mesbooks Chapter 276 Consort Zhuang Has No Ambitions
Chapter 276 Consort Zhuang Has No Ambitions
Chapter 276 Consort Zhuang Has No Ambitions
The Emperor has arrived! And he arrived in the afternoon. What's even more surprising is that he not only brought the Empress, but also intends to stay overnight! This means we'll have to put some thought into preparing dinner.
"Your Majesty, the carriage ride has been bumpy, and I am feeling a bit tired. I will take my leave now." The Empress put down her teacup, suddenly stood up, and bowed to the Emperor.
Su Nuannuan's heart tightened; she knew the Empress must have a reason for saying that.
The Empress deliberately avoided the situation beforehand because she knew that the Emperor had something to say to Consort Zhuang.
The Emperor nodded, indicating that the Empress may leave. Having received the Emperor's permission, the Empress prepared to depart.
Upon seeing this, Su Nuannuan quickly stood up, bowed to the Empress, and instructed Jinse to take the Empress to rest.
After the Empress left, Su Nuannuan turned to look at the Emperor, and then instructed Yaoqin to stand guard at the door to ensure no one would disturb them. In an instant, only the Emperor, Li Desheng, and Su Nuannuan remained in the front hall.
Seeing this, Li Desheng knew what the emperor was about to do, so he quickly went out and ordered Xiao Yuanzi to fetch the box inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Then, he calmly returned.
"The main reason I came here this time is to bring Xiao Wu and Yao'er back to the palace..." Before the Emperor could finish speaking, Su Nuannuan stood up abruptly as if she had been electrocuted, her face full of astonishment and disbelief.
"Your Majesty, no!" Her voice was clear and firm, like a thunderclap, interrupting the emperor's words.
The Emperor's face instantly darkened. He frowned, stared at Su Nuannuan, and asked coldly, "Why not?"
Su Nuannuan took a deep breath, composed herself, and then straightened her posture, answering with neither servility nor arrogance: "Your Majesty, Cheng'er and Yao'er are to guard the tomb of the late Empress Dowager for ten years. As their birth mother, I am merely accompanying them. Therefore, according to the rules, they absolutely cannot return to the palace with Your Majesty now."
Although her words were gentle, the determination within them was as unwavering as steel.
After hearing this, the Emperor remained silent for a moment. To be honest, due to the passage of time, he had almost forgotten the real reason why he had assigned Su Nuannuan and the others to guard the tomb. In his memory, it seemed that Su Nuannuan had always been the one guarding the tomb, to the point that he had the illusion that Su Nuannuan was the main force in guarding the tomb.
However, after Su Nuannuan's reminder, the Emperor finally realized his mistake. He recalled the situation back then, when Cheng'er and Yao'er were still young and indeed needed their birth mother's company. So, he slowly nodded in agreement, which gave Su Nuannuan the opportunity to leave the palace.
"In that case, let my proposal be dropped." The Emperor's voice returned to calm, and his expression gradually softened.
Just then, Xiao Yuanzi walked in carrying a box inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Li Desheng quickly stepped forward, carefully took the box, and then respectfully presented it to the Emperor.
The emperor gently opened the box and took out a stack of papers.
After taking out the stack of papers, he turned to Su Nuannuan and asked with a smile, "My beloved concubine, did you draw this map of the Azure Kingdom's territory?"
Su Nuannuan took a closer look and inwardly cried out in alarm. The map was indeed hers, but the one the Emperor held was the copy made by Crown Prince Canglan Jingyun. Nevertheless, she quickly stood up, bowed to the Emperor, and replied, "Your Majesty, this map of the Canglan Kingdom's territory was indeed drawn by me. This map was created based on various travelogues and records."
After listening to Su Nuannuan's words, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction, then put down the map in his hand and said, "I have already sent people to verify this map. Most of the places are correct, but there are a few places that are different from the actual situation."
Su Nuannuan's heart tightened, and she quickly explained, "Your Majesty, this map of the territory is based on various travelogues, and these travelogues inevitably contain places where the records are not detailed or where the descriptions are wrong. Therefore, the map I drew can only be as accurate as possible."
The Emperor seemed dissatisfied with Su Nuannuan's explanation and pressed further, "So, if the descriptions in those travelogues are all correct, my beloved consort can draw a completely accurate map of the territory based on these descriptions?"
“Your Majesty, I do not have such ability. If Your Majesty desires a complete and detailed map of the territory, you may send someone to do this job professionally. After all, a map drawn from on-site investigations is always more accurate than one I could draw from travelogues,” Su Nuannuan politely declined.
She's not going to draw this map! The Azure Kingdom is so big, and she can't even go out and explore it herself, so why bother doing this?
Although this is a great thing that benefits mankind, Su Nuannuan has no interest in doing it. She doesn't want to take away other people's jobs.
"In that case, my beloved consort, why don't you recommend someone who can take on this task?" the Emperor said upon seeing this.
Su Nuannuan quickly bowed and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I really can't think of anyone suitable for this job. I hope Your Majesty will make the decision yourself."
In fact, Su Nuannuan knew very well that conducting on-site investigations was a tough job. Not only was it arduous, but it was also easy to offend people. She would never do something so thankless!
"How could my beloved concubine not have a suitable candidate?" The Emperor was clearly not satisfied with Su Nuannuan's answer and asked suspiciously.
Su Nuannuan calmly explained, "Your Majesty, I have been accompanying the two children here to guard the imperial mausoleum. Apart from my family members occasionally visiting, I have hardly had any contact with anyone else. Even with the guards at the mausoleum, I only have nodding acquaintances and no further interaction. That is why I said that I really do not have a suitable candidate in my hands."
Upon hearing Su Nuannuan's words, the Emperor couldn't help but recall the daily reports from his spies at the estate. It seemed that, as Su Nuannuan had said, no one else besides her family had ever been there.
As for the tomb guards, she summoned them a few times when she first arrived, but never summoned them again.
However, not long ago, the Crown Prince suddenly wrote a letter to the Emperor. In the letter, the Crown Prince mentioned something surprising: Su Nuannuan had actually bestowed an entire wild boar upon the tomb guards in the Crown Prince's name!
Upon reading the letter, the Emperor was filled with complex emotions. He pondered to himself, "What exactly does Su Nuannuan mean? Why would she do such a thing?"
After much deliberation, the Emperor finally realized: "So that's how it is. She's building up connections for the Crown Prince. It seems that Consort Zhuang really has no ambition."