Consort Tong ignored Consort Rong's nagging and generally didn't care. She was only warning Consort Rong and her daughter-in-law that if they caused any more problems, not only the Emperor, but even she wouldn't let them off easily.
When the group arrived at the inner hall of Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was sitting on a cushion having breakfast. After the banquet and greetings, the Empress Dowager summoned the little one to her side. Today, the Empress Dowager was in good spirits. She was wearing a pine-colored palace dress with Suzhou embroidery of blooming flowers, and the cuffs were also embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns in gold thread. This must have been carefully prepared by the Imperial Workshop.
"My little darling, how do I look today?" Qingyan looked around at the old lady and found her complexion to be excellent, indicating that she had rested well.
"Grandma is in such good spirits!" Qingyan praised with a smile.
"Yes, the Fourth Princess Consort's meals are prepared to suit the Empress Dowager's tastes. The Empress Dowager has eaten much more than usual." Granny Su praised Xiao Guai directly. These past few days, the Empress Dowager's appetite has been poor, and the small kitchen, following Xiao Guai's suggestion, prepared a lot of food, which has greatly improved the Empress Dowager's appetite.
Even the imperial physicians said that if this continued, the Empress Dowager's health should be able to recover somewhat.
Qingyan smiled, feeling somewhat sentimental. The Empress Dowager suffered from hunger and thirst syndrome, which is similar to diabetes in modern times. It was clearly a disease of affluence. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager's condition was still in its early stages. If her diet and sugar intake could be controlled, her life could have been extended considerably.
"Alright, I haven't had anything sweet these past few days, my little darling, you must continue telling the story!" Qingyan modified the current Grand Mansion Gate story, presenting it in the style of the previous dynasty, which was just what the Empress Dowager wanted to hear.
For the women of the royal family, going to the theater was their only pastime. The Empress Dowager was in poor health and could only use these things for entertainment. Qingyan would talk about the plays for an hour every day, telling the Empress Dowager episode by episode.
Back then, she was infatuated with Bai Jingqi for a long time, thinking he was a real talent.
In that chaotic era, they were able to grow their family into what it is today, and even preserve the most core secret recipe during those turbulent times.
"Consort Rong, you two go and make some snacks for me!" The Empress Dowager didn't want these two to rest; she wanted them to atone for their crimes by performing good deeds.
It's best to leave the medicinal cuisine to the kitchen staff; otherwise, it's really hard to say whether it tastes good or not.
Snacks are different. Each young lady will have snacks prepared for her immediately. This is a way for each family to ensure that their child will be favored.
After Consort Rong and her mother-in-law took their leave, Consort Tong sat in the lower seat and listened to Xiao Guai begin to tell a story.
An hour later, the Empress Dowager finally came to her senses. She couldn't help but feel that time had passed too quickly, and she hadn't had enough.
"Little darling, let's talk for another quarter of an hour, okay?" The Empress Dowager looked at Little darling, then at the bitter medicine juice beside her, and directly made her offer.
Watching the grandmother and granddaughter exchange, Consort Tong couldn't help but think that with Xiao Guai around, things were much easier for them. Generally speaking, the Empress Dowager was the most difficult to serve when she needed medicine, especially since the medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians was too bitter.
"Grandma, as we said, we should rest after talking for an hour. You need to take your medicine now." Qingyan was absolutely principled. The imperial physician said that the Empress Dowager's health needed to be well taken care of, and she needed to take a bowl of medicine every two hours to control her hunger and thirst.
Moreover, the Empress Dowager cannot always be angry, otherwise it will greatly affect her health.
"Fine, Su Mo'er, bring me the medicine!" Hearing that Xiao Guai wouldn't compromise, the Empress Dowager quickly administered the medicine, hoping to negotiate with her.
"Little darling, tell your mother about this for another half hour, then it will be lunchtime!" Consort Tong looked at the old lady's pitiful appearance and felt sorry for her. So be it, she decided to let Little darling talk more.
Qingyan gave in. Just as she was about to speak, Consort Rong and Lady Dong'e came over with exquisite pastries. Su Mo'er frowned as soon as she tasted them; these pastries were sweet.
"Your Highness Consort Rong, the imperial physician said that the Empress Dowager cannot eat overly sweet pastries, so you..." Su Mo'er didn't finish her sentence, but Qing Yanbin understood that Consort Rong's pastries were not to his liking.
Seeing Consort Rong's bewildered expression, she realized that the Empress Dowager had not ordered the servants in the small kitchen to be reassigned to Consort Rong. Thus, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had made a serious mistake.
"You two want me to go see the late Emperor as soon as possible, don't you?" The Empress Dowager didn't like Consort Dong'e, and her impression of Consort Rong wasn't very good either.
The departure of the Empress Dowager was a great blow to the Empress Dowager. From that time on, her personality changed. She was extremely happy to see Consort Dong'e suffering.
"Grandma, shall I go and prepare some snacks for you?" Qingyan remembered that she had some xylitol in her space, which was suitable for people with diabetes.
The old lady nodded quickly. Xiao Guai's cooking was sweet and delicious, and she didn't feel uncomfortable after using it. The taste was a little bland, but acceptable.
"Your Majesty, I dare not!" Consort Rong quickly knelt down after regaining her senses. Emperor Kangxi liked sweets, so every family would cultivate their daughters according to his tastes.
Dong Eshi clearly cooked according to Yin Zhi's tastes. Neither the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law was truly filial to the Empress Dowager. Therefore, they both made a mistake.
After the Empress Dowager saw Xiao Guai off with a smile, she was even more pleased with Xiao Guai's filial piety and smiled at Consort Tong as well.
Qingyan entered the small kitchen, and the servants quickly rose and bowed.
"Fourth Princess Consort, you've finally arrived! This... many of the ingredients you prepared for making pastries have been used by Consort Rong and the Third Princess Consort!" Qingyan had prepared a lot of things, many of which were modern items that were easy to use.
"No need to look anymore, the Imperial Household Department doesn't have any of these. Let me take a look." Qingyan was preparing to make strawberry mille-feuille, which wasn't very sweet, so what she had in front of her was enough.
"Make sure you prepare the oven carefully!" Qingyan looked at the oven that had just been purchased from the church and couldn't help but want to complain. The oven here was really not very good.
"Yes!" Several servants hurried over to prepare the oven. If they displeased their mistress, the Empress Dowager's pastries would be ruined, and they would ultimately be punished as well.
Qingyan had everyone else busy for half an hour before she finished making the mille-feuille cake and placed it on the iceberg to chill it. This dessert tastes better when it's cold.
"Fourth Princess Consort, lunch is about to start, and you..." The servants in the small kitchen were having a headache. If the Empress Dowager ate this snack, she probably wouldn't have lunch, and all their preparations would be for nothing.
"This is for after lunch. Take lunch over!" Qingyan planned to have the mille-feuille cake as dessert. The old lady would definitely have to finish the medicinal diet prescribed by the imperial physician before the mille-feuille could be her reward. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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