On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Xiao Qingyin and Han Shi and others went to the palace for a banquet.
The banquet hall was decorated according to the self-service restaurant of later generations that Xiao Qingyin described to Yi Shuihan, with a food serving area and a dining area.
The food pick-up area is further divided into more than a dozen sections based on the dishes.
The dessert and beverage sections are the most eye-catching.
Because they all use glassware produced by the Seven Colors Glass Workshop, which is colorful, uniquely shaped, and very popular with women and children.
Although the guests were told when they received the invitation that it was a buffet, they were still confused and didn't know what a buffet was.
Upon seeing the setup, they all looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
After Xiao Qingyin led the Han family and others to get their meals and demonstrated how, they finally understood.
Oh, so you serve yourself the food.
The new emperor is really ruthless.
All the palace maids and eunuchs were dismissed, and there were no servants at the palace banquets. They had to serve themselves their own food.
This treatment is not even as good as a family banquet at their residence.
However, they could only complain in their hearts, while outwardly praising this unique way of dining.
"Your Majesty's ideas are truly ingenious; this palace banquet has broadened everyone's horizons."
"Self-reliance leads to abundance. His Majesty has gone to great lengths to help us change our extravagant and wasteful habits."
"From now on, all banquets in our mansion will be buffet style, to keep up with the new trend."
"..."
Hearing these compliments from afar, Xiao Qingyin realized that she had been worrying too much.
Given their reverence for the emperor, even if Yi Shuihan had asked them to dip their wooden clogs in seasoning, they would have praised the meal to the skies.
It seems we can reduce the number of dishes at the next palace banquet.
The courtiers: Could you two be any more stingy?!
After she finished getting her food and found an empty table to sit down, a group of elegantly dressed ladies surrounded her.
Some people asked her how to pick up their meals.
Some complimented her on her clothes and appearance.
Some people complimented her on her good complexion.
...
It made her feel like she had suddenly become a big star.
She didn't recognize any of these noble ladies, yet they spoke with such familiarity, as if they were close sisters.
Xiao Qingyin instantly understood their purpose.
—She came here hoping to become her sister, which means becoming Yi Shuihan's concubine.
Since Yi Shuihan was difficult to approach, they started their attack on her.
However, she had always been too lazy to deal with irrelevant people, and was about to tell them to leave when she saw a dignified and bright-looking girl push past the other girls, walk up to her, and clutch her chest, saying:
"Miss Xiao, I slipped and fell when I got off the carriage and hit the corner of the carriage. I didn't think it was anything, but my chest is getting more and more painful. Could you please take a look and see what's wrong?"
The other girls: "..."
We lost.
Why didn't they think of faking illness?
What a perfect excuse to get close!
First, ask Xiao Qingyin to treat your illness, then visit her to express your gratitude, and then invite her to go to the garden to admire the flowers. Before long, you'll become close friends.
Surprisingly, Meng Zhu gained the upper hand.
Meng Zhu felt a surge of smugness as she sensed the envious and jealous gazes around her.
What is Xiao Qingyin's greatest strength?
It's medical skill!
What kind of relationship can you develop by talking to her about clothes, dressing up, poetry, or songs?
The best way to get to know her is to see her for medical treatment.
She had thought of this idea a long time ago, but she just didn't have the chance to get close to Xiao Qingyin.
The palace banquet just happened to give her an opportunity.
And even God was on her side—her fall was real, not an act.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyin said to her, "I need to have it checked."
"Please feel free to check."
Mengzhu smiled.
The two were surrounded by people, and the other women couldn't see them at all, let alone the men who had consciously sat at the other end of the banquet hall.
To avoid trouble, Xiao Qingyin didn't look for another place and went straight to check.
After the examination, he said to Mengzhu, "Your eighth rib on the left is fractured. The spleen is behind this rib. If it is fractured, it is usually accompanied by spleen rupture. It is best to open the abdomen and remove the spleen immediately, otherwise it will be life-threatening."
Everyone: "..."
Meng Zhu: "..."
She almost lost her smile.
It was just a corner of a board, not even a scratch. Why are you making it sound so scary, like she has to be disemboweled?
Could it be that he saw through her intentions and didn't want to give her a chance to make friends, so he deliberately threatened her?
She weakly reminded him, "But my stomach doesn't hurt."
The spleen is inside her abdomen, right? If it had ruptured, she would have been in excruciating pain.
How could it be like this now, with only a slight pain in my chest?
Xiao Qingyin replied, "The pain of a fracture is much stronger than the pain of a ruptured spleen. You're just ignoring the abdominal pain. I advise you to have surgery as soon as possible, otherwise I might not be able to save you from massive bleeding."
Meng Zhu: "..."
They want her to have her abdomen cut open and her spleen removed right away—who could stand that!
Xiao Qingyin was indeed as ruthless as the rumors said.
She couldn't take it.
Let's leave first.
"Thank you for your diagnosis, Miss Xiao. However, the matter of opening the abdomen is of great importance. I need to discuss it with my mother before making a decision."
Xiao Qingyin nodded without saying anything.
Feeling dejected, Mengzhu pushed aside the group of noble ladies and slowly left.
The noble ladies felt a surge of schadenfreude.
He pretended to be sick in front of the quack doctor and got a lesson for it.
Fortunately, they didn't think they were being clever, otherwise they would have been the ones notified that Xiao Qingyin was in critical condition.
However, Meng Zhu's experience also reminded them that Xiao Qingyin was neither a fool nor a kind person, and they could not rush to take her place.
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