When Consort Qi came out in a light purple dress embroidered with phoenix tail flowers, Consort Hua arrived late.
Before you see him, you hear his voice.
"Everyone has arrived so early, it makes me seem lazy."
"Greetings to the Empress."
"Please rise, sister."
The Empress said gently, "I have a new cook here who makes excellent sweet soups."
My sisters came over very early this morning, but most of them barely ate anything for breakfast. Let's all have a bite to eat today.
"Your Majesty, we thank you."
Jianqiu clapped her hands, and a dozen or so palace maids, heads bowed, filed in, carrying bowls of sweet soup, and served one to each of the concubines.
Sun Miaoqing looked at the bowl in front of her, a hodgepodge of ingredients, some visible and some not, including jelly, winter melon strips, barley, Chinese yam, persimmon slices, lily bulbs, wood ear fungus, and fox nuts.
Moreover, a few drops of sesame oil floated on top of this bowl of mixed stew.
[Isn't this a refreshing herbal pill that people in Chaozhou like to eat? It does taste refreshing, but doesn't Your Majesty dislike sweets?]
The Empress paused in stirring the sweet soup. She had sent people to inquire about the location of that red flag from last time, but there was still no result.
Now I know this is called Qingxin Pill, a popular food in Chaozhou, and I also know she doesn't like sweets.
It wasn't that she was born disliking it; it's just that for years, she had been soaking in bitter melon water. No matter how sweet something was, it never tasted the same again.
However, she would occasionally try it, because the emperor liked sweets.
Only those closest to her know this.
The Empress's smile grew even brighter. If ghosts and gods truly existed, would she be able to see Honghui one more time?
"How about it? Does this calming pill suit the tastes of you ladies?"
Normally, Consort Qi would have been the first to flatter the Empress at this time, but she was lost in thought after hearing what she had just heard, and she couldn't care less about such things.
Consort Hua chuckled lightly, "The cooks in the Empress's palace do have some skills."
It was just some ordinary stuff, but it was done quite well, not bad at all compared to the cooks in my humble kitchen.
The Empress said, "Even the Emperor praised the pastries and sweet soups in Consort Hua's palace."
"If this calming pill can earn your praise, then my efforts have not been in vain."
Consort Hua's barbed words and her inversion of hierarchy are not new phenomena.
The Empress had long since grown accustomed to this, and was only waiting for the day when the Empress would completely lose power before settling all scores with her.
What good is being favored if a hen that can't lay eggs? At most, she'll live or die when the Emperor dies, depending entirely on her own will. But that would only be if Consort Hua lived long enough.
The Empress said, "Consort Shen, Consort Chun, and Consort An, none of you have family members in the capital. You need to adapt well to life in the palace."
Shen Meizhuang and the others stood up to thank the Empress for her concern. The Empress then looked at Sun Miaoqing, her main intention being to treat everyone equally.
Whether it's a human or a ghost, the fact that she was able to encounter it is her destiny.
As long as she can hear these things, this is true sincerity, and no matter how much she knows, it will always be under her control.
"Cheng Changzai, you served His Majesty diligently yesterday. I have some top-quality snow frog here. Take some back with you and stew it with papaya. It will be good for your health."
Sun Miaoqing said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty."
[Is the Empress targeting me? Could there be something wrong with those snow frogs?]
Like the osmanthus tree in Suiyu Pavilion, and those red musk beads...
She really knew everything!
Under that osmanthus tree, there lies a jar of musk containing the remains of Consort Fang's unborn child.
It was something she had expected that Zhen Huan would move in. She knew that Consort Hua was jealous and fierce, and would definitely make things difficult for a newcomer who had won the Emperor's favor.
Moving some osmanthus trees in was also to use the strong fragrance of osmanthus to mask the smell of musk in the flower bed.
However, these red musk beads are rare, and although she knew their power, she never possessed any. Otherwise, why would she have racked her brains to devise so many unexpected schemes?
The Empress no longer wanted to appease everyone and wanted to end the meeting quickly so she could secretly send someone to check if the things in the flower bed were still there.
Before she could even ask them to leave, Consort Hua became anxious.
How dare they bribe her people right in front of her!
"Although snow frog is good, it cannot be eaten often, especially by people who are sixteen or seventeen years old, who cannot withstand its medicinal effects."
"I just acquired some top-quality bird's nest. I'll have Songzhi send it to my sister later. Stew it with rock sugar and red dates every day, and she'll be healthy and strong in less than two months."
[Is this for real? I'm profiting from the power struggle between Hua Pangpang and the Empress.]
Good things are never too little, the more the happier; others go to the palace to spend money, I go to the factory to slack off.
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