N-A-A Chapter 220 Not making things difficult for myself, nor deigning to make things difficult for others
Chapter 220 Not making things difficult for myself, nor deigning to make things difficult for others
It was said that it was the will of Imperial Noble Consort Chenyuan, so the Imperial Household Department acted very quickly and came to announce the decree. The Empress had no choice but to let Consort Jin get up.
The three of them received the imperial decree together in the Empress's palace, and then paid their respects to the Empress before taking their leave.
The Empress did not keep them, knowing full well that the three were going to pay their respects to Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi didn't wait for the three to come and pay their respects; she hadn't even remembered that.
After returning, there were still many things to do. That bastard Li Yuange wanted to entrust the affairs of the Institute of Physics to her.
Before the imperial tour at the beginning of the year, the court issued an imperial decree that anyone from all over the country, including abroad, who had real skills and could contribute to improving farming, textiles, vehicles, weapons, and other aspects of life, could come to the capital to participate in the selection examination of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Under Shen Shixi's command, Liu Jingzhong, the Vice Minister of Works, assisted him, while Qiu Xingyan, Guo Youming, and a few others followed his orders.
Regarding the Institute of Gewu, Shen Shixi wanted to draft a general charter. At this time, Liu Jingzhong brought Qiu Xingyan and Guo Youming over to receive Shen Shixi's instructions.
"Specifically, I will draw up the general regulations, and you can just follow them when you go back to do things. Right now, there is something I need to arrange for you to do. You need to use this method to extract a material called asphalt from coke and mix it with gravel for paving roads."
Go try it and give me the results as soon as possible.
Shen Shixi handed the prepared prescription to Liu Jingzhong, saying, "This method must not be passed on. Any prescription obtained from me must not be shared. Otherwise, whatever the Emperor decides to do, I cannot protect you!"
"Your Majesty, we obey!"
The Imperial Noble Consort's words are considered an imperial decree.
Liu Jingzhong and the other two were filled with fear and trepidation. The emperor glanced at them, which was clearly a warning.
After the three left, Li Fude came in to deliver a message: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Consort Jin, Consort Yuan, and Consort Guo request an audience, saying they have come to express their gratitude to Your Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort!"
After Consort Jin was promoted, the position of Consort Chong was given to Lady Yuan.
When Consort Yuan and Consort Guo received the imperial decree, they were both stunned. They never dreamed that one day they would become the principal consorts of a palace. This was something they never dared to imagine before.
Throughout the entire process, Imperial Noble Consort Chenyuan never asked them to do anything.
Clearly, this wealth and status were bestowed upon them by the Imperial Noble Consort, perhaps stemming from the familial bond they shared back in the Prince's residence.
After the three entered, they bowed deeply to the Emperor and Shen Shixi.
"Where will you stay? Has the Empress said?" Shen Shixi asked.
This question was directed at Lady Guo and Lady Yuan. Since they were now the principal wives of the palace, they should definitely reside in the main hall.
Madam Yuan then said, "It has been arranged. I will stay in Huilan Palace, and Sister Guo will stay in Chengming Palace."
Consort Jin was originally the main palace, so there was no question of moving the palace. She was also straightforward, saying, "Chengming Palace is fine, but Huilan Palace is so far away. Wangxian Palace was just renovated, and they didn't even say who would be allowed to move in."
The emperor glanced at her, clearly displeased.
Consort Jin regretted it; she shouldn't have spoken up.
Madam Yuan hurriedly replied, "Huilan Palace used to be the palace where the Empress Dowager lived, so it's quite nice."
Shen Shixi smiled and said, "Let the Imperial Household Department tidy it up properly, and choose an auspicious day to move in. I will send someone to deliver congratulatory gifts to you later. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer."
"We, your humble servants, take our leave!" The three of them left together.
The emperor then said, "Why is this Lin woman always bothering you? Back in Bingzhou, didn't she insist on going shopping with you?"
It was the time when the woman dressed up as a man, Shen Shixi dressed as a man, and Consort Jin dressed as a lady.
Shen Shixi was busy and didn't even look up. "You're not sleeping with her, so can't she find other ways to have fun?"
"Shut up! Is that something you should be saying?" Li Yuanke looked at the person on the other side of the desk, who was engrossed in his work and clearly hadn't listened to him.
Shen Shixi is very focused when she does things, but she has a lot on her plate these days. She had only been working for a short while when the people from the Jiaofangsi arrived.
Shen Shixi then remembered that she still had people rehearsing the play, so she got up and went outside to avoid disturbing Li Yuanke. However, the man wouldn't let her, saying, "Summon him in, I want to hear it too."
[That bastard, he's got plenty of free time, treating me like a slave!]
Li Yuanke glared at her irritably, but Shen Shixi didn't see it.
The officials who arrived were the Director of the Imperial Music Bureau, the Director of the Imperial Music Bureau, and the Imperial Envoy, who brought the script.
"Your Majesty, we have been ordered to stage this play, 'Jiang Liu Ji,' and after several revisions, it is now complete. We humbly request Your Majesty's approval." The Director of the Imperial Music Bureau presented the script with both hands.
Li Fude handed it over, and while Shen Shixi was looking at it, Li Yuanke looked at it with her.
The script, prepared according to Shen Shixi's requirements, was clear and easy to understand. Shen Shixi was quite satisfied after reading it. "Very good. However, since it's a script, it needs to be moving when performed. Emotions should be conveyed through lyrics and movements. Give it a try during the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Your Majesty, we obey!"
In two days, it will be their turn to perform on stage. The three of them have prepared, but despite being so cautious, they are still very nervous and have to hurry back to rehearse.
Fortunately, the Imperial Noble Consort did not change a single word; otherwise, they would have had to memorize the script and rehearse overnight, which would have been a nightmare.
The Imperial Noble Consort is such a good person!
Shen Shixi would never do something that working people find most repulsive.
This is like someone working on a project in a past life. The project was about to go into production, but then the top leader came and found that he was not satisfied with this and that, and wanted to redo it, but the launch time remained the same. The people below had no choice but to work hard and start all over again.
Who wouldn't criticize it?
Is everything the leader says always right? Does what he favors necessarily sell well?
Bullshit, just showing off and trying to get attention.
Shen Shixi never makes things difficult for herself, nor does she bother to make things difficult for others.
After finishing her work, she handed it over to Li Yuanke, told him the key points, and then leisurely returned to the palace. The main reason was that it was too noisy here with people coming and going all the time, making it impossible to have peace and quiet.
She lay paralyzed on the couch, asking the kitchen to make her lotus root starch, sugar frosting, and osmanthus cake. She gave them the recipe and had them made. Just then, she heard that Xie Tingwan was requesting an audience.
"Don't see her, let her go back!" Shen Shixi was quite annoyed with her now.
Outside the palace, Bai Ping came over personally and said, "Your Majesty is resting now. You've had a long and tiring journey back and have many things to do, so you haven't had a proper rest. Consort, you should go back first. You're heavily pregnant, so it's best not to go out. Just be careful."
After entering, Bai Ping muttered, "She's about to give birth, what does she want with the Empress?"
Shen Shixi sneered, "A bunch of assassins! She had Li Yuanyin kill Zheng Ruojin, thinking she'd gotten her revenge, but it caused a rift between the brothers. Do you think the Empress Dowager will let her off? She was pregnant before, and now that she's about to give birth, she's panicked, afraid of losing the baby!"
Bai Ping was also speechless. "Does she possibly want the Empress to spare her life?"
"I helped them cover for me once before, and they gave me a tattered book as a congratulatory gift. They got a taste of the sweetness! They really are insatiable!" Shen Shixi said.
She had no intention of being a referee, but the brutal killing still disgusted her.
Outside, Xie Tingwan faced the water outside the hexagonal pavilion, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself down.
Bingyan panicked. "Your Highness, what should we do? How could Imperial Noble Consort Chenyuan do this? She was doing just fine before!"
"She holds a high position and wields great power now; I'm afraid I'm not good enough for her! Let's go. Even if she's not available, there are other people. I refuse to believe that in this vast harem, I can't find a way out. What's there to be afraid of? There's always a way out!"
In Fengyi Palace, the Empress heard that Xie Tingwan was requesting an audience. She didn't know why she wanted to see her, especially since she was about to give birth. But she couldn't refuse to see her. "Let her in!"