When the situation in the Harem shifted again, Canglan Court remained calm and peaceful.
Whether it was the exposure of the murderer who attempted on the life of the Imperial Heir, Consort Zhen being dismissed, or Noble Consort being released from confinent, and Consort Liu’s critical illness, none of these stirred a single wave in Canglan Court.
At that mont, the Side Hall of Canglan Court was extrely serene, yet there was a subtle peculiarity intertwined.
Everyone was staring blankly at a bowl of soup.
After a long while, Lian Hua sat back and asked, "What do you think it slls like?"
She hadn’t tried the ginseng soup yet.
Everyone shook their heads.
Lian Hua picked up the soup spoon, stirred it a bit, and leaned in to sll it: "It slls alright, why won’t His Majesty drink it?"
Everyone shook their heads again.
Lian Hua gently scooped up a spoonful and looked at the color of the soup: "Could it be that the soup is too thick and murky?"
Everyone still shook their heads.
Lian Hua was baffled. She studied the bowl of soup for a long ti, unable to grasp why His Majesty had it sent back.
Seeing that no one else understood either, she finally said, "Though it slls fine, I don’t know about the taste. But since His Majesty detests drinking ginseng soup, it’s understandable that he wouldn’t drink it."
After speaking, she looked around: the solemn Xiao Jizi, the stunned Xiao Linzi, and the naive Xiao Qing, none of them had anything to say, so...
She glanced again at the bowl of ginseng soup, licked her lips: "It would be a pity to throw it out, unless..."
Xiao Jizi, who was still pretending to be solemn, suddenly snapped to attention, shouting, "My lady, you mustn’t!"
"Why not?" Lian Hua pouted, putting down the soup spoon.
She hadn’t even finished speaking when Xiao Jizi guessed what she was about to do and stopped her.
Xiao Qing and Xiao Linzi were glancing sideways, looking at Xiao Jizi.
Xiao Jizi cleared his throat, solemnly reminding, "My lady, this soup is... the one sent to His Majesty from there."
So things were inconvenient to say outright; he could only gesture towards the Harem, implying it was sent from Huaqing Palace.
Lian Hua did not understand and said, "I know that. His Majesty had Xiao Linzi bring this soup back for , didn’t he?"
What does that have to do with that place!
She thought resentfully, that ti she had sent Dew Tea to the Noble Consort, and Noble Consort had offered it to His Majesty right in front of her.
Now that the Noble Consort had sent a bowl of ginseng soup to His Majesty, His Majesty had it delivered back by Xiao Linzi.
Humph, wasn’t this the cycle of karma—ginseng soup returning the favor of Dew Tea?
If His Majesty had sent it to her, then it was hers to try the Noble Consort’s ginseng soup. What was wrong with that?
Xiao Jizi still felt uneasy and painstakingly advised, "My lady, the origin of this soup is sowhat dubious. Nanny is also worried about things coming from outside. It would be better not to drink it. If you’d like so, we can make another bowl right here in our court, would that be alright?"
He wiped his sweat, his emotions mixed.
Ever since that fool brought the soup back, his lady had been fixated on this bowl of soup, always staring at it, lost in thought.
He originally thought his lady was just being jealous, especially since His Majesty had made that fool bring it back after he stumbled upon the scene of the Palace Maid from Huaqing Palace delivering the soup.
He speculated that His Majesty might have been worried that his lady would be jealous, so he simply had the fool bring it back to make a statent.
She had never expected that her master didn’t realize His Majesty’s good intentions and wasn’t put off, but actually seed eager to drink it, leaving one at a loss for words...
After speaking, he nudged Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing got the hint and quickly nodded in agreent, "Right, master, this servant hasn’t done this before, but I’d like to give it a try and see if it’s possible."
"Oh..." Lian Hua propped her chin on the table, looking at the bowl of soup, "I don’t really want to drink it that much, I’m just curious to know what kind of taste it is that makes His Majesty unable to drink it. If Nanny is worried, then I won’t drink it."
It wasn’t that she had to drink it, she was just curious and wanted to taste it.
Once, she wanted to emulate the virtuous and gentle image, preparing sothing for His Majesty to eat and drink to nourish him.
She then took the storeroom’s ledger to see what ingredients were available. Seeing that there was ginseng, she ntioned it to His Majesty, wanting to make so soup for him to drink. But when His Majesty heard it, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and she knew at a glance that he didn’t like those kinds of drinks.
She rembered at the end of the flower-viewing banquet, Noble Consort invited His Majesty to drink so lotus seed and deer antler soup, so she directly asked him if that soup tasted good.
She just rembered that His Majesty touched his nose and then a sowhat confused expression appeared, saying he didn’t rember such an incident.
Speaking of that incident, she rembered it quite clearly; although the process was a bit unpleasant, the outco was good. She received a safety buckle and a Gold Hairpin, which she exchanged for ten Gold Ingots. She would never forget that incident.
Moreover, the lotus seed and deer antler soup sounded very nourishing. Speaking so unworthy words, she felt a bit greedy rembering that scene, so she rembered it.
Thus, she described the scene to His Majesty and repeated exactly what the Noble Consort said about the soup, "Lotus seed and deer antler soup, effective for nourishing and reducing dryness, most suitable to consu in autumn."
Upon ntioning this, His Majesty finally rembered it. He just frowned and appeared sowhat at a loss for words, saying it was better not to ntion that soup.
Therefore, she also wanted to taste the soup that left His Majesty at a loss for words.
Look, now there’s an opportunity, and it’s from Huaqing Palace, the genuine source.
Everyone suddenly understood, and together let out an "Oh."
So, their master wasn’t greedy, but curious about how unpleasant the soup was.
With that settled.
Xiao Jizi imdiately suggested, "Master, how about we taste it for you, and then tell you what it tastes like?"
Lian Hua’s eyes lit up, "That would be great, then you can try it." Saying this, she passed the soup spoon to him.
This thod really killed two birds with one stone.
"As a servant, I respectfully obey," Xiao Jizi said without hesitation, bravely took a spoonful, and slurped it into his mouth, smacking his lips.
"How is it, what does it taste like?" Lian Hua, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Linzi, all three stared at him eagerly.
Especially Xiao Linzi, who swallowed his saliva, thinking, if he could taste it, he would also like to try...
No matter what it was from His Majesty and the master, he always held back, not greedy at all, but when he heard he could eat it, he couldn’t control his saliva.
Xiao Jizi while smacking his lips recollected, "It’s a bit bitter..., after a while, it seed a bit sweet again..., and at the end, just a little bit sweet..."
"Oh..." Lian Hua completely lost interest then.
This taste was just too disappointing; wasn’t it like eating dicine followed by a date?
No wonder His Majesty disliked it. Nobody likes drinking dicine, and since he doesn’t like sweet things, it was odd that he would like such a thing, and even she disliked it.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting, she had Xiao Jizi, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Linzi share and finish the bowl of ginseng soup.
Noble Consort might not like it, but the ingredients were innocent, and she could tell the difference.
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