vrcanaries Chapter 171 Yixiu 40
Chapter 171 Yixiu 40
As the master and servant were talking, the emperor walked in.
"My son, please pay your respects to the Queen Mother."
"Get up, the weather is getting colder. Why are you still wearing so little? How are the people around you taking care of you?"
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty the Queen. It is my fault." Su Peisheng quickly admitted his mistake.
The emperor smiled and said, "Don't blame them. My son dressed like this on purpose. He always feels stuffy when he wears too much."
Seeing this, the Queen Mother gave him a reproachful look and said, "The Emperor should also take care of his health and not be so willful."
"Yes, son, I understand." The emperor lowered his head and obeyed obediently.
Su Peisheng felt a pang of sadness when he saw this scene. No wonder the emperor had to change his clothes before going out.
After a brief greeting, the Queen Mother brought the question to the point, "Are you satisfied with the people who have been serving you lately?"
The emperor's smile faded a little. "Very good. Why would the Empress Dowager ask about this out of the blue?"
"I didn't want to ask about it. It's okay if you dote on Wanpin a little more, but you should be careful about the limit. How long has it been since you last saw Jingpin and the others?"
"The new concubines who entered the palace have yet to bear a son or daughter for the emperor."
The empress dowager did not finish the rest of her words, but the emperor understood what she meant.
He did have fewer children than the previous emperor. "I have taken note of what the Empress Dowager taught me."
The Queen Mother smiled faintly and nodded, and just then a palace maid walked in carrying a tray.
"Your Majesty, try this. The kitchen has just made some lotus cakes. The light taste is just what you like."
Zhuxi also chimed in, "The Queen Mother just ordered someone to prepare this, and she specifically instructed them to use less honey."
"Thank you for your concern, Madam."
The emperor smiled and pinched a piece of dessert and put it into his mouth. The perfect taste suppressed all the dissatisfaction that had just arisen in him.
After a few words, the Queen Mother asked about another matter.
"What are your plans regarding the Queen?"
"What is the Empress Dowager talking about? I don't understand."
The Queen Mother pretended not to notice the Emperor's tightly pursed lips. "You don't have to be like this with me. The Queen's temperament has changed a little, but her actions are impeccable."
The emperor raised his hand to stop the empress dowager from continuing, and his impatience was already evident in his words.
"Your Highness, there's no need to say more. If it weren't for this, I would have long since stopped tolerating her. You should know how presumptuous the Empress is now."
Not wanting to hear the Queen Mother continue to plead for the Queen, the Emperor stood up and took his leave.
"My son still has memorials to review, so I'll take my leave now."
The emperor strode out without waiting for the empress dowager to stop him.
Watching her son's departing figure, the Queen Mother felt even more depressed. "Zhuxi, look, this is my good son."
"If only I hadn't raised him, he would always oppose me. If only Old Fourteen were here, it would be great."
"I don't know if he's doing well in the Imperial Mausoleum or if he's sick."
Thinking of her youngest son who grew up by her side, the Queen Mother couldn't help but wipe her eyes.
"It's been so long, and you haven't even sent me a letter. The Emperor clearly promised me that he would bring the Fourteenth Princess back after the selection was over."
Zhuxi listened quietly, and seeing that the empress dowager's words were becoming more and more outrageous, she was afraid that there might be someone from the emperor in the room.
"What are you talking about, Empress Dowager? The Emperor is so filial and always thinks of you. I'm sure he has other ideas about the Fourteenth Master's affairs."
"Don't worry, we'll just wait patiently."
Feeling Zhuxi holding her hand slightly harder, the Queen Mother immediately understood what he meant.
She felt even more sad in her heart. As a queen mother, she had to worry about her son planting spies around her.
If it was Prince Fourteen who became the emperor, how could she have ended up in this situation today?
The emperor, who left angrily, was also unhappy. He had already guessed the empress dowager's reminder.
It is impossible to favor only one person in the harem, so he has made preparations.
What made the emperor angry was that he was her son, but the empress dowager sided with the queen.
In the Queen Mother's heart, the glory of the family is more important than her son.
"Su Peisheng, tell me, if it was my fourteenth brother who sat on the throne, would the Empress Dowager be like this today?"
These words frightened Su Peisheng so much that he knelt down immediately.
"Your Majesty, please do not say such things. You are the heir carefully nurtured by the late emperor and the rightful ruler of all people. How can you joke like this?"
"The Empress Dowager is also concerned about you. I have heard that among the common people, elders are always stricter with the eldest son, mostly because they have high hopes for him."
The emperor finally showed some joy on his face. "Oh, your ability to speak is quite good. Let's go to Xianfu Palace."
Su Peisheng breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the matter was over for the time being.
"Your Majesty, please return quickly. Someone from our palace has reported that the Emperor is waiting."
Jingpin held the Dongfeng that she had just touched in her hand, and the smile on her face froze when she heard this.
He muttered very quietly, "What bad luck! We were about to win."
Xinpin laughed out loud without hesitation, "Sister Jingpin, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and go. It seems that you won't be lucky enough to make money today."
Concubine Xiang and Concubine Li also looked like they were enjoying the show.
"That's right, Sister Jingpin, go quickly!! Don't let the emperor wait anxiously."
Jingpin looked at the cards in front of her, stood up angrily, turned around and said to them, "If you laugh again, I will come to find you tomorrow."
After saying that, he put down the cards in his hand and left in a hurry.
The sound of three people's unbridled laughter came from behind, and Jingpin became even more annoyed when she heard this.
"Why would the Emperor come to our palace for no reason? What happened?"
"I don't know either. The emperor didn't look very well. When he asked, I told him that you went to the Yikun Palace to see Princess Wen Yi."
Hearing that the emperor was in a bad mood, Jingpin frowned and slowed down her pace.
She didn't want to go back to appease the emperor, so she had to think of a way.
Fortunately, the Yiku Palace and the Xianfu Palace were not far from each other, and soon Jingpin saw the emperor sitting on the couch reading a book.
"My concubine pays your respects to the Emperor."
Hearing the voice, the emperor slowly raised his head from the book.
Seeing the other party's red eyes, the emperor asked in confusion: "Get up, why did you want to go to Yikun Palace?"
"The eyes are still like this."
Jingpin forced a smile and turned her head to rub her eyes until they became even redder.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for making you laugh. Imperial Concubine Hua is not in the palace. Concubine Xiang lives there alone with Wen Yi. Princess Shuhe is grown up now, and Concubine Xin took the two princesses to play together that day."
"I...I like the two princesses very much, so I often go to see them."
The sadness in Jingpin's eyes was so obvious that it made the emperor feel uncomfortable.
He lowered his head and returned his attention to the book, saying nonchalantly, "Go and spend time with them if you like. How's the princess doing lately?"
"Xiangpin has taken good care of Wen Yi, and she is very lively."
"It is because I am incompetent that I have not been able to give birth to a child for Your Majesty in all these years~"
Jingpin's resentful voice was heard, but the emperor interrupted her before she could finish.
"Well, it's just that our destiny hasn't arrived yet. You don't have to mind it so much. It's been a long time since we last met. Come play chess with me."
"Yes."
Feeling that the emperor was avoiding her, Concubine Jing cursed him in her heart.
She's just putting on airs here, and it's his fault that she can't get pregnant.
The emperor originally wanted to stay overnight at Jingpin's place, but the scene just now made him feel uneasy, so he played a few games of chess and then went to Shen Meizhuang's place.
"I respectfully send you to your Majesty."
After successfully seeing the emperor off, Jingpin felt a little happier and went back to her room to do her own things.
In order to satisfy the empress dowager, the emperor visited every palace once.
Concubine Li was even stopped on her way to go fishing after getting dressed.
This made her quite resentful.
It was also from this day that Concubine Li discovered that she didn't seem to be looking forward to the emperor's arrival.
Zhen Huan finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in the air for many days. She was well-read and naturally knew that being the only favorite in the palace would not end well.
The Queen Mother chose to directly admonish the Emperor instead of targeting herself, which made Zhen Huan feel fortunate.
Chun'er rushed into Zhen Huan's room holding a bunch of red plums, and Jinxi was unable to stop her.
Her young and pretty face looked particularly beautiful against the backdrop of plum blossoms, and just a few words made the emperor interested in her.
The emperor was about to forget about the little girl raised in the palace, but after being reminded, he realized that Chun'er was old enough to sleep with his emperor.
The emperor summoned Chun'er to sleep with him that night. The young and courageous girl gave him a different feeling.
Experiencing this youthful energy, he seemed to have become a few years younger.
This scene obviously could no longer be explained by an accident, and Jinxi confessed her crime with great guilt.
"Please forgive me, my lady. It's all my fault that I couldn't stop Concubine Chun."
Zhen Huan was writing quietly under the candlelight, without any sign of anger.
"Get up, this isn't your fault. Even if we stop her, if she shouts a few times outside, can we still stop her from coming in?"
Huanbi went forward and added new charcoal to the charcoal basin, saying indignantly: "I never knew that Concubine Chun was such a person!"
"The young lady usually treats her like a sister, but now she is stepping on the young lady to climb up."
Liu Zhu felt that the atmosphere in the room was not right. She pursed her lips and said nothing. She went up to Zhen Huan and cut the candle wick a little shorter.
It would be better to write with a brighter candle so as not to hurt your eyes.
"Huanbi!"
"Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Don't talk about other young ladies casually."
"My lady, I just...I know I was wrong."
"Okay, get up, let's just do our own thing and don't worry about so much."
Jin Xi's eyes rolled. "Miss Huanbi is right. Madam, according to you, do you want to pretend that nothing happened?"
Huanbi suddenly looked up, and when she met Zhen Huan's calm eyes, she swallowed her resentment.
"It's better to have more friends in the palace than more enemies. It doesn't really matter what you have."
"Besides, Chun Changzai has grown up. Could it be that it will always be like this?"
Zhen Huan had been prepared for this and was not too surprised.
"Okay, stop looking so miserable. Whatever happens in the future will be fine. Just be careful and don't let yourself be tricked in other matters."
Since Zhen Huan said so, the others had no choice but to agree.
Even Huanbi has learned to hide her emotions.
Perhaps out of guilt, Chun'er picked out the best reward and sent it to him, but her words were still innocent.
Zhen Huan was also happy to pamper her.
Zhen Huan knew that Chun'er was very disgusted with An Lingrong, so she never put them together.
But this kind of thing is always unavoidable.
That day, An Lingrong got a spice recipe from an ancient book and studied it with Zhen Huan.
It is very cold in winter and people are too lazy to move, so they always have to find something to do to pass the time.
"Sister Wan, these spices were given by the Queen. She knew I loved studying these things, so she specially left some for me."
"Look, my sister brought it here specially. How about we make Spring Moon Butterflies today?"
Zhen Huan became interested the moment she heard it. "Spring Moon Butterfly, that's a nice name."
An Lingrong took out the various ingredients from the box one by one, "Sister, you may not know this, but this fragrance is actually best used in spring and summer."
"The fragrance of flowers in spring and summer attracts butterflies, and the sweet, light scent is relaxing. I think there aren't many flowers to enjoy in winter."
"Using this incense can be considered a comfort."
"Sister, you're really clever. This nard has a winey aroma, but has it been prepared?"
"Yes, sister has a very good nose."
What An Lingrong brought today were all prepared things that could be made with just simple steps.
Zhen Huan calculated the dosage according to the recipe one by one, while listening to An Lingrong talk about the preparation process of these ingredients.
These were things she had never been exposed to before.
"Sister, you're amazing! These are all delicate tasks. I never thought spices could have such effects."
"Sister, you know that most of these raw materials are medicines. If they are medicines, they have their own effects. It's just that the way they are used is different."
After everything was done, Zhen Huan asked Huanbi to bring the incense burner. She couldn't wait to try it.
Zhen Huan gently fanned the curling smoke and savored its aroma.
"It's amazing! Frankincense and cloves are both very fragrant spices, but when mixed together, the first flavor that comes out is actually quite bitter."
"It instantly transformed into a sweet and sour fruity aroma, truly like a spring day."
An Lingrong knew that Zhen Huan would like these unique things. "As long as you like it, it's not in its best condition yet."
"When spring comes, my sister's dancing in the courtyard will attract butterflies. I'm afraid the emperor won't be able to take his eyes off her."
Zhen Huan blushed instantly and pretended to hit her.
"Hate!"
Zhen Huan has always disdained to use her beauty to please others, but this does not prevent her from showing her best side in front of the person she likes.
The two were chatting happily when Chun'er walked in with a lot of perfume.
The room suddenly became lively.
Chun'er spoke without restraint and loudly talked about her time in bed with the emperor.
Zhen Huan and An Lingrong on the side were also smiling, but there was some embarrassment in their eyes and they didn't say much.
After all, they are all the emperor's women and have the same husband.
On ordinary days, we all call each other sisters and chat and laugh, but how can we spread these things that happen in the boudoir everywhere?
Even if Zhen Huan had a relationship like that with Shen Meizhuang, she would not tell her that she had cut candles and painted with the emperor.
Not to mention the topic of whether the emperor is white or not, please, everyone has slept with him, okay? !
For the first time, An Lingrong doubted her own feelings. Could it be that Chun Changzai was really that naive?
But this idea was quickly dismissed.