To Be a Mighty Empress, Or Not to Be - C101
When Chen mama walked past Shi Anran, her eyes were filled with praise. Just now, she seemed to be eating with her head lowered, her actions graceful and dignified.
The first night Shi Anran came to the Imperial Palace, she did not sleep at all. The crescent moon hanging by the window seemed to be accompanying her, and did not fall for a long time.
The next day, she would be facing a new round of tests early in the morning. There were probably not many who would be able to stay, but it was only for poetry, so Shi Anran was not worried at all.
“Young master, you can’t say anything when you’re in front of the emperor later. If you make the emperor unhappy, that would be bad.” Xiu Er spoke in a low voice, so that both of them could hear each other.
Shi Anran naturally understood this logic, and nodded her head to answer: “I understand.”
Chenyue Hall was the place where the Consort Candidate was being tested. Originally, they thought they would be disappointed to see the Emperor sitting on a chair, covered by a crystal curtain. They could only vaguely see a figure, but who would dare to stare at it?
Shi Anran was pushed to the last row, which agreed with her original intention.
“The emperor is busy with his affairs, so he’s not coming himself!” The one who spoke was a woman, which was extremely surprising, even Shi Anran did not manage to react at all.
Eunuch Liu cleared his throat: “This is Imperial Noble Consort Lan. Young masters, please pay your respects!”
“Greetings Imperial Noble Consort Lan!” After being stunned for a moment, an orderly and clear voice resounded within the Hall of Chenyue.
Li Ruolan nodded with satisfaction, and raised her chin, sweeping across all the Consort Candidate in front of her. “All you sisters should know that being able to be chosen by the emperor is not a simple matter, what I want to tell my sister is how to behave.” The meaning behind her words was, you’d better give me some of your responsibilities. Don’t come and fight with me for the emperor, otherwise, she won’t be polite.
Shi Anran laughed coldly in her heart. Finally, she had met her nemesis in her previous life once again. She faintly lowered her eyes and listened to Li Ruolan’s words, knowing that they were completely irrelevant, and also conveniently beating them up with her words. Presumably, the Emperor doted on her very much, otherwise he wouldn’t have given such an important matter to the Imperial Noble Consort Lan to do?
“Alright, I have nothing to say today. Little Sisters, please go back first. I will have someone pass on the message!” Li Ruolan waved her hands lazily and opened the curtain as she walked out.
She was dressed in luxurious and dazzling golden palace clothing, a light blue tasseled at her waist, her skin was as smooth as snow, her eyes were as clear as water, her exquisite face had a faint smile on it, it truly caused the Consort Candidate s to be stunned. So this Imperial Noble Consort Lan was actually so beautiful. No wonder he could get the emperor’s favor.
Shi Anran kept her head down and did not look at her. On the other hand, Li Ruolan did not waste any more time on them. Everyone seemed to heave a sigh of relief, afraid that they would offend this imperial concubine before even meeting the emperor. What should they do then?
After returning, Xiu Er said, “The reason Imperial Noble Consort Lan was able to obtain the emperor’s favor was because she had some methods up her sleeves. They were only lowly palace maids, and they had not been in the palace for long. If their master’s success was great, they would naturally be able to follow him and lead a good life.
“Xiu Er, since you are one of my men, I will not let you suffer any further.” Shi Anran’s words had already been said very clearly, so she believed that she would make it clear.
Hearing that, Xiu Er bowed: “This servant is willing to follow little master!”
On this day, the emperor was leading his imperial concubine in the imperial garden to admire the flowers. The Consort Candidate followed closely behind him. This greatly disappointed them, but in their hearts, they knew that power and status were the most important, so why would they care how ugly the emperor was? He could only silently say these thoughts in his heart.
“Your Majesty, what do you think of this White Peony?” Li Ruolan’s every frown and smile was perfect, she really knew how to curry favor with others.
How could a grown man like flowers? However, since his beloved concubine liked flowers, he agreed with her. “It’s really pretty, but it’s not even the slightest bit as beautiful as his beloved concubine.”
Women like to listen to nice words, let alone these words from the mouth of the Supreme Nine Five Supremes? If it was any other woman, she would probably be grinning from ear to ear, but this Li Ruolan was a special case. She only smiled lightly and brought Qingcheng along, “Your majesty would make chenqie happy!”
Li Ruolan weakly leaned on his side, playing with the emperor’s fan in his hands. Not only was the emperor not angry, he had a doting look, which really surprised all the Consort Candidate, and caused them to become even more vigilant of the Imperial Noble Consort Lan.
“Which one of you can make tea?” The Emperor said unhurriedly as his gaze swept across the group of Consort Candidate.
All of the Consort Candidate s looked at each other. They were all young miss of an official family, their fingers would never touch the Yang Spring Dew, how could they brew any tea? No one spoke for a long time, and the emperor’s expression turned slightly ugly. At this moment, he saw a young girl take a step to the side, “Reporting to the emperor, this little girl understands.”
“Come here …” The Emperor held out his hand to her.
Hearing that, Shi Anran walked over with her head lowered, but didn’t grab the emperor’s hand, and blessed herself.
The Emperor’s brows slightly creased, but he wasn’t angry. His gaze swept over the tea set. “If you make me satisfied, then I’ll reward you greatly!”
“Yes sir!” Shi Anran skillfully washed the tea leaves and soaked them in boiling water for a while before pouring them all out.
Li Ruolan was instantly displeased. “How dare you pour the emperor’s tea down?”
As the Consort Candidate was feeling proud, Shi Anran unhurriedly explained: “In reply to Imperial Concubine, this is called washing tea, and during the process of drying the tea leaves, they would inevitably be stained with dust. After the tea leaves have been boiled for the first time, they have already dispersed. At this time, if you add in boiling water and soak for a while longer, you will be able to taste a different flavor. ”
Hearing this, Li Ruolan had nothing to say. She could only shut her mouth and glance at Shi Anran in displeasure. After offending the Imperial Noble Consort Lan, how will you be able to win the emperor’s favor in the future?
The emperor did not say anything, but took the tea from Shi Anran’s hands. He lifted the lid and took a sniff, and the aroma of the tea entered his nose. After blowing on the tea and taking a sip, his face revealed a joyful expression. He put down the teacup and asked, “How long have you been learning the art of making tea?”
“In reply to the Emperor, my father was fond of tea, so this young woman started studying at eleven or twelve.” Shi Anran said in a light voice.
“Whose daughter are you?”
Shi Anran replied politely: “My father is Shi Yu!”
“So she is the daughter of the Minister. No wonder …” “Very good, very good …” The emperor said two excellent sentences in succession, but it made all the girls’ faces change.
After returning to the Storage Hall, Eunuch Zhao brought a group of palace maids over. He smiled at Shi Anran and said, “This servant has come under the orders of the Emperor to deliver a reward for young master, why aren’t you thanking me, young master An?”
“Anran thanks the Emperor for his bestowment. Long live the Emperor!” The other Consort Candidate s looked at her as if they were looking at a fox spirit.
Xiu Er looked at the jewelry and brocade in front of him, and said happily: “This servant congratulates little master!”
What’s the point of congratulating me for that? Looking at the Consort Candidate’s envious eyes, Shi Anran smiled gently and said: “If you all like it then take a look, then take it!”