Chapter 1453: 1448: The Strange Concubine Lan
Chapter 1453: Chapter 1448: The Strange Concubine Lan
“So the emperor didn’t incarcerate Xiao Yu in the imperial prison, but is detaining him in the old mansion. If he has accomplices, they will surely go to see him. And though the guards on the surface are not as strict as the imperial prison, the mansion allows the emperor to arrange his own people more conveniently?”
Su Yingxue immediately thought.
“The empress is astute,” Chu Yihan said, nodding approvingly.
Su Yingxue chuckled shyly, “Fortunately, I can understand some of the emperor’s intentions. However… the person who could conspire with Xiao Yu must be no ordinary individual. Brother’s men are too conspicuous; send Seventeen instead.”
When it came to hidden ambushes and assassinations, no one outside the Silver Moon Pavilion could match their expertise.
Chu Yihan pondered for a moment, “That’s an idea.”
He looked toward Su Hao, who was very much in agreement, “Although the people of Silver Moon Pavilion have a special status, my subordinates indeed do not have the skills that they possess. But I can lead men to lie in ambush near the old mansion, in case of any emergency.”
“In that case, General Su, you have my thanks,” Chu Yihan said.
Su Hao bowed respectfully, “I will ensure this task is completed for the emperor.”
Chu Yihan had other political affairs to attend to, so Su Yingxue left with Su Hao.
On the way, Su Yingxue was very concerned, “Has Miaoyan woken up? How is her recovery going? Has Sister Rong Sheng visited her?”
“Doctor Rong comes every day. After Your Majesty left the Marquis’s Manor, Miaoyan woke up, but she has been wanting to see Xiao Yu and is quite troubled,” Su Hao mentioned, with a hint of heaviness in his gaze.
Although the Marquis’s Manor had already split, with his third uncle guarding far away and Auntie Madam Yin living alone in the mansion, grandfather decided to bring all the members of the third branch back to live in the Marquis’s Manor. It was only logical for Miaoyan to stay and heal her wounds in the mansion.
But now, being Xiao Yu’s wife, the longer Miaoyan stayed at the Marquis’s Manor, the more likely the news would spread, which could harm her reputation.
“We can’t care about the rumors outside the mansion now. The most important thing is for Miaoyan to heal. Once she regains her memory, she will remember losing Ningning, and with the child still missing, she will undoubtedly be heartbroken. If she asks about Xiao Yu, Brother and our family should still keep some things from her for the time being,” Su Yingxue said with a heavy tone.
Su Hao nodded, “I understand.”
He shared Su Yingxue’s worries about Miaoyan. Since it was rare for Su Yingxue to see him, she wanted to talk more and invited him to walk in the imperial garden. It was there that they happened to meet a tall and beautiful woman.
The woman stood by a flowerbed, dressed in a pale blue palace robe, with matching silk embroidery of exquisite patterns at the hem. A greenish-blue jade belt cinched her slim waist. On her head was a ruyi lotus tassel, her chin slightly raised with a trace of pride in her elegant and noble bearing.
Su Hao was taken aback at first glance.
As Su Yingxue approached that location, the arrival of the Feng Family caught the woman’s attention, and she turned around. Upon seeing Su Yingxue, she walked up to her with neither servility nor overbearance, her eyes devoid of any emotion, and slowly approached to pay her respects, “This concubine greets Her Majesty the empress, may Your Majesty be safe and well.”
Su Yingxue nodded, “Rise.”
After Lan concubine stood, she nodded at Su Hao, “This must be Great General Su, my respects.”
Su Hao returned to his senses upon hearing Su Yingxue’s introduction, “Brother, this is Lan concubine.”
“Greetings to Your Majesty Lan concubine.”
Su Hao performed a courtesy.
Lan concubine smiled faintly, “Great General Su, there’s no need for formalities.”
If it were the other two concubines meeting Su Yingxue, they would always greet her warmly and chat for a bit, but Concubine Lan was the one who talked the least and had a bit of a cold temperament. On normal days, besides paying her respects, she certainly wouldn’t go out of her way to find Su Yingxue or cause her trouble. Here, having exchanged greetings with Su Yingxue, she then gracefully walked away.
Su Yingxue held no grudges against her and thus did not mind these things.
Once she had left, Su Hao couldn’t help but voice his suspicions, “This Concubine Lan, her stature is exceptionally tall, her figure almost resembles that of a man?”
Although there was no lack of tall women among commoners, someone like Concubine Lan… was indeed rare.
She stood face to face with Su Yingxue, towering an entire head taller than her, and even when standing alongside Su Hao, she could look him directly in the eye.
This truly surprised Su Hao.
Su Yingxue said, “At first, I too was surprised. When Concubine Lan entered the palace, the first time I saw her, I was even more astonished than you, brother. However, she is a descendant of the Lan family. It is said that their ancestors came from beyond the Great Wall, and the men and women of the Lan family are all tall in stature. She has actually lost some weight now; when she first entered the palace, she was even more imposing.”
“Really?” Su Hao was filled with doubts in his heart, for Concubine Lan truly had the build of a man, so tall and strong.
Su Yingxue nodded, “Yes, she is the only direct bloodline of the Lan family now. Initially, I did not pay much attention, but later, I noticed she was practicing martial arts in the palace, and her spear skills were truly admirable.”
Su Yingxue’s tone revealed no dissatisfaction with Concubine Lan, she even appeared rather generous.
She mentioned that she later sent Concubine Lan a red-tasseled spear as a gift for her to play with.
“Your Highness should do whatever pleases you, but all the concubines in the palace belong to the emperor, Your Highness…”
Su Hao wanted to remind Su Yingxue, lest she feel heartbroken if Concubine Lan gained favor in the future, but when the words came to his lips, he didn’t know how to express himself.
“What does their relationship with the emperor have to do with anything? Aside from court banquets, they probably haven’t even had a clear look at what the emperor looks like,” Su Yingxue said with a covered smile, completely unaware of Su Hao’s discomfort.
Finding himself at a loss for words, Su Hao decided not to pursue the topic further.
His family’s Jinyan was more adept at these things; he planned to have Jinyan come to the palace in a few days to talk with Su Yingxue.
He bid farewell and left the palace. However, on his way, he unexpectedly encountered Concubine Lan again, entering the imperial study.
A sense of foreboding settled in Su Hao’s heart.
He returned to the Marquis’s Manor and conveyed Su Yingxue’s wishes to everyone in the household, asking them to keep the news of Xiao Yu being imprisoned from Su Miaoyan. Just then, Su Miaoyan woke up and, hearing voices in the room, called out, “Mom, Mom! Has Brother Yu come to visit?”
Madam Yin’s heart seized, and she quickly went into the inner chamber, walking around the screen to come to the bedside and comfort Su Miaoyan, “No one has come, Yan’er, you just lie down and get some more rest.”
“I heard a man’s voice, Mom, did Brother Yu come?” Tears brimmed in Su Miaoyan’s eyes, and she propped herself up on the bed, trying to get up.
“It’s not him, it’s not! It was your Brother Su Hao who came to visit you,” Madam Yin said as she helped her, fearing any sudden movement might worsen her brain injury and make her illness more severe.
Wu Jinyan, with her arm around Su Hao, entered the inner chamber and spoke gently from beyond the screen, “Miaoyan, don’t get up. It’s your Brother Su Hao. He just got back from the palace. He’s not been careful with how loudly he speaks, and it disturbed you. Your sister-in-law will punish him.”
As she said this, she gently tapped Su Hao.
Su Hao quickly spoke up, “It was me, Miaoyan.”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Su Miaoyan’s eyes, “Brother, where is Brother Yu? Has something happened to him?”
“Nothing has happened, it’s just that for now, he can’t come to see you,” Su Hao said in a soft voice.