latelenovela Chapter 314 The emperor’s mood
Chapter 314 The emperor’s mood
Chapter 314 The Emperor's Thoughts
Consort Chun shattered Hua Yan's slightly softened expression with a single sentence: "The summer heat is unbearable, but the autumn in the North is the most worthwhile time to linger."
Hua Yan: "......" Who wants to discuss the four seasons with you, Second Miss!
Consort Chun was always afraid of the heat, so ice basins were placed in the four corners of the flower hall.
Within the palace, all expenses were rationed. Each day, a concubine could collect two ice basins from the Bureau of Imperial Works. Any extras were purchased by Aunt Mei using additional silver.
This was also the case in the palace in the past; from the very beginning, Hua Yan had Meng Zhu set up a separate private account. As Consort Chun managed the six palaces, no one dared to object, but if she fell out of favor one day, these trivial matters could become leverage against her.
Entering the palace as a concubine and holding the position of the head of a palace may seem glamorous and glorious to outsiders, but in reality, one is subject to constraints at every turn.
To take just one item, Consort Chun's annual salary was only three hundred taels. However, when she was in the mansion, the Second Miss's monthly allowance was over one hundred taels. This did not include the personal allowance given to her by the Old Madam and the Eldest Young Master. Moreover, the monthly expenses of Yunyi Courtyard were all paid from the mansion's public accounts.
Hua Yan's annual salary after entering the palace is thirty taels, but she spent fifty taels on a reward for Jingming last time...
Therefore, the support of one's maternal family is of utmost importance. Without financial backing, even if one is favored, one will at most receive some superficial and useless rewards, and it is impossible to sell them for expenses. Daily life and social interactions depend on one's monthly allowance.
(The above-mentioned stipends and daily supplies for imperial concubines are based on the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty as an example. The annual stipend for a concubine was approximately 300 taels of silver. Clothing (per year): a seven-piece brocade robe, thirty bolts of silk, and ten bolts of brocade. Daily food and necessities: one and a half shi of rice, two sheep, and four sheng of wine per day.)
After Hua Yan and Consort Chun finished their game of chess, they sat side by side on an embroidered couch.
Ruizhu took out a carved lacquer incense box from the chest, picked up an incense cake with her fingertips, and gently placed it on the silver leaf.
The charcoal fire glowed a deep red, and wisps of smoke escaped from the lion's mouth, swirling around her clasped hands. Aunt Mei gently fanned herself with her silk fan, causing the smoke to curl like wisps of silk.
"Your Highness, this is the Lingxi Incense sent by the Sixth Miss."
Consort Chun closed her eyes, took a light sniff, and praised, "The initial aroma is strong, but the aftertaste is sweet. Sixth Sister has surpassed her mother; she has truly inherited Aunt Lu's skill."
The fifth and sixth young ladies are still in Lin'an and send letters every month.
Aunt Mei smiled with narrowed eyes: "The Fifth Miss is lively and the Sixth Miss is calm. It's amazing that they can always get along so well."
Consort Chun sighed, "Sixth Sister... always gives in to Fifth Sister. She has a dull personality, and I'm afraid she'll suffer when she gets married."
Hua Yan smiled and said, "Who would dare to bully Consort Chun's sister? The Second Miss is their support."
Consort Chun smiled gently, and the lingering disappointment in her eyes dissipated considerably.
Aunt Mei glanced gratefully at Hua Yan. Hua Yan always had the ability to "prescribe the right medicine" in just a few words. With such a clever mind, it's no wonder that even the Emperor looked at her differently.
It's finally time to start painting my nails.
Mengzhu and Lvliu brought over two basins of warm water. The two beauties lightly rolled up their wide sleeves, revealing a section of their fair and white arms, with slender, jade-like fingers.
Mengzhu acted meticulously, following the recipe that Consort Chun had read in a book: "Your Majesty, this is rose dew made by the Imperial Bedchamber. I added mint leaves, as the book says it can soothe the burning sensation when dyeing nails."
Hua Yan smiled and said, "This smells wonderful."
After soaking their hands in water to clean them, they dried them with a soft towel. Then, they used small gold and silver scissors to trim the edges of their nails, and then used an ivory file to round the tips of their nails. Mengzhu had the most patience and trimmed Huayan's nails to make them round and neat, with a faint pink blush.
It truly takes the effort of water milling to achieve such results, as Green Willow sighs with admiration.
There are two kinds of floral paste used for nail dyeing alone. Ruizhu holds a white jade bowl and carefully mixes balsam floral paste, alum and a small amount of cinnabar.
Mengzhu asked softly, "Your Highness, would you like to add gold leaf? I brought the thin gold leaf that was sent from the manor last year as well."
Consort Chun's eyes swept over the pale cherry blossom-colored fingertips of the flower-patterned flower, and she shook her head with a light laugh: "No need, being in the palace is not the same as being at home. Even the color of the floral mud should not be too bright, otherwise it will seem petty."
Mengzhu responded, took the white jade bowl from Ruizhu's hand, and with a fine rhinoceros horn brush, dipped it in flower mud and first dyed Chunfei's nails.
Hua Yan watched with great interest for a while, and saw that Lv Liu was making a second ointment, this time made of pearl powder, coral powder, a little beeswax, and peony juice.
Ruizhu held a round fan and fanned herself lightly, whispering, "Lvliu is currently making a nail ointment formula, which is used to moisturize nails at night. It's a formula I've never seen before, and I've been looking forward to seeing the results for days."
Consort Chun spoke up: "There's still a lot of floral mud left. Mengzhu, the rest of you have all been dyed. Aunt, would you like to try?"
Aunt Mei quickly waved her hand and scolded, "Her Majesty spoils them too much, raising them all to be like young ladies from noble families. Palace maids are not allowed to wear nail polish; you must know your place."
Ruizhu covered her mouth and chuckled, "We all know the rules of the palace, Aunt, please don't be angry."
Consort Chun shook her finger and sighed softly. She had just finished speaking when she realized she had broken the rules. With several women serving her day and night, she had momentarily felt as if she were still in the manor.
Hua Yan fell silent for a moment, letting Meng Zhu dye her hair.
It was at this time that the Emperor arrived at Xiefang Garden.
Hearing the announcement of the ceremony outside, Hua Yan keenly noticed a hint of coldness flashing in Consort Chun's eyes.
Before I could take a closer look, the bright yellow figure had already stepped into the flower hall.
Everyone in the hall bowed in greeting. The Emperor raised his hand slightly and said with a smile, "I've come to take a look. There's no need for formalities."
Consort Chun nodded slightly to Aunt Mei, who then left the flower hall and returned shortly with a large tray.
Jingming was stunned when he saw the various iced drinks on the plate.
Lychee syrup, cherry fritters, a bowl of ice cream, a bowl of chilled glutinous rice balls, and a plate of jade bean cakes... a total of seven or eight dishes.
Just looking at it sends chills down my spine.
Hua Yan was astonished! This was a bit too... lavish, but not extravagant.
The Emperor was watching with great interest as Mengzhu applied nail polish to Huayan's nails when he looked up and saw the plates and dishes that had appeared on the table in front of him. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine.
"...It's so kind of Wan'er to prepare so thoroughly."
“Your Majesty enjoys sweets, so I have prepared a few,” Consort Chun replied, lowering her eyes and handing a cup of iced cheese to the Emperor.
The Emperor took it, and when their fingertips touched, he noticed that Consort Chun's fingertips were wrapped in mulberry leaves with fine hemp thread, looking just like little green rice dumplings, which was quite playful.
He paused slightly, then a smile played on his lips.
Back when he was the Ninth Prince, he had received a portrait of Consort Chun, and three portraits of Consort Chun are still kept in the study of the Prince of Jin's residence.
Tang Xian's eldest daughter, regardless of her appearance or character, will enter the palace as a concubine.
This was his own promise, and it was also the reason why Tang Xian was loyal to him and willing to serve him.
The Emperor believed that he had shown her enough importance by doing everything he could to welcome her into the Prince's Palace.
Therefore, when he noticed Consort Chun's aloofness yesterday, he was not only taken aback but also mostly annoyed. After all, he frequently visited Huining Palace and even granted her the power to assist in managing the six palaces; the favor he bestowed upon her was no less than that given to the Empress and Consort Mei...
The Emperor gazed at Consort Chun's profile, and at this moment, her "clumsy" attempts to please him finally softened his heart.
Seeing the Emperor's relaxed expression, Hua Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Jing Ming, saying, "Her Majesty has ordered the kitchen to prepare mung bean soup. Why don't you go and have some to cool off in the summer heat?"