262: There Is No Way Out

Concubine Qi Xian's words made Concubine Li feel even more uncomfortable. She smiled and said, "Who dares to guess His Majesty's thoughts, but our Crown Princess is indeed different."

Hearing Concubine Li's unusual words, neither Concubine Qi Xian nor Concubine Ruan Ming agreed, they just smiled.

Concubine Li glanced at the two of them, and her hollowed-out red gold armor inlaid with gems lightly scratched on the table. She continued: "When the day comes when the Crown Princess enters the palace after getting married, we have to see whether the Queen and Your Majesty will let us. In the past, I didn’t think the gift was too expensive, just a token of appreciation was enough.”

Concubine Qi Xian nodded, "What the noble concubine said makes sense."

Concubine Ruan Ming also nodded, and after sitting for a while, they stood up and left.

After leaving Concubine Li's Zhaoyu Palace, Concubine Ruan Ming was half a step behind Concubine Qi Xian and said softly: "Sister Concubine Xian, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Qi Xian said directly without looking back: "I look at the imperial concubine and she seems to be sure that we will not see the crown princess."

Concubine Ruan Ming sighed slightly, "What should we do?"

"Anyway, the meeting gifts are just for preparation. The imperial concubine said it doesn't need to be too expensive, so just pick one at will."

After listening to Concubine Qi Xian's words, Concubine Ruan Ming frowned and said, "But if we can meet, in front of His Majesty and the Queen, if the gift is too much... I'm afraid it won't be good, right?"

"The Queen..." Concubine Qi Xian chuckled. I'm afraid the Queen was eager to do so. "If you are worried about offending someone, you might as well prepare two copies. We will see what happens when the time comes."

"This is a solution. Sister Xianfei is very thoughtful."

Concubine Qi Xian smiled, "Okay, I'll take a step forward. I'll see you later, Concubine Ming."

"Sister Concubine Xian, walk slowly." Concubine Ruan Ming looked at Concubine Qi Xian walking away with a smile. She slowly withdrew her eyes, turned around and walked towards her Chunze Palace.

As soon as he entered the palace gate, Jinzhan immediately came up to him and bowed to give him a blessing, "Your Majesty, Your Highness King Wu is here and is waiting for you."

When Concubine Ruan Ming heard this, she quickened her pace and entered the palace gate. Sure enough, she saw her son sitting there. She asked with a smile on her face: "Why are you here at this time?"

King Wu stood up and saluted, "My son has met his mother and concubine. How is your health recently?"

"Very good, sit down and talk." Ruan Mingfei looked at her son with a smile on her face, "Why do you look so thin?"

King Wu smiled when he heard this and said, "No, how can I lose weight in just a few days?"

He went into the palace to pay his respects only seven or eight days ago.

Concubine Ruan Ming also laughed when she heard this, "Is there something wrong?"

King Wu nodded slightly, "Son, I heard that after the prince gets married, my father will grant marriages to us."

"There is such a thing, but His Majesty just said it casually that day, and there is no further follow-up. I don't know if it can be counted." Concubine Ruan Ming sighed slightly. When her son asked about the marriage, her heart froze, and she raised her head to look. She looked at him carefully and said, "You asked my mother and concubine to talk about this matter. Do you have someone you like in your heart?"

King Wu pursed his lips and said, "On the Lantern Festival, my son went to enjoy the lanterns and accidentally met the daughter of Jigang, the Minister of Rites."

Minister of Rites?

Ruan Mingfei thought about it carefully, and then said: "How could such a good person meet this girl? The matter of Prince Shangyuan Festival and Prince Rong putting out the fire is still happening before us. It's such a coincidence."

"My son doesn't like people who are too slender. The daughter of the Ji family is very suitable to me."

Concubine Ruan Ming had a headache. Her son was a boring gourd. He rarely talked so much, and she never knew that her son actually liked such a woman.

For a moment, she, the mother-in-law, didn't know what to say. What man doesn't like a thin waist?

Concubine Ruan Ming looked at her son with difficulty. It was rare for her son to make a request to her, so she said: "I will find a chance to meet and talk about it. I have to ask the girl about her character. If there is no big problem with her character, then I will go to your father." I’m asking for a favor for you.”

King Wu's eyes lit up, "Thank you very much, concubine."

Concubine Ruan Ming looked at her son and smiled, "It's rare for you to enter the palace. If you have nothing to do, you can have lunch with me before leaving the palace."

King Wu nodded in agreement, and Concubine Ruan Ming happily asked people to prepare meals. She asked a few questions about her son's diet and daily life in the palace, and finally said: "Today, Concubine Xian and I went to discuss with the noble concubine about giving the princess a meeting gift. So smooth.”

King Wu raised his head when he heard this, "Meeting ceremony?"

Concubine Ruan Ming looked at her son and said with a smile: "Anyway, we are also the concubines of the Crown Prince. Maybe we don't need to go there on the day when the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess enter the palace, but if your father lets us go there, it would be rude to go empty-handed." ”

King Wu nodded, "This is as it should be. Seeing that you are frowning, could it be that the imperial concubine is making things difficult for you again?"

"That's not true. Your Majesty has been traveling to Yuan Hui Palace very frequently in the past two months. The imperial concubine is worried about falling out of favor, so she has no time to embarrass us." Ruan Mingfei looked at her son and said slowly, "The imperial concubine wanted to prepare a small gift. "

King Wu frowned, "My eldest brother is the crown prince of a country, and his wife is the crown princess. How can I be rude? You'd better prepare a generous gift."

"I think so too. It's just that things in this palace are very complicated. I do intend to prepare generous gifts, but if I suppress Concubine Li's gift that day, it is always not good."

Concubine Ruan Ming is not as favored as Concubine Li, so if you suppress her, you are asking for trouble.

"It's all because of my son's uselessness." King Wu said with guilt, "If I could be loved by my father like my seventh brother, you wouldn't have to be so cautious."

Ruan Mingfei hurriedly said, "Nonsense, you are doing well now, and mother is very happy."

King Wu's brows still couldn't relax, and his face was slightly gloomy as he pursed his lips.

Ruan Mingfei didn't want her son to feel bad, so she simply changed the subject and asked softly, "I heard that the Liang family's affairs outside were a hot topic, how are they now?"

King Wu shook his head, "The government has not yet made a decision."

"What do you think of this matter?" Ruan Mingfei knew that her son was a man of few words, so she always wanted her son to say a few more words.

The King of Wu was silent again, and after a long while he spoke: "Mrs. Liang and Li Muyan's wife are sisters, and Li Muyan is a member of the family of Concubine Li. Don't mention this matter in the palace. If the Li family is involved, it will not be a good thing."

"Mother knows, I just don't understand whether the Li family has intervened. Concubine Li doesn't look like it at all."

"Son can't guess it either."

Concubine Ruan Ming didn't know what to say after hearing this, and finally asked, "Do you have any work recently?"

The King of Wu shook her head.

Concubine Ruan Ming sighed in her heart, looked at her son and said tentatively: "Mother heard that your father is going to use Prince Rong. If you have time, you should interact with him more, at least you can get a job."

The King of Wu was silent.

Concubine Ruan Ming saw her son like this and knew that he was not happy.

She didn't want to force her son to do this, but... She looked at her son and said earnestly: "If you really marry the girl from the Ji family, do you want her to live with you and keep the title in the future? You have to do something. It's better to have a job than nothing."

King Wu frowned, "The salary of the king is enough."

Concubine Ruan Ming:...

My son is too lazy, it's really hard to move.

"I heard that King Jing is very close to King Xiang recently, and King Rong and the prince are on good terms now. Only you..." Concubine Ruan Ming used her weakness, "Mother can't be with you for the rest of your life, you have to let me feel at ease when you start a family and career."

King Wu looked up at his mother, "My son likes a quiet life."

Concubine Ruan Ming was completely helpless.

Unlike King Wu's lazy, King Jing heard that King Rong might have a job, so he has been busy moving around recently, trying to find out what the job is.

However, after asking around, there was no concrete news. He happened to meet the King of Xiang who was leaving the palace, so he took him to a restaurant for a drink and tried to get any information out of him.

The two had been on a business trip together before, so they had some feelings for each other, so the King of Xiang followed him.

When King Xiang heard King Jing asking about King Rong, he said with embarrassment, "Sixth brother, I don't know much about this matter, but I did hear some news, but I don't know if it's true or not. Just listen to what I tell you, don't take it seriously."

King Jing's eyes lit up. He knew that Concubine Li was favored and must know news that others didn't know. He smiled and said, "I heard it from others. I was a little curious for a while, so I wanted to ask you if you knew it. Since you know it, tell me and let me know whether it's true or not. Just listen for fun."

King Xiang showed a close smile and lowered his voice and said softly, "Sixth brother is right. I heard that it seems to have some relationship with Yulinwei, but I'm not sure about the details."

"Yulinwei?" King Jing was a little stunned for a moment, "What kind of job can Yulinwei have? You can't let him guard the border, right?"

King Xiang heard this He smiled helplessly, "I don't know about this brother, but, Sixth Brother, have you forgotten that Seventh Brother once made contributions with the Crown Prince and the Princess of Yong'an County in Zhangping Prefecture, Yulinwei?"

King Jing was thoughtful after hearing this, and looked at King Xiang and asked, "That's also hard to figure out. What kind of job will it be? Father has always liked Seventh Brother, and he will never be willing to let him guard the border. What other job can it be related to the border town?"

King Xiang looked at King Jing's distressed look and said casually, "Sixth Brother, do you still remember that when Seventh Brother and his friends came back from Zhangping Prefecture, it seemed that they were doing something. I remember that the familiar guards around Seventh Brother disappeared during that period, and it seems that they haven't seen anyone now. Where do you think they went?"

"Really? I didn't pay attention to this matter." King Jing thought carefully, and for a moment he couldn't remember who was missing from King Rong's side.

"You don't remember the one around Seventh Brother, but you must have an impression of Pang Lan around Big Brother? It seems that he hasn't appeared for a long time." King Xiang said slowly, and the smile on his face was still peaceful and gentle.