The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 22 Behave Yourself

The queen.

Upon hearing these four words, Sun Jiabi's smile froze.

Consort Xian hurriedly replied, "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Su. Please tell Her Majesty the Empress that I will go with my aunt right away."

Sun Tianhe has just left.

Sun Jiabi looked serious and asked Consort Xian with a puzzled expression, "Why would Her Majesty the Empress suddenly invite us to lunch? Do other court ladies also receive this honor when they enter the palace?"

Consort Xian frowned deeply: "Aunt, when you first entered the palace, did you go to Kunning Palace to pay your respects to the Empress?"

“This…” Sun Jiabi hesitated for a moment: “Not yet.”

Consort Xian's eyes flickered: "Auntie, you're confused. Although you came to the palace to visit me by imperial decree, you are still the wife of a subject. You must pay your respects to the Empress before you can meet me. How could you be so careless and disrespectful?"

"What should we do?" Sun Jiabi asked in a panic. "It's all my fault. Did I offend the Emperor for Your Majesty?"

Consort Xian sighed silently in her heart.

I'm afraid this time the rift between him and the Empress has deepened even further.

So many people around her, how come they're all so brainless?

What terrible things has she done?!
“Auntie, come with me to Kunning Palace first. I will accompany you to apologize to the Empress.”

When Consort Xian brought Sun Jiabi to Kunning Palace.

Shen Qingwan had already prepared a table full of dishes on the food platter in the main hall of Kunning Palace.

Stir-fried black carp with garlic, braised eggplant, pan-fried taro cakes, and clear chicken soup.

There were some fruits, bananas and oranges, placed in the middle.

There was also a pot of freshly brewed osmanthus tea.

Consort Xian led Sun Jiabi to perform a grand salute to the Empress.

"Your Majesty, please do not blame me. My aunt has always lived on the frontier and is unfamiliar with the rules of the palace. She did not come to the palace to pay her respects to Your Majesty immediately. I apologize to Your Majesty on behalf of my aunt."

Shen Qingwan smiled faintly: "It's alright, lunch is ready, please take your seats."

Consort Xian and Sun Jiabi said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."

After the three people sat down...

Consort Xian picked up her chopsticks, looked up and saw the food in front of her, her face suddenly turned pale.

Shen Qingwan picked up a piece of blackfish, took a small bite, and said, "Why isn't Consort Xian eating? The blackfish is tender and juicy, melts in your mouth, and the skin is crispy but not greasy. It's delicious."

Consort Xian's smile was somewhat stiff. She picked up a small piece of fish and chewed it slowly, saying, "Indeed, as Your Majesty the Empress said, it is even delicious."

"And this eggplant, Consort Xian, please try it too. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, very delicious. The Imperial Kitchen knows I love fish, so they often send it here..."

Before Shen Qingwan could finish speaking, Consort Xian choked on something she had eaten.

The palace maid hurriedly brought mouthwash and accompanied her outside the palace to deal with the situation.

“Madam, please don’t be so polite. Since you are Consort Xian’s aunt, we are family. Please eat whatever you like. These dishes were all prepared by the Imperial Kitchen.” Shen Qingwan said softly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty is truly virtuous, kind, and benevolent, a model for the nation," Sun Jiabi flattered.

When Consort Xian returned after dealing with the matter.

Shen Qingwan and Sun Jiabin had almost finished eating. "Consort Xian didn't eat much for lunch. Should we have the imperial kitchen send over some more food? Otherwise, everyone in the palace will say that Consort Xian didn't eat enough here, which would be a laughing stock," Shen Qingwan said half-jokingly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Your Majesty, you flatter me. I was overjoyed to learn that Consort Xian had entered the palace today. I didn't sleep a wink all night and got up a little late this morning. I just had breakfast and I'm not very hungry yet," Consort Xian said with a relieved expression.

"Then let's have some pastries and fruits. The pan-fried taro cakes that the Imperial Kitchen recently developed are quite good. After that, have some bananas to aid digestion."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Consort Xian looked at the pan-fried taro cakes and bananas in the bowl and thanked you softly.

"Is this pan-fried taro cake really as delicious as Your Majesty says? Now I'd like to try it myself," Sun Jiabi asked curiously.

Shen Qingwan gave Zhen'er a wink.

Zhen'er placed a pan-fried taro cake and a peeled banana on Sun Jiabin's plate.

Consort Xian was almost embarrassed and winked at Sun Jiabi: "Auntie, please don't be greedy and lose your manners."

"It's alright," Shen Qingwan said calmly.

After lunch, Consort Xian hurriedly pulled Sun Jiabi away from Kunning Palace.

I just stepped out of the gate of Kunning Palace.

Consort Xian couldn't help but speak up: "Why did you eat so much for lunch, Aunt? I remember you used to have a very small appetite?"

Sun Jiabi smiled awkwardly: "It's not that I'm greedy for the food in the Empress's palace, but I've heard that these things come from the Imperial Kitchen. I haven't seen Da'er for almost half a year, and I miss him very much."

Consort Xian was taken aback and did not continue speaking.

When the two returned to Jingyang Palace, Gao Da was already waiting for them.

"Mother." Gao Da saw the two of them walk in and quickly went to greet them.

“Da’er.” Sun Jiabi’s eyes were red with emotion.

Before the two could even exchange a word, Consort Xian pulled Gao Da aside.

"Do you know what was discussed at the Empress's palace lunch today?" Consort Xian asked cautiously, avoiding everyone around her.

Gao Da was stunned: "You're not going back to the Imperial Kitchen until tomorrow. What's wrong? What happened?"

"The Empress's lunch today was exactly the same as that day. Didn't you say that as long as there was no poison, there wouldn't be any problems? How did the Empress know that something had been tampered with the food?" Consort Xian's face was grim.

"Probably not? We've used this method before, and it's always worked. Maybe it's just a coincidence?" Gao Da said dismissively, glancing at Sun Jiabi every now and then.

"How many coincidences in the world can be exactly the same? I'm warning you, don't mess with the Empress these days. She's a completely different person since she fell seriously ill. Her actions today were just a test. If she finds something to use against us, we might be in deep trouble. The Xiao Shunzi incident is a case in point. I'm warning you, be careful lately."

Consort Xian sighed deeply in her heart: "At lunch just now, the concubine knew nothing and ate quite a lot. You should take her out of the palace quickly and find a good doctor to examine her, just in case something bad happens..."

Consort Xian had not finished speaking.

Sun Jiabi clutched her stomach with both hands, her face deathly pale, and slumped to the ground covered in cold sweat.

"Eniang!"

"Auntie, are you okay?"

Consort Xian and Gao Da helped Sun Jiabi to the side hall, one on each side.

"Summon the imperial physician!" Gao Da shouted at Xia Fuchuan. "What are you standing there for? Go and summon the imperial physician! Can't you see my mother is in excruciating pain?"

(End of this chapter)