I woke up early, the rain had stopped, and the weather was nice.

Huan Yue slept well and was in excellent spirits.

It's impossible not to stir things up when you're in a good mood.

A palace maid asked, "What is Your Highness looking for?"

Huan Yue found some clothes and asked, "Where are the shoes I asked you to prepare?"

The palace maid brought over the shoes, and seeing that the Empress had changed her clothes, she hurriedly said, "It's still cold this morning."

Huan Yue jumped up happily: "I'll warm up after a little activity."

The palace maids looked at each other in bewilderment; they had seen a different Empress today.

She braided her hair into a plait and put it on her head, looking very elegant! She wore a thin jacket on top and trousers with the cuffs rolled up.

This looks a bit strange, but it's not too hard to accept either.

Huan Yue came out of the house.

The ground was a little wet, but the palace floors and drainage were quite good; they were paved with bricks so you wouldn't get muddy feet.

The shoes she wore had thick soles and thick toes.

I jogged slowly in the spring breeze. The air was so beautiful!

Having a yard where she can run is enough to make her life pretty good. So, in enjoying this, she'll take on some responsibilities.

Huan Yue ran from the front of the rear hall all the way to the front of the Qing'e Hall, making a big circle, which was about four hundred meters.

This is considered standard, even though it's not a standard track. Huan Yue will try running five laps first.

The others stared in disbelief, then silently went about their work.

Everyone was busy early in the morning. The Empress had already crushed the jade pendant and thrown it at His Highness. Sheng An probably already knew about the divorce proceedings.

Running a few laps here is quite refreshing.

Huan Yue looked up at the big tree outside, which was covered with elm seeds.

On both sides of the Qing'e Palace are wide avenues, each with twelve elm trees.

Although this elm tree is not as old as the ginkgo tree in the palace, it is still a tree that is several hundred years old and looks extremely beautiful.

I feel the feng shui of the Eastern Palace is particularly good. Just a feeling, though.

But with so many ancient trees and so many elm seeds, it's still very pleasant.

Huan Yue saw Jia Fei and asked, "Why is no one eating elm seeds?"

Jia Fei respectfully replied, "This isn't common in the palace, but commoners outside the palace eat it quite often."

Huan Yue said, "For no reason at all, elm seeds are delicious and nutritious, so we should eat more of them."

Jia Fei laughed and said, "I really like to eat, but no one in the palace does it, and the rules are too strict."

Not everyone dares to do what Your Highness does. But since Your Highness has spoken, then we may eat!

The young eunuch was so excited that he was about to go and pick the elm seeds.

Huan Yue reminded him, "Be careful! And don't damage the tree!"

Alright!

Huan Yue shouted again, "Let's get some breakfast to eat first. I want elm buns and elm seed cakes!"

Got it!

A few eunuchs went outside and met up with another group.

Huan Yue was running around inside the palace when he saw several boys climbing up trees like monkeys.

Huan Yue felt itchy all over!

She used to climb trees when she was little, but I can't say now. I'll climb them sometime when it's dark and windy.

Today is the ninth day of the lunar month, there should be a moon tonight, how about climbing up to pick elm seeds?

Anyway, this lady bumped her head.

Perhaps it was the elm seeds that gave her courage; Huan Yue ran ten laps, though not quite five kilometers. But that was close enough.

Enter Cheng'en Hall. It's a large place. Practice the Eight-Section Brocade.

The palace doors were open, and the spring sunshine was bright. Although it was my first time practicing, I felt pretty good.

It's all thanks to the elm seeds. Perhaps they conspired with the imperial physicians to cure all diseases by eating elm seeds.

The palace maids were busy watching the empress, and they heard that some of the empresses knew how to practice.

Huan Yue had also heard that Miss Lü was skilled in martial arts, but had never beaten Pei Huanxu? Perhaps she wasn't very good at it, and her personality wasn't fierce enough. If she were to be harassed by a hooligan, she would most likely suffer.

Huan Yue felt her body was doing well, and she would be even better if she took some more supplements. She was going to eat three pounds of beef for breakfast.

After a training session, I was a little sweaty, but that's okay.

The palace maids followed her to the back hall and busied themselves helping her tidy up.

Huan Yue instructed, "Make the clothes more comfortable. From now on, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will practice for half an hour every day. After breakfast, I will practice calligraphy and painting in the study."

The lady-in-waiting listened attentively. The Empress was not concerned about anything else.

Huan Yue said, "Everyone did a great job. We need to take a nap after lunch, so if anything happens, wait until I wake up."

Chaoyun remembered. Her Majesty is probably only free for about an hour from after her afternoon nap until late afternoon.

She's not one to cause trouble, so for now, things are fine as they are. As for other things, we'll take it slow.

Huan Yue, all dressed up, came out of the house to see why that scoundrel was here again.

Xie Zhou stood by the flowerbed, dressed in a python robe, looking incredibly handsome.

He looked at the sunlight shining directly on the gold hairpin in Pei's hair, making her look exceptionally radiant.

Is he so refreshed that he doesn't even intend to give him an explanation?

Huan Yue thought to himself that he was being sarcastic and that it wasn't her fault, nor was it her white moonlight.

Huan Yue was still thinking about the elm leaf purse.

The young eunuch ran over and shouted, "The steamed buns will be ready in a while, but try this cold dish first, it's delicious!"

The chef tasted the food first.

Huan Yue shouted, "You can eat all the good food first."

Xiuyun smiled and said, "There are so many elm seeds on the tree, Your Highness, don't worry."

Huan Yue said, "I've never eaten it before, I've only heard about it. There's this saying about the lean season when people rely on elm seeds to save their lives. There are even poems about elm seeds: 'The spring light is cold with rice porridge in the cups and plates, but the elm seeds in the ponds and pavilions are fresh in the night rain.'"

The young eunuch chimed in, "Isn't it elm seeds that saved their lives? They could peel off all the elm bark."

Huan Yue asked, "Can you survive if you're stripped naked?"

The young eunuch said, "If people don't live, who will care about trees? Just don't cut down too much normally, and the trees will be fine as long as they live."

Xie Zhou watched as his wife happily ate a plate of elm seeds.

Another day of ignoring him, good.

Huan Yue felt it wasn't worth getting involved in this, so he enthusiastically recommended, "Elm seeds are quite delicious, why don't you try some?"

Um.

The eunuch quickly brought him some.

Huan Yue glanced at him and asked, "How does it taste?"

It's acceptable.

"Never mind, she's not like I'm your white moonlight," Huan Yue ate a plate and prepared to eat breakfast.

Springtime is beautiful, so I opened the window.

The table was quite long and filled with exquisite food, but it seemed that nothing tasted as good as elm seeds, except for beef.

Xie Zhou sat down on the north side, since his breakfast was always laid out there anyway. However, he looked across at his wife and asked, "Where's my bowl?"

Huan Yue stared at him. The bowl was right there. Was he blind? He was getting harder and harder to please.

The eunuch was so frightened that he dared not move.

Xie Zhou stared at his wife's bowl.

Huan Yue looked at his bowl with displeasure: "It was a gift from the sage. If you want it, why don't you go ask for it yourself?"

Xie Zhou was furious: "Why did Father bestow a pair upon us?"

Huan Yue replied smoothly, "Of course, we'll use one and put one there to look at."

How beautiful is it? Even if it's not as expensive as Yuan blue and white porcelain, the factory price is still several tens of taels of silver per piece, right?

The auction price of tens of millions translates to roughly tens of thousands of taels of silver; after all, it's an antique. The value back then was certainly different.

This was a gift from the emperor; it probably wouldn't be cheap to sell outside.

Xie Zhou ignored her and called to a palace maid, "Go and bring me my bowl."

The palace maids are looking at the Empress. What is given to the Empress is hers.

Huan Yue got angry: "Get me a different bowl. Take this one and put it there."

Which bowl doesn't matter for eating? She's even worried about bumping or damaging this one, which was bestowed by the emperor.