boyutpedia Chapter 11 A Wonderful Harem Life
Chapter 11 A Wonderful Harem Life
The next morning, Shen Shixi's small kitchen came in handy.
The aroma wafted into the west wing, waking Chen Yuxi up. He was so envious that his mouth watered.
She had heard that the Emperor had bestowed upon Shen Shixi a small kitchen.
Even the ruler of the first house may not receive such favor.
Then she heard a clattering sound coming from the corridor. She asked, "What's that sound outside?"
The genius is just beginning to emerge.
Caiqin said, utterly speechless, "It's Shen Cai Ren running laps!"
"Running laps? What running laps?"
She didn't know Shen Shixi was running; she only saw her running along the veranda and passing right in front of her door, which was quite irritating!
With a furrowed brow, an idea came to mind.
After exercising, Shen Shixi took a bath, dressed up, had breakfast, and went to the Empress's palace at half past Chen Shi, which is eight o'clock in the morning.
She was incredibly late!
"Consort Shen, look at the time! Consort Chen lives with you, but she arrived half an hour earlier than you. You are clearly disrespecting the Empress!"
After Jiang Cairen was demoted, she sat next to Shen Shixi and launched her attack on Shen Shixi first.
Shen Shixi didn't say much, "This concubine is late in paying her respects; please punish me, Your Majesty!"
The Empress was a little unsure of what she was up to, but violating palace rules certainly warranted punishment.
"You're new here, and I can't bear to punish you. But the maids taught you the palace rules and regulations when you entered the palace, so I can't say you're ignorant of your sins. Let's go by the palace rules then. I'll punish you by making you copy the palace rules once. Do you accept that?"
I'm so indignant!
Surprisingly, they weren't grounded.
Shen Shixi said, "This concubine thanks Your Majesty the Empress for your grace!"
After leaving the Empress's palace, Chen Yuxi deliberately walked very slowly. She was starving, but she still strolled leisurely toward the Imperial Garden.
She had thought it through. Even if the Emperor came to Zhaoyang Palace, she might not be able to successfully steal his favor. But what if the Emperor came and Shen Shixi was unable to serve him in bed?
Consort Jiang quickly caught up with her, and Chen Yuxi greeted her, "Greetings, Consort Jiang!"
Consort Jiang looked her up and down. "I heard you moved to Zhaoyang Palace?"
"I wish to get along well with Consort Shen, so I have asked Her Majesty the Empress to move our palace so that we can have a better relationship."
"I thought you were doing this to make it easier to steal the emperor's favor. After all, among all you newcomers, Consort Shen is the only one who has won the emperor's favor."
Jiang Cairen said, "You'd better hurry up. You're qualified to live in the side hall today, but you may not be qualified in the future. Didn't you see that Yuan Cairen and Guo Cairen live in the inner chambers?"
If one's rank cannot be promoted and one's offspring fail to bring merit, one will only be able to live in a humble dwelling in the future.
Chen Yuxi lowered her eyes and said meekly, "Thank you for your guidance, Consort Jiang. Consort Shen's favor is due to her own abilities; she has her own way of serving the Emperor, which I could never learn."
Jiang Cairen became interested. "What method?"
"I don't know either. I only saw her get up in the morning and run laps around the corridor in the palace. I don't really understand why she does that." Chen Yuxi glanced quickly at Consort Jiang and saw that she seemed to be deep in thought.
Running laps?
Jiang Cairen laughed and said, "Then you should go back and ask her carefully. If you can learn it, learn it as soon as possible. Getting pregnant with the emperor's child as soon as possible is the most important thing!"
Chen Yuxi thought to herself, "You haven't gotten pregnant after all these years."
When Consort Jiang returned to the palace, she summoned Chunlan and instructed her to do something.
Soon, Chunlan returned and told her, "Consort Shen gets up at Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day, then does some strange movements for a while, and then runs along the corridor for the time it takes to drink two cups of tea. In the past, she would go directly to pay her respects to the Empress, but this morning she went after bathing and having breakfast, so she was late."
"As expected, this vile woman doesn't respect the Empress at all. Go and find someone, like this..."
Chunlan frowned after hearing this. "My lady, what if we get caught?"
Consort Shen was the Emperor's darling, and it was said that she had a close relationship with the Emperor when she was young.
"What's there to be afraid of? Even if they find out, it won't come back to me."
Those were also members of the Chen family.
In the Empress's palace, the topic of Shen Shixi's lateness this morning was also being discussed. Someone couldn't help but ask, "She deliberately arrived late, making such a big fuss. What exactly is she trying to do?"
If she was dissatisfied with him putting Consort Chen into Zhaoyang Palace and thus challenged the Empress's authority, and he punished her, then why did she confess so quickly?
Granny Qu said, "I heard she runs laps every morning. Won't this cause problems over time?"
The Empress smiled. "That ignorant fool, does she think that the Emperor's favor guarantees her a long and healthy life?"
Shen Shixi squatted in the courtyard looking at the vegetables. She mainly grew potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers.
These are crop seeds that she painstakingly found in the coastal areas.
The current Great Zhou Dynasty is somewhat like the Tang Dynasty, with the Nine-Rank System and the Imperial Examination System running in parallel. The powerful aristocratic families hold important positions in the court, while the common people have not yet risen and are still being suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe.
Foreign trade was still limited to the Silk Road, and maritime trade had not yet been developed.
But there are always some fearless people who want to see the end of the sea, and there are always some daring people who will come to Da Zhou to take a look.
Shen Shixi himself also built merchant ships and went to sea.
Bai Ping helped her up and whispered, "Master, please be more careful when you run laps in the morning. I'm worried that someone might take advantage of the situation."
"I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid they won't touch me."
Shen Shixi wiped her hands and took Bai Kui and Chao En out to stroll in the Imperial Garden. There they encountered three newlyweds: Zheng Ruojin, Xie Tingwan, and Su Fuying. Unexpectedly, the three of them were together.
However, after thinking about it carefully, Shen Shixi understood that these three people all came from aristocratic families. During the previous dynasty, a decree was issued prohibiting intermarriage among the five surnames and seven noble families.
These three individuals came from the Five Clans, the top aristocratic clans.
"Greetings, Consort Shen!" The three bowed to Shen Shixi.
All three were exceptionally beautiful and, needless to say, impeccably behaved. Their every move was perfectly disciplined, flowing smoothly and gracefully, a sight to behold.
"Are the three ladies-in-waiting admiring the flowers?" Shen Shixi asked with a smile. "The spring scenery is beautiful, and the flowers are blooming so brightly. We should enjoy them and not waste this wonderful time."
After exchanging glances, Shen Shixi didn't linger and walked forward. Just as she reached the edge of the peach grove, she heard a sobbing sound.
In the silent peach grove, a faint sobbing sound, so faint it was almost imperceptible, could have startled anyone if it weren't for the bright daylight.
"Who is it?" Bai Kui was also quite frightened, and Chao En even broke off a dry branch and held it in his hand in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Shen Shixi wasn't afraid. He waved to the two of them, walked around the artificial hill, and saw Consort Rong wearing a white cloak with silver embroidery of white plum blossoms, carrying a basket filled with flower petals, and the flowers were shedding tears.
The head palace maid, Fei Hua, was squatting down, diligently picking up flower petals.
Shen Shixi immediately understood what was going on; she never expected to see a real-life Lin Daiyu.
"Fool, fool! Even if these flowers fall to the ground, they are still noble things. How could someone like you pick them up? Quickly let go of those petals."
Fei Hua was scolded, and stood up blankly, all the petals in her arms falling off.
Although Consort Rong felt sorry for her, she was not angry. Instead, she asked, "Consort Shen, why do you humiliate my head maid like this?"
Fei Huaxin said, "Lady Shen, please humiliate this servant a little longer."
Shen Shixi shook her head, "How dare I scold Your Highness? I am scolding Fei Hua. Her hands are capable of touching these flowers."
She serves the Empress every day; these hands must have washed the Empress's undergarments, carried the Empress's chamber pot, and emptied the Empress's spittoon. And now she's picking flower petals—isn't that defiling all these flowers?
Consort Rong felt nauseous!
Fei Hua breathed a sigh of relief and was overjoyed. She had spent all year picking up flower petals in the Imperial Garden, and she was starting to feel nauseous.
Consort Rong was furious; such a boorish man had disturbed her refined pleasure.
Then they saw Consort Shen look up at the bare peach tree branches, sigh, "Alas, the flowers have faded and fallen, petals scattered across the sky; their beauty has vanished and their fragrance gone—who will mourn them?"
Consort Rong burst into tears!