Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

After the retreat ended, the first thing Hongling and Lü'e did was prepare a sumptuous meal for Shen Jiayu.

There were dishes like braised pork belly, bird's nest and shredded chicken soup, assorted deer tendons, braised shark fin, and Longjing shrimp, all of which were meat dishes; there wasn't a single vegetarian dish.

Shen Jiayu had loved food and drink since childhood, and after two months of vegetarianism, she had already reached her limit.

There's no need to hold back now.

She had a great appetite and tried them all.

However, she also knew that she couldn't overeat, otherwise her stomach and spleen wouldn't be able to handle it.

Therefore, after eating only half full, he put down his chopsticks and gave the dishes he had barely touched to the servants.

After resting and eating, Shen Jiayu began to search for things in the inner chamber with Hongling and Lüe.

It's already May, and there are only twenty-odd days left until the Emperor's birthday banquet in early June.

She said she would prepare the birthday gift herself, and if she can't, it won't be as simple as punishing her by making her serve ink and brush.

Therefore, we must start preparing now.

After searching for a while, Hongling and Lü'e, along with Granny Meng, moved a large sandalwood box to the soft couch outside the hall.

They found the key again and opened the box.

Shen Jiayu rummaged through the bottom and found what she was looking for: a perfectly square, exquisite box.

Under the curious gazes of everyone, Shen Jiayu opened the box.

A large, smooth, white jade bead, about the size of a bowl, came into view.

Zhao Bingzhong paused for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, what is this?"

Hongling then explained for her, "It's an ivory ball."

Zhao Bingzhong was puzzled and asked again, "What's the use of this ivory ball?"

Under the candlelight, Shen Jiayu carefully examined the ivory ball, noting that it was fine, dense, and flawlessly white.

She raised her hand slightly: "This? This is a birthday gift for His Majesty."

In her childhood, she disliked learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as needlework.

But Kitahara is too cold, and it stays cold for half a year at a time.

If you can't go out often, what's a good way to pass the time?

Shen Jiayu accidentally obtained a magical ball, which had several openings and was crafted by supernatural forces.

She immediately became interested.

So she went to the Duke of Zhenguo and asked him to invite a skilled craftsman to her home to teach her.

This is truly a delicate craft. Even though Shen Jiayu is patient and talented, and has studied for several years, her skills are still not considered exquisite; they can only be described as excellent.

The piece of material she holds in her hand now is something she acquired years ago, and she has been reluctant to use it all these years.

Nowadays, if you want to prepare a birthday gift for the emperor, you need to prepare something worthy of his status, and this piece of material is just right.

Shen Jiayu played with the ivory ball for a while, then let out a heavy sigh.

Carving is not a simple, perfunctory skill, let alone carving layer upon layer of exquisite figures, flowers, birds, dragons, and phoenixes inside an ivory ball. It takes a lot of time and effort.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough time now to allow her to unleash her full potential.

Shen Jiayu carefully calculated that in these twenty-odd days, excluding the time spent paying respects each day, even if she was busy for a few days, she could still complete a ten-layered "ghost craft ball" by simply hollowing out the innermost five layers with intricate carvings and not making any complicated designs.

Perfection is indeed a good omen.

After Shen Jiayu finished her plan, she asked Hongling and Lü'e to find her carving tools.

She then asked Zhao Bingzhong to set up a small table in the study.

Starting tomorrow, she's going into seclusion to work!

As for the matter of serving the emperor in bed, Shen Jiayu was not worried.

Any day is fine, she'll be there for me anyway.

*

Unlike Shen Jiayu's composure, the concubines of the six palaces could keep track of time for her.

The two-month retreat is now over.

The concubines were all discussing when Consort Shen would finally be chosen to serve the emperor.

Is it tomorrow?

Or the day after tomorrow?

Of the newly selected concubines, she was the only one who had never served the emperor.

But when he paid his respects, he saw Shen Jiayu's calm and composed expression.

The other concubines couldn't help but wonder why Consort Shen wasn't in a hurry at all.

However, given her bad temper, no one mentioned it and everyone was secretly speculating and waiting.

After summer arrives, the weather becomes increasingly changeable.

The afternoon was sunny, but by evening the sky was overcast and a torrential downpour began.

Shen Jiayu stared blankly through the diamond-shaped window for a while.

She then perked herself up and headed towards the small study. The torrential rain was perfect for doing some work.

She had just sat down and hadn't even started when she heard Zhao Bingzhong's voice rang out at the palace entrance, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened."

Granny Meng hurried to the palace gate to check on Zhao Bingzhong. Looking at the somewhat disheveled man, she exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to you? You're soaked to the bone!"

Zhao Bingzhong didn't have time to explain much, so he simply knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, something has happened at Weiyang Palace."

Shen Jiayu's expression hardened: "Is it Ruan Cai Nu?"

Zhao Bingzhong's voice was heavy: "Ruan Cainu just had severe abdominal pain and lost a lot of blood. I'm afraid she can't save the baby. Now that the palaces have received the news, everyone is rushing there."

Shen Jiayu's eyes darkened, but she didn't say anything more, only saying, "Prepare the sedan chair, we're going too."

"Yes."

Yihua Palace is not close to Weiyang Palace; one is the East Six Palaces and the other is the West Six Palaces, requiring you to cross several long streets.

Therefore, when Shen Jiayu arrived, most of the concubines had already arrived and were waiting in Consort Li's main hall.

Shen Jiayu entered, bowed to the high-ranking concubines, and then found a seat.

She subtly observed Consort Li.

Consort Li sat in the right-hand seat, propping her head up with her hand, her face looking very unwell.

Think about it too.

If this child of Ruan is born safely, he will be entrusted to her for upbringing.

Let alone a prince, even a princess is rare and precious.

Now that it's highly likely she can't keep it, Consort Li is naturally feeling bad.

The hall was completely silent, heavy and oppressive.

The concubines each had their own thoughts.

After a while, a shrill voice rang out, "His Majesty has arrived! Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

The Emperor and Empress arrived after receiving the news.

The concubines hurriedly rose and bowed respectfully.

Pei Yan sat down in the main seat, his gaze deep and cold. He spoke in a cold voice, "Get up."

The concubines then rose.

Empress Luo asked those below, "Consort Li, why is Consort Ruan suddenly bleeding?"

Consort Li looked unwell, but she rallied her spirits and explained, "This morning, the imperial physician said that Consort Ruan's pregnancy was stable. But who would have thought that just this evening, after finishing her meal, she started bleeding? I immediately summoned the imperial physician. After taking her pulse, the physician said that Consort Ruan was showing signs of miscarriage and that we could only do our best to save the pregnancy."

Empress Luo's eyes flashed with a sharp edge: "Has the imperial physician examined Consort Ruan's diet?"

Consort Li frowned and said truthfully, "I have seen it, and there is no problem. Since Consort Ruan became pregnant, I have personally inspected everything, and even had it examined and tested by the imperial physicians before sending it to Consort Ruan."

Empress Luo remained silent for a moment, then frowned and said, "That's strange. How come the imperial physician's pulse was fine this morning, but in just half a day, Consort Ruan started bleeding?"

This matter is indeed strange.

Since Ruan Cai Nu became pregnant, her pulse has remained healthy.

The sudden signs of miscarriage are bound to cause concern.

In the silence, a voice suddenly rang out, "Could someone have tampered with it?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, including Empress Luo, and it was Qi Ronghua who had spoken.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Qi Ronghua gently touched the gold hairpin at her temple and said softly, "Perhaps someone is at odds with Consort Ruan and harbors resentment, so they acted cruelly. It is not impossible."