"Master, Yu Gongzhu was appointed as a selected servant this morning and was granted residence in the Yusi Xiao pavilion," said Dai Man, waiting for her to finish washing up before speaking.

  Su Jing slowly got up, quietly rubbing her waist, "Is that so?"

  She had long guessed that Yu Fu Rong would enter the palace, and even if Zong Zheng Jin didn't favor her, once she entered the palace, she would be the emperor's person. In the end, it wouldn't be convenient for her to leave the palace and remarry, so the prime minister would inevitably find an excuse to ask Yu Fu Rong to stay in the palace forever.

  "Master, you don't have to be sad, the Emperor treats you differently," added Ting Yao.

  Su Jing hooked the corner of her mouth and went out, she not only didn't feel resentful, but would even thank Yu Fu'en for being bestowed a title at such a time. In this way, she could divert many grievances and hidden arrows from herself, so that yesterday's serving in the bedchamber wouldn't be worth much gossip.

  As for whether Yu Fu Rong will be favored in the future, that's another matter. Besides, she believes that Zong Zheng Jin is not an emperor who indulges in beauty, otherwise he wouldn't have let Yu Fu Rong stay until today.

  "Let's go eat, I'm starving," Su Jingbai said with a wave of her hand, without explaining further to them.

  A plate of jade-green asparagus shrimp dumplings, a small dish of osmanthus cake, paired with pea shoots, a stick of fried rice crust, and several other appetizing small dishes. Although the quantity is not many, the quality has obviously improved greatly, I don't know how much more exquisite it is.

  As expected, being favored is indeed the most important thing.

  "Master, Su Gonggong has arrived," Xiang reported as she entered.

  Su Jing put down her chopsticks, "Take it away," she said while wiping her hands, "Let him come in quickly."

  "The slave pays respects to Zhen Hou," Su Shun said with his usual respectful attitude.

  Su Jingxi also remained polite as ever, "No need for courtesy, Su Gonggong, please get up quickly."

  "Dear master, the emperor has ordered me to bring some longans for you," he said, beckoning a eunuch behind him to present a small basket of fresh longans.

  "This is all that's left in the palace, His Majesty ordered me to pass on a message to you, Master. Although longans are warm in nature, it's already winter now, so even if you like them, you shouldn't eat too many, don't finish them all in one day."

  Su Jing was taken aback, how did he know she had this intention. Seeing Su Shunian looking at her with a smile in his eyes, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Please trouble Su Gong to inform the Emperor that I will definitely follow the Emperor's orders."

  "Yes, I will definitely bring the message over. Master Zhen can rest assured," Su Shun said with a slight bow, "In that case, I will take my leave first."

  "Master, the Emperor is really good to you," said Dai Man, taking the basket aside and saying with emotion.

  Su Jing smiled and said, "Yes, the emperor is very good to me."

  "Does the master want to do something for the emperor?" Dai Mansheng suggested, seeing that she seemed to be somewhat puzzled, and could only say directly, "As the year-end is approaching, the emperor is busy with government affairs. The master has nothing to do, why not make something and send it to the emperor, so that the emperor can also understand the master's intention."

  This last sentence is the key point, every time the emperor's reward was sent over, the master of the house would always have Su Shunyan bring a few words to finish the matter, and never personally do something practical to express gratitude. The only time she sent a chestnut cake, she seriously suspected it was just an afterthought.

  Ting Yao listened to the side and also deeply felt reasonable, other palaces are from time to time sending some soup water to the Zi Shen Hall, whether the emperor uses it or not is one thing, but the intention has arrived is the most important.

  "Master, this is exactly the reason why, if His Majesty were to know about it, he would certainly be delighted."

  Su Jing was speechless from being persuaded by the two of them, one sentence at a time. She sighed and said, "Must it be so?"

  "Master, if you're not convenient to go down to the kitchen, just go to the small kitchen and give orders, you don't have to do it yourself," Daiman thought she was unwilling to take action, so he advised again.

  "Alright, I'll do it myself then. If not, how would the Emperor know my rare good intentions?" Su Jing let out a soft laugh and headed towards the small kitchen.

  "Leave this to us, you few people back off," Deerman first walked in and cleared the scene.

  After they had simply swept the floor, Su Jing stepped inside. The small kitchen was not just a small kitchen, but also had three stoves and could accommodate about ten people.

  "What does the master want to do?"

  Su Jing thought on her way, "It's almost lunchtime, and there isn't much time, so I'll just make a simple two-colored hoof cake and a phoenix marrow soup."

  "Yes, I'll go prepare the materials."

  Su Jing actually didn't have much experience in cooking, but she wasn't completely clueless either. Under her mother-in-law's guidance, Su Jing managed to complete the dish with some effort and thought it turned out pretty well.

  Pack up the food box, "Ben Pei wants to go personally."

  Xiangya and the others would never dare to oppose, it's rare for Master to have this intention, if they were to be punished, I'm afraid there won't be a next time, wouldn't that be their fault?

  Zichen Hall

  "Zhen Zhu Zi," Su Shun saw Su Jing Xian walking over from a distance and wondered what was going on, but still quickly jogged over.

  "Sir Su, is His Majesty available?" Just as Su Jing stepped into the gate, she realized that she probably should have gotten a clearer understanding of the situation before coming.

  Su Shunan didn't say it directly, "Just now, Master Zhen's future time, Lord Meng went in to discuss government affairs with the Emperor, but I suppose it should be ending soon. Master Zhen might as well wait for a moment, I'll go take a look."

  Su Jing smiled faintly and said, "Thanks for your trouble, Uncle Su."

  "'I don't dare, I don't dare,'" Su Shun said with a wave of his hand, and hastily walked in.

  Inside, the two had already discussed state affairs and were done, Meng Wentian showed no intention of leaving at all, instead he was chatting with Zong Zhengjin, talking nonsense.

  "Your Majesty is unaware, but on the Lantern Festival that day, the capital was really lively, even more so than in previous dynasties. The level of governance has become increasingly apparent under Your Majesty's rule. Could it be that Your Majesty truly doesn't want to see it with your own eyes?"

  The person at the top remained focused on the memorial in front of him, without any intention of responding.

  Meng Wen Tian didn't feel embarrassed either, just as he was about to speak again, Su Shun walked in with a sly look on his face, "What is Public Su doing sneaking around?"

  Su Shunan was startled by his untimely words, and stiffly looked up at the emperor, fortunately, the emperor did not suspect anything, so he had to step into the grand hall, "Your Majesty, Zhen Concubine requests an audience."

  "What is she doing here?"

  "The slave didn't ask, but saw a palace maid holding a food box, probably"

  "You can go," Zong Zhengjin said without waiting for him to finish speaking.

  Meng Wentian and Su Shunxian were both stunned, unsure who he was referring to, each thinking it was the other.

  Zong Zhengjin finished reading the memorial in his hand, looked up and said, "Meng Wentian, do you want me to have someone carry you out?"

  Meng Wentian's smile froze on his face, and he immediately pretended to cry, "Your Majesty, I want to have a meal with you, Your Majesty just agreed."

  "It's just you talking to yourself and having wild guesses," Zong Zhengjin ruthlessly exposed the truth.

  Meng Wentian wiped away his tears with his sleeve, "Forget it, Your Majesty has a beauty to accompany you, I won't disturb your pleasure anymore. I'll leave alone."

  Zong Zhengjin's mouth twitched, "Get out of here quickly."

  Meng Wen Tian bowed and retreated, his face returning to normal as he turned around. "No need for you to see me off, Su Gong Gong. We're old acquaintances, no need to stand on ceremony."

  Su Shun did not dare to show his true feelings as openly as the Emperor, and merely bowed his head, saying "Your humble servant does not dare, General Meng is free to go."

  Su Jing stepped into the hall, "The concubines pay their respects to Your Majesty."

  Zong Zhengjin sat down on a nearby couch, beckoning with his hand, "What brings you here today?"

  Su Jing walked over with quick steps and sat down beside him. "The concubine has prepared two dishes for the emperor, especially sent to the emperor."

  "Oh" Zong Zhengjin raised an eyebrow, leaned back on the couch, and then pulled her onto his lap, "Fei'er has a change of heart"

  Su Jingxi sat, lying down, now looking at him with a somewhat condescending attitude, with a face of disapproval, "Your Majesty, are you wanting the concubine to be a kitchen maid, delivering food to Your Majesty every day?"

  "This is you acknowledging that I have been good to you every day"

  "It's not just every day, but almost every minute and second," Su Jing said softly as she leaned against his chest.

  "Haha," Zong Zhengjin laughed loudly, "So you're going to use a few dishes to get rid of me?"

  Su Jing puffed out her chest, their eyes locked in a stare. "Concubines share with the Emperor what they love most, where did this 'dismiss for now' come from? Everything concubines have belongs to the Emperor, if the Emperor wants something, just take it."

  His big hand slid over her neck, Su Jing still smiled brightly, as if nothing was wrong.

  Zong Zhengjin finally used his fingertips to touch her cheek, smooth as jade, compared to his years of martial arts practice, his hands had already accumulated a layer of calluses, sensing her furrowed brow, he intentionally increased the pressure.

  "Huang Shang" Su Jingyi finally couldn't bear it anymore and buried his head in his arms.

  Zong Zhengjin heard her muffled voice, which seemed to come from his own chest cavity. He sighed and pulled her out, and indeed those few places were already slightly red. He pulled her over and kissed her lightly, "Why are you so delicate?"

  "The emperor is well taken care of," Su Jing also leaned over and kissed his chin, with a curved brow and eyes.

  This sentence is quite ambiguous. At least Zong Zhengyi thought of not only the superficial layer of nourishment, but also a deeper level of nourishment, and couldn't help but feel very satisfied.

  "Let's go," Zong Zhengjin sat up, adjusted her hairpin and smoothed out her clothes.

  As usual, it was tasted by the eunuch first, and then presented. It had been out of the pot for a while, but fortunately, there was insulation at the bottom of the food box, so it was still steaming hot.

  "Try some, Your Majesty." Su Jingyi personally served him a small bowl.

  Zong Zhengjin looked at her shining eyes, and his heart softened. He took a bite, and compared to the imperial kitchen, it was far inferior, but it had a homey flavor that made him nostalgic for the mountain delicacies and seafood he was used to eating.

  "Not bad."

  Su Jingxi didn't get angry, getting a compliment from him was as difficult as reaching the sky, of course, except when they were in bed, she would occasionally silently serve him food and drink, seeing that he had eaten half a bowl more than usual, she secretly smiled, it turned out to be effective here.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu