THE FLOWER PALACE'S SECRET

Chapter 26: Honorary Concubine Rui

Concubine Rui, was a beloved grand concubine of the Emperor. He was surnamed Luo and named Lixia. Luo Lixia was a noble girl from the Luo family, who controlled nearly a third of the fiefs in the entire Ling empire. Luo Lixia is from Baindu Province,

she is a great lady who is knowledgeable and insightful, intelligent, open, and honest. He is very talented in playing guqin and poetry. The beach is also beautiful like a full moon. Luo Lixia is a peach flower that blooms all year round.

The girl entered the palace as the first sacrificial concubine when the Emperor was still a grand prince. Back then, the Emperor was only a younger brother of the Crown Prince known as Grand Prince Zhan. When Luo Lixia entered the palace, the girl was only seventeen years old. Her beautiful vibe and wit made Grand Prince Zhan enchanted and instantly fell for her. Among all the concubines who were in the palace, Luo Lixia was the most beautiful and the most outstanding. Grand Prince Zhan was very fond of Luo Lixia.

At the age of her marriage to Grand Prince Zhan at the age of five, Luo Lixia grew into a mature and perfect companion woman. He established a close relationship with Grand Prince Zhan's consort, Shi Honglan. The closeness of the two caused a great deal of jealousy among the concubines of Grand Prince Zhan.

Every autumn peak festival, the other Grand Prince Zhan's concubines would exert all their might to defeat and take down Luo Lixia. But, because the woman was so intelligent, she did not easily fall into a trap. Luo Lixia even always turned things around and made the other concubines embarrassed.

Then in the eighth year of her marriage to Grand Prince Zhan, the entire imperial mainland was in turmoil. Crown Prince—his brother-in-law, as well as the Emperor, died in battle. In addition, the Crown Prince's wife also disappeared without a trace. The intelligent Luo Lixia could guess what would happen next. Since no prince was competent and the seat of power was vacant, the ministers and the royal family appointed Grand Prince Zhan as the new Emperor.

Grand Prince Zhan was crowned after a year of mourning of the imperial palace was over. During that time span, the regnal milestones were held by the Queen Dowager, who is now the Queen Mother. Grand Prince Zhan's empress, Shi Honglan, was made the new queen. The emperor appointed a crown prince, Prince Yan. Shi Honglan's second son, Lin Zian or Prince Qin, was only two years old when his father and mother and brother were crowned.

Since his birth, Lin Zian had never gotten a touch of affection from his biological mother, Shi Honglan. The second son was handed over to Luo Lixia after being forty days old. Back then, Luo Lixia who had never conceived then questioned why Shi Honglan had given her newborn son to her. Luo Lixia naturally did not get an answer, and could only accept the forty-day baby as her son.

One year after the coronation or when Lin Zian was three years old, Luo Lixia was appointed a grand concubine with the honorary title of Rui, so her name changed to Grand Imperial Concubine Rui or familiarly called Consort Rui.

Unfortunately, the jealousy among the other concubines grew even greater. Their hatred exceeded the magnitude and height of Wanjun mountain located to the north of the palace. Their behavior is becoming more and more so. Various traps and dangers lurked every breath of his. The scheming concubines even dared to act disrespectfully before her, whereas her status as a grand concubine was the highest after the queen.

Consort Rui loved the second son of the Emperor and his Queen like her own son. Consorts Rui always taught

to his adopted son that he was a prince who had a bright future. Consort Rui also always reminded her foster son that she should not hate the royal family, including her father and biological mother. He always told his adopted son to always respect everyone, because human dignity lies in his honor and morals. The virtuous values taught by Consort Rui made a Lin Zian into the princely figure he was now.

Little Lin Zian still did not understand much about the world around him. The little prince often saw his adoptive mother crying alone on a lonely night. Whenever little Lin Zian asked, Consort Rui always replied to her with a smile and always said it was okay. Even though Lin Zian was a child, he knew the limitations regarding position and status.

When she was eight years old, Lin Zian had once reprimanded a concubine because the concubine had accidentally spilled hot tea on Consort Rui's shirt. His actions reached the Emperor's ears and he was sentenced to kneel for two hours in front of the Ancestral Hall. Consort Rui comes and accompanies her until her sentence ends.

Concubine Rui then died suddenly when Lin Zian's age was fifteen. Death Concubine

Rui was like a hard blow to Lin Zian. He lost a mother who loved him more than anyone.  Lin Zian's world felt stopped spinning instantly.

The biggest regret in his life was letting Consort Rui go to meet his death alone because Lin Zian had only arrived at the military barracks at the Emperor's behest. Her sadness

much deeper than the grief she felt when Queen Shi, her birth mother, died one year earlier than Consort Rui.

The emperor then lost the trust and support of the Luo family until the country's economy was slightly shaken. The Luo Family felt disappointed that the royal family side could not keep Consort Rui well until he died mysteriously. If only the Luo family were not bound by Lin Zian, the Luo family would completely destroy the economy of the country.

After Consort Rui's death, the Emperor then appointed Consort Duan as a grand concubine. Since then, life in the harem palace had become not so pleasant for Lin Zian every time he returned home from the military barracks. To him, Consort Rui's death was a terrible death. How could the ever cheerful noble woman die for no apparent reason?

In fact, Lin Zian was very objected to when the Emperor decided to reopen Yilan Palace for another concubine to occupy. The palace was a palace filled with memories of his childhood with Concubine Rui. The palace had been vacated since Concubine Rui died at the request of Lin Zian and the Queen Mother. But, the palace was reopened and was occupied by Consort He until now. Since then, Lin Zian no longer wanted to set foot in Yilan's palace because he did not want to see his precious place touched by others. He also brought all the belongings of the late Consort Rui to his residence and kept them in a room he always locked.

Every year, Lin Zian always took the time to visit Consort Rui's tomb. Lin Zian always spent one to two days lighting incense and praying and cleaning the fengshui of Consort Rui's tomb. He also always took the time to open the storage room for the belongings of the late Consort Rui and clean it by himself.

“You feel that Concubine Rui's death is unnatural and that's why you always feel sad?” shen Yanzhia asked after Lin Zian finished telling her story.

Shen Yanzhia nodded. After hearing Lin Zian's story, his heart also felt pain. Especially Lin Zian

the name of the former Crown Prince and Emperor. Shen Yanzhia could not imagine how heavy the Empress Mother's struggle was when all that happened. The noble woman who lost her son and husband at the same time did not even have time to go through the mourning period calmly because she had to bear the burden of maintaining power and running the wheel of government alone.

Shen Yanzhia stared fixedly at Lin Zian who was resting in front of Consort Rui's grave. The snow is still falling though not as hard as before. In Shen Yanzhia's eyes, now this Lin Zian was like a seven-year-old child who lost his cheerfulness. He was like an orphan who had no one to support and shelter.

Lin Zian, despite being a great prince, his life was nothing more than a chess piece to maintain and strengthen power. The cold-hearted emperor made his second son a pawn to maintain power in the border area and fight against the enemy. He did not even let his son know the cause of his own foster mother's death.

“You will not pay a visit to the grave of the late Queen Shi Honglan?”

Shen Yanzhia asked cautiously.

“After all, Queen Shi Honglan is my birth mother. I must remain devoted to him. I can't waste the virtues of Consort Rui.”'s teachings

This man is open-minded and open-minded. Although Queen Shi Honglan had never cared for him, Lin Zian had to still respect him. If no Queen Shi Honglan had lent her womb to conceive it, Lin Zian could not have been in this world right now. Lin Zian was sure, in this world there were some reasons that could not be said and should not be known to anyone.

“Confidently, we can definitely solve the case and find the cause of Consort Rui's death as well as the origin of the jade hanger that was on me.”

The two then walked towards one of the other tombs. In the tomb is a beautiful wooden board bearing the name of Queen Shi Honglan and her honorary title. The area is double that of the tomb fengshui of Consort Rui. It is also slightly higher than the tomb of Consort Rui. Lin Zian lit three sticks of incense and stuck them on a golden pagoda right in front of the signboard. The man bowed and knelt down as he did when he was at Consort Rui's grave.

“Come, we're back. The snow is getting worse. You must recover your body again,” Shen Yanzhia. The girl pulled Lin Zian's wrist and carried him running in the snowfall. Outside the gate of the royal tomb, their chariot coachmen were shocked as the two masters suddenly climbed up and caused a slight movement and sound. The carriage driver immediately pulled the control rope until the carriage turned towards the return road.

“The late Queen Shi Honglan and the late Consort Rui are two symbols of honorable women in this dynasty. I know they are very kind-hearted and have the glory of Her Majesty The Queen Mother.”

“Why are you so sure?” asked Lin Zian on the way home.

“Try me to think. During his marriage to the Emperor, from the time when the Emperor was still Grand Prince Zhan to the king he is today, Consort Rui has always been faithful to accompany His Majesty. He together with Queen Shi Honglan helped and was willing to be by the Emperor's side selflessly. From your story, and from the stories I've heard from people, Consort Rui and Queen Shi Honglan have never counted on the kindness they did to others. You imagine if it happened in the present, who would believe it. Most women were willing to humble themselves to be Emperor-owned women in order to gain prosperity and wealth, or as political pawns. But Consort Rui and Queen Shi Honglan, they were completely different.”

Shen Yanzhia's words made sense. Lin Zian, despite not being raised by Queen Shi Honglan, had her eyes open enough to see the kindness and glory of her biological mother. Every time he met her, the woman who gave birth to him smiled and never showed any hatred. The look in his eyes implied a longing

without limits from a mother to her child, not from a queen to her prince.

In those clear eyes, Lin Zian seemed to see that Queen Shi Honglan was bearing the grueling heavy burden of being borne alone. There was a barrier wall that made the woman have to refrain from saying any complaints to others.

“Perhaps, the reason why Queen Shi Honglan gave you to Concubine Rui is because she does not want to be happy alone. Queen Shi Honglan wanted Consort Rui who had been together for a long time to feel the happiness of being a mother. You said yourself that during her marriage to your father, Consort Rui never gave birth to a baby. Therefore, Queen Shi Honglan wanted Consort Rui to feel the presence of a child she could care for and could care for wholeheartedly.”

Lin Zian nodded his head. Snow fell as it did earlier.

“There may be other reasons as well,” said Lin Zian slowly. Although it was almost like a whisper, Shen Yanzhia could still hear it.

"What reason?"

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