The maidservant is too charming. I want to help her become the queen.

Chapter 73 Departure

The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, and it shrouded the palace walls like light smoke, like a pavilion in the clouds.

Outside Dongzhimen.

The convoy that was leaving for Mulan Paddock was ready to go. Lu Qingqing stood on tiptoe and looked forward. The carriages were lined up in a long line with no end in sight, which showed how grand the autumn hunt was going to be.

In addition to the Eight Banners soldiers leading the way, Li Xuansheng's carriage was at the front of the queue, followed by the concubines' carriages, and then the princes and ministers.

Lu Qingqing couldn't suppress her curiosity. She stretched her neck to see where Li Xuansheng was, but she could only see rows of heads.

"My lady, look at how ignorant Ming is. It's really embarrassing."

Furong covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and whispered into Concubine Shu's ear.

Shufei turned around and looked in the direction of Furong's gaze, and her eyes met Lu Qingqing's as she was looking forward.

The look in Concubine Shu's eyes was full of mockery towards her.

Humph, what kind of vision can a girl who was born as a maid in a flower room have?

I'm afraid this is her first time going back to Mulan Paddock.

Anyway, the convoy hasn't set off yet, and we're free this early in the morning, so we might as well teach her a lesson and start a beautiful day.

Concubine Shu smiled contemptuously and said:

"Mr. Ming is very excited, but he should also pay attention to etiquette. There are many important officials in the convoy."

"If the ministers see you in such a panic, wouldn't it be embarrassing for the Emperor?"

Lu Qingqing had just finished her morning exercise before setting off, and she didn't have the extra energy to argue with Concubine Shu.

Besides, what Concubine Shu said does make some sense, so it can be considered as a kind reminder from her.

"I thank Concubine Shu for the reminder."

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. There are so many men on this trip, so it's not easy to show up. I'll go back to the car and rest first."

Lu Qingqing bowed, and before Concubine Shu could react, she turned around and trotted into her carriage.

Shu Fei's bright red lips were eager to move, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open.

"You...you...you run pretty fast!"

Her wish to find someone to quarrel with and vent her anger in the morning was dashed. She thought she could have a quarrel with Lu Qingqing, but who would have thought that Lu Qingqing's speed of running away became faster and faster after not seeing her for a few days.

Concubine Shu was making herself look awkward. She muttered to herself as she picked up her dress and got into her carriage.

Lu Qingqing's rank was not high, so she did not have her own carriage for this trip and could only share one with other concubines.

Xu Guannu lived with Lu Qingqing in Yinglan Pavilion in the palace, and the carriage was also divided with her.

Lu Qingqing got into the carriage and saw that the sisters Xu Ming'er and Xu Yue'er had already taken their seats, so she greeted them enthusiastically.

"Hey, you guys are here so early!"

They are neighbors and have a good relationship.

During this period, Lu Qingqing practiced riding and archery with the two sisters every day, and they became more and more familiar with each other.

In front of outsiders, Lu Qingqing was a noble lady of higher status than them, but in private they had already gotten along like sisters.

Xu Ming'er laughed and said, "Oh, it's still early. If you were any later, the carriage would have set off.

Lu Qingqing winked at Xu Ming'er, wrinkled her nose slightly and snorted.

"Humph! My sense of time is not that bad."

"Didn't you get stuck by a piece of taffy just now?"

Erxi nodded and re-enacted in the carriage the way Concubine Shu had been finding fault with him just now with great emotion.

Suddenly, the carriage was filled with a happy atmosphere.

As the command to set off sounded, the carriage moved slowly, and the crisp sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the carriage.

Lu Qingqing's heart also began to feel light-hearted with the rhythm of the tapping sound.

By the way, this was the first time she had seen the scenery outside the ancient imperial palace after traveling through time.

Inside the carriage, Xu Ming'er and Xu Yue'er sat on the left, Erxi and Xiaotao sat on the right, and Lu Qingqing naturally sat in the middle of the carriage.

Although the five of them were a little crowded, they were able to sit comfortably.

In front of her were good sisters who were getting along very well with each other, and outside the car were new and novel scenes that she had never seen before. Lu Qingqing felt unprecedentedly comfortable and happy.

This autumn hunting trip started from Dongzhimen, passed Bailongtan and went straight to Gubeikou outside the Great Wall, and then passed through the Luanhe area and finally arrived at Mulan Paddock.

At first, Lu Qingqing sat obediently in the middle, but when the convoy left the Forbidden City, she asked to switch seats with Erxi.

Lu Qingqing lifted the curtain on the right side of the carriage, revealing a narrow gap, and was instantly attracted by the scenery outside the window.

Li Xuansheng loved his people like his own children, so he did not order the people to leave during this trip, and the people were still allowed to go out.

As the carriage passed by, the people of the capital city knelt on both sides, with their vivid life scenes behind them.

There are all kinds of restaurants and teahouses on the street. At this time, vendors have already started setting up stalls, selling a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, cakes and snacks, full of the flavor of life.

After leaving the city gate, we walked to the outskirts of Beijing.

The surrounding vegetation seemed a bit desolate, but in autumn it looked very vast. There were a few carriages passing by, but they were all very far away from their convoy.

There were palaces of all sizes along the way, but they still had to spend most of the nights in camp.

Fortunately, there were advance Eight Banners soldiers scoping the way ahead and setting up camp, so the camp would be ready before they arrived, making it very convenient to get off the vehicle and set up camp.

The wheels squeaked and before we knew it, it was lunchtime.

Inside the carriage, several people's stomachs began to growl.

In ancient times, there was no food that could be stored for a long time. This trip would take at least a week and at most half a month. Dinner could be had in the camp, but for lunch, we could only eat prepared cakes or pastries.

Erxi spread out the food boxes and distributed the prepared pancakes to everyone.

When she handed the pancakes to the Xu sisters, she smiled at Lu Qingqing.

As a result, the Xu sisters just took a bite of the pancake and exclaimed "Wow" in unison.

"This pancake is actually sweet!"

The imperial kitchen has never been very attentive to the treatment of low-ranking concubines, and the pancakes distributed to the women in Xuguan have always been dry.

Before the trip, Lu Qingqing specially asked Sanpang to make some steamed cakes with special flavors.

Sanpang prepared various sweet jams, such as apple jam, apricot jam, plum jam, etc. He also prepared some salty and fresh flavors, such as five-spice pepper salt, spicy peanuts, preserved vegetable and dried meat, etc.

It just so happened that Xu Ming'er took the apple-flavored one and Xu Yue'er took the apricot-flavored one.

Xu Ming'er ate a few mouthfuls in succession, and said to Lu Qingqing with sparkling eyes:

"It's so delicious! I've never had pancakes with such fruit flavors!"

Lu Qingqing narrowed her eyes with pride, feeling full of a sense of accomplishment.

This surprise was prepared for a long time, and she likes to share delicious food with her friends.

Just as they were enjoying the meal.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and only the maid Yuzhu of Concubine Xian was heard shouting outside the carriage.

"Ming noble lady, your servant Yuzhu, the virtuous concubine has something to give you."