If not abolished

Chapter 285: Meeting an Old Friend Again

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine." The two reacted immediately and saluted.

"Oh, now that we're out, there's no need for so many formalities. Just sit down." Concubine Wang said as she pulled Hu Shanxiang to sit down. "Are you tired from traveling these days, Shanxiang? Let me see. You look well. It seems that this boy takes good care of you." Concubine Wang glanced at Zhu Zhanji, and then looked at Hu Shanxiang intently.

"Grandma is so partial. You don't even look at your grandson. You only care about your grandson's wife." Zhu Zhanji said with a resentful tone as he sat aside.

"You're such a grown-up now, and I think you're doing fine." Concubine Wang finally found the time to spare him a glance.

"Your Majesty, why are you here? Does His Majesty know about this?" Hu Shanxiang was still curious about this matter.

Concubine Wang asked everyone to leave before she told them, "I came out this time with the approval of His Majesty, but others naturally don't know. To the outside world, I only told them that I went to the temple to pray for you. In fact, I secretly caught up with you and accompanied you to Zhongdu, and then I knew that you gave birth safely."

"Did the Emperor agree so easily?" Zhu Zhanji still found it a little unbelievable.

"What can we do? What if Shanxiang's baby gets into trouble? How can he guarantee that I'll come here? At least there's someone to help you. This is your first time being a parent. You'll be in a hurry. Your Majesty, I'm your father and mother. Who will be at ease?"

"I'm sorry to have caused all the elders to worry and made you run so far." Hu Shanxiang naturally felt a little guilty.

"Child, don't say that. This has nothing to do with you. Besides, if you want to blame someone, it's His Majesty for suddenly asking you to come here. I'm not tired at all. I feel a lot more relaxed these days. In fact, I'm taking this opportunity to come out and have some fun. I'm afraid this is the only chance like this in my life."

"So grandma's real interest is not in drinking?" Zhu Zhanji joked.

"How could that be? My main task is to help you take care of Shanxiang, okay?"

"Yes, the Imperial Concubine came here specially, how could Your Highness say that?"

"That's right. Child, when you go out, don't call me Imperial Concubine all the time. Just call me Grandma like Agui. It will be more convenient this way. Hey, Shanxiang, do you have a nickname? When you go out, just call her by her name to show your status." Imperial Concubine Wang asked.

"Replying to the Imperial Concubine, as Grandmother Abu said, I have a nickname that my family members call me by."

"Oh, what are those words?"

"Xue'er, grandmother, these are Shanxiang's nickname." Zhu Zhanji answered for her.

"Xu'er, that sounds really nice. From now on, grandma will call you like this. Do you even know my nickname?" Concubine Wang joked.

"Grandma, how could I not know what you said? Grandma, you have eaten it. We just went out to buy some local food. Would you like to try it?" Hu Shanxiang blushed and Zhu Zhanji quickly changed the subject.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't eaten it yet. It's a good opportunity for me to try it. What did you buy?" Concubine Wang asked curiously.

The two of them immediately asked someone to bring the food over. Just to be on the safe side, all the food was allowed to be tasted before being brought up.

After the three of them had almost finished eating, Hu Shanxiang and Zhu Zhanji took their leave from Concubine Wang.

"Grandma, you've worked hard along the way. Let's rest early today. Tomorrow, we'll go take a look around the city together," said Zhu Zhanji.

"Okay, you are tired after a whole day, so go to bed early." Concubine Wang had been traveling for the past few days and had not slept well. Today, she finally saw them and was able to get a good night's sleep.

After Zhu Zhanji and Hu Shanxiang left, they still felt a little unreal for a moment.

"Hiss. Why are you pinching me?" Zhu Zhanji asked in confusion.

"I want to see if I'm dreaming. The imperial concubine just appears in front of us like this. Don't you think it's amazing? Who would have thought..." Hu Shanxiang feels it's so unreal, and it feels like her mind is still exploding with a blank feeling.

Zhu Zhanji also said: "I was indeed shocked. When I left, I was afraid that this would be a hasty farewell to Grandmother Wang forever, and I felt sad for a while. I didn't expect that just a few days later, I saw her standing in front of us." Zhu Zhanji can still recall how he felt when he left the palace.

"Yes, and Your Highness, do you know? When the Imperial Concubine called me "Xue'er" just now, who appeared in my mind?" Hu Shanxiang stopped and said to Zhu Zhanji face to face.

"Your grandmother." Zhu Zhanji guessed, but in fact he was already sure.

"How did Your Highness know?" Hu Shanxiang didn't expect that Zhu Zhanji guessed it right at once.

"Because I have rarely seen other elders in your family call you by your nickname. Since you asked, I guess it should be your grandmother."

"Yes, Your Highness, you know what? In fact, what I miss most is the days in Jining, when I had my grandmother and my sisters to play with."

"I know, I..." How could Zhu Zhanji not know that he actually missed the days when they were in Jining, carefree, without the constraints of the palace, free and at ease. But after all, he was not born in an ordinary family, and that kind of ordinary life was just one of the few pleasures in his life.

"Your Highness, how about we go to admire the moon?" Maybe she missed her grandmother and suddenly wanted to go see the sky.

"Okay." Zhu Zhanji naturally agreed.

The two came to the attic, where there was a large window, perfect for watching the moon.

"There are so many stars in the sky today, which means tomorrow will be a good day." Hu Shanxiang said when she looked up and saw the sky full of stars.

"The stars came out from the clouds."

"Your Highness. Have you ever heard of a saying?"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Zhanji looked at her.

"It is said that the relatives who have left will become stars in the sky, watching over us."

"Then the Empress Dowager and the Hu family's grandmother must be watching over us in heaven and protecting our safety." Zhu Zhanji followed her words.

"Your Highness is right. If it is true, my grandmother must be watching over us in heaven. Do you think she would be very happy if she knew that I was going to be a mother?"

"Of course, everyone is very happy. I really hope that the little one in your belly can come out soon so that I can give her the best things in the world." Zhu Zhanji was really looking forward to the birth of his daughter this time.

"Your Highness, this is not the first time you have been a father. Why are you so anxious this time?"

"That was all in the past... This time, I will definitely be a good father." Zhu Zhanji would not let his daughter be the same as in her previous life and in his dreams.

"Your Highness will definitely be a good father."

The two of them looked at each other like this for a long time.

Hu Shanxiang woke up early the next morning. She thought it was because she was used to her bed, so she woke up early.

As soon as I went out, I saw Zhu Zhanji standing at the door with some breakfast.

"Wake up! I was just about to bring you something to eat. Just in time, when you finish eating, there's a surprise waiting for you." Zhu Zhanji put the food on the table.

"Surprise? What surprise?" Hu Shanxiang immediately became curious.

"Eat first, and then I'll take you to see it."

Hu Shanxiang sat down immediately. She ate faster than usual and said she was done after a while.

Zhu Zhanji saw that she had almost finished eating, so he asked her to eat a little more before taking her out.

"Where are you taking me?" Hu Shanxiang was led by Zhu Zhanji all the way, and they came to a bamboo forest.

"You'll know right away."

"Your surprise is a bit far-fetched." Hu Shanxiang complained.

"You won't feel far away in a moment." Zhu Zhanji looked around, "Okay, close your eyes first."

Hu Shanxiang closed her eyes obediently. After closing her eyes, her ears became particularly sensitive. She heard some sounds coming from her ears. Before she could distinguish them, she heard Zhu Zhanji say, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Hu Shanxiang opened her eyes immediately, and her eyes widened in an instant, "This... Sister He, what's wrong with you? Oh my God!" Hu Shanxiang never thought that the person standing in front of her was He Yunyue, whom she had always wanted to meet. She thought that the two of them would never be able to meet again in the future, but...

"Princess Crown Princess, please don't get too excited." He Yunyue immediately stepped forward to support her, fearing that she would get too excited.