As soon as she entered the inner hall, Shen Yuqing paused her steps, slightly raised her head, and glanced at the beams.
Above, there are people.
The breath is long and faint, almost imperceptible—that is the shadow guard.
Shen Yuqing had long known about the existence of two teams of hidden guards in the Empress's palace, all meticulously trained by the emperor. However, most of them are outside and in the outer palace, with only a few in the inner palace, and even fewer who can enter the sleeping quarters.
When she first entered, Shen Yuqing almost overlooked one in the front left; it must be the leader of these two teams of secret guards, much stronger than the average secret guard.
Seeing that Shen Yuqing had discovered the hidden guard, the Empress was not surprised. She calmly invited Shen Yuqing to sit down, "I don't know what the noble consort likes to eat. If the breakfast in Fengyi Palace doesn't suit your taste, please don't mind."
Concubine Shen curled her red lips and said, "Qiushui-jiejie, what do you mean by that? The meals at Fengyi Palace are the most sumptuous aside from the imperial meals. How could I possibly dislike them? If jiejie doesn't mind, meimei would be willing to come over for a meal every day.”
Fu Qiushui lowered her eyes and remained silent. Before she understood Shen Yuqing's intentions, she decided to remain calm and observe.
Concubine Shen didn't mind at all and smoothly changed the topic, “You just agreed to call me Yuqing, Qiushui, you called me the wrong name again."
"...Yuqing." Fu Qiushui obviously showed a hint of helplessness. To prevent Concubine Shen from seizing the opportunity again, she decisively called out this slightly intimate title.
Concubine Shen was satisfied, and after that, breakfast went smoothly without any more tricks; they simply had their meal.
Pursuing a wife should be done gradually. Shen Yuqing was very patient, spending months testing Fu Qiushui's limits and attitude, and finally began to make her move. Since that's the case, she won't risk everything for quick success. She'll take it step by step; she has all the time in the world.
After finishing breakfast, Shen Yuqing stood up with a satisfied expression, ready to bid farewell to Fu Qiushui, only to suddenly realize that Adult had already disappeared for a long time.
"Where is Adult?" She said, “I was just wondering why the little kitten wasn’t meowing at me and wanting to eat, turns out Adult is missing.”
Manxing was somewhat speechless: "Ma’am, it has entered the Empress's chamber..."
She didn't dare to go in, so she entrusted Han Qiu to find out. As a result, Han Qiu said Adult had fallen asleep on the Empress's bed.
Fu Qiushui really liked this little guy, so she asked Hanqiu not to wake it up. As a result, it had a nice nap until it’s slave was about to leave and had to be picked up.
On the way back, Shen Yuqing angrily tapped its little nose and said, "I haven't even slept in my 'wife's' bed, and you, you bad guy, actually got to it first."
Adult licked her nose, ignoring the cat owner's foolishness.
Hmph, foolish humans, this cat lord can sleep wherever it wants, no objections allowed.
Shen Yuqing irritably rubbed its head and thought, forget it, no point arguing with a cat.
As soon as they returned to the palace, Adult started meowing for fish. Little paws patted on Shen Yuqing's trailing long skirt, not allowing her to leave unless she was given fish to eat.
Shen Yuqing felt her status was plummeting, but her inherent nature as a cat slave made it impossible for her to protest. She had no choice but to obediently prepare some dried fish for Adult.
After the nap, the emperor's compensation also arrived.
Consort Rong was so upset in Fengyi Palace that she fainted. The emperor couldn't pretend not to know, so he rewarded her with some external possessions. Before Consort Rong had a chance to be happy about receiving the gifts, she heard the little eunuch continue to report: "Your Majesty also said that the Empress has taken great care of you, and has been very diligent, so she has also been bestowed with some gifts."
Concubine Rong almost bit her silver teeth. "What has she done to deserve such high praise? She watched a good show, didn't even get a hint of trouble herself, just provided a side hall, and yet she reaped the benefits for nothing!”
This is not the most infuriating part. After all, Consort Rong has taken over the Empress’s side palace, and the Empress indeed suffered an undeserved disaster, so some compensation is understandable. The most infuriating thing is that a third person also received a reward.
This third person was neither the Consort Shu, who had lost face after arguing with the Consort Rong, nor the An Shurong, who had been bullied by everyone in the palace during her first night of service. Instead, it was the Consort Shen, who had remained silent the entire time.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor said you were startled in Fengyi Palace and sent some rewards down." Manchen held the list and reported, "Miss Jinli is waiting outside, probably wanting to say something."
Shen Yuqing looked at her strangely: "What have I been startled by?"
How could she not know! Dog Emperor, do you dare to say it again with a clear conscience that she was startled and needs comforting?
Manchen, with a serious face, said earnestly, "Your Highness, your constitution is weak. Witnessing Concubine Rong fainting, you must have been startled." After a pause, he added, "These are Miss Jinli's exact words."
"......"
The emperor really knows how to make her enemies; now, Concubine Rong will probably hate her to death.
Not only Consort Rong, but also the other consorts who "witnessed Consort Rong fainting" and were "startled" would also be jealous of her. Why does only she get the reward? What do you mean she's a noble consort with a high rank and favored by the Emperor? Do you think Shu-fei is dead?
In short, Shen Yuqing didn't watch the play for long before being thrust back into the spotlight.
Hey, these days you can't even eat melon quietly, it's really annoying. However, Concubine Shen still had a sense of integrity and professionalism. She sighed for a moment and then moved on. After all, she would eventually have to deal with the entire harem, so it didn't matter.
Besides, she really got a great deal. The emperor gave out three rewards, the queen got the least, and she got the most. That's a full fifty percent more than Concubine Rong, and that's all money!
Consort Shen stroked the box full of exquisite South Sea pearls, laughing so hard her eyes nearly disappeared.
So how much cat litter can we make for Adult by grinding it?
Manchen expressionlessly covered his eyes, expressing his feeling of "not wanting to see." After expressing his feelings, he repeated, "Miss Jinli has been waiting outside for quite some time, she probably has something to say."
"Oh..." Concubine Shen immediately returned to her aloof demeanor, waved her hand, and said, "Let her in."
Miss Jinli was still the same as before, poised and graceful in her demeanor. If it weren't for her wearing a palace maid's attire, one might have thought she was the young lady of some noble family. As the emperor's most trusted person, Jinli is skilled in both the hall and the kitchen, can fight off assassins, and knows medicinal formulas. In short, she is all-knowing and all-powerful, making her an admirable goal for Miss Manxing.
Similarly, the girl Han Qiu, who received half of Jin Li's true teachings, is also the phased goal of the girl Man Xing.
When Manchen went out to call someone, he indeed saw Manxing trying to get close to Jinli, which was simply unbearable to watch. She raised an eyebrow, took a step forward, and immediately made Manxing take three steps back.
Both are senior palace maids beside the Noble Consort, with Manxing managing external affairs and Manchen handling internal matters. However, compared to Manxing's cunning methods, Manchen, with her stern face and unyielding demeanor, is even more intimidating. Manchen oversees all the palace maids in the Jianjia Palace, and even Mancing sees her like a cat seeing a mouse.
Manchen calmly glanced at Manxing, as if not noticing that she was a person everyone avoided. She bowed to Jin Li and said, "Miss, please follow me. The Empress wants to see you."
Jin Li seemed oblivious to Manxing's fear, smiling as she followed Manchen towards the inner palace, chatting casually along the way, even though Manchen barely responded.
Manxing pouted, secretly thinking that a flat-chested woman was not to be trifled with, and turned to find the master. Usually, when the noble consort doesn't leave the palace, there's nothing for her to do; everything is handled by Manchen, so Manxing is quite free. However, she also didn't like staying in the main hall of the Jianjia Palace all the time, facing Manchen's expressionless face, so she would always find opportunities to stay in the side hall or the small kitchen, claiming it was to get snacks for the master and the lady.
As they were about to arrive, Jin Li casually mentioned, "I heard before that Miss Manchen once made a concubine cry. I thought it was just an external rumor."
Man Chen didn't even lift her eyes and reminded, "Miss, watch your step." She didn't say anything more, not caring at all whether she had scared the concubine to tears.
Those who have been in the palace for a long time have all heard this rumor, but some believe it while others do not. The newcomers who just entered the palace have also heard about it, but I doubt many of them believe it.
But this is indeed a fact; Manchen really did scare the concubine to tears. It was none other than Concubine Shu.
At that time, Concubine Shu was neglected by the emperor for a while, but suddenly regained favor due to matters concerning her family, becoming extremely arrogant and personally went to the Guifei's palace to show off her power. The Jianjia Palace is the territory of Manchen. She followed a master with great fortune and was originally an excellent palace maid cultivated by the emperor. Even if she was taken in by Concubine Shen, she wouldn't be afraid of a mere Concubine Shu.
So, she ruthlessly scared Shufei to tears, successfully making the other favored concubines around her realize that the Guifei was not someone ordinary people could provoke.
After that, the Consort was quite well-behaved for a while.
"Here we are." Manchen spoke up, stopping Jinli from saying anything more.
She and Jin Li were originally part of the same group of palace maids and were very familiar with each other. Not many people know this, and Manxing is one of those who don't. However, their relationship is quite peculiar, somewhat like a frenemy, but it's one-sided. Jin Li has a bit of a twisted sense of humor and likes to tease Man Chen, but Man Chen always knows how to make her stop.
Jinli readily let her go, straightened her clothes as she entered, first offered a greeting, and then straightforwardly explained her purpose.
"Today, His Majesty and Her Majesty had lunch together. His Majesty is very curious about what the Noble Consort plans to do, so he sent me to ask."
This afternoon, the Empress complained to the Emperor, saying that you were deliberately trying to curry favor to get a free meal. If you confess to leniency, then all is well. If you resist, then all is well...... Then let His Majesty the Emperor handle it himself. After all, as a mere palace maid, I can't do anything to you, the great one.——This is Jinli's intention.
Shen Yuqing frowned slightly, thinking of the not-so-pleasant face of the dog emperor, and felt that it was much more enjoyable to talk to the cute little Jinli. At least this is a pretty girl, not a boring, stinky man.
So, Consort Shen cooperatively said, "This one has no other intentions, just feeling lonely in the deep palace and looking for someone to pass the time with."
As for whether to find a girlfriend to chat with and alleviate loneliness, or to find a wife (for harmony) to alleviate loneliness, I won't tell you.
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