"Ah?" Hong Yi was startled and quickly regained her senses, "I... I just saw the General and the madam went into the kitchen, wanted to ask if they needed help..."
"The General and madam are back?" Nanny Lou frowned immediately upon hearing this, "Werenât they dining in the front hall?"
Hong Yi twitched the corner of her mouth and said nothing.
"Then what are you doing standing here? Arenât you going to hurry over to serve them?"
"Well..." Hong Yi showed an embarrassed expression, "Nanny knows, when the madam and the General are together, if they donât call for anyone, they generally donât want to be disturbed... so I didnât dare to go over..."
Nanny Lou glanced at the kitchen, then nodded: "If thatâs the case, donât just stand here, if madam needs assistance, sheâll call for it. Go gather everyone, itâs time to distribute the monthly pay."
Hong Yi glanced at the kitchen, then turned around to call people.
In the kitchen, Yang Ruxin and Gu Qingheng naturally heard the conversation outside, but didnât take it seriously, each holding a bowl of egg noodles while eating.
"I didnât expect your cooking skills to be quite good." Yang Ruxin ate with satisfaction. Strictly speaking, this was the first time Gu Qingheng cooked for her.
Even in this ancient time, let alone the 21st century, many men wouldnât bother to cook a meal for their wives, so a man like this was worth entrusting her life to.
"Compared to you, Iâm still far behind. In the future, I will slowly learn, and anything you want to eat, Iâll make for you."
"Iâll remember that." Yang Ruxin smiled radiantly, truly happy.
After their playful banter, the people outside also moved away from the kitchen, allowing Yang Ruxin to glance at Gu Qingheng: "Itâs understandable for Xiao Jin to keep an eye on us, but I canât figure out whatâs up with Virtuous Concubine. She doesnât even have a son, could it be that she wants to become the next Wa Zetian?"
"I canât understand it either." Gu Qinghengâs expression grew solemn, "But I did manage to dig up some information these days."
"Tell me about it."
"...Cui Meng and Xiao Jin are from the same hometown and entered the palace together, but Cui Meng first gained the Emperorâs affection, even his exclusive favor, so soon she was pregnant. Unfortunately, shortly after, she slipped and the child was lost... Later, during one drunken night, the Emperor favored Xiao Jin, and fortunately, she got pregnant too, giving birth to Prince Yun the following year, and was then titled Virtuous Concubine..."
Yang Ruxin couldnât help but sigh, such brutal palace struggles.
"However, when Xiao Jin was about to give birth, Cui Meng and the then Consort Hui, Hui Jianing, were also pregnant at the same time, and later gave birth on the same day. The Emperor, pleased, granted Cui Meng the title of Virtuous Concubine, but..."
Yang Ruxin raised her eyes, was there more to the story?
"But her son died before his first full month..."
Yang Ruxin frowned: "This woman has suffered enough tragedy."
"The Imperial Physician at the time said the child had a congenital weakness, caught cold, and couldnât be saved. Actually, what I later uncovered was that the child was likely poisoned... this was actually thanks to your connection, because Hen Ziyue likes you, Hen Yizheng mentioned it to me, but at that time it wasnât him who treated the child, it was another old Imperial Physician. Unfortunately, that Imperial Physician soon retired to the countryside, probably no longer around..."
Yang Ruxin took a deep breath: "Poisoned? Could it have been Xiao Jin? But such a small child..."