Chapter 537: Killing Three Birds with One Stone
"Mother, I made a pair of shoes for you. Please try them and see if they fit your feet." Chu Ying'er looked at Queen Song and said in a soft voice.
Queen Song looked up at the palace maids behind her, one of whom was holding a tray.
"After a year, Ying'er has indeed become more sensible. Bring her here for me to try." Queen Song smiled gently and said, "You are a princess. You can let the maids do this kind of thing in the future. I understand your filial piety."
Lu Xiang glanced at Chu Ying'er inconspicuously.
The pretty little princess was wearing a rose-red palace dress with a filigree gold phoenix inserted in the side of her bun, a gold flower on her forehead, and ruby earrings on her ears swaying with light.
Just looking at her like this, she is quite intimidating, and she indeed has the grace and elegance of a royal princess.
The prerequisite is that you have to ignore the fact that this girl likes to scare people with spiders, centipedes and scorpions.
Chu Ying'er had no idea that Lu Xiang was complaining about her in his heart. She squatted down in front of Queen Song and changed her shoes herself.
Seeing this, the palace maid hurried forward to stop her: "Princess Thirteen, let me come."
Chu Ying'er pushed the maid away and chuckled, "As a daughter, it is my duty to do this for my mother."
Upon hearing this, Queen Song swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth and let Chuying'er serve her with a smile.
A palace maid came forward with a tray, and Chu Ying'er took the embroidered shoes and changed them for Queen Song.
Lu Xiang was stunned when he saw the palace maid standing in front of him.
She quickly took the shoes that were prepared for Queen Song from Chu Ying'er's hands and said with a smile:
"Princess Thirteen's craftsmanship is really good. Not only are the shoes exquisitely made, but even the patterns on them are embroidered vividly. I wonder if you can let me take a look so I can learn from you later."
Chu Ying'er didn't expect Lu Xiang to take it away just like that, and was stunned for a moment.
Queen Song paused for a moment, then reached out and pulled Chu Ying'er up: "Sit with me and talk for a while. You are so attentive, I believe you must know what size shoes I wear, so they will fit me without trying them on. I am very pleased that you are filial to me."
Seeing that Queen Song was so amiable, Chu Ying'er stood up and sat down happily.
"It is my duty as a son to be filial to my mother."
"Don't just think about me, don't forget your mother and mother Liang." Queen Song joked.
Chu Ying'er smiled with curved eyebrows and nodded, "Yes, but I made them for you first, so I quickly sent them to you to try. The shoes were made by me, but my embroidery skills are not as good as those of the palace maids in the needlework bureau, so the pattern on them is embroidered with a happy sparrow."
She pointed at the palace maid who had just handed her the shoes and said to Queen Song.
Xi Que immediately bowed to Queen Song and said, "Your servant greets Her Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with good health."
Queen Song nodded lightly and didn't say much.
Xi Que didn't know whether she could win the favor of the Queen Mother with this, so she stepped aside after completing the ceremony.
"Miss Third, do you have any suggestions?" Chu Ying'er looked at Lu Xiang and asked.
Lu Xiang was concentrating on looking at the shoes, and even touched the uppers gently. When he heard Chu Ying'er's question, he raised his head and said, "I dare not give you any advice. I am good at embroidery, but not so good at other needlework. I have always wanted to give the queen a pair of shoes, but I am afraid that my hands are clumsy and it would be a disgrace to the queen's status. The Thirteenth Princess is very good at needlework at a young age. I believe she will be even more skilled in it soon."
Chu Ying'er raised her chin proudly when she heard the praise: "You are a very honest person."
She looked a little better.
Queen Song nonchalantly held the teacup and drank tea, hiding the suspicion in her eyes.
Lu Xiang’s embroidery skills are superb, how could she not make a good pair of shoes?
As a princess, Chu Ying'er is indeed good at needlework, but her skills are not as exaggerated as Lu Xiang said.
So, there's something wrong with these shoes?
"Xiangxiang, tea splashed on you just now. I asked Sang Ye to prepare a set of clothes. Go and change before we talk." Queen Song suddenly said.
Lu Xiang stood up and said, "Thank you, Madam. I'll be right back."
"Yunlu, take Xiangxiang to change clothes." Queen Song ordered Yunlu, and then said: "Put away these shoes, I will wear them tomorrow."
There is nothing more joyful than having something you give recognized and liked by others.
Chu Ying'er narrowed her eyes happily.
Yun Lu responded respectfully, holding the tray and leading Lu Xiang out of the side hall.
The two went to the room next to Queen Song's bedroom.
As soon as she entered, Yun Lu asked with a serious face, "Miss Third, is there something wrong?"
After serving the Queen for so many years, even if I don't know what she is thinking, I can guess a little.
The Queen specifically asked her to take the Third Miss away, so there must be something going on.
Lu Xiang said to Yunlu, "I have a few questions. Aunt Yunlu, please find a reliable palace maid and ask her to take these shoes to the Imperial Hospital and have them carefully examined by the imperial physician whom the queen trusts."
Yunlu looked uneasy, but she didn't ask any more questions at this time. She nodded quickly and went out, called a palace maid in, then wrapped the shoes and told the maid to leave.
"What else?" Yunlu asked again after doing all this.
Lu Xiang: "Do you have paper and pen?"
"some."
Yunlu immediately turned around and got paper and pen for Lu Xiang.
Lu Xiang spread the paper flatly on the table, frowned, and started drawing quickly, and soon the painting was finished.
She turned sideways and said to Yunlu, "Aunt Yunlu, take a look and see if this is from Concubine Xian's palace?"
This was the woman whose back looked familiar to her in the Imperial Garden just now.
And the other one she didn't know, happened to be someone she had just met.
The palace maid named Xique was carrying a tray behind Chu Ying'er.
Upon hearing this, Yunlu stepped forward and looked at the woman in the painting carefully.
Lu Xiang's painting was very vivid, and Yun Lu recognized her at a glance: "She was a maidservant beside Concubine Xian. However, when the Ninth Princess got married, she left the palace with her. Why did the Third Miss suddenly ask about her?"
"When I passed by the Imperial Garden today, I heard someone talking behind the rockery, and they mentioned the Queen and the Thirteenth Princess..."
Lu Xiang recounted what had happened.
Then she expressed her doubts: "The Queen said that Concubine Xian was under house arrest. Although the Ninth Princess does not know the inside story, she must be panicked and resentful. She may think that the Queen said something in front of the Emperor and deliberately punished Concubine Xian. If I had not seen these shoes, I would not have made so many guesses. Others may not understand brocade, but I know that this material is precious and very easy to be damaged, and it must not be stained by something."
Yun Lu was horrified: "Miss San means that the shoes sent by Princess Thirteen were tainted with poison?"
"I'm not sure if it's poison, but the color of the gold brocade is wrong. The Furong Pavilion keeps records of the materials sent to the palace, and the color cannot be wrong at all. Maybe subtle changes can't be seen by others, but I know exactly what color each batch of gold brocade is. Thinking of what happened in the Imperial Garden earlier, I stopped Princess Thirteen from trying it on for Your Majesty."
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