Chapter 107 Chapter 107 Concubine Chen's Day
As the months progressed, Shen Qing gained weight and needed new clothes. After ten days or half a month, her waist became tight again.
When the imperial edict of enthronement came down, as expected, Shen Qing was named Concubine Chen, Lan Xiurong was named Concubine Lan, and Chen Jieyu was named Concubine Chen, and they were granted the title of Noble Concubine Chen, and were granted the residence in Qixiang Palace.
In addition, the third prince was raised by Concubine Zhang, who was therefore conferred the title of noble concubine and granted the right to live in Xian'an Palace.
When Concubine Zhang entered the palace, she was just a minor talent, but because she relied on the queen, she is now not only the queen, but she even has a prince.
Concubine Zhang is the Queen's person, and logically the Queen should avoid suspicion. However, all the concubines in the harem who can be named are either dead, banished to the cold palace, or abandoned. Now, if we count them carefully, the only ones who can raise the third prince are Concubine Lan, Concubine Chen, Concubine Chu and Concubine Zhang.
Needless to say, Concubine Lan and Concubine Chen have already made it clear that they will not raise the third prince.
As for Concubine Chu, she didn't want to get involved in this mess. The Chu family and the Li family had become enemies, and she was alienated by the former Concubine De, now Concubine Li. Even though she felt pity for the third prince, she would not take the initiative to take on this matter at this time.
After much deliberation, the matter fell into the hands of Concubine Zhang.
Without the obstruction of the Li family in the court, Concubine Chu's Chu family had a stronger momentum in the previous dynasty, and she was not left out of the grand harem this time. Concubine Chu was given the title of Zhaorong and was granted the residence of Jingren Palace.
As for the remaining concubines, as long as they did not cause trouble or make mistakes, they were promoted one level according to their seniority.
The concubines who have been content to live a quiet life and have not made any progress until now either have no ambition or have humble family backgrounds and plain looks. If one of them is outstanding in one aspect, it is impossible for them to be unknown in the harem.
When the imperial edict was issued, the harem was filled with joy.
This enthronement ceremony was deliberately chosen when Shen Qing was not too seriously ill, but even so, her ceremony was still a little simple.
When everyone called her Concubine Chen and saluted her, Shen Qing said a few words and Bai Tao helped her to rest in the hall.
Shen Qing thought of the few unfamiliar faces she had just seen. Unconsciously, a group of new people had emerged among the concubines. Most of them were selected through selections in the first and fourth years of Jingming. Because their starting point was too low, it was difficult for them to see the emperor, and high-ranking concubines were unwilling to win them over. Some of them even rarely went to Kunning Palace to pay their respects because of their low status.
However, the number of familiar concubines was repeatedly reduced, and no new people were admitted into the palace. The concubines who originally had no hope of promotion were also reduced to the positions of noble ladies and imperial concubines.
Mei Jieyu is a good example. When Du Jieyu was in power, she was just a talented woman. Later, on the eve of the new bride entering the palace, she was promoted to a beauty in the harem.
The concubine who had just entered the palace was young and beautiful. She did not win favor based on her status as a beauty, so she became quiet and kept company with Ma, who was also a beauty at the time.
She was on the list of the two subsequent imperial concubines, and now, Mei had become a concubine.
If she does it twice more, she will be able to become the master of a palace. It’s very exciting just to think about it.
According to the emperor's intentions towards the concubines in the harem, as long as they behave themselves and don't bring bad luck to Concubine Chen, and live long enough, they can even hope for the position of concubine.
Comparing it with the harem of the late emperor, there were many concubines whom the late emperor had forgotten and who had been in Baolin's position until his death. How could he be unsatisfied?
Mei Jieyu and Ma Jieyu discussed it and decided that even if they couldn't please Concubine Chen, they would never say anything bad about her.
Ma Jieyu said, "I can't even beat Mahjong yet. If I save up my monthly allowance, I can buy a set of jade Mahjong tiles. It's so much fun to play with my sisters. Who would gossip about Concubine Chen if they are tired of this kind of life?"
Mei Jieyu smiled and said, "That's right. The emperor doesn't come to our place, but the Rouge and Powder Department and the Makeup Department have not skimped on anything. The emperor is used to seeing any good makeup. It's better to let the sisters appreciate it."
"In the first few years, my family thought I was just a little Baolin and a talented person, and they didn't care about me at all. Except for my own mother, no letter was sent to the palace. But since I became a noble lady, my family suddenly became warmer, and I didn't want to care about them. Now I'm a concubine, you can imagine how warm their hearts are." Concubine Ma pouted.
"We may not be favored anymore, but we are in the harem, with a high position, so we can always have a say. Even if we can't hear the emperor directly, we still have the queen and the noble concubine. No wonder my family values me."
Ma Jieyu and Mei Jieyu smiled at each other. They were really tired of this kind of comfortable life. One of them should drag the other to the cold palace and take a walk around the laundry department to cure all their problems.
And there is one thing they didn't say: the palace was not boring at all. There were two big dramas this year alone.
Mei Jieyu and Ma Jieyu were amazed. They could not think of those schemes even if they tried their best. While they took a few more palace maids with them to protect themselves when they went out, they did not understand why there were still people who were so reckless as to try their luck when the Emperor was obviously protecting Concubine Chen.
The Li family had brought themselves to the point where they were exterminated.
Shen Qing naturally didn't know what Concubine Mei and Concubine Ma were saying or thinking, but she could roughly guess what these concubines were thinking.
Every time they saluted her, they looked up at her with the most charming eyes, without any jealousy or malice, and the brave ones even admired her appearance.
However, if it were Shen Qing, he would also be happy and content with the status quo. After all, he does not have to do anything, he has money to spend every month, someone to serve him, an imperial garden to enjoy, and beautiful sisters to get together with to talk about music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and play cards. If he is bullied, he can report it to the queen. The two superiors are not the ones who like to bully people for no reason, and the queen will treat him fairly for the sake of her reputation.
The only thing that was unbearable was having to get up every day to pay respects at Kunning Palace.
But compared with the previous benefits, this seems so insignificant.
Similarly, Shen Qing also expressed her understanding of why some concubines wanted to get rid of her. Most of these concubines had good family backgrounds and good looks. Without her, they would be able to climb up the ladder faster and bring greater benefits to the family.
But the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. If you want to fight, you have to accept the defeat if you lose.
Shen Qing was not fooled by the peaceful harem now, knowing that there was cruelty underneath.
Kunning Palace.
Ever since the Queen knew that the Emperor had specially changed the Imperial Concubine system for Shen Qing and used the character "Chen" as her title, she became increasingly desolate. She curled her lips and said sarcastically, "It's really boring to be the Queen."
Obviously Shen Qing did what she wished, overthrew Concubine De and put Concubine Xian under house arrest, but she was not happy at heart.
Concubine Chen, her child is destined to be noble because of her.
Qing Gu put the robe on the queen and said, "Your Highness is the queen, and your status is noble."
The queen grabbed Qing Gu's hand and asked, "Do you have any medicine that can cause a natural abortion?"
Qing Gu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry about this. I have already seen Concubine Chen's eating habits and pulse in recent days. She is undoubtedly pregnant with a little princess, and will not pose a threat to the eldest prince. Moreover, the emperor is guarding Concubine Chen's baby very closely. Not only will it be difficult to get it, but it will also arouse suspicion."
The fetus in Shen Qing's belly was still young, and she had no way of telling whether it was a boy or a girl, but in order to reassure the queen, she had to say this.
No matter what punishment you receive in the end.
The Queen was courting death by having such an idea. Besides, they knew Shen Qing, and it was impossible for Shen Qing not to be on guard.
Although Shen Qing didn't know how many times they had done it, Shen Qing knew that Qinggu was proficient in pharmacology and poisons, and it was she who poisoned the queen when she was pregnant.
She is already Concubine Chen, how could she be careless about such a matter?
The queen breathed a sigh of relief: "Really?"
Qing Gu said: "How dare I lie to the queen?"
The queen immediately frowned and said, "Deal with Li Fei as soon as possible. I don't want to see her again."
Leaving the Third Prince in the care of Concubine Zhang is no different from letting him fall into her hands. She has thousands of ways to make the Third Prince useless, but the prerequisite is that Concubine Li must no longer be alive.
Qinggu looked embarrassed, but she had already refused once just now, and if she failed to do it this time, she would be in trouble, so she said yes.
The Queen waved her hand.
Qinggu stepped back and passed by Shehe who came in to serve the queen.
By the end of November, the first heavy snow of the year finally fell.
The foreign country presented a kind of red fruit to our dynasty, which tasted like fire when eaten. When Shen Qing heard it, she thought it was chili pepper. After seeing it, she was more certain and immediately begged Ji Chen to give it to her.
Ji Chen said, "There is only one bag of red fruits. I had someone send it to Chengqian Palace. This is a potted plant that will bloom in summer. My beloved concubine wants to see it, but I'm afraid you will be disappointed."
Shen Qing smiled and shook her head like a rattle: "Not disappointed, not disappointed, I want to eat."
"Your Majesty, I invite you to go to Chengqian Palace to eat hot pot tomorrow."
Judging from Ji Chen’s usual taste, I think he likes it very much.
Ji Chen was confused and kissed her lips lovingly: "Empress Chen, please be nicer to your mouth."
He didn't want to restrain her, but how could he eat this thing?
Although it was presented as tribute, it was only treated as a rare item and at most sent to the Imperial Medical Service to be studied by the imperial physician.
【The imperial concubine has gone mad.】
Shen Qing's mouth was pouting so much that an oil bottle could be hung on it. He was very unhappy and promised, "Your Majesty, just wait and see."
She didn't waste any more time and went back to Chengqian Palace after getting the chili peppers.
She first asked the chef to make a spicy dish for her to satisfy her craving. She had no shortage of expensive condiments such as spices, but the taste was still far from that of chili peppers.
Then I started thinking about tomorrow's hotpot.
The ingredients for hot pot are easy to prepare, but the difficulty lies in the hot pot base. She doesn't know how to stir-fry it, but she had watched several videos before traveling through time and knew roughly how to make it, so she handed it to the chef.
I'll treat Ji Chen to a simple meal tomorrow, and then wait for her to ask the blacksmith to make a pot suitable for cooking hot pot, and then make a bigger one.
The next day, Ji Chen arrived as promised.
Shen Qing asked the palace servants to serve the meal. When the pot was brought up, Ji Chen was not surprised.
This is the fire pot used for hot pot.
Shen Qing handed over the chopsticks attentively: "Please try it. You will not be disappointed. This base of mine is so delicious that you will want to eat more. It tastes best in winter."
She picked up the dish prepared by the cook and placed it in front of the two of them.
Ji Chen could already smell the spicy aroma and the red fruits and oil were bubbling in the pot, but he was still hesitant to pick up his chopsticks.
Seeing this, Shen Qing took the initiative to put the meat in, and after it was cooked, dipped it in the sauce dish and tasted it without hesitation.
Ji Chen stretched out his hand to stop him but failed.
Shen Qing's mouth was rosy as he ate the tender meat and said contentedly, "It's delicious! Your Majesty, please try it too."
Ji Chen repeated Shen Qing's actions and ate a piece of meat.
He was not quite used to the first bite, but as he followed Shen Qing and took bite after bite, he gradually got the taste.
"good!"
[This taste is wonderful, and those who love it love it very much. If the red fruit is sold as a precious spice to wealthy merchants, the national treasury will be quickly filled, but how to grow it is a difficult problem. ]
Shen Qing was naturally surprised. If peppers were grown in this dynasty, she would never lack spicy vegetables to eat.
So he quickly said, "Since the emperor thinks it's a good idea, let the foreigners plant more. We only have one bag and it will be used up soon."
"It's just that the foreign countries are too far away. If we can get the foreign people to grow it in our dynasty, we will have endless supply of these red fruits."
"If foreign countries can grow this kind of spice in such a remote and barren place, our country is vast and rich in resources. I think there must be suitable land to grow this kind of spice."
Ji Chen looked at her with a smile. For a bite of food, she was so smart and active.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. You are so smart and have solved my problem."
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