TPNCQ CHAPTER 14
Three days later, the items were delivered. A senior monk from Zhenyan Temple had personally selected aged bodhi seeds, which were then crafted by skilled artisans into 12-millimeter spherical beads. These beads were placed before a Buddha statue for a day and a night before being delivered.
Dong Xue's family did the job reliably, fulfilling Su Limo's requirements to the letter. Even the color gradient of the aged bodhi seeds, transitioning from light to dark, was exceptionally uniform.
Su Limo cut the original thread and restrung the beads with the hand-twisted flax-colored cotton thread she had prepared earlier. She attached a runner ring polished from the bodhi seeds and handwoven two tassels onto it.
The combination of carefully selected aged bodhi seeds, runner ring, and flax-colored double tassels gave it a simple and dignified elegance.
Su Limo washed her hands clean, put on gloves with her right hand, and began to rub the beads. By the time she would take Jing Shun to the Cining Palace, which would be about half a month later, the beads would certainly look more glossy and refined. Although bodhi seeds were not considered precious, investing effort in them would surely be worthwhile.
*
In recent days, when Qianlong was not flipping the card, he would either spend time with Empress Fucha in Changchun Palace or stay in Chunxi Palace.
Empress Fucha was increasingly restless at night, worried that her tossing and turning would disturb Qianlong's sleep. Thus, she often did not let him stay overnight. Jia Fei did not have this concern, so when Qianlong came to Chunxi Palace, he would usually stay the night.
Whenever Qianlong stayed overnight, Moli would howl a few times in the east wing of Chunxi Palace, fearing that Chen Guiren would take advantage of her master being pregnant and gain favor.
Chen Guiren understood the main hall's intentions, so she instructed her palace servants not to roam around carelessly and kept the door leading to the main hall closed, only using the small side door for entry and exit. She had just three palace maids and two eunuchs attending her, making things very simple.
Occasionally, Moli's words were so unpleasant that Chen Guiren would bring Yingchun to either recite sutras at the Fahua Temple or visit other concubines with whom she shared similar temperaments. Most often, she would go to Shu Pin's place. Shu Pin had the Empress Dowager as her backing and had always been someone who didn't vie for favor or create conflicts. She also had no animosity towards the Empress.
They would spend time together doing needlework, playing chess, brewing tea, and chatting, finding joy in each other's company.
*
On the fifteenth of March, after having breakfast, Su Limo personally went to the small kitchen to oversee Shuangjiang and the others making desserts.
Two days earlier, a small kitchen had been set up in Jingren Palace. It wasn't really for cooking meals since the imperial kitchen was responsible for daily meals. The excuse was that Chun Gufei needed to boil medicinal decoctions every day, and it was inconvenient to always go to the imperial kitchen, which could also affect the efficacy of the medicine. After reporting this to Xian Gufei, they were allocated a room for this purpose.
Two days ago, the steward eunuch in charge of the Prince's residence made a special trip to pay a visit. He reminded her of a palace regulation stating that concubines were only permitted to visit and not bring any food. While the eunuch didn't directly forbid her from bringing food in the future, Su Limo picked up on the underlying message. When she asked further, the steward eunuch's response was ambiguous, neither prohibiting her from bringing food next time nor clearly permitting it.
Since there was no explicit prohibition, she decided to act as if she didn't know and to bring a little less subtly.
She arrived at the Prince's residence on time. This time, the three little dumplings, Third, Fifth and sixth prince were all seated around a round table waiting for her. Seeing their eager eyes, how could she bear to come empty-handed?
In the imperial family, mothers and children seldom had the chance to be together. They were allowed two hours together each month, amounting to just twenty-four hours or forty-eight hours in a year.
When she was a child, her favorite moments were when her mother would steam big white buns and set aside some dough to make small hedgehogs and little rabbits just for her. She still remembered the shapes of those buns, and the sweet taste lingered in her memory.
The taste of mother's love was, indeed, the taste of food.
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