TPNCQ CHAPTER 38
Qianlong spent the night in the Jingren Palace.
Su Limo gasped at those four words. It was almost 9 pm, so why was this guy here now?
Could it be that he was planning to stay overnight? She could handle most things, but she really wasn't prepared to sleep with him.
Su Limo got up, slipped on her flat embroidered shoes, and went to the door to greet Qianlong, "Chenqie greets Your Majesty."
Qianlong stepped into the hall. A faint scent of pear blossoms mingled with the woody fragrance, sweet and warm but not overly frivolous. He allowed Li Yu to remove his greatcoat, "Get up."
"Your Majesty, why are you free to come at this hour?" Su Limo stood up and smiled sweetly.
"..." She was clearly asking a rhetorical question. Qianlong frowned slightly and walked straight in to sit on the brocade couch, his tone indifferent, "Why, can't I come?" If it were another concubines, seeing him at this moment, they would have tried their best to serve him.
"Your Majesty's territory extends to the four seas, and all lands are under Your Majesty's rule. Of course, Your Majesty can come." Su Limo smiled with all due respect.
"..." These were perfectly good words, but why did they sound a little sarcastic coming from Su Limo's mouth? Qianlong frowned slightly, looking at Su Limo standing in front of him. He remembered being captivated by her plump and dignified appearance at the banquet, and then he recalled that today was the first birthday of Jingshun. A year ago, she had given birth to Jingshun after a near-death experience, so he had come to Jingren Palace to sleep...
Now, he felt as if he had gone blind.
"Change clothes," Qianlong said coldly.
Seeing Qianlong sitting there nonchalantly, Su Limo knew that according to the rules, she should personally help the emperor change his clothes, put on his nightgown, and then have the palace maid present hot water so she could serve the emperor in washing his face and rinsing his mouth. However, to be honest, she had never done this before. After all, this was the first time in a year that the emperor had stayed overnight in Jingren Palace, and she hadn't mastered the skill of serving others. After all, usually, she was the one being served.
For example, when helping Qianlong change his clothes, should she stand, kneel, or sit? How should she remove the dragon robe, and should the jeweled pouches and pendants hanging on his body be removed and if so, where should they be placed?
Su Limo was suddenly overwhelmed and softly called, "Eunuch Li, His Majesty has asked for a change of clothes."
Upon hearing this, Li Yu saw that Su Limo had not taken the initiative to serve, so he could only step forward to serve personally. After all, he had been doing these tasks daily, and although he didn't know why the Guifei niangniang wasn't doing it herself, since she had called out, he had no choice but to step forward and serve.
Seeing this, Qianlong didn't say anything and let Li Yu serve him.
Su Limo watched as the palace maids came in and out, busying themselves with their tasks. Her Jingren Palace chambers weren't particularly large, and with a dozen or so people scurrying around, she could only retreat to her inner room. Sitting by the copper mirror, she scooped out some nourishing cream and applied it generously to her face and neck as a night cream, taking care to nourish the skin on her neck.
Su Limo sat by the bronze mirror, dawdling for a long time applying the cream. She then picked up a comb and began to comb her hair, passing it through countless times. When she heard the outer room quiet down and footsteps approaching, Su Limo quickly glanced through the reflection in the copper mirror. She saw Qianlong walking straight to the bed and sitting down. He picked up a scroll she had placed on the bedside and began to read, seemingly with no intention of immediately getting into bed. Her hand holding the comb trembled.
"Have you finished counting your hair?" After a moment, seeing that Su Limo seemed to be glued to the bench, Qianlong said in a deep voice.
"...I... I'm done combing," Su Limo pursed her lips, realizing that she couldn't avoid it anymore. She put down the comb, walked to the bed, and saw that the inner side of the bed was reserved for her. With a heavy heart, she took off her shoes and climbed over Qianlong, quickly lying down in the quilt.
This body had already given birth to three children with Qianlong. Was there any need for her to pretend to be innocent?
But then again, her soul had never even been in love, let alone done such a thing, especially with someone like Qianlong who had had many lovers. For a moment, she didn't know how to face him.
"It's late, go to sleep."
Just as Su Limo was struggling with her thoughts, she heard Qianlong say these five words, and instantly felt completely relaxed.
Covering herself with the quilt and going to sleep, covering herself with the quilt and going to sleep. Good.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Qianlong got up and allowed Li Yu to serve him as he changed his clothes, put on his court robes, and donned his beaded necklace. Just as he was about to leave, thinking that Su Limo hadn't woken up from all the commotion, he couldn't help but walk over to the bed and take a look. He saw a section of her arm exposed outside the quilt, smooth and white. Half of her face was buried in the quilt, revealing only her smooth forehead. Qianlong frowned slightly, thinking that her sleeping posture was quite unruly.
Qianlong was about to turn and leave, but then he thought of something. He stepped forward, tucked Su Limo's arm back under the quilt, pulled the quilt down to expose her chin and wrapped her up then left Jingren Palace.
When Su Limo woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
She hadn't slept well at the beginning of the last night. Having someone else in bed with her made her feel very uncomfortable, and she dared not move, so she had to endure it. In the middle of the night, she didn't know what time it was, but she was so sleepy that she finally fell asleep.
Su Limo blinked a few times and gradually came to her senses. Remembering that Qianlong had spent the night in Jingren Palace, she quickly turned her head, only to find that the bed was already empty. Su Limo looked out the window and saw that the sky was bright and the sunlight was streaming in, realizing that it was already late morning. She yawned and got up.
Shuangjiang was waiting in the warm pavilion when she heard a noise. She ordered someone to come in quickly to help Su Limo get dressed.
“What time did His Majesty leave? Did he say anything?” Su Limo felt a little uneasy for some reason.
“His Majesty left for court very early and didn’t let the maids wake niangniang. He left Jingren Palace as soon as he was dressed,” Shuangjiang replied while quickly helping Su Limo get dressed.
“Let’s just wear those casual clothes again. We don’t have anything important to do today, and we won’t be going out. Just casually tie my hair up in a simple bun.” Su Limei said.
Dongxue led people in to serve her with washing and then went to have the meal prepared.
After breakfast, Shuangjiang, Dongxue, and Bailu sat in the warm pavilion, sewing clothes and shoes for the princes and the fourth princess. Su Limo sat on a soft couch, taking out a box of beads and started stringing them together to make decorative clasps. Seeing that the twelfth lunar month was approaching, the New Year would be here soon. She would inevitably have to give gifts to the concubines below her, so she might as well make some fresh and beautiful clasps.
Su Limo carefully considered the grades of gemstones that could be used on the clasps for concubines of different ranks, and then she selected suitable silk threads and began to make them one by one. The lower-ranking concubines were easy to deal with, but she hesitated for a moment about what to give to Empress Fucha and Xian Guifei. She hadn't figured out what to give to them yet.
And there was another matter that she had to consider as the twelfth lunar month approached. It was about finding a tutor for the sixth prince, Yongrong, after the Lantern Festival, as she had promised him.
The Qing Dynasty always placed great importance on the education of the princes, and the Qianlong era was no exception.
Since she had promised Yongrong, she naturally had to keep her word. Otherwise, in the child's eyes, she would be an adult who didn't keep her promises. If something couldn't be done, then one shouldn't promise it. Since she had promised, she had to keep her word, especially on a matter that Yongrong cared so much about.
Su Limo strung beads for a while, and suddenly remembered the time when Qianlong had come to her place for a hot pot on a snowy day. Perhaps she could invite him to have a hot pot again and mention this matter at the same time. It would be easier to discuss things over a meal.
Thinking of this, Su Limo instructed Dongxue to go to the imperial kitchen and remind them to prepare a pot of mutton bone hot pot for lunch tomorrow, cooked until it was tender and with less chili. She had noticed last time that Qianlong couldn't eat spicy food. Since she was asking for a favor, she had to be considerate.
Of course, there was no guarantee that the emperor would come if she invited him, but if it didn't work out this time, she could invite him again next time.
*
The next day, after breakfast, Su Limo asked Shuangxiang to personally tell Li Yu and gave him some silver.
At lunchtime, Li Yu sent a young eunuch to convey that the emperor would be coming to Jingren Palace for lunch. Upon receiving the news, Su Limo quickly asked Dongxue to go to the imperial kitchen to have the meal served. When the emperor arrived, the food would be hot and ready to eat.
The hot pot was still set up in the side hall. Qianlong entered the side hall as usual, and the rich aroma of mutton filled his nostrils. After dealing with state affairs for the entire morning, his stomach was already empty. He was just thinking about where to have lunch when he saw Li Yu come in and announce that Chun Guifei had sent someone earlier to invite him, saying that she had stewed a mutton hot pot and asked His Majesty to come and try it.
Li Yu was a shrewd man, and since he had taken the silver, he naturally said things that would please the emperor. He could still gauge the emperor's temperament.
Sure enough, Qianlong smiled upon hearing Li Yu's words. This was the first time in a year that Chun Guifei had taken the initiative to invite him to Jingren Palace. He knew very well how the concubines in the palace competed for favor and what methods they would use, but as long as the concubines were willing to put their minds to him and be sincere to him, there was no need to dwell on many things.
It was just that Chun Guifei was quite rare. She couldn't even use a simple strategy like playing hard to get.
The key to playing hard to get was to "get", not to "let go".
However, no matter what, she couldn't sit still anymore and had taken the initiative to send someone to invite him.
Seeing Su Limo sitting at the eight-legged table and hurriedly bowing to greet him when he entered, saying, "Chenqie greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty enjoy eternal happiness," Qianlong walked calmly to the table and sat down before saying indifferently, "Rise."
Seeing Su Limo smiling at him with a gentle and pleasant expression, Qianlong's mood unknowingly improved by two points. The steam from the hot pot rose, and the aroma filled his nostrils, dispelling much of the annoyance and irritability he had felt from dealing with state affairs all morning.
Hearing this, Su Limo stood up and very thoughtfully poured a bowl of mutton soup for Qianlong. Besides the mutton bone hot pot, there was another pot on the stove stewing a clear mutton bone soup for two hours, making it convenient to drink soup. Thinking that he didn't like spicy food, she didn't add any chili rings, but only put some coriander and finely chopped green onions at the bottom of the bowl. As soon as she poured a spoonful of the boiling mutton soup, the aroma filled the air.
Su Limo respectfully held the bowl with both hands and placed it in front of Qianlong, smiling sweetly, "Your Majesty, please drink a bowl of mutton soup to ward off the cold."
Qianlong nodded, took the small soup spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soup, blew on it gently, and brought it to his mouth. "It's not bad."
Hearing these two words, Su Limo smiled and sat down, picked up a pair of long chopsticks, and picked up a piece of mutton rib that had been stewed until it was tender and placed it in the spare bowl in front of Qianlong. "It's been stewed for two hours. Your Majesty, please try it and see if it suits your taste."
Seeing Su Limo serving him so attentively, Qianlong graciously picked up his chopsticks.