LRAB Chapter 68 has a beauty
Chapter 68 has a beauty
Zheng Ruojin's father was only the Prefect of Xingyang County, a fifth-rank local official. Naturally, he was not comparable to Su Fuying's father, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. All officials in the capital had to be demoted one rank to be equivalent to local officials. In other words, a fifth-rank official in the capital was equivalent to a fourth-rank official in the local area.
But the Zheng family was one of the five prominent families and seven noble clans, which is why she dared to speak.
Zheng Ruojin rolled her eyes at her, as if Su Fuying were an idiot. "Speaking of the whole story, I was just telling the truth. What have you misunderstood, Su sister?"
The Empress was displeased with Zheng Ruojin, "Alright, we're all sisters in the same palace, don't get angry."
According to Qin, Song Jieyu's mother came to pay her respects, and the Empress dismissed everyone.
After the Empress had breakfast, she met with Consort Song's mother. The mother first bowed to the Empress to apologize, then took all the blame upon herself, presented her with generous gifts, and explained her purpose.
"This humble woman is foolish and ignorant. When Consort Jieyu was still young and unmarried, I did not properly instruct her, and she has caused Your Majesty much trouble since coming to the palace. This is a small token of my appreciation, and I hope Your Majesty will accept it."
The Empress glanced at it; it was worth about two thousand taels of silver. She didn't say whether she would accept it or not. "What is the meaning of your actions, Madam?"
Madam Song said, "I am truly worried about Consort Jieyu's miscarriage. I thought she deserved this suffering, but she is still a piece of my own flesh and blood. How can I not be at ease? I wish to have my concubine's daughter take care of her during her postpartum period. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission!"
The Empress then understood her intentions; the Song family wanted to send another daughter into the palace to serve the Emperor.
She remained silent for a moment, and Song's mother knew that the Empress was hesitating, so she quickly said, "My daughter, who is a concubine, is only fifteen years old. Although she is not beautiful, she is gentle and obedient. I will definitely teach her to obey the Empress's orders and to behave properly as a concubine, and I will never disappoint Your Majesty."
The meaning is to have Lady Song submit to the Empress.
The Empress said, "I already know your intentions. In that case, let her come in and serve us! Consort Song is still the Emperor's concubine. Although she has lost her imperial heir, it was not of her own volition. The Emperor has always been sentimental and would never leave her here all alone without caring about her."
"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your grace! I will never forget this kindness!"
The Empress accepted her kind offer.
After Song's mother returned home, Song's father slapped her hard across the face.
Since the eldest daughter was useless, Song's father planned to send the younger daughter into the palace, but not in this way. Song's mother's move was not only using the younger daughter as a stepping stone for the eldest daughter, but also suspected of seeking refuge with the Pei family.
Regardless of his achievements, whether the emperor appreciates them or not depends entirely on the emperor's conscience.
Are there any people with a conscience these days?
Madam Song covered her face in disbelief, heartbroken. "Master, how could you hit a concubine? Are you really going to give up on Yi'er like this? She's our daughter. She may have lost her child, but she can conceive again in the future. You were planning to send Huan'er to the palace anyway, so that the two sisters could keep each other company!"
Song Piyang roared, "Foolish woman! Foolish woman! My Song family is truly cursed for marrying a mistress like you! Your actions are tantamount to ruining Consort Jieyu's life!"
Neither of them expected that someone was eavesdropping outside the door, and Song Zhihuan became extremely nervous.
"Why?" Song's mother was also terrified.
"How could His Majesty accept a woman arranged by the Empress! The Pei family may still seem to be at the height of its power, with the Empress in the palace and Prime Minister Pei outside, but it's not the same as when the late Emperor was alive. My Song family can only be loyal to His Majesty. What will His Majesty think if you go to the Empress?"
Madam Song had no regrets. "But if I do nothing, who will remember Yi'er when I return to the palace? Is she destined to be trapped in that garden for the rest of her life at such a young age?"
Song Piyang was extremely disappointed. "I already had plans, but you made such a big decision on your own. Fine, I won't interfere anymore. Do whatever you want."
Anyway, the youngest daughter has already been arrested.
Song Zhihuan wasn't afraid after hearing this. She understood. The Empress was disliked by the Emperor. If she helped the Emperor defeat the Empress after entering the palace, she would have a chance to become the future Empress.
After noon, Song Zhihuan was sent to Qingyi Garden.
In Peach Blossom Village, Chaoyu told her what he had heard: "The Song family sent a generous gift to the Empress, which the Empress accepted, and agreed to let the second daughter of the Song family come in to serve Consort Song."
Shen Shixi laughed, "Your Majesty the Empress has sold our Emperor for two thousand taels of silver!"
Shen Shixi dared to say these words, but others dared not listen.
Sure enough, Song Zhiyi was not far from death.
If she hadn't died, Li Yuanke would never have summoned Song Zhihuan, since she was nominally there to attend to his ailing wife.
Bai Ping was truly afraid of her mistress's sharp tongue. She reminded her, "My lady, Consort Shun and Consort He are being sent to the Imperial Concubine Mausoleum today. The other concubines have all gone to Yongyou Temple to offer incense to the two consorts. Should we go and do the same?"
"Of course I should! We've known each other for a while now. Honestly, I never expected they were here to die!" Shen Shixi hesitated for a moment. "But in my current state, I'm afraid I can't go. I'm on my period; won't that cause some kind of problem?"
Ancient people viewed menstruation as a monstrous flood, something unclean and filthy.
"Then I'll go in your place. You don't need to go. You didn't even go to pay your respects to the Empress this morning," Bai Ping said irritably.
"Then I'll have to trouble Bai Ping!" Shen Shixi said. "Now that I've been promoted, the old rules still apply. There will be rewards for everyone in Zhaoyang Palace. You and Qinghao will each receive twenty taels of silver, the first rank will receive ten taels, and the next rank will receive five taels each."
Everyone came in to express their gratitude!
When Qinghao heard that she had been given twenty taels of silver, which was her monthly allowance for the past two or three years, she was stunned.
The treatment at Zhaoyang Palace is incredibly good!
Bai Ping told her not to tell anyone about the reward, and she nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, absolutely not, who would turn down money!
Everyone in Peach Blossom Village was overjoyed to receive the reward.
Even the two officials in charge of papermaking who had been helping with the papermaking process received a reward of five taels each.
Shen Shixi said to the two, "This is a reward for your promotion, and it has nothing to do with this papermaking. The paper has been made, and the technology is quite mature now. If the Emperor needs you in the future, then the Emperor can reward you."
This is the emperor's person; she won't do anything inappropriate.
The two hurriedly replied, "Thank you so much for your guidance, Consort Yuan. You taught us this method, and it would be a great favor if the Emperor needed us in the future. We don't know how to repay you!"
"From now on, if I need paper, I'll ask you to make it. Your efforts will be your way of repaying me. Also, only I can use this crabapple-patterned paper; you must remember that!"
"Yes!" The two had been here for so many days and had witnessed how favored Yuan Jieyu was, and had received such a great favor, so naturally they would not refuse.
Shen Shixi didn't want to move these past few days, so she stayed in Peach Blossom Village and continued making paper.
After many days of trial production, they finally produced two sets of the best quality stationery. One was a begonia-colored stationery with a light yet vibrant color. Although begonias have no fragrance, Shen Shixi still managed to create a subtle and lasting scent on it.
Another type is a golden dragon soaring among the clouds, appearing and disappearing on the paper, yet seemingly about to leap off the paper.
Shen Shixi had many made, and wrote down the production process. He also casually wrote two lines of love poetry on crabapple-patterned paper.
"There is a beautiful woman, whom I cannot forget once I have seen her. If I do not see her for a day, I am driven mad with longing for her," comparing Li Yuanke to a beautiful woman.
As for the things between men and women, it's really hard to say who sleeps with whom.
Anyway, Shen Shixi felt that as long as she enjoyed sleeping with Li Yuanke, that was all that mattered.
Chao En, together with the people from the Imperial Workshop, delivered the golden dragon lettering made for the Emperor to the Qingyan Palace.
She didn't keep a single one of those golden dragon paper slips; the ones that were discarded were destroyed, or else it would be considered an overstepping of her authority.
Doing something is acceptable, but anything that tramples on imperial power is absolutely forbidden.
With that, the task of making the paper stationery was completed.
After Bai Ping returned, she told Shen Shixi about seeing Song Zhihuan at Yongyou Temple. "Song Jieyu's younger sister is really beautiful. Her face is as big as a palm, her skin is good and very white, and her figure is slender and delicate. She is very charming. In my opinion, there are very few people in the whole palace who can compare to her."
Shen Shixi retorted angrily, "And what about your master, me?"
Bai Ping laughed, and everyone below couldn't help but chuckle as well.