The next morning when Song Zhao got up, the sunlight was obscured by thick clouds, and the cool autumn wind rolled up the first withered leaves in the courtyard and drifted into the hall through the lattice windows, falling into Song Zhao's hands.
She looked up at the gloomy sky, and an autumn rain fell down without any sign.
Today when going to greet the Empress, many consorts came late because of the rain.
Consort Chen, who had never arrived on time before, simply had Ying Xiang come back to the Empress today to tell her that she would not come.
Fortunately, the Empress had always been very generous and never cared about such things with Consort Chen. After everyone arrived, the Empress took out the itinerary she had prepared for Xiao Jingheng’s longevity banquet and shared it with everyone.
In the past when greeting the Empress, Consort Hui had always eaten the most cakes and drinks.
But today Song Zhao ate even more than her.
Consort Yin glanced at her and joked, "What's the matter with Lady Song today? She seems to have an even better appetite than Sister Consort Hui!"
Consort Hui had round bulging cheeks like a little squirrel as she looked at Song Zhao and smiled coquettishly,
"Sister Song must feel the same as me, that the desserts in the Empress's palace are especially delicious!"
Song Zhao was a little embarrassed and said, "What Consort Hui said is right. Today I saw that it was raining and I was afraid that I would miss the time to greet the Empress, so I hurried over without having breakfast. Now losing etiquette in front of you sisters, I have really made myself a joke."
"It doesn't matter. Recently the tea and pastries you use when greeting are all specialties from Consort Yun's hometown." The Empress smiled gently and pointed to the honey water in front of Song Zhao, saying,
"For example, the rhododendron honey in front of you was personally brewed by Zhi Lan, who is always by Consort Yun's side, and brought to Us every day. Consort Yun is very thoughtful. She was afraid others would not grasp the proper temperature of the boiling water and would ruin this high quality honey, which would be a waste."
When Song Zhao heard this, she knew what was going on.
She had wondered before how Consort Yun dared to accurately slip her something dirty.
After all, when greeting the Empress, everyone was eating the same food and drinks.
She couldn’t have slipped something into everyone’s tea and cakes to make the whole harem’s periods delayed and falsely pregnant together, right?
But if this rhododendron honey was personally brewed by Zhi Lan by Consort Yun's side, then the effect would be different.
After passing through her hands, she could naturally slip something to whomever she wanted without anyone noticing.
Song Zhao secretly calculated in her heart, and after drinking a bowl of rhododendron honey, she bashfully said to Consort Yun:
"The taste of this rhododendron honey is so wonderful, I’m afraid I’ve been rude to ask for another bowl."
When Consort Yun heard this, she smiled and said, "Since my sister likes it so much, I will have Zhi Lan fetch more for you to take back to your palace, and also have her teach your maids the method of brewing it, so you can drink it anytime you want in the future."
Song Zhao was overjoyed and said, "How can this be? I’ve heard rhododendron honey is extremely precious, how can I..."
"We’re all sisters, why are you being so polite with me?" Consort Yun acted very enthusiastically, and quickly beckoned Yun Shan to follow Zhi Lan to fetch the honey.
Her behavior made Song Zhao puzzled in her heart, thinking:
Consort Yun doesn't seem stupid, so how dare she openly give out honey with dirty stuff added under everyone's eyes like this?
Later, after Song Zhao returned to the palace and had Xiao Fuzi inspect the rhododendron honey, she realized that the reason Consort Yun dared to do this was not because she was stupid, but because she was extremely cunning.
Xiao Fuzi said: "Just like the boronia fragrance added to the morning dew Consort Yun gifted you last time, this rhododendron honey also contains an ingredient called 'toad liquorice'. It’s harmless when taken alone, but it conflicts fatally with brown sugar. If taken together with brown sugar, it will cause delayed menstruation in women."
Yun Shan said angrily: "After the poisoning incident last time, the imperial doctor ordered the young miss to nourish her qi and blood. It is common knowledge in the palace that the young miss drinks a bowl of brown sugar water every morning after getting up!"
It was another case of drug-food interaction, enough to show Consort Yun's mastery of pharmacology, and that she was a very cautious person.
No wonder she dared give the rhododendron honey to Song Zhao.
Because she knew that even if anything went wrong, she could still get away with it completely.
Song Zhao's delicate eyebrows rolled up some playfulness as she coldly laughed and said,
"She really thinks highly of me."
Yun Shan said, "The young miss will not drink this stuff in the future. Let's see what other tricks she can still play to harm the young miss! This slave will throw away the dirty stuff now!"
As she spoke, she hugged the honey jar and headed out.
Song Zhao called her back and said, "This stuff is so precious, it would be a pity to pour it away. Keep it, as I still have other uses for it."
*
These two days because of Song Zhao's "period", Xiao Jingheng did not summon her to serve him at night.
But for Song Zhao, Xiao Jingheng still treated her differently from the other consorts after all.
Even without spending the night together, he did not completely neglect Song Zhao.
As it happened, tonight an attendant from the imperial presence came to pass a message to Song Zhao, saying that Xiao Jingheng wanted her to have lunch with him at Chaoyang Palace tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Song Zhao ordered Xiao Fuzi, "Go to the Bird and Flower Office and get two pots of wisteria flowers they are cultivating for me."
She then took Yun Shan with her to the Imperial Garden.
After yesterday's rain, a lot of autumn dew had condensed in the Imperial Garden.
The palace maids said using autumn dew to wash your face could best moisturize the skin, so the Imperial Garden was very lively today with almost every palace sending people to collect it.
While collecting autumn dew, Song Zhao and Yun Shan saw Consort Chen's Ying Xiang in the distance.
The mistress and servant circled behind Ying Xiang about ten meters away. While collecting autumn dew, Yun Shan said:
"If this slave may say so, His Majesty still cares a lot about the young miss. Although the young miss couldn't serve him these two nights, His Majesty still thinks about you. Didn't he send someone to our palace yesterday to say he wanted to have lunch with the young miss today?"
Song Zhao blushed with shame and slapped Yun Shan on the shoulder, "Oh you, your jokes are getting more and more smooth."
They walked away laughing and talking, but the two "accidental" sentences were heard clearly by Ying Xiang.
After returning to the palace, Song Zhao got busy in the small kitchen.
Xiao Fuzi brought the wisteria flowers back from the Bird and Flower Office. Song Zhao added fresh wisteria petals when cooking, making a dessert.
Yun Shan wondered, "Is the young miss going to take this to His Majesty? But His Majesty doesn't like sweet food..."
While skillfully kneading the dough, Song Zhao smiled and said,
"His Majesty has been very busy these days with the floods in the south. This wisteria brown sugar cake is the best for nourishing qi and blood. Whether His Majesty eats it or not, at least he’ll know my thoughts."
"The young miss is so thoughtful, no wonder His Majesty likes you~"
After the cakes were done, seeing it was about time, Song Zhao took the food box and hurried to Chaoyang Palace.
As soon as she entered the palace gate, Jiang Deshun personally welcomed her to the imperial presence.
But unlike previous smiles and greetings, Jiang Deshun's face was obviously a bit awkward today.
After greeting Song Zhao past the covered walkway, he whispered,
"Lady Song, Consort Chen is also attending His Majesty at the moment."
