Two major events happened in the palace at the same time.
1. Because of her contribution in saving the empress and the heir to the throne, the emperor rewarded Concubine Shu with the task of assisting in the management of the six palaces.
Second, the young widow fell out of favor and was driven out of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity by the emperor.
On this day, in Guanju Palace.
It just happened to be the monthly allowance that the Imperial Household Department sent to the various palaces for the concubines.
Hua Xia and Mei Xiang took inventory and said in surprise, "Why is it different from before? There are so many less! The daily ten kilograms of pork is half gone, a plate of mutton is only half gone, and ten chickens and ducks are only five?
Old japonica rice, white flour, white sugar, walnut kernels, dried dates, sesame oil, tofu...the seasonings and rice are all reduced by half, and even the number of eggs has been reduced from twenty to four.
Lu'an tea became loose flower tea.
Not to mention silk, there are only two bolts of gold-lettered satin and palace silk, and there are no more cloud satin, hat satin, Yang satin, Lu silk, or gauze."
Hua Xia asked, "Where's your steward Liu? This isn't our young master's share. Was it sent to the wrong person?"
The palace attendant from the Ministry of Internal Affairs said, "It was not sent by mistake. This is indeed the allotment for Lady Sheng. She is a fifth-rank concubine, and this is distributed according to the actual amount."
"What about our young master? Didn't the Emperor order him to be treated according to the prince's share?"
The two palace maids looked at each other and said, "Let's go back and ask the chief steward. If he has it, send it over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
If it was such a neglectful attitude before, let alone tomorrow, he would have been trotting to deliver it.
Hua Xia entered the hall with the booklet, and Sheng Xiyan was writing on the soft couch and low kang table.
"My lady, they are so snobbish! How could they change their attitude so quickly? It's only been two days, and it's like we've been abandoned."
Sheng Xiyan took the wolf-hair brush and dipped it in ink.
He comforted her by saying, "It is human nature to seek profit and avoid harm. In the past, they saw that I was in favor and thought it was profitable. Now that there is no profit, it is natural. Don't take it to heart."
The hairpin-shaped small seal script on the cotton paper is graceful and elegant.
"My dear, please find a way to appease the Emperor. Why are you still writing so leisurely?"
Sheng Xiyan said calmly, "Didn't Xiao Zhuozi send the perilla medicine bag to Eunuch Fu?"
Hua Xia felt more at ease. "I sent it yesterday, why hasn't the emperor responded yet?"
Seeing that she was too anxious, Sheng Xiyan pointed to the winter melon candy on the table and said, "Eat something sweet, it will calm you down."
He asked, "How do you think the Emperor will react? He's no young man, nor is he an ordinary person. He deals with complex and thorny matters every day, and meets with highly scheming individuals. Would he be moved by such a small matter?"
Upon hearing this, Hua Xia sighed, "Second Master is still the best..."
He swallowed the words back halfway through, seeing that Sheng Xiyan was calm and had no sense of loss at all.
The next day, in the side hall, Dun Shuyuan was so excited that she couldn't sit still.
"Master, after a few days of observation, Miss Sheng has indeed fallen out of favor."
Dun Shuyuan was puzzled, "I don't know how Sheng Xiyan offended the emperor. If you knew, it would be nice to let me laugh."
Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, stroking her cheek, she said, "That Sanqi powder and vinegar thing she said really works. There's no mark left on my face at all."
"That's because of the master's natural beauty."
Dun Shuyuan stood up and said, "It's time to get revenge for what we've done to you. All of you should follow me to the main hall to meet this young widow."
After a while, she entered the main hall with five or six palace maids serving in the side hall.
Seeing Jiang Jiang playing on the swing, he immediately said angrily: "Go cut down the swing!"
Xiao Zhuozi quickly picked up Jiang Jiang.
The palace servant came forward with an axe and cut the thick rope of the swing with several strokes.
Jiang Jiang burst into tears. Inside the palace, Sheng Xiyan shouted, "Go and bring Jiang Jiang in quickly."
Meixiang ran out and carried Jiang Jiang back to the palace, "My lady, what should we do next?"
Sheng Xiyan warned, “Wait a minute, you said that on purpose….”
"Yes, my lord."
Meixiang went out to close the palace door, and Sheng Xiyan held Jiang and locked the door.
"Don't cry, Jiang Jiang. Mother will give you something fun."
I took out a jeweled Huasheng for him to play with. The child was curious about everything he saw and stopped crying immediately. He lay on the table and played with the gems on the Huasheng.
In the courtyard, Dun Shuyuan shouted from the window, "Sister Sheng, don't be a coward! Don't you dare to speak up?"
Sheng Xiyan elegantly picked up the peanut butter and drank it.
Meixiang deliberately said, "You are not allowed to touch the agarwood tree. Our young lady planted it specifically for the emperor to enjoy."
Upon hearing this, Dun Shuyuan immediately shouted, "Pull out all these agarwood saplings. Don't leave any behind. Pull out the tuberoses too!"
Several palace maids rushed over to pull out the saplings, but Xiao Zhuozi, Shanhu, Meixiang, and Nanny Zhang tried to stop them, and a fight broke out between the two sides.
Meixiang and his men pretended to be defeated, and asked Dun Shuyuan's men to pull out all the agarwood trees, trampling the flower garden into a mess.
"Sheng Xiyan, you coward, stay in there forever and don't come out!"
After causing damage, Dun Shuyuan took away two pots of peonies in the yard and walked away arrogantly.
When Hua Xia came back from the imperial kitchen, she saw that the courtyard was in a mess. Meixiang and the others were sitting on the steps sighing.
"Who did this?"
"Master Dun."
"This is too much. I'm going to find the Queen!"
The door opened and Sheng Xiyan called her, "Hua Xia, wait a minute."
Several palace people looked depressed. Sheng Xiyan smiled and said, "Don't be so dejected. Don't clean up the yard yet. Just leave it as it is. Everyone can do what they need to do."
When Jiang Jiang pulled out the agarwood tree, he saw a long earth pit. He excitedly dug the soil and played with the mud with a watering can.
Hua Xia followed Sheng Xiyan into the palace, "My lady, why don't you go and complain to the Empress?"
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