Chapter 102
She paused, then changed the subject: "By the way, I've noticed that my sister seems to be quite knowledgeable about flowers and plants. The peony gardens in front of my palace haven't been growing well lately. How about letting my sister take care of them? It's a small token of my appreciation as an older sister, so that she won't get bored when she first arrives."
Shen Ruyi’s expression froze slightly.
Asking her to tend the flower garden? What did they think she was? A gardener?
She was furious in her heart, but dared not show it on her face. She could only force a smile and respond, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will... do my best."
"That's good." Song Qingyuan nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Shen Yanzhi: "Your Highness, look, Sister Ruyi is so sensible."
Shen Yanzhi finally reacted. He raised his eyes and glanced at Shen Ruyi coldly, as if he was looking at an insignificant stranger. "Well. Since there is nothing else, please leave. I have something important to discuss with the Crown Princess."
This undisguised alienation and expulsion made Shen Ruyi's carefully prepared words of weakness and obedience all stuck in her throat. Her face flushed and then turned pale, and her fingertips pinching the handkerchief almost tore the fine silk into pieces.
"Yes, I'll take my leave." She knelt down and bowed, her posture still perfect, but the moment she turned around, a trace of humiliation and resentment flashed in her eyes.
After she left, Shen Yanzhi immediately put on an expression that looked like he was taking credit for something, and approached Song Qingyuan: "How was it? Did your husband perform well?"
Song Qingyuan was amused by his expression and reached out to poke his forehead: "Just barely passing. However, Your Highness, your trick of 'cold violence' may be useful against ordinary women, but for Concubine Shen, it will probably only arouse her stronger fighting spirit."
"So what?" Shen Yanzhi didn't care. "No matter how strong her fighting spirit is, if I ignore her, she can't do anything."
"Not really." Song Qingyuan shook his head. "She suffered a setback today, and she will definitely try every possible way to get back on track when she returns. Believe it or not, within an hour, her 'filial piety' will be delivered."
As expected, in less than half an hour, the senior palace maid beside Shen Ruyi came with a food box and respectfully asked for an audience.
"Your Highness, your Highness, your Highness has just arrived and doesn't have anything good to offer to you. This is the bird's nest and pear soup she personally cooked, which she says moistens the lungs and relieves dryness. Your Highness works day and night on state affairs, and your Highness works hard managing the Eastern Palace, so this is the perfect tonic."
This is another old trick used by women in the harem to win favor. They win the attention and affection of the male owner by showing off their virtue and cooking skills.
Tingyu was about to refuse, but Song Qingyuan smiled and waved his hand. "That's thoughtful. Thank your master for me."
She asked Tingyu to take the food box and opened it. She saw that in the white jade bowl, the bird's nest was crystal clear, the snow pear was soft and glutinous, the soup was clear, and there were a few red wolfberries floating in it. It looked very good.
"It smells sweet." Song Qingyuan praised, and then said to the palace maid, "It's just unfortunate that Your Highness just discussed something with me and drank a bowl of ginseng tea. I really can't drink it now. This soup is so exquisitely made, it would be a pity to throw it away."
She thought for a moment and then instructed Tingyu, "How about this? You take this bowl of soup to Eunuch Wang. Eunuch Wang is old and has been coughing a lot lately, so this is a good way to moisten his throat. Say it's a gift from Concubine Shen, and have him thank you."
The palace maid's face turned green in an instant.
The Crown Prince refused to drink, and neither did the Crown Princess. And yet… he actually gave the bird's nest soup that the Concubine personally cooked to a servant? And to a eunuch?
This is a great shame!
"Your Majesty, this... this is against the rules, right?" the palace maid said anxiously.
"Oh? What's against the rules?" Song Qingyuan's eyes suddenly turned cold. "In this Eastern Palace, I am the rule. Or do you need to have an opinion on Concubine Shen's reward of a bowl of soup to a servant?"
The maid was frightened by her gaze and fell to her knees, kowtowing repeatedly: "I dare not! I dare not!"
"If you don't dare, just step back." Song Qingyuan waved his hand as if to drive away a fly.
The palace maid ran away in a panic.
Tingyu was holding the bowl of bird's nest soup and almost laughed out loud: "My Queen, your trick is really brilliant! Killing without shedding blood!"
Song Qingyuan picked up her tea and took a slow sip. "She wants to show her virtue, so I'll help her. Let her be virtuous to the servants of the entire Eastern Palace. Doesn't she want to gain a good reputation? I'll help her. From now on, everyone in the Eastern Palace will know that Concubine Shen is kind and generous, even willing to give the servants the soup she cooked herself."
Shen Yanzhi was stunned watching from the side, then he clapped his hands and laughed: "Brilliant, really brilliant! Qingyuan, I finally understand why King Wei and the others lost to you. They are still a little naive to play tricks on you."
Song Qingyuan rolled her eyes at him and said, "This is just an appetizer. This Concubine Shen has great ambitions, and her methods are not limited to this. Wait and see, she will soon find out that the boudoir tricks like sending soup and water will not work in the East Palace. Only then will she really show her claws."
Just as Song Qingyuan expected, Shen Ruyi was in her own courtyard. After listening to the palace maid's crying report, she was so angry that she swept all the tea sets on the table to the ground.
"Song Qingyuan! How dare you humiliate me like this!" Her pure and lovely face was now distorted by anger, looking somewhat hideous.
"Master, please calm down!" The senior palace maid knelt on the ground, trembling.
Shen Ruyi took a few deep breaths and forced herself to calm down. She knew that she had underestimated Song Qingyuan. This woman from a merchant family was not a soft persimmon at all, but a piece of iron plate wrapped in cotton!
A head-on confrontation would only lead to failure. His Royal Highness's heart was clearly elsewhere. So, we had no choice but to strike elsewhere.
She slowly sat back in her chair, her eyes cold. "What is she most proud of?"
The head maid thought for a moment and answered cautiously, "It's... it's 'Imperial Fresh'. I heard that the whole capital is crazy about this soy sauce. The Crown Princess has made a fortune from it, and her reputation has also..."
"Reputation?" Shen Ruyi sneered, a fierce glint in her eyes. "Since she values this thing so much, I'll let her destroy it with her own hands! I want to see if His Royal Highness will still protect her like he does now when she falls from the clouds into the mire and is cursed by the people!"
Shen Ruyi's counterattack came faster and more fiercely than Song Qingyuan had expected.
The popularity of "Yupinxian" came to an abrupt halt on the fifth day.
The cause was a century-old restaurant "Fumanlou" in the west of the city. Seven or eight guests suffered from vomiting and diarrhea to varying degrees after lunch. One of the guests, an elderly official, fainted and was urgently carried back to the mansion.
As soon as the incident broke, the Jingzhao Prefecture immediately intervened in the investigation. Soon, shocking news broke: all the guests who had shown symptoms had ordered Fu Man Lou's signature dish, "Braised Lion's Head." To keep up with the latest trends, Fu Man Lou had, starting three days earlier, replaced the traditional soy sauce and part of the salt with "Imperial Fresh" when preparing this dish.
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
The rumor that "Imperial Fresh is poisonous" seemed to have wings and spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital overnight.
"Have you heard? Fu Man Lou is killing people with food! It's because of that 'Imperial Fresh'!"
"That's what I was saying. There's no such thing as something magical that can make food delicious without salt. They must have added something shady!"
"What a wicked businessman! What a wicked man! To make money, they don't even care about human life! This was made by the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. It's a disgrace to the royal family!"
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