here!"

"Who is Concubine Qin?" Cuilu asked doubtfully.

"It's Grandma Qin!"

Xiangyun stood up to greet her, and Qin Keqing had already walked in. Cuilu was very surprised, because the Concubine Qin she saw in front of her was very different from the Madam Xiaorong whom she had seen several times before!
Grandma Xiaorong was gentle and amiable, but the Concubine Qin in front of her was wearing a light gauze dress that revealed her fair neck and a dark green tube top. She had a smile on her lips, and although she was still gentle, she had an aura that she couldn't understand, which made her blush at the sight of anyone.

"Miss Yun, come and sit down. I'll comb your hair."

Qin Keqing took her hand and asked her to sit in front of the mirror.

Xiangyun laughed and said, "How dare I ask Concubine Qin to comb my hair?" Then she called Cuilu over.

"Is Yun girl alienated from me?"

Qin Keqing placed her hand on her hair and smiled, saying, "It's just a nickname used by the palace people. I haven't been given a title of Consort, but I sleep with the Emperor. The palace maids, seeing how much favor I have received, just randomly call me Empress. His Majesty said he wants to wait for Noble Consort Xie to come to the capital from Jinling before discussing the title of Consort."

Xiangyun turned her head and looked at her and asked, "I heard that Concubine Xie is a miraculous person who came back to life from the dead. She said she wants to be the queen."

Qin Keqing said, "There are rumors like this outside. I asked His Majesty, and he said she was a gentle woman from Jiangnan, and she was easy to get along with. As for the Empress, I don't know, and His Majesty hasn't mentioned it."

Glancing at her, Qin Keqing continued, "The former Empress Shun, Imperial Concubine, and Talented Lady in the palace are now without a concubine title. There is a princess who has been promised by His Majesty to be a concubine..."

She told Xiangyun about the situation in the harem bit by bit. After listening, Xiangyun stood up and took her hand: "Sister Qin, thank you for telling me these words!"

Qin Keqing smiled and said, "It is His Majesty who is worried about you. His Majesty is very kind to girls. Last night, because you were still unmarried, he asked the virtuous concubine to sleep with you."

After hearing this, Xiangyun's face turned red again.

Cui Lu asked in confusion, "Young lady can't sleep with the emperor before she gets married? What's the logic behind this? Is it because she hasn't been made a concubine that she can't sleep with him?"

"Hehe, what a silly girl."

Qin Keqing covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed so hard that she fell backwards.

Shi Xiangyun was embarrassed and laughed, and said angrily, "You are so stupid and like to talk too much. How can I answer you? Come quickly and comb my hair, and stop talking nonsense."

Cuilu went forward to comb her hair and said with a smile: "The young lady and Grandma Qin both laughed at me for being stupid, but I also know it, so there's no need to make things difficult for me."

"what do you know?"

"Becoming a concubine means getting married. A girl must get married before she can sleep with a man as a couple. This is the rule of the world."

Xiangyun blushed even more with embarrassment, but this stupid girl actually guessed it right.

Qin Keqing smiled again, combed her hair, and after she dressed up, they went to the back hall to find Yuanchun.

It just so happened that Yuanchun had just woken up and was sitting in front of the mirror dressing. Cuilu was outside the door and didn't come in. She only saw that her cheeks were moist, because she had just taken a shower.

"Why are you taking a shower so early in the morning?" Cuilu felt strange again, but she didn't say much. She only talked a lot in front of girls.

Xiangyun guessed why Yuanchun took a bath in the morning. Last night, Chu Yan summoned Yuanchun to sleep with him. Yuanchun saw with her own eyes that she was held in his arms and kissed. Then she left the back hall and went back to her room to sleep.

Now Xiangyun looked at her, and saw that Yuanchun, after serving the emperor in bed, had translucent skin, a rosy face, and looked pretty and charming.

The three of them talked for a while and then returned to Changchun Palace to sit and chat with Tanchun. Soon, Concubine Wu came. Xiangyun and Tanchun met her, and then went to Kunning Palace together to meet Empress Zhang. Princess Qinghe happened to come with a few little princesses and Jia Lan, so everyone met together.

Xiangyun saw that Empress Shun had a calm expression and did not act like a queen. Princess Qinghe was of the same age as them, and they talked and laughed together without any grudges.

This made her feel much more at ease.

After lunch, the two prepared to go back and sent someone to tell the emperor. Half an hour later, the eunuch came and told them to wait in Linjing Hall.

After a while, Chu Yan returned to the back hall from the front hall and met the three of them.

Chao Yuanchun instructed, "I heard Yun'er say last night that Miss Lin is not feeling well. Go see her for me. If she's alright, stay a few days and come back to report."

"what!"

Yuanchun cried out in disbelief, covering her mouth with her hands, tears welling in her eyes. She stood up and knelt before him: "Your Majesty, I am blessed by Heaven..."

I was so choked up that I couldn't speak.

Tanchun was also surprised: "Your Majesty has allowed my elder sister to return home to visit her parents again?"

Chu Yan smiled and said, "There won't be any grand ceremony for your visit this time. You can only bring a few palace maids and eunuchs, ride in an ordinary sedan chair, and go back in a rather shabby manner."

Yuanchun hurriedly said, "Your Majesty has shown me mercy by allowing me to return home to visit my grandmother and mother. I am already deeply grateful. Besides, I am no longer a noble concubine, so I no longer need the royal pomp and ceremony."

Chu Yan nodded, chatted with Xiangyun for a few words, and explained a few things to Yuanchun before telling them to leave the palace. Yuanchun returned to Changchun Palace and told them the imperial decree. Zhaorong, Caipin, and the eunuchs in charge were all puzzled, wondering if the Empress had been expelled from the palace. However, they were slightly relieved when they saw Shi Xiangyun, who had just been favored the night before, also return to the Jia residence.

Nüshi Zhaorong said in embarrassment, "According to the rules, concubines need to follow the appropriate rituals before returning home. What should we do now?"

Caipin said, "Since His Majesty has ordered it, we will do as he says. I will accompany Her Majesty back with you, and we will order two more eunuchs to accompany her. A total of about twenty people will accompany Her Majesty, which will be enough."

Everyone agreed, so Yuanchun ordered Baoqin to pack her luggage and she went to say goodbye to the Empress.

"The emperor allows you to return home to visit your family?"

Empress Zhang was also surprised when she heard this. She looked at her strangely and said after a while, "Since it is the emperor's order, you can go back. Let Concubine Qin take care of the palace affairs."

Yuanchun smiled and said, "Concubine Qin has only just entered the palace and has many questions about palace affairs. I will still send someone to report to the Empress and ask Concubine Qin to assist her."

Empress Zhang agreed indifferently.

Yuanchun went to see Qin Keqing again, and then went to Fengzao Palace to say goodbye to the old empress dowager.

When she returned to Changchun Palace, she arranged many affairs in the palace, making sure nothing was out of order.

Shi Xiangyun sighed, "As a royal concubine, there are so many rules to follow when you go home!"

Yuanchun smiled and said in a calm and dignified tone, "Compared to the last time I returned home to visit my family, this time the emperor has shown me mercy and allowed me to leave without finishing my palace work before returning."

Tanchun felt the same way.

Last time, they waited from morning until evening before the eldest sister's visiting party arrived at Rongguo Mansion.

She still remembered that the eunuchs said that her elder sister had not eaten dinner at the beginning of the night, and then went to Baoling Palace to worship Buddha, and then paid her respects and said goodbye to the old concubine, the empress dowager, and the queen in the palace in turn, and then went to Daming Palace for a banquet and asked for permission. It was not until nightfall that she could leave this solemn palace and visit her parents at night.

Now Sister Yuanchun only needs to take a walk around the palace and she can return home much faster. She can even have dinner when she gets home.

"Get up the sedan!"

Although the returning procession was much smaller, the necessary ceremonies were still performed. A hundred or so eunuchs and palace maids lined up to escort Concubine Xian De and several other girls out of the palace, which was quite a lively scene for Xiangyun in the sedan chair.

Seven or eight sedan chairs and about twenty eunuchs and palace maids left the palace.

Soon, they returned to the Jia family and carried the sedan chair to the front of the hanging flower gate and put it down.

"The girls are back?"

The maids all came to greet her with smiles, but they were frightened to see a dignified imperial concubine walking out of the sedan chair.

After a while, he screamed in surprise: "Oh no! It's our imperial concubine who has returned!!" He shouted again: "Hurry up and report to the old lady and the mistress!"

Jia Yuanchun's eyes were filled with tears. Seeing the panicked expressions of the familiar maids, she tried to comfort them: "Don't be anxious. Don't call me Empress anymore. Just call me by my original name."

"Why is the eldest lady back?" an old woman asked hurriedly.

"The emperor ordered me to come and visit Sister Lin, and on the way home to visit the old lady and the mistress."

As she spoke, Yuanchun, Xiangyun and Tanchun entered the inner quarters of Rongguo Mansion.

Everyone in the mansion hurried out to greet them, first Wang Xifeng, then Mrs. Wang, and then Lady Jia was also supported by Yuanyang and came out to see Jia Yuanchun coming towards them.

"grandmother!!"

Yuanchun was already in tears and was held tightly in her grandmother's arms. Her mother, Lady Wang, was also wiping her tears beside her.
Yingchun, Xichun and Li Wan also came out of the Grand View Garden and came to see her.

Yuanchun then remembered something and hurriedly ordered, "How is Miss Lin? Tell her not to come. I'll finish chatting with my grandmother and mother here, and then I'll go visit her!"

"Did the emperor order you to visit Miss Lin?" Mrs. Wang asked suspiciously.

"That's right, mother. Let's go inside and talk."

Yuanchun held her grandmother in one hand and her mother in the other and entered Lady Jia's room.

Everyone sat down or stood.

Yuanchun came and stood in front of Lady Jia, and Yuanyang hurriedly brought a prayer mat.

"Old lady, your granddaughter greets you."

Yuanchun kowtowed to Lady Jia, stood up, and kowtowed to her mother as well.

The last time she visited her family, she wanted to perform the family ceremony, but her family members did not dare to accept it. Now she kowtowed again to pay her respects, and although Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang accepted it, they looked at her with worry on their faces.

Yuanchun, the emperor's concubine, now has no title of concubine and suddenly returns home to visit her relatives, which is really worrying.

However, several female historians in the palace followed Yuanchun out of the palace and were now standing behind her, still wearing palace skirts, but simpler than last time.

Yuanchun was so moved that she burst into tears and was speechless for a moment. Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "Old lady, Madam, don't worry. Sister Lin is still favored by the emperor in the palace. It was only after the emperor saw the three of us that he allowed us to return, saying that we were going to visit Sister Lin on his behalf."

It’s Miss Lin again!
Everyone became suspicious. How could Miss Lin be so favored by the emperor?

Hearing that Yuanchun could stay at home for a few days, Jia's mother was even more delighted and said with a smile: "Big girl, go visit Sister Lin first, and come back in the evening to talk about the relationship between grandfather and grandson and mother and daughter."

Yuanchun burst into tears again after hearing the name of the eldest maid for the first time in a long time. After bidding farewell to her grandmother and mother, she entered the Grand View Garden under the guidance of Wang Xifeng.

(End of this chapter)