五月阁色婷婷丁香五月

Seeing her son come in, Consort Ming wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said with a mere trace of a smile, “What’s the matter? Have you gone to the Buddha hall to draw divination sticks?”

“Mother, did you ask Eldest Brother to catch up with me and give me a pouch just now?” Chu Liuxin asked eagerly right after sitting down on a chair aside.

“Yes, what’s wrong? I wanted to do it myself these days, so I asked the palace maid to make the pouch. But because you happened to be going there, I gave it to you!”

Consort Ming said in confusion.

She was a petite imperial consort with a pretty face. Even though she was getting old, she still had a gentle manner and was not much less charming than when she was young.

“I happened to go there? Mother, when did I say I would go there? Didn’t you ask me to go?” Chu Liuxin paid special attention to it and immediately sensed something wrong in her mother’s words.

Consort Ming smiled and said vaguely, “Oh, my dear son, look at you. Fine, fine. It was my idea, okay?”

Chu Liuxin said, and his face darkened. “Mother, please tell me the truth. This matter is critical, as it may relate to our safety.”

Consort Ming was startled and hurriedly asked, “What… what’s the matter? Why is it so important?”

“Mother, please tell me first, and I’ll explain it later!” Chu Liuxin said.

Startled by his severe attitude, Consort Ming began to take this matter seriously. After recalling the scene for a while, she said, “Just now, you retreated fast, and I was furious. Prince Yue asked me not to be angry, saying that it would be good if you could meditate and worship the Buddha. Perhaps, the teachings of Buddha could calm you down. So I thought of asking him to bring you a pouch and tell you to get a divine stick.”

“Did my Eldest Brother propose it?” Chu Liuxin asked.

“Yes. Prince Yue came up with this idea. I didn’t remember it at first. I did want to go there before, but…” Consort Ming looked at the set of clothes, lost in thought. Her eyes became a little bloodshot.

“Mother, where did you get it?” Chu Liuxin looked over. He didn’t ask it because he didn’t take it seriously. But now, he had to get to the bottom of it.

Consort Ming sighed and said, “This was sent from my parents’ home, made of cloth materials from the south. Also, it is the clothes for brides in my hometown.”

Though as an imperial consort with noble status, she was not the Emperor’s legal wife. Thus, she was not allowed to wear any clothes in red.

Since she was a child, she had imagined a romantic scene: one day, she would marry her husband in bright red clothes. However, events did not happen as she wished. In the end, she married into the Palace.

Chu Liuxin asked in surprise, “But we scarcely have any family members in my grandparent’s home? Why would anyone send such clothes?”

Consort Ming had a miserable past. Her parents died when she was little, so she was sent to her uncle’s family. Her uncle was okay, but her aunt was not because she often beat and scolded her. Consort Ming had a painful childhood. Fortunately, she was beautiful. Her aunt sent her to be a palace maid in the Palace in exchange for five taels of silver. Later, the Emperor took a fancy to her. After giving birth to Chu Liuxin, she became Consort Ming.

Before she was sent to the Palace, she was adopted as a nominal daughter by a Madam of a small official who liked her. After that, when Consort Ming won her current high position, she took this petty official’s family as her parents’ home. But in fact, her original family only had her uncle now… And her aunt…

“I specially found such a suit. When you get married, my daughter-in-law can wear it. What do you think of it? I’ll be happy to see that.” The rims of her eyes turned red again. Full of emotions, Consort Ming thought of her childhood and looked at her grown-up son.

“Mother, it’s not a big deal for you to prepare red clothes, but it will be terrible if others spread rumors about it. After all, I’m not engaged yet, but you have prepared such a suit. Then, who is it for?” Chu Liuxin reminded her. “Now that my father is in bad health, we should be more cautious!”

Hearing this, Consort Ming was slightly stunned, and her face changed slightly. Since she had thought of pushing her son to a higher position, how could she be insensitive to such things?

“Did you hear something?” Consort Ming asked, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Mother, Eldest Brother chased after me and asked me to go to the Buddha hall. The two nuns there appeared very sneaky. When I saw a Buddha statue, they immediately became nervous and looked sly and furtive. Besides, they said something ambiguous to me. It seemed they were warning me to give up my wild dreams and talked something about you. When I left the Buddha hall, I saw a secret guard belonging to my father outside.”

Chu Liuxin sorted out what he saw and heard and said to Consort Ming.

Of course, he would not expose Shao Wanru.

“What? Your father’s secret guard was watching?” Consort Ming had lived in the Palace for many years and was no longer the ignorant village girl. Her expression immediately changed, and she stood up, trembling fingers grasping the handkerchief.

Anyone or anything that aroused the Emperor’s suspicion would come to a bad end.

“Yes, I heard some sounds and stole a glance,” Chu Liuxin said with certainty.

Consort Ming uneasily bit her lip and asked, “Then… do they know I have a set of bright red clothes?”

“They should have known it. Mother, what should we do now?” Chu Liuxin asked. This kind of thing could be big or small. It was a bright red suit, not the Emperor’s dragon robe. It would not be a big deal, even if anyone discovered it. After all, Consort Ming did not wear it.

But in the Palace, any small matter could become a major crisis. If anything bad happened to the Empress at this time, this suit would be the evidence to prove that Consort Ming was plotting against the Empress. After all, she kept the red clothes only the Empress could wear in the Palace. Under such circumstances, Consort Ming must have made other preparations.

Notably, it would take some time to make a set of clothes that couldn’t be completed in one or two days. Others wouldn’t believe that this red suit was for her future daughter-in-law. After all, Chu Liuxin remained single and had not been engaged. How could she have a daughter-in-law?

After thoroughly analyzing the situation, Consort Ming said, “Let’s go and see your father!”

“Mother, why are you going to see my father at this time?” Chu Liuxin asked in surprise. His father was recuperating, so they might not see him.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Go and see him first. Meet him with this set of clothes.” Consort Ming gritted her teeth with determination. At this time, she couldn’t hesitate. The longer she put off this matter, the more serious the consequences would be.

Consort Ming had lived in the Palace for many years, so she undoubtedly had her own way of protecting herself.

Since Consort Ming said so, Chu Liuxin did not object. They straightened their clothes and went to the Emperor’s Supreme Harmony Palace.

Knowing Consort Ming and Prince Xin were coming together, Derong, the chief eunuch, hurried out to welcome them. But he said with an embarrassed look, “Your Grace, His Majesty is not feeling well and hasn’t fully recovered. It is inconvenient for him to see anyone. Please understand my difficulties and don’t put me in an awkward situation!”

“I’m just worried about His Majesty. How is he?” Consort Ming sighed and wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Her eyes turned slightly red.

“His Majesty is fine. Don’t worry.” Derong replied with a smile.

“Are you sure?” Consort Ming was still worried but did not dare to barge in. Thus, she merely poked her head out, trying to see the situation inside.

“Everything is okay. Please rest assured!” Derong said.

“It’s good that His Majesty is fine. Then, please deliver this set of clothes to him.” Consort Ming turned around, took the red suit from the palace maid behind her, and handed it to Derong.

“Well… Er… May I ask what this is for?” Although Derong took it, he looked blank. “Where did Consort Ming get this set of clothes? What does she want to do?

“The suit is bright red, not something Consort Ming could wear.”

“This is the wedding dress for Princess Zhou. I wanted to give it to Infanta Yuan’an. But she seldom comes to the Palace now. It’s not appropriate for Prince Xin to send it to her. So, could you send it to the Empress?” Consort Ming said with some embarrassment.

The Empress had been grounded but was not completely forbidden to go out. It was just that the Empress kept a low profile now. She rarely showed up in public and did not allow the imperial consorts to greet her. She was very well-behaved. Sometimes, she would push out gifts delivered by some imperial consorts.

It was a little unreasonable for Consort Ming to let him handle the red wedding dress for Infanta Yuan’an, but Derong could understand it.

But even so, Derong was unwilling to bear this heavy burden. He returned the red clothes to Consort Ming and said, “I’m sorry, but this is a bad time to ask me for help. I have to serve His Majesty. If he knows I’m distracted to send a gift for you at this time, I will be punished.”

Among all the things, the Emperor’s health was of the utmost importance.

In the past, it was just a small matter of a short trip, and Derong didn’t even need to do it in person. But at this critical period, the chief eunuch Derong believed that the less trouble, the better.

The Emperor was in a bad mood. As his personal eunuch, he might be scolded even if he was away for a while.

“What… what should I do?” Consort Ming looked confused, as if she had no idea how to send this gift.

“You can ask others for help. Perhaps, Her Majesty will accept things from you.” Derong reminded Consort Ming cautiously.

He would not take over this matter or make it clear to Consort Ming.

“Mother, let’s go. How about I send this gift to my Second Brother?” Chu Liuxin pulled Consort Ming’s hand and said.

“How could you do it? This is your second sister-in-law’s wedding dress. Do you think it is proper to do that?” Consort Ming said unhappily. Indeed, how could he send his sister-in-law a wedding dress? Derong couldn’t help but smile when he heard that. “Prince Xin is young and sometimes naive in his ideas.”

But in fact, it was good to be childish. At least no one would think Prince Xin was dangerous.

“Mother, what are you talking about… How could you say that…” Chu Liuxin was unhappy and looked a little gloomy.

“What makes you think I’m wrong? You are too childish, but you have grown up. Not long after, I will ask your father to grant you a marriage. You are an adult, old enough to get married. Think about it carefully before you speak.” Consort Ming glared at him and took leave of Derong. They walked out while talking. From time to time, Consort Ming would scold Chu Liuxin.

Derong shook his head and went back to report with a smile. Although Consort Ming had some thoughts, she was not aggressive. Honestly, she was the least troublesome.