However, it was well known that Zhuang Fei disliked everyone in the harem, especially their children.
She refused to see the Eldest Princess, leaving her in the care of a nanny, and never mentioned her in front of the Emperor.
In Shu Fei’s eyes, she was just a fool. The Eldest Princess was an important bargaining chip for winning favor.
“Compared to Zhuang Fei, Ning Shi is much smarter. When she has children in the future, who knows, she might become something significant.” Shu Fei pondered.
But to eliminate Ning Wanyin, a foolproof plan is necessary.
Small actions will be futile.
Shu Fei lowered her eyes, thought carefully, and came up with a plan in her mind.
She looked at Zhen Zhu and said, “Please ask Li Guiren to come here. She was kicked out of Yonghe Palace, and I want to arrange a new palace for her. Let’s see if she has one she likes.”
She has always appeared generous and considerate of the concubines, and she has a reputation for virtue in both the imperial court and the harem.
“Yes!” Zhen Zhu accepted the order and withdrew.
…
Early the next morning.
What happened in Yonghe Palace last night spread throughout the six palaces.
While the people didn’t quite understand the Emperor’s fickleness, he had always been quite capricious, so this wasn’t surprising.
The only thing that was certain was that Ning Wanyin was still in favor.
Although Li Guiren was demoted, she fought for Xue Zhaoyi and was appreciated by her because of this, and became her follower.
Three or five days passed like this.
Ning Wanyin’s leg injury healed. It was just a temporary skin injury.
In the second half of the month, the Emperor began to flip through the names of the newly admitted concubines. Tang Miaoling was not among them, as she had been ill and her jade nameplate had been removed.
“Master, please have some porridge.” Lian Rui brought the sweet bean porridge that had just been made in the small kitchen.
Today was the first day of April, and Ning Wanyin had to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager again. She had breakfast in advance so that she would have the energy to compete with the Empress Dowager in wits and courage.
At this time, breakfast in the imperial kitchen had not yet started. Fortunately, there was a small kitchen. Lian Rui started cooking in the middle of the night.
Ning Wanyin picked up the spoon and was about to drink the porridge when her nostrils twitched slightly.
She has always been very careful about her diet, and because she has some knowledge of medicine, it is not common for her to get sick.
There was a faint, strange fragrance in the porridge.
It was so faint that she couldn’t identify it at first.
And as time went on, the fragrance grew fainter.
This showed that the source of the strange fragrance was not in the porridge.
It must have been contaminated when it was brought over.
Lingxue Pavilion was filled with palace servants. Ning Wanyin didn’t act rashly, but instead spoke with a look of nostalgia.
“Ever since His Majesty gifted me with a small kitchen, I’ve never made soup for His Majesty myself, as I’m not very good at cooking. Seeing the honey bean porridge today suddenly reminded me of the honey bean and red date soup I loved as a child. It’s one of the few sweet soups I can make myself.”
“Lian Rui, follow me to the kitchen. I want to make a sweet soup for His Majesty. First, pick a batch of plump, round honey beans and soak them for half a day. Soak them before paying my respects. That way, they’ll be ready for the evening.”
Ning Wanyin stood up, and Lian Rui followed, bewildered.
Xiao Guizi, who was serving nearby, reminded her, “Master, you have to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager today. You can make the sweet soup another day to avoid being late and being punished by the Empress Dowager.”
“Don’t worry, it’s still early. I won’t be late. Besides, it’s for His Majesty, so I’m sure the Empress Dowager won’t hold it against me.”
Ning Wanyin’s words were more than a little ambiguous.
Xiao Guizi, a veteran palace person, instantly understood.
If the Empress Dowager found an excuse to keep the Master, as she did to Song Meiren, the Master could use the excuse of making sweet soup for the Emperor.
If the Empress Dowager broke the rule and punished the Master, the Master could still serve the soup to the Emperor that evening to earn his sympathy.
The Master deliberately chose to prepare the soup on the day of the greetings. How clever!
She truly deserves to be the most favored concubine among the rookies.
You can support your favorite novel by buying me a cup of Ko-fi ( ˘▽˘)っ♨
I will really appreciate it. ♥️♥️♥️
Meow meow On TPH Chapter 26.1