allendalepharm Chapter 8 still can't handle you.
Chapter 8 still can't handle you.
Shen Shixi used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of steamed chicken. "This is truly authentic. I've never eaten anything better than this. Your Majesty, please try it!"
Li Yuanke was indeed not full, and he didn't want to go hungry. He glanced at her and continued eating.
Shen Shixi stopped causing trouble.
After finishing their meal, the two each picked up a cup of tea and slowly savored it.
Both are Lapsang Souchong, but Shen Shixi's tea is even better than the one in the palace. He asked, "Where did this tea come from?"
"I bought it from a foreign merchant in Quanzhou for nearly a thousand taels of gold," Shen Shixi said.
This is tantamount to indirectly telling the emperor that the best things below were not presented as tribute to the palace, but were sold off. As for who sold them, the emperor can investigate for himself.
"I haven't heard you mention this before," Li Yuanke said.
Shen Shixi glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Li Yuanke cleared his throat, knowing he had stepped on her sore spot again.
This tea is new tea, it must have just arrived in her possession. Before she could even find out its origin, it was brought into the palace by his imperial decree.
Li Yuanke pulled her onto his lap. "Tell me, what favor do you want?"
Shen Shixi was delighted and bit his chin. "Your Majesty stays in the palace all year round and can't see the outside world or eat delicious food. I feel so sorry for you..."
"Speak like a human being!" Li Yuanke sneered.
Shen Shixi secretly rolled her eyes. "I want a small kitchen."
"Do you even know your place?" Li Yuanke sneered. "You're not even a principal palace official, yet you want a small kitchen?"
Shen Shixi said "Oh," and then added, "I'm not worthy!"
Then she hesitated and tried to get down, but Li Yuanke grabbed her, saying, "I'll give you a small kitchen, can you afford to support it?"
The Shen family was a noble and wealthy family, but they were all poor scholars. When she entered the palace, she was given a dowry of five hundred taels of silver, which was half of the Shen family's wealth.
But he knew she was rich.
"Marrying a man means having food and clothing. I married the most noble and outstanding man in the world, yet I still have to spend money to support myself?" Shen Shixi's beautiful peach blossom eyes were full of doubt, as if she couldn't believe it.
I want to eat your food, wear your clothes, and sleep with you!
Li Yuanke laughed in anger, grinding his teeth as he said, "Would you starve to death if I didn't give you a small kitchen? Doesn't the Imperial Kitchen prepare meals for Zhaoyang Palace?"
"I have overstepped my bounds, Your Majesty! Please forgive me!"
She gave a perfunctory reply and then stopped struggling, refusing to get down from Li Yuanke's arms.
【If you're not going to give it to me, then don't! You're so stingy!】
She and Li Yuanke had a past relationship, but she never intended to use that relationship for her own benefit. There is a difference between ruler and subject. A little teasing is fun, but too much teasing is a challenge to the emperor's authority. If she did not grasp the right balance, she would be courting death.
Li Yuanke was waiting to see what she would do next, but she backed down.
They're clearly becoming distant!
I feel a bit upset!
He looked down at Shen Shixi, whose skin was as smooth as ice and her eyes were bright and captivating. She was shy and languid. No matter how many women he had seen in his life, he had to admit that the person in his arms was an unparalleled beauty, unmatched by anyone.
"Li Fude, convey my decree: grant Zhaoyang Palace a small kitchen, and select staff from Qianyuan Palace."
Unlike other places, the food served in the small kitchen is of utmost importance. Li Yuanke's actions were to prevent anyone from reaching for Zhaoyang Palace.
Li Fude was also shocked that the Emperor would go to such lengths for Consort Shen.
The palace was rife with infighting, and countless imperial heirs had been lost, yet the emperor never paid any attention to these matters.
He wasn't unaware; he was just too lazy to bother.
As long as it doesn't harm him.
As for the imperial heir, he was still young and didn't take it too seriously.
"Not going to thank me?" Li Yuanke looked at the silent person in his arms.
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes at him and didn't say anything.
[Thank me my ass! I'm doing you a favor by letting you support me, all because of your face!]
Li Yuanke glanced at her, then pinched her softest spot. "You bastard, are you secretly cursing me in your heart?"
Shen Shixi's heart skipped a beat. Then she thought, he doesn't have mind-reading abilities, how could he possibly know that she was cursing him? This jerk must be paranoid.
Suspicion is practically a common ailment among emperors.
She kissed Li Yuanke deeply on the lips. "Your Majesty is too kind. How could I dare? I wouldn't be so reluctant!"
Li Yuanke sneered and pressed her down to kiss her.
I've got you figured out!
That night, the Emperor stayed overnight at Zhaoyang Palace again.
It was unprecedented for the emperor to stay overnight in one place for two consecutive nights.
The emperor was capricious, and no one could fathom his thoughts.
The crucial point is that even though Shen Shixi removed the jade plaques, the emperor still went to Zhaoyang Palace.
The account book in front of the Empress remained unturned for a long time. Even Consort De had never made her feel this sense of crisis. She couldn't help but chuckle and said, "The Emperor certainly treats this young Lady Shen differently. I wonder what the eldest Lady Shen would think if she were alive?"
Shen Shiyan loved the emperor to the point of obsession. Rather than saying she was murdered, it would be more accurate to say she brought about her own demise.
They'd risk their lives just to win favor.
Granny Qu served the Empress a cup of tea. "Your Majesty need not worry. Even if the Emperor favors a mere concubine, he must still respect the ancestral laws. Your Majesty is now the Empress, so there's no need for you to argue with these concubines. Tomorrow is the fifteenth, so Your Majesty should go to bed early. You still need to lead the concubines to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager."
The Empress took a deep breath. She used to enjoy looking at the account books, a pleasure that came with the power of the palace, but today she just couldn't concentrate on them.
In Baoci Palace, Consort De had coaxed the eldest princess to sleep. Upon hearing from Yinxing that the Emperor had once again stayed overnight at Zhaoyang Palace, she paused for a moment, then smiled.
"No rush. A mere concubine will be dealt with by someone. At the very least, there's the Empress. Our Empress, despite her virtuous and kind appearance, may not be thinking anything of herself."
Yinxing said, "The Empress is always good at playing the good guy and always goes along with the Emperor. I'm just afraid she won't dare to do it. The Emperor doesn't follow the usual rules. Once Consort Shen is helped up, won't the Empress let her go against the Empress?"
Consort De said, "Let's talk about it after she becomes pregnant. Right now, we need to keep an eye on the Empress. As for Consort Shen, we can deal with her, but we don't need to take action ourselves."
She was, after all, a high-ranking concubine; it was not worth it for her to rashly take action against a low-ranking new concubine.
"Have someone go and tell Consort Chen that the Emperor dislikes Consort Qiong and can't visit Shouxian Palace more than twice a year. If she lives in Shouxian Palace, she might be implicated by Consort Qiong. Help her find a way to move to Zhaoyang Palace. Her sister died because of the Great Shen family."
"yes!"
A foul stench emanated from a side hall of the Shouxian Palace, making Chen Cainu dizzy.
"Where is this stench coming from?" Chen Cainu asked someone to open the window, but the smell only got worse.
The personal maid Caiqin rushed in and closed all the windows. "Caiqin, it's Consort Qiong making stinky tofu. I heard she puts the tofu in a jar, pickles it with amaranth, and takes it out when it's smelly. Then she deep-fries it. The smellier it is, the more fragrant it is."
She hesitated.
Chen Cainu was utterly speechless.
Another palace maid, Shanhu, assigned by the Imperial Household Department, stepped forward and said, "Lady, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."
Chen Cainu said, "Just say what you have to say. You've followed me, so of course I hope you'll all succeed. If I'm successful, you'll all be successful too."
Coral hurriedly said, "This servant is utterly loyal to Lady Cai and naturally hopes that Lady Cai can gain the Emperor's favor so that we servants can also enjoy glory. However, since Lady Cai has been assigned to the Longevity Palace, I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to even serve the Emperor."
Chen Cainu glanced in the direction of the small kitchen and knew that Shanhu was telling the truth. If she were the emperor, she would not want to come to this Longevity Palace either.
The everyday life here is something that ordinary people can't bear.
When the south wind blows from the front and back of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Suseongung Palace, the smell from this side will all drift over. Right now, Consort Rong is shedding tears in the wind.
"If I had known Madam Shen would come today, I shouldn't have come in the first place. Now that she's here, she doesn't even remember our past relationship. I've become an unwanted presence in this palace!"
Fei Hua racked her brains and comforted her, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. Your Majesty and His Majesty have had a relationship for many years. That little Shen has only been here for a few days. What relationship does His Majesty have with her? He's just looking for something new."
"You don't need to comfort me with these words! I've read so many stories of talented women in history, and most of them ended up as pitiful and lamentable figures. My future will probably be the same; gradually, he'll stop coming, and eventually, he'll forget me! Waaah!"
Fei Hua sighed and draped the cloak over her mistress. "Your Highness is overthinking things again. How could His Majesty forget Your Highness? Who in this palace doesn't know how much His Majesty dotes on Your Highness? All the flowers and plants in this palace were arranged by His Majesty's orders to the Imperial Garden Bureau according to Your Highness's preferences!"
"That's all the good he's done for me. Now that someone new has come in, he'll forget about me altogether. Besides, he's been good to me all along, so... I'd rather not have him!"
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, and you're not feeling well. Why don't you go to sleep?"
Fei Hua suppressed her yawns, getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs every day. She only received a small monthly stipend. Her mistress was a woman who lived on dew and flowers and didn't know how to reward people. She really didn't want to do any more work.
Just then, a foul odor wafted over, and seeing the Empress's eyes widen in surprise, she knew something was wrong. Sure enough, the Empress started sobbing again.
"If he truly cared about me, he wouldn't have let me live with this butcher. He's clearly using this method to humiliate me. What have I done to displease him?"
They gave her the title of "Honor," which she wanted to return.
Fei Huaxin said that when the palace was being arranged, the emperor was too busy to do anything else, so the Imperial Household Department made all the arrangements directly. The emperor probably didn't even have time to look at it.
But I can't say this, because saying it would stir up another hornet's nest.
She was so annoyed. What kind of food was Consort Qiong making today? It smelled so bad!
"Your Highness, why don't we go inside? We can close the doors and windows and then we won't smell it," Fei Hua advised.
"Why should I avoid her? You don't need to persuade me. I'll just let her suffocate me here and be reincarnated early, so I won't have to suffer like this every day. It's just that even if I die, I'll be rotten by the smell of this butcher, and I won't be able to be reborn into a good family in the next life."
Fei Hua felt a headache coming on, shook herself, and sure enough, the next moment she heard the Empress say...
"Light the candle, grind the ink, and take out the first half of the poem I wrote the other day. Today I will complete the second half, replacing the fragrance of pear blossoms with the spring tidings in the snow. I also want to read for a while."