Chapter 437 Ningyuan General's Mansion

Chapter 437 Ningyuan General's Mansion

After the Double Ninth Festival banquet, the three little ones returned to Xingqing Palace and returned to their previous life rhythm.

In addition to practicing by himself every day, Li Xuan helps the two girls practice, and walks around the city when he has free time.

The capital is so big, and he hasn't even finished sightseeing yet.

There are always unknown corners waiting for Li Xuan to explore.

But staying in Xingqing Palace during this period of time made Li Xuan familiar with the capital.

At least it won't be like when you first left the palace, where you can't even tell the difference between east, west and north.

Princess Ankang and Yu'er, on the other hand, were working diligently and studying books related to formations and alchemy besides practicing.

Compared to Li Xuan's three-minute heat, the two girls were obviously much more tenacious.

Those obscure books became more and more interesting to them as they chewed them.

Princess Ankang has even begun to enter the practical stage. She asked Manager Shang to get a lot of basic materials for formation, and compared them while reading to deepen her impression.

Li Xuan felt embarrassed when he saw the two girls studying so seriously.

He was the one who brought it up first, but in the end it was Princess Ankang and Yu'er who went to learn formations and alchemy for him.

This makes the kitten so embarrassed.

The fulfilling days passed day by day.

On this day, a visitor suddenly came to Xingqing Palace, and he came for Princess Ankang.

"General Ningyuan's Mansion?"

Princess Ankang looked at the words on the sticker with doubts.

"And the female family members are visiting?"

The three little ones looked at each other and shook their heads.

This was the first time they had heard of this general, and they had nothing to do with anyone.

The only person most likely to interact with the outside world is the cat at home.

But at this time, Li Xuan also looked dazed, obviously not having any impression of this family.

"Your Highness, do you want to see me?"

Manager Shang asked Princess Ankang for instructions.

Princess Ankang hesitated and finally nodded:

"Please come in and meet me."

Anyone who comes is a guest, and Princess Ankang has no reason to turn her away.

Moreover, since they lived in Xingqing Palace, this was the first time that someone had such a formal visit.

This can't help but make Princess Ankang curious about the other party's intentions.

Even though he gained some limelight at the Double Ninth Festival banquet not long ago, his situation has not fundamentally changed.

Princess Ankang is very clear about this.

In this Daxing aristocratic class, she is still isolated and helpless, and she is still in the cold palace.

Who would come to visit such a princess so blatantly?

After a while, the visitor was brought in by Manager Shang.

"General Ningyuan's Mansion, Chai Rongrong."

"Take your daughter Qiao An to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess."

The mother and daughter saluted respectfully in front of Princess Ankang.

When Princess Ankang saw them, she immediately recognized them.

"Xiao An, it's you."

Xiao An, who was visiting with her mother, smiled, blinked, and looked at Princess Ankang.

But then, Xiao An remembered something, immediately put on a serious face, and secretly glanced at her mother to see if she noticed that she had just laughed.

Now Princess Ankang knew who was coming.

Unexpectedly, Xiao An, who had played games with her at the Double Ninth Festival banquet, followed her mother to find her.

Princess Ankang welcomed this.

She also loves the child Xiao An very much.

At that time, Princess Ankang went to the lawn where the children were playing, and it was Xiao An who invited her first.

"Mrs. Qiao, Xiao An."

"No need to be polite, please take a seat."

Princess Ankang smiled and raised her hand to help them.

The mother and daughter immediately stood up to thank the gift and sat on the seats next to them.

Then the servants of Xingqing Palace served tea and snacks.

Under the signal from Manager Shang's eyes, the others exited the room one after another.

"Your Highness, this old slave will leave first."

"You can always ask me if I have anything to do."

Manager Shang bowed and left, leaving space for them.

After they were the only ones left in the room, Xiao An's mother, Chai Rongrong, spoke:

"During the Double Ninth Festival Banquet, His Highness took great care of Little An. She has always talked about you these days. Knowing that Your Highness is temporarily staying in Xingqing Palace, she dared to come and disturb you."

"No, no, Xiao An also took great care of me at that time."

Princess Ankang said with a smile, remembering the game she played with Xiao An and the others that day.

But Princess Ankang knew that Xiao An was probably just an excuse.

The reason why General Ningyuan's wife came to find him was definitely not that simple.

Then, the two sides started chatting for a while.

Because of her status, Princess Ankang took the initiative in the topic and gained a deeper understanding of the identities of the mother and daughter.

General Ningyuan is a military official of the fifth rank.

In this capital city, he was not considered a high official, and he did not have any real power. Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, he was considered to be the most inconspicuous one.

This can't help but make Princess Ankang even more confused.

There is no reason to climb high branches like her.

No matter how young General Ningyuan's official position was, he would never get close to a cold palace princess like himself.

But Princess Ankang was not impatient, and talked patiently with Chai Rongrong, teasing Xiao An from time to time, and the atmosphere in the room was considered harmonious.

Li Xuan stayed aside and looked at the mother and son up and down.

Neither of these two people have any cultivation base, and they don't feel any ill will toward Princess Ankang.

But the more this happens, the more unclear their purpose is.

"Is there someone else behind the scenes?"

Li Xuan also discovered that the wife of General Ningyuan would always look at Princess Ankang with deep eyes, and the emotions contained in them were indescribable.

"Do you know Ankang, but Jingyang Palace hasn't had any contact with the outside world for many years?"

"And how can a low-level official like General Ning Yuan have any contact with the palace?"

Li Xuan has already thought about it and will go to General Ningyuan's mansion later to see what they have planned.

But before Li Xuan could find out what was going on, Chai Rongrong was the first to speak.

"Your Highness, you look so much like Concubine Xiao, especially these eyes."

Princess Ankang couldn't help but be stunned when she heard this.

"Mrs. Qiao knows the mother-in-law?"

Seeing Chai Rongrong nodding, Princess Ankang could no longer remain calm.

She asked nervously: "Are you and the concubine..."

No wonder Princess Ankang was nervous. When Concubine Xiao was alive, she was surrounded by enemies, which made Princess Ankang think that this huge palace was full of people who could make things difficult for them.

In Jingyang Palace, Princess Ankang rarely had contact with outsiders.

However, the daily expenses of Jingyang Palace continued to decrease, and it was difficult to survive until later.

Although Princess Ankang is young, she still understands the truth.

If someone didn't hate them, how could life become more and more difficult.

Therefore, when Chai Rongrong said that he knew Concubine Xiao, Princess Ankang subconsciously worried that she was here to seek revenge.

But Princess Ankang recalled the harmony they had in their previous conversation, and felt that this possibility was unlikely.

If they weren't enemies, they were old friends.

Thinking of this possibility, Princess Ankang felt even more nervous than at the beginning.

"I received a lot of kindness from Concubine Xiao back then."

"It's just that times have changed, and my queen has also..."

Speaking of this, Chai Rongrong sighed.

After confirming that Chai Rongrong was not Concubine Xiao's enemy, Princess Ankang breathed a sigh of relief.

When it comes to Concubine Xiao's death, Princess Ankang is not too sad.

It has been almost a year since Concubine Xiao passed away, and Princess Ankang has gradually accepted this fact.

Even though she still misses Concubine Xiao in many ways when she is sleeping soundly at night and is haunted by dreams, Princess Ankang no longer gets sad whenever she mentions Concubine Xiao.

She knew that if she was sad, Concubine Xiao would be sad too.

Concubine Xiao once told Princess Ankang that she would turn into a star in the sky and always accompany her and watch her.

Princess Ankang has never forgotten this.

Therefore, even though Concubine Xiao is no longer with her, Princess Ankang always pays attention to her words and deeds, not wanting her mother to worry about her.

Princess Ankang took out a breath and said:

"So that's it."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness." Chai Rongrong realized that he had made a mistake. He looked at Princess Ankang with some pity and said, "I brought up a topic that I shouldn't have brought up."

Princess Ankang shook her head and didn't care.

"How did Mrs. Qiao meet my mother-in-law?"

"Can you tell me something?"

Princess Ankang's reaction made Chai Rongrong smile happily.

Princess Ankang is not as fragile as she imagined.

Then, Chai Rongrong talked about the past with Concubine Xiao.

Back then, Ningyuan General Qiao Wanyun was one of the people who escorted Concubine Xiao from Beiliang to Daxing.

It was for this reason that I got acquainted with Concubine Xiao.

Later, Concubine Xiao gained power in the palace, and people closely related to the court and Beiliang gradually began to side with Concubine Xiao.

Concubine Xiao did not let down the support of these people and became a strong contender for the post.

Unfortunately, Beiliang later lost all the news during the cold wave, which caused Concubine Xiao to lose everything.

And many of Concubine Xiao's supporters also suffered bad luck.

Especially after Empress Wu came to power, the liquidation of the Wu family made them miserable.

Many people were unable to sustain themselves in this process, and many were forced to leave the center of power in the capital.

It is rare to be able to support the Ningyuan General's Mansion in the capital until now.

Speaking of these past events, Chai Rongrong couldn't help but get red eyes.

"God has no eyes to treat Concubine Xiao like this."

She couldn't help sighing, but she also realized her gaffe, wiped the wet corners of her eyes, and then cheered up again.

"But fortunately, His Highness is safe now. He even shined at the Double Ninth Festival banquet. It's a pity."

"How is your life in the palace now, Your Highness?"

"Did anyone give you a hard time because of your empress?"

Li Xuan, who had been listening for a long time, already frowned.

He finally understood Chai Rongrong's intention.

These former supporters of Concubine Xiao might have seen some unrealistic hopes at the Double Ninth Festival Banquet.

The dispute over power is a quagmire, and whoever enters to earn it will be covered in mud.

Although the three little ones are now in the palace, they can't hide.

But Li Xuan sincerely hopes that Princess Ankang will not get involved.

Power is definitely the most addictive thing in the world.

Turning the hand over can kill thousands of people, turning over the hand can save the common people.

It is a lifetime of hard work for those who are able to take charge.

When incompetent people are in power, evil is everywhere.

According to Princess Ankang's temperament, if she takes power in the future, she will probably have to work hard all her life.

Although it can benefit all people, it is too painful and tiring.

Li Xuan didn't have such a high consciousness, he just wanted to lead the two girls to live happily in the world.

The responsibility of power is too great, and he neither dares nor is willing to shoulder it.

Therefore, at this moment, Li Xuan was very unwelcome to Chai Rongrong's visit.

"We need to kill their ideas as soon as possible."

The three little ones are now so worried that they only care about themselves. How can they have time to take care of these marginal officials who have lost their power?

Even if they have an old relationship with Concubine Xiao, it is all in the past.

Under the current situation, it is difficult to say how many people still cherish their old friendship and are dedicated to the good of Princess Ankang.

Just like the Chai Rongrong in front of him, Li Xuan only felt her snobbery.

After chatting for half an hour, Chai Rongrong took Xiao An and left.

Today they talked a lot about Concubine Xiao's past, which was very useful to Princess Ankang.

Concubine Xiao didn't talk much about her past in the past, so Princess Ankang didn't know much about her mother-in-law.

Through Chai Rongrong today, she got to know her mother and concubine a little better.

Concubine Xiao was the only princess of Beiliang at that time, and the youngest daughter of the late Emperor of Beiliang was the most favored.

At the beginning, Beiliang originally had two choices for marriage, Damo and Daxing.

Damo and Beiliang are both located in the northern border, and they are both countries with the most powerful backgrounds.

If the two join forces, it will be a situation of unifying the northern border and confronting Daxing north and south.

But later, Beiliang still chose to marry Daxing, and Concubine Xiao was also married, and that's what happened next.

According to Chai Rongrong, a lot of things happened during this period, which finally led Beiliang to choose Daxing.

But the specific details are not something someone of her level can know.

After all, her husband, General Ning Yuan, was just one of the people who escorted Concubine Xiao.

"Daxing, Beiliang, Damo..."

Princess Ankang muttered softly.

At this time, Chai Rongrong had already left with Xiao An, and there were only three of them left in the room.

"Your Highness, General Ningyuan's residence comes to visit so unexpectedly, so you should be careful."

Yu'er saw that Princess Ankang was chatting happily with Chai Rongrong today, but she still offered some words of persuasion.

"Sister Yu'er, do you think they have ulterior motives?"

"Your Highness, we haven't contacted these people even once before, and we didn't see them asking for help when we were in embarrassment in the palace. Now that they come to our door, what's the good thing?"

Yu'er was afraid that Princess Ankang would be obsessed with her, so she said anxiously.

Princess Ankang smiled and waved to Yu'er:

"Don't worry, sister Yu'er."

"I don't trust others so easily."

Then, she turned around and asked Li Xuan:

"Axuan, what do you think?"

Li Xuan shook his tail and wrote casually:

"Sending help in times of need is the icing on the cake."

"They can't even do one."

Chai Rongrong came to visit today, just taking Xiao An to reminisce about old times, without even a hint of expression. How could Li Xuan see him?

At a glance, Li Xuan found it too laborious.

As for the future, let’s talk about it later.

At least now, it seems that Li Xuan doesn't think it's worth getting close to someone like Chai Rongrong.

Their troubles in the palace are not small to begin with, so there is no need to add any more burdens to themselves.

Princess Ankang couldn't help but smile when she saw Li Xuan's reaction.

But looking at Princess Ankang's thoughtful expression, Li Xuan knew that she must have other ideas.