Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Spring in the Palace

The Queen Mother's mind was filled with memories of the past. Everything in the past seemed like a dream, it was so long ago.

Thinking of the past, the Queen Mother was slightly startled, and she suddenly had doubts. Niu Hulu had been subjected to too many conspiracies and calculations in the harem of the previous emperor, and she had long been tired of the endless disputes.

When the emperor ruled the country, he wanted to be known for his benevolence, kindness, and filial piety. As long as he cared about the people's opinions, he would hold Niu Hulu in high esteem and would never treat him harshly.

Her eldest daughter had married far away, and in order to avoid more regrets, she refused to give up power just to keep Hengti by her side.

Her wish had been fulfilled.

Then why did she still want to keep Shu Fei under tight control?

The Empress Dowager will always be the Empress Dowager, the Emperor's mother.

What’s the point of her clinging to the power of the harem and the previous dynasty?

This was not a power that belonged to the empress dowager, and an emperor who had been in power for many years would never give it to her, and she could not get it even if she fought for it.

The emperor would hand over the power that belonged to the empress dowager with both hands for the sake of his reputation for filial piety.

So what is she doing?

The Queen Mother suddenly had many doubts in her heart. She didn't know why she was fighting for power, as now was the time when she should be enjoying her retirement.

Niu Hulu suddenly woke up from the predetermined track of fate, and she looked at the traces she had left. She found it funny that these inexplicable things were actually done by her, a person who had been in the deep palace for decades and was extremely tired of the struggle.

She actually thought that there couldn't be two masters in the harem, so she tried to divide the queen's power?

Is she crazy?

The Queen Mother was a little puzzled as to what was going on.

But before she could think deeply, Concubine Xian presented her with the soup she had made herself, and the empress dowager's attention returned to the food in front of her.

She had more important things to do right now.

Ruyi was holding a soup bowl, which contained the fragrant soup she made herself. The emperor liked her fragrant soup the most, so Ruyi was confident that she could offer it, perhaps it would suit the empress dowager's taste.

She opened the soup bowl and scooped out a bowl with a jewel-encrusted gold spoon.

A small sweet white-glazed bowl filled with yellow water in which pink and white petals float.

Ruyi smiled slightly, holding the still steaming bowl of soup, and introduced it to the Queen Mother, "Queen Mother, this is the Anxiang soup."

"I took winter plum blossom petals, washed them, dried them, and then pickled them with honey and sealed them for a year. Then I rinsed them with hot water, and the plum blossoms stretched out in the water, just like when they were in full bloom."

"Your Majesty likes the fragrant soup made by me the most." A hint of shyness appeared in front of Ruyi. She pressed her thumb against the edge of the soup bowl, supported the bottom of the bowl with her index and middle fingers, and stretched out the remaining two fingers.

She confidently and calmly brought the bowl closer to the Queen Mother and said, "Please taste it, Queen Mother."

As the fragrant soup got closer, the empress dowager saw the plum blossom petals floating in it, the dark yellow soup, and the golden armor on Ruyi's claws, swaying around.

The Queen Mother was silent for a moment. She didn't really want to drink this fragrant soup. Firstly, it didn't look good and the color was dark, which made people not want to taste it. Secondly, she also wanted to teach Ruyi a lesson to show that she was aware of Concubine Xian's little trick.

This kind of back and forth between us is what the Queen Mother wants.

The Queen Mother did not look at Ruyi, but just stared straight ahead. She had a bored look on her face and said without interest, "I don't think this soup is worth tasting."

Ruyi lowered her head. She was the emperor's concubine, and the empress dowager was her elder. Because she had to fulfill her filial duty as a subject, Ruyi could only speak again and persuade, "Empress Dowager, the emperor praised this soup highly, and hoped that the empress dowager could taste it."

The Queen Mother frowned, glanced at Ruyi unhappily, and said, "The Emperor has seen too many fine things, so he was attracted by something that can't even be called exquisite."

The Empress Dowager's words are a double entendre. She was referring to both the bowl of soup in Ruyi's hand and the person holding the soup in front of her.

Besides, the fact that the emperor liked the Anxiang soup had nothing to do with her. Did she think that she could show off because she had won the emperor's favor and let the empress dowager force her to drink it because it was the emperor's favorite soup?

The Queen Mother did not want to lose her composure, so she did not say anything like that. She just sat on the chair, as if she did not see Concubine Xian.

Ruyi looked a little embarrassed. She felt wronged and didn't know why the Queen Mother treated her like this. Could it be that the Queen Mother's heart was so cold?

At this moment when everyone was feeling a little awkward because the Queen Mother was unhappy, the water in Ruyi's heart was accumulating. Her spirit turned into a little person, looking at the water with self-pity.

Ruyi tried to maintain her composure as a royal concubine, not wanting to show her weakness in front of everyone, so she just held the bowl of soup with a smile.

Ruyi had just used boiling water to mix candied plum blossoms to make a fragrant soup. The soup pot was extremely heat-preserving and did not let the soup cool down at all, so the bowl she scooped out was boiling hot in her hand.

She could only use her index and middle fingers to drag the bottom of the bowl alternately to slightly relieve the pain of the boiling water.

However, what is puzzling is that the soup is almost made of boiling water, and now it is so hot that Ruyi can't hold it in her hands. So she is not afraid of scalding the Queen Mother by presenting it to her like this. If the Queen Mother is scalded by her gift, she will definitely punish her.

This is asking for trouble.

Seeing that the Queen Mother was unhappy, the Queen hurried out to smooth things over, saying, "Noble Concubine Xian knows the Emperor's taste, and she wanted to let the Queen Mother have a taste. If the Queen Mother doesn't like it, then Noble Concubine Xian, you should take this away."

Ruyi seemed not to have heard it and still held the bowl. There was a layer of mist on her eyes and she stared at the ground stubbornly to show her sincerity.

The Queen felt unlucky in her heart. Concubine Xian always gave her a hard time many times. She was so presumptuous and meddled in her affairs.

Her heart turned cold and she stopped speaking up for Concubine Xian. Since Ruyi was willing to hold the hot bowl, then let her do it.

The scene in front of her was so familiar that the empress dowager felt as if she had transformed herself and returned to the time of the late emperor's funeral.

Langya also tried to comfort Ruyi in the same way. The late Huixian Imperial Noble Consort Gao Xiyue, who also wanted to gain the Empress Dowager's attention, immediately stood up and accused Ruyi of being rude.

Now, all the concubines in this room are trembling with fear, and there is no one who can make her feel at ease.

Alas, after a few decades, the situation has changed... The Queen Mother felt a little sad. However, at this moment, someone suddenly spoke.

"The Queen Mother has already said that she has no appetite for this thing, so why does Concubine Xian keep serving it to her? Are you trying to use filial piety to threaten the Queen Mother?" Yan Wan said in a clear voice.