jdhmnovel Chapter 240 Consort Zhuang is Freshly Made
Chapter 240 Consort Zhuang is Freshly Made
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the Empress's arrangement for His Highness the Crown Prince to come here this time is probably to learn from you. After all, there has been a precedent before." Jinse lowered her voice and carefully reported her speculation to Su Nuannuan.
Su Nuannuan nodded slightly, thoughtfully picked up the exquisite teacup beside her, took a sip, and slowly said, "Now that you mention it, I do think there is some truth to it."
After a brief pause, Su Nuannuan continued, "However, whatever the reason, as long as the Crown Prince cannot endure the austere life here, he will surely ask to return to the palace before long." After speaking, she took a small sip of tea.
Su Nuannuan is currently extremely busy. Not only do her two young children need to practice martial arts diligently every day to strengthen their bodies, but Jingyao also needs to devote herself to studying medicine. At the same time, the two of them cannot neglect the important skill of counting rods—whether they become a majestic general who gallops across the battlefield in the future, or manage the affairs of their own mansion, clear and accurate accounting skills are indispensable.
Although there will be professional accountants to manage all kinds of ledgers, if one knows nothing about counting rods, one is very easy to be deceived and misled by those accountants.
Therefore, we must not take this aspect of teaching lightly and must keep a close eye on it. After the new military chess set arrives, Su Nuannuan plans to personally explain to the children the principles of military strategy, tactics, and formations.
Lately, Su Nuannuan has been making the most of every spare moment to read all sorts of travelogues and books related to geography. At the same time, she specifically asked her third brother to bring her a map.
It is worth mentioning that this map was not drawn by the official authorities, but by the caravans of Su Yuan who were constantly on the move. Although its depiction of the country's border regions may be somewhat lacking in detail, aspects such as hills, plains, and the contours of mountains are depicted with extreme precision.
With this map and the information from the many travelogues and related books she had read before, Su Nuannuan was able to roughly sketch out a relatively complete and accurate map of the Azure Kingdom.
Her eagerness to obtain such a map stemmed from her desire to extract various terrain features and use sand table and military chess to simulate troop deployment scenarios. Only through this method could the entire strategic layout become clearer, more readily apparent, and easier for people to understand and master.
However, at this crucial moment, the Crown Prince suddenly arrived. For Su Nuannuan, this was undoubtedly a rather troublesome and even somewhat unpleasant matter. After all, her two children at home were already exhausting her, and now with this new person coming, she felt immense pressure!
The most crucial point is that the person coming is none other than His Highness the Crown Prince. He is the eldest son born to the Empress, and with such a noble status, how could she easily refuse?
If the person who came was not the Crown Prince, but the offspring of Consort Qin or other concubines, Su Nuannuan would definitely refuse without hesitation and give them an order to leave without any politeness: "Go back to where you came from."
Several days later, His Highness the Crown Prince still hadn't appeared, but unexpectedly, an imperial edict arrived. And the news it brought was even more delightful—it was an edict granting him a promotion!
All that could be heard was Xiao Yuanzi loudly proclaiming the imperial edict: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees... Zhuang is hereby conferred the title of Imperial Concubine, so be it!" After she finished reading the edict, Xiao Yuanzi immediately congratulated Imperial Concubine Zhuang with a beaming smile, saying, "Congratulations to Imperial Concubine Zhuang on your promotion to a higher rank. From now on, you will enjoy wealth and honor."
Immediately afterwards, he casually waved his sleeve, and the eunuchs following behind him hurriedly stepped forward, carrying various items in their hands.
Xiao Yuanzi steadily took the tray from one of the eunuchs and then respectfully said to Consort Zhuang, "Your Highness Consort Zhuang, these are auspicious clothes and exquisite accessories specially prepared for you. Please take a look."
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan responded softly, "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Yuan." As she spoke, she gestured for Yaoqin beside her to step forward and take the things and put them away.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanzi immediately bowed and replied with trepidation, "Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor to serve you."
Just then, a delicate purse suddenly appeared in Xiao Yuanzi's hand.
"Eunuch Yuan, it's so hot, and you've come all this way in person with your people. This is the money Her Majesty has given you for tea," Jinse said with a smile, placing the purse in Xiao Yuanzi's hand.
At the same time, she subtly and discreetly handed another exquisite purse to Xiao Yuanzi, winking slightly as if hinting at something. Xiao Yuanzi immediately understood that this was a gift specially prepared for him by the Empress.
He hurriedly led the eunuchs and imperial guards who had come with him to bow and shout, "This servant thanks Your Highness for the reward!"
At this moment, Su Nuannuan smiled and said softly, "Eunuch Yuan, look, it's getting dark. The journey is long and tiring. Why don't you rest here at the manor for the night and set off back to the palace tomorrow?" Her words were full of concern.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanzi's face immediately lit up with joy, but he still maintained proper etiquette, smiling and respectfully replying, "Then I'll trouble Your Highness to make the arrangements." After saying that, he bowed again.
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan turned to Li Quan beside her and whispered, "Li Quan, quickly take people to properly arrange their accommodation and meals."
Li Quan quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty." He then led Xiao Yuanzi and the others away to begin preparations.
After Li Quan led everyone away, Jinse, who had been standing to the side, took the lead and bowed gracefully to Su Nuannuan with a big smile, congratulating her on her promotion to the rank of Imperial Concubine! Her status is now so high, it is truly a cause for celebration! Seeing this, the others followed suit and congratulated her in unison, and for a moment, laughter and joy filled the entire courtyard.