CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 352: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 41

The Emperor’s aesthetics left Anning at a loss for words.

She still remembered that Emperor Jianyuan had pretty normal tastes; how did the Emperor’s suddenly turn so outlandish?

Looking at the tea set that the Emperor had brought her, freshly made by the official kiln, Anning felt like her eyes were burning.

This tea set was far too ornate, whether it was the teapot or the patterns on the cups, they were completely filled, all kinds of colored patterns were present, and they were even gilded and silver-coated, looking truly luxurious; but if you looked at it for too long, it was genuinely dazzling.

The same went for the bright yellow decorative pieces.

Additionally, the Emperor had brought many calligraphy pieces and paintings for Anning.

He was like a child showing off treasures, extremely enthusiastic.

Although Anning had many criticisms in her heart, she still smiled flatteringly and said, "It is truly beautiful, did you design these? They look splendid. Oh, and this painting, I’ve always wanted to see it, but could never find where it was, turns out you had it tucked away..."

The Emperor was overjoyed and proudly said: "I have collected many famous paintings, if Anning wishes to see them, I can take you to the storeroom later to have a good long look."

Anning quickly waved her hands: "I’d better not, I’m quite tired right now, I just want to rest."

The Emperor was even more pleased with himself.

He felt this was a sign of his vigor despite his age.

But he was still considerate of Anning, as soon as he heard she was tired, he hurriedly began to rub her back and waist: "Tired, are you? I’ll take things easier from now on."

What could Anning say?

She could only lean against the chair, too lazy to move.

After being affectionate for a while longer, Anning found an excuse to send the Emperor away.

As soon as the Emperor left, she hurriedly went to bed to catch up on sleep.

The Emperor was in a good mood, the sky looked bluer to him, the wind felt gentler, and everything seemed better; he even took the rare opportunity to visit Emperor Yong Guang, expressing affectionate fatherly and filial feelings, having a warm conversation with Emperor Yong Guang and even gave him an ancient sword that Yong Guang had always wanted but the Emperor had been reluctant to relinquish.

Emperor Yong Guang was caught between laughter and tears.

Anning slept until evening, and by then the Emperor had already gone for a stroll within the palace and returned.

When Anning opened her eyes, the Emperor was sitting in a chair, reading a book.

Anning got up and smiled toward the Emperor: "Your Majesty, have you had dinner yet?"

The Emperor put down his book: "Not yet, I’ve been waiting for you."

Anning then ordered a meal to be served, and during dinner, she proposed moving to the garden residence sooner.

The Emperor was actually quite bored himself.

He felt suffocated living in the palace.

In the past when he was bored, he could find a few beauties for some amusement.

Now that he was married to Anning, he dared not have any other intentions.

He paid no heed to state affairs and had all this energy with nowhere to vent, which was also distressing.

Anning’s suggestion of living in the garden residence matched his desires.

He thought for a moment: "Well, I’ll speak to the Emperor tomorrow, and we’ll move to the garden residence to live there. It’s not as restrictive as living inside the palace, and we can also go out and walk around from time to time."

After the two discussed for a while and finished their meal, naturally, there was another round of exercise.

Indeed, as the Emperor had said, the next day he spoke to Emperor Yong Guang about moving to the garden residence.

Emperor Yong Guang was extremely pleased.

The Emperor was free to roam since the Grand Emperor no longer sat in the palace.

Yet Emperor Yong Guang still urged him to stay for a while. Seeing the Grand Emperor’s determined will, he then had the Empress collect some belongings and assigned escorts for the Grand Emperor and Anning to go to a Royal garden outside the palace.

The scenery here was better than in the palace, and it was also much more comfortable to live in.

After moving here, the Grand Emperor seemed like an old child, dragging Anning every day to fish, row, or trim bonsai. It was definitely more leisurely than living in the palace.

A few days in, Anning proposed bringing Xu Wan over.

The Grand Emperor immediately responded, "Is she Xu De’s daughter?"

Anning nodded: "Yes, that child is quite pitiable. Xu De currently faces quite some risks in his post in Jiangnan. It was a helpless move to send her to Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion, but who could have expected that the one in charge, the Second Mrs. at the mansion, is the murderer of her mother. The child’s life there is quite unbearable. I thought of bringing her over for a change of scenery. After all, she is the child of my sister, and I should take care of her."

The Grand Emperor nodded: "Quite right, the two of us here lack company. Bringing that child over would indeed add some interest."

Speaking of which, the Grand Emperor curled his lips: "Speaking of which, the Emperor thought to send over a few Princes and Princesses, but I can’t stand taking care of them. Those Princes each have too many cunning ideas; outwardly courteous but inwardly scheming, such a nuisance. And those Princesses, I don’t know how they were raised, each timid as a mouse, frightened to death upon seeing me. Sending such children over, wouldn’t that be adding to my troubles?"

Anning pursed her lips with a faint smile, quietly listening to the Grand Emperor grumbling. She did not interject.

She wasn’t foolish to join the Grand Emperor in criticizing the Princes and Princesses.

No matter how bad, those were still his grandchildren. He could mention it, but others couldn’t without making him unhappy.

Eventually, the matter of bringing Xu Wan over was agreed upon by the Grand Emperor, and Anning sent the manageress here to fetch Xu Wan from Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion that very day.

Xu Wan was already eagerly waiting every day.

Upon hearing she was to meet Anning, she immediately asked Du Juan to pack up and hurriedly said goodbye to Mrs. Song.

Mrs. Song was somewhat reluctant to let Xu Wan go but knew it was a great opportunity for her to go to Anning. So she instructed a few things: "When you’re there, don’t be mischievous, follow the old ancestor’s lead, be sensible, and start learning the palace’s rules. If you can please the old ancestor, there will be benefits for you."

Xu Wan promised with a smile.

After leaving Mrs. Song, she couldn’t wait to board the carriage sent from the palace with Du Juan and others.

Anning made arrangements to fetch Xu Wan and also began to investigate the daughter of Tang Xing.

Knowing the girl’s name, she had the manageress search the name registers of the palace servants, making comparisons one by one. After a thorough search, the result came out.

Tang Xing had married into the Fan family. The girl’s name was Fan Yaofang, and there were two in the palace servants’ register. Anning compared their places of origin and confirmed that the one sweeping and cleaning in the Imperial Garden was indeed Tang Xing’s daughter.

Once confirmed, she sent for Fan Yaofang to be brought over from the palace.

After all, as a descendant of her former self, Anning naturally took care of her when possible.

After giving instructions, Xu Wan arrived.

Seeing Anning, tears couldn’t stop falling from Xu Wan’s eyes: "Grand ancestor."

She threw herself into Anning’s arms, crying with profound sadness and grievance.

Anning also knew that Xu Wan must have had a rough time at the Tang Family.

Mrs. Zhang had been in charge for many years and would have her trusted people, who probably harbored much resentment against Xu Wan.

Now that Tang Rong and Tang Qin were attending to Mrs. Zhang, and Tang Tao had entered the Ministry of Revenue as a Sixth-Rank Langzhong, busy beyond measure, and Zhang Feng’er was pregnant and could not care for Xu Wan. Xu Wan had no one to confide her troubles to until finally seeing someone she could talk to, of course she wanted to be indulged.

Xu Wan’s crying prompted an old nanny to step forward and say, "This is a Royal garden, the young lady should stop crying."

Anning glared over: "Where did this old thing come from, with such a lack of sensitivity. What about it being a Royal garden, does that mean she can’t cry? I’ve never heard of an Emperor banning crying."

Startled by Anning’s outburst, the old nanny knelt down with a thump, knocking her head several times: "Empress, spare my life, it’s my fault, it’s my presumption..."

Anning ignored the old nanny and led Xu Wan into the house.

Just as she entered, she heard a burst of hearty laughter. It turned out that the Grand Emperor had caught two large carps and specifically sought out Anning to show off.