The Plum Appreciation Banquet seemed to have ended peacefully. Empress Dowager Cui said she was tired and left first, leaving them to do as they pleased.
Xie Hengwu didn't want to stay any longer, so he left after a few polite words.
Cui Lujin took a sip of tea, with an undercurrent surging in her calm eyes.
"Lu'er, I don't think she's anything special," the noble girl wearing a gold and jade walking wave said scornfully, "She's just an embroidered pillow with an appearance."
"What a coincidence...I won the first prize again. I really envy others."
Qiaoqiao smiled when he heard this and said proudly: "Sister Shen is envious, so why should she say it's someone else? If sister likes it, she will often come to my sister's house in the future."
Mrs. Shen glared at her, pretending to hit her, Qiaoqiao smiled and turned away, and everyone laughed, as if they no longer focused on Xie Hengwu.
Cui Lujin lowered her eyes and did not comment on Shen's words.
--
I don't know whether it was for appeasement or for ulterior motives, but Xie Hengwu received a reward from Shou'an Palace that night.
It is a red coral bracelet, embellished with fine emeralds in between. The red color is as red as blood, and the jades are brilliant and complement each other. It is very beautiful.
Xie Hengwu twisted the bracelet, and the bright red color made his hands white as frost and snow.
The Queen Mother's generosity did not reassure her.
Li Luo looked at Xie Hengwu holding up his bracelet and looking at the candlelight for a long time, and said worriedly: "Little Master, this is a reward from the Queen Mother, there should be no..."
"Be careful." Xie Hengwu smelled a very faint aroma emanating from the bracelet, and felt it was familiar but couldn't recall it for a moment, "Go and ask Dr. Jiang to come, and tell him that I haven't been able to sleep well at night recently. I feel dizzy."
Since he was sent by Xiao Yanzhou, she asked him to come over, which was considered as an explanation to Xiao Yanzhou.
After a while, Dr. Jiang hurried over with a medicine box.
After a simple pulse diagnosis, Dr. Jiang Yu said: "My master, my pulse condition is the same, but I am a little weak. I will prescribe some nourishing medicine, and I will be fine if I take it on time."
"Thank you, Doctor Jiang." Xie Hengwu said, fiddling with the coral bracelet on his wrist.
Doctor Jiang was a sensible person and immediately said, "My master, this coral bracelet is...?"
"It's a reward from the Queen Mother. Doctor Jiang will take a look."
She took off the bracelet and handed it over. Doctor Jiang looked at it carefully for a moment, sniffed it again, and murmured: "It looks like there's nothing wrong with it..."
"There is also a scent on this bracelet, which is very light. I feel familiar, but I can't remember it for a while. I wonder if Dr. Jiang has any clues?"
Hearing this, Imperial Doctor Jiang sniffed again and frowned: "My lord, please forgive me. I can't tell the difference for the moment. It will take some time."
"It doesn't matter. It's just that your majesty has asthma. Although this fragrance is weak, it may still cause your majesty's old illness. That's why I want the imperial doctor to make a diagnosis."
Hearing this, Imperial Doctor Jiang perked up and said solemnly: "In that case, I will find it out as soon as possible."
He scraped off some powder from the bracelet and carefully put it away, while saying: "My young master spends time with His Majesty on a daily basis, so it is best not to wear this bracelet yet."
Xie Hengwu chuckled: "Okay, let Dr. Jiang worry about it."
Doctor Jiang waved his hands repeatedly: "You're welcome, young master. It's getting late, so I'll leave first."
Xie Hengwu nodded and watched Imperial Doctor Jiang leave Shicui Palace.
"Little Master, this bracelet...?"
Li Luo listened to the whole process and looked at her hesitantly.
Xie Hengwu sighed: "Put it away first. This bracelet is precious, so don't scratch it. Remember to wrap it carefully in satin and put it away."
She deliberately emphasized the last few words, but Li Luo still didn't understand the meaning.
Xie Hengwu watched Li Luo wrap the string with two or three brocade handkerchiefs, three layers inside and three outside, and threw it into the make-up box that was rarely opened, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
This way... there should be no smell.
Speaking of smells…
Xie Hengwu remembered that Xiao Yanzhou always liked to bury her neck and smell it.
He seemed to enjoy her scent.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly and her heartbeat quickened slightly.
She seemed to know what to do for Xiao Yanzhou.
--
The snow disaster was not as easy to solve as imagined. Ten days passed, and Xie Hengwu was not summoned by Zichen Palace again.
This is normal. It was strange to stay together almost every day like before.
New Year's Eve was approaching, and the weather was getting colder. Empress Dowager Cui didn't have to say hello, but also sent many things.
The people in the palace secretly discussed whether the Queen Mother had a change of heart in treating Xie Hengwu so generously, and she became more and more attentive to Xie Hengwu.
Dr. Jiang also replied that there was nothing wrong with the red coral bracelet, and the fragrance was also plum blossom, but it was not the fragrance of plum blossoms in the plum garden.
Since there was no problem, Xie Hengwu stopped looking into it and gave some jewelry that the Queen Mother had rewarded to Dr. Jiang for inspection, and then picked out a few pieces that had no problems and put them on.
If none of them are used, there is no guarantee that Queen Mother Cui will not become suspicious.
If her guess is true and those in Nanliang and Beijiang are colluding with each other to deal with Xiao Yanzhou, then her Shicui Palace may not be clean either.
Maybe the maid serving tea to her today is one of Queen Mother Cui's people.
Thinking of this, Xie Hengwu felt a little upset.
Confused, when she was retracting the needle, she accidentally pricked her fingertip.
Xie Hengwu quickly put his fingertips into his mouth, carefully looked at the sachet in his hand, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that there were no blood drops on it.
Yes, sachet.
Xie Hengwu finished the last few stitches and felt full of energy.
The sachet originally given to Xiao Yanzhou in her capacity had either auspicious dragon and cloud patterns, or patterns such as lotuses and mandarin ducks.
But Xie Hengwu had just embroidered an auspicious dragon brocade handkerchief for Xiao Yanzhou, and as for the mandarin ducks and the like, it was too gross, and she really felt a little ashamed.
After much thought, Xie Hengwu finally embroidered a raccoon slave playing with beads.
The raccoon slave is round and cute, with soft hair that is almost clearly defined, as if it is about to burst out of the sachet.
Even Li Luo was amazed when she saw it.
"My master's embroidery work is getting better and better," Li Luo held the sachet and couldn't put it down. She put it to her nose and smelled it, and suddenly she exclaimed, "What kind of incense did my master put in? It seems so familiar."
But Xie Hengwu's face turned red, he quickly grabbed the sachet and said angrily: "Don't talk too much."
Li Luo pursed her lips and said no more.
--
I haven't seen Xie Hengwu for ten days, his headache is no longer suppressed, and due to the hard work of government affairs, Xiao Yanzhou has returned to his usual gloomy and irritable nature.
In fact, snow disasters are not uncommon in previous years, but this year is particularly strange. The money for disaster relief was like being thrown into the water without any ripples, and memorials from the disaster area were still coming like snow flakes, and they kept crying with Xiao Yanzhou about his poverty.
Xiao Yanzhou's eyes became redder and redder day by day. Every time he looked at the ministers through the jade tassels on their crowns in the morning, he would look at these ministers in silence. The two trembled and wanted to huddle together. Only Duke Jingguo and Cui Zuocheng Dare to say a word or two.
His Majesty's eyes... looked like he wanted to eat them alive!
Among them, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is the most obvious.
It can be said that this matter fell directly on him, but it has not been solved for a long time. He felt that Xiao Yanzhou had already concluded in his heart that he had embezzled the disaster relief money.
The conscience of heaven and earth... Although he may be greedy, how dare he swallow it all!
The Minister of Industry was so anxious that his beard almost fell off, but he continued to investigate and found no results. He intuitively felt that his death was approaching, so he simply went out to the court that day, with the mentality of treating a dead horse as a living horse doctor:
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to the disaster area in person to investigate the matter!"
Xiao Yanzhou said nothing, and the beaded and jade tassels cast several shadows on his face, making his gloomy face even darker and unclear.
It was so quiet in the main hall that you could hear a pin drop. The Minister of Industry was kneeling on the ground in agony. He wanted to know how Xiao Yanzhou looked, but he didn't dare to raise his head, and his face turned pale with anxiety.
After a long time, Xiao Yanzhou slowly spoke.
"What if it can't be solved?"
The Minister of the Ministry of Industry felt his heart tightened and kowtowed: "If there is no result, I can only die to apologize!"
A lazy "hmm" came from Xiao Yanzhou.
"I will trust you just once."
"Retreat from the court."
The minister of the Ministry of Industry felt very sad. His life or death was uncertain, but at least... he could live for a few more days.
Xiao Yanzhou had already stood up and left, his tall figure disappearing behind the dragon chair.
The Minister of Industry bowed his head and thanked him. He was about to leave with the ministers, but was stopped by Zhao Quan who stepped forward.
"My lord, your majesty invites you."
…
In the Zichen Palace, after listening to Xiao Yanzhou's words, the Minister of Industry's expression went blank for a moment, and then said in fear: "Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
Xiao Yanzhou has removed his crown and put on his regular crown. Without any cover, his eyes were as sharp as razors, and he shut up the Minister of Industry with just one glance.
"I have made my decision, so there is no need to say more."
"But Your Majesty, a country cannot live without a king for a day, let alone..."
The minister of the Ministry of Industry grimaced, feeling that the head on his neck was shaking.
"There is something fishy about this matter. Do you think if you really find out something, you will be able to come back and revive me?"
The Minister of Industry was at a loss for words. This was indeed what he was worried about.
It was definitely a lie to say that Qingzhou, the disaster area, was fine. He had already thought that he would either die in Qingzhou or return to Beijing with nothing to apologize.
Who would have thought that Xiao Yanzhou would want to go with him.
"This matter has been settled. If you dare to say another word..."
Xiao Yanzhou said coldly, and Huo Heng on the side intentionally or unintentionally flashed his long sword with a cold light.
The Minister of the Ministry of Industry swallowed his saliva, knelt down and said with a trembling voice:
"I... obey your order."
--
When Xie Hengwu came to look for Xiao Yanzhou, the minister of the Ministry of Industry was leaving the Zichen Palace.
This was the first time she saw a foreign minister come to Zichen Palace, and she couldn't help but take another look at him.
The Minister of Industry and Xie Hengwu nodded hurriedly and left quickly, looking quite lost.
Something strange flashed through Xie Hengwu's mind, but when he thought that anyone seeing Xiao Yanzhou was like a mouse seeing a cat, he threw this thought behind him.
There was an exquisite rosewood box hidden in her sleeve, which contained brocade handkerchiefs and sachets.
She came today to give gifts.
When Zhao Quan saw Xie Hengwu, it was as if he had seen a savior, and he greeted him with great enthusiasm.
When Xie Hengwu was around, even if he had to be careful to serve Xiao Yanzhou, it was much easier.
At least you don't have to worry about losing your head all the time.
Before Zhao Quan went in to pass the news, he whispered to Xie Hengwu:
"Your Majesty has been in a bad mood these days. It would be nice if the beauty came here earlier."
Xie Hengwu smiled: "Your Majesty is so busy, wouldn't it be more troublesome for me to come here?"
Zhao Quan sighed meaningfully, as if he hated iron for not being able to become steel.
After he entered for a while, he came out to lead Xie Hengwu in, whispering along the way.
"Your Majesty has not smiled for several days. The beauty can say a few nice words to make your Majesty happy, so that these servants can take a breather."
Xie Hengwu glanced at him with a half-smile, and Zhao Quanzhi shut up in amusement.
Damn it, why did it feel like the look in Xie Meiren’s eyes just now was the same as His Majesty’s?
He must have seen it wrong...
In the side hall, Xiao Yanzhou held his forehead with one hand and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. He closed his eyes and looked tired.
The spy sent out just returned the news a few days ago. The people in Qingzhou are so rampant. Behind them is the support of a certain important minister in the court, and may even involve the harem.
This meaning is already obvious. If the Minister of Industry goes there alone, he is afraid that he will be eaten without any bones left.
In order to arrange things after his temporary departure from Beijing, he had not slept for several days.
A slightly cool hand covered his palm, a soft body pressed against his back, and a familiar fragrance floated faintly.
"Your Majesty, let me come."
When Xiao Yanzhou heard her soft voice, he still didn't open his eyes and just leaned back.
He said in a hoarse voice, half-yin and half-yang:
"Do you remember coming to see Gu?"
