Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Chapter 650 The Mad Daily Life of a Deposed Concubine in the Cold Palace (Part 22)

"It's...it's born!"

Loud cries, accompanied by sounds of joy and sobbing, chattered and babbled, echoing throughout the northwest corner of the palace.

The chaotic situation did not last long. After Min De personally came to deliver the imperial decree and informed the Empress, Consort, and others who were waiting there late at night that His Majesty was receiving the envoys and would visit them later, and asked them to return to the palace to continue preparing for the Laba Festival and not to disturb Consort Chan and the princes' rest, they gradually dispersed.

just,

So many things happened that night and that day.

Continue northwest,

Inside the tightly closed doors of the Cold Palace, Xia Youmi had just woken from a deep sleep. After confirming that Feng Chengyuan wouldn't be visiting again for at least the year before the New Year, she finally had a good night's sleep. Cooking was truly exhausting, especially before she had properly organized and categorized the ingredients and utensils.

It hurts me every year.

It is planned that as long as nothing that endangers safety happens tonight, Youmi will not have a chance to be woken up.

but,

"What's wrong? You look so tired, Nian Nian?"

"Meow..." The little black cat's fur had become much duller, and it snuggled into my arms and rubbed against me.

"Is that right?" Xia Youmi looked around. Nothing had changed inside the courtyard, and there were faint sounds of people watching the commotion outside. But today was Laba Festival, so it was normal to have a "porridge distribution" event. "Could it be that something happened to the cats?"

They were still in bed, and Xia Youmi was being coquettish with Nian Nian, waiting for her to tell her what had happened. She figured it was just a little tiring and not particularly urgent.

“Youmi…” Nian Nian said slowly, “You don’t know how many people didn’t get any sleep last night.”

"Haha, I won't care about them, but I'll definitely make up for your sleep." Xia Youmi had already planned that once she had fed Niannian her first meal, she would let her sleep soundly throughout the whole day.

They have a long life ahead of them, so they can be so arrogant and wasteful!

Seeing that Youmi clearly didn't care about any conspiracies, misunderstandings, or power struggles, nothing was more important than whether they could get a good night's sleep, Niannian also relaxed and started snuggling under the covers.

"Youmi, let's eat first, we can talk while we prepare." Niannian didn't want Youmi to go hungry while waiting for the story, so after calculating what had happened last night and today so that this meal wouldn't delay things, it complied.

"Alright!" Xia Youmi was full of energy. While rinsing and soaking the rice, she rearranged the piled-up items in the yard. Her movements were also very particular, stretching and relaxing while she also practiced a set of Tai Chi.

I've been busy every year, handling quite a few cat-related incidents.

When they sat down and hugged each other again, the pot was already bubbling with the rich aroma of rice and beans.

After two bowls, my stomach felt warm and cozy. There were still several wrapped eggs and sweet potatoes nestled in the firewood pile, meant for extra meals and to ensure a balanced diet.

Xia Youmi can independently see what is happening within the scope of the current scan through Nian Nian's perspective, but the parts that happened in the past can only be summarized and shared by Nian Nian.

Usually, there won't be a delay that makes it too long for Xia Youmi to receive the news in a timely manner.

But last night's developments were indeed too complex; the people and things involved would have different effects depending on which angle you looked at them.

Furthermore, none of these factors seem particularly important; it all depends on whether you are involved in the situation.

"If you have rice, let's talk about what's relevant to you first."

"it is good!"

"The small kitchen we frequented when we first arrived was actually owned by Consort Chan. She suddenly went into premature labor last night, and some high-ranking concubines who know His Majesty's whereabouts are probably blaming you for it!"

"Cough." Xia Youmi felt wronged, then thought of the preconditions in Niannian's words, and an absurd idea popped into her head, "Could it be that she... she was choked by the spiciness and suddenly felt unwell, which is why she went into premature labor?"

"Huh!" Niannian exclaimed in surprise, "Youmi, you actually think along the same lines as them!"

Consort Chan was known for her preference for light and bland food. In the past, she could only follow the imperial kitchen and had no choice but to pick and choose the dishes that suited her taste. It was only when she became pregnant that the Empress granted her special permission to open the small kitchen.

Since she was so special and relatively close to the Cold Palace where Xia Youmi was, some people who heard the spicy aroma coming from the courtyard would naturally think that this was the cause.

"It's unlikely. At most, it might get outside the wall." Xia Youmi quickly dismissed the idea; she wasn't going to take the blame for it.

"It wasn't you. I could tell from the slightest wind direction that it wouldn't travel that far. I just wanted to find a reason to get involved with you. Besides, if I really smelled it, there are palace servants to cover for me. Consort Chan can just close the door." Every year, she could come up with eight hundred reasons not to be Xia Youmi.

"The main problem is that the materials Min De sent weren't strong enough to turn into a biological weapon if stir-fried; otherwise, we would have been the first to suffer."

"Yes, so I pieced it together, and it's probably a misunderstanding from multiple parties." Niannian continued to explain, "Someone interrogated the little eunuch, the one who always flattered peanuts and such, and asked us if we usually have strong tastes."

"Puch!"

“So, without good ingredients, good oil and utensils, we naturally can’t enjoy good flavor.” Nian Nian was also somewhat helpless. If it were anything else, she might not get any information, but if it was just about food and aroma, the little eunuch could really give her some concrete information. But this didn’t count as betrayal. It was his taking it upon himself to help Xia Youmi conceal the truth that showed his impure intentions.

"And who else confirmed the hypothesis that I was connected to Consort Chan's premature birth?" Xia Youmi had already guessed, but unfortunately, she guessed right again, "It was Feng Chengyuan, right? He was the only one who passed by last night, and no one else would dare to come looking for me at this time."

"Yes!"

Every year it gets excited, and when you're not teasing it, Youmi can always quickly connect to the right line of thought.

“For some reason, when Feng Chengyuan left last night, he stood at the crossroads for a long time, staring in a certain direction without saying a word.” Niannian described the scene. “And coincidentally, that direction was directly opposite Consort Chan’s palace. Someone reported the news to the master in secret, so some concubines couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night and pulled their personal maids to discuss strategies. Not long after, they heard that Consort Chan had given birth prematurely, and they immediately connected it to all sorts of conspiracies, and even suspected that you and the emperor had conspired to do something behind the scenes.”

"What harm would I do, and what good would it do me?" Xia Youmi asked blankly. Couldn't it just be that the emperor was sentimental and liked to be exposed to cold winds?

"So these are not the mainstream views, and not many people believe them," Niannian explained. "The imperial physicians examined her this morning, and the main problem was that she was too thin, which may be related to her diet. Restricted fetal development can induce premature birth."

"Ugh."

With a sigh, she felt she had neither the right nor the need to comment; that she had survived the ordeal was already a stroke of luck in the current medical environment.

then,

The turmoil and arrangements that are not directly related to Xia Youmi are mostly concentrated on the power struggle between the Five Kings and their wives, as well as the Emperor, Empress and their families.

Some people plotted against them, and others didn't want the five princes to leave the capital cleanly.

Some people wanted to make a fuss about this first child after the emperor's ascension to the throne, but Consort Chan's family background was insignificant. Her father and grandfather were ordinary, weak scholars, the kind who didn't meet the requirements for the emperor's selection of concubines. She was lucky to have the seventh prince, and she was well-behaved and didn't compete for anything. Even when she was assigned to this remote palace, she never had any thoughts of causing trouble.

At the same time, she is also quite talented.

After giving up the struggles and glory, she chose to quietly stay in this place copying and proofreading books. When she could see Feng Chengyuan, she would present her discoveries, mostly typos in ancient books. Although it was not a great achievement, Feng Chengyuan appreciated this sense of steadiness and patience.

Fu Chan is also one of the very few.

She was considered by an emperor to be suitable for bearing princes and princesses.

But at this point in time, perhaps due to his insistence on food, or for other reasons, the unfortunate premature birth occurred, and Feng Chengyuan neither kept watch nor rushed over in time.

Such indifference caused many concubines who had intended to vie for Consort Chan to give up on the excitement.

Overall,

If Fu Chan's maternal family fails to produce a reliable support, then a low-key and discreet approach of pampering her without putting her in a difficult position is the most stable and long-term solution.

She nodded every year; her luck was indeed quite good. Because they often got food from her in the early days, the cat army led by Nian Nian was relatively protective of Consort Chan's palace, which could be considered a silent form of repayment.

Catching a mouse serves as a warning of unclean things, tearing off unwearable cloth, and so on.

As for food preferences and appetites, that's not something you can interfere with every year, and it doesn't have the energy to pay much attention to them.

Besides this major event, there were also scenes of "cheating," injury, and vying for favor on the way last night.

Xu Yiying, a member of Consort Xuan's faction, became cannon fodder again. She went to the emperor to curry favor, and sure enough, she ran into trouble. However, this was not at Consort Xuan's behest. Someone was taking the opportunity to sow discord among their factions and shift the blame to the empress and the imperial concubine.

It is said that Xu Yiying secretly sided with the Empress, and that's why she deliberately came to provoke Feng Chengyuan, hoping to return to the Cold Palace to fight for the Empress once again.

But the truth remains a subject of much debate.

Some even claim that it was at the behest of the Ninth Prince, with the Fifth and Fourth Princes each having a share. This further leads to the sudden exposure of the power distribution behind the spring talent show.

The disturbance kept everyone awake; apart from Xia Youmi, no one else involved could get any rest.

She stumbled upon a perfect opportunity, managing to enjoy some peace and quiet on such a troublesome day.

Xia Youmi had worked so hard for Niannian, so she gently rubbed its head in her arms. She decided to let it sleep with her for another night, worried that Niannian might not be able to warm the bed properly on its own.