Chapter Two: Serving the Emperor?
Jiang Huan was startled and thought the Emperor had suddenly become enlightened and was about to take Ye Ronghua as his concubine. But when she turned her head, she found that Huo Lin was staring intently at the plate of crabs in front of him.
As the supreme ruler of a nation, Huo Lin looked at the crabs with an aggressive gaze, as if he were eyeing a neighboring country's territory.
I haven't had crab in ages. Can't Wang Degui have a little appreciation and peel some for me?
Wang Degui was the chief eunuch who had served Huo Lin for several years. His daily life and meals were all handled by him. Jiang Huan watched Huo Lin's resentful gaze and could only sigh in her heart that the emperor was pitiful.
Being an emperor means being constantly watched and unable to personally eat crabs in public; it's certainly not a comfortable job.
"Sister Ye's dance is interesting, but her clothes are too revealing and not suitable for public display."
After the dance, Consort Jia was the first to criticize Ye Ronghua's dance. Now they were all vying to be the first concubine to serve the emperor. No matter how much they pretended to be sisters, they would fight tooth and nail for it at this moment.
Consort Jia grabbed Huo Lin's arm, preventing him from lingering on Ye Ronghua.
"Your Majesty hasn't eaten much tonight. This water spinach tastes quite good, Your Majesty, please try it."
As she spoke, Consort Jia placed a few vegetables on Huo Lin's plate. The palace meals were always light, especially for the Emperor. To avoid disturbing his mind, meat and oily food were never served.
I don't want to eat vegetables! The sight of anything green gives me a headache. Am I, the Emperor, not even entitled to eat meat?
Are these crabs served for Mid-Autumn Festival just for decoration?
Where are my crabs?
Huo Lin turned around and saw that several crabs were missing from the plate. The next moment, a slender, fair hand reached out.
The snow-white crab meat and orange-red crab roe were cleanly peeled and placed together in the crab shell. The crab meat, still steaming hot, was very fragrant. Jiang Huan also put in some effort to pick out the crab meat using crab-eating tools.
If it were her, she'd just go for it and bite it!
"Your Majesty, please have some."
Jiang Huan respectfully handed over the crab shell, her expression respectful without a trace of flattery or ingratiation.
She didn't have the same scheming and ingratiating thoughts as others; she simply felt sorry for Huo Lin after hearing his inner thoughts.
In addition, she was thinking that if the Emperor was in a better mood, could he transfer her away from Jinhua Palace so that she wouldn't have to suffer from Consort Yu's temper all day long?
[Wang Degui, after serving me for so many years, you're not even as perceptive as a mere concubine!]
[Hurry up and peel a few more; can I eat just one?]
Jiang Huan heard his heartfelt words clearly, but when she took the crab shell, Huo Lin remained calm. His angular face showed no emotion, and he picked up the crab meat with elegant and slow movements, without any hint of the joy he had expressed.
"Intentionally flattering, seductive and immoral!"
Consort Jia was furious when she saw that the water spinach she had served was being ignored. The Emperor usually preferred vegetarian dishes, so she wondered what kind of seductive tricks Jiang Huan had used!
Jiang Huan remained silent and began peeling the remaining crabs for Huo Lin.
Anyway, given her rank, such things wouldn't end up in her mouth. After the palace banquet, she could at least lick her fingers rather than just watch.
Huo Lin ate slowly.
While he was eating one crab, Jiang Huan had already peeled three more.
He eats so slowly, who could tell he likes it? No wonder Steward Wang doesn't peel crabs for him!
Just as Huo Lin was about to take the second crab, Wang Degui seemed to finally come to his senses and hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.
"Your Majesty, crabs are cold in nature and should not be eaten in large quantities!"
With just one sentence, Huo Lin withdrew his hand and didn't look at the crab again. Jiang Huan lowered her head and rubbed her already swollen fingers, her mind going blank again.
[I'll have Wang Degui executed sooner or later! An emperor's likes and dislikes can't be guessed, but I can't be left to starve!]
[Consort Jiang has already peeled three crabs; who knows whose stomach they'll end up in later.]
Oh, poor her, she spent so long peeling crabs, and Wang Degui just beat her to death with a single sentence.
Is there still hope for her to move to another palace?
The palace banquet was drawing to a close, and it was almost midnight. Jiang Huan was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open. She clutched her sleeve tightly, having secretly stuffed three crabs into it when no one was looking.
After three months of transmigrating into the book, I can finally eat something good today since I'm back in the palace!
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has instructed that you must choose a concubine tonight."
An eunuch from the Imperial Household Department stepped forward carrying a wooden tray with a dozen or twenty green plaques on it. Huo Lin had been on the throne for three years, and in addition to the relatives of the former court officials who had been sent to him, there had also been a selection of concubines, so the harem was quite full.
However, Huo Lin claimed that his position was unstable since he had just ascended the throne, so he stayed in the imperial study all day long, and not a single concubine had ever seen what Huo Lin's sleeping robe looked like.
Although the Empress Dowager was not Huo Lin's biological mother, she was thinking about the continuation of the dynasty and the continuation of the imperial line. Tonight, she even made the matter of choosing a consort public openly.
"We'll discuss this later. Let's return to the palace!"
Huo Lin, looking impatient, stood up and left with a flick of his sleeve. The concubines who had been eagerly hoping to be chosen by him instantly turned cold and looked disappointed.
They were all selected to enter the palace in their prime. They had wealth and honor, but how could they live a life of widowhood?
"Xiao Zhao, quickly rub my back, I'm exhausted!"
As soon as Jiang Huan returned to her west side palace, she loudly and clamored for her dowry maids to come and serve her. Xiao Zhao was a dowry maid that the original owner brought from her home in Jiangnan. She was not smart, but she was loyal.
"You've arrived. Why are you so tired, my lord?"
Jiang Huan's rank was so low, second to last, that she wasn't even qualified to bring a maid to the palace banquet tonight. Xiao Zhao, of course, didn't know that she had sat next to the Emperor for an hour without daring to move.
But before Xiao Zhao could even touch Jiang Huan, the palace door was kicked open.
"Consort Jiang, Consort Yu requests your presence!"
The newcomer was Cuiying, Consort Yu's head maid. She looked at Jiang Huan with an arrogant expression, as if she were the mistress.
Xiao Zhao was so angry she jumped up and down, "How could you just barge into Master's bedchamber like that?"
Jiang Huan pouted and pulled Xiao Zhao behind her. Having watched many palace dramas, she naturally knew that lowly concubines who were not favored were not considered masters in the eyes of servants.
She could guess that Consort Yu's summons couldn't be for anything good, but it was probably because she was sitting next to Huo Lin at the palace banquet tonight.
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Huan knelt on the carpet in the main hall of Jinhua Palace. Fortunately, the carpet provided some protection, so her knees didn't hurt too much.
"Consort Jiang, do you know where you went wrong today?"
Consort Yu sat in the main seat, looking down at Jiang Huan, whose beauty was still undeniable even with her plain clothes and simple hair. She had cut back on most of Jiang Huan's expenses, and her hairpins and clothes were so plain, so how come the Emperor still noticed her and kept her by his side?
The more I think about it, the angrier I get!
"This concubine does not know; please enlighten me, Consort Yu."
Consort Yu scoffed, "Your mistake lies in your lack of restraint in vying for favor!"
Jiang Huan adopted the humble and respectful demeanor befitting a working person, saying, "Your Highness Consort Yu is right."
But she was indignant. How did bringing a bowl of glutinous rice balls and peeling a crab become an accusation of vying for favor? Did they have no sense of propriety? Didn't they know the emperor was hungry? Was bringing him some food something to be ashamed of?
"Since you know you're wrong, then kneel outside the palace all night to reflect on your mistakes!"
All night?!
Jiang Huan was reluctant, but she still agreed with a long face. She was determined to find a chance to move out of Jinhua Palace!
Before Jiang Huan could get up and move to the outside of the hall to kneel as punishment, a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department rushed in.
"Why is Consort Jiang not in her own palace? She's here with Consort Yu! Your Highness, the Emperor has summoned you to serve him tonight!"
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