The emperor was peeking through the crack in the door when another shoe flew out through the paper window and hit him on the forehead again. He caught it as usual, then stared blankly at the pair of embroidered shoes in his hand.

It's important to know that Suhe wasn't the only one guarding the door; Lian Xi was there too. The first time she witnessed the emperor being hit by her master's shoe, she was so terrified she wanted to hide in a corner, as if she didn't exist.

Now, seeing the emperor being hit by his master's shoe again, she was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. She forced herself to step forward and said, "Your Majesty, these are the shoes that the Imperial Concubine loved very much. Now, by some twist of fate, they have ended up in Your Majesty's hands..."

What to do? What to do when you can't make up a story anymore? Lian Xi was anxious. She winked at the other servants of Xukun Palace, hoping they could help her cover up the incident: how could she find a reasonable reason for their master—preferably one that would please the emperor—to gloss over the fact that the emperor had been hit by a shoe?

However, many of the people in Xukun Palace were spies for the Empress and the Emperor, and very few were truly loyal to Lian Nian. Therefore, despite Lian Xi's attempts to signal to them, no one dared to step forward and offend the Emperor at this crucial moment.

The emperor had long wanted to put the beauty's shoes in his bosom, but he hadn't done so because of his pride. Now that Lian Xi had mentioned it, he seized the opportunity and said, "No wonder these shoes are so exquisite. They must be my beloved concubine's cherished possession. She threw them to me as a token of her love, and I should keep them safe." After saying this, he brazenly put the shoes into his bosom.

Upon seeing this, everyone quickly began to secretly re-rank Consort Lian's position in the Emperor's heart: Although Consort Lian was favored before, everyone knew it was because of the Lian family; but now, it seems that the Emperor really does have some affection for Consort Lian!

News of what happened at Xukun Palace that night quickly reached the Regent. Of course, the Regent was actually in Xukun Palace at the time, but apart from Chu Susu and Chu Nian, no one else knew.

His reaction to the emperor was not surprising at all: to be honest, he had watched the emperor grow up since he was a child, so he naturally had an extraordinary understanding of the emperor, otherwise he would not have been able to successfully push the emperor off the throne.

Now, however, he was a little worried that if he actually did it, would Chu Susu look down on him? Chu Susu's words yesterday seemed to express her dissatisfaction with his struggle with the emperor.

However, if he continues to back down, he might really be devoured by that ungrateful emperor, leaving not a trace. He must remember he's not alone now; he has a group of people who have followed him for years. He can disregard his own life, but he cannot disregard theirs.

Chu Nian got up early and went to the Qianqing Palace feeling refreshed.

Seeing this, Suhe whispered to Chu Susu, "Your Majesty, look at this Consort Lian. She seemed very close to you yesterday, but she went to the Qianqing Palace first thing this morning." Going to the Qianqing Palace must be to curry favor with the Emperor! What Suhe meant was: Don't be foolish, this is the Emperor's person, and she's not on your side.

Chu Susu said, "She has always deeply loved the emperor..." For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Suhe said, "Therefore, it's impossible for her to treat you sincerely. You should be careful with her."

Chu Susu: "I don't love the Emperor."

Suhe: "This servant knows that you love the Prince. But with the Emperor and the Prince in such a situation, the future is uncertain. You must not let Consort Lian's tricks confuse you."

Chu Susu: "You're overthinking it. No matter what happens to the Emperor and the Prince, Consort Lian and I are just women in this harem."

Even if Li Xiao became emperor, she would not allow him to harm Consort Lian; and now this emperor seems to like Consort Lian very much, so naturally he will not harm her either.

Suhe felt that her mistress had been acting strangely ever since Consort Lian drowned herself in the lake, and she couldn't quite figure her out. After thinking for a moment, she advised, "Your Highness, it's not good for us to stay in Xukun Palace forever. Why don't we go back to Kunning Palace?"

Kunning Palace? Chu Susu realized that was the original owner's palace, not hers. She was Chu Shu! She suddenly wished she were still the original Chu Shu; perhaps that would make it easier to stay in Kunning Palace…

"You may all leave. I want to be alone!" Chu Susu suddenly felt a sense of desolation and waved her hand to give the order.

Suhe wondered why the Empress would want to live in Xukun Palace. Even if it was nice, it didn't belong to the Empress! Moreover, due to the restrictions of rank, Xukun Palace was inferior to Kunning Palace in many ways.

Chu Nian arrived at the Qianqing Palace just after the emperor finished his court session and inquired about the emperor's illness with a concerned expression.

The emperor still appeared sickly in court, but upon seeing her, he no longer wanted to feign illness. However, when she asked him about it, he deliberately coughed.

“Your Majesty,” Chu Nian said solemnly, “Given your health condition, I specially searched for many medicinal recipes that would be particularly beneficial to your health a couple of days ago, and I have come today to present them to Your Majesty.”

"A recipe?" Ying Yuan asked in surprise, having never heard that Consort Lian knew about medicinal cuisine.

Chu Nian nodded and said, "That's right. In the past, when I had nothing to do in my boudoir, I often studied medicinal cuisine and became quite proficient in this field."

Ying Yuan then said with great interest, "Then tell me, what medicinal diet recipes are suitable for me?"

Chu Nian gave a wink to Xiao Jia, who was serving beside him.

Xiao Jia was a little puzzled by her gaze.

Chu Nian could only say, "This medicinal diet of mine is complicated, and I need to trouble Your Majesty's palace servants to record it. Otherwise, even if I explain it several times, I'm afraid no one will be able to remember it completely."

Ying Yuan became even more interested and quickly gestured for Xiao Jia and the others to get pen and ink to record the information.

Chu Nian then began to explain in a very logical and eloquent manner.

Ying Yuan interrupted halfway through, "Wait a minute, may I ask, my beloved consort, what exactly is this 'mustard foam' you're talking about?"

Chu Nian: "It's a kind of seasoning..." Then she carefully introduced the mustard to everyone present.

In fact, many seasonings have relatively simple production processes. In ancient times, as long as the raw materials were collected, they could be made. All that was needed was to tell these ancient people how to make them.

Chu Nian realized that her own strength was limited, and finding those seasonings would definitely take a lot of time and effort. Therefore, it would be better to mobilize as many other people as possible. The emperor was just the first person she recruited.

Through these so-called medicinal dishes, Chu Nian spent half a day educating the emperor and the palace staff about seasonings, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime.

The emperor warmly invited them to stay for a meal.

Chu Nian said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid I won't be used to the food in Your Majesty's palace." She already knew about those dishes through the original owner's memories, and moreover, she had personally visited the imperial kitchen and found it to be very simple and unpalatable, which was really not to her liking.

But when she said this, the emperor was furious. He said with a stern face, "What? Is the food in my Qianqing Palace not good enough for you?"