Chapter 178 Murong Yanran

"The Empress summons me?" Wang Shulan wondered. What could the Empress want with her?

Yesterday, Nangong Xiang went directly to ask her mother, who had agreed to let her teach her how to toss and catch apples today. It seems she will have to break her promise.

However, to avoid making a wasted trip, Wang Shulan specifically asked a servant to deliver a message to the Prince's residence before boarding the carriage that came to pick her up from the palace.

Nangong Xiang looked regretful when she heard that Wang Shulan had been summoned by the Empress and was too busy to teach her how to play. However, she was happy again when she thought that Wang Shulan would come to teach her as long as she was free in the next day or two.

When Wang Shulan arrived at Kunning Palace, she did not look directly at the Empress according to the rules, but gave a very standard bow.

"Get up quickly and sit here. I have some private business with you today." Murong Yanran warmly pulled Wang Shulan up and then asked her to sit down.

Private matters? Wang Shulan was puzzled. What private matters could there be between her and the Empress?

Murong Yanran was a straightforward person, and she quickly got straight to the point: "I won't beat around the bush. It's just that when I saw your appearance at the banquet yesterday, I felt that it was quite different from the information I had heard about you before. I was quite surprised. I'm just curious, how did you maintain such fair, translucent, delicate and flawless skin?"

I heard you fled famine for a while before and only settled in Xuzhou in the last two years. How come your skin healed so quickly despite the long drought? Do you have any special techniques? Could you teach me?

Wang Shulan never expected that the Empress had sought her out because of this matter.

Murong Yanran's directness stemmed from two main reasons. Her maternal family, the Duke's Mansion, was composed of military officers who were ennobled through their military achievements. Later, after Murong Yanran became Empress, the Emperor elevated the Marquis of Dingyuan to the Duke of Dingguo.

Although her family knew she was destined for the royal family before she married Nangong Chen, who was still a prince at the time, they had someone teach her manners in advance so that her temperament wouldn't be as fiery as the rest of the family.

However, due to her upbringing and genetics, her personality is very similar to that of the Duke of Dingguo, both being straightforward.

However, even the most straightforward and cheerful personalities can easily become unhappy once they enter the harem, even for someone of the high status of the Empress.

Although the emperor was actually good to her and the emperor and empress had a good relationship, she couldn't help but feel that she wasn't the only one in the harem. She was only twenty-three years old this year, but compared to the batch of fresh-faced newcomers who had just entered the palace in their teens, even though she didn't have any wrinkles on her face, she often felt that she was getting old lately.

But as the empress, she had to maintain some kind of magnanimity, and she couldn't dress up like the concubines below her, playing music and dancing to compete for favor.

So day by day, her personality became much more sullen, and the emperor and she were no longer as close as they had been when they were in the prince's residence.

The emperor wasn't the type to indulge in pleasure, but for the sake of ensuring the continuation of the royal line, he would still visit the inner palace every few days.

She could only wait for the emperor on the first and fifteenth of each month. More importantly, the emperor felt that he came to her to relax, so he often just came to cover himself with a quilt and chat.

But she was only in her early twenties, a time when she needed nourishment, yet she was like a woman living a life of widowhood.

Murong Yanran, who had long fallen in love with the emperor, was destined to become insecure and anxious no matter how cheerful her personality was. However, she was also burdened by the rules that an empress had to be dignified and generous, and she was unable to use the means to win favor.

But at yesterday's banquet, when she saw Wang Shulan, who had already given birth to two children and was a few years older than her, she looked like a young girl under 20, with such good skin. Besides envy, she suddenly had a thought.

That is, if she could maintain her youth like Wang Shulan and become younger, would the emperor then treat her with the same affection and sweetness as when they were still in the prince's residence, and once again dote on her?

Once the thought came to her, she couldn't suppress it. She went to bed very late last night, and only fell asleep slowly after having a palace maid light some calming incense because she was worried that staying up late would be bad for her skin.

Early in the morning, she couldn't wait any longer and quickly sent someone to bring Wang Shulan directly into the palace for questioning.

Because of the Empress's question, Wang Shulan finally raised her head and looked at Murong Yanran, who had a hopeful expression on her face.

The Empress is actually very beautiful, with striking and elegant features, great skin, and very fine pores. She may be a little overthinking, as her skin is slightly dull, but this is not noticeable when covered with powder. Her skin is also a little dry, but it is not obvious at all. It was only because Wang Shulan has good eyesight that she noticed it.

Wang Shulan thought about how the batch of spiritual herbs she had planted was almost ready for harvest, and also about her beauty business with Ning Xuan. An idea popped into Wang Shulan's mind.

She quickly reviewed the situation in her mind, feeling that this was a golden opportunity that wouldn't come again, so she hurriedly replied to Murong Yanran: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress is naturally beautiful, and your demeanor is something I can only dream of. I did indeed achieve my current appearance through some techniques. Every day, I use my own homemade skin lotion, hair nourishing cream, and face cream to wash my hair, body, and skin. With consistent use, the effects gradually become apparent."

Murong Yanran was overjoyed; Wang Shulan indeed had a wonderful beauty secret.

"Do you still have any?" Murong Yanran asked.

"Yes, it's a coincidence. I still have half of the set I used before. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to return to Xuzhou after coming to the capital, so I brought two more sets with me. I'm willing to offer both new sets to Your Majesty."

"Then I will accept it without hesitation, and ask Princess Sheng'an to part with it."

"It is my honor to be able to share Your Majesty's burdens. However, I left these things at the post station and did not bring them with me." Wang Shulan first flattered the Empress before explaining that she did not have them on her at the moment.

"That's alright. I'll send someone to take you back later. You can just hand the things over to them."

Wang Shulan readily agreed, but continued, "There's one more thing. These skin-nourishing creams of mine will be even more effective when used with the right steps and techniques. So I would like to ask Your Majesty to send someone with a good memory and skillful hands to demonstrate them to them."

Murong Yanran was surprised, "It's so complicated, can they learn it in one go? Otherwise, you can make another trip to the palace tomorrow. I'll have the servants watch over it. It's much faster for more people to learn than for one or two."