Chapter 346 Meeting the Saint

It was already the twelfth lunar month when Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi returned to the capital.

The carriage stopped at the gate of Guangling Prince's Mansion, and the steward Hu Jinan immediately came forward and greeted Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan respectfully.

He received the news early in the morning and waited at the gate of the mansion to welcome Zhao Yi in advance. His purpose was to show off in front of Zhao Yi and hope that Zhao Yi would not replace him as the manager.

"Your Highness, Princess, the floor heating system is turned on in Lanxue Garden. Two pots of hot water are boiling in the large boiler connected to the bathroom. The meals are all ready in the kitchen."

Hu Jinan asked, "How do you plan to do this first?"

Zhao Yi replied, "Take a shower and wash up first, then ask the kitchen to serve the food."

"Yeah." Hu Jinan readily agreed, and then sent a message to the palace: "Early this morning, the palace sent a verbal order, forbidding you from entering the palace today. Rest well in your residence, and come to the palace to pay your respects tomorrow."

Zhao Yi was the heir to the throne. When he returned to the capital from his local business, according to the rules, he had to go to the palace to meet the Emperor of Northern Qi.

The Emperor of Northern Qi exempted them from entering the palace today, showing the grace of a kind father.

Zhao Yi nodded slightly, without trying to guess what the Northern Qi Emperor was thinking.

Hu Jinan had been observing Zhao Yi's words and expressions, trying to guess what he was thinking. But Zhao Yi was a man of few words, his emotions hidden from his eyes. His expression remained indifferent, giving no clues at all.

He turned his gaze to Shen Qingtan who was standing beside him and asked, "Princess, how will you arrange for the eunuchs and maids in the mansion?"

This reminded Shen Qingtan. The last time she arrived, she had no idea who the masters behind the eunuchs and palace maids were, so she didn't meet anyone and instead tried to test them first.

Later, news came that Zhao Yi had "died of illness". She cooperated with the act and had no intention of arranging eunuchs and palace maids to be on duty.

She turned her eyes slightly and looked at the steward who was good at showing his performance: "I'll leave this matter to you to arrange."

Hu Jinan's face suddenly changed. None of the eunuchs and palace maids in the mansion were easy to mess with.

But the princess gave him such a difficult matter to solve.

Shen Qingtan asked, "Is it difficult?"

"No...it's not difficult..." Hu Jinan's mind raced, realizing that this was a test from Shen Qingtan. If he handled this matter successfully, he would be a well-known figure in front of his master. "I will definitely see to it."

Shen Qingtan smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your help."

Hu Jinan smiled awkwardly, "This is just my job."

He was very tactful and did not mention arranging for the palace maids and eunuchs in the mansion to come and recognize Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan.

Hu Jinan escorted the two masters into the main courtyard and then hurried away to do his errand.

Shen Qingtan stood in front of the window and watched Hu Jinan leave.

Zhao Yi stood beside her and said, "You want Manager Hu to place the person sent by the palace and break the palace's plan. And at the same time, test his background to see if he is someone you can use?"

The eunuchs and maids sent from the palace were specifically there to serve them closely, undoubtedly to keep spies around them.

Hu Jinan had stayed in the mansion to guard it earlier, and on the surface he had nothing to do with the people in the palace.

If he didn't have a master behind him, in order to gain a foothold in the Guangling Palace, he would definitely follow their wishes and marginalize the eunuchs and palace maids.

At that time, if the nobles in the palace were dissatisfied, Shen Qingtan would have something to say.

They pretended that Hu Jinan was the steward appointed to them by a nobleman in the palace, and then handed over the affairs of the mansion to Hu Jinan.

He then took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the nobleman and assigned them to be the stewards of Guangling Palace. They were very efficient and very pleasant to work with.

Even if the nobleman is dissatisfied with what Hu Jinan did, he will not use it as an excuse to deal with Hu Jinan.

After all, Northern Qi invited them to the capital in order to contain the Great Zhou, so they would more or less do some superficial work.

If there was someone behind Hu Jinan who deliberately arranged the palace eunuchs and maids in the main courtyard, Shen Qingtan could take advantage of the situation to cause trouble and catch them all in one fell swoop.

"If the eunuchs and maids sent by the palace are not dealt with quickly, I will feel upset." Shen Qingtan smiled slightly and said, "Before, when you were not in the capital, I couldn't take action against them. Now that you are here, I feel that I have someone to rely on and don't have to worry about anything."

"Whatever you want to do, just do it. Don't worry about it." Zhao Yi looked at Shen Qingtan's gentle and smiling eyes, and tucked her hair behind her ears with his fingertips: "I will cover you."

"Then go take a shower first." Shen Qingtan took out clean clothes from the box and stuffed them into Zhao Yi's hands: "I'm hungry."

Zhao Yi's eyes were filled with helplessness. He put the clothes in Shen Qingtan's hands, hugged her around the waist and walked towards the bathroom.

"Let's wash together, save time, and eat earlier."

“…”

-

At dawn the next day, Shen Qingtan woke up and rang the bell at the bedside.

Liu Yue and Ting Xue came in and helped Shen Qingtan get up.

"Princess, Manager Hu has arranged for the eunuchs and maids to be properly placed. Some have been assigned to purchasing, others to housekeeping. These are all lucrative positions, but they can't interfere with the work of Lan Xue Garden or the front courtyard study, and they're also safe from the palace's criticism."

Liu Yue took out the crown and robes for the princess that were sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs last night and put them on Shen Qingtan, saying, "This Manager Hu does have some tricks up his sleeve."

Shen Qingtan was not surprised. If Hu Jinan was not a man of integrity, he would not have treated her with respect when she first came to Northern Qi.

"Manager Hu is so helpful, it really saves us a lot of trouble." Shen Qingtan sat in front of the bronze mirror, watching Liu Yue put on her makeup with a box of rouge. She raised her hand to stop him, "No need to put rouge on my face, just apply some fine powder."

Liu Yue understood what she meant, put down the rouge in her hand, and started to do Shen Qingtan's makeup again.

Shen Qingtan stood up slowly. He was wearing a long gown embroidered with gold-woven cloud and phoenix patterns, and a nine-pheasant crown on his head. He looked elegant and noble.

His face was pale, without much blood, and he looked tired from the long journey.

Shen Qingtan looked at herself in the mirror carefully, and after making sure that her makeup was correct, she went into the palace with Zhao Yi to meet the emperor.

Because the news of Zhao Yi's death had been reported earlier, the Emperor of Northern Qi posthumously conferred titles on Zhao Yi and Princess Yizhen, and had recorded his name in the royal jade disc.

Now that Zhao Yi is back alive, the palace will no longer hold a grand ceremony to reward them, but will simply invite them into the palace to meet the emperor and empress.

The carriage stopped in front of the palace gate. Zhao Yi adjusted her Zhai crown and his fingers accidentally rubbed her cheek, leaving a little white powder on his fingers.

Zhao Yi gently wiped the powder off his fingers with a handkerchief and warned, "Lin Yi died in my hands. I'm afraid Concubine Shu will make things difficult for you. Be careful."

Shen Qingtan nodded: "I know what's going on."

The two men got off the carriage and each took a sedan chair to go to the palace.

Zhao Yi went to meet the Emperor of Northern Qi.

Shen Qingtan went to meet the queen.

The sedan chair stopped at the gate of Changle Palace. When Shen Qingtan got out of the sedan chair, she saw a palace concubine getting off the sedan chair and looking at her disdainfully.