"Your Majesty..." Su Shun had dismissed Xiao Fu and walked in.

  Zong Zhengjin was reviewing the memorial, and upon hearing this, he didn't even lift his head, continuing to focus on the few lines of words in front of him.

  Su Shun stood quietly at the bottom, not daring to make a sound, silently waiting for the reaction of the person above.

  Zong Zhengjin picked up his pen and wrote a few words on it, finally speaking out, "What's going on?"

  "Returning to Your Majesty, Zhen Pin personally made some pastries and sent them over for you to try," Su Shunyan hastily said, not daring to make any extra movements.

  Zong Zhengjin seemed unaware, Su Shunyan couldn't help but wonder what was going on again. Just as he thought of taking his things and leaving, he took a few steps forward, "Leave the things behind."

  Su Shun exhaled slowly and hastily brought out the plate of chestnut cake that had already been tested for poison, carefully placing it on the dragon case before retreating.

  Zong Zhengjin glanced at the neatly arranged chestnut cake, which looked ordinary and was almost indistinguishable from those made in the imperial kitchen. He thought for a moment before picking one up and taking a bite...

  …………

  "Ji'er, the queen mother has made some chestnut cake. Come and try it to see if it's good or not?" A young woman holding a plate of chestnut cake walked over, coaxing a child who was intently playing with a kitten.

  That little kid is feeding the kitten, "Mother queen, Jin'er is a young man and doesn't eat girls' food."

  He still remembered what his second brother said to him yesterday, a man does not eat sweets.

  That woman wore a dark green palace dress, with her hair styled in a simple bun and adorned with an ordinary jade hairpin. She looked plain but had a unique charm. With a sly smile, she said, "Alright, alright, Jiner is a little man, this was specially made for Jiner by the Empress, won't you try some? The Empress will be heartbroken if you don't."

  "Good mother, don't be sad, I'll just eat one piece," she said, getting up from the ground and making a move to go get it.

  The woman hastily stopped him and took out a handkerchief from her bosom to wipe his hands, "Ji'ner should pay attention to cleanliness."

  "Empress Dowager, it's really delicious. What you made is even better than what was sent from the imperial kitchen. Jin'er loves Empress Dowager the most."

  …………

  Zong Zhengjin picked up the food piece by piece and ate it mouthful by mouthful. In his mind, he kept recalling scenes from his childhood. The face of that woman had long been forgotten, vague and unclear, only a rough outline remained.

  That painting was painted by him with his own hands, relying on his memory, one stroke at a time, to the bottom of his heart. Everything related to the queen mother, including people, has been destroyed.

  There is no record of this in history books, it is said that his father had personally instructed him, now the only thing that can prove the existence of that beautiful woman is probably only this son related by blood.

  Unfortunately, even as an emperor, he couldn't resist the loss of memory, the blur of years, and forgot her appearance, forgot the bits and pieces of their time together, forgot her care and tenderness for him.

  He had long forgotten what his mother's handmade chestnut cake tasted like, only knowing it was delicious and the most delicious pastry he had ever eaten. In order to cherish this taste and remember it forever, he rarely ate pastries, especially chestnut cakes.

  At this time, choosing to taste it again is just to see if a miracle might really happen, maybe it will be the same, but in the end, it's different and can't overlap with the flavor in memory.

  The reason that prompted him to finish eating was probably just a "personal touch", and perhaps there was also this warmth.

  The period of the Queen's confinement had not yet arrived, and the Emperor suddenly decided to go hunting in Western Hills soon, ordering Shu Gui Fei, Xian Fei, and Shu Fei to temporarily take charge of the affairs of the harem.

  For a time, the Ronghua Palace, Changchun Palace and Yanxi Palace were crowded with people coming to inquire about news, and those who could get the quota for following the emperor's procession were considered to have taken the first step in gaining imperial favor.

  Even someone found Su Jing's whistle.

  Drunken Cloud Villa

  Li Liangyuan and Ling Guiren came in, made a bow, called out to the host, then sat down beside him, quietly sipping their tea.

  Su Jingxu was slightly impatient and was about to speak when Li Liangyuan opened her mouth, "Sister Zhen's tea here is really good, it's many times better than my sister's."

  Su Jing did not respond, and the tea that was brought out to entertain them was only ordinary in color and was just a portion of the leftover from the palace. It might be slightly better, but after drinking just one mouthful, it was absolutely impossible to discern its quality.

  Li Liangyu didn't feel awkward either, after chatting for a few sentences, they got down to business.

  "Lili, why do you think the Empress has the ability to influence the Emperor's decisions again?" Su Jing swept a glance at the person sitting next to her and said calmly.

  Li Liangyu felt resentful in her heart, even though she had mentally prepared herself before coming. However, at this moment, facing the situation, she still found it hard to accept the disparity. "Look what Zhen sister said, I'm just here to ask a couple of questions, how did it get dragged into influencing the Emperor's decision?"

  "Yes, Sister Zhen mustn't misunderstand us two, we just want to ask for your help for the sake of the younger sisters," Linggui Ren also chimed in.

  In terms of family background, she is much stronger than Zhen Huan. In terms of talent, she also has a few things that can be brought out, and is much better than Zhen Huan who is said to be not good at qin, qi, shu, and hua. As for appearance, although she is slightly inferior, the two are of different types, and the Emperor would not have determined her as such.

  However, after entering the palace, she was not only suppressed by Zhen Huan at all times, but also differed in status by several grades.

  If it weren't for the fact that she had to take the route through the Imperial Palace, Shu Fei wouldn't have been able to get in. And even though she did manage to gain an audience with the Emperor, he was too busy to pay her much attention. As for the Yongxi Palace, if she were to go there, she would likely be met with hostility. The Changchun Palace, on the other hand, received her politely enough, but no matter what she said, she was rebuffed at every turn and didn't manage to glean a single useful piece of information.

  "If that's what you think, then the two sisters can leave. I myself don't know what the outcome will be and have no heart to care about other things," Su Jing said with a tone of indifference as she put down her teacup.

  Li Liangyu felt annoyed in her heart and didn't want to stay any longer, so she coldly bid farewell and left. Hearing her repeatedly call out "Ben Pei", they thought she was intentionally using her status to bully others.

  He Lian Lingyu hooked the corner of her mouth, "It's sister who thought wrong, I heard that Zhen Jiejie has always liked crystal, and I happen to have a pair of blue sapphire inlaid pearl earrings here. Does sister have a blue crystal hairpin with pearls to give to me?"

  Su Jing swept a glance at the earrings she had taken out and placed on the table, carefully replaying her words in her mind. She turned her cold gaze sideways, "Sister asked an inconvenient question, I indeed have many crystal-style hairpins, but unfortunately, I don't have the linked branch hairpin that sister mentioned."

  He Lianling's face stiffened, and she mechanically put away the earrings. "If that's the case, then I've disturbed you."

  "A noble person walks slowly."

  Linked branches form an alliance.

  "What does 'Linggui' mean, Master?" Daiman asked from the side, somewhat puzzled by her sudden request for jewelry to her master.

  Su Jing got up and went into the inner room, "It's just that I want jewelry."

  Does she really think she's an idiot?

  It was just her endurance today that made her look up to her, apparently, He Lian Lingyu's methods were much higher than Yu Su Mei's, and perhaps in the future she would be another great opponent.

  "Master, what else should we bring?"

  The emperor came over two days ago and saw Su Jing reading the travel notes of Chu Zhouguo. After chatting for a few sentences, he suddenly decided to go hunting this year, which delighted Su Jing.

  As for other consorts who accompanied her, Su Jing did not know, but there must be hers.

  Su Jing walked over, took a look at the things they had packed, four large boxes full to the brim, and her mouth twitched, "How can there be so many things? Travel light, simplify, cut back on some."

  Dai Man was displeased and hastily advised, "Master, this is still not enough, there are still some that have not been collected. Which of the concubines in the harem has few things when traveling? In the past year, Consort Shu had as many as seven large chests."

  Su Jing thought of the scene and firmly disagreed, "No need, it's just a half-month trip. You can prepare ten or so sets of clothes, a few windbreakers, and a few riding outfits. As for accessories, let's keep them simple."

  Su Jing thought it over carefully, the clothes and skirts were enough to change into a new set every day, in case of rain or something. As for other things, just be casual, after all, there's only about half a month left.

  Yao Ting disagreed and advised, "Your Majesty, there are other consorts accompanying you, they all vie for your favor and attention, dressing up is a big problem, it's best to always keep the emperor's ears and eyes fresh."

  Su Jing was amused, "Alright, alright, I'll say no more. Take one or two more sets if you must, but really, there's no need for so many. The Emperor remembers me, not those clothes, especially the repeated palace dresses."

  Ting Yao and others had no choice but to reopen the box, re-packing each item one by one, only to find that they had brought all the new clothes made for New Year's.

  "This time, let Ting Yao and Xiang Xiang accompany Ben Pei, as well as Xiao An Zi, Xiao Shun Zi, and Xiao Lu Zi. The others will stay at Zui Yun Wa," Su Jing decided after a moment's thought.

  "Dai Man, Xiao Fu Zi, I'm leaving this to you two. While Ben Niang is away, you must not slack off either. Absolutely do not let anyone take advantage of the situation."

  Dai Man and others hastily knelt down, "Your humble servants obey your orders."

  After lunch, the Zichen Palace finally sent out a message. The concubines who accompanied her were Xiang Guiyu, Zhen Bin, Ning Liangyi, Ling Guiren and Qi Guiren, who had just been promoted to Xiaoyi recently. The Empress Dowager was seriously ill, and Qi Guiren served the illness with merit, what a good excuse it is.

  The time was set at 3 o'clock on the third day of the next day.

  There weren't many people, apart from an old man, Xiang Jieyu, the rest were all new entrants to the palace. Everyone was full of enthusiasm and ambition, those who didn't get selected naturally felt resentful and bitter, unfortunately it's already a done deal.

  Zichen Hall

  Zong Zhengjin looked at the evidence presented by the people below, and coldly snorted, "My harem is getting more and more lively, those women are getting bolder and bolder."

  But isn't this more beneficial for him?

  It's just that she can't move for now, so let the empress take care of everything first, anyway it won't be unjust to her.

  Su Shun did not dare to respond and just knelt there.

  The emperor stayed in Chonghua Palace tonight.