But when he turned his head, he saw that Regent Li Xiao was standing calmly behind him, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, with such an honest and obedient expression. Who would have thought that this was the powerful Regent?
The emperor felt that Li Xiao was probably just waiting for him to make a fool of himself, so he suppressed his anger, put on a smile, and patiently explained, "My beloved concubine, my health has greatly improved after these days of recuperation."
During this period, whatever he wanted to eat was refused by the imperial kitchen because Consort Lian had instructed that the emperor's health was weak and he needed to pay attention to his diet. The food he ate was prepared by Consort Lian herself: it was all vegetarian, without any meat.
To be honest, he did feel much lighter, so it seemed that the recipes Consort Lian had prepared for him were indeed for his health. However, he felt that if he continued eating like this, he would turn into the food himself.
Now that Consort Lian is developing new and delicious dishes, he naturally wants to try them. But judging from Consort Lian's words, he's not even allowed to have a taste?!
Thinking of this, he added, "The imperial physician said that my cough has been completely cured."
Li Xiao rolled his eyes as he stood behind him.
"Make way!" Chu Susu suddenly said coolly.
Li Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly made way for her, offering a big smile as he asked, "Does the Empress have any orders?"
Chu Susu said, "Just move aside." After saying that, she reached for the pot lid on the stove and handed it to Chu Nian, who was busy on the other side.
"The glutinous rice balls will be ready to eat in a few moments after they've been in the pot," Chu Nian said, licking her lips as if she were practically drooling.
Chu Susu looked at her with a hint of doting in her eyes and smiled as she hummed in agreement.
The Emperor and Li Xiao noticed that the eunuchs and cooks in the Imperial Kitchen all looked expectant, clearly indicating that this was not the first time they had tasted the delicacies created by the Empress and Consort Lian.
The two men were quite jealous: they felt that their status in the eyes of these women was actually lower than that of these eunuchs!
Li Xiao, in particular, always felt that Chu Susu's gaze towards Consort Lian was strange, not the kind of look that should exist between sisters.
The glutinous rice balls were cooked quickly, and the moment the lid was lifted, everyone present smelled the enticing aroma of the sticky rice balls, and their mouths watered.
Lianxi and Suhe had become familiar with each other after working in the imperial kitchen for the past few days, so they immediately took a bowl and a ladle and ladled out the glutinous rice balls.
Lian Xi meant that the first bowl should naturally be given to the emperor, and the second bowl to the regent.
However, Chu Nian and the Empress took the bowls from her hands. The two women seemed oblivious to the Emperor and Regent's expectant yet awkward looks, and began to eat on their own, praising "delicious!"
Seeing this, Suhe quickly filled two more bowls, intending to deliver them to the Emperor and the Regent. Unexpectedly, Chu Susu said coldly, "Men don't like this kind of sweets, so it's best not to give them any and make them dislike it."
"Who's complaining?" Both the Emperor and Li Xiao were shouting in their hearts!
Inside the Qianqing Palace, the Emperor flew into a rage, throwing memorials all over the floor and roaring, "Look at those dog servants in the Imperial Kitchen! Do they even respect me? They actually dared to show such greedy looks right in front of me. I'm sure they're just hoping I leave so they can receive the glutinous rice balls bestowed upon them by the Empress and Consort Lian! A bunch of dog servants, do they think I've never eaten them before?"
Li Xiao asked in surprise, "What? Your Majesty has eaten tangyuan before? Forgive my limited knowledge, but I have never eaten this kind of dessert that they are talking about."
"You, you, you..." The emperor could only utter a series of "you"s as he pointed at him, feeling that this regent must have been left by his father to annoy him.
"What business is it of yours whether I've eaten it or not!" the emperor finally blurted out. Could he possibly say he hadn't eaten it? If he did, what would become of his imperial dignity? He was furious! It was all because of that Consort Lian!
He noticed that Li Xiao, who was usually a powerful figure in the court, stood there looking dejected. Interestingly, he was unusually quiet in the imperial kitchen today, unlike his usual self as the regent.
The emperor asked in surprise, "Minister Li, what's wrong with you today? You look like you've been hit by frost."
Li Xiao paused for a moment before saying, "Has Your Majesty noticed...?"
Seeing that he seemed about to speak but hesitated, the emperor asked curiously, "What did you discover?"
Li Xiao thought for a moment and then asked, "Has anyone noticed that Her Majesty the Empress looks at Consort Lian in a rather strange way?"
The emperor paused for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly, "I have been paying attention to Consort Lian all day and haven't been paying much attention to the Empress."
Suddenly, it occurred to her that the Empress and Consort Lian had been spending all their time together, and it was after the two of them got together that they started to join forces! Hmph, they're teaming up to oppose the Emperor!
He said, "Minister Li, if you still can't let go of Chu Susu, then perhaps I should... perhaps I should release her from the palace!" He still sounded somewhat resentful at the end. This Empress was forced into the palace by the Regent. When he gave her to him, she had no choice but to accept; how could she obediently send her back now that he wanted to take her back?
But when he thought about this, the Empress and Consort Lian would have to separate, and Consort Lian would probably not have anyone to continue to argue with him. He and Consort Lian might be able to go back to how they were before. So he gritted his teeth and said: Let's do it this way!
Li Xiao was overjoyed upon hearing this and asked, "Really?"
The emperor nodded and solemnly said, "I am the Son of Heaven; how could I speak lightly?"
Li Xiao was overjoyed and immediately knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness."
The emperor noticed that Li Xiao's kneeling this time was much more sincere than before, and his words "Thank you for your great kindness" came from the bottom of his heart. He suddenly realized that perhaps his methods of suppressing the regent were wrong, which had caused the regent to drift further and further away from him. The two, who were once very close in their childhood, now seemed more distant than strangers.
The Emperor then said in a deep voice, "However, for the sake of the Emperor's reputation, I will find a way to make the Empress disappear, and Chu Susu can no longer be called by this name. If you want to take her as a concubine, you must make her change her name, and she can no longer be openly brought out."
Li Xiao said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, even if Your Majesty didn't say so, I would have paid attention to this." Since the Emperor had made such a concession, he didn't want to continue opposing him. He thought that as long as Chu Susu quickly left Consort Lian and returned to his side, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
Having received the emperor's promise, Li Xiao returned home excitedly.
The emperor quickly sent Xiao Jia to deliver a message, instructing the empress to feign illness for two days, and then secretly send her out of the palace and back to the regent's residence under the pretext of her death.
But Xiao Jia didn't return for a long time and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress said that she does not want to leave the palace."
The emperor angrily questioned, "Is this a matter of whether she wants to or not?" Does she still want to stay in the palace and continue to conspire with Consort Lian to anger him?
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