Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 404 Mutual Respect

On the eve of his departure from the palace, as dusk began to fall, the Emperor brought only Jingming with him to the Cuiyu Hall.

After having dinner with Meng Shu, and having only drunk half a cup of tea, without even having a dessert, Meng Shu found an excuse to gently persuade him: "Consort Chun has been managing the six palaces these past few days, and she must be very tired. Since His Majesty has come to the inner palace, why don't you go to Huining Palace for a visit?"

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the Emperor left Cuiyu Hall and went straight to Huining Palace.

After respectfully seeing the emperor off at the palace gate, Meng Shu, supported by Dong Gua's arm, slowly walked towards the inner palace.

A cool night breeze caused the palace lanterns under the eaves to sway gracefully.

"The Emperor actually listens to Shushu's words," Donggua muttered in a low voice, "He actually went to visit Consort Chun when she told him to."

Meng Shu patted her arm and laughed, "Silly girl, how dare you say such nonsense. The Emperor has his own considerations, he's just waiting for me to speak. This is also thanks to the sauce you made. The Emperor ordered the Marquis to oversee this matter a few days ago. Now that His Majesty is about to leave the palace, we must make sure Wan'er has a proper appearance."

After hearing this, Donggua said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Isn't this what the old folks in the village often say, 'When you need someone, they're there; when you don't, they're gone'?"

Meng Shu paused slightly: "..."

If it were Green Willow who said those words, she would definitely reprimand her severely. But she never had the heart to be harsh on the honest and simple Winter Melon.

But he still cautioned, "You must never say such things again." As he spoke, his fingertips tightened around her wrist. "Do you understand?"

Winter Melon realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly slapped his mouth, saying, "I remember, I remember, I didn't even mention Green Willow."

The two chatted as they walked through the corridor. When they reached the hanging flower gate, Donggua was vividly recounting the amusing story of several head chefs from the Imperial Kitchen asking her for pointers on noodle-making skills. Meng Shu then teased, "Has the Imperial Kitchen head chef come up with any new tricks lately?"

"Shushu!" Donggua yelled. If it weren't for the fact that Meng Shu was pregnant, he would have pinched her waist as he always had.

Ever since she received the honorary title of Sixth-Rank Steward of the Imperial Kitchen, under Meng Shu's lead, the people of Cuiyu Hall have been making jokes about her quite often. Even Hongyu, who sweeps the front hall, dares to call her "Lord Fang" with a smile.

It was indeed a nominal title.

After all, she was still working at Cuiyu Hall, so how could she really become the head chef? The Imperial Kitchen was naturally happy to see this, and Chef Xu even took the opportunity to shamelessly learn Donggua's specialty, noodle dumplings.

With the support of two empresses, Donggua was no longer a little girl who couldn't even protect herself with a cotton-padded coat. As a result, she learned more than a dozen exquisite dishes from Chef Xu and the others.

"I learned how to make eel paste, crab-stuffed orange, and three-layered duck from Imperial Chef Xu Shou, and I also got the recipes for Linglong Peony Fermented Fish and Snow Cloud Soup from Steward Deng. Tomorrow I'll make a Nine-Silk Soup and have Dou'er send a portion to Consort Chun as well."

Donggua counted on his fingers and explained it in detail.

"Chicken broth with dried tofu strips?" Meng Shu had some recollection of this dish; she had seen it once at the Qin residence when she accompanied the Second Miss to a flower-viewing banquet in Lin'an.

Donggua nodded repeatedly, "Chef Xu's cooking skills are superb, and his knife skills are also excellent. He made improvements to this dish, and I learned about 70-80% of it."

Back in the palace, Xia'er greeted her and whispered, "Your Majesty, Sister Green Willow has just returned and has gone to talk to Hongyu."

Meng Shu hummed in agreement and went straight to the study.

Donggua followed him in, picked up the silver scissors on the table, adjusted the lamp wick, and looked out at the deepening twilight, saying, "I wonder if Aunt Mei has sent that painting away yet."

A few days ago, Jingming sent over the official robes of a sixth-rank female official. Donggua was overjoyed and specially bathed and burned incense to dress herself properly, then asked Meng Shu to paint a portrait of her. Coincidentally, Consort Chun was also there that day. Consort Chun said that Meng Shu was pregnant and should not overwork herself, so she personally took up her brush and painted a portrait of her.

After the painting was finished, Meng Shu mounted it on a cloud-patterned brocade scroll and entrusted Aunt Mei to send it, along with a family letter written by Dong Gua, to the palace. The Tang family merchant guild would also send it to Jinan.

Meng Shu said with a smile in her eyes, "Don't worry, it will definitely be delivered before the New Year. Manager An will be all smiles when he sees it, and he might even praise it to everyone he meets."

These words made Donggua's ears turn bright red. Just then, he caught a glimpse of Green Willow appearing under the eaves, so he said he was going to the small kitchen to keep an eye on the soup simmering, and hurriedly ran off.

Green Willow lifted the curtain and came in, bumping right into Winter Melon. "Why are you in such a hurry, Steward Fang? Where are you going?"

Meng Shu watched Dong Gua's retreating figure and laughed until tears welled up in her eyes.

As Green Willow approached, she wiped her eyes and asked, "How is it?"

Green Willow lowered her voice and reported, "This servant has been guarding the vicinity of the Magnolia Pavilion twice. It seems that Consort Yang has indeed climbed up to Consort Qing. In the past two days, thanks to Consort Pei's connection, she has been able to step into the Zhaoqing Palace. The first time she went, she stayed for more than half an hour."

“He does have some ability. Let Hongyu keep an eye on him; you don’t need to bother with it.”

"Yes," Green Willow replied, adding, "When I spoke with Hongyu just now, that girl was pledging her loyalty and making oaths. It seems like she's determined to follow Your Highness as her mistress."

......

Huining Hall.

The Emperor hasn't visited Consort Chun for over a month. At first, he was busy with state affairs, but gradually, he genuinely forgot he was coming.

Although the number of concubines in the palace was not large, they were all like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with their own unique charm.

Rong Meiren was most adept at being gentle and pleasing; Qu Meiren was skilled in poetry and song; Yun Baolin was clever and docile; Yi Xiuyuan was like Yingchun, lively and innocent; Yang Yunu was charming and naive; Pei Yunu was bright and beautiful; Song Jieyu was aloof; ...even Qu Baolin, though foolish, knew how to flatter.

As for Meng Shu, she not only possessed unparalleled beauty and grace, but also intelligence and wit, and could always understand the emperor's intentions.

Even Consort Qing, because of the affection Qing Zhitong had for her, always carried a special place in her heart.

In comparison, Consort Chun was far too dignified.

Whenever the emperor saw her, he would unconsciously straighten his expression as well.

Especially when she no longer placed her hopes on the unfounded love in the deep palace, she became like the bright moon in the sky, keeping everyone at arm's length.

Being alone with the Emperor felt more like a court audience between ruler and subject, with no trace of the pleasures of a private chamber. As a result, the Emperor respected her for her composure and propriety, and thus felt less and less affection for her.

"Mutual respect" in the imperial harem always meant "being alone in an empty room."

This is the scene right now.

The Emperor sat in the main seat, while Consort Chun sat to the side below him, with a rosewood table between them.

"How has Wan'er been feeling lately?" The Emperor took a sip of tea and looked at Consort Chun.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am well." Consort Chun bowed slightly, her hair ornament remaining perfectly still.

Another silence followed.

The Emperor stroked his teacup, recalling how Consort Chun used to personally serve him tea, but now only Mengzhu served him. He looked up and saw Consort Chun with her eyelashes lowered, as dignified as a jade statue in a temple. Suddenly, he felt that the tea in his mouth tasted bland.

Aunt Mei, her ears perked up, stood guard in the outer room, holding her breath, her handkerchief clenched tightly in her hand until it was almost twisted into a knot. Hearing the sudden silence in the inner room, she seemed anxious and took the charcoal brazier from Ruizhu's hand and went in.

"This servant will add some fresh charcoal to the charcoal brazier."

She bowed respectfully, and while bending down, she glared fiercely at Consort Chun.

Consort Chun was startled by that piercing gaze, her back stiffened, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. She then remembered what Shu'er had said, but this skill of playing along was clearly much more difficult than doing Lin Fuzi's homework.

Thinking this, she gracefully rose and moved to the Emperor's side, her slender fingers secretly pinching a few red marks in her palm before she managed to squeeze out a slightly soft voice...

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