webnovelfull Chapter 114 Er Qing is moved
Chapter 114 Er Qing is moved
Zhao Fangyu served in the imperial court as he wished, but as he had just started working, he did not see the emperor often. Most of the time he followed his aunt in the tea room to learn the emperor's favorite tastes.
She is no longer a female official, but a palace maid serving tea. Although she has a rank, it is only reflected in her monthly salary.
The general job is to prepare various kinds of tea in the tea room and make all preparations in advance so that as long as His Majesty wants to drink, it can be used as soon as possible. From morning to night, the fire in the tea room is like the eternal lamp in the temple, which is never extinguished day and night.
Zhao Fangyu's craftsmanship is no worse than that of the female officials who left the palace before. The only thing she lacks is her understanding of the emperor, so she is still exploring everything.
The job of a tea boy is not hard, and he has more free time at night.
There are now three palace maids serving tea in front of the emperor, one during the day, one at night, and one on rotation. They serve the emperor, and every aspect is taken care of countless times. The advantage is that they only serve the emperor and don't have to worry about other things.
They are not the palace maids who make the beds. The palace maids who make the beds have the chance to become the empresses. Serving tea is the opposite. They are more likely to be the ones who get spoiled. They rarely see the emperor and are even less favored by him, so the palace maids who serve tea are generally not troubled.
However, the female officials of the previous batch had reached the age to leave the palace, and the emperor had the grace to let them leave. In addition to the one who had already left the palace, there was also a semi-retired tea-serving maid from the previous batch who was teaching them the emperor's preferences. Everyone called her Aunt Fangruo.
The palace maid who served tea in the same batch as Zhao Fangyu was named Fang. She was a relative of Fang Sishan - Fang Erqing.
Fang Erqing is older than Zhao Fangyu, and has also been eyeing the errands in front of the emperor. He was only brought in by Fang Sishan when he saw an opportunity.
She has a relatively gentle personality, and behaves in a similar manner to Zhao Fangyu, but is more playful. When she is on duty, she likes to wear flowers and joke, and she also likes to laugh and joke with others when she is not on duty.
All the guards and eunuchs in front of the emperor liked her.
Zhao Fangyu, on the other hand, was a little less likable. Compared to her, he was not as versatile as her. Instead, he seemed like a fool, covering his ears and mouth, concentrating on figuring out how to make tea.
"It's snowing heavily outside. Remember to walk faster when you go back. I stepped on it when I came here, and now it's all wet."
Fang Erqing was talking about shoes. The palace maids in front of the emperor all lived in single rooms. Zhao Fangyu lived next door to Fang Erqing, so Fang Erqing's reminder was just right for Zhao Fangyu.
"Come to think of it, I just came to the duty room, and I met Mr. Pei from the Southern Pacification Office on the way."
Fang Erqing's face couldn't help but turn slightly red, not just because of embarrassment, but also because of the wind and snow outside.
Zhao Fangyu nodded and pretended not to hear. She didn't care what Pei Yan said. She was just worried that the wind and snow outside were too strong and it would be bad if the umbrella was blown away.
Zhao Fangyu had nothing to clean up, so he cleared the things on the stove bit by bit and waited for Fang Erqing to cook new ones.
It is neither early nor late now, and His Majesty is about to have dinner. This is a perfect opportunity for the two palace maids who serve tea to take over their shift.
Zhao Fangyu was thinking about bringing a cloak tomorrow, but Fang Erqing was thinking: "Come to think of it, you will be fourteen after the new year?"
Zhao Fangyu nodded, walked outside and stretched out his hand to feel around, but before he could even stretch out his hand, he was chilled to the bone by the biting cold wind.
It was such cold weather. Fortunately, I had paid the eunuch to deliver food to me. Otherwise, I would have to go to the imperial kitchen to carry the food box myself.
After receiving the silver, the eunuch was naturally quick to do things. Zhao Fangyu estimated that he could barely have something hot to eat, so he just wanted to go back quickly before it got completely dark to save some charcoal.
After arriving in the imperial presence, Zhao Fangyu could no longer contact Meng Yanzhen. The close relationship between the maids in the harem and the imperial presence was not good for both of them. Without Meng Yanzhen, Zhao Fangyu's life would inevitably be more difficult.
In winter, the palace maids had limited charcoal fire, so Zhao Fangyu chose to heat the meal over keeping warm.
It was not easy for the palace servants to have a bite of hot food. Even those serving in front of the emperor only got food warmed with hot water. It was freezing cold, so the hot water would cool down before it even reached the imperial garden.
Just as Zhao Fangyu opened her umbrella, Fang Erqing in the room stopped her and asked her with a wink, "You are already fourteen, didn't your family tell you to prepare anything for you?"
Zhao Fangyu knew that she was asking whether her family had arranged a marriage for her, so she replied calmly, "I entered the palace early, so I don't know about these things."
Fang Erqing clicked her tongue twice: "Look at you, you don't want to do a good job and come to be a maid in front of the emperor."
Zhao Fangyu laughed when he heard this and glanced at her: "Sister, you have such a good family background, why don't you ask Fang Sishan to find you a good and leisurely place to stay?"
When Zhao Fangyu came before the emperor, she was a bit stubborn. Fang Erqing had figured her out within a few days, but she didn't dare to provoke her easily. It's just that marriage is like a woman's second life.
Fang Erqing was trying his best to get into the imperial court so that he could find the best and most respectable marriage when he returned home.
Zhao Fangyu is one of the people she compares herself to. Besides her, there is also Aunt Fangruo who is about to leave the palace.
Zhao Fangyu is a little more special. Others don't know, but she knows that he has a powerful background, and it is said that he is secretly involved with the Jinyiwei.
Late at night, Fang Erqing kept thinking that Zhao Fangyu's job was probably not legitimate. He felt proud of himself but also tried to please him, which was very contradictory.
"I'm just asking. You are good-looking and young, why are you coming to the palace instead of staying at home?"
This question was really presumptuous, almost asking by name, "Aren't you here to be the prince's consort? Why are you serving tea in front of the emperor?"
Zhao Fangyu pointed to a purple clay teapot beside her and said, "Sis, if you want to talk to me, you should focus on the task at hand first, and don't eat the leftovers and then think about giving me a share."
Fang Erqing hit a hard nail and the joy on his face faded. Seeing Zhao Fangyu walking into the heavy snow with an umbrella, he snorted coldly and returned to sit on the small bench.
What he was thinking about was Pei Yan, the stunning and picturesque man who had just appeared on the palace road.
Fang Erqing had never seen many men who were more handsome, more impressive, and more manly than Pei Yan.
Although Pei Yan is a little older, he is the only one left in his family after his family members died. He is handsome and capable. Fang Erqing really can't understand why Zhao Fangyu would look down on such a good man.
It's a pity that Pei Yan didn't like her. Otherwise, with Pei Yan's ability, he would have directly begged her in front of the emperor, and her life would have been so happy and glorious in the future.
Jiang Qianchi, the 22-year-old deputy director of the Southern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei, was defeated by him. Now the position of commander-in-chief is vacant. Although he is the deputy director, there is not much difference between him and the commander-in-chief.
The more Fang Erqing thought about it, the more she felt that the imperial guards who had joked with her a few days ago were not as good as Pei Yan.
She couldn't help but adjust the small pearl flower on her head to make herself look more gentle.
Her aunt said that Zhao Fangyu was a very gentle person in the past, but she changed after being imprisoned.
There is no reason for a man like Pei Yan to like a tough guy. He must still like gentle women.
Fang Erqing in the tea room was thinking about how to win Pei Yan's favor. Zhao Fangyu, who had gone back to rest, was thinking about whether he should use charcoal fire to make a pot of sugar water tonight.
When the weather is cold, I like to eat something sweet.
Fortunately, the welfare of the imperial concubine was good. Except for the shortage of charcoal, everything else was easy to deal with. Even people were willing to help her wash her clothes.
Zhao Fangyu's personality was not considered flexible enough by the people in front of the emperor, but in terms of the emperor's attitude, it was just right.
"I came to the Imperial Court to serve His Majesty, not to choose a groom for myself. Why are you so naughty?"
The chief eunuch knocked on the young disciple's head with a Buddhist dustpan and thought that the boy was still stupid. Although he had no roots, he still held on to the thoughts of a man in his heart.
"Your Aunt Runyi is not easy to get close to, but when she was around, when did she ever let you guys eat melon leaves?"