Chapter 27: Drinking Tea “Do you still remember the taste of the tea in Taiji Hall…
Xu Delu pricked up his ears, not hearing the sound of a slap landing for a long time.
On the brick road at dusk, Concubine Zhao just stared at the green hairpin, which was the most powerless thing.
"Since the beauty has no other advice, then, I'll take your leave." Qingzan smiled and left.
There was no further obstruction, but it felt as if there were holes in my back.
When the master and servant returned to Chengluan Palace, they walked in the opposite direction of where the holy carriage was stationed.
Doukou still felt that it was too easy to forgive her, and snorted: "She should have been allowed to pay her respects to the master."
Qingzan only wanted to go back and rest, and didn't think about arguing with Concubine Zhao.
She consoled him, saying, "Forget it. If your heart isn't sincere, your manners won't be sincere."
Doukou raised her goose-like proud neck and said, "That's true, but we don't care."
*
Baoyuyou Pavilion.
The soups and dishes in the portions sent from the inner kitchen were quite rich and delicious. The small kitchen didn't need to light a stove, but since it was already on today, they simply made a few more dishes to congratulate the master on his promotion.
When Concubine Hui led her people over, she could smell the mouth-watering aroma from afar.
In Chengluan Palace, Qingzan was already having an open-air dinner beside the lotus pond.
Xiang Su followed her master into the palace gate, took a closer look, and said with a smile, "Master Ying really lives well and eats well."
Although Concubine Hui herself advocated frugality, she never demanded too much of others. She smiled and said, "After all the hardships, happiness comes. Since you're young and full of energy, it's normal for you to focus on pleasure."
Concubine Hui had just returned and had already questioned the nearby palace maids about whether they had seen anyone suspicious. She had also interrogated everyone who had entered and exited the harem over the past few days. However, this investigation was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Concubine Hui decided to first visit the person in question and ask what had happened when they discovered the snake.
Qingzan was just about to pick up a bowl of noodles soaked in soup when a palace attendant said, "If you're promoted, you should eat noodles. Only then will your future prosperity last forever." Seeing Concubine Hui, she naturally put it down and stood up solemnly.
"Did I disturb my sister's meal?"
Concubine Hui had someone pass on the gift congratulating Qingzan on her promotion, and then she sat down at the other end of the open-air table: "Sister, there's no need to be so polite."
Qing Zan whispered to the eunuch, "Go and get it."
Xiangsu exclaimed when she saw the net basket in the little eunuch's hand.
Concubine Hui didn't expect that the litter would be such a mottled black and white one.
Qing Zan ordered the evidence to be handed over to the eunuch behind Concubine Hui, and deliberately mentioned: "Everything I found in the palace... is here."
When talking about the word "quan", Qingzan added a little emphasis subtly.
Concubine Hui was so surprised that she could no longer sit still.
It wasn't a mud snake, and the snake hadn't been released. So why did Lady Ying say it was a mud snake? And where did the mud snake that bit people come from?
She suddenly remembered that when she had greeted him in the morning, her cousin had expressed her strong suspicion that someone was insisting on saying that venomous snakes were harmless. Now it seemed that she had become a prophet.
Then he remembered that the one that bit Lady Yang was indeed a mud snake.
Concubine Hui realized that the situation was far more complicated than she had imagined.
Naturally, Lady Ying's plan was not just to disrupt this matter.
The purpose of people who usually disturb the water in the pond is to make all the dark algae hidden under the water surface.
Now emerging...
Concubine Hui was so frightened that she had to calm down and confirm with others again and again: "Are you sure, Lady Ying, that all the snakes are here, there are no mud snakes, and none have been released?"
Qingzan nodded. She had already done everything from luring the snake out of its hole to alerting it to the danger. Now she had also cleared away the veil of mystery that had enveloped the outside world. How far the investigation could go from then on depended on Concubine Hui's decision.
*
For several days in a row, except for occasionally visiting the pregnant Concubine Yang, the emperor did not enter the harem again.
On the other hand, the gifts from various palaces were so diligent that they seemed to have legs, running to Guanju Palace and Chengluan Palace day and night.
The emperor said, "Keep a closer eye on Concubine Yang."
Xu Delu knew that His Majesty was worried that someone would mix things that were detrimental to the royal heir into the various congratulatory gifts.
While he sent people to check, he also did not forget to comfort: "You let the Concubine Zhaoyi take care of Yangpin's baby. The Concubine Zhaoyi is such a daughter of a general, I don't think there will be any problems with Yangpin."
The emperor hummed lightly, picked up the case file at hand, and looked through it with his eyes lowered.
In the afternoon, Chen Shaoling, the top scorer of this year's exam, was summoned to the palace.
The emperor was sitting on the Arhat bed, with a jade chessboard placed on the small table in the middle of the bed, dividing the Chu River and Han River.
The number one scholar naturally knew his place and sat at the other end, each holding his own opinion.
Holding the soft jade ball in his hand, Chen Zhuangyuan said, "My chess skills are only marginal, and I'm afraid Your Majesty won't enjoy it."
The emperor, hearing that he was trying to hide his weakness, said, "I heard you're quite good at chess. It seems you're stronger against stronger opponents, but weaker against weaker ones."
The top scholar knew how to play the game today, and he didn't plan to hold back any longer. He started to fight with the emperor. Each of his pieces was brave and aggressive, and his first priority was to swallow up the opponent's energy and take away all the opponent's pieces, not caring about his own life or death.
The emperor lost three pieces in a row, but he clapped his hands and said, "Good. Shaoling and I are evenly matched. It has been a long time since I have met someone who dares to take my chess pieces."
The top scholar smiled proudly and said, "Although I am dull, I have devoted myself to studying for many years. Otherwise, I would not have the honor of being your Majesty's opponent today."
The emperor also smiled, and suddenly said casually: "I remember that last time you said that I have a palace maid who looks very familiar and resembles an old friend of yours."
Chen Shaoling was slightly distracted. "Yes, she was a neighbor. Her last name was a little confusing with mine. Unfortunately, her house was destroyed by a fire. I never saw her again until I moved away."
The emperor narrowed his eyes sharply: "They?"
The top scholar didn't know why the emperor suddenly became interested in the old story of his eastern neighbor. Perhaps it was because the palace maid with a similar face was quite special to the emperor?
He made no secret of the situation, jokingly saying, "She was a strikingly beautiful woman, probably in her early twenties. She lived alone with her younger sister in the back alley of Shaoyinfang, just across the wall from our rented old house. Although I was barely ten at the time, I was captivated by her beauty and always wanted to visit the neighbors and see her. For this, I earned quite a few cold stares from my older sister."
The moment the emperor heard Shaoyinfang, he felt that the handwriting on the file was burning hot through the cover, trying to echo with it.
He didn't show it on his face, but just slowly raised his wrist and made a move: "Then, could this palace maid of mine be your old friend?"
The champion had to divert his attention to reply, and for a moment his chess moves were somewhat confused. He thought to himself, "The ages don't match, and the looks aren't exactly alike, at most only 50%."
The emperor smiled and said, "Didn't you say you have a younger sister?"
Chen Shaoling's body trembled slightly, and he looked back at the chessboard: "But I heard that they were all burned to death—"
Soon, he stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, I lose this round."
The emperor threw away the last seed in his hand and said, "I asked you too many questions. This is not a fair victory."
He casually patted the man on the shoulder and said, "During the last summer solstice sacrifice, your sacrificial text was quite good."
The sacrificial text was never signed, but the emperor delegated the task to a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, who in turn handed him the responsibility of writing it. Chen Shaoling naturally devoted himself to writing the text for this grand national sacrifice, but he had also made preparations, concealing his identity after writing it and not seeking fame.
But he never expected that the emperor actually knew that he was the one who wrote the draft.
Was it the support of the Grand Secretary, or was it the emperor's keen insight?
The emperor looked at the number one scholar who was stunned for a moment and laughed, "My dear, please go now."
Then he said to Xu Delu, "Go ask Lady Ying if she still remembers what the tea in Taiji Hall tastes like."
Xu Delu understood what he meant and hurried out, not forgetting to say to the number one scholar who was traveling with him: "I am happy to give you a ride. Please?"
He has to clear the place for His Majesty.
*
When concubines went to the Taiji Hall to attend the emperor's bed, they would often ride in a sedan chair adorned with silk flowers and phoenix bells. Noble ladies would ride in a sedan chair carried by four men. Qingzan had never been to the Taiji Hall to attend the emperor's bed properly before, so this was her first time.
Compared with the sedan chair, this sedan chair carried by four people is more closed, a bit like the sedan chair that a bride would ride in ordinary people. Once you sit in it, you will be confused and unaware of what is happening outside.
When the sedan chair landed, Qingzan lifted the curtain, thinking that the first person to see it would be Doukou.
But as soon as he appeared, he was suddenly grabbed by a big hand and almost rolled out of the sedan chair by someone's arm.
The sedan stopped directly outside the back hall. Xiao Fang picked up the person and carried her inside.
The flowered veil had fallen off, and the tip of her skirt was about to fall to the ground. Qing Zan clung to his neck, her head buried in his embrace, afraid of bumping into anyone along the way, and refused to show her face: "I can walk on my own."
When the view opened up again, the person was already lying on the couch.
"Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to tea?" Qingzan struggled to sit up.
Although at this hour, only the moonlight could shine on people, it was still very hot and made people feel suffocated. In just such a short journey, her snow-white skin turned pink and rosy.
A hint of mischief flashed in Xiao Fang's eyes: "Yeah."
He beckoned the palace attendant to come in, and taking advantage of this opportunity, he asked, "Do you know why I promoted you?"
How could Qing Zan not know this? She tilted her head and said, "Someone else wanted to harm me and Yangpin, so Your Majesty rewarded me and Yangpin. He wanted to let that person know that harming others will only backfire. From now on, he will naturally be at peace. Is that right?"
"Not stupid."
Xiao Fang sat next to her, his knees slightly apart, his hands crossed, and his posture casual.
"I sometimes wonder, with all the turmoil in the palace, if I had let you go and married you off to a prince, a second-place finisher in the imperial examination, or a childhood sweetheart, would that have been better for you?"
"No." Qingzan said.
A slender hand like a cold jade branch soon appeared on Xiao Fang's arm. The woman beside him tugged at his sleeve tightly and said, "It won't be any better. I just want to be with Your Majesty. I don't have a childhood sweetheart, only Your Majesty, and only Your Majesty."
Xiao Fang smiled, as if pleased by her answer.
The palace maid brought tea at this time.
Qingzan took a sip and didn't see anything new about it, but it was a good new tea after all, enough to clear the mind and relieve heat, so she drank it in small sips.
Just as the teacup was about to be emptied, Xiao Fang suddenly grabbed her waist and said, "You've finished drinking it all, what should I drink?"
Seeing her turn around in surprise, he threw another case file at her: "Take a look?"
Only a corner of the paper was exposed, yet it was so dazzling that it was impossible to miss it. Qingzan didn't dare to think too deeply, but because she had guessed something, she couldn't help but yearn for it. She asked carefully, "What is it?"
Seeing that he didn't answer, Qing Zan picked up the case file and said, "Is this a reward for my acceptable answer?"
So if her answer just now was not good and he was not satisfied, would he not show it to her?
"Forget it." Xiao Fang took the case file and threw it on the desk beside the couch.
Qingzan was about to protest when Xiao Fang's fingertips touched the slightly raised nipple, which had been moistened by the tea and was now glistening brightly.
Sensing the slight tremor under his finger, a dark and gloomy mood rolled across Xiao Fang's indifferent eyes.
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