Xiao Lan worriedly told her about Imperial Concubine Su’s visit in the morning, “For some reason, she seemed to be paying attention to Chang Er and that rabbit, so I got a little uneasy.”

Lin Feilu remembered that the relationship between Imperial Concubine Su and Noble Consort Ruan were rather good. Thus, she thought she was a goner.

Would Noble Consort Ruan bring a group of people to beat Chang Er and the rabbit to shreds?

And would she befall me with the sin of ‘raising pets on my own accord’?

In the end, after waiting for several days, Lin Feilu didn’t even see the shadow of Noble Consort Ruan.

She didn’t know if Imperial Concubine Su didn’t recognise the pets or if she had deliberately concealed the truth for her. But after hearing about Xiao Lan’s description, Imperial Concubine Su obviously did recognise the animals at that very moment.

There wasn’t even a proper interaction between the two of them, much less a friendship. Hence, there was no reason for Imperial Concubine Su to cover up something like this against a member of her own family.

She really has a crush on someone in our palace!

In the end, Lin Feilu didn’t receive any punishments from Noble Consort Ruan, but she was granted with an invitation to accompany Emperor Lin on an excursion.

They were only in the middle of summer and the weather was getting even more devious. It was a royal custom to avoid the cold in winter and the heat in summer. The summer palace was built on the Taihang Mountains and it was called the Lanxing Palace. Compared to the Hot Springs Bathhouse, this one was a lot more luxurious and larger.

Moreover, Lanxing Palace was located in the deep mountains where there were many kinds of beasts roaming around. The entire mountain was a perfect hunting ground for the royals and the nobles. This was also where Emperor Lin would conduct the Annual Summer Hunt.

Xiao Lan managed to enter the Lanxing Palace once during her first year of moving into the palace. At that time, she was blessed with the Imperial favour, so among the lower-ranking concubines, she was the only one who received the gift of accompanying His Majesty.

That’s why it wasn’t surprising to know that she became the target of the other concubines’ envy and jealousy.

This time, not only the names of Xiao Lan and Lin Feilu were on the list, but even Lin Zhanyuan was invited.

Even though Lin Zhanyuan was no longer a toddler and long matured into the age of a boy, the farthest place that he had ever been to was undoubtedly the Yiqing Palace. To know that he was going to see a wondrous space filled with myriads of plants and animals excited him to no end. His enthusiasm kept him up late at night, and ever since he received the Imperial Decree, he started to count down the days till the anticipated day.

The Empress Dowager did not return to Mount Wutai, so she naturally accompanied him on the summer vacation. The day before departure, she sent someone to the Mingyue Palace to relay a message. ‘The distance would be very long and it would be rather inconvenient for the carriage to be full of people.’ Since Xiao Lan had to take care of the Fifth Princess, she asked Lin Zhanyuan to accompany her on the journey.

***

This was Lin Feilu’s second time venturing out of the palace ever since she came here. Her status then and her current standings were quite different— even the carriage was much more luxurious and comfortable than it was before. The areas outside the palace were cleared entirely as the streets were very notably empty. She lifted the curtains and looked out for a long time, secretly thinking that when the timing was right, she would find an opportunity to go out to the palace to play.