After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 21 I Can Hear Your Heart's Words

Shen Shixi was in a hurry to come back because there was another matter to attend to: organizing a team-building activity during the holidays.

Rewards should definitely be the top priority. After the leaders have bestowed so much wealth, they can't just feast themselves while the people below can't even get a sip of soup. That would definitely cause discord between superiors and subordinates.

Shen Shixi was also willing to give up her share. She gave each of the six people she trusted to twenty taels of silver, the four second-class palace maids with high performance scores twelve taels of silver each, and the rest eight or five taels of silver.

This is already the department with the best benefits in the entire palace.

That's not all. Shen Shixi sent Chao En and Chao Yu some perfumes she had made before, one small bottle for each of them.

Don't be fooled by the small amount; just a drop on your body will keep the fragrance going all day.

The top notes are refreshing grapefruit, the middle notes are gentle jasmine, and the base notes are calming iris, lingering around you. It's much better than incense.

Because of the physical abuse they suffered, eunuchs always had a body odor, and fearing that their masters would find it offensive, they had a greater need for spices.

Spices were a luxury item, and ordinary eunuchs couldn't afford them.

The perfume was more appealing to the two of them than the twenty taels of silver, much to the envy of the eunuchs below.

This was the first of its kind in the entire palace.

The benefits and perks at Zhaoyang Palace are truly amazing.

Lan Ying and Lan Tan each received a pair of pearl earrings, which Shen Shixi had chosen from the gifts. Since they were made in the imperial palace, they were definitely of high quality, and the two of them were very happy.

Shen Shixi told Bai Ping and Bai Kui to each pick their favorite pearls from the box. "If you can't use them in the palace, keep them. You can use them to show off when you get married after leaving the palace. At worst, they'll be hard to find outside."

"This servant doesn't want it, and I have no intention of getting married in the future," Bai Ping refused outright. "Even the Empress Dowager and the Empress receive only so much. Only a fool would want to bestow it upon us servants."

"You still dare to call me crazy? Really, you're so spoiled!" Shen Shixi wasn't angry.

Bai Ping and Bai Kui grew up with her since they were little, and later followed her all over the country, experiencing life and death together.

Shen Shixi picked out two pearls for each of them, and told them to take the extras to the Shanggong Bureau. "Have them make three sets of pearl headdresses for each of me. Make sure they have enough money, but make sure they look nice. Tell them not to waste my things. Keep these four for yourselves, or I'll crush them."

Bai Kui grabbed it. Such a good thing, to say you want to crush it is really not a good idea!

In Qian Yuan Palace, Li Fude came in to report that Consort Shen had not had breakfast. "The Imperial Kitchen accepted a bribe from Consort Jin today and did not prepare the meals for Zhao Yang Palace with care."

It's not just a lack of preparation; it's clearly annoyance and frustration.

But they are all His Majesty's concubines, so what can Li Fude say?

To put it simply, it all points towards Zhaoyang Palace.

"Give her death! Issue my decree: Consort Jin is stripped of her title and demoted to the rank of Talented Woman," Li Yuanke said, frowning.

"yes!"

Well, why not just take the perfectly good sunny path instead of courting disaster!

When Consort Jin received the imperial decree, she cried until she went blind. The promotion she had worked so hard to gain by serving the emperor was gone, and now she was at the same rank as Shen Shixi. She didn't regret it too much, but she hated Shen Shi so much that she wanted to vomit blood.

Li Yuanke arrived in the evening. He had not yet had dinner, so dinner would naturally be served at Zhaoyang Palace.

Zhaoyang Palace was bustling with activity. The three people in the small kitchen were wrapping zongzi under Bai Ping's guidance. The zongzi were made with millet and shaped like bamboo tubes. Shen Shixi had someone soak glutinous rice, prepare red dates, red bean paste, cured meat, and salted duck eggs yesterday, and had them wrap triangular zongzi.

Chao En led people to make a statue of the Celestial Master riding a tiger carved from calamus and pith, while Lan Ying led people to decorate it with pearls, jade, poisonous insects, water chestnut leaves, sunflowers, and other decorations. Lan Tan placed a large golden vase with sunflowers and pomegranate flowers in the hall.

Shen Shixi followed Bai Kui and used five-colored silk threads—blue, white, red, black, and yellow—to braid a five-colored rope. They had already braided a pair, and strung them with five different colored beads: obsidian, white pearl, gold bead, red agate, and green jade.

Everyone in the hall was very busy, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

When the people below saw the Emperor arrive, they wanted to announce his arrival, but Li Yuanke waved his hand and went straight in. He walked up to Shen Shixi, who was holding up a pair of braided five-colored ropes and comparing them; one was large and the other small.

The smaller one fits her perfectly, but she doesn't know who should wear the larger one.

"What are you doing?"

Shen Shixi was startled by the sudden sound. "Your Majesty, did you come without a sound just to scare me? Or did you want to eavesdrop on whether I was talking badly about you behind your back?"

Li Yuanke thought to himself, "Do I need to eavesdrop? I can hear everything you're thinking."

"You're spouting nonsense again!" He pinched her cheek, and Bai Kui curtsied and quickly withdrew. Li Yuanke sat down beside her. "Who did you write this for?"

"It's not for His Majesty anyway!"

Despite her words, she tied the larger one to Li Yuanke's arm, looked at her wrist with satisfaction, and then handed the other one to him.

Li Yuanke smiled and put two identical five-colored ropes on her wrists as well.

She played with Li Yuanke's hand, saying, "Your Majesty's hands are so beautiful, you mustn't take them off."

"Wearing this thing to court too?" Li Yuanke raised his wrist. "If the court officials see it, who will get scolded, me or you?"

"Can't I just cover it with my sleeve? Ha, if you want to take it off, give it back to me!" Shen Shixi tried to grab it, but Li Yuanke held out his hand, out of her reach. "Tsk, so temperamental. Didn't I vent your anger for you today?"

He was referring to the matter concerning the imperial kitchen.

Shen Shixi knelt on his lap, giving up if she couldn't get it, and leaned on his shoulder, scoffing, "To be a concubine?"

"If not for you, then for whom?"

"Is the Imperial Kitchen cooking only for me? If they're going to poison me, are they going to kill me? His Majesty is doing this for His Majesty, it has nothing to do with me, and I won't accept this favor!"

"Tsk, you think you're so clever!" Li Yuanke pulled her close, bit her lip, and said, "You ungrateful wretch!"

【You are, your whole family is!】

Li Yuanke laughed in anger, pinching her chin. "You dare to curse me in your heart? I won't let you get away with this!"

Shen Shixi broke free, snuggled into his arms, rolled her eyes, and said, "I'm hungry, I want to eat!"

"All I've been thinking about is your belly!" he said, giving Shen Shixi's belly a squeeze. It was so soft. He then pulled her close and took a deep breath. "What's that smell? Where's it coming from?"

"Since it's homemade, His Majesty won't use the incense!"

"With eight hundred schemes in your head, how can you not be exhausted!" Li Yuanke slapped her butt.

Shen Shixi clutched her bottom, looking at him with a resentful expression, her eyes slightly red, appearing very aggrieved and alluring. Li Yuanke felt a surge of heat in his heart. "I'll deal with you later!"

The small kitchen cooked some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and brought over a plate of them. They were white glutinous rice zongzi, some filled with red dates, some with red bean paste, some with pork, and some with salted duck eggs. There were only a few kinds, both sweet and savory.

Shen Shixi ate one of each and was so full she couldn't eat anymore. Li Yuanke was eating it for the first time and found it very novel and liked it very much. He asked, "How much is left? Send some to Cining Palace."

"There's still plenty left. Your Majesty, please instruct Eunuch Li to deliver it! If Your Majesty's Eastern Kitchen needs it, I, from the small kitchen, will go and give you instructions."

She was just a lowly concubine; it was not her place to curry favor with the Cining Palace.

"Have someone give some guidance; add this dish to tomorrow's palace banquet."

Li Yuanke instructed Li Fude.

When Li Fude delivered the zongzi to Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager enjoyed them very much. Upon learning that the Emperor had sent them, she asked, "Where will His Majesty have dinner tonight?"

Li Fude learned that, "He dined at Consort Shen's place in Zhaoyang Palace. His Majesty liked Consort Shen's ingenious ideas and specially ordered them to be sent to the Empress Dowager as a tribute."

"I like them too!" the Empress Dowager ordered. "Select some of my jewelry from my youth and send it to Consort Shen."

The Empress Dowager was a princess of the previous dynasty and a favored concubine of the current dynasty. Now that she is the Empress Dowager, she naturally has many good things in her possession and is very generous with them.

Shen Shixi seemed pleased, but Li Yuanke felt she didn't like it that much, so he pinched her nose and said, "You're complaining about the good stuff from Mother's place?"

"Your Majesty, please don't slander me. What do I have to say about you?" She opened her mouth and bit Li Yuanke, landing a bite on his shoulder.

Li Yuanke winced in pain, hissing as he nearly dropped her. His anger flared, and he carried her toward the inner palace.