Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Palace Maid Fifty-One Days

Because one of Nanny Jin's plans included the palace maids not cleaning carefully enough, the palace maid in charge of this matter for the eldest prince was punished and was reassigned to the eldest prince.

The shortage of wet nurses was still an important problem, so the Queen sent Qinggu to help the eldest prince, and would let Qinggu go back after the next wet nurse arrived.

As the burden on Shen Qing was lightened, she began to think about embroidering the purse. She was not very skilled in embroidery and it was bound to take a lot of time. The purse given by the emperor could not be taken out directly, so she could only embroider it secretly in the house. In order not to work late into the night, she almost seized every free moment she could use.

The box sent to Wang Jigui had sunk a lot and had to be sent back. She didn't know what to do and could only pretend that it was a coincidence. She had always regarded Wang Jigui as a brother like Wang Ding.

For a moment, he even lost interest in his favorite treasure, gold.

Fortunately, half a month later, Shen Qing finally finished embroidering the purse, feeling as relaxed as if she had accomplished something big.

When she came to the point where she was embroidering the purse, she realized that the Lantern Festival had already passed. She did not go out to see the lanterns, nor did she take the initiative to look for the emperor.

When the emperor was not in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Shen Qing went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and handed the purse to Qian Ji, asking him to pass it on to the emperor.

"Won't the girl send it off personally?" Qian Ji frowned.

Shen Qing pretended to be sleepy: "I am so sleepy. I have been up all night for this purse. Now the emperor is not in the palace. If I wait any longer, I will fall asleep. I might as well go back and take a nap."

The eldest prince's business was back on track and there was not much need for her. Her free time had greatly increased and she could even sneak around in broad daylight.

Qian Ji suddenly laughed and said, "Where did you hear the news from? The emperor is in the Palace of Heavenly Purity now."

Shen Qing was stunned and blurted out: "Isn't the emperor feeding the fish in the lake pavilion?"

She had made inquiries in advance before coming.

"That was fake news. The emperor has just got a set of tourmaline and pink gemstone flower headpieces. The pink gemstone petals are covered with emerald green leaves. It is really exquisite and exquisite. The emperor has not yet decided which concubine to give it to. He has not been to the harem for half a month. The concubines in the palace are naturally anxious and want to meet the emperor by chance."

"So I came up with an idea to reveal some fake whereabouts of the emperor so that the ladies would not send palace servants to the Ganqing Palace to disturb the emperor frequently."

Shen Qing looked at Qian Ji with resentment. It turned out that he was the one who spread the false news!

Qian Ji raised the corner of his lips, and he said that this method was useful. It not only distracted the concubines' attention, but also attracted the person the emperor wanted to see.

In the past half month, as it was after the Chinese New Year, the emperor was very busy, either performing sacrifices or holding banquets. He was so busy that he didn't even set foot in the eldest prince's place. If the emperor didn't go, Shen Qing wouldn't come either, which made the emperor call him heartless.

Although no name was mentioned when he said this, Qian Ji knew who he was talking about.

When the superior is worried, the subordinates will be anxious about it.

So he had to resort to this last resort.

Qian Ji refused to accept the purse, but kept hinting and telling Shen Qing to deliver it to the emperor personally. Shen Qing had no choice but to follow Qian Ji inside.

Fortunately, on the way in, I didn’t see many palace maids from the Qianqing Palace.

This was naturally because Qian Ji made a gesture to clear the area when he was talking to Shen Qing. He knew that Shen Qing was thin-skinned and it was very difficult for her to deliver things to him voluntarily. If there were too many people, she might just turn around and leave.

This was a waste of his planning.

Shen Qing looked down at the two purses in her hands. Only by comparing them did she realize how poorly her embroidery was. She couldn't help but reach out and press the one she had embroidered.

Handing the purse personally to Ji Chen, she almost fainted on the spot just thinking about the scene.

It is now the beginning of the afternoon. Usually at this time, Ji Chen, who has been tired for half a day, would do something to relax, such as feeding fish, riding a horse, looking for concubines and princes, or appreciating antiques.

Ji Chen took out the famous painting from his private collection, placed it on the table, compared it with the painting that had been hanging on the wall for a month or two, and then ordered his servant to replace the one on the wall with the painting in his hand.

Shen Qing saw this scene when he entered. The young man was wearing a lake blue suit and a simple jade crown on his head. His every move was free and easy. He didn't look like an emperor, but rather like a noble young man.

As soon as Shen Qing stepped into the hall, Ji Chen looked at her.

The gaze that was naturally oppressive even without any mixture of anything made Shen Qing's breathing slightly choke. Her sad eyes met Ji Chen's, and she was stunned for some reason without looking away.

When Ji Chen approached her, Qian Ji and the servant had already quietly retreated.

"Did I punish Wang Jigui and make you unhappy?" Ji Chen thought about it and decided that given Shen Qing's personality, since he didn't take the initiative to look for him to thank him after New Year's Eve, he must have been bothered by something.

That afternoon, Shen Qing sent something to Wang Jigui but did not show any appreciation to him.

Since he didn't take the initiative to go to the eldest prince, Shen Qing didn't move out of Kunning Palace, as if he wanted to suffocate himself to death.

Therefore, Ji Chen's tone was filled with emotion.

Shen Qing held out the purse and raised her head, saying, "This is the only thing I have done in the past half month. I have never inquired into the affairs of the Qing Palace, and I don't know when and how you punished Eunuch Wang. I feel wronged when you say this."

The purse was held in front of Ji Chen. Although she had done her best, Ji Chen, who had long been spoiled by the palace embroiderers, twitched slightly at the corner of her mouth. Her unhappiness suddenly disappeared, and she teased, "It can be seen that no one else was involved."

Shen Qing suddenly felt angry. She had been busy for half a month to get this finished product, but she was still picky. So she withdrew her hand and said in a muffled voice, "Since the emperor doesn't like it, I will burn it right away."

She bowed hastily and prepared to leave, but a big hand grabbed her wrist, and another hand pried open her clenched palm and took out the purse.

Even if he succeeded, Ji Chen's hand holding her wrist did not loosen: "Who said I don't want it? How can I take away something that was given to me?"

"Also, didn't I tell you that you don't have to call yourself a slave in private?"

She kept calling him "slave" all the time, which didn't seem like she was wrong at all. It was obvious that she was trying to hurt his heart. She could be so close and natural with Wang Jigui, but when she was with him, she seemed to know the etiquette of respect and inferiority.

It's as if I don't have any affair with him.

"I forgot." Shen Qing pursed her lips, her eyes wandering around, not looking at Ji Chen. Even though her answer was unreasonable, she was very confident.

Ji Chen was helpless. He loosened the hand holding the purse and the purse fell down, but the rope was still firmly hanging on his finger.

"Help me put it on."

Shen Qing took a step back, his eyes showing fear, and shook his head quickly: "No, it's too ugly."

In fact, it’s not that ugly. You’ll get used to it after looking at it for a long time. But in order to avoid Ji Chen wearing it to show off, I’d better admit that this purse is ugly.

The more Shen Qing resisted, the more stubborn Ji Chen became: "I want to wear it."

And he still had to ask Shen Qing to help him put it on.

Shen Qing looked accusingly and said in a roundabout way: "The color of this purse doesn't match the clothes you are wearing today."

Ji Chen had a reason: "It's only when it doesn't match that it stands out."

Shen Qing almost vomited blood. She wanted to grab Ji Chen and shake off his weird idea, but she could only think about it in her mind.

She wanted to cry but had no tears: "Please don't wear it. It will not only be conspicuous, but also embarrass me."

Ji Chen hesitated: "Is it really that serious?"

"You are just making fun of me, right? You are making fun of my poor needlework skills, so you are willing to risk your life to do this. I admit that I removed some unrecognizable embroidery techniques when I was embroidering, which made me look perfunctory and made you unhappy, but this was also the best I could do."

The more Shen Qing spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, which reminded her of the sadness she had felt over the past half month. He was just deliberately making things difficult for her!

Didn't he know how complicated his personal belongings were? Didn't he know that the most skilled embroiderers in the palace followed him closely?

Shen Qing secretly glared at Ji Chen while complaining, thinking that he was so stunned by the shock of these words that he didn't notice.

Ji Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he really just wanted to wear it, and besides, this purse was not as bad as Shen Qing said.

He also knew that although Shen Qing had a face that showed she was proficient in needlework, he had seen what she had embroidered for the eldest prince and he knew in advance that her embroidery skills might not be sophisticated, but the things she embroidered had a unique spirit.

"Good girl, I promise, I never mean to make fun of you." Ji Chen pulled her closer and coaxed her.

Shen Qing looked suspicious, but her expression had brightened up. Her temper came and went quickly.

She pressed the issue, "Then why not wear your original purse? I've also brought the one you left with me."

Shen Qing took out Ji Chen's purse and returned it to its original owner.

After Ji Chen received it, his eyes inevitably fell on it, silently comparing it with the purse embroidered by Shen Qing. He found that Shen Qing's lips were slightly raised and her cheeks were puffed up, so he immediately put his original purse on the table.

"I still like your embroidery. The dragon on it looks like it's coming to life."

Shen Qing put away his expression and smiled: "You can't wear that either."

Ji Chen coaxed, "No, no." Then he put the purse into his sleeve like a treasure.

Ji Chen dragged Shen Qing to another place and complained, "Since you haven't come, I can't send anything out."

They spoke as if they were very close, but just now, they were both holding their breath.

Ji Chen led Shen Qing to the place, where they saw a dressing box with a bronze mirror on it and all kinds of makeup items. There were several boxes on the table next to it.

Ji Chen then let go of Shen Qing's wrist and walked forward to open the big box in the middle.

A set of pink headgear was revealed.

Shen Qing fell in love with her almost at first sight.

The base of this headdress is silver, and the most commonly used material is rose quartz. The light pink and dark pink overlap with each other, and the transition is very natural. The crabapple flowers formed together are delicate yet lively, and the green leaves are just right to embellish them, so as not to be dazzling at first glance.

The string of beads hanging from above also gradually changes from small pearls at the beginning to large pearls, and each pearl is plump and lustrous.

Shen Qing couldn't take his eyes off: "It looks good."

This is probably the tourmaline and pink gemstone head-piece that Qian Ji mentioned. No wonder the ladies would even go to the emperor's way to get this head-piece.

Ji Chen said nothing after hearing this, and opened a few smaller boxes next to him. A pink pearl and jade bracelet came into view, followed by some necklaces, earrings, jade pendants, and bracelets.

Some are not pink, but they just happen to match the headpiece of this set of pink gems.

Each piece is very delicate, made of exquisite materials and top-notch workmanship.

"I also ordered someone to make a piece of Xiang Fei's lotus-patterned cloud silk brocade into a dress. Wear it for me to see, okay?"

Shen Qing broke free from Ji Chen's seemingly bewitching eyes and shook his head with difficulty.

This is not as simple as putting on a piece of clothing, it is clearly an attempt to tempt her to embark on the path of being a prostitute and from which there is no return!

"You don't like any of these?" Ji Chen wondered.

Shen Qing said honestly: "I like you more than anything else, I like you too much, but I have to stick to my original intention."

If Ji Chen forced his way in, then her thoughts themselves would not be important. If Ji Chen did not force his way in, she would just wait to be released from the palace.

It's just a temptation, how hard is it to resist?

"Since you want to stick to your heart, why don't you look at me?" Ji Chen found it funny.

Shen Qing's sticky eyes fell on those jewelry again without him noticing, and his eyes were particularly affectionate.