Chapter 17 A-Zhu: Kunning Palace is quite lucrative. You…
You son of a bitch, fuck you!
On such an auspicious day, this wretched thing has to show up and cause trouble again!
Seeing that she couldn't get rid of this stumbling block no matter what she did, Ah Zhu angrily cursed a few times in her heart.
After enduring the annoying, jarring noise, someone came in from outside.
She was in her mid-thirties, dressed in a moon-white silk skirt and a light blue blouse, her hair neatly tied up, a faint smile on her face, looking gentle and very dignified.
Without the visitor needing to remind them of their identities, A-Zhu and the others very tactfully curtsied in greeting.
"We, your servants, greet Aunt Hua."
Aunt Hua smiled and nodded.
"They are all clever and good children, there's no need for such formalities."
Even though Aunt Hua had a smile on her face and seemed approachable, how could A-Zhu and the others dare to be presumptuous?
Naturally, everyone lowered their heads and became respectful and polite.
When Aunt Hua assigned tasks, no one dared to say anything or raise any objections.
Fortunately, none of the jobs sounded difficult; they were just sweeping, cleaning the yard, or running errands.
Only Ah Zhu... she was personally taken to the tea room by Aunt Hua.
On the way to the tea room, Aunt Hua patiently gave A-Zhu some instructions.
"From now on, you will be in charge of serving tea in the palace."
"Let's observe carefully today."
"Tomorrow, we'll have to serve tea inside the palace."
Looking at A-Zhu's exceptionally beautiful eyes, Aunt Hua had a rather meaningful look on her face.
"A-Zhu, our Empress is very kind to you. She really treats you very well."
"You must be very careful and serve Her Majesty with utmost care, and never fail to live up to Her Majesty's good intentions."
Master values it so much... Ah Zhu, feeling lightheaded and weak all over, nodded repeatedly.
"Don't worry, Aunt. I will learn carefully and serve you well. I will never fail Your Majesty's kindness."
Hearing Ah Zhu's clear and almost firm assurance, Aunt Hua was slightly surprised, but couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
In the palace, Aunt Hua had seen far too many tiresome and tedious tricks coming and going.
Many of them, after becoming prostitutes, still act coyly and hesitantly, trying to maintain a facade of chastity.
Now that their mistress has given her permission, and Ah Zhu is so generous and earnest... Aunt Hua smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"No wonder Nianqin thinks so highly of you."
“A-Zhu, you will definitely be right in the future.”
"Thank you for your kind words, Granny..." As soon as she opened her mouth, Ah Zhu, realizing that she had been smirking, quickly suppressed her smile and straightened her posture.
"You flatter me, Granny. Serving my master wholeheartedly is what I should do."
Seeing Ah Zhu's two changing expressions, Aunt Hua couldn't help but laugh out loud.
A-Zhu touched his head sheepishly and then laughed along.
With smiles on their faces, the two walked briskly towards the tea room.
***
The next day.
It was still early, but the concubines who had come to pay their respects at Kunning Palace had already dispersed.
Inside the palace, Empress Wang, leaning against the armrest, rubbed her temples with a slightly annoyed expression.
I wonder if Consort Zhang took the wrong medicine.
For no reason at all, he had to be so sharp-tongued today and insist on picking a fight with her.
Just thinking about Consort Zhang's boastful attitude of showing off the emperor's favor filled Empress Wang with rage.
After years of grudges and rivalries within the palace, Empress Wang and Consort Zhang were now bitter enemies.
It was the kind of hatred that you grit your teeth and swallow your anger, waiting for the new emperor to take the throne so that you wouldn't hold a grudge overnight.
Empress Wang despised Consort Zhang's restlessness and her seductive, bewitching ways, and was furious at the audacity of this mother and son in their attempt to seize the throne.
However, as the princes grew up, the open rivalry between the two became somewhat more restrained.
Empress Wang hadn't been so thoroughly silenced by Consort Zhang's sarcastic and veiled barbs in a long time.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
Seeing Nianqin rush into the hall, Empress Wang, who was already filled with resentment, closed her eyes and asked with a dark face, "What is it?"
Seeing that Empress Wang looked impatient, Nianqin hesitated for a moment before reporting the truth.
"Your Majesty, it's A-Zhu..."
"A-Zhu, her voice is gone."
? ? ?
Empress Wang suddenly opened her eyes.
She looked up and stared directly at Nianqin: "Explain yourself!"
When Nianqin mentioned Azhu's bad luck, she felt like sighing.
"As Your Majesty instructed, I had already arranged a task for A-Zhu yesterday."
"I'll just have to learn properly in the tea room today, and tomorrow I'll come to the main hall to serve tea..."
"Unexpectedly, last night, after Ah Zhu had eaten the food and the leftover honey cups from the tea room, she went back and drank a pot of cold tea and then started having stomach pains."
"By this morning, she was unable to speak."
Palace maids only did the job of serving others, so how could they possibly eat rich and delicious food?
To prevent them from emitting unpleasant odors or frequently urinating while serving their masters, they not only have to eat a light diet but also eat very little.
At Azhu's age, he is still growing.
She had an intense, spontaneous craving for those plump, juicy, glistening fruits, whose aroma would tantalize her senses, and whose bites would be bursting with succulent oil or sweet honey...
When they were in the Yeting Palace, it would have been better if they hadn't seen each other at all.
But what kind of place is Kunning Palace?
With the combined efforts of the entire nation supporting the mother of the country, what good things can't we have here?
The Empress is of the highest rank and status, so her food and daily necessities are naturally extremely exquisite. Things like leftover honey cups would never appear before her.
Thus, this item became an unspoken perk among the palace servants in the tea room.
Nianqin is the head maid in Kunning Palace. With her care and the personal intervention of Granny Hua, others naturally treat Azhu very kindly, and even seem to be very generous in giving her some sweet treats.
Sure enough, the Empress didn't like the rich and flavorful roast duck that was served at dinner last night; she just lifted it with her chopsticks.
After the Empress finished her meal and the dishes were cleared away, the others tacitly made sure to give A-Zhu plenty of oil and fat.
Even her rice was mixed with vegetable broth and lard, and she wasn't spared any honey cups; during the meal, we poured her several extra cups...
Ah Zhu, who had little oil in his stomach and hadn't eaten much good food, simply couldn't control himself.
Ah Zhu's gluttony led to his downfall, and Nianqin could only lower her head now.
"...Your Majesty, I'm afraid A-Zhu will need to rest quietly for a few days."
Empress Wang, already angered by Consort Zhang's provocation, flung her sleeve and smashed the teacup beside her.
"waste!"
"Your Majesty!" Nianqin, her expression changing, hurried forward.
With a worried expression, she used a handkerchief to wipe the tea stains off the Empress: "Your Majesty, are you burned?"
Empress Wang, who had smashed the teacup, suppressed her anger and closed her eyes without saying a word.
Fortunately, the tea was warm, and Nianqin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Empress Wang had not been scalded.
Seeing that Empress Wang remained silent, Nianqin sighed inwardly, but could not offer her any further words of comfort.
After all, it was her idea to introduce A-Zhu, and now that things have gone wrong and displeased the Empress, she has to go to great lengths to fix it.
"Your Majesty, A-Zhu has just come out of the Imperial Palace."
"You know what a despicable place that is. No matter how much you train the people there, they'll still be petty and unsophisticated."
"Even if Ah Zhu is fortunate enough to gain the favor of the Empress... she is still somewhat unworthy of being presented in public."
"She always did menial work in the inner palace."
“I’ve seen it; she still has old wounds on her palms.”
"Tomorrow, let her serve tea before the Emperor... that would be giving her too much credit and favor."
"Why not let her learn the rules again and be properly trained by our palace? That way, we can be absolutely sure of everything going smoothly."
Nianqin's words make a lot of sense.
Upon careful consideration, Empress Wang realized that it was indeed a bit too hasty to put A-Zhu in the imperial court after only two or three days in Kunning Palace.
However, Empress Wang had been holding her breath for too long.
And then there was Consort Zhang, that wicked maid who bullied the emperor; Empress Wang really didn't want to see her so smug in front of her anymore.
Given Jiang Zhusheng's appearance, no matter how lowly or contemptible her status was... any man, even an emperor, would be tempted to try something new when he could get her with just a reach.
After calming down, Empress Wang regained her usual composure.
Now she is wholeheartedly trying to give Jiang Zhu hope, and then, she is keeping him hanging on by his sleeve with that hope.
Watching her cling to hope only to have it turn into delusion in despair, and then, driven to desperation by torment, reveal her utterly pathetic state.
Instead of hastily sending a mute or a wretched creature that cackles when it opens its mouth, thus spoiling the emperor's appetite and ruining the good deed.
Suppressing her anxiety, Empress Wang rose and went to the inner palace, instructing, "Since he is not yet presentable, let him rest and recuperate properly."
Nianqin breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as she helped Empress Wang sit down in front of the dressing table, she saw a pair of gloomy eyes staring straight at her in the mirror.
"However, my patience is also limited."
"On the first day of next month, I want to see her safe, beautiful, and happy as she comes to this palace to serve tea."
Nianqin's heart suddenly tightened.
She quickly lowered her head and whispered, "Yes."
A note from the author:
----------------------
The word count for the list almost doubled, so I had to think about updating less, but you guys have been so kind... *sigh*, so I'll just have to add more and add it to your favorites. Please help me out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
