Chapter 83 Unpredictable Mood
The entire Yu Chen Palace was filled with people bowing down. Consort Yu, swaying gracefully, went to greet them: "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
Emperor Jingping smiled and said, "I have recently developed a new fragrance. Please, my beloved concubine, taste it."
Emperor Jingping loved all things elegant and refined, a fact known to everyone in the court and the harem.
Consort Yu's laughter was like silver bells, tickling the heart: "What a coincidence, my ability to appraise is mediocre, but here is a master of incense making."
She pointed with her jade-like hand at Qiu Heng, who was bowing, drawing Emperor Jingping's attention to her.
Emperor Jingping could only see the top of Qiu Heng's head and asked in puzzlement, "Where did my beloved concubine find such a skilled incense maker?"
Consort Yu chuckled: "She's not a palace maid, but Consort Qiu's younger sister. She came to the palace today to visit her elder sister."
"Beauty Qiu?" Emperor Jingping pondered, but the image of Beauty Qiu remained vague in his mind.
Who is Qiu Meiren?
Consort Yu smiled and said, "Beauty Qiu lives in Hibiscus Palace."
Emperor Jingping finally recalled something: "I remember now, there was a beauty whose maiden name was 'He' and she lived in the Hibiscus Palace."
As for what it looked like, I still can't remember.
"Rise," Emperor Jingping said, looking at Qiu Heng with a hint of curiosity.
Qiu Heng straightened up and stood with her eyes lowered.
Upon entering the palace, he unexpectedly encountered the young Emperor Longxing, Consort Yu, and Emperor Jingping.
She had already experienced Consort Yu's unpredictable temper, but what kind of emperor was this, who died on the eve of the collapse of the Great Xia Dynasty?
Emperor Jingping looked Qiu Heng up and down, his eyes lighting up.
She was a rare beauty, outstanding even in the imperial harem.
People like Emperor Jingping, who appreciate elegance, have much more patience and interest in beautiful people or things: "The Consort said you can make incense, is that true?"
"This humble woman has some knowledge of this."
Zheng Yu, standing to the side, was secretly anxious: Miss Qiu, can we be a little more humble in front of the Emperor?
"I have prepared a fragrance today, what do you think?"
"yes."
Emperor Jingping gestured to the eunuch, who then walked to Qiu Heng's side and opened the jade jar containing incense.
Qiu Heng gently sniffed the fragrance and said earnestly, "The color is pure, and the scent is mild and elegant, making it very suitable for the bedroom. To discern its true quality more clearly, it must be burned..."
Emperor Jingping listened and nodded, "My beloved consort is right, this young lady knows about fragrances."
Consort Yu glanced at Qiu Heng and said, "His Majesty has set up a fragrance pavilion. I think Miss Qiu is quite suitable to go there. She can not only make fragrances for His Majesty, but also give me more fragrances to use."
The palace had a perfume-making pavilion, and the perfume makers in the pavilion were almost all men, including a few eunuchs, with very few women being low-ranking palace maids.
Emperor Jingping would personally go and blend incense in his spare time. Consort Yu's statement was quite cruel for a noblewoman.
Spending all day with a group of male craftsmen and occasionally with the emperor, with her identity unclear and ambiguous, would be enough to make a proud noblewoman feel ashamed and indignant to the point of wanting to die.
Consort Yu watched Qiu Heng's reaction with unbridled arrogance.
They are neither arrogant nor humble, and they know how to say nice things.
She doesn't like it.
Qiu Heng did not react.
In the face of absolute power, acting arbitrarily will only lead to worse results.
"Sixth Miss Qiu?" Emperor Jingping's attention wandered. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
Qiu Heng curtsied: "Your Majesty, it is possible that my daughter recently filed a complaint against Han Wu's son, Han Ziheng, which has brought it to Your Majesty's attention."
Emperor Jingping remembered: "It's you."
This little girl who's always complaining should probably stay away from the Incense Pavilion.
"Since my beloved concubine is interested in the incense made by Miss Qiu, we can summon her to the palace at any time. It just so happens that her sister is in the palace."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Consort Yu did not press the matter further, but only glanced at Qiu Heng with a half-smile, "Then Miss Qiu, go back. Once the incense pendant is finished, send a message to the palace."
"This humble woman takes her leave."
Qiu Heng slowly retreated and left Yu Chen Palace with Zheng Yu.
Emperor Jingping casually remarked, "I heard that this Miss Qiu Liu grew up in the countryside before being found and brought back. Now it seems that she has learned etiquette and manners quite well."
Consort Yu chuckled, "She is beautiful too."
"Hahaha, far inferior to my beloved consort." Emperor Jingping embraced Consort Yu's slender waist and led her into the tent. "This fragrance is most suitable for the tent, my beloved consort, please savor it..."
After leaving Yuchen Palace, Zheng Yu breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but say, "Sixth Miss Qiu, you are too bold."
Qiu Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, Father-in-law. I think His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine are both magnanimous people. Even if I, an ignorant young girl, say something wrong, they won't hold it against me."
Zheng Yu's lips twitched, but because they weren't familiar with each other, he didn't dare mention how difficult Consort Yu was.
“Eunuch Zheng is a good man. He gave me a lot of advice and even worried about me.”
Zheng Yu blushed instantly.
He had never met a woman in the palace who spoke so directly!
How could she do this!
"Ahem." Zheng Yu covered his embarrassment with a cough and said seriously, "In the palace, Miss Qiu should be careful with her words and actions. Hurry up and come with me to see the beauty."
Qiu Meiren was reading a book at this moment, but she hadn't turned a single page in the thick book for a long time.
Life in the palace was almost monotonous. Even though she no longer cared about that family, Qiu Heng's accidental entry into the palace still stirred up her heart.
"My beauty, Miss Qiu Liu is back."
Qiu Meiren put down her book and looked at the girl who had walked in.
She walked slowly, with a calm and graceful demeanor, her bearing no less impressive than that of any noblewoman who had received strict upbringing from a young age.
To have achieved this in just a few months since returning to the Earl's mansion, it's probably not just because someone taught him, but because he himself must be extremely ambitious.
Qiu Meiren looked at Qiu Heng with a mixture of pity and mockery.
She had once strived to be outstanding, believing that this would make it easier to find and maintain happiness. But in reality, the more outstanding one is, the faster one is sold off, like merchandise waiting to be sold.
"Did I displease the Imperial Concubine?" Consort Qiu asked casually.
She suddenly realized that she didn't even want to see her sisters anymore, because seeing them would only make her feel more resentful and even disgusted.
I despise their ignorance and lack of awareness, and I despise that they will eventually repeat the path she has walked.
"No. Her Highness the Imperial Concubine asked me to make another pair of scented pendants for her."
"Then do your best, and in the future—" Qiu Meiren wanted to say that if Consort Yu could speak up for you in the future, that would be a great blessing.
But she silently swallowed those words.
If her grandfather was only after profit, how much better was Consort Yu? In Consort Yu's eyes, they were probably no different from ants.
"Go back now, don't keep your grandmother waiting."
"Sister, I take my leave."
"Zheng Yu, see Sixth Miss out."
Zheng Yu responded and led Qiu Heng all the way to the outside of the imperial city, where they saw Xue Han walking towards them.
"Is Miss Qiu going back?" Xue Han asked, looking at Zheng Yu.
"Just as I was seeing Miss Qiu off to her carriage, we ran into Lord Xue by sheer coincidence."
“It’s quite a coincidence. I’ll take you there, Miss Qiu. I happen to have something to discuss with her.”
Zheng Yuwei hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Xue."
As Qiu Heng walked side by side with Xue Han, he asked, "Is Miss Qiu injured again?"
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