lcionline Chapter 1082 Eyebrow
Chapter 1082 Eyebrow
The cool jade against her palm made her feel a little more at ease. She stood in the palace, her eyes fixed on the bead curtain at the door, waiting for the emperor who was said to be decisive and ruthless, but had no affection for her, the "Queen chosen by the Queen Mother." The collar and cuffs of the dragon robe were trimmed with a circle of mink fur, which made his figure more upright. He had just come from the imperial study. The wind blew outside, and there was a faint chill on his body, even the hair at the temples was a little cold. Shen Qingci looked up and met Xiao Jingyan's gaze. The young emperor was extremely handsome, with sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples, deep eyes, a high nose bridge, and a clear lip line. But at this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, as if twisted into a knot, and there was obvious impatience in his eyes, as if standing here was a torment for him. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then quickly moved away, landing on the bowl of sweet soup on the table. His tone was cold: "The Queen is quite at ease. She still has the mind to drink sweet soup at this time." His voice was low, with the majesty unique to an emperor, but Shen Qingci was not scared. She bent her knees slightly and performed a standard palace etiquette. Her movements were smooth and neither humble nor arrogant: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I think I can't wait on an empty stomach on my wedding night. Your Majesty is very busy. If he is caught up in government affairs and forgets to come, I can't be so mean to myself, don't you think?" Her words were polite, but the meaning was obvious - I don't care if you don't come. I won't wait for you until late at night like other women. Xiao Jingyan was choked by her, and his face became even darker. He was indeed late on purpose. The Empress Dowager urged him three times, but he always evaded the call by saying he was "dealing with memorials." He wanted to give this "airborne" Empress a warning, to let her know that the rules of the harem were to be set by him, the Son of Heaven, and not by the people chosen by the Empress Dowager. On the autumn morning of the third year of the Tianqi reign, the Forbidden City was still immersed in a light mist. The old locust tree in the courtyard of Kunning Palace had crystal dew on its leaves. When the wind blew, the dew rolled down the veins of the leaves and dripped onto the blue bricks, leaving a small wet mark. Shen Qingci was awakened by the sound of birds singing outside the window. When she opened her eyes, a little light was shining through the curtains. The bed in the outer room had already been made neatly. Xiao Jingyan had gone to the imperial study without knowing when. "Your Majesty, it's time to get up. Today is the first time you've paid your respects to the Empress Dowager since entering the palace. You can't be late." Wanyue's voice sounded softly, holding a folded casual dress in her hand. It was a lavender palace dress with light pink crabapple flowers embroidered on the collar and cuffs. The material was brocade tributed from Jiangnan, and it felt soft and smooth. Shen Qingci stretched and sat up. The back of her neck was still a little sore. She remembered that she fell asleep last night listening to the sound of Xiao Jingyan turning pages in the book outside, and she slept very soundly. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly. After washing and changing clothes, Shen Qingci sat in front of the mirror, and Wanyue was combing her hair. Her hair was black and thick, and Wanyue skillfully tied it into a simple flying bun, and pinned it with a white jade hairpin with a small magnolia flower carved on the head, which made her already beautiful face even more gentle. "Your Majesty, you look so good today. You look even more energetic than when you first entered the palace yesterday." Wanyue said as she gently combed the loose hair on her temples with a comb. Shen Qingci looked at himself in the mirror, unable to hide the smile at the corners of his eyes: "Maybe I slept well last night." While the two were talking, the palace maids had already brought breakfast, which was a bowl of millet porridge, a few plates of light side dishes, and a basket of crystal dumplings. Shen Qingci ate a few bites and then took Wanyue and a few accompanying palace maids and eunuchs to the Cining Palace. From Kunning Palace to Cining Palace, you have to pass through a long corridor with osmanthus trees planted on both sides of the corridor. At this time, the osmanthus was in full bloom, and the fragrance was rich and refreshing. Shen Qingci walked on the corridor, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar palace walls around him, thinking secretly that the days in the Forbidden City in the future might not be so difficult. Soon, they arrived at the Cining Palace. When the maids of Cining Palace saw the arrival of the empress, they hurried forward to greet her: "Your Majesty is well, the Queen Mother is already waiting in the palace." Shen Qingci nodded and followed the maid into the palace. The palace was warm and the best sandalwood was burning. The Queen Mother was sitting on a soft couch by the window with a Buddhist scripture in her hand. When she saw Shen Qingci come in, she quickly put down the Buddhist scripture and waved with a smile: "Qingci is here, come and sit down." Shen Qingci stepped forward and knelt down to salute: "Your concubine pays respects to the Queen Mother, and may the Queen Mother be blessed." The Queen Mother hurriedly helped her up, took her hand and sat beside her, looking at her carefully: "Look at your complexion, it seems that you slept well last night. Did Jingyan bully you?" Shen Qingci felt warm in her heart. Although the Queen Mother promoted this marriage for the benefit of the family, she really loved her. She shook her head and smiled, saying, "Your Majesty treats me very well. He even stayed in Kunning Palace to keep me company last night." This was half true, half false. Although Xiao Jingyan and she slept in separate rooms, he stayed after all, which was considered a courtesy to her. Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother smiled even more happily, patting her hands and saying, "That's good, that's good. I was just worried that Jingyan would be stubborn and wrong you. Don't worry, with me here, no one dares to bully you." As she spoke, she ordered the palace maid beside her, "Quick, bring up the Jiangnan snacks that the Imperial Kitchen specially made for the Queen." Soon, the palace maid came over with a gilded lacquer tray. On the tray were several snacks, including osmanthus cake, plum blossom cake, and almond yogurt, all common snacks from Jiangnan. "I know you are from Jiangnan and love these sweet snacks, so I asked the Imperial Kitchen to make them. Come and try them." The Queen Mother picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and handed it to Shen Qingci. Shen Qingci took the osmanthus cake, put it to the tip of her nose and sniffed it. It did have a faint osmanthus fragrance, but when she tasted it, she couldn't help but frown. This osmanthus cake was too sweet, too much sugar, and the cake was a bit hard, far inferior to the ones made by the chef at home. When the chef at home made osmanthus cake, he would use freshly picked osmanthus honey to replace part of the white sugar, and also add a little glutinous rice flour to the flour to make the cake softer and more sticky. It had the fragrance of osmanthus in her mouth, sweet but not greasy. She forced herself to swallow the osmanthus cake, but a subtle difference still appeared on her face. The Queen Mother was so astute that she saw the clue at a glance and asked with a smile: "Is it not to your taste? The chefs in the imperial kitchen are mostly from the north, and they are good at making noodles and cakes, but they are really not good at making Jiangnan snacks. They always can't control the sweetness well, either too light or too sweet." Shen Qingci's eyes rolled, and she suddenly had an idea in her mind. She smiled and said to the Queen Mother: "Queen Mother, when I was at home, I followed the chef at home to learn how to make a few snacks, such as osmanthus pastry and lotus pastry.