A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 796: Duanning Palace

"What are you talking about, Your Highness? This is all true!"

"You should really start thinking about the palace relocation!" Zi Yue said with a smile.

"Relocation? To where?" Xia Ruqing was a bit surprised.

Although Qingya Residence was a bit small, if she were to move elsewhere, she wouldn’t be able to take the grape trellises, the bamboo forest, the swings, or the back garden with her.

Others were destined to live here in the future, and she was reluctant to leave it behind!

Zi Yue shook her head helplessly.

"Your Highness, you have listened to and read the imperial edict over and over again. How can you not know?"

"The Emperor has bestowed Duanning Palace for us to live in!"

"Compared to our Qingya Residence, that place is truly magnificent!"

"It’s even more stately than Noble Concubine Shih’s Xifu Palace, and it doesn’t pale in comparison to Jiaofang Hall either!"

"Duanning Palace?" Xia Ruqing was extremely astonished, her eyes wide open.

"Is that the one next to Jiaofang Hall, the Duanning Palace that has always been locked and never opened?"

"People can live there?"

Zi Yue hurriedly responded.

"Of course, I heard that Duanning Palace has been around since the previous dynasty! It’s already over a hundred years old!"

"Speaking of which, there’s a story about this place too! Would Your Highness like to hear it?"

Xia Ruqing became interested, sipping her tea with sparkling eyes.

"Hurry up and tell me!"

Zi Yue thus began.

"It is said that during the previous dynasty, there was a lady in the palace who was gentle, respectful, and intelligent. She was always kind to others in the Harem. Day after day, year after year, she served the Emperor by his side with cleverness and virtue. Everyone in the Harem liked her, and even the court officials praised her as the Emperor’s virtuous consort!"

"This lady also won the Emperor’s affection. The two supported each other for many years and were deeply in love. The Emperor even promised that as soon as she bore him a Prince, he would make her the Empress. However, she ultimately did not bear the Emperor an heir, so that Empress title eluded her in the end!"

"Ah?" Xia Ruqing listened with utter speechlessness.

Just because she didn’t bear a son, all those years of devotion were negated?! That was too cruel.

The feudal monarchy of ancient times was indeed terrifying.

Zi Yue, however, shook her head.

"The old ancestral rules are set, and even that Emperor had no choice."

"In the end, with no other option, he built Duanning Palace next to Jiaofang Hall for that lady to live in and even named her Imperial Noble Consort, equal in rank to the Empress!"

"That was, in a way, fulfilling a wish in his heart!"

Xia Ruqing inquired further, "And the Empress? Was she willing?"

A mountain cannot contain two tigers, even if it’s a deputy. This was still a deputy who was deeply favored by the Emperor. She was definitely a thorn in the eye!

Zi Yue shook her head again.

"I don’t know about that, but since this Imperial Noble Consort didn’t have any children, maybe she wasn’t as much to be feared!"

Xia Ruqing nodded thoughtfully.

"That’s true!"

Even if the Empress was no longer favored, she must have given birth to a Prince. The legitimate Prince, that should be the Crown Prince, right? She had nothing to fear!

Xia Ruqing breathed a sigh of relief and was silent for a long while. After quite some time, she suddenly asked Zi Yue, "The Emperor assigning me to live in Duanning Palace, could there be some implication?"

Zi Yue was also taken aback, then cautiously replied, "I wouldn’t dare to speculate on His Majesty’s intentions. It would be best for Your Highness to figure it out yourself!"

Xia Ruqing frowned again, pondering for a while before speaking.

Could he be thinking of making me the Empress?

She then reconsidered.

Impossible! The Empress is still alive, and well. Although she isn’t in the palace, her position is still intact, right? She and the Fan Family already received due punishment for their past mistakes. Since then, she hasn’t made any further errors. The Emperor, her husband, would naturally not take her life. Nor would he stoop to despicable means to frame her. Even for his own sake, he wouldn’t; he was simply not that kind of person. So, what could the reason possibly be?

Xia Ruqing was utterly baffled.

「Night fell.」

When Zhao Junyao arrived and saw her deep in thought, he asked with a smile, "What’s the matter? Unhappy?"

After struggling for quite a while, Xia Ruqing finally mustered the courage to voice the question in her heart. "Emperor, why did you have your concubine stay in Duanning Palace?"

Zhao Junyao tapped her head with a touch of amusement. "I thought you were fretting over something else. It turns out you were just thinking about this!"

Xia Ruqing quickly nodded. "Yes! Your concubine wants to know!"

Without a second thought, Zhao Junyao straightforwardly answered, "Isn’t it because the place is large?!"

"You have many children and attendants around you, and there’s even a small kitchen. Qingya Residence is too small. It wouldn’t fit everyone, and I wouldn’t want you to be cramped!"

"After looking all around, there was no other place suitable for your status. Duanning Palace is not bad, do you like it?"

In one second, her fantasies collided with reality—the reason was merely that the place was large and befitting of her status. She had thought he would romantically recount the story of Duanning Palace to her and then tell her tenderly, ’You are the one in my heart, the wife I envision!’ But she had never expected such an answer. Indeed, dreams are so full; reality is so lean! This isn’t romantic at all, hmph!

Someone was feeling a little sulky.

Seeing her puffed-up look, Zhao Junyao found it rather amusing. "What’s the matter? Qingqing, if you don’t like it, I can change it for you, is that alright?"

Change? Change what? Why the change?!

Xia Ruqing glared at him silently, lamenting in her heart, Oh heavens, what kind of EQ is this! Is this how one is supposed to pamper his wife? It’s pointless to argue with a straight-laced man.

Xia Ruqing then pretended to be cheerful, betraying her true feelings with a smile, "No need, your concubine likes it very much!"

Zhao Junyao also laughed, seemingly relieved. "As long as you like it! It’s too late today. I will personally take you for a visit tomorrow, how does that sound?"

"Thank you, Emperor!"

Xia Ruqing sighed inwardly. What else can I say? Even if he’s straight-laced, what can I do when this is him being kind to me! After all, he is my Emperor, my husband! If there ever comes a chance, I must whisk him away to the modern era, to immerse him fully in the education of the new age!

With this thought, she nearly immediately conjured up an image of Zhao Junyao in the modernized 21st century, his face a mix of shock, feigned composure, and aloofness. The thought was so delightful, ha ha! Oh heavens, please grant me this one opportunity.

「The next day was the seventh day of the lunar month.」

Zhao Junyao hadn’t begun to work yet, so he had some leisure time on his hands. He took Noble Consort Xian, his newly conferred consort, to Duanning Palace located at the southeast corner of Jiaofang Hall.

Though the palace was some distance from the Imperial Garden, ancient trees towered around it all the same.

They walked along a cobblestone path, where every few steps brought a hill into view, every couple of steps revealed a scenic spot.

The flowerbeds on both sides of the path were filled with various plants and trees.

Some were dead, others still alive, yet in the depths of winter, their splendor wasn’t apparent.

But even so, one could still discern the past magnificence of the place.