Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Palace Maid Seventy-four Days
When Shen Qing woke up, she was no longer in the familiar bed. She turned her head toward the outside of the bed and saw a screen standing there, blocking the outsiders from prying eyes.
Then I realized that it was already the second day, on the way to the hunting ground.
She murmured in a low voice: "Beast."
Ji Chen is always good at pretending, and he was no exception last night. He didn't smile, and his eyes were cold, but he did the most outrageous thing, and in the end he asked her to admit it.
Shen Qing thought that was a new trick that Ji Chen had learned, and tried to suppress the fragments that involuntarily popped up in his mind.
Bai Tao wanted to come over when Shen Qing woke up, but people who practiced martial arts had amazing hearing. When she heard the word "beast", she knew it was a scolding of the emperor without having to say it clearly, so she hesitated for a while.
It would be bold for others to curse like this, but for Shen Qing, even if she was angry in front of the emperor, she was just flirting.
After pretending not to hear anything, Bai Tao stepped forward and asked, "Miss, are you ready to get up?"
The temperature on his face had just dropped, but when he saw Bai Tao's calm gaze, Shen Qing became uncomfortable again: "Wait a while, let me calm down."
As soon as she said this, she felt something was wrong, but she couldn't take it back, so she could only pretend to be calm.
Bai Tao understood and went to prepare water for washing.
After leaving the Mountain Resort, Shen Qing remembered that she wanted to learn swimming at first, but she never had the chance. She stayed indoors during the Queen's Shuifangyanxiu period, and when she came to Ji Chen's place, riding and archery alone occupied her free time. With the presence of Bai Tao and Bai Ying, she felt even less sense of crisis.
Once back in the palace, one must be cautious as soon as possible.
After thinking about it, Shen Qing stood up.
When Shen Qing came out from behind the screen, he did not see Ji Chen. After hearing what Bai Tao said, he realized that Ji Chen was riding a horse today. He then lifted the curtain and took a peek before putting it down.
In front of the carriage, Ji Chen was riding fast in silver-black armor, with his black hair tied up in a crown, his posture upright, his eyes looking forward. The strong sunlight shining down made his eyes look deep and majestic, and one could not look directly at them.
Ji Chen felt a quick glance across his face, turned around, and found the curtains moving slightly, and he knew who it was.
Apart from Shen Qing, probably no one dared to look at his face.
Ji Chen continued to look forward, becoming even more certain that Shen Qing liked his face. Whenever her eyes fell on his face during that time, her feeling came quickly.
Rather than saying that he was attracted by beauty, it was clear that she just liked beautiful women without realizing it.
Ji Chen silently made a note of Shen Qing in his heart.
At the beginning of the afternoon, the huge team arrived at the hunting ground and began to set up camp.
Shen Qing waited for a while on the imperial carriage. After the young eunuch led her down, she took Bai Tao and Bai Ying to the imperial tent.
The tents of the concubines in the harem were mostly located around the imperial tent, but they were slightly smaller, but still spacious.
In just a short while, Shen Qing saw Yupin not far away. Yupin seemed to have seen her as well and smiled at her from a distance.
Shen Qing could no longer pretend that he hadn't seen it, so he bowed in her direction before entering the imperial tent.
The tent where the emperor lived was divided into two parts, the front part was used for meetings, and the back part was for resting and sleeping.
Now the room has been tidied up, like a smaller meeting hall. Entering the back, Shen Qing's eyes swept across the bows and arrows on the shelf, and moved to the gold-inlaid dragon beast incense burner in the middle, and the rosewood dragon couch at the back.
The rest of the items are also available.
Even the things she used to pass the time were there.
The young eunuch smiled and said, "Miss, you have brought your horse with you. There is a horse farm specially set up for female relatives in the hunting grounds. You can run horses and shoot arrows there without any danger. The emperor asked me to inform you that he will hold a banquet in the evening. I will be back late, so you can rest first."
Shen Qing nodded: "Where's Da Hu?"
The young eunuch still felt torn when he heard the kitten's name, so he quickly said, "I have it with me. I will have someone bring the royal cat to you right away."
The kitten brought back by Ji Chen has rapidly risen in status in the imperial court, and is now considered half a little master.
Shen Qing wanted to go out for a walk later. The scenery of the hunting ground was pleasant, but it was not good to stay there all the time. In order to avoid trouble, taking the royal cat with him was the best choice.
The status of the palace maid was still too low to be on display, but when others saw the tag hanging around Da Hu's neck, they knew who the cat belonged to.
I will also be a little cautious.
Shen Qing knew that there were many concubines who disliked her, so she didn't delay any longer. While the others were still resting, she took the cat in her arms and went out with Bai Tao and Bai Ying.
The scenery at the hunting ground is beautiful, and there are mountains and forests next to it. Shen Qing went to the horse farm mentioned by the young eunuch. There was a place for people to rest inside the horse farm.
She was obviously not fit to ride a horse today, and might have to wait until the day after tomorrow, so she didn't force it and just ate cakes while stroking her fur.
There were few women in the horse farm and they were far away from Shen Qing. She squinted her eyes comfortably.
Shen Qing knew that she would meet someone, but she didn't expect that the first person to walk towards her would be Concubine Xuan.
When Concubine Xuan first entered the palace, she was already a noble lady and had a title. Her family had many queens, so she did attract a lot of attention when she entered the palace. But after entering the palace, she became just like everyone else. She did not receive many favors and was quiet on weekdays, so people almost forgot about her.
But now, Concubine Xuan came to see her.
Shen Qing was confused and stood up to salute her, but was stopped by Concubine Xuan so quickly that even the pendant on her head shook violently.
Concubine Xuan smiled and said, "Sister, you don't have to be so polite. I didn't mean to disturb your pleasure. I just caught a glimpse of you and unknowingly followed you here."
Shen Qing also arranged for the new concubine to enter the palace in the fourth year of Jingming. Shen Qing was not surprised that Concubine Xuan remembered her, but she didn't know what her purpose was.
He is so gentle, he shouldn't be here to cause trouble.
Shen Qing lowered her head shyly: "Thank you for your compliment, sir."
Seeing this, Concubine Xuan became even more friendly. She looked towards the horse farm and asked, "Sister, do you like riding horses?"
Shen Qing admitted generously: "I think it's novel and interesting."
Concubine Xuan looked back at her and said, "Why don't I take my sister to pick a horse? Although I am not very proficient in riding and shooting, I know a little about the skills of horse selection."
Shen Qing stroked the cat and politely declined, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate for this servant to serve the cat master without wearing riding clothes today. Thank you, Miss Xuan, for your kindness."
Concubine Xuan's eyes fell on the cat. She saw that the gold plate hanging around the kitten's neck, which was matched to its body size, was shining in the sun. Although it was unclear who wrote the words, they looked familiar. The seal next to the words made it very clear.
This is the emperor's cat.
There was a hint of caution in Concubine Xuan's eyes, she knew that she had made the right move.
Shen Qing is indeed favored by the emperor.
"Look at me. I forgot to sit down after talking so much, and even made my sister stand... Sister, please sit down with me, don't tire yourself out."
Shen Qing concealed the inquiry in his eyes and sat down again.
As there was a pot of scented tea at hand, the two began to chat about it.
Shen Qing had learned how to make tea, so he became interested in it. Concubine Xuan was a lady from a noble family who was proficient in the tea ceremony, knew everything, and could learn a little bit of everything.
In just a quarter of an hour, the two of them were having a great time.
Shen Qing was also surprised that Concubine Xuan, despite her background, did not look down on her at all, and even wanted to make friends with her.
She originally thought that it would be good enough as long as she was not ridiculed, but she neglected the ability of the people in the harem to judge the situation.
From this perspective, Yupin's attitude when they met before was not so strange.
Shen Qing had a very good conversation with Concubine Xuan, and Concubine Xuan even agreed on a time for their next meeting.
Shen Qing smiled and agreed.
No matter what Concubine Xuan's purpose is, it will be clear over time that she will not refuse this kind of social interaction. Otherwise, what is the difference between this and plugging one's ears?
Turning a deaf ear to what's happening outside the window no longer suits her.
She was eager to sort out the relationships among the concubines.
After the two parted, Shen Qing returned to the emperor's tent, had his meal, and went to bed early.
In the evening, when Ji Chen came back from the banquet, he was still asking Shen Qing where he had been today and who he had met. When the name of Concubine Xuan came out, he thought for a while before he remembered who this was.
There were simply too many concubines entering last year, and as a quiet and dutiful person, he naturally had no impression of them.
When they entered the tent, they saw only a lamp left on next to the bed. Ji Chen raised his hand and Qian Ji fell silent.
Although Qian Ji knew that Shen Qing was a bit lazy, he didn't expect that she would go to bed before the emperor came back. Although the emperor had someone bring a message to Shen Qing, anyone else would have waited.
But she took it seriously.
Ji Chen let down the bed curtains before sending someone in to serve him.
After everything was cleaned up and Ji Chen just lay down, the person next to him came over as if he was familiar with the place. The two of them slept together for a long time, and Shen Qing's original proper sleeping posture was gone forever.
Ji Chen glanced at her and saw that she was sleeping soundly, so he stretched out his arm for her to rest her head on.
And revealed a hint of indulgence.
The next day, the emperor had to draw his bow and shoot the first arrow to attack Dingwei. Shen Qing did not see that scene, but after hearing the shouts of people in the forest, he guessed that it would go smoothly.
She stared into the direction of the forest in a trance, and then Concubine Xuan arrived. The two of them smiled and looked for a place to have tea.
Shen Qing wanted to ride horses again tomorrow, but Concubine Xuan was not interested in riding and shooting, so she did not go to the stable.
As a result, he missed the heroic figure of Concubine Chu on the horse field.
This was what Shen Qing heard from Bai Ying after he parted with Concubine Xuan. Shen Qing thought of Concubine Chu's beautiful appearance, but he didn't know that she was such a good rider. It really is true that you can't judge a person by his appearance.
Shen Qing has only learned riding skills for a short time and is not very good at it. If he encounters Concubine Chu, he will definitely be at a disadvantage.
But she didn't feel any jealousy towards Concubine Chu. After all, they hadn't even spoken a few words to each other.
Shen Qing had barbecued meat for lunch. Meat was the most abundant thing in the hunting ground. However, this was what the emperor had sent back from hunting in the morning to be distributed to the concubines. Everyone had some, and it was served up after being grilled.
As someone who had been assigned a position early on, she would not be missing if anyone else was missing.
As there was a lot of meat, Shen Qing gave some to the white peaches and white cherries in advance. After eating, he drank the soup to relieve the greasiness and felt refreshed.
Ji Chen came back in the afternoon, and even hunted a bear and a deer. I heard that he encountered a bear and did not come back until noon.
He returned with great pleasure, but some of the royal family members looked disgraced, obviously because they were scolded for the small amount of prey.
Ji Chen distributed the furs of the hunted animals to the empress dowager, the queen, and the concubines.
Shen Qing got several pieces of fur, the most outstanding of which was the bright red fox fur. When she saw it, she asked Bai Tao to keep it.
Afterwards, I heard that Ji Chen gave special rewards to Concubine Chu.
He must have heard about Concubine Chu's heroic performance on the horse field, otherwise he would not have suddenly thought of Concubine Chu. It seems that he encouraged riding and shooting, or he valued Concubine Chu's father and brother.
But Shen Qing felt that Ji Chen rewarded the student at this time instead of earlier or later, so it was probably the former.
When Ji Chen entered the tent, Shen Qing stopped thinking and greeted him with a curved lip: "Your Majesty is so mighty today, he even hunted a bear!"
"I just couldn't follow your majesty, so I don't know if it would be dangerous if I encountered a bear."
Ji Chen was very happy after hearing this and said calmly, "It's not dangerous."
In fact, it was dangerous. They were ambushed by a bear. The bear hid behind the woods and suddenly jumped out. If they had not been calm and quick, they might have been in great trouble.
But he couldn't say this. Not only would it make Shen Qing worry, it would also damage his image.
Shen Qing used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Ji Chen's face. He found that the clothes under his armor were all wet with sweat. He said distressedly, "Your Majesty has been tired. Why don't you take a bath and change your clothes to be more comfortable?"
Ji Chen enjoyed Shen Qing's action of wiping his face and hummed, "I'll listen to you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing took him to the place where the bathtub was placed behind the screen.
The hot water was ready when Ji Chen came back from hunting.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
