"Empress. Concubine Li is here." Nanny Gui walked into the room and bowed to Xiao Shushen.
"Well," Xiao Shushen said expressionlessly, picking up the tea on the table and taking a sip, "Let her come in."
After a while, Li Jieyu came in with a puzzled look on her face, "Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen."
"No need to be so polite, please sit down." Xiao Shushen used her eyes to signal Li Jieyu to sit aside, "Madam Gui, serve Li Jieyu some tea."
"yes."
Li Jieyu hesitated for a moment. She was confused about Xiao Shushen's summons, and now Xiao Shushen's expressionless face made her feel even more uneasy. But she didn't dare to disobey him, so she had to sit aside obediently, not daring to ask, but just sitting quietly with her head down.
Only after Li Jieyu accepted the tea presented by Nanny Gui and thanked her did she slowly speak, "Li Jieyu, I have always treated you well, right?"
Li Jieyu nodded and answered without hesitation: "Your Highness is kind to me, I know it and remember it. If you can ever use me, I will definitely repay you."
She nodded with satisfaction, waved her hand and asked the servants in the room to leave, and said, "Do you know what happened with Concubine Xian these past two days?"
Li Jieyu thought for a moment and asked, "The Queen is referring to Consort Xian's application to personally go to the south to help with flood control?"
Xiao Shushen nodded, her tone still calm and unspeakable, "I'm glad to know. Come here, I have something for you to do."
Li Jieyu paused, stood up and approached her, putting her ear close to her. Xiao Shushen raised her hand to cover her ears and spoke a few words to her slowly.
The more he listened, the stiffer his expression became. When he understood what Xiao Shushen wanted her to do, he said with great embarrassment: "Empress, this... I'm afraid it's not a good idea. If..."
But she saw her palm facing her, and her palm pressed in the air, interrupting her words, "I don't want to hear any reasons. You just need to tell me, are you going to do it or not?"
Li Jieyu pursed her lips and was unable to answer for a moment.
"Look up at me," Xiao Shushen lifted her face with her fingers, "You are so hesitant, are you afraid?"
Although she had concerns in her heart, she would never admit that she was afraid of Shen Qingwan, and she didn't want to leave an impression of being timid and useless in Xiao Shushen's eyes, which would make her gradually lose her footing in her camp. She could only shake her head stiffly and said, "Your Majesty, I'm not afraid."
Xiao Shushen then revealed a satisfied smile, stretched out her hand to tidy up Li Jieyu's hair, and motioned her to stand up straight, "That's all. I'll leave this matter to you, and I hope you won't let me down. You go back first, I got a lot of beautiful jewelry recently, and I'll ask Nanny Gui to send it to you later."
Li Jieyu was still in a dilemma, but she had to put on a smile and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I will take my leave now."
"Um."
Only after leaving Kunning Palace did Li Jieyu take a deep breath. Thinking about the task Xiao Shushen had given her, she felt dizzy. She raised her hand and patted her forehead, revealing a bitter smile. Forget it, there would be another thing next time around her. This is a place where interests are paramount, and she can only keep taking risks to prove her usefulness.
After returning to her courtyard, Li Jieyu had just sat down when she received a letter sent by carrier pigeon. She was a little tired, so she gently untied the paper letter, fed the carrier pigeon some food, and then opened it to read it carefully.
When she understood the contents of the paper book, her face suddenly changed. She read it again. After confirming that she had not read it wrong, she hurriedly put on the coat she had just taken off, and without taking the maid, she hurried to Shen Qingwan's yard alone.
Shen Qingwan was very surprised when she heard Xiao Ruo say that Li Jieyu came to visit. She had never had any friendship with Li Jieyu, and she could see that she was more close to Xiao Shushen. How could she come to visit her without any warning
Although it was strange, Shen Qingwan certainly would not lose her manners and asked Xiaoruo to invite the person in immediately.
"No need to be so polite. Sister, why are you in such a hurry? Is there something urgent?" Seeing Li Jieyu, who was sweating profusely and looking anxious, walking in quickly to greet her, Shen Qingwan was very surprised in her heart, but did not show any sign on her face.
"Sister, I do have an important request to make. I hope you won't blame me for rudely asking you to do so." Perhaps Li Jieyu was too anxious, and her speech was much faster than usual.
"No problem." Shen Qingwan saw that the urgency on her face did not seem to be fake, so she temporarily put down her guard and stopped talking to her. She went straight to the point, "What's the matter, sister?"
"I heard from people in the court that you volunteered to go to Jiangnan to control the floods. I beg you to take me with you." Li Jieyu lowered her head slightly.
Shen Qingwan frowned. How could this matter be so publicized by the court officials? She thought for a moment and said, "I have only applied to the emperor at this time, and he also said that he would consider it and has not yet made a decision."
"Sister, you asked to go to Jiangnan today because you must have seen that no minister in the court was willing to take the initiative to go and control the flood. Sister, you are very capable. The emperor can see that and will definitely allow you to go." Concubine Li hesitated for a moment, but still frowned and spoke.
Shen Qingwan paused with her frown still on her face, "Let's not talk about things that have not been decided yet. Since you know that even the ministers are not willing to go to the flood-stricken areas in Jiangnan, why do you insist on going to such a place?"
Li Jieyu looked up at Shen Qingwan, her eyes reddened, "To be honest, I just received a letter from my father via carrier pigeon, and learned that my family was trapped in the flooded area south of the Yangtze River, and no one came to support them. I'm afraid they will soon collapse. I want to go, just to do something for my family."
Shen Qingwan was speechless, and her expression softened after hearing what Concubine Li said. She understood and appreciated this kind of concern for her family. She thought about it and relaxed her frown, "So that's how it is. Sister, don't worry. The matter of going to Jiangnan to deal with the flood has not been decided yet. But if the emperor is willing to hand this matter over to me and agrees that sister go, I am naturally willing to take sister with me."
Hearing this, Concubine Li showed gratitude on her face, "Of course. I feel relieved after hearing your words. I will definitely go to the Emperor to tell him the reason. As long as you are willing to help take care of me, I will be very grateful."
"Since you call me sister in the palace, there is no need to be so polite." Shen Qingwan smiled at her but said no more.
Li Jieyu smiled back, and after some discussion, she left.