Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 179: Legend of Zhen Huan 49

Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Shen Meizhuang has a deeper understanding of this because of her current misery.

In the past, she blamed the emperor for not helping her to seek justice and punish Concubine Nian when Zhou Ninghai pushed her into trouble. Later, she blamed the emperor even more for not helping her to investigate the matter of Concubine Nian framing her for a fake pregnancy as soon as possible, causing her to be charged with a crime and imprisoned for no reason.

But later, when he thought about it carefully, at that time, the emperor simply chose his old love over his new one. She could still be called his new love, but Concubine Nian was far from being his "old love". Even now, the emperor still cares about her.

To put it bluntly, her bargaining chip in the emperor's heart is not as important as Concubine Nian's.

So Shen Meizhuang seriously advised An Guiren: "Although the emperor is cold-hearted, he is indeed a person who cherishes old feelings. The reason why I have fallen to such a state today is only because the person who made the emperor miss the old feelings happened to be Concubine Nian who was against me."

"I had the intention to harm Concubine Nian, but the Emperor wanted to protect Concubine Nian, so I was demoted to a commoner and moved to the cold palace, while Concubine Nian was retained as a concubine but was confined to the Yikun Palace."

"But Lingrong, today I want to advise you again, don't put all your hopes on others, you should learn more from the Imperial Concubine. When she first entered the palace, she did rely on her family background. Even though she was just a noble lady, she was not inferior to the previous concubine. But later, she became pregnant with the Sixth Prince. Even if we think it was the Imperial Concubine's luck, she was the only one who had such good luck."

"What's more, the Imperial Concubine is not lacking in character and talent. I can only say that if she didn't have Fu Cha behind her, her path in the palace would definitely be a little difficult. Just look at how we were initially harassed by Concubine Nian. But with her talent, she can always get through any adversity smoothly."

There was one more thing Shen Meizhuang didn't say. She always felt that if Yi Xin didn't have the support of Fu Cha, if she was an ordinary bannerman, the position of queen might have been replaced by someone else by now.

Shen Meizhuang's words were addressed to Concubine An, but they were also addressed to Concubine Wan.

The three of them talked for a while and then dispersed. When they went out, Concubine An said goodbye to Concubine Wan. She used her actions to show that the old relationship between her and Concubine Wan could no longer be restored.

Of course, Concubine Wan felt a little embarrassed and annoyed. She knew that Zhen Yuyin had never been respectful enough to Concubine An, but she always felt that she had already said something about Zhen Yuyin. Besides, she and Zhen Yuyin were sisters. Concubine An still held a grudge against Zhen Yuyin, which was really too petty.

Liu Zhu listened to Concubine Wan's complaint, but couldn't help but say, "My lady, we know that the Second Miss and you are sisters, but Concubine An didn't know anything at that time."

Cui Jinxi also thought so, but she didn't say it out loud because she saw that Concubine Wan looked unhappy. On the contrary, Liuzhu was a kind-hearted girl, and her loyalty to Concubine Wan was unquestionable, but sometimes she did say things that made people feel dilemma.

Lady An was also deeply touched after this trip.

In her memory, Shen Meizhuang and Concubine Wan gave her a different feeling. It seemed that no matter what happened, they could always cheer up and think of ways to overcome the difficulties after a brief panic. And no matter when, even if they lowered their heads, their backs were always straight. So for a long time, she felt that seeing Shen Meizhuang and Concubine Wan was like seeing those upright people in the stories who would rather break than bend.

The same was true of Shen Meizhuang at the moment. Although she was tanned, her face and hands were rough, and she was even wearing a coarse linen dress with no embroidery, she was calm as she sat there even holding a plain teacup with some cracks, as if no disaster could change her color.

"Sister Shen is indeed a lady brought up in a scholarly family. She is really different from others." Concubine An sighed.

Bao Que, who was supporting her, could not help but nod his head. "Miss Shen is indeed a person of character. However, you are not bad either. Look, in the past, Fei relied on Concubine Nian's power to be so arrogant in the palace, but she was sent to the cold palace for no reason, and no one cared about her."

"My lady, although you went to the cold palace today at the invitation of Lady Wan, if you really had no feelings for Miss Shen, why would you take the risk?"

Lady An had enough money, but she couldn't be said to be rich. After all, other people brought a lot of silver when they entered the palace, but when she entered the palace, she didn't even have a personal maid, let alone money.

So she accepted the invitation of Lady Wan, simply packed a bag of embroidery threads of all colors, spent some money to buy two food boxes full of four kinds of long-lasting snacks, and also packed two pieces of cloth that she would not use, and finally packed a pound of Lu'an Guapian.

Concubine An did gain something from this trip. At least she reconciled with her past self.

Shen Meizhuang and Caiyue looked at the things sent by Concubine An and Concubine Wan in the side rooms of the back hall. They were happy but also somewhat complicated.

Caiyue glanced at Shen Meizhuang's expression and said carefully, "Ms. An is really thoughtful. The things she sent are just right for us to use in an emergency..."

Compared with the two baskets of charcoal and two books sent by Concubine Wan, these four gifts from Concubine An were really nothing. Shen Meizhuang could only reluctantly save Concubine Wan's reputation: "Before leaving, Huan'er also stuffed me with a silver note of two hundred taels."

Caiyue was happy at first, but then she felt that the silver note given by Wan Guiren was not sincere. "This silver note says it is for 200 taels, but after we exchange it for silver from outside and bring it in through several hands, we don't know if we will be left with 100 taels."

"Besides, it's not like Concubine An didn't think about giving money, but when she first entered the palace, she didn't even have a personal maid, and even lived in an inn during the election. It's obvious that she didn't have any money to bring with her when she entered the palace. Concubine An has really suffered, so she can think of giving these practical things."

Today, Shen Meizhuang finally began to view Concubine An and Concubine Wan separately. After all, in the past she always regarded Concubine An as Concubine Wan's vassal, and she had to act like a superior when interacting with Concubine An. Now it seems that Concubine An is just a little more delicate and is a pretty good person.

Shen Meizhuang personally picked out two plates of snacks and asked Caiyue to run to the housekeeper to deliver them, while she herself went to the abandoned concubine of the late emperor. She was able to sell embroidery to support herself thanks to the guidance of these two people.

The abandoned concubine of the previous emperor was also a capable person. Now she was old and could no longer do embroidery. Fortunately, she had made some good friends and had a loyal maid who always thought about her. Even if she was not working for her, she would send her some things from time to time.

Seeing Shen Meizhuang, she was actually happy. Looking at the snacks in her hands, she couldn't help but say, "You should be more sincere to the person who sent the snacks in the future. Don't worry about why she came today. Just look at the snacks she sent, which are full of salt and sugar and can be stored for a long time. You can tell that she is still honest at the moment."

"As long as such a person doesn't bully her to the point where she can no longer tolerate it, she can be trusted to associate with him."