Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 199: Legend of Zhen Huan 69

After Concubine Xi met her family, she told Madam Yun that Prince Guo might have ulterior motives towards the Emperor, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

After the pressure suddenly reduced, her mind completely returned to normal, and she quickly thought of a way to distance herself from Prince Guo: directly sending some expensive gifts as a reward through the emperor.

But before that, she would have to spend more time preparing a "generous" thank-you gift for the emperor, and then she could prepare some generous gifts for Prince Guo that would please him.

Concubine Xi couldn't help but test Cui Jinxi with the thank-you gift: "Jinxi, when mother and sisters came to the palace that day, they told me that Prince Guo had taken great care of them. What do you think I should prepare as a thank-you gift?"

Cui Jinxi could of course notice that although Concubine Xi appeared calm on the surface, she had actually been irritated for a while. However, Concubine Xi returned to normal after Madam Yun and her daughter came to the palace to visit her. So she naturally thought that Concubine Xi's previous misbehavior was due to her excessive worry about her mother and sisters at home, and she did not have any doubts at all.

At this moment, Concubine Xi was testing her by preparing a thank-you gift for Prince Guo, but she really didn't notice it at all.

Cui Jinxi thought for a moment and replied with a smile, "It is said that Prince Guo is a man of both civil and military talents, but what he longs for is the freedom to travel around. If Your Majesty really wants to please Prince Guo, landscape poems and paintings are indispensable, and poems and paintings of hunting are also good."

There was nothing wrong with what he said, but in this situation, Cui Jinxi did reveal some of herself. If a girl like Concubine Xi saw Prince Guo's current behavior, she would certainly think that he was romantic and unrestrained, very much in the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Anyone with a little experience would think that Prince Guo is idle and rebellious.

Cui Jinxi was already in her early thirties and had worked in the palace for many years. Naturally, she could not look at problems the same way as little girls or young wives. She should be classified as a person with some experience. Concubine Xi did not expect that she could still think of poems and paintings about hunting, so she was more certain that her relationship with Prince Guo and Concubine Shu was not ordinary close.

Considering that she was able to regain favor with the help of Prince Guo, Concubine Xi felt as if a big net was closing in on her, and she was like a little sparrow, with nowhere to escape.

Concubine Xi originally thought that it would be a good idea to give the emperor some rare poems and paintings of landscapes or hunting, but now she thought that she might have been targeted by Prince Guo and Concubine Shu for a long time, and she began to have rebellious thoughts again. So she decided to pay more attention to Prince Guo, and found a time when the emperor was free, and seduced the emperor to play a song together in the imperial garden where flowers were blooming in spring.

At this time, Concubine Xi had returned to her elegant attire as she had done in the first two years after entering the palace, which made the emperor feel that she looked more and more like Empress Chunyuan. And because the two of them had just played a song together, it seemed even more as if Empress Chunyuan was still alive.

Concubine Xi could see that the emperor was in a trance for a brief moment. Even though she accepted that she was just a substitute for Queen Chunyuan in the emperor's eyes, she still felt a little bitter in her heart.

But she still remembered the purpose of performing such a show today, and she gently followed the emperor's strength and leaned into his arms. In the warm spring breeze, the two of them talked about poetry and songs and the philosophy of life. After they finished speaking, they both felt very refreshed.

The emperor looked at Concubine Xi, who once again showed a sincere smile, and couldn't help but say, "Huanhuan is particularly different today."

Concubine Xi almost lost her composure when she saw the emperor, who also showed a relaxed and genuine emotion. She did miss the past, but she knew very well that after she and the emperor had exposed the affair of Queen Chunyuan, there would be no chance for them to go back to the past.

Concubine Xi smiled and said, "I know that the emperor has made great efforts for my mother, my two sisters, and even my father to return from the northwest, so I have always wanted to repay the emperor. But the emperor is rich and has nothing to lack, so I have no choice but to take advantage of the situation and accompany the emperor with a song as a thank you gift."

The emperor pretended to be enlightened, but then he pretended to be serious and said, "If you want to thank me for my hard work, that song is not enough. Besides, I heard that Prince Guo also took care of your parents. How should Huanhuan thank Prince Guo?"

Concubine Xi didn't expect the emperor to take the initiative to bring up the topic, and she immediately smiled more sincerely.

"Everything I have was given by the Emperor. If the Emperor feels that this song is not enough, I will leave it to the Emperor to decide."

"As for Prince Guo, I suddenly have some ideas. I heard that the only daughter of Duke Meng was hinted by the late emperor to marry Prince Guo, but because of Prince Guo's refusal and the late emperor's death, the marriage has been delayed until now. I think it would be better for His Majesty to act as a matchmaker and arrange a marriage for the two. After all, it is indeed difficult for the daughter of Duke Meng to get married because of the royal family, and Prince Guo is not young anymore. Ordinary people probably have several children. If he never gets married, wouldn't it make people outside speculate about His Majesty for nothing?"

The emperor thought what Concubine Xi said made sense at first, but at the same time, his suspicion and narrow-mindedness came back, and he couldn't help but test Concubine Xi and asked, "Why did Huanhuan suddenly think of Prince Guo's marriage?"

Concubine Xi explained the reason to the emperor without changing her expression, "On that day, when my mother and sisters came to the palace, I learned that Prince Guo also helped the family a lot. Now my family can't give a decent thank you gift, so I took this matter in front of my mother."

"But I have asked Jinxi, and she only said that Prince Guo is a man of both civil and military talents, but he longs for the freedom to travel around the world, and suggested that I prepare some landscape poems and paintings. Poems and paintings of hunting are also suitable."

"Originally, I thought Jinxi's suggestion was very good, but when I was looking through the calligraphy and paintings sent by my family, I suddenly remembered that Prince Guo has not yet married. I even heard that he does not have a concubine or a princess. So I thought about asking the emperor to grant Prince Guo a marriage."

The emperor thought what he said was reasonable and the suspicion in his heart disappeared immediately. However, Su Peisheng couldn't help but look at Concubine Xi. He always felt that Concubine Xi's words exposed Cui Jinxi, but seeing that Cui Jinxi was still by his side at this time, this discomfort immediately dissipated.

After hearing this, the emperor did not doubt Cui Jinxi's thoughts at all. After all, he knew that Cui Jinxi had served the imperial concubine in the past, and there were many rumors about Prince Guo in the palace, so he just thought that Cui Jinxi was a very thoughtful person.

When Concubine Xi saw that the emperor did not notice Cui Jinxi, she did not feel anything. After all, the connection between her and Prince Guo was already exposed, and she had also rewarded Prince Guo for his many helps. If Prince Guo asked for repayment again in the future, she would have the confidence to refuse.

After the emperor left, Cui Jinxi stepped forward and said to Concubine Xi hesitantly, "Your Majesty, is it inappropriate for you to interfere with Prince Guo's marriage without the Queen's permission?"

Cui Jinxi was genuinely considering Concubine Xi. It was always inappropriate for a concubine in the harem to interfere in the marriage of a prince from the royal family, but Concubine Xi was doing it under the pretext of reward, so this unreasonableness seemed somewhat reasonable. The only inappropriateness seemed to be that she bypassed the queen.

Concubine Xi was unwilling to continue testing Cui Jinxi, so she said directly: "Anyway, everyone in and outside the palace knows that I am the favorite concubine. Besides, Prince Guo has helped me a lot. Those gold and silver items really cannot express my gratitude."

"The reason why I mentioned the daughter of Duke Meng's mansion is because she is from the Han army banner and has little power behind her. If she becomes the concubine of Prince Guo, Prince Guo will have a better chance of marrying the girl he truly loves."

Cui Jinxi actually felt that this was such an outrageous reason and it barely made sense to him!