Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 567 Chen Lin at the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet

When Qu Qingge left the palace, she was not stripped of her rank and remained the lowest of the Nine Consorts. Since moving to Puji Temple, she has devoted herself to raising the Third Prince Gu Yun. Now, perhaps feeling that the storm has passed, she has secretly begun to plot to find an excuse to go back into the palace to test the waters.

However, this idea is a bit premature.

The imperial harem is no longer lacking in imperial offspring. Even the prince recently born to Consort Mu is not truly taken seriously by the Emperor, who has not even bestowed a name upon him yet. Not to mention the Third Prince, Gu Yun, whose dark red birthmark on his forehead has been regarded as an omen of misfortune since birth, with the old men in the palace privately saying that he is "a harbinger of disaster."

After saying that, Meng Shu realized something was amiss. Qu Qingge was usually shrewd; she wouldn't be so foolish as to choose such a high-profile occasion as the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, risking the Emperor's wrath by having her child appear in public.

As expected, Consort Chun gently shook her head.

"The Qu family has always been good at assessing situations and knows best how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Why would she make a fool of herself at a palace banquet?"

She leaned down, her voice lowering slightly: "The person Mother placed at Puji Temple sent a message this morning, saying that the Qu family has been communicating frequently with the Qu residence these past few days, and it seems that Lord Qu will plead for the Third Prince at the palace banquet."

"plead?"

"Qu has never given up her dream of returning to the harem. She wants to use the Third Prince's move away from Puji Temple as an excuse. If the Emperor takes pity on his innocent child, he might allow her and her child to move to the imperial palace. The reasons are readily available. Isn't the small Buddhist hall in Huaqing Palace a place for Buddhist worship and quiet meditation?"

Meng Shu seemed to be thinking about it; this reason did indeed make sense.

After all, he was of imperial blood, and keeping him in the temple was not a long-term solution. When the Third Prince reached school age, he would eventually be brought back to the palace for education. Qu Qingge's roundabout approach was purely for her own benefit. Puji Temple was austere and desolate, nothing compared to the Changchun Garden Palace. Although it wasn't exactly a return to the inner palace, as long as she was closer to the Emperor, she would at least have a sliver of hope.

After digesting all of this, Meng Shufang slowly spoke: "Wan'er, you don't need to get involved. Just let things take their course."

"Whether one is in Puji Temple or in the imperial palace... it is much easier to do something than to do something within the palace walls."

She and Madam Yun had originally planned to wait until the situation calmed down before taking action against the Qu family.

Consort Chun nodded slightly. She had her nails painted at Meng Shu's place and had dinner with her. Before leaving, she specially ordered lotus root fish and jasmine chicken slices to take with her. Aunt Mei and Mingyue stayed at Qingliang Palace and didn't come along. She wanted to bring these novel delicacies back for them to try.

In just a few days, the crape myrtle in full bloom in front of the palace gradually lost its color, the petals curled up and withered, and with a gust of wind, fallen petals covered the ground. As dawn turned to dusk, the cicadas' shrill chirping pushed the summer heat to its peak, and day by day, the crape myrtle began to show signs of decline.

The days slipped by one by one under the bright sun and amidst the fading sound of cicadas.

Another Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived.

A bright moon hung in the sky, bathing the entire palace in its clear, watery light.

Imperial Physician Jian carefully prescribed the medicine, and to outsiders, Meng Shu's body was gradually regaining its mobility. At this moment, Green Willow was applying a light layer of rouge to her, and Xia'er, following instructions, brought out an elegant lotus-colored palace dress. After dressing and grooming, Meng Shu took Yu Nu'er's hand, and the mother and son slowly stepped out of Bilang Pavilion.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was held at Qionghua Garden. Various glass lanterns were already hung in the garden, reflecting the twilight that had not yet fully fallen, creating a dazzling display of light.

Meng Shu led Yu Nu'er along the bluestone-paved palace path, followed by Lv Liu, Dong Gua, and a group of palace servants. A gentle evening breeze carried the faint sounds of string and wind instruments and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus from afar.

As she passed a somewhat secluded fork in the road, Meng Shu's gaze inadvertently swept over the guards on duty. One of them looked particularly familiar; his posture was as upright as a pine tree, and the lines of his profile were exceptionally clear in the deepening night. She paused for a moment, but did not stop, pretending not to notice, and continued forward.

That guard was Chen Lin.

After he returned from the northern frontier, the Marquis's mansion secretly intervened and successfully placed him in the Palace Guard.

Two days ago, he was transferred to the Imperial Guard. Tonight was his first time on duty, and he just happened to encounter this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Chen Lin, who had been keeping his eyes straight ahead and diligently performing his duties, found his gaze involuntarily drawn to the lotus-colored figure as Meng Shu and her son passed by.

He watched her walk past, holding the child in one hand and lightly lifting the hem of her skirt with the other, her steps composed. The glow of the palace lanterns cast a soft, warm hue over her. He felt his heart pounding heavily in his chest, a slight tremor spreading with her receding figure into the depths of the night. Only when her figure disappeared into the brilliant lights of Qionghua Garden did he almost imperceptibly close his eyes, forcefully suppressing the surging emotions within them.

All of this was observed by another pair of eyes not far away.

Consort Shun was leading the palace servants toward Qionghua Garden when she happened to see Chen Lin gazing intently at her.

She was taken aback at first, almost thinking she had misread it.

Could it be him? That person should be stationed in the wind and sand of the northern frontier, how could he appear inside the palace?

After a moment of stunned silence, a secret joy quietly crept into my heart. Those fleeting memories from our brief encounter in northern Xinjiang years ago, those fragmented recollections buried by time, were now quietly revived.

But the next moment, her gaze followed Chen Lin's line of sight and saw the backs of Consort Jin and her son disappearing through the garden gate. Turning back, she saw the barely concealed, almost yearning glimmer in Chen Lin's eyes.

That fleeting joy froze instantly. Her fingers tightened slightly, and the usual smile on her face faded, leaving only a complex and somber expression.

She stood there for a moment, then calmly composed herself and led the palace servants toward the brightly lit Qionghua Garden.

As she passed by Chen Lin, the two brushed past each other. Chen Lin kept his eyes downcast and his back straight, completely unaware that the palace concubine before him was none other than the eldest daughter of the Han family, whom he had met once before in the Northern Frontier.

Xiaodie keenly noticed that her mistress's expression was different, and she couldn't help but frown and look back and forth in the direction of Consort Shun's gaze.

When she saw Chen Lin on duty in the corridor, she felt that he looked somewhat familiar, but she didn't think much of it. After all, she had followed Consort Shun to the Funing Palace many times in the palace before. The imperial guards were all tall and dignified, and this man was just more handsome than the ordinary guards.

Inside Qionghua Garden, the palace banquet had not yet begun, and the Emperor had not yet arrived.

Throughout the garden, eunuchs and palace maids moved swiftly and silently, making final preparations. Outside the garden, dozens of court officials and their relatives were already waiting in their respective places, their elegant attire and graceful figures shimmering in the lamplight.

When Meng Shu brought Yu Nu'er into the garden, she saw Aunt Mei, Meng Zhu, Rui Zhu and others busy at their own pace, either whispering instructions to the palace servants or personally adjusting the table setting.

When Consort Chun saw her from afar, she smiled and waved to her from the seat below the main seat. Today, Consort Chun was wearing an apricot-colored palace dress embroidered with crabapple blossoms, with a red-gold and kingfisher feather hairpin in her hair. Seeing Yu Nu'er nestled beside Meng Shu, she gently beckoned to the child, "Yu Nu'er, come here."

Before long, Consort Shun arrived. Her expression had returned to normal, a faint smile playing on her lips as she chatted quietly with the other concubines who had arrived earlier. However, when her gaze swept over Meng Shu, she couldn't help but linger for a moment longer, a complex emotion lingering in her eyes, fleeting and impossible to decipher. Once Meng Shu was seated at her table, all the concubines attending the banquet that night were present.

About fifteen minutes later, the soft tinkling of jade pendants came from the garden gate.

Led by Princess Yongping, a group of female relatives slowly entered. They first went to the seats of the concubines, curtsied, and greeted them gracefully, which made the garden lively.