bookcurios Chapter 119 Your good days are ahead
Chapter 119 Your good days are ahead
Zhao Fangyu was kneeling upright. When he heard the question from His Majesty, he immediately kowtowed and slowly replied, "Wuyi tea itself will not make Your Majesty get angry. On the contrary, Wuyi tea has the effect of improving eyesight, improving thinking, and refreshing the mind."
"The tea is good, but Your Majesty has been using Wuyi tea for the past few days. As the year is coming to an end and you are busy, the amount of tea you use is several times more than usual. It is natural that you will have trouble sleeping at night."
"It is easy to get angry when you have trouble sleeping at night. When I was young, I drank too much of my mother's strong tea. I didn't sleep all night. The next day, I got a boil on my mouth. I drank a lot of medicine to treat it. Because I was thinking about myself, I asked the imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital to prepare an extra portion of bamboo leaf fried Longjing for Your Majesty."
"Green tea and light bamboo leaves have the effect of clearing away heat and removing internal heat. Use light bamboo leaves and mountain spring water that has been stored for three months to boil to remove the strong taste, and then brew Qingqian Longjing tea. You can get the benefits of both the effect of clearing heat and removing internal heat without leaving any bitterness."
The emperor reviewed memorials day and night and liked strong tea the most because it had a good refreshing effect.
But the emperor had to review memorials day and night, stay up late for too long, and eat too much meat, so it was inevitable that he would get irritated.
Haven’t you seen that Eunuch Qian has boils on his mouth?
The emperor nodded. This statement was considered to be a reasonable explanation. There was no need to pursue the rest. It was not bad to have such intention.
He casually pointed to the plate of pastries on the table and said it was a reward for her.
Zhao Fangyu kowtowed again to express his gratitude before coming out holding the plate of golden jade cake that the emperor had used once.
Xiao Quanzi was outside in the cold wind, hunching her neck. When she saw Zhao Fangyu coming out with a plate of cakes, she was happy for her.
Several young eunuchs nearby also saw it, exchanged glances secretly, then lowered their heads and put their hands away, standing in the snow to do their job.
Zhao Fangyu put the snacks into the lunch box and walked back to the duty room. Before he arrived, the news had already reached Erqing and Fangruo. In front of the duty room, Erqing and Fangruo, wearing light blue palace dresses, stood in the wind and snow, watching Zhao Fangyu approaching step by step with an umbrella.
Er Qing was indignant. The two of them were working together, but Zhao Fangyu got the reward from His Majesty first, which clearly put him above her.
When she first came to the imperial court, who wouldn't say good things about her?
As a result, in just half a month, he first coaxed Xiao Quanzi and the others with a few bottles of frostbite ointment, and then he used some unknown means to get the reward from His Majesty...
Er Qing was so angry that his hands were shaking, but he forced a smile and joined Fang Ru in congratulating Zhao Fangyu.
Zhao Fangyu's smile was as bright as the red plum blossoms outside the window. She was bright and beautiful, but she didn't wear makeup every day, and pretended to be mature and dressed in an old-fashioned way. Now she is a little girl, with red lips, white teeth, and eyes like bright stars. Zhao Fangyu looked better in the same light blue palace dress than them.
The happier Zhao Fangyu smiled, the more dazzling it seemed to Erqing.
"You have always done a good job, so you deserve the reward."
Back in the house, Zhao Fangyu distributed some of the golden jade cakes awarded by His Majesty to Fangruo and Erqing, still smiling brightly: "I got the reward because of my aunt's good teaching. I will also give my aunt a share of this reward."
Er Qing groaned in dissatisfaction: "But I am relying on my aunt for help, otherwise how could I use this imperial gift of cake?"
Zhao Fangyu's smile did not diminish, and his chin slightly raised, not as soft as usual: "I got the reward, of course, everyone in the teahouse has contributed. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the heart to do those things."
Zhao Fangyu's words were flawless, and he kept smiling as he looked at Erqing's slightly jealous eyes.
Erqing is stupid and timid, just like Fangyun at home. He is short-sighted and you don't need to worry about him too much.
Such a person is neither good nor bad. Even if you put a knife in her hand, she still doesn't know how to kill.
Just like the slugs that crawl across the windowsill after a rainy day, they are not poisonous, but they will pop up from time to time to disgust people.
Fang Ruo also laughed and held Zhao Fangyu's hand: "You have always done a good job as the waiter. There will be many opportunities to be rewarded in the future."
"We serve the emperor, so we naturally take his Majesty's mood into consideration. You did a great job today."
The palace maids in front of the emperor kept in touch with each other and most of them knew what was going on, and everything was kept tacit.
Your Majesty specifically sent someone to ask because Zhao Fangyu and Erqing have only been here for a short time and you are worried that things are too lax in your presence.
If Zhao Fangyu could hold on for another two years, such a thing would not have happened.
Zhao Fangyu nodded and shook Fangruo's hand in a friendly manner: "It's all because of my aunt's good teaching. I was so scared just now that I kept staring at the crack in front of me and didn't dare to move. When the people came out, I almost knelt in the snow."
"Don't worry, His Majesty is just asking a few questions." Fang Ruo rubbed Zhao Fangyu's head affectionately, as if she had little experience. "Wait two years, it won't be like this. But you can't relax either. People in front of the emperor should know how to behave."
Zhao Fangyu nodded. Erqing, who was standing beside him, curled his lips slightly as he saw the two of them looking as if they wanted to hug each other.
"By the way, how did you make the bamboo leaf omelette? Tell me, and I will give it to His Majesty tomorrow."
Fang Ruo and Zhao Fangyu's expressions remained unchanged. Zhao Fangyu glanced at Fang Ruo and said, "It's just light bamboo leaves boiled in mountain spring water, and then brewed in Longjing tea. It's not a rare thing."
Now that this thing has been exposed, it would be difficult for Zhao Fangyu to hide it even if she wanted to. It would also be easy for Erqing to report it to Eunuch Qian, accusing her of disregarding the emperor's health.
This thing tests one's skill, it's not a rare item, so there's naturally no need to hide it and give others a chance to criticize you.
Fang Ruo looked at Er Qing, who was complacent as if he had obtained a magic weapon to win, and then looked at Zhao Fangyu, who had already taken it indifferently. She couldn't help but pat Zhao Fangyu's hands twice.
"You are a sensible child. What is yours will not run away."
With Fangruo's words, after Fangruo leaves, the position of leader will most likely fall to Zhao Fangyu.
After seeing the two off, Zhao Fangyu sat in the tea room, savoring the Jinyu cake bit by bit.
The fine craftsmanship produced in the palace is complicated and difficult to replicate or see among ordinary people.
The taste was indeed good, but it was a bit greasy if you ate too much. Zhao Fangyu picked up the tea leaves and made a pot of tea. On a snowy day, he drank the hot tribute tea and ate the snacks from the dragon table. Seeing the mist rising from the tea stove, he felt that he was one step closer to his goal.
The first bird to stick its head out gets shot, and it will be difficult to hit her because she is the first bird to stick its head out.
Your Majesty put down his pen amidst the heavy snow.
It happened to be Zhao Fangyu's turn to be on duty at the New Year's Eve banquet. His Majesty rarely remembered the fried bamboo leaves she made, so he asked the concubines to have a taste of it to scrape off the greasiness from the banquet.
The Third Prince's mother, the Imperial Concubine, took the lead in rewarding her with a bag of plum blossom silver coins, and many concubines followed suit. All in all, the rewards were more than her annual allowance.
Er Qing was angry all night and came to work with red eyes the next day. Zhao Fangyu went back to rest, and then he remembered the plum blossom cream that had been stored in the cellar for many days. As today was the first day of the new year, he took out a small jar and gave some to everyone he knew, even Eunuch Qian.
This was originally intended for Fangruo, but now that she has the silver, there is naturally no better gift than the silver plum blossom nude that the imperial concubine personally presented.
Fang Ruo looked at the bag of silver coins and couldn't help laughing, saying that she had good intentions.
"Just wait, your good days are yet to come."