The most beautiful lady in the harem

In the blink of an eye, it was already November 15th. Qin Liuse and her two children had been living in Yuanyang Spring for six days.

When I woke up one night, the outside was covered with snow again.

Aunt Mingyue came in with the curtain drawn, stamped her feet at the door, and said, "It started snowing last night and it hasn't stopped yet. This is the second snow this year, and it's heavier than in previous years."

As he spoke, he walked into the room and saw Qin Liuse standing by the window, looking at the snow scene outside.

Aunt Mingyue came over, poked the charcoal fire with a pair of tongs, and said with a smile, "The sweet potatoes that your majesty put in there should be almost cooked. You can even smell the fragrance."

When the little prince and princess heard this, they ran over like dogs.

The nurse quickly stopped the two young masters and said, "This charcoal brazier is scary. You can't play here."

But the little prince and princess still looked around, they also smelled the fragrance!

"fragrant!"

"Xiangxiang!"

Qin Liuse opened half of the window and saw that the eaves not far away were covered with a thick layer of white. Last night's snow was fierce and evenly spread, and everywhere looked like it had just been taken out of a flour bag.

Even the wind was strong, carrying snow beads with it, which hurt a little when it blew on my face.

Qin Liuse closed the window again, walked over with her skirt lifted, and went to look at the sweet potatoes in the charcoal brazier.

He smelled the fragrance, picked one up with an iron skewer, poked it with chopsticks, and pierced it straight through.

"It's cooked. Take it out and let it air dry."

Aunt Mingyue then took out all the sweet potatoes and placed them on the tray held by Qingqing.

Qingqing held the tray and put it on the couch. Now the two little masters lay on the edge of the couch, opening their little mouths, sniffing their noses, drooling, and asking from time to time if they could eat.

Qin Liuse sat between the two of them and stroked the soft hair that the little princess had just grown. "Little greedy boy, let it dry. You can eat it only when it's cool, otherwise you'll burn your tongue."

The little princess was a little scared and covered her mouth with her chubby hands, which made the adults around her laugh.

While the sweet potatoes were still hot, Qin Liuse picked out two that looked good, put them in a food box, and asked Zijin to deliver it to the Empress Dowager.

Qingqing said with a smile, "I wonder if the emperor will come today. Should we save one of these good things for him?"

In fact, for the royal family or the nobles, the sweet potato is not really a "good thing". It is mostly food for ordinary people. Some nobles think that eating sweet potatoes is cheap and are unwilling to eat them.

But Qin Liuse likes it, especially on this cold day outside. She can smell the aroma of sweet potatoes cooked with charcoal fire in the house. The skin is slightly burnt, but not greasy. It tastes so delicious when it is hot in her mouth.

Qin Liuse reached out and picked one up to peel it. It was so hot that she cried out "ouch" and quickly pinched her earlobe.

He turned to Qingqing and said, "No need. There are so many people in our room, there won't be enough to share."

And with the snow today, Qin Liuse thought that Emperor Yongjia would not come.

Qin Liuse peeled the skin, tore off the hard outer layer and ate it herself.

The little prince and princess next to them seemed dissatisfied and snorted twice. Qin Liuse then remembered that there were two hungry babies who needed to be fed. She almost forgot about her own children!

He took a small copper spoon and scooped out the food for each of them.

The little prince and princess are only so obedient and well-behaved when they are eating.

He looked at his mother with eyes full of expectation and longing, just like a crying little bird in a bird's nest.

With every bite, the little princess closed her eyes and smacked her lips, as if she was eating the most delicious delicacy in the world, which made Qin Liuse smile as well.

The wet nurse wanted to come over and take over the work from Qin Liuse so that she could free her hands to eat, but the little prince and princess refused and kept whining.

He has been sticking with Qin Liuse every day these days, and their relationship is even deeper than when they were in the palace, so he needs his mother to feed him.

It was Zijin who brought something back and said that Zhu Wanxi had arrived, and only then did Qin Liuse hand over the work in his hands to the wet nurse.

Zhu Wanxi followed behind Zijin, wearing a dark blue cotton robe, a cape on the outside, and a feather cloak, looking wind and frost-proof.

After entering the house, he took off his cloak and then his hat and hung them on the wooden rack outside the door. After packing his luggage, he came in to meet Qin Liuse.

"My Lady Imperial Concubine, the Emperor sent me here today to tell you that something happened in the palace and the Emperor cannot come today. Please remember to put on more clothes and keep warm, or you will catch a cold."

Qin Liuse nodded and responded, "It's cold outside, Eunuch Zhu, eat some sweet potatoes before you leave."

Zhu Wanxi declined hastily, but said with a smile, "The emperor couldn't come, but he asked me to bring a lot of treasures to the queen."

As he said this, he went to the door and took a package from the guard who came over.

He came in and put it on the blanket and opened it. "These are all the sable furs that the emperor hunted this fall. Your Majesty knows that sable furs are hard to find. In order to collect enough furs, the emperor went from mountain to mountain to collect them. Finally, he collected enough furs to sew into such a large cloak."

"I used the remaining material to make a scarf and a hood for the queen... The emperor said that the queen is afraid of the cold, and with this sable fur, she can keep warm and it is not as resistant to dirt as the previous white fox fur. The queen can use it whenever she goes out."

Qin Liuse looked at the sable fur cloak that Aunt Mingyue shook out. It was indeed a good material, the quality was great, and it was smooth and shiny. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Thinking of the day in the Langyue Hall when Liu Yiyi also showed off, Qin Liuse couldn't help but said sourly, "Did the emperor hunt a lot? That day, Liu Cainu said that the emperor also rewarded her."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wanxi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, please don't listen to Liu Cainu's nonsense. When did the emperor ever promise her? She is just wishful thinking."

"At that time, in the hunting ground, a cart of sables was pulled down the mountain. Liu Cainu did hint to the emperor, but our emperor ignored her at all."

After hearing this, Qin Liuse raised the corners of his lips again.

Zhu Wanxi saw the opportunity and said, "Sable fur is so rare. The emperor has been in the mountains for so long to collect this set. How can he have the time to give it to an insignificant person?"

Qin Liuse was completely attentive to Zhu Wanxi's flattering words.

At one point he said, "Eunuch Zhu, please eat a sweet potato before you go. The return journey is long and cold, so you need to fill your stomach."

"Thank you, Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine, but I have to go. Otherwise, I may not be able to return to the capital before dark." Zhu Wanxi was still refusing.

Qin Liuse insisted, took the food box, put three sweet potatoes in it, and personally stood up and handed it to Zhu Wanxi.

"Eunuch Zhu, please don't refuse. This trip will take a whole day, so you still need to eat something. If you are in a hurry, you can just go to the door and eat in a few bites. It won't be a problem."

Zhu Wanxi then accepted it with disrespect.

This palace was also considered the inner residence for the women, so after the guards who came with him handed over the things, they immediately went outside to wait in the front yard.

Zhu Wanxi came out dressed neatly. There was no one outside. Unexpectedly, Qin Liuse followed him out.

Zhu Wanxi held the food box and said respectfully, "My Lady Imperial Concubine, please stay. Please don't embarrass me."

Actually, Qin Liuse had something to ask Zhu Wanxi. She opened the curtain and followed Zhu Wanxi out. She stood in the corridor and saw that there was no one outside. Then she asked in a low voice, "Eunuch Zhu, what happened in the palace?"

It wasn't that Emperor Yongjia didn't come that made her notice something unusual, but since the last time Emperor Yongjia came with his two children and asked her to stay here for a while, Qin Liuse felt something was strange.

Zhu Wanxi put his hands behind his back and hid the food box in the arms of his cloak. He did not expect the imperial concubine to come out and question him. After thinking about it, he decided not to hide it for the moment.

He smiled and said, "This servant did not mean to not tell you, but was afraid that if I told you, it would make Your Majesty worried... The Emperor also meant this, so he asked Your Majesty to stay here for a few more days. I think Your Majesty has guessed it."

Qin Liuse held the hot water bottle and shook her head, "Eunuch Zhu, please don't worry. I'm not that fragile."

Zhu Wanxi lowered his voice and said, "The emperor did this because he didn't want the queen to have trouble returning to the palace, so he wanted to wait until everything was done before bringing the queen back to the palace."

The situation in the court is changing drastically right now. Qin Boyuan is arrogant because of his favor and has done something very unpleasant. He previously reported in the court that the Imperial Noble Consort was the candidate for the future empress and that she and Qin Yu'nu were sisters, but one of them sat on the empress's seat while the other sat on the bench. This was not a good thing to hear.

He then submitted memorials one after another, requesting Emperor Yongjia to raise Qin Huaijin's position so as not to lose face for the Imperial Noble Consort.

This matter has been mixed up with Qin Liuse's reputation.

What's more, since becoming the "father-in-law" of Emperor Yongjia is a foregone conclusion, now that Qin Bo is far away in Shangjing City, he can really walk sideways.

He was arrogant, extravagant, and bribing his accomplices. Although he could not be said to have committed all kinds of evil, his behavior was indeed very similar to that of the former.

Qin Liuse thought in his heart that Qin Boyuan was too arrogant. How could he, a junior minister in the Dali Temple, get close to so many officials?

Moreover, Qin Liuse was not surprised by Qin Boyuan's behavior. He was good at pretending to be a wise minister, but he was not a bad person at heart.

After all, before he became the emperor's father-in-law, the Qin family had taken a lot of advantage of Qin Liuse's wealthy father.

These powerful people looked down on businessmen the most, thinking they were money-minded and of low status, but they were never soft-hearted when it came to taking money from the Qin family.

Now that he is drifting, his true nature is revealed.

Qin Liuse pondered in his heart and asked Zhu Wanxi, "The emperor has thought it through..." As he said this, he made a gesture of wiping his neck.

Zhu Wanxi smiled slightly, and was too embarrassed to answer for Emperor Yongjia. She just smiled and bowed, saying, "I have to go now. Your Highness, please stay here and relax. The Emperor will clear the obstacles for you."

Qin Liuse looked at Zhu Wanxi's back in the wind and snow, still pondering the meaning of his words. Why did it sound like there was something else behind his words?

When Qin Liuse returned to the house and hugged her child to eat sweet potatoes and taste Dahongpao, the concubines in the imperial city all had their own worries.