The emperor just doesn't treat everyone equally, and it's none of my business!

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it has been twelfth year of Yuanjing. It is the ninth year since Gu Shijin entered the palace, and also the ninth year since Gu Shijin traveled through time.

I don't know what's going on this year, but it started getting hot in May and it's already September, and there's no sign of it getting cooler. Many places haven't seen rain for two or three months.

Lu Junze has been very busy during this period, mainly dealing with disaster relief.

"I don't know when the temperature will drop?" Xingzhu stood beside Gu Shijin and fanned her. She couldn't stand sweating when she woke up in the morning.

"We are fine. There is an iceberg in this room, but the ordinary people outside are the ones who are really suffering." Gu Shijin sighed.

"Your Majesty is kind-hearted." Xingzhu said.

Gu Shijin shook his head. He was afraid that a lot of people would die from the heat this year.

"Your Majesty, everyone from the harem has arrived." Xingyue came in to report.

Ever since Gu Shijin was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, the concubines in the harem came to pay their respects to her every morning. Gu Shijin was very impatient, but the rules were there, so she told them that they only needed to come on the first and fifteenth of every month, and there was no need to come at other times.

Everyone in the harem was not really willing to come and pay their respects to her, but after Gu Shijin said that, everyone agreed.

Today happens to be the fifteenth day, the day when all the concubines come to Chenhua Palace to pay their respects to Gu Shijin.

"understood."

"Xingyue, go serve everyone a bowl of mung bean smoothie."

In this weather, everyone must be feeling very hot. Those of high status can ride in sedan chairs, but those of low status can only rely on their legs.

"Yes, ma'am."

There are only a few people in Lu Junze's harem now, including the high-ranking Concubine Xian and Concubine Lan, and the lower-ranking Concubine Ming and Concubine Ning. The rest are concubines, noble ladies, beauties, maids, and talented ladies, and Gu Shijin can't even call out their names.

Only those of the sixth rank and above could come to pay their respects to the Imperial Noble Consort, so there were exactly ten people in total.

The ten people didn't have much to talk about with each other, so they just sat there waiting for Gu Shijin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Imperial Concubine has asked me to serve some cakes and cold drinks to you ladies and gentlemen." Xingyue said with a group of palace maids.

Ning Jieyu loves to eat the most. She opened her eyes wide when she heard that there was food to eat. Everyone in the palace knows that the food cooked in the small kitchen in the Imperial Concubine's palace is delicious, but ordinary people are not lucky enough to eat it.

However, Concubine Ning often came to Chenhua Palace to visit Gu Shijin, so she could still eat it often.

Xingyue asked the small kitchen to prepare snacks. Although they were hot, it was too early. These concubines might not have had breakfast, so it would be better for them to fill their stomachs before having some cold drinks.

I have to say that Xingyue is very careful on this point.

Everyone showed respect to the gifts given by the imperial concubine and everyone took them up to taste.

"The food in the Royal Concubine's palace is really good." Concubine Lan came here with breakfast, so she was not afraid of eating cold drinks.

This mung bean soup contains small glutinous rice balls and some fruits. It has a rich taste and is really delicious.

"Yes."

"Yes."

The concubines and noble ladies below also said, "No matter whether it tastes good or not, it is the intention of the imperial concubine, and they certainly can't say it's not good."

"What are you talking about? It's so lively." Gu Shijin walked in and saw this rare lively scene.

People who came to pay their respects to her would just sit for a while and then leave. If they had something to talk about, they would chat for a while longer, but they rarely joked with her.

"Your servants are saying that the food here is exquisitely prepared." The one who spoke was Concubine Xian, who surprised everyone.

Over the years, Concubine Xian has been like a transparent person in the harem. Today is really a surprise.

Of course Gu Shijin would give face to Concubine Xian. She smiled and said, "If Concubine Xian likes it, I'll ask Xingyue to pack some for you. Mung bean smoothie is not easy to carry, so I'll give you the recipe. You can go back and ask the kitchen staff to make it."

After saying that, he looked at the others and said, "If you like, I will prepare it for you."

This isn't some hidden secret.

"Then I would like to thank Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine." Concubine Xian stood up and bowed. She was the one who said it first, so she certainly couldn't refuse. Besides, the things here from Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine are really good.

Anyway, it's just some food and recipes, there won't be any problem if you take them.

Others also stood up and said, "Thank you, Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine."

Seeing this, Xingyue quietly retreated and went to prepare pastries for these people to take away.

You have to check them one by one, and save some for later use in case something goes wrong after eating them.

Not only Xingyue thought of this problem, but Gu Shijin also thought of it. She secretly gave Xiao Linzi a wink, and Xiao Linzi cleverly retreated.

“I don’t know when the weather will cool down.” Lan Fei said after taking another bite of mung bean smoothie.

"Yes, it has been more than three months. I heard that many people have died of the heat outside." Mingpin said.

Although the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs, this matter is so serious and the weather has been hot for so long that it is no longer a secret. Everyone in the harem knows about it, and they don't have to pretend to know nothing.

It's wrong to pretend too much.

"It will probably get cold soon. It's already September." In previous years, the capital would get cold in September at the latest. But this year... Sigh...

At this time, Xingyue came in from outside, knelt on the ground and said: "Please forgive me, my queen, the ingredients for making cakes in the small kitchen are used up, I'm afraid..."

Xingyue didn't finish her words, but there was no real fool present, and they understood it immediately. Ming Jieyu was the first to say, "Your Majesty, please don't bother. You can come to your palace to eat next time."

"Yes, madam, it's very troublesome in this hot weather."

Gu Shijin smiled apologetically and said, "How about this, I will give you the recipe for the pastry as well. You can go back and ask the small kitchen to study it. It's not difficult anyway."

Go back and make it yourself. If anything goes wrong with the food, it won’t be her fault.

"Okay, thank you very much, ma'am."

The weather here is hot, and the sun will be scorching in a while. Seeing that nothing was wrong, Gu Shijin told them to disperse and go back early. If they got heatstroke on the way back, rumors would spread outside.

It's annoying to hear that he fainted from heatstroke while paying his respects to the Imperial Concubine.

After these people left, Gu Shijin felt tired and asked Xingyue to give him a good massage.

"Are you tired, Your Majesty?" Gu Shijin had been checking the accounts in the palace during this period. Such a big thing happened in the previous dynasty, and the harem could not help much. They could only save money, which required Gu Shijin to keep an eye on it.

"Yeah, my back and waist are sore. The tasks are not difficult, just messy." Gu Shijin sighed.

Alas, being the one in power is worse than being a favored concubine.

There's no need for a favored concubine to worry about so many things, as long as she is happy.

Look at her now, she hasn't even become queen yet, but she already has a lot of things to deal with.

"By the way, have Ajin and Ayuan gone to the Shangshufang?" In March this year, the two children went to the Shangshufang to study.

"My lady, I have already gone."