Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Reward
Qingzan couldn't see the person's mouth shape clearly for a moment, and it was difficult for her to get away at this time. However, since Suoying wanted to show her something at this time, she knew it must be important.
So he secretly made a gesture of letting go to the person behind his back with his finger.
Suo Ying understood and put the note down. Before leaving, she pushed the window hard, causing it to hit the wall with a loud bang, which was like a thunderclap in the dark night of the forbidden courtyard.
Nanny Lu was caught off guard and was so frightened that she almost jumped back. "What is that?"
While she was still in shock and patting her chest, Qingzan had already walked over quickly: "It's the wind, don't be afraid, Ma'am, I'll go close the window."
But she couldn't help but wonder if Suoying had harbored some intentional revenge against Madam Lu because of her. She couldn't help but smile slightly at this childish behavior, and secretly apologized to Madam Lu.
A small roll of paper about the width of a fingernail was stuck in the window slats.
Qingzan unfolded it behind others' backs and found out that it was a recipe for pastries.
How did Suoying get the recipe for the special pastries sent by Concubine Xue?
Two unrelated people seemed to be suddenly involved together.
Qingzan calmly put the note into her sleeve.
It turned out that the reason this pastry wasn't cloying was because the bitter aroma of tea balanced out the sweetness. Although she had previously figured out some tricks, she'd simply ground the tea leaves into powder and mixed them in, which always had a weird taste.
When steaming a new basket this time, Qingzan followed the recipe and spread a layer of tea leaves under the pastry, and also adjusted the other ingredients.
When Madam Lu tasted them, she found that the two plates of dim sum tasted exactly the same, without a single speck of odor to be found.
"You do have some real skills."
Only then did Madam Lu allow everyone to return to the warehouse temporarily to continue their night duty.
As dawn approached and the sky began to turn pale, she knocked on the warehouse door on time.
By the time Qingzan made a new dessert, it was not yet dawn.
The two of them went to the front hall together. Nanny Lu asked someone to wait outside while she went in alone to present the snacks to the queen.
Qing Zan suddenly called her, "Mammy."
Nanny Lu turned around.
Qing Zan deliberately said in a roundabout way, "After a while, the cakes will taste a little different."
This filled Madam Lu with doubt. Wasn't the one in her hand specially made by this girl this morning? Moreover, if it didn't taste the same as the one sent by Concubine Xue, how could she let anyone pass her test?
Nanny Lu thought the man was just lacking in confidence, but she didn't say anything more: "You wait here."
However, soon, Nanny Lu vaguely realized the intention behind it.
The queen took a small bite of the freshly baked cake and then spat it into the golden cup beside her.
"What I tasted yesterday was not this flavor."
Nanny Lu almost doubted her tongue.
Naturally, she would not let the Queen try the overnight cold cake, so she scooped out another spoonful of the leftovers sent by Concubine Xue, and then ate the new one made by Qingzan again. After tasting it again, she could say without a doubt that it tasted exactly the same.
But the queen insisted that it was different.
When working in the palace, there is absolutely no rule that teaches a servant to go against his master's words or sing a different tune from his master.
Madam Lu could only say, "It's because I'm incompetent that I can't taste the difference."
The Queen crushed a piece of cake with her fingernails and sneered, "Everyone knows that Madam Lu is the most dedicated to her duties. From what you said, it seems as if I am deliberately trying to say that the taste is different when it is the same."
Madam Lu could only bite the bullet and said against her will, "What this servant means is that there may indeed be some differences, but..."
Although she had carried out many harsh punishments on behalf of the Queen, she considered herself no one's lackey and was just following the rules.
This was her first time personally experiencing the Queen's "rules"...
At this moment, the words spoken by the palace maid before entering the door suddenly rang in Madam Lu's mind like a bell.
Nanny Lu suddenly understood and said, "I think it's because when you tasted it yesterday, it was freshly delivered, so it tasted great. But when we tasted it, it had been sitting around for a long time, so the flavor was naturally compromised. Even if we were to make it the same way, we could only imitate the compromised flavor."
In this way, perhaps neither she nor the queen was wrong.
The queen choked and rubbed her fingers in annoyance, which were covered with pastry crumbs. Seeing this, Jin Yu went to order someone to bring some water.
Fu Cui leaned over to the Empress and said, "That's right. My Master is so eloquent that he must be able to discern the difference. Besides, I'm not a professional, so how could I fool you? If you really like it, why don't I go to the Qun Yu Palace and ask Concubine Xue for some more? It's rare that you're willing to honor her."
Jin Yu, who was listening not far away, was nearly furious. Here comes another flatterer like Concubine Wu, taking advantage of her weakness and exploiting her weaknesses!
"Alright, it's not something precious, it makes me look like I'm precious." The Queen's expression brightened slightly. "By the way, send the material to the warehouse and ask the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs if it can be salvaged. If not, just throw it away."
"yes."
Jin Yu knew that the reason why the Queen had easily revealed the matter was probably because His Majesty's words yesterday had some deterrent effect. It would not be a good idea to taunt her too openly at this time, so she walked down the stairs.
But she was so angry that she wet a towel in the basin and took the opportunity to wipe the empress's hands to push Fu Cui aside.
Nanny Lu respectfully left the hall.
Seeing Qing Zan, he hesitated for a moment, and finally just nodded to the person: "Thank you this time."
He signaled her that she could leave.
Qing Zan said: "This servant did it for herself."
No matter how you think about it, you know the Queen won't let her get away with it so easily. Without a sample to compare with, and considering His Majesty's words yesterday, if the Queen isn't too busy, she might not let go of this.
After returning, Qingzan took the time to give the bottle of golden wound medicine to Luxiu.
In the Taiji Hall.
Xu Delu walked in slowly.
He remembered telling Qingzan that if he had any questions, he could just ask Luxiu to pass them on. But he never expected that the first time they came was to return something His Majesty had asked them to send.
Holding this bottle of hot medicine, he didn't know how to speak to the emperor in the palace.
He frowned and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty..."
Xiao Fang looked up and glanced at what was in his hand. There was something he didn't understand.
He said calmly, "Let her pay it back herself."
"Yes." Xu Delu felt as if he had been pardoned, and hurried out to ask someone to bring the things back intact.
But suddenly the emperor said, "Wait."
*
In the Ziquan Palace.
As the scorching heat of May approaches, the Empress Dowager has been feeling a bit of the summer heat these past two days. However, as she's getting older, she doesn't dare to take off her clothes too soon to cool down.
Just when he was feeling that he had no appetite, the goji berry and shredded chicken porridge that Lady Yang had sent was just sitting there. Then he heard that someone from Concubine Xue had come over and said that they had brought some cold cakes.
The palace servant who entered said cleverly, "My master sent all the food to the ladies yesterday, but he said the food for the Empress Dowager should be prepared with extra care. He added a special sour jujube to stimulate the appetite. It's not summer yet, and using an ice jar would damage the spleen and stomach. So, he froze it in well water overnight and delivered it this morning."
The whole box was hung in well water and frozen overnight, which not only locked in the freshness but also made it taste cooler when eaten.
The Queen Mother's mouth watered as she sniffed. She looked up at the people and said, "Dim sum, dim sum, it's exactly what you ordered. Your mistress is thoughtful this time. It's been a while since I last saw her. Is she okay with her food, clothing, and daily necessities?"
The palace maid said, "The master said that she is fine. If you ask, please don't worry about her."
Since he wasn't being polite because of his difficult situation, the Queen Mother's smile deepened. "I'm old and confused, but you still send me cakes to show your filial piety. I'm sure you're not doing too badly."
After the palace maid left, Nanny Lian sighed thoughtfully, "It's a pity for Concubine Xue. She has a good heart. When Concubine Ming was pregnant with her first child, Your Majesty was inevitably nervous."
The noble ladies of Daliang were skilled in horsemanship, and the concubines of the Eastern Palace often played polo together. The current emperor, then still the crown prince, would occasionally join in. Concubine Xue, from a humble background, naturally had no access to such activities, so she sought instruction from Concubine Ming Zhaoyi. After a demonstration, Zhaoyi developed abdominal pain, and the imperial physician confirmed she was over a month pregnant.
At that time, Concubine Xue wanted to stay by Ming Zhaoyi's side, but His Majesty shouted at her, "Get out."
Anyone could tell that His Majesty's tone was extremely serious. This must have been a big blow to Concubine Xue, who was currently in a relationship with him.
The baby in Ming Zhaoyi's belly was fine, but from then on, Master Xue, who had been very favored by her, began to become unpopular and gradually stopped interacting with anyone.
Even after being transferred from the Eastern Palace to the Forbidden Palace and given the title of Concubine Xue, she remained the same. It was as if that innocent girl, as innocent as apricot, had forever remained in a certain day in the past.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager, with the sophistication of someone who had experienced countless hardships, said disapprovingly, "Which woman who enters the palace wouldn't feel pity? Self-pity is the most useless thing. Only when the Emperor pities her is she truly valuable."
*
After noon, Qingzan led two young eunuchs and carried the jade piece with a crack in it back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After inspecting it, the craftsman said that it could be tried filling it with gold lacquer, or directly covering it with gold and silver mother-of-pearl.
They drew several proportional pattern drawings and gave them to Qingzan to take back for the Queen to choose from.
When they came out, the sky had become dark again. On the way, Qingzan heard several palace maids on the side of the road talking about where the emperor had gone today.
These palace maids seemed to be serving a new concubine and were worried about whether their master would have another chance to see the emperor.
Qingzan was thinking about Suoying and Concubine Xue, so she didn't listen carefully.
When she returned to the warehouse today, before she could even ask, Suoying came to her first to try to cover up the truth. She only said that she would explain the formula to her later.
It's hard not to have doubts.
Suoying was trying to help her, so Qingzan certainly wouldn't question her. But she knew very little about Concubine Xue, and Suoying's recent behavior made her worry that she was doing something that would put herself in danger.
Just as I was lost in thought, I heard someone quietly imitating a cat's meow and shouting everywhere.
Qingzan became curious and walked closer, only to find that it was Concubine Yang.
Concubine Yang was leaning over the bushes, straining to see through them, oblivious to the rest. Qingzan bowed, but she ignored him. However, her maid, Xiaotao, who was standing nearby, still remembered Qingzan: "It's you."
Xiao Tao still remembered that the palace maiden her master had met passing by outside Fengzao Palace when she had been unable to find Concubine Xue. This place was close to Fengzao Palace, so it wasn't surprising that they'd run into her again.
Xiao Tao started talking to Qing Zan in a familiar manner, "Master, I heard there are a lot of cats here recently, so I wanted to come look for some. Our Master has always loved these little pets."
Lady Yang then called out to Xiao Tao, "It's out, bring it here!"
As expected, several nimble and lean civet cats emerged from the bushes as if in response.
Xiao Tao immediately handed over a brocade bag. Lady Yang untied the rope on the bag, squatted down, and personally poured the dried meat inside to them.
However, at this moment, the civet cats that had been behaving normally suddenly jumped up and attacked Lady Yang one after another, looking ferocious and violent, baring their fangs and claws, and screaming incessantly.
The sudden change happened and Xiao Tao didn't know what was happening. She just rushed forward to protect her master.
These cats were extremely vicious, as if they were determined to bite Lady Yang, scaring her to the ground, but they continued to attack fiercely. Xiao Tao was so scared that she cried out: "Someone come——"
In a hurry, Qingzan wanted to find a branch to drive away the cats, but accidentally discovered that these civet cats not only attacked Concubine Yang, but also fought with each other, and some were even so ferocious that their fur stood on end.
This is a sign of food protection.
"It's the jerky. Throw away the jerky!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Yang hurriedly threw away the brocade bag. As expected, the civet cats did not want to fight anymore and ran away with the dried meat in their mouths.
When Lady Yang was helped back to Huying Pavilion, still in fear, there were three bloody marks on her neck.
The entire Huying Pavilion was in a state of chaos. One palace maid went to fetch the imperial physician, another went to the main hall to report to the imperial concubine, and another went to the Fangxin Hall to fetch the emperor.
Concubine Zhen was supposed to sleep with the emperor tonight.
Qingzan was waiting outside Huying Pavilion. When the emperor came, Concubine Zhen also came with him.
Concubine Zhen followed the emperor closely, sneering softly to the others, "This cat really knows how to pick the right day to scratch people. I don't know if it's bullying Lady Yang or deliberately bullying me!"
She was extremely favored at the time, and there may have been many concubines who acted like little girls in front of the emperor behind his back, but there was no one else in the palace who dared to laugh and ask questions in such a playful and angry way in public.
Although the emperor would just laugh it off most of the time, such silent indulgence was enough to serve as a metaphor of the emperor's will, allowing Concubine Zhen to look down on others.
But at this moment, the emperor glanced at her with a slightly cold look.
Concubine Zhen couldn't help but feel a little nervous and restrained herself a little.
She knew that the severity of Concubine Yang's injuries was still unknown, so this was not the time for her to act out. When no one was watching, she hooked the Emperor's pinky finger and defended herself, "I'm just confused. Why would a wild cat be on the palace path, and why did it happen to catch someone? Normally, don't these little creatures roam out of sight? Could someone be trying to harm Concubine Yang?"
The emperor's expression passed silently over her face. Concubine Zhen shrank her fingertips and finally lowered her hands obediently.
Ming Zhaoyi emerged at the right moment and bowed to the emperor. As Concubine Yang's host, she spoke in a businesslike tone, "Concubine Yang is fine, just a little frightened. Your Majesty, please go in and take a look."
Just as Concubine Zhen was about to follow in, the woman standing at the door gently raised her arm to stop her.
Ming Zhaoyi stopped the person and said, "Please move to the main hall. I would like to invite you for a cup of tea."
Concubine Zhen turned her head and asked, "Who wants to drink Guanju Palace's tea? Don't they always have a bad conversation?"
The emperor noticed the movement behind him, turned around to look at Ming Zhaoyi, and said to Zhen Jieyu calmly: "Go."
Concubine Zhen really hated the eye-to-eye quarrel between the two. She always felt that they seemed to have reached some kind of communication invisibly, but she was kept out of it and knew nothing about it.
However, since the emperor had spoken, she had no choice but to do as he ordered.
So, before leaving, she deliberately used a voice loud enough for the emperor to hear, and hypocritically complained to Ming Zhaoyi: "If you don't know, you might think there's something in there that I can't see. So you forbid me to care about Concubine Yang?"
Xiao Fangshi laughed and ignored her.
From beginning to end, Qingzan waited with her head bowed on the corridor outside Huying Pavilion, like a quiet ornament. Only when Ming Zhaoyi came over did she ask her about the attack on Concubine Yang today.
Seeing that the emperor was now in charge, the palace maids had all returned to their posts, and everything she knew had been explained, she thought about returning to Fengzao Palace.
Who would have thought that Xu Delu would come out and catch her at this moment: "Miss, you can't leave. His Majesty still has something to ask you."
At this time, the imperial physician also came out with his medical box, and Xiaotao followed him to get the medicine.
There were no servants waiting in the inner room. Only Lady Yang lay on the couch. As summer was approaching, a curtain of green gauze was hung outside the bed, separating those inside and outside from each other.
The emperor was leaning against the Luohan bed outside the green gauze kitchen. He did not look solemn, but even a little relaxed, not seeming worried at all. It seemed that Concubine Yang was indeed fine.
Seeing the person coming, he raised his eyes slightly and said, "Come here."
Qingzan was alert, so she stopped at the right place, neither too close nor too far, and bowed to the person.
The emperor looked at her as if he didn't recognize her, and slowly leaned down, "I heard that you saved Yang?"
Qing Zan felt uncomfortable being looked at by him, and responded suspiciously: "Yes..."
The emperor stood up and walked towards the man with condescending steps, his steps very slowly.
One step, two steps, until he leaned over and pressed a small, cold bottle into her palm. He whispered a warning in her ear: "Anything I give away is never returned. Got it?"
Because it was so soft, the voice was inexplicably hoarse. Qingzan bent down and lowered his head, clutching the familiar small bottle tightly.
Soon, the emperor straightened up again with a serious expression, and calmly distanced himself from her, as if nothing had happened and there was no need for anyone to respond.
He simply returned to his normal voice and said sternly, "You have done a great job protecting the master, and you deserve a reward."
Reward, what reward? Qingzan looked up in surprise.
All I could see was a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes, which seemed to be smiling faintly.
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