RPAGF Chapter 119 The Queen is Really Hard to Please
Chapter 119 The Queen is Really Hard to Please
Although it is already chilly, the study in Fengyi Palace is cozy. There is a stove set up, burning the special "heavenly charcoal" made in the palace.
This is refined by craftsmen from high-quality woods such as air-dried sandalwood and mahogany. It has a high burning temperature, produces little smoke, and has a unique wood fragrance.
Because of the cherishment, concubines like Shen Zhiyao could only burn charcoal made from regular wood. If it was other unfavored marginal concubines, they could only use charcoal made from ordinary poplar trees, which had low burning calories and produced a lot of smoke.
"The weather has been getting colder in recent days, so I asked someone to send some charcoal to Cuiweixuan. Seeing how delicate you are, you might get choked and frozen, and you will have to come to me to bother me again." The queen said with a smile.
After writing for so long, the queen's wrists were sore, so she had to stop and stretch her arms.
Unlike Shen Zhiyao, who is not someone who can tolerate being wronged, she would stop to drink some water and rest after copying for a while, so she naturally doesn't feel tired.
Shi Jin couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this. Among all the concubines in the harem, the ones who made the queen remember to send them charcoal could be counted on one hand, which showed Shen Zhiyao's status.
"The Queen always teases me. How could I be so unreasonable?" Shen Zhi stopped writing and looked at the Queen with a pout.
"Yes." The queen nodded and smiled, answering quite seriously.
"Your Highness the Queen... I was just too straightforward. I never made any unreasonable demands. It's really unfair..."
Shen Zhiyao cried out that she was wronged, but she was very satisfied in her heart. She insisted on leaving everyone with the stereotype of being delicate and unable to tolerate any grievance.
In this way, when the emperor and empress need to find a scapegoat or someone to take the blame, they will subconsciously bypass me and look for other concubines who claim to be gentle and virtuous to take the blame. Isn't that wonderful!
The queen looked up at her and found that her hair was a little loose. Thinking that she loved beauty very much, she asked, "Do you want Shijin to comb your hair again?"
Upon hearing this, Shijin couldn't help but complain: The Queen is so generous that she even gave away her personal maid's hair-combing skills!
Shijin boasts of having a pair of skillful hands, but in the harem, only his master is worthy of using them!
"Thank you, Queen." Shen Zhiyao looked at the Queen and said with a smile, "However, I think that if the Queen does not mind, there is no need to trouble Shijin anymore."
"I usually see that you love beauty very much, but now, you don't care about it at all?" asked the queen with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Shen Ziyao smiled secretly in her heart. It turned out that the Queen still had some grudges against her, which needed to be further resolved.
"I don't have to be perfect all the time in front of the Queen. It won't last forever. There's no need to hide it deliberately. Just be open and honest." Shen Zhiyao said with a smile.
"You have such a clever tongue, no wonder the emperor dotes on you." The queen shook her head and smiled.
"Every word I said is from the truth. Why do you keep my mouth shut?" Shen Zhiyao said angrily.
The queen looked at Shen Zhiyao carefully for a while before she smiled and said, "Well, you copied a lot again. You must have been tired today."
"I am not as focused as the Queen, so I will take a rest secretly." Shen Zhiyao really did not hide anything at all.
Well, her words and actions were consistent, so the queen just smiled and didn't say anything wrong about her.
Other concubines would never be so frank in front of the queen. They would only rush to say some polite words, such as "I am not tired" or "I am not afraid of being tired and will work hard".
Shijin really admired her. I had never seen anyone accompany the Empress to copy books and be so lazy. She drank tea five times, ate fruit twice, and even went to the toilet twice...
When Shijin and Huayun went out to make new tea, Huayun complained, "I'm really impressed by Concubine Jin. She's so relaxed and carefree, but she didn't cause any disgust from her master!"
Shijin sighed, "Who says it's not true! In comparison, when Concubine Zhuang was not pregnant, she came to accompany the master to copy books three or four times. She was quite serious about it. I didn't see anything wrong with her, but the master refused to call her anymore."
Huayun said: "Wan Shurong only came to accompany the master once, and the master thought she was boring. Lu Wanyi is also liked by the master now, but she has never been called once!"
Shijin said, "Okay, let's bring the tea in quickly. It will be bad if we are late!"
Huayun nodded and said no more. She followed Shijin obediently, carrying the tea tray.
When the queen looked through what Shen Zhiyao had copied, she sighed at her powerful and majestic handwriting, which did not seem to be written by a woman.
This person is always outstanding in every aspect. Even when he is lazy, he always does it just right and copies quickly and well.
Shen Zhiyao was indeed smart. Ever since she stepped into Fengyi Palace, she had not taken a single step that would have hurt her.
The queen knew in her heart how difficult she was to serve. Like the emperor, she had many flaws that were outrageous. She was only friendly on the surface.
Seeing Shijin and Huayun bringing new tea and snacks, the queen put down the book in her hand, pointed at the tea table and said with a smile: "Jin Jieyu has worked hard, let's sit down and have some tea and rest for a while."
"I am not that tired. It is Your Majesty the Queen who is the hardest working. You seldom take a rest and your wrists must be suffering!" Shen Zhiyao smiled and sat down in front of the tea table.
"Try this sesame cake." The queen said, and she personally picked up a piece for Shen Zhiyao.
"Thank you, Her Majesty." Shen Zhiyao enjoyed the meal very much.
Shen Zhiyao has her own unique way of eating. She eats deliciously and looks very pretty while eating, so everyone likes to "feed" her.
"I see that the Queen Mother really likes you. So from now on, I will take you to Renshou Palace more often to make the Queen Mother happy." The Queen looked into Shen Zhiyao's eyes and said.
Shen Zhiyao thought to herself after hearing this: "Who would be willing to take on this job at this moment? I'm afraid he'd be a fool!"
Shen Zhiyao knew very well that since she had chosen to stand on the side of the Emperor and the Empress, it was impossible for her to gain the Empress Dowager's favor.
People must know how to make choices. If you want everything, you will only hurt yourself.
"No matter when the Queen Mother asks me to accompany you, I will never refuse. But for this matter, you should ask other sisters for help! After all, my status is not high enough. If I always follow you to Renshou Palace, it will inevitably give people a chance to talk and make it difficult for the Queen Mother." Shen Zhiyao said seriously.
Seeing that she was clear-headed, the queen was very satisfied and didn't bother to pursue the matter any further. If she kept testing her, she would seem petty.
"Well, I will consider it myself." The queen nodded.
"I really admire Her Majesty the Queen, and You are so kind to me! When it's hot, You would have people send me ice jars and ice cubes. When it's cold, You would even think of rewarding me with precious charcoal, cloth, and all kinds of good things. I don't care about all that, I just want to be by your side forever!" Shen Zhiyao acted coquettishly.
"Your mouth... is so corny..." The queen smiled and shook her head.
Shen Zhiyao, who was delighted by the "official criticism", couldn't help but heaving a sigh of relief when she saw the Queen smiling very relaxedly. After much effort, she finally coaxed her into submission. The Queen was really hard to appease!