On the night of the fifteenth, when the women of the inner palace went to Kunning Palace to pay their respects, the morning court session in Zichen Hall ahead of them started even earlier.
After the morning court session, Pei Yuanhui returned to the Funing Palace to review memorials. The war in the north had been a resounding success, a cause for celebration.
After reviewing the memorials, it was nearly noon. The Emperor summoned Jinyang to the Cining Palace to pay his respects on his behalf, while he himself went to the training ground to ride horses.
After noon, Prime Minister Fu delivered his token to the palace. Pei Yuanhui, having dealt with the old fox, got angry and smashed the official kiln fish tank on the table with a paperweight.
The paperweight was also chipped in half.
General Tan remained unmoved, oh, he moved slightly, flipping over and pinning down the Emperor's favorite little goldfish, plunging the entire Funing Palace into chaos.
After the farce, Pei Yuanhui was still angry. The porcelain pot that he had loved to use for pitch-pot just two days ago was now kicked away by him because he found it an eyesore.
"When the results of the imperial examinations were announced, Zhang Yuguang's students were among the top three, but Fu Shiyi's grandson was not on the list. He even came to me to complain. Zhang Yuguang avoided the imperial examinations in the first place, so even if I had appointed Fu Shiyi as the chief examiner, his good grandson would still not have passed."
Pei Yuanhui grew angrier as he spoke, and grabbed General Tan from beside him, only to have his hand smeared with water.
The floor was covered with water spilled from the overturned fish tank.
Pei Yuanhui frowned.
Seeing this, Jin Yang finally dared to wave for someone to come in and tidy up.
Frustrated until nightfall, Pei Yuanhui didn't bother to visit the Empress at Kunning Palace. Xue Qi, the chief examiner for the imperial examination, was Empress Xue's uncle, and everyone there was always something to upset him about.
Coincidentally, General Yulin, who was far to the north, sent over two crickets with golden bodies and black tails, which provided Pei Yuanhui with some entertainment that night.
There was no morning court the next day. Pei Yuanhui was still angry, and after breakfast, he raised his hand.
"Prepare the carriage for Yanxi Palace."
When the Emperor arrived at Yanxi Palace, Huo Qinghe was playing the pipa in Yanliang Pavilion. She was playing the pipa behind Yanliang Pavilion, and she herself thought it sounded quite pleasant. When Lühuai came over and saw this, she waited for her mother to finish playing before going forward.
"What's wrong?" Huo Qinghe asked without looking up, still holding her pipa.
Green Locust approached and told them that the officials had arrived.
Huo Qinghe then turned her head, her autumn-water eyes looking at him with apparent affection: "Did you come to see Consort Zhou? Did you go to the main hall?"
If it were Yanliang Pavilion, Green Locust and the others would have been in a hurry to prepare to receive the emperor long ago.
Green Locust nodded and said yes.
She was actually a little confused. In the past, everyone in the palace said that the Emperor favored Consort Zhou. She originally thought so too, since Consort Zhou would receive all kinds of rewards every now and then, and every month Consort Zhou was the one who received the Emperor's favor the most.
But looking at it now, something just feels off.
Huo Qinghe handed the pipa to Lü Huai: "Put the pipa away. Is Consort Zhou still not allowing us to pay our respects and greet the Emperor in the main hall? It's almost lunchtime, so tell Baosheng and the others to be careful when they go to fetch the food. Don't bump into anyone."
Green Locust readily agreed.
...
The timing of the Emperor's arrival was quite opportune; it was just around lunchtime.
Inside the main hall, Consort Zhou looked at the dishes that the palace maids were bringing out. To be precise, she didn't even look at them properly, but Jin Yang kept announcing the names of the dishes.
"Oyster crispy pancakes, a new dish devised by the imperial kitchen, are crispy and delicious. There are also Lady Zhou's favorite oyster stewed with loofah and oyster stewed with eggs, as well as fresh shrimp and jade rice."
Even her favorite dishes, she finds nauseating just to look at them.
Pei Yuanhui seemed to be in a good mood today. He warmly invited Consort Zhou to sit down next to him: "Come and sit down."
Looking at the table full of fresh river delicacies, Consort Zhou suppressed her nausea and forced a smile: "Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."
Rouyi held the silver chopsticks, moving from the fried oyster pancake to the oyster stewed egg, and finally picked up a piece of loofah from the oyster stew, shaking her wrist as she tried her best to bring it to her lips.
A wave of nausea rose in her throat, and she swallowed the mouthful whole with her eyes closed, her expression one of pure pain.
Pei Yuanhui had been staring at it intently. He twitched the corner of his mouth, a playful look flashing across his face: "Do you like it? The imperial kitchen has plenty. You're the only one in the entire palace who's willing to eat this with me."
“The Empress Dowager is getting old, so she can’t eat too much of these river delicacies. Perfect, you can eat some for her.” He raised his hand, leisurely waiting for Consort Zhou to continue picking up food with her chopsticks.
Before she could even taste the oyster, Zhou Pin felt her stomach churning and her nose stinging. She held back her tears, and although her face had fully recovered, it still felt slightly itchy.
"Your Majesty, please have some too. I will serve Your Majesty." Consort Zhou forced a smile and looked at Pei Yuanhui.
[Is the government doing this on purpose? Why do this every ten days or so? Why not just ruin my reputation outright?]
[Once the Emperor leaves, have Yuzhi deliver these oysters to that vile woman, Xiao Huo, in the side hall.]
When will the imperial kitchen be free of these oysters? I'm going to complain to my aunt tomorrow!
Pei Yuanhui, who had originally intended to let Consort Zhou go, suddenly stopped smiling and slammed his chopsticks down heavily on the table.
"Jinyang, you stay here and personally watch Consort Zhou finish this meal. Take any leftovers back to the Imperial Kitchen to reheat them for Consort Zhou's dinner. Consort Zhou, don't let me down."
The sound startled Consort Zhou, who instinctively tried to stand up and kneel down: "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was I who disappointed you. I was just so grateful for Your Majesty's concern that I ate so slowly. I love to eat."
She even pretended to be very touched as she spoke.
Consort Zhou's smile looked so sarcastic. Pei Yuanhui twirled the red agate beads on his wrist and smiled as well: "Then Consort Zhou, enjoy my good intentions."
He looked down at Consort Zhou as if she were an ant.
Even after His Majesty left, Consort Zhou was still somewhat dazed, and it was Yuzhi who helped her up.
"Where did His Majesty go?" Consort Zhou's legs felt weak.
Bian Shan's Jin Yang kept his eyes down and remained silent.
Yu Zhi couldn't chase after them to see, so she naturally shook her head.
"I suppose so. I suppose His Majesty has returned to the Funing Palace."
Jin Yang then spoke up: "Madam Zhou, why don't you have lunch first? It'll get cold if you wait any longer."
Consort Zhou glared at him fiercely. She couldn't refute the Emperor, so couldn't she take her anger out on someone else?
"My lady!" Yu Zhi hurriedly called out to Consort Zhou.
Jin Yang is the chief eunuch in charge of the emperor's affairs; he is someone you can't afford to offend.
Consort Zhou gritted her teeth: "Go, go see if His Majesty has returned to Funing Palace."
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