Step on a branch

Chapter 242

In early summer, this is the hottest time of the day.

Concubine Shu turned around and was about to enter the main hall when she saw the window on the side was half open.

The windows were half up for ventilation.

That window is just behind the couch where the empress dowager sits.

Concubine Shu lowered her eyes and went in.

"Why have you been gone for a long time?" The empress dowager smiled kindly and waved to her, "Look, there is sweat on my forehead."

Concubine Shu took out her handkerchief, pressed it on her forehead, and said, "It's so hot outside."

"When it's midsummer," the empress dowager said, "how do you still come out and walk around?"

Concubine Shu sat down beside her with a smile, took advantage of the situation, and naturally answered the previous question: "Eunuch Xu was not there just now, the emperor was in a hurry to leave, so I looked behind and talked to Eunuch Xu."

Through the open window, the empress dowager had of course seen some movement before.

Because of the angle, you can't see the whole person, only a section of the waist, but you can also judge the identity of the other person from the clothes.

She saw with her own eyes that Concubine Shu walked through the corridor to the backyard after seeing off the emperor.

Not long after, Eunuch Xu came out in a hurry, presumably to chase after the emperor.

Concubine Shu is late.

This is also unusual, the concubines in the harem don't hurry and walk slowly, which is slower than Eunuch Xu who is trotting.

Furthermore, Concubine Shu's pace was slow and slow.

The Empress Dowager knew all too well that Concubine Shu's pace was slower than that of an old lady.

When walking with her, or walking with the emperor, Concubine Shu will speed up, but when she doesn't need to cooperate with others on weekdays, she really takes a step at a time, which is unnatural. From the perspective of the empress dowager, she is slow but not procrastinating, and her steps are small Yes, it went pretty well.

"Speaking of which, I'm in your favor again." Concubine Shu rolled her eyes, and there was a little pride in her smile.

"Oh?" The Empress Dowager signaled her to continue.

"I called Miss Qin over that day, and when we were chatting, she said that the lily cake made in the kitchen of the Hou Mansion was delicious." Concubine Shu blinked, "I heard it at the time, but I missed it at night, and the more I missed it, more greedy.

However, it's embarrassing for the special envoy to go to Hou's mansion to beg for lily cakes.

Just in time, let someone invite Mrs. Hou to come, and I will ask him to beg for pastries along the way. "

"You are so!" The Empress Dowager laughed and spat affectionately, "It's a shame to ask for it; it's not shameful to ask for it by the way? Children are greedy, and you are also greedy. The craftsmanship of the imperial dining room is not enough for you." Hungry?"

"I eat a lot in the imperial dining room," Concubine Shu said tenderly, "I haven't eaten in other people's kitchens."

This reason is very sufficient.

Not only the food, but the other things are also not fresh at home, and others are jealous?
The Empress Dowager didn't know whether to laugh or cry, she stretched out her finger and nodded at Concubine Shu: "You, you!"

Or else, among the concubines in the emperor's harem, she only likes concubine Shu?

Sensible, worry-free, and eye-catching, this is one of them.

Another point is that Concubine Shu is easy to understand.

There is no shortage of smart people in the palace, but they think too much and demand too much.

Concubine Shu also wants a lot. Her preferences are exquisite jewelry, beautiful silk and satin materials, and dim sum dishes that suit her taste.

Concubine Shu was sincerely happy to reward her things.

That kind of joy is so real and contagious, it will make the empress dowager, the one who gave it out, happy too.

Who doesn't want to give something that the other party likes from the bottom of their hearts?

Even if it's a free gift.

Compared with other people's respect, flattery, and superficial gratitude, Concubine Shu is much more real.

Praise things, can boast to the real point.

For example, Concubine Shu would happily say the tranquilizing fragrance given to her earlier, not only did she like the smell, but the emperor also felt good after smelling it.

The empress dowager's heart warmed when she looked at her small expression and small gestures when she spoke.

As for why she has such a sensible and childish temperament, the empress dowager thought that it had something to do with Concubine Shu's background.

Troubled times are difficult.

Whether it's Empress Cheng or Concubine Shun, although they grew up in troubled times, they come from a good background and can eat and dress decently.

Concubine Shu's natal family is very ordinary, with only one folk child, she must have suffered a lot in her childhood.

At the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the political situation gradually stabilized, and the elders picked up their studies and obtained fame in the exams, and then they gradually got rid of the hard life.

Only when she can eat enough and wear warm clothes will she have enough energy for Concubine Shu to learn this and that, and be elected to the palace when she grows up.

Children who have suffered and suffered from poverty will cherish things very much.

Gold and silver are the most important things in the eyes of the rich, but they are the life-saving things that can be exchanged for everything in the eyes of poor children.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager's gaze at Concubine Shu softened a lot.

Concubine Shu smiled, and talked to the Empress Dowager about some homework.

Her tone was unhappy, just like her mind gradually calming down.

Any incomprehension and doubts should be suppressed as soon as they appear. As long as you suppress them quickly, the empress dowager will trust her and will not ponder over them carefully.

Once the sprout grows taller, it can't be stopped with just a few words.

But once the seed of doubt grows, it is like a thorn, which cannot be pulled out again.

On the other side, in the Marquis of Yongning, the Ji family was sweating profusely.

The eldest girl went to Anguo Gong's mansion, and she didn't know whether it was good or bad, and the Ji family was really restless.

When you are idle, you will think wildly, simply, let yourself be busy.

After two sets of boxing in the sun, there is no time to think about other things.

While practicing, a nun hurriedly came from the front and said: "The messenger from the palace has come, and the Palace of Compassion and Ning called the old lady into the palace."

Ji's palm slammed on the wooden man, and he couldn't control his strength, so he frowned in pain.

What's going on today?

For a while, the An Guo Gong's mansion invited the eldest girl, and for a while, the Compassion Ning Palace invited the old lady.

Their Yongning Hou Mansion has become a sweet pastry?

After simply wiping off her sweat, Ji Shi hurriedly went to the main courtyard without caring about her grooming.

In the room, Mrs. Yongning Hou was sitting upright, and said to the servant: "Eunuch Zhang has worked hard."

"Where is it?" Eunuch Zhang smiled, "Yes, Concubine Shu asked the miscellaneous family to bring a word, saying that she heard the lily cake in the mansion mentioned by the eldest lady of your mansion, and she also wanted to try it."

Madam Hou raised her eyebrows and said, "Unfortunately, she has gone out."

"Yes, the empress said, the eldest girl will not be free today, and another day the eldest girl will be free, and when she enters the palace, she will bring some with her." Eunuch Zhang said.

As soon as the words fell into her ears, Mrs. Hou's heart skipped a beat.

Ji came in just in time, and subconsciously frowned upon hearing this sentence.

It seems that something is not quite right.

But for a while, she didn't come up with specifics.

Ji hesitated and looked at Mrs. Hou.

Madam Yongning Hou laughed, and said to Ji: "Is the kitchen making lily cake today?"

Ji followed suit and replied: "I haven't made any, only some bean paste cakes."

"Let someone put it on," Madam Yongning Hou ordered, and then smiled and said to Eunuch Zhang, "I'm not boasting, the cook in our house is really good at making dim sum. Eunuch Zhang sit and wait, I'll go in Change your clothes, and ask the kitchen to prepare something else, and I will take it to your mother."

(End of this chapter)