Ye Jun's eyes darkened and he pondered for a moment.
"If something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. She came to you suddenly, so she must have some plan. Just listen to what she has to say first."
"I obey your command." Shen Pingzhi bowed.
Huiyue personally sent the person out, and came back with a somewhat worried look on her face.
"I always feel that Fang Xiuyi is a very cunning person. It is very uncomfortable to be with her."
Nan Zhi also came over, "Fang Xiuyi has gained power recently, and there are many rumors in the palace. It is said that during the time of the previous emperor, Chen Wanrong and Fang Xiuyi were often summoned to the palace to accompany their respective aunts. The two girls were of equal family backgrounds, so they always wanted to compete with each other. Previously, there was no clear winner, but after she turned twelve, Fang Xiuyi suddenly became powerful, and she embarrassed Chen Wanrong several times. After that, Chen Wanrong rarely came to the palace."
"Is this because I became smart earlier? Then I must have been talented since I was born," Ye Jun joked with a smile.
Huiyue smiled and said, "Our Concubine has been smart since she was young, but this one is more than ten years behind her."
"So, don't worry too much. I'm very capable."
Ye Jun raised his eyebrows and reached out to scratch Huiyue's nose, making her blush.
However, we still need to pay careful attention to this matter. The people in this palace will not do useless work. Since they have found Shen Pingzhi, there must be something wrong.
However, Shen Pingzhi did not have a deep relationship with her, so she could not trust him completely. Therefore, she sent Bai Zhu and Lu He to keep a close eye on the outside.
Ning Chen gave the order, asking people not to move around the harem at will, so the queen simply exempted the concubines from paying their respects.
Now you don’t have to kneel in the Buddhist temple or pay respects. You can just live your own life behind closed doors. It’s so comfortable.
Ye Jun has everything, but there are always people who lack something.
In Feihong Pavilion, Su looked at the monthly salary and cloth that had just been delivered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and her face turned red with anger.
"I am Wanrong, a dignified sixth-rank official. How dare you treat me like this?"
"Oh, Su Wanrong, please don't be picky. Your servants are in a difficult situation too. Look at the current situation. It's a mess outside. Even the Empress Dowager and the Empress don't have any fresh fruits to eat. Now you can still send out your things, but some people have nothing at all!" The old eunuch who delivered the things had a bitter face.
Baicao was so angry that he flipped through the four pieces of cloth and pointed.
"It's already June, and you're still sending us such thick cloth. Do you want to kill Wanrong with heat? The color is also old-fashioned. I don't believe there are not a few pieces of good material in the palace."
The old eunuch smiled and said, "There are so few good things, so naturally they should be given to the ladies above them, right? Wanrong was also a princess before she entered the palace, so she must have brought a lot of things with her. It's normal for her to look down on the things that the servants brought. But now there are only these."
Su glared, "I brought what I brought. These were supposed to be in my allotment. You deducted them, and you still dare to quibble!"
After all, he has some grassland blood, Su said, grabbing the teacup from the table and throwing it over.
It hit the old eunuch's head right on the spot, and blood immediately gushed out.
The old eunuch was more or less a manager, and he got angry after being hit like that. He was supported by the servants who followed him, and he pointed at those things with trembling hands.
"Since Su Wanrong despises the things in the palace, I will take them all back. You can be well!"
After he finished speaking, the people who came with him took away all the cloth and monthly salary on the table.
At dinner time, Baicao came back from the kitchen, crying angrily.
Opening the food box, Wanrong was supposed to have two meat dishes, three vegetable dishes and a soup, but now there were only two vegetable dishes and one meat dish.
The vegetarian dish was stir-fried cabbage and cold cucumber salad, and the meat dish was a boiled chicken that looked tasteless.
"Didn't I say I wanted mutton?" Su frowned.
Baicao pouted, "The kitchen said that mutton is expensive and not everyone can have it. The supply is incomplete now, so these are all we have."
Su wanted to say no. After all, she grew up in Zasak and loved to eat roasted beef and mutton with strong flavors. Now these were all she had and she really couldn't eat any more.
But I couldn't resist being hungry, and I didn't eat much at lunch because it didn't suit my appetite.
After thinking about it, I picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of chicken. When I took a bite, it had a fishy smell and I spit it out immediately.
The sauce is poured on the outside and there is no salt at all in it.
Su put down her chopsticks, feeling mixed emotions.
This was completely different from the life she had imagined.
"Is Su Wanrong ready to eat? I am Qiwen from Weiruixuan. Our queen ordered me to bring two side dishes to Wanrong."
Baicao was stunned for a moment, and looked at Su, then quickly tidied up her appearance and came out.
"I pay my respects to Su Wanrong. This is a small gift from our queen. Please accept it."
Qiwen bowed with a smile, took the food box from the little palace maid behind her, opened it, and saw a crispy lamb chop and a stack of braised beef inside.
Su's eyes flickered. "Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness, but I've already had dinner, and I'm afraid I can't eat any more now."
It's not that I would be extremely grateful just for a little food.
Sudiya even felt very humiliated. Is it time for someone else to give her charity
Even though she was a concubine's daughter before, her mother Han was a favored concubine and had never lacked for these things.
Qiwen narrowed her eyes and chuckled, "Wanrong can't eat right now, so you might as well accept it first. Our queen is thinking about the friendship on the grassland. Wanrong is lucky to enter the palace. Others don't know, but our queen knows."
As soon as these words were spoken, Su froze and Baicao's face turned pale.
"Yes...it's you..." Su's throat was shaking and she couldn't speak.
Qiwen still smiled faintly, "Our queen has always been kind-hearted, and she hates to see someone's wish not fulfilled. Since there is a connection, Wanrong, are you willing to accept this dish?"
"Aren't you afraid that I will tell the emperor?!" Su Diya raised her voice.
Although she seemed fearless, her slightly trembling voice and tightly pulled handkerchief had already betrayed her.
"What does Wanrong want to tell the emperor? I didn't say anything. Or maybe Wanrong really used some dirty means to enter the palace?" Qiwen said calmly.
Su Diya was scared and angry. She stared at Qiwen's smiling face, wishing she could tear it apart.
But she didn't dare. Her father was dead, and now her brother had succeeded to the throne. He must be hoping that she would die too so that someone else could enter the palace.
After a long time, Su finally softened, lowered her eyes and bowed slightly, "I accept your kindness, Madam."
"That's right, Wanrong, don't worry, as long as you are down-to-earth, the Queen will not treat you unfairly."
Qiwen returned the gift, handed the food box to Baicao, and then left.
The master and servant returned to the house and opened the box. They discovered that there were vegetables on the upper layer and five purses on the lower layer, which were full of silver, about fifty taels.
This is twice her monthly salary.
Sudiya was extremely humiliated, but she couldn't give it up, she still wanted to live.