"That's one way to describe it."
Consort Liu hadn't expected the girl in front of her to be so direct, and she covered her mouth and chuckled.
"That's true. The Imperial Concubine is very gentle; no wonder His Majesty likes her. Is there an Empress in the palace?"
Cen Xi casually found a seat and sat down, raising an eyebrow like a fool to ask Consort Liu, who was laughing heartily beside her.
Consort Liu was taken aback, then smiled and said:
"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress is not in charge of affairs. She has recently devoted herself to Buddhism, so I will temporarily manage the inner palace."
Seeing her bright smile, Cen Xi wondered if the palace dramas she had watched before were too full of infighting, which was why she guessed that there were palace dramas everywhere.
"That's good. So who is the crown prince now?"
Cen Xi felt that wherever there were many people, there was a world of intrigue, and the palace intrigue from before might still exist, so she asked another question.
"The current Crown Prince is the son of the Empress. I have a daughter, the Second Princess, who has just turned five."
Consort Liu gave Cen Xi a meaningful look, chuckled lightly with her right eye, and then replied.
Her answer made Cen Xi feel like she was being interrogated, so she immediately shut up.
"Young lady, you have a straightforward personality. I guess you might have guessed that there might be some infighting in the palace, but actually there isn't. We all get along very well. It's just that most people haven't asked this question before, so there's some..."
Seeing that she covered her mouth and remained silent, with a look of suspicion on her face that anyone could see, Consort Liu couldn't help but explain again.
"Oh~"
Cen Xi gave an "oh" and then drew out the last syllable. She probably understood why there was no infighting in the harem.
That's probably because the power struggles in the court were fierce, there were too many opposing forces, the emperor had a bad temper, and the harem dared not cause any trouble, which is why things were so harmonious.
Consort Liu was staring at the girl in front of her, her mind still racing with strange thoughts, and she couldn't say anything more.
He could only say, "Miss, His Majesty probably wants to see you today. He should be finishing his morning court session soon. Miss, would you like to have some snacks while you wait?"
"Great! What delicious food do you have in your palace?"
Cen Xi had only ever seen all sorts of strange and wonderful pastries on TV before, but she had never actually tasted them. So, she was like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden, completely ignorant of the world.
Her actions made Consort Liu, who was standing nearby, laugh again.
"Xiao Xiang, bring all the best pastries from my palace to this young lady."
"yes!"
The palace maid named Xiao Xiang glanced at Cen Xi with disdain, then turned and headed towards the small kitchen in Consort Liu's Chenxiang Palace.
Cen Xi saw the palace maid's eyes and was speechless. What did she have that was worth a little princess looking down on?
Oh dear, it was just curiosity about the palace in the TV series. Oh my goodness, why are all the servants looking at her like she's a country bumpkin?
Is she unsophisticated? Why doesn't she think so?
"Girl, don't be angry. Xiao Xiang is just like this all the time. No matter how I try to teach her, I can't get her to behave."
Consort Liu, with her sharp eyes, noticed the displeasure on Cen Xi's face and couldn't help but smooth things over.
"It's not your fault, maid. Only a master like you would give a second glance to someone as unconventional as me. Maids have a narrow mind and limited knowledge, just like the maids I used to take in. They have no taste."
Cen Xi lazily placed her hand on the other person's table, acting as if this was her home, very casually.
Seeing his spineless appearance, Consort Liu couldn't help but compare her to the adult princesses in the palace. She discovered that the princess had a free and unrestrained spirit, was just as proud, and just as disdainful of others, but she made people feel very comfortable.
This is perhaps why Shen Jinchen likes her.
"Your Highness, please stop laughing. Why is that maid so slow? I'm so hungry."
Cen Xi now treats Consort Liu like a dormitory supervisor, complaining to her about everything.
"Wait a moment, Xiao Xiang, she'll be here shortly."
"Look! Didn't she bring it over?"
Despite being criticized like this, Consort Liu still smiled and showed no anger, gently comforting Cen Xi.
Cen Xi admired him. Such good manners were something she could never learn, even if she were reincarnated ten times. Was this the reason she had been confined to the palace for so long?
Thinking of this, Cen Xi couldn't help but feel a chill. She had to stop Shen Jinchen's ambition to seize power, otherwise he would be no different from Consort Liu.
"Girl, the pastries have arrived. Weren't you hungry? Eat up!"
Consort Liu knew that the girl was looking at her strangely, and she didn't know what she was imagining, but she didn't care. Her goal today was to make this girl happy as much as possible.
"Oh, yes, it is quite pretty. I'll try it."
Cen Xi looked at the beautiful pastries and couldn't resist taking a piece and stuffing it into her mouth.
At first, it tasted okay, but after eating one or two, it was just so-so, similar to modern food. In fact, nowadays, with the addition of refined processing and additives, it's even sweeter.
This is only slightly tastier than the local snacks.
Cen Xi lost interest after eating two or three pieces.
"Is it not tasty?"
Seeing his strange expression again, Consort Liu couldn't help but ask a question.
"It's alright, it tastes much better than the snacks in the countryside. It's just that it gets greasy after eating too much. I'm full, Your Highness. Let them take it away."
Cen Xi gave her comments, a smile playing on her lips, and said to Consort Liu, "She can't very well say she's ever eaten a better pastry than this, can she?"
"Xiang'er, take these pastries away."
Consort Liu naturally didn't believe it. She praised it, but since the other person didn't like it, she couldn't say anything.
Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, a shrill voice came from outside:
"His Majesty has arrived!"
Then, Cen Xi saw the emperor, who had been somewhat disheveled on the city wall that day, now walk in clean and smiling, followed by an eunuch and Shen Jinchen.
He first walked to the head seat and sat down before asking:
"Was it you who saved me that day?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I wonder if anyone has given any reward. I do have some connection with the royal family, but I've only heard it from others and I can't be sure if it's true."
Cen Xi glanced at Shen Jinchen standing next to him and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
"What do you mean by having some connection with the royal family?"
Emperor Yan Zhao accurately grasped the deeper meaning behind Cen Xi's words and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"I've heard them say that I am Princess Yanxi, who was lost during the Great Banquet. I myself don't know if this is true. Your Majesty, can you confirm if I am really like this?"
Cen Xi posed this question to Emperor Yan Zhao, eagerly awaiting his answer.
"Oh, is that so? Our royal family lost a princess in the previous generation. My mother was heartbroken and passed away a few years later. Before she passed away, she repeatedly told me that I must find this princess."
Emperor Yan Zhao gave Shen Jinchen a meaningful look, then with a hearty laugh, admitted that the royal family had a princess who had been taken away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
