When Fu Yuheng set off for Shen Qingwan's palace, she was sitting at the desk reading a book seriously. The golden sunlight leaked through the window and fell on her soft hair, casting a halo on her facial features, making her whole body warm and gentle.
Seeing Shen Qingwan like this made him stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he raised his eyes and met the man's gaze, and then he calmed down.
Fu Yuheng suddenly felt a little uncomfortable because he saw her admiring him so obsessively, and coughed lightly a few times.
"Your Majesty, your servant pays homage." Shen Qingwan had come back to her senses, put down the book in her hand, stood up and stood beside the chair.
"What book are you reading?" He walked over, casually glanced at the book on the table, and sat down on the chair.
She lowered her eyes and sorted out the scattered books, saying calmly, "I just found some books to kill time when I had nothing to do."
Fu Yuheng did not intend to delve into this. He nodded calmly and changed the subject. "I came here today to ask you something."
"Your Majesty, may I ask." Her voice was cold, but much softer than before.
Fu Yuheng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "What do you think of the Mongolian princess?"
She frowned when she heard this, not surprised, as if she had guessed it. She had heard a lot about the criticisms in the palace recently from Xiao Man, but she had never made any comments on it. Now that the emperor asked, she could only speak out her thoughts.
"The Mongolian tribe gave the princess to His Majesty in order to establish good relations with our dynasty. Our dynasty is a country of etiquette and your Majesty is wise and intelligent. You don't need to test me on this difficult question." She spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, without any compliments or flattery. The last sentence even sounded playful to Fu Yuheng.
Shen Qingwan raised her eyes to meet the pair of eyes filled with appreciation and slight surprise, and continued, "In order to show the etiquette of this dynasty, we cannot neglect the princess, but the emperor does not have to condescend. Then, we will follow the Mongolian envoy's words and make the Mongolian princess a concubine, and give her a title. It will not embarrass the emperor, nor will it be picked out by others."
Although she said it so easily, she felt a little lost in her heart, and she couldn't tell where this loss came from.
Hearing her speak so openly, in line with the principle of impartiality, without any flaws in her words, Fu Yuheng felt indescribably lonely. He couldn't help but ask, "What about you? From your perspective, are you dissatisfied?"
From the perspective of Concubine Xian, his woman, would she be unwilling to be with the Princess of the Mongolian Clan? He actually had a silent expectation in his heart, looking forward to her answer.
Shen Qingwan was stunned, then smiled and shook her head. What complaints or dissatisfaction could she have? "Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and there are three thousand beauties in the harem. Why should I be dissatisfied? As long as I can share the worries of the Majesty, it's fine."
She threw his question back, leaving Fu Yuheng speechless. He felt a little uncomfortable but couldn't put it into words.
Fu Yuheng did not stay long. The two of them had nothing to say. He sat for a while and then left.
Accompanying the Holy Emperor, she only hoped that she could keep her original intention and not let her heart be lost in these red walls and green tiles, which was not worth it. Moreover, her mind was not entirely on these loves now, she just hoped to help her father and bring some blessings to the people.
After being promoted to noble lady, Tuoba Min also knew that it was Shen Qingwan who said something in front of the emperor, so she thought that Shen Qingwan had developed a good impression of her, and she felt very happy. What's more, as one of the four concubines, she was also favored by the emperor. If she could curry favor with him, how many people in the palace could touch her
Tuoba Min carefully selected the hairpin and made special preparations before going to Shen Qingwan's courtyard, bringing back some Mongolian trinkets.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Concubine." Before coming, Lan Ruo taught her how to perform etiquette and how to address the Empress in the palace.
Shen Qingwan glanced at her indifferently, with a calm look, without contempt or joy, as if she was looking at an insignificant person. But when she heard that the virtuous concubine in the palace was cold and not good at getting along with others, Tuoba Min felt relieved.
"Get up." Although she only glanced at her, Shen Qingwan could tell that this woman was not an ordinary person.
"Your servant bows to thank the virtuous concubine." Instead of standing up, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed to her.
Shen Qingwan was startled and frowned slightly. She didn't expect that she would suddenly do such a gift, and she was even more puzzled about her purpose.
"I thank the Queen for promoting you." She knew that she had said something in front of Fu Yuheng that allowed her to enter the palace smoothly, otherwise she might not even have a position until now. She just didn't know if she had misunderstood.
Shen Qingwan looked at the woman in front of her. She had a pretty face and was somewhat attractive, but she was not likable.
She had understood what Tuoba Min meant. It turned out that it was for her position. She did this only for the sake of the dynasty, and it had nothing to do with her.
She put on a smile that didn't reach her eyes, glanced at the woman who was still kneeling on the ground, and didn't ask her to stand up, "Why do you say such things, my lord? You are the princess of the Meng clan, you have an extraordinary status, so you are naturally blessed."
She doesn't take credit for it and doesn't want to have too much communication with her.
Seeing Shen Qingwan talking to her, Tuoba Min felt proud. Although she was cold to her, she still had to give her some face and said a few words.
She never thought that this was related to her identity as a princess of the Mongolian tribe. After all, that identity could not bring her glory.
"These are the little gadgets I brought from the Mongolians. If Your Majesty doesn't mind, I'll give them to you." As she said this, she placed the little gadgets in front of Shen Qingwan as if she were presenting treasures.
Those trinkets were of peculiar workmanship and were hard to come by in this dynasty, but she was not someone who coveted these trinkets. She waved her hand and said, "Your Excellency, there is no need to be polite. I do not like these things. You can keep them for yourself."
She didn't want to owe Tuoba Min a favor, not to mention that she didn't know what her intentions were.
"Your Majesty, do you dislike my little toys that are not presentable?" Tuoba Min looked aggrieved and stared at her innocently, but Shen Qingwan remained indifferent.
To her, this was just a woman's affectation, something she had seen many times in the harem. She had lost her temper, but she couldn't show it easily on her face, "My noble lady, please get up."
Tuoba Min, whose legs were numb from kneeling, stood up immediately after hearing this. She had complaints in her heart but couldn't say them out loud. Besides, Shen Qingwan probably said these words to her because she liked her, right
She thought happily in her heart, and became bolder, "Your Majesty, please keep it, otherwise I will feel uneasy. These are not valuable things, just consider them as a token of my love."
She persuaded Shen Qingwan a few more times and she couldn't refuse again. Not wanting to make things awkward for both of them, she accepted it.
Seeing that she accepted Tuoba Min, she was very happy and wanted to get closer to her. However, Xiaoman saw that her queen was unwilling and found an excuse to send her away.
As soon as Tuoba Min left, Shen Qingwan asked Xiaoman to give the small accessories she left behind to the people in the palace. She was not at ease using these things.
Tuoba Min was still unaware that she thought Shen Qingwan had different feelings for her.