Chapter 11 Hope "What's there to be afraid of? I don't eat people."...
It was rare for Shen Mi to hear any emotional fluctuation in Gu Zhan's usually cold tone. She was about to glance at his expression when she met his deep, dark eyes.
"You must not look directly at His Majesty." She recalled what Instructor Wu had said to her when she was in the Shen family, and she quickly lowered her eyelashes. After carefully considering her words, she said softly, "I did not know that His Highness disliked sweet and greasy food before, so I made the mistake of not serving His Majesty properly. After asking the palace servants in the Eastern Palace kitchen, I learned that His Highness likes Huaiyang cuisine, so I asked the palace servants in the kitchen to teach me a couple of dishes."
Gu Zhan didn't respond to her question. She vaguely felt the gaze of the person seated above her, but she didn't dare to look up or lose her composure in terms of etiquette.
She was like someone awaiting judgment; even two months after marrying into the Eastern Palace, she was still afraid of Gu Zhan.
After a long while, Gu Zhan finally said, "Yes, there's no need to stand there."
Shen Mi took a deep breath and nodded to Gu Zhan: "Thank you, Your Highness." Only then did she dare to raise her eyes. Gu Zhan was still sitting there. She remembered that the palace servants said that the Qin Zheng Hall had not yet served dinner today, so she mustered up her courage and took two steps forward, took out a bowl and chopsticks from the food box, ladled a bowl of soup for Gu Zhan, and handed it to him.
Gu Zhan's gaze wasn't on the food or on Shen Mi. He simply spread out a sheet of Xuan paper, pressed down his right sleeve with his left hand, and picked up his brush to write.
Shen Mi followed his movements and noticed that the brush he casually picked up was dipped in vermilion ink. She couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, you've picked up the wrong brush."
Gu Zhan paused, and his cold, icy eyes turned to look at her. Shen Mi hurriedly avoided his gaze, went around to the other side of the large sandalwood table, and picked up the ink stick beside her. "This concubine will grind ink for Your Highness."
Gu Zhan didn't stop her, watching her grind the ink with ease. The inkstone on his table was Huizhou ink, and the inkstone was She inkstone. Although both were precious inkstones, they were hard enough that they couldn't be ground without some strength in one's hands.
Although his concubine, Consort Shen, was timid and weak, she never dared to speak loudly in front of him, or even look at him. She was quite obedient and sensible.
Shen Mi held the ink stick tightly, not daring to stop even as her wrist ached. Only after the ink slowly spread did she put the ink stick back in its original position. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Gu Zhan stopped her with a single sentence.
What happened to your hand?
Shen Mi realized that she had accidentally been scalded by hot oil splashed while cooking in the kitchen. Although she had pricked the blister with a silver needle and applied medicine when she got back, anyone with eyes could see that there was a scar there.
If such an accident had happened at home in the past, she would have clung to her parents' and brothers' arms, throwing a tantrum before she would stop. But in front of Gu Zhan, she dared not show any temper. She didn't even bother to wipe the ink off her hands, but pulled them back into her narrow sleeves, covered them with a handkerchief, and whispered, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."
Gu Zhan didn't ask any more questions. He changed to a different brush, dipped it twice in the inkstone, and started writing on the spread-out Xuan paper.
Shen Mi had no intention of looking at what he had written, but when Gu Zhan finished writing and put it away, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the handwriting. "Your Highness, is this the flying white style?"
Gu Zhan sealed the paper into the envelope without thinking, and casually asked, "What? You're good at this too?"
Shen Mi shook her head, "I just recognize her." According to what Instructor Wu taught her, she was only a concubine, and in front of His Highness the Crown Prince, she did not need to be a learned and talented woman, but only needed to take good care of His Highness.
In fact, her mother came from a scholarly family, and she inherited her mother's skills from a young age. When her maternal grandfather, who was honored with a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was alive, he also praised her for her unparalleled intelligence and that her calligraphy was even better than some of the Hanlin scholars.
Gu Zhan didn't ask any further questions.
Seeing the food and soup that he had been neglecting, Shen Mi couldn't help but remind him, "Your Highness, the food will get cold soon."
Gu Zhan applied sealing wax to the envelope and said calmly, "I understand. Put the things down and get some rest. Also, there's no need to do this again."
A sense of desolation crept into Shen Mi's heart, but she had no choice but to leave as instructed.
Cuiwei waited anxiously for Shen Mi outside the palace. She kept looking into the palace, afraid that Shen Mi would come out with red eyes as usual. Sun Cheng comforted her from the side: "Miss Cuiwei, don't worry too much. Although His Highness is usually stern, Consort Shen only went in to deliver dinner. I think His Highness will not be harsh."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Mi pushed open the door and came out from inside.
Cuiwei hurried forward and draped a fur coat over her shoulders. "Liangdi, how are you?"
Shen Mi smiled and said, "Your Highness accepts it."
Cuiwei also breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, that's good."
After descending the white jade steps, Sun Cheng bowed to her and greeted her, to which she politely replied, "Thank you for your introduction today, Eunuch Sun."
Gu Zhan's voice came from inside the hall again, "Sun Cheng."
Sun Cheng dared not delay and hurried into the hall.
Cuiwei held an umbrella for Shen Mi and walked beside her, together returning to Qingluan Palace.
"Did His Highness praise your skills? You've always learned everything quickly since you were a child. Even though you practiced all day today, the final product was praised even by the head chef!"
Shen Mi recalled that Gu Zhan hadn't touched that dish at all, and even told her not to make it again. Perhaps he wasn't angry. The reason he was giving her some face today was because those two dishes were Huaiyang cuisine, not something else. In that case, she really had to thank that Miss Su, who was still on Pingjiang Road and whom she had never met before.
But when she heard Cuiwei's cheerful tone and expectant look in her eyes, she couldn't bear to see Cuiwei worry about her anymore, so she forced a smile and said, "His Highness said you did a good job."
Cuiwei laughed along, "So, does that mean we have something to look forward to in the Eastern Palace?"
Shen Mi didn't spoil her mood, but gently reminded her, "There's still snow on the ground, be careful not to slip."
Whether it was a prophecy or not, Sun Cheng arrived shortly after they returned to Qingluan Palace.
Shen Mi wondered what Sun Cheng was doing so late, but Sun Cheng took out a small box and said, "His Highness instructed me to bring this bottle of scar-removing ointment."
She exchanged a glance with Cuiwei, indicating that Cuiwei should accept the money, "Thank you for making this trip, Eunuch Sun."
Sun Cheng exchanged a few polite words and then went back to report to Gu Zhan.
The wound on the back of Shen Mi's hand had just scabbed over and didn't need the scar-removing ointment yet. However, a scar on her usually fair and smooth hand, though small, was still unsightly. It was rare that Gu Zhan would think of this. Looking at the jar of ointment that had been delivered, she suddenly felt that perhaps it was just that she had only been married into the Eastern Palace for a short time. After all, before this imperial decree of marriage, Gu Zhan had never seen her and might not even know that she existed in Bianjing, a city full of high-ranking officials.
She thought things would get better once she got to know them better.
Although Gu Zhan told her she didn't need to cook anymore, he still sent her some ointment. Maybe it was just because she was the one who sent the dish, or maybe it was just because her cooking skills weren't refined enough? But she had finally come to understand what Gu Zhan liked, so she still wanted to do her best, just in case one day he would see her good qualities.
Holding onto this thought, Shen Mi did not give up on the art of cooking. The next day, after having breakfast, she went to the kitchen. Today, she didn't need many palace servants to guide her. As long as Cuiwei occasionally assisted, she was skilled enough. However, after finishing the dish, she did not put it in a food box and personally carry it to the Hall of Diligent Governance as she had done the day before. Instead, she mixed the snow lotus root dish that she was most satisfied with with the kitchen staff and sent it to the Hall of Diligent Governance for dinner, ordering the kitchen staff to deliver it.
She thought that since giving Gu Zhan these things directly wouldn't work, she might as well take it slow and steady, like water dripping on a stone, and perhaps Gu Zhan would gradually get used to it?
However, not long after she returned to Qingluan Palace, Sun Cheng said that His Highness the Crown Prince had summoned her to Qingluan Palace.
Shen Mi's heart sank. She wanted to test Sun Cheng's intentions, but Sun Cheng said that His Highness the Crown Prince's thoughts were always difficult to guess, and he couldn't figure them out either.
After arriving at the Hall of Diligent Governance with heavy hearts, Sun Cheng, as always, closed the door, leaving Cuiwei outside the hall and only Chen Mi inside to face Gu Zhan.
As soon as Shen Mi entered the palace, she saw that on the table in front of Gu Zhan, only the snow lotus root dish she had made was left, and it looked like he had only taken a couple of bites.
Gu Zhan didn't beat around the bush with her: "This snow lotus root dish, was it made by you?"
Although Shen Mi didn't know how he recognized her, as the dish she had presented yesterday was clearly not the snow lotus root, she dared not lie to him and tremblingly replied, "Your Highness has discerning eyes."
Gu Zhan seemed to have typed out what she was thinking, and rarely took the initiative to respond to her doubts: "You really know how to win people's hearts. No matter what, the chefs will not say that you made this dish. But over the years, the taste of the snow lotus root made by the chefs has never changed. I only need to take one bite to know the difference in this dish."
Shen Mi felt as if she had no secrets left in front of Gu Zhan and dared not speak.
"Didn't I tell you yesterday not to do it again? You forgot as soon as you turned around?" Gu Zhan's tone didn't sound very angry, but when Shen Mi stood in front of him with her hands in her sleeves, she felt as if the air was filled with water.
"I thought you were smart, but you don't understand what I'm saying." Gu Zhan didn't suggest she get up.
Faced with Gu Zhan's unpredictable temper, Shen Mi had no choice but to kneel down and admit her mistake: "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I will never dare to act on my own again."
She lowered her head and bit her lip tightly to keep the tears from falling.
Today, in order to practice this dish, she stood in the kitchen from morning till evening, a full four hours. Even for her own lunch, she just ate a couple of bites of the snow lotus root she had failed to make, which she made casually. In fact, she didn't like lotus root at all. When she returned to Qingluan Palace, her back ached so much that she couldn't get up, but Gu Zhan called her, so she couldn't not come. As soon as she arrived at Qinzheng Palace, she was scolded.
But all she wanted was to learn more about Gu Zhan and hope that things would be better for her in the future.
Gu Zhan's anger seemed to have subsided somewhat. "It's good that you know. Just remember, you are my concubine. Cooking matters are the responsibility of the palace servants in the kitchen. Take care of your own affairs in the future."
Shen Mi didn't look up, suppressing her grievances as she said, "I just wanted to do something useful for Your Highness."
Gu Zhan saw her kneeling on the ground as if she had committed some heinous crime, and he didn't understand. He raised his hand to let her get up. "Is there something useful? I'm having a headache from handling official business. Since you're so kind, come and massage it for me."
Shen Mi hurriedly got up from the ground, forced back the tears in her eyes, walked over to Gu Zhan, stood behind him, and gently pressed her fingertips on his temples.
Gu Zhan leaned back in the armchair, her eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened. She thought she had touched him too roughly and was so startled that she immediately let go.
Gu Zhan frowned, his tone displeased: "What are you afraid of? I don't eat people, continue."
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