Chapter 181: Taking a Break from the Busy Work to Enjoy Tea
In the end, Fatty Wang gave in.
Who could resist a woman in red holding a whip?
If so, please tell him that this great-aunt's name is Yuan Siyin.
The situation in the north reversed rapidly, and news of the northern army's retreat spread throughout the Central Plains and Daliang overnight.
Yu Hao was overjoyed in court, praising the general in two out of every three sentences. However, after court, he put on a stern face and threw a tantrum in the imperial study.
Li Yuande stood guard carefully outside the study, keeping a low profile, afraid that if he breathed too loudly, the fiery-tempered man inside would take his anger out on him.
Seeing the graceful figure carrying a bowl of sweet soup walking towards him from not far away, Li Yuande remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was overjoyed.
"Greetings, Consort Wan." He said respectfully, flicking his whisk.
Li Yuande's attitude was a perfect balance of three parts ingratiatingness and three parts politeness, neither too close nor too distant.
He was, after all, a favorite of the emperor. Although he had to consider the feelings of the concubines in the harem from time to time, he was still different from those who were insignificant and had little influence.
"Eunuch Li, His Majesty is at this moment..."
Li Yuande understood immediately, lowered his voice, and put his hand to his mouth to make a soft-speaking gesture: "Your Majesty must be careful when you go in now, His Majesty is in a bad mood."
However, if it were the Empress, perhaps the situation would be different.
Consort Wan was delighted to hear this. She turned to her head maid and gave her a wink. The maid immediately took out a heavy purse from her sleeve: "You've worked so hard, Eunuch. This little bit of silver is just a token of my respect. Consider it a small token for your tea."
Li Yuande comfortably accepted the silver, coldly watching as Consort Wan carefully tidied her sideburns, took the hot sweet soup from the palace maid, and leisurely went inside.
Aside from the Empress, the only one in the palace who is worthy of her attention is Consort Wan. The others don't have any children to rely on, so they are at most minor favorites and have no future.
The cold wind howled outside, and Li Yuande tucked his hands into his sleeves, occasionally weighing his purse in his hand.
It's really heavy, to be honest.
Who should we go have tea with later?
Or should we find the talented young scholar in the Empress's palace?
Having made up his mind, and hearing the sounds of smashing and breaking inside gradually subside, Li Yuande figured there was nothing left to smash. He simply called his apprentice, Xiao Minzi, to temporarily fill in, saying he was going to the storeroom to get some new decorations, and then headed towards the Empress's Palace.
It wasn't that she could skip work all the time; she could only do so when the Emperor was in a particularly bad mood and the charming Consort Wan happened to appear.
Li Yuande sighed.
Is it easy for him to serve in front of the emperor?
Even playing mahjong and dominoes can't get enough people for a table, so now all we can do is steal a moment to drink tea.
They wandered to the outer hall, where the young palace maid on duty said that the eunuch was not there. She then led him to the young scholar's side room, where they waited for a long time before the young eunuch hurriedly returned.
"Eunuch Li, what brings you here today?"
The young scholar's face was pale from the cold, and he still had to sing a vow before meeting him.
Li Yuande grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, crossed his legs on the kang (a heated brick bed), and upon hearing this, couldn't help but throw a handful of sunflower seed shells at him: "You little brat, you can't stand to see me having a good time, can you?"
The young scholar felt wronged but dared not speak out. He could only nod and bow as he poured tea for him: "Eunuch Li, what are you saying? It would be great if you had the time. I would love for you to grace me with your presence and come for tea."
"Come, sit down."
Li Yuande pulled the man down to sit, leaned closer, and whispered, "Did you go to take pulses with those people again?"
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