In August, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner.

This year, Daliang has generally been blessed with good weather and good harvests. At this time of year, many places have enjoyed a good harvest. As the festival is approaching, various seasonal fresh goods have been transported to the palace one after another, so the Internal Affairs Bureau has been very busy for several days.

On this day, Yan Shu was drinking tea with the Empress Dowager in Ci'an Palace, but she saw the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau come in to report, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, Concubine Yi, the blue crabs, silver fish and other lake seafood presented by Suzhou Prefecture have just arrived. This year, there are quite a lot of them. I guess the masters can't eat them all in a short time. I don't know what to do with them?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Yan Shu's face full of regret.

A pregnant woman cannot eat too many crabs. Since she is pregnant this year, there

will be an abundant supply of crabs

. Isn't this deliberately spoiling her? Wuwu!

She could only say, "This kind of lake seafood is the most fresh, so please ask Your Majesty and the Queen Mother to eat it quickly. Ask the kitchen to prepare some for lunch."

The Queen Mother shook her head and said, "I am old. If I eat too much, I am afraid my stomach will be affected. Leave some for the palace, and distribute the rest to the ministers in the court as usual." The head

of the Internal Affairs Bureau agreed and was about to leave.

Yan Shu suddenly had an idea, and added, "If there are any left, why not give some to the teachers and students of the Imperial College and its subordinate academies? Although there are three days off during the Mid-Autumn Festival, some teachers and students who live far away probably can't go home to reunite with their families. Why not give some of these blue crabs to them, just to have a treat."

- Hehe, the most important thing is, in this way, her idol, Chang Qishan, will also be able to taste them?

Anyway, there is a good harvest of blue crabs this year, and the market price must be cheap. Those ministers have money to eat crabs, so instead of giving them all to them, it is better to let her idol, Chang Qishan, who is upright and honest, have a treat. As

soon as these words came out, the Queen Mother thought to herself, "This is a good idea, but it's just a few blue crabs, I'm afraid they are not good enough. 】

Hmm, I can't show it off

Yan Shu thought about it and added, "By the way, if it's just blue crabs, it might be a bit monotonous. Why not make some mooncakes and share them with everyone to relieve their homesickness."

After she finished speaking, the Queen Mother finally nodded with satisfaction, "This is a good idea. The kitchen is not busy, and it's time to make mooncakes. Let them make more. I'm sure the students will like it."

Then she sighed in her heart, [Hey, that person has been alone for so many years. I wonder if anyone has made mooncakes for him? I hope he can eat them this time. 】

Yan Shu nodded hurriedly, "This is the care of the royal family, they will definitely like it."

Ahem, when the mooncakes are ready, she must tell the people who are in charge to let Qi Xueshi eat mooncakes, after all, this is all the concern of the Queen Mother.

Hearing this, the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau also hurriedly agreed and went down to do the work.

It was still early, but I heard the system say very considerately, [Speaking of which, the Queen Mother is actually very good at making snacks, especially lotus mooncakes, which are made very well. 】

Is that

so Yan Shu suddenly had an idea and said, "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I last learned to make some snacks from the Empress. Why not learn to make some mooncakes today? It's just right for the occasion. If I do well, I can help the kitchen."

After she finished speaking, she saw the Empress Dowager nodded, but she thought to herself, "Come to think of it, I haven't made it for a long time..."

Yan Shu was certain in her heart and hurriedly said, "By the way, the lotus seeds collected in the Taiye Lake a while ago have been dried. I heard from Your Majesty that the Empress's lotus mooncakes are particularly good. I wonder if I have the honor of receiving Your Majesty's advice?"

Hearing this, The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and said, "I have only made it a few times, Your Majesty still remembers it?"

Yan Shu nodded vigorously without changing her expression or heartbeat, "How dare I say anything? Of course, I only know it because Your Majesty mentioned it." The Queen Mother

nodded, and finally said, "Well, there is nothing to do anyway, I will teach you today, and when you learn it, you can make it for Your Majesty in the future."

Yan Shu smiled and said yes, "Then your concubine is blessed today!"

After speaking, the two went to the snack room to work together. By noon, they had made more than 30 crispy moon cakes.

The two tasted a few pieces on the spot, and the taste was good. The Queen Mother was afraid of being too sweet, so she asked the palace servants to accompany Yan Shu to the Ganlu Palace and let her deal with it.

After returning to Ganlu Palace, Yan Shu left one plate for the emperor, and asked someone to wrap the rest in oil paper, sent it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and put it in a pile sent to Songhe Academy.

Hehe, the lotus seed filling in this moon cake was made by the empress dowager herself, so that her idol can taste the craftsmanship of her beloved.

As a hardworking and motivated CP fan, you have to learn to change from passive to active, and eat sugar from the cracks in the stone!

Of course, she did not forget to leave a portion for her mother's family, and sent someone to tell her mother to come to the palace to talk tomorrow.

So, on the second day, her mother Zhu really came as promised.

Yan Shu first asked about the family situation, but seeing that everything was fine, she asked Ren Dong to take out the moon cakes and whispered, "I learned to make this from the Empress Dowager yesterday, and I kept it for my family. You can take it back and let everyone taste it."

Hearing her say this, Zhu was naturally very surprised, "The Empress can make snacks?"

Yan Shu said a little embarrassedly, "I have been your concubine for so many years, but this is the first time I cook for you. Please don't blame me."

- Seeing the baby in her belly grow up day by day, she also understood more and more about the difficulties of her parents.

Hearing her say this, Zhu was also full of mixed feelings, and her eyes were red, saying, "We are all family, why should the Empress be polite to us? Now we don't expect anything else, we just hope that the Empress and the heirs are safe and sound."

Seeing her mother like this, Yan Shu couldn't help but feel hot in her eyes.

However, what would it mean if the mother and daughter started crying for no reason?

She immediately changed the subject and said, "By the way, have you tasted the blue crabs that were distributed in the palace yesterday? Are they yellow and plump?"

Zhu nodded hurriedly and said, "I ate them and they were very good. Thank you so much for your care, Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

Yan Shu smiled again and said, "As long as they taste good, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will distribute them to the academy this year. I guess each family will not get much. If you like them, just ask someone to buy them at the South City Pier. The lake seafood there is the freshest and cheapest. Don't be reluctant to give them up."

But she saw her mother shaking her head and said, "No need to buy them. Your Majesty, you don't know that our family is not short of blue crabs this year. Someone sent us a few large baskets two days ago. We didn't want them, but they still left one basket for us. We have been eating crabs every day these days. We are scared when we see these crabs."

Huh? Someone sent a few large baskets of crabs?

Yan Shu asked hurriedly, "What's the matter? Who sent it?"

Zhu said, "The Duke of Qi celebrated his birthday some time ago and sent an invitation to our house. I had no intention of going, but the wife of the Duke of Qi's prince came to invite me, so I had to accompany your father. During the visit, the prince's wife brought many people to talk to me. There was a Mrs. Xie from the family of the Tongpan of Suzhou Prefecture, who said that she wanted to ask your father for help with something..." At

this point, Yan Shu immediately said nervously, "You didn't agree, did you?"

This situation, how can it be said that there is a trap?

Fortunately, her mother said, "Of course not, I don't know her, and it's your father who is asking for help, so I said I don't understand and passed it off."

Yan Shu breathed a sigh of relief.

——The capital is not as simple as their An Dechun. These noble ladies are all very cunning, and she is worried that her mother is no match for them.

But then I heard my mother say, "But I don't know how, we just came back from the birthday banquet for not two days, and Madam Xie took the initiative to come to our house to deliver crabs. She carried several large baskets directly to the door. No matter how we persuaded her, we couldn't refuse, so we had to ask for a bucket and gave her a few boxes of persimmon cakes that your uncle had someone send over a few days ago."

Yan Shu nodded when she heard it, "That's good, our Qingzhou persimmon cakes are also valuable, at least it's not in vain that we took her things."

- Tsk, after all, my mother's family is now in the circle of nobles in the capital, and it is impossible not to associate with others. I can only ask my parents to be more careful and not give others a chance to take advantage of them easily.

But just as she was thinking this, she heard her mother say to her, "Oh, there is one more thing I think I should tell your majesty."

Yan Shu hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

Although there was no one else in the room at this time, Zhu still lowered her voice and said, "The other day when the Tongpan's wife came to deliver crabs, she told me that she was an old acquaintance of Concubine Hui."

Concubine Hui?

Yan Shu was stunned, "The one who is your majesty's biological mother?"

But she saw her mother nodded, "It was that madam."

This surprised Yan Shu a little. After thinking about it, she said, "What's going on? How can this Tongpan's wife be an old acquaintance of Concubine Hui?"

Zhu then lowered her voice again, "She said that she was close friends with Concubine Hui's sister and knew Concubine Hui in the past."

Concubine Hui's sister?

Yan Shu was stunned again. Only then did she know that Concubine Hui had a sister?

Isn't that the emperor's biological aunt?

But come to think of it, it seems that I haven't heard any news about this Concubine Hui's sister?

So she asked again, "Then where is this Concubine Hui's sister?"

But she heard her mother whisper again, "I heard that Concubine Hui's family has been in Songjiang Prefecture in Jiangnan. From what Madam Xie said, it seems that someone in the capital is deliberately suppressing them and not letting them leave Songjiang. I heard that a few years ago, Concubine Hui's nephew was originally qualified to enter the Imperial College in Beijing, but was replaced by someone else."

Is this true?

Yan Shu couldn't help but frowned.

I have to say, when I think about it carefully, this is quite interesting -

someone in the capital is deliberately suppressing the emperor's biological mother's family and not letting them leave Jiangnan?

Tsk, she is a close relative of the emperor by blood after all, who has the right to do that?

So, is this Madam Xie talking about the empress dowager?

Humph, that is her top boss, and his character is absolutely trustworthy.

She will not believe it easily!

And this person suddenly found her family and took the initiative to say such things. Could it be that he wanted her to tell the emperor?

So as to use her as a gun to alienate the relationship between the emperor and the empress dowager?

But the system said, "Yes, this person intends to do so."

Yan Shu immediately asked again, "But what is going on? Does Concubine Hui really have a sister in Songjiang? Why haven't I heard any news about her in all these years?" 】

The system explained her doubts,【That sister is true, but she is the half-sister of Concubine Hui. In addition, Concubine Hui also has a half-brother who is also in Songjiang. The reason why you have never heard of them is not because the Queen Mother suppressed them, but because Concubine Hui had a bad relationship with these brothers and sisters when she was alive and didn't want to care about them. 】

【And why was the relationship bad? Because Concubine Hui was the legitimate eldest daughter of the family, but her father favored the concubine, which made her mother depressed and died early. After that, he helped the concubine to ascend to the throne, and gave birth to these two brothers and sisters. Concubine Hui was already able to remember things at that time, so she always hated this family. 】

【In addition, Concubine Hui was not very favored at that time. She was made a concubine because she gave birth to the emperor. The Queen Mother helped her to fight for it in order to improve the emperor's status. Not long after giving birth to the emperor, she died. Before she died, she specifically told the empress dowager not to let her family take advantage of her. In addition, after the emperor was brought to the empress dowager's side, he became the empress dowager's child, and naturally it was none of other people's business, so that family stayed in Songjiang Prefecture and had no chance to go to Beijing.

Yan Shu suddenly realized.

Tsk, I didn't expect that Concubine Hui didn't forget to tell the empress dowager not to let her family take advantage of her before she died?

It can be seen that she really hated them.

Now how dare this sister come and spread the news that the empress dowager suppressed them!

No wonder they are hated!

But I heard the system, [As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. Everyone has a greedy heart. It was another matter when the emperor was not the emperor. Now that they see their sister's flesh and blood ascend the throne and the country is stable, they must be unwilling in their hearts! Didn't he secretly think of various ways, and finally found out that you were favored, and planned for a long time, and finally took the opportunity of Duke Qi's birthday to get close to your mother, and now he is counting on you to mention it to the emperor, and there is a chance to bring them to the capital to be granted a title and live a life of luxury. 】

Yan Shu, [Hehe. ]

Let him dream! He even wants to slander her reputation as the queen mother of the list!

[But speaking of that, what about the nephew's examination for the Imperial College? Was he really replaced by someone else? 】

System,【That's definitely not the case. The boy didn't study hard and wanted to enter the Imperial College but was afraid he wouldn't pass, so he found someone to take the Imperial College selection exam for him. Unexpectedly, the local education official found out and stopped him. But he didn't report it because his mother was related to the emperor.】

Yan Shu,【Hehe.】

Sure enough, this person with a bad family style would think about such crooked thoughts all day long.

In this case, she would not care.

So she told her mother, "This must be a fabrication. Your Majesty and the Queen Mother are both kind people. How could they treat them badly for no reason? Even if this is true, it must be their own fault that led to this fate. Just listen to this matter, and don't tell anyone else. Don't see Madam Xie again when she comes in the future."

Zhu nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's what I thought too, so I only told your Majesty, and no one else will mention it again. " , next time she comes, I will claim to be ill and not see her. "

Yan Shu nodded, "That's good, I think we should also be careful about the Duke of Qi's Mansion. Would the Crown Prince's wife introduce Madam Xie to you for no reason? Maybe they have colluded with them to set a trap for you and me!"

Zhu nodded repeatedly, "That's right. The Duke of Qi is the brother-in-law of Emperor Gaozu and the uncle of the late emperor. With such a high status, there must be something fishy when he sends us an invitation. "

Yan Shu also nodded.

Fortunately, her parents are just kind, not stupid, which makes people feel more at ease.

But then again, as her mother said, the Duke of Qi's Mansion is such a high-ranking family, how could it collude with the brothers and sisters of Concubine Hui for no reason?

~~

Yan Shu got the answer to this question after sending her mother away.

System, [latest news, just now, the Duke of Qi joined five or six ministers to petition the emperor, saying that the country cannot be without a queen for a day, and asked the emperor to quickly select a beautiful queen to reassure the people. ]

Yan Shu, "..."

Well, although it is a bit brain-twisting, she more or less understands it.

- The wife of the Duke of Qi's son and this Madam Xie set a trap for her mother, wanting her to tell the emperor about the news of Concubine Hui's family. No matter whether she can alienate the emperor and the queen mother, the queen mother will definitely hate her meddling.

In this way, if the ministers force the emperor to select a beautiful queen again, the queen mother will naturally not speak for her.

...

After thinking clearly about the ins and outs of this, Yan Shu just wanted to laugh. If you

want to persuade the emperor to select a beautiful queen, then persuade him. Isn't it a bit too unkind to set a trap for her?

She immediately called the system, "Everyone, is there anything dirty going on in the Duke of Qi's mansion?"

The system said, "That's for the whole family! Tell me, who do you want to hear about?"