Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Palace Maid Sixty-One Days
The Mountain Resort covers a large area. It not only has water and forests, but also large plains, countless lakes and streams, and temples for worshiping Buddha.
Compared with the majestic and magnificent imperial palace, the scenery in the Mountain Resort is full of natural elegance, and the courtyards where people live are mostly in the style of Jiangnan gardens.
The Empress Dowager lived in Songhezhai, the Empress lived in Shuifangyanxiu in Ruyizhou, and the eldest prince lived with the Empress in the East Warm Pavilion.
When Shen Qing and Fu Xue arrived at Shuifang Yanxiu, they happened to see Zhang Cairen accompanying the queen. She was holding a pair of small tiger-head shoes to give to the eldest prince. "I made these for the eldest prince when I was bored in the carriage. I hope that the tiger, as the king of beasts, can ward off evil and protect the eldest prince. I just don't know if they are suitable for the eldest prince. Please don't think I am meddling."
The tiger eyes on the tiger-head shoes in Zhang Cairen's hands are bright and lively. They are embroidered with gold thread, and the stitching on the shoe surface is also very fine, not inferior to that of the embroiderers in the palace.
You can tell at a glance that a lot of thought went into it.
The queen's eyes fell on the shoes, and she smiled a little.
Pleasing the eldest prince has always been more effective than pleasing her.
The queen took it, praised Zhang Cairen's embroidery skills, handed the shoes to the palace maid beside her, looked at Zhang Cairen and said, "You are thoughtful."
Zhang Cairen smiled shyly, being gentle and modest, with a hint of childishness in his eyes and brows.
She originally didn't want to surrender to the Queen so early, and she knew that the Queen looked down on her. Although she was not favored in the palace, she had enough food, clothing and other expenses. She also had no ambitions and just wanted to endure it year by year.
After all, the emperor is still in his prime.
But looking at the situation this year, if the emperor goes hunting like he did this year and lives in the temporary palace in the future, she will have to fight for it, or at least have to be valued by the empress. Otherwise, it is still unclear whether she will be on the list of people accompanying him in the future.
Moreover, the queen's position is stable, she has an eldest prince, and all the children in the palace were born smoothly. She seems to be a virtuous woman.
Then Zhang Cairen said, "Your Majesty, I don't know many concubines in the palace, so I am inevitably lonely and boring. If I can stay with you for a while after paying my respects every day, I will be satisfied."
Zhang Cairen is still young, so he doesn't beat around the bush and is more straightforward in his speech.
The Queen said nothing, her eyes swept over Zhang Cairen's face, until Zhang Cairen was so nervous that she spoke: "This palace is nothing like being by the emperor's side. Zhang Cairen has her own ideas, and pleasing the emperor is the most important thing."
The tone was steady but contained a hint of irony.
[The Emperor does not like to favor high-ranking concubines. Now is the time for these younger concubines to come to the fore. If I had not discovered that Concubine Zhang was not keen on competing for favor, why would I have left her alone? ]
[If I don't fight for the emperor's favor now, will I wait until I'm old and ugly to ask for his mercy? ]
[The talent show is held every three years. This year, she can live a good life without any competition, but it doesn't mean that it will be like this every year. Moreover, Zhang Cairen is just a talented person. Even if the favored ones don't take her seriously, will the servants below always respect her? It's really disappointing. ]
After hearing what the queen said, Zhang Cairen showed disappointment on her face, but she still looked at the queen eagerly and said, "Queen, it's not that I don't want to please the emperor, but the emperor treats me indifferently, and I am not good at speaking. If I say more, it will definitely annoy the emperor."
The Queen asked, "How can we know if we don't try?"
Zhang Cairen lowered her head and said: "I have little favor to begin with. If I make the emperor annoyed again, I will..."
It is not wrong not to argue, and it is less wrong to argue less.
Even if you are favored, unless you have children, there is no chance of promotion in a short period of time. It is better to be honest and accumulate experience in a safe way.
Seeing Zhang Cairen being so stubborn, the Queen couldn't help but show disappointment in her eyes. However, she saw that Zhang Cairen was a pure person and had no ill intentions in being close to the Crown Prince, so she said, "If you don't mind that this place is boring, why not stay after paying your respects?"
Zhang Cairen raised her head, her eyes sparkling with disbelief, and smiled, "I am so happy, how dare you despise me?"
The queen then ordered the guests to leave: "It is getting dark, I will have the palace maids take you back to your residence."
Zhang Cairen nodded in agreement.
She was so obsessed with this matter that she didn't even take a second look at her own residence in the Summer Resort and hurried to the Queen.
After Zhang Cairen left, the Queen held the eldest prince and teased him for a while, then took her hand back and said, "Take Can'er away."
The palace maids followed the order. The queen watched the eldest prince being carried away, but she called out to Shen Qing. At this time, there was a hint of fatigue between her brows.
She did not expect Zhang Cairen to come.
Shen Qing stepped forward to support the queen, lowered his brows and looked away: "Your Majesty?"
The queen's eyes fell on Shen Qing, and she paused for a moment before saying, "Don't go in front of others or show off your beauty these days unless you have something to do."
Although Concubine Xian and Concubine De stayed in the palace, there were more than one cunning person among the concubines.
She didn't want this chess piece to be destroyed before it was even used.
[If it weren’t for the fact that Zhang Cairen couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t…]
[The virtuous concubine has the queen mother behind her, and the virtuous concubine has not only won over the noble lady Chu, but also the beauty Li is willing to assist her and bear a child for her cousin. However, I don’t have anyone who can speak to the emperor. ]
Shen Qing had already trained himself to keep a calm expression no matter what he heard. Although the Queen's plan was unexpected, it was also reasonable.
If she had not pleased the Queen in the Empress Dowager's palace last year, the Queen would probably have pushed her out after that day.
After all, she was kept for such a long time.
Shen Qing said softly: "Yes."
Even if the Queen didn't say it, she didn't want to show it in front of others. Was she afraid that she wouldn't be able to entertain the concubines who had nowhere to use their energy when the Emperor was not in the Summer Palace?
The queen signaled Qinggu to take out the things.
Qinggu handed Shen Qing an exquisitely carved small box. Shen Qing supported the queen with one hand and took the box with a puzzled look.
The Queen said, "This is the new tribute ointment from the Western Regions. It smells sweet but not greasy, and has a faint and unique fragrance. There is only one box of this, and I specially asked the Emperor for it."
Shen Qing was naturally uneasy when such a valuable thing fell into her hands, even though she understood what the Queen wanted her to do.
"I want you to apply this fragrance on your body every day after bathing. You cannot be lazy for even a single day. People who often use this fragrance will have this fragrance on their bodies for a long time, and it will not fade away for a long time."
Shen Qing is beautiful, but her appearance is as pale as white water, bland and tasteless. If she could be improved upon, she would be perfect.
She thought about it for a long time. Concubine Yan was too charming and not what the emperor liked, but because of her good looks, the emperor treated her well.
In this case, Shen Qing, who seems to have been reborn after growing up, will most likely make the emperor indulge in her beauty for a while.
When a new person enters the palace in two years, if Shen Qing falls out of favor, she will have someone available.
Shen Qing opened her mouth, then closed it again, glanced at Qing Gu, and finally said hesitantly: "My lady, I serve the eldest prince closely, I wonder if this ointment will harm him?"
The Queen shook her head: "Qing Gu has checked and the eldest prince will not be adverse to this ointment, but for the sake of prudence, you should hold Can'er less. How can a prince who is greedy for a woman's arms achieve great things?"
What the queen wanted to say more was, how could one become the crown prince?
Shen Qing had no choice but to remind her, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince is still young."
And you were hugging me happily just now.
The queen still shook her head: "She is not a child anymore. She will be able to speak soon."
Shen Qing: “…”
The queen held Shen Qing's hand, looked at her seriously and said, "You are the only one I can trust."
Shen Qing lowered her head and did not give any earth-shattering assurances. She just said, "I understand."
She thought clearly that she would be a concubine anyway, so why not take advantage of the queen's favor.
In this way, she would naturally belong to the Queen. The Queen would want to use her and would protect her.
The queen was very satisfied when she saw this, and felt much more relieved to support him.
If she met someone who became arrogant and proud after becoming the governor, she would have a headache. It was good enough for her to be quiet and not cause trouble.
Shen Qing stepped away from the Queen and met Fu Xue, and they walked towards the warm room together.
On the way, Shen Qing told Fu Xue about this matter.
Fu Xue took the ointment, smelled it, and said, "No problem."
Shen Qing took the ointment back and asked Fu Xue to check it, which was also an extra layer of protection.
Fu Xue will leave the palace next year, and the emperor is the only one behind her, so she is more trustworthy than anyone else.
For the next half month, Shen Qing really did not go anywhere. His daily routine was to take care of himself according to the Queen's instructions to ensure that he would be stunning when he appeared.
This person is naturally the emperor who will come to the Mountain Resort for summer vacation in a few days.
In addition, Concubine Yan's people came to find her again, and the Queen heard about it and ordered people to keep them away.
Shen Qing received the hairpins and rings that the Queen asked Qinggu to give her. Although hairpins and rings were distributed to palace maids in the palace, they were also allowed to wear their own jewelry as long as it did not go beyond the norm or violate palace rules.
The Queen sent a silver hairpin ring in the shape of a lotus flower, which should have suited Shen Qing's temperament very well, but she had too much black hair, so the silver hairpin seemed less noticeable. It was wearable, but not prominent.
After Shen Qing pinned it into her hair, Qing Gu examined it for a while and said, "I will tell the queen to change it to jade. The lotus does not need to be changed. It is very suitable."
She added, "Someone will come to measure you later. Your usual clothes don't show off your figure, so it's better to have your waist shaped."
Shen Qing agreed obediently: "Okay, Sister Qinggu."
She did not feel any resistance to being dressed up in such a wanton way, because she was still the one who was beautiful after all.
She didn't know whether the ointment had the effect of conditioning the skin, but in addition to making her body smell better, she actually found that in a short period of time, her skin became more delicate, smoother and more pleasant to the touch.
It is indeed a one-off balm.
Shen Qing thought happily.
After seeing Qinggu off, Shen Qing sat down and listened to the gurgling sound of water outside the house. The breeze blew by, and even without ice, it was not stuffy at all. She comfortably brewed a cup of tea, then propped up her chin to watch the view.
Everything the Queen arranged was good, except for her meals, which she was only allowed to eat light meals. Especially since the Emperor was about to return, she was even more strict in this regard.
Time passed like flowing water, and six days passed slowly.
The hunting trip organized by the emperor lasted for twenty-one days. After the celebration banquet, the team set out for the Summer Resort.
It will be there in about half a day.
Along with the emperor's news, there was also news that Concubine Li in the palace had given birth to the third prince.
The queen was very sorry that Concubine Li did not give birth to a princess, and that Concubine Xian did not take action against the child in Concubine Li's belly. Concubine De was afraid that she would be in a state of panic again after she got the third prince.
The queen put these thoughts aside and went to greet the emperor with her concubines.
Shen Qingyi received the news that the emperor was about to return. She thought slowly and thought that from the queen's idea, she wanted to take advantage of the fact that the emperor had not had sex with anyone for the past twenty days and had been holding it in for too long, so she pushed her out.
So it will be either tonight or tomorrow.
Another hour later, Shen Qing heard the news that the first thing the emperor did after returning was to take the empress and concubines to pay their respects to the empress dowager at Songhezhai.
Among them, Jiang Cairen was favored by the Empress Dowager. She lived in the western warm pavilion of Songhezhai and accompanied the Empress Dowager in worshiping Buddha every day. Therefore, when the Emperor paid his respects, the Empress Dowager mentioned Jiang Cairen.
The emperor praised her, saying that he was a filial son and would naturally look upon a concubine who could serve his mother wholeheartedly.
Then he mentioned that Concubine Li had given birth to a child, and he said, "Concubine Li has done a great deed by giving birth to a child. I should have promoted her when I diagnosed her with pregnancy, but Concubine De said that it would not be too late to promote her after a smooth birth. I thought that made sense, so I agreed. Now I will confer the title of Concubine Li as a concubine, and the imperial edict will be sent to the capital by express horses later."
"Talented Lady Jiang was given the title of Beauty for her meticulous and thoughtful care of the Queen Mother."
Lady Jiang was overjoyed and bowed to express her gratitude.
Everyone was surprised, and the queen felt that since Concubine Jiang had been conferred a title at this time, there was a great chance that she would be summoned to the palace at night, so wouldn't her plan have to be postponed? She couldn't help but feel disappointed.
The concubines all thought that the emperor would take Concubine Jiang to his bedroom, Yanbo Zhishuang. Concubine Jiang also thought so and looked at the emperor shyly.
However, after the emperor said goodbye to the empress dowager, he left without taking his concubines with him.
The person who brought the message told Shen Qing that the emperor should have returned to his bedroom by now, and asked her to rest early.
Shen Qing nodded and watched them leave.
After so much trouble outside, one or two stars have appeared in the sky, and with the moonlight shining down, it is surprisingly bright outside.
She stood up, blew out the light, and prepared to close the window and go to sleep, but when she turned around, she heard several knocks on the window frame that had just been closed.
Thinking there should be no thieves in the queen's territory, she opened the window to see who it was.
After opening the window, Shen Qing was stunned.
There was no thief, but there was a foreign man.
"Your Majesty, why are you here?"
Shen Qing was caught off guard and screamed out in surprise, but Ji Chen was prepared. However, he was still stunned by the beauty who lowered her eyebrows, opened the window, and then looked up again.
Only four words flashed through my mind: Fairy under the Moon.
A faint fragrance drifted to Ji Chen's nose along with the swirling wind. He took a breath and his heart beat wildly.
"Pack up and I'll take you riding."
After not seeing each other for twenty days, not only did Ji Chen's face become more resolute, but his voice also became hoarse and strong, like strong liquor. Unexpectedly, Shen Qing thought that his hands must have become rough, and it might hurt to touch people.
Shen Qing was thinking wildly, but he quickly agreed: "Okay!"
At this moment, she was happy.
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