20demayo Chapter 282
Chapter 282
the cat was fed by someone with ulterior motives. cats could carry many things on their bodies, such as insects and powder.0
butterflies... butterflies also had powder on them!0
the black cat landed outside the tray placed by the young eunuch, and dust scattered into the wine pot. concubine ye was startled by the black cat jumping down, and the powder fell into the cups as she drank wine to calm her nerves.0
all of this wasn't enough to trigger the effects of the medicine on the emperor and concubine ye, because the imperial physician verified there was no poison in the wine.0
the butterfly wasn't poisonous, and neither was the wine, but so many coincidences happening together was quite strange.0
the timing of the black cat's appearance was also very convenient.0
and it just happened that concubine ye, who was frightened by the black cat, fell ill along with the emperor.0
wait!0
there was also that handkerchief that consort zhang lent to concubine ye to wipe her mouth.0
concubine ye said the fragrance was unique and she liked it, but consort zhang claimed it was just an ordinary handkerchief that had wrapped preserved fruits, not flower fragrance.0
could it be consort zhang?0
jiang xinyue hadn't been in the palace long and wasn't particularly familiar with many of the less prominent concubines.0
she nodded: "go invite noble lady jiang, tell her i've prepared some rare delicacies and would like her company for lunch."0
jiang xinyan's marriage crisis had been resolved - pei zhishuo had been stung by the scorpion jiang xinyue had planted, and while not fatal, he would be impotent thereafter.0
the scorpion itself wasn't highly poisonous, but jiang xinyue had applied an impotence medicine concocted by yan the imperial physician to its stinger.0
free from having to marry that lecher, jiang xinyan returned to the jiang family residence to stay with her two cousins, avoiding any speculation that she was a gift her sister had prepared for the emperor.0
"you say the imperial noble consort invited noble lady jiang to dine with her?"0
the emperor put down his royal brush and looked at the sickly wang dequan, probing: "no one came to invite me?"0
wang dequan rubbed his sore lower back and replied to the emperor's expectant gaze: "there were invitations - from noble lady liu and concubine cheng of moon-embracing pavilion, and from consort zhang of cool breeze pavilion. would your majesty like to go?"0
ridiculous!0
"she's even inviting all the consorts for afternoon tea?" the xuanwu emperor nearly broke his chopsticks while eating, gritting his teeth: "she has time to dine with noble lady jiang, time to have tea with the consorts, but no time to see me, to invite me, is that it?"0
"exactly!" tang shiliang frowned disapprovingly: "the imperial noble consort is really going too far."0
"shut up!"0
no matter how excessive she might be, only he could criticize her. the xuanwu emperor felt personally offended when anyone else spoke ill of jiang xinyue.0
tang shiliang held back his smile as he served food to the emperor: "if your majesty misses the imperial noble consort, why not go directly to the hundred flower garden? is there anywhere in this summer palace where you cannot go? besides, concubine cheng has also been invited - no one will suspect anything."0
given concubine cheng's recent favor, others would assume the emperor was going there for her.0
the emperor thought this made sense, and his eating pace quickened.0
wang dequan looked at the emperor, then at tang shiliang, wondering if it was just his imagination, but it seemed the emperor had grown much closer to tang shiliang since his recovery.0
he had served the emperor half his life and never dared to joke with him like this, yet young tang did.0
and the emperor didn't seem angry about it.0
aliali: 67484cc0c4f3f33ac476d3e9
after serving the emperor's meal and cleaning up the table, it was time to brew tea for the emperor.0
wang dequan shook the duster in his hand: "shiliang, i haven't brewed tea for his majesty for several days. today, why don't you brew this cup in my place?"0
tang shiliang raised his modest eyes, glanced at his adoptive father, and then smiled: "father's tea has always been most to his majesty's taste. my tea-brewing skills were all learned from you, weren't they?"0
despite saying this, tang shiliang still obediently followed wang dequan to the tea room.0
though the emperor possessed all the world's wealth and finest things, only wang dequan knew that the emperor's favorite tea wasn't the famous imperial golden gourd tribute tea, taiping monkey king, or wuyi mountain big red robe tea.0
instead, it was the less famous green snow bud mother tree tea, which had maintained its vitality through hundreds of years, nurtured by clouds and mist, nourished by spring dew, perfect in both appearance and fragrance.0
this secret wang dequan had only shared with his adopted son tang shiliang.0
the perfect water temperature brought out the tea's fragrance, and its color, temperature, and taste were exactly as the emperor preferred.0
wang dequan smiled slightly: "it seems you've mastered all of your adoptive father's skills."0
so, he no longer needed his promotion.0