Empress, she is rising step by step

Chapter 6 The Emperor is really compassionate
  "The food in your palace is naturally excellent." Before he finished speaking, a bowl of chicken soup appeared in front of him.

The emerald green lotus leaf-shaped bowl contains golden soup, with a faint aroma floating around. It makes the hands of the person holding the soup white and slender, as if they are boneless.

Shen Que moved his eyes upward and landed on Zhu Ci's face. She wore her hair in a very simple bun, only decorated with scattered silver jewelry.

She has a beautiful face and a snow-white and slender neck that looks like it could be broken with just the slightest force. Wearing a pair of red agate tassel earrings on her small earlobes, they swayed slightly with her movements. The curled eyelashes reflected on the cheeks, casting a crow color.

"Are you new here? Why have I never seen him in your palace before?"

Bai Xinrui's smile faded, "Your Majesty has really good eyesight. This girl was just transferred from a nearby place. I saw that her hands and feet were quite diligent, so I asked her to stay with me and take care of her."

Shen Que nodded and asked without raising his head while drinking the soup, "What's your name?"

Zhu Ci bravely raised his head and glanced at Shen Que. He wore a bright yellow robe with intricate patterns symbolizing auspiciousness and nobility embroidered on the sleeves.

Sitting in an armchair, he has a slender figure, a face like a crown of jade, and an air of elegance between his brows. It wasn't as majestic as she imagined.

She thought that the emperor dealt with government affairs every day and dealt with the concubines in the harem, so he was more mature than his actual age. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a gentle and handsome man.

Zhu Ci quickly lowered his eyes and said, "If you return to the emperor, my name is Zhu Ci."

Shen Qin said: "'May Ciwei live forever, like the ancient town of pines and cypresses.' Yes, a good name."

"I also think this girl's name is very memorable." Bai Xinrui has never been a fan of poetry and books, and she really doesn't understand what this poem means. Anyway, it was a compliment, so she was right.

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Ni Zhuci, his tone of voice was soft and secretly mixed with some unkindness.

"Why are you standing there in a daze? Why don't you hurry up and prepare the dishes? If you rush into the emperor carelessly, I will definitely not let you go."

"Yes." Zhu Ci responded in a low voice and stepped forward briskly to start serving the dishes.

Bai Xinrui has always been a royal family member, and the meals prepared in the palace's small kitchen are even more exquisite and delicious than those prepared by the Shangshi Bureau.

Zhu Ci looked at her nose and heart, and put a little of each into the bowl in front of Shen Que. Observe his preferences carefully and make adjustments secretly.

Although Bai Xinrui told him about the emperor's diet, what he was used to eating and what he didn't like to eat. But you'll always be right if you look carefully.

Shen Que only saw an arm dangling in front of him, and a faint fragrance lingered on the tip of his nose, like the smell of orchids, delicate and long.

The imperial concubine always liked strong incense, so it was obvious who the smell came from.

"She is still young. It is normal for her to be frizzy. She just needs to be trained more."

"Your Majesty is really compassionate. I just said a few words, but you are so partial to this girl."

Bai Xinrui pouted, looking at Shen Que as if he didn't hear what she said clearly, and kept glancing at Zhu Ci vaguely.

Knowing that he was quite satisfied with Zhu Ci, heroes have always loved beauties since ancient times, let alone the emperor who was the supreme emperor.

It seemed that she was right to recommend Zhu Ci to the emperor. She had no choice but to suppress the sourness in her heart and smile again.

"I see that the months are getting bigger and bigger, and it is becoming more and more inconvenient for me to move. It is not suitable to serve the Holy Master. If the emperor thinks that this girl is okay, why not just stay with him and serve her? This can be regarded as her blessing."

Shen Que remained calm, "She is the person around you, how can I win people's love so easily."

He had already seen what the imperial concubine was thinking. The harem seems to be calm, but in fact there are a lot of troubles.

Now that she was pregnant, and worried about other concubines taking over, she naturally tried every means to consolidate her power. Since she was so considerate, how could he have the nerve to refuse?

"I have Liu Yan beside me, and there are other palace servants who are waiting on me. Moreover, they are all old people in my palace, and they do things well."

Bai Xinrui had no appetite, so she put down the bowl and chopsticks and wiped her lips with the corner of her handkerchief.

"If this girl can take good care of the emperor and accompany him to relieve his boredom, it will be a blessing she gained in her previous life. As long as the emperor is well, I will feel at ease."

Shen Que smiled and said nothing.

Bai Xinrui knew it was done. Yes, the emperor naturally has no reason to refuse. If she were the emperor, she would be willing to do so.

But she didn't expect that the emperor would not even pretend to shirk. Is the emperor too ruthless, or does she want too much?
  After dinner, Bai Xinrui found an excuse and left in a hurry. Shen Que spoke a few words to Zhu Ci, and after hearing that she said she could play the pipa, he asked her to fetch the pipa and play a piece.

Shen Que sat cross-legged on the couch near the window, "This song is originally a cheerful tune, but why does it sound so sad to me? It seems to be a feeling of homesickness, but is it homesick?"

"Your Majesty has such a good ear." Zhu Ci stopped. She played it like this on purpose. It is said that the dead of night is the time when people miss her the most.

The original owner has been away from his parents for so many years, so it is most normal for him to be able to express his longing for his relatives in the music of the piano.

"I left home when I was young. I haven't seen my parents for many years. I don't know how they are doing now. The moon is clear tonight, and I don't know if the moon in my hometown is so bright."

"The ancients said that the moon conveys love. Although you and your parents are thousands of miles apart, as long as you miss each other, even though you can't see each other, your hearts will always see each other."

Shen Que signaled Zhu Ci to continue playing, and he closed his eyes and listened quietly. When the song ended, he still hadn't gotten out of the song.

"The Queen in the palace is best at guzheng, Concubine Shu often likes to play the flute, and now your pipa music is so melodious. It can be called the three greatest talents in the palace."

Zhu Ci is very good at playing the pipa. Her parents have been pushing her to learn various skills and enroll in various interest classes since she was a child.

No matter how much she cries, thunder and rain must go. That's why she plays the pipa so well.

The reason why she told Bai Xinrui that she was not proficient. Firstly, don’t talk too much about everything, and secondly, in her own opinion, she is indeed incomparable to those masters.

"I have often heard people say that the Queen and Concubine Shu are very attractive on the piano and flute. I am just doing a job, so how can I dare to compare with these two empresses?"

"You are very humble."

Shen Que originally thought that she was a person who served the imperial concubine and would follow her master's temperament. Now it seems that it is not the same at all, but not arrogant or impetuous.

"I'm thirsty."

It's been a while since the tea was delivered, so I'm afraid it's already cold. Zhu Ci understood what Shen Que wanted to do, but just pretended not to know.

He stood up and put the pipa away. He walked to the table and touched it with the back of his hand. It was already cold.

"Your Majesty, the tea has gone cold. Please go and make another cup."

As he said that, he turned around to leave, but his movements were deliberately slow.

"No, I won't drink anymore." Shen Que said as he stretched out his hand to grab Zhu Ci's arm and gently pulled it into his arms.

(End of this chapter)