The most beautiful lady in the harem

Emperor Yongjia stayed in the northwest for almost six years on and off.

Although I went back and forth for six years and did not delay the affairs of the palace, I spent a special period of time there, which brought me special feelings and memories.

After Xin Zhaoyuan returned to the palace, Emperor Yongjia took her and the two empresses dowagers to Ci'en Temple to burn incense.

Qin Liuse thought about it and got the thing done that day.

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Although Emperor Yongjia gave enough pomp and face, Xin Zhaoyuan's return to the palace was not with great fanfare. Instead, she went in and out of the imperial city like an ordinary person, and there was nothing conspicuous about her.

After hearing her behavior, Qin Liuse understood why Emperor Yongjia had brought her there.

This person, with this personality, is obviously very worry-free.

At that time, the Ninth Prince had no one to help him, was attacked from all sides, and was plotting to seize power, so naturally he hoped that his woman would stay quiet in the inner house.

No wonder Emperor Yongjia gave her Chuxiu Palace when she returned.

The women in the harem each have their own thoughts. Some, like Qin Liuse, are waiting for an unexpected encounter, while others, when Xin Zhaoyuan returns, want to reminisce about the past and show their courtesy to her.

But they were all dismissed by Xin Zhaoyuan on the grounds that they were exhausted from the long journey and both the little princess and she needed to rest.

However, Emperor Yongjia was definitely an exception. On the night he returned, he went to Chuxiu Palace.

The next day in the harem, some were happy and some were sad.

Because Xin Zhaoyuan and her group had just returned, Emperor Yongjia hadn't seen these concubines for almost two years. During this period of time, he might want to reminisce about the old people and look at their names more often.

This way, the opportunities for the old ladies in the harem will be reduced.

In addition to Xin Zhaoyuan and other returning old friends, there were also a group of new beauties, all lining up to be summoned by Emperor Yongjia.

The people in the Jingshifang would hold the plaque and send the new bride to Emperor Yongjia for selection first.

For a time, everyone in the palace was excited and a little restless.

Qin Liuse was probably the calmest one here, because she had no time to think about who Emperor Yongjia would favor. She was worried about what happened today.

Since she woke up in the morning, looking at the gloomy sky outside the window, Qin Liuse prayed that her trick would work.

"Jieyu, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager have already gone to Ci'en Temple." Aunt Mingyue came in and reported to Qin Liuse that it was the news brought back by Xiao Fuzi and the others.

Qin Liuse nodded and asked her, "Is everything arranged?"

Aunt Mingyue was a capable person. She leaned over to Qin Liuse's ear and said, "It's all ready. The cook will go there today, and Xiao Fuzi will go with her."

Qin Liuse nodded, still feeling uneasy.

The weather seemed to be good today. It was gloomy all day. Near noon, it started to rain and thunder, which was more suitable for Qin Liuse to do things.

Because of the thunder and rain, Emperor Yongjia and his entourage's trip to Ci'en Temple was naturally delayed.

Originally, she was planning to have a vegetarian meal and perform the ceremony at Ci'en Temple, and then return to the harem.

But due to bad weather and thunder, it was not suitable to go out, so the trip was postponed.

Qin Liuse had lunch and was unable to walk around to digest the food, so she walked back and forth in the room, counting the time. It was almost time over there.

At this time in the Cining Palace, Wei Lanxin had just finished lunch and was sitting in the room drinking tea and counting raindrops.

If Qin Liuse is the calmest woman in the harem after so many new arrivals, then Wei Lanxin must be one of the most anxious women.

She was kept in the Empress Dowager Dong's palace, so naturally she heard a lot of what went on in the harem.

She heard that Xin Zhaoyuan had returned and there was a new beauty. In addition, the late queen and Concubine Dong died one after another after the New Year. The emperor seemed to indicate that he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to promote the concubines in the harem.

Let’s not talk about the selection of the queen for now, but the Empress Dowager Dong told Wei Lanxin that there will definitely be new people to take the positions of the four concubines.

It is impossible for Emperor Yongjia to leave only two of the four concubines. Concubine Ning Shu is going to give birth this year, and Concubine Xiao De doesn't care about worldly affairs. Neither of them is the best candidate to be Emperor Yongjia's left and right arms.

What the Empress Dowager Dong meant was that there would be a new person taking the throne, and at the same time there would be a new person in charge of the power to manage the six palaces.

Otherwise, if Concubine Xiao De doesn't care, and Concubine Ning Shu can't take care of it, and Emperor Yongjia is not prepared to let the two empresses dowagers interfere in his harem, then the harem will be like a leaderless place, which is not acceptable.

Wei Lan felt a pang of pain in her heart when she thought that by then, a group of new beauties would become Baolin and Cairen, and there would also be new virtuous concubines.

She hoped to be among this group of people, but after the two obstacles, the former queen and Concubine Dong, were removed, Emperor Yongjia still did not covet her.

Is it because the late queen's death is still not far away? Is the emperor still observing unnecessary etiquette for the married couple?

Thinking of this, she became extremely upset and had been thinking about it all morning.

"Go, check if my soup is ready." Wei Lan ordered her maid irritably.

She always had sweet soup for lunch. When the maid heard this, she took an umbrella and went to the small kitchen to see if her red bean and barley soup was ready.

Today's thunderstorm seemed endless. The maid walked to the small kitchen, put away her umbrella, and her skirt was already half wet.

Xiao Fuzi was guarding the small kitchen at the moment, chatting with the cook.

Seeing Wei Lanxin's maid come in, the cook asked enthusiastically, "Aunt, why are you here at this time? It's windy and rainy outside, and you're all wet."

The maid sighed, "Our girl wants to eat sweet soup, is it ready?"

The cook opened the ceramic lid, scooped out a spoonful of soup, looked at it, and stirred it again. "Alright, alright! I'll add some more sugar and it's ready to serve."

There were two bowls filled with unknown soup on the small stool in front of Xiao Fuzi. The maid was waiting for the cook to take the soup out of the pot. She took a look and felt that Xiao Fuzi looked familiar, but she didn't seem to be from the Cining Palace.

Then he started chatting with Xiao Fuzi, "Where is your father-in-law working? Why is he here?"

Xiao Fuzi sighed and said, "I came from the Shangshi Bureau to deliver food to the cook. It was a thunderstorm, so the cook was kind enough to let me stay for a while. I even asked for a bowl of ginger water to drive away the cold."

The cook added sugar to the pottery jar. Sugar was a valuable commodity these days, so she added it carefully. She smiled at the two of them and said, "It's just a bowl of ginger water. Don't be polite. These are the leftover ginger cubes and chopped ginger that I used when cooking for the Queen Mother."

"It's not the whole ingredients. I often cook it for the ladies in the palace in winter. It's not easy to be a slave these days. In the wind and rain, the ladies should drink a bowl of it, and they should drink more."

It's possible that these words touched the maid Wei Lanxin's heart. Wei Lanxin was young and the maid wasn't much older either. In this weather, she had to come out to work to see what the master wanted to eat, no matter how strong the wind and rain were.

However, she did not blame Wei Lanxin. She was used to being a servant and felt that this was her fate. But the cook's care and love also made her feel warm in her heart.

The weather was cold and damp, but when I got to the small kitchen, I felt warm by the charcoal fire and the aroma of ginger and sugar water made me salivate.

She smiled at the cook and said, "Then ask the cook for a bowl of water too!"