"I haven't seen him. I heard that he is a person who doesn't... like to appear in front of people." Although Han Yu was angry, he still knew his limits and spoke very tactfully.
That is one who is not favored.
"When did her things get mixed with the Queen Dowager's belongings?" Qu Moying asked in a different way.
"It was when the snacks and dishes she used were together with those made by the Empress." Han Yu lowered her head and thought for a while.
"How long did it take?" Qu Moying asked again.
"This has happened in the past few months!" Ever since the place where Yuan Meiren's cooking was moved here, this kind of thing has happened from time to time, and no one has taken it seriously.
"Have we ever had any dumplings delivered by mistake before? Or other glutinous rice-related things?" Qu Moying asked carefully.
"Yes, I blocked it once, and another time it was sent up but the Queen Mother couldn't use it. So far... it should have happened three times." Han Yu said.
In terms of time, it is in recent months that mistakes happen from time to time. It can be said that this is a very natural thing, and there have been mistakes in the past.
No matter which aspect you look at, this really was an accident!
"Mrs. Concubine, did the dumplings taste particularly good that day?" Qu Moying asked softly, looking at Mrs. Concubine Qu, who was resting with her eyes closed and listening to their conversation.
Concubine Qu was obviously not in high spirits. She opened her eyes slightly, then closed them again. She took two breaths and said, "That day... it smelled especially good... I couldn't help but take a bite... and then I found that it tasted really good, as if it was made with long fragrant... rice..."
Long Fragrant Rice is a kind of tribute rice from southern Xinjiang. It has a stronger flavor than ordinary fragrant rice, and when you taste it carefully, you can find a light sweetness. It is said that the environment for growing this Long Fragrant Rice is not that simple, and not much is sent to the palace every year.
Although Concubine Qu was neglected and seemed inconspicuous in the harem, she was still rewarded with some things. Chang Xiangyu might not be given to other concubines, but Concubine Qu had some. However, not much. In the past, she would just make some porridge for herself, but now it was gone.
"The Queen Mother thought it was particularly fragrant, so she took a sip and discovered that it tasted especially good, so she used a few more?" Qu Moying had already sorted out the whole thing and asked.
"Yes, the queen later told me so. I felt that the long fragrant rice was not something that Concubine Yuan should have, so I went to ask the kitchen and found out that it was given to Concubine Yuan by Concubine Jing. It was originally intended for Concubine Jing, but she was not feeling well that day, so she gave it to Concubine Yuan who happened to come over. It seemed that Concubine Yuan liked what she wanted."
Holding Jade Dao.
Concubine Jing? Concubine Zhu Jing, the biological mother of the King of Wei, was said to be a gentle and frail beauty. After risking her life to give birth to the King of Wei, her health was not very good. Given her status, it was reasonable for her to receive the long fragrant rice.
As for her character, she has always been praised in the palace. Not to mention being a beauty, even an ordinary palace maid would be rewarded if she caught her eye.
Everything is logical, everything has a reason, and it is not abrupt. It is not the first accident, but this time there are several other accidents.
From the perspective of the Concubine Dowager, it seems that she was really greedy. From the perspective of Lady Yuan, she was also wronged. Originally, it was Concubine Zhu Jing.
The reward was now being used by Concubine Qu. She couldn't say anything and couldn't mention anything. She looked very aggrieved. As for Concubine Zhu Jing, she had nothing to do with her. She felt that Concubine Yuan was good, and she couldn't eat well. Changxiang rice was a good thing, so she rewarded her.
But it was just too logical, especially with Yuan Mei being there, which made Qu Moying feel very awkward.
This Concubine Yuan was also a very strange person. She had been in the palace for so many years and was so similar to Ji Hanyue. Qu Moying had a feeling that this Concubine Yuan would definitely have a connection with her, whether in the previous life or this life. How could such a person be connected with Concubine Qu
If there was nothing here and it was just an accident, Qu Moying really didn't believe it.
He stretched out his hand and placed it on Concubine Qu's pulse, and carefully felt her pulse. Concubine Qu's pulse was indeed very bad, and it was intermittent, which made people inexplicably uneasy.
Qu Moying was not proficient in medical skills and only knew some simple pulse diagnosis skills.
Turning back to look at Nanny Yan, she said, "Take out Nanny Miao's medicine powder and soak it for the Concubine Dowager."
Before entering the palace, Nanny Miao prepared some medicinal powders that aid digestion and clear the stomach. It's not that Nanny Miao has the ability to predict the future, but she said that some elderly people often have poor stomachs and cannot digest what they eat. If the medicine doesn't work, it may be because the liquid medicine cannot be digested. It would be better to use some medicinal powders that help digestion.
These digestion-friendly powders were prepared by Nanny Miao herself. When she was in the farm, Qu Moying would use some from time to time. She was originally weak and frail, and didn't want to eat. She felt better after using them, and the medicine she used was better absorbed than before, and she recovered faster.
Nanny Yan took out the powder from her sleeve and asked Hanyu, "Where is the imperial physician?"
Although she knew that there was nothing wrong, Nanny Yan felt that she had to let the imperial physician check it out first, to avoid any problems that might implicate her young lady.
In the case of the Concubine Dowager, there must be an imperial physician on duty.
"It's in the side hall." Hanyu stretched out his hand and pointed to the right.
Nanny Yan nodded, holding the medicine powder in her hand and went over. After a while, she came back and nodded to Qu Moying. It was obvious that the imperial physician had checked it and it was okay to use.
Hanyu asked someone to prepare a bowl of warm water. Nanny Yan put an appropriate amount of medicine powder into it, stirred it, and then handed it to Qu Moying. Hanyu raised Concubine Qu's pillow a little higher, making her look like she was sitting at an angle, making it easier to feed her medicine.
Qu Moying personally fed the medicine to Concubine Qu. After that, she asked her to lie down and rest. She took Nanny Yan and retreated out of the hall.
After Hanyu helped Concubine Qu to lie down, he instructed two maids to serve her there and then he withdrew.
She took Qu Moying to an empty side hall and asked them to sit down and rest.
"Hanyu, do you think... someone will harm the Concubine Dowager?" Seeing that there was no one else around, Nanny Yan asked in a low voice.
Qu Moying picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and seemed to be thinking about something.
"I think someone wants to harm Her Majesty the Dowager." Han Yu said affirmatively.
“Why? The Queen Mother has been unknown in the palace for so many years, and... and who would deal with the Queen Mother? There are so many young beauties in the palace..." Although Nanny Yan guessed this, she was still surprised.
I guess so, but it doesn't
It makes sense that no one would compete with the Queen Dowager for favor. The Queen Dowager is just an old dowager with no children and no power, so she is of no threat to them.
"Miss Qu Si, the Queen Mother asked me to give this to you." Han Yu took a book from the desk at the side and presented it respectfully.
"What... is this?" Qu Moying took it in surprise.
"They said it was a music score and you would like it." Han Yu said.
Qu Moying opened it and saw that it was indeed a music score. It looked very old. Although the cover was carefully sealed, some traces of time could still be seen on it.
When he opened it, he saw that the music score on it was one that Qu Moying had never seen before. It must have been specially collected by Concubine Qu, right
“The Queen Dowager has kept this music score. She asked me to find it these few days and said that if you enter the palace, I will give it to you, even if... the Queen Dowager... is no longer around by then..." Han Yu couldn't hold back her tears any longer when she said this.
The music score in Qu Moying's hand suddenly felt heavy. Could this be the thing that Concubine Qu was planning to leave for him
"Your Highness, do you like music scores?" Qu Moying asked, holding up a corner of the book.
"The Concubine doesn't like it very much, so... when I took out this music score, I was also very surprised, but when I heard what the Concubine said, I... I..."
Hanyu's tears fell again.
Qu Moying was silent for a moment, his eyes sore. He reached out and flipped the book casually a few times, and went straight to the back, only to find that the back was not a piano score. After taking a closer look, it turned out to be some miscellaneous notes.
Are there musical scores and some small bits of oddities and miscellaneous notes
It has a similar meaning to the music score that the Duke of Qi's Mansion gave him before. It is hard to tell whether it is a music score or miscellaneous notes.
People who care about piano scores are usually very concerned about the cleanliness of the scores. Few people would record other things at the back of the score book. Qu Moying thought the last book from Duke Qi's Mansion was an accident. It might have been miscellaneous notes originally, and they only remembered to record the piano score later.
But when he saw this book again, Qu Moying no longer had the same thoughts as before.
The method is similar, both of which involve recording music scores and miscellaneous notes.
One was given to me casually by the old Duke, who said that he knew he liked this type of book. Now this one was given to me by the old Concubine Dowager, and she did it so solemnly.
If Qu Moying didn't take this matter seriously before, now he feels that there is something wrong. There must be something wrong.
Reaching out and touching the cover, Qu Moying closed the book, her long eyelashes fluttered twice, and she slowly raised her eyes and looked at Hanyu. Her eyes were clear with a hint of deep coldness, "Hanyu, if someone wants to deal with the Concubine Dowager, who is the most likely person?"
Hanyu is the confidant of the Dowager Concubine. I heard from Nanny Yan that when she was in the palace, Hanyu was still the most trusted confidant of the Dowager Concubine. This shows how much Hanyu is valued by the Dowager Concubine. If there is anything that other people know, Qu Moying thinks it must be Hanyu...
“Your servant… Your servant… doesn’t… doesn’t know either…” Han Yu was stunned by Qu Moying’s question. She couldn’t respond for a moment and could only stammer.
"Hanyu, do you believe me?" Qu Moying looked at Hanyu with a serious face.