The most beautiful lady in the harem

Chapter 376 Mandarin Duck Spring

Seeing her like this, the Empress Dowager thought she was worried about something, so she said, "I am not trying to drive a wedge between you and the Emperor. You can go out for a couple of days and come back later, so that you two can calm down."

Qin Liuse was not unwilling, but, "Is it inconvenient for me to do this on a whim?"

The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "How could that be? I originally wanted to go to the hot spring villa, but there were many things to bring there, so the Emperor gave me a suggestion to go a little further away, and asked me to go to the Yuanyang Spring. I think it's better to go a little further away, but there is warm in winter and cool in summer, and there are more things. If you accompany me, I won't be left without a place to stay."

The so-called Yuanyang Spring, as the name suggests, means there are two hot springs in the village.

Based on these two springs, two palaces were designed and built inside the courtyard.

The palace is naturally equipped with corresponding houses, so the main hall can be used for the master to live in, while the other rooms can be used to accommodate servants and maids.

Although there are many springs in the hot spring villa, most of them are used to grow vegetables, fruits and melons. If too many guests go there, it will be inconvenient.

As Yuanyang Spring is a royal palace, it has everything it should have and is not used for growing vegetables on a large scale.

Only a small area was enclosed to ensure supplies when the master stayed in the palace. It was also unlike those hot spring villas which were only looked after by scattered farmers.

I hadn’t considered spending the winter in Yuanyangquan before because it only takes half a day’s drive to the hot spring resort and is very close to Beijing.

But if you want to go to Yuanyang Spring, it will take a whole day to walk there.

This came so suddenly. Because the Empress Dowager wanted to go with her to stay for a while, Qin Liuse, who had been idle, now had something to do. After returning to Zhaoyang Palace, she started packing her things without stopping.

Qingqing packed Qin Liuse's bag and sighed, "I don't know how long it will take for me to come back after this trip."

What Qingqing was thinking was that her master was currently having a quarrel with the emperor. If she left the imperial city, what would happen if Qin Liuse was not around and other concubines had the opportunity?

Moreover, although the Empress Dowager invited her Imperial Consort to stay for a few days, it was impossible for her to just stay for one or two days and then come back.

After all, it will take at least ten days to come back. Qingqing felt depressed when she thought about this.

Zijin took out the clothes one by one and let Qin Liuse look at them and choose. She picked the ones she liked and took them to Yuanyang Spring.

Qin Liuse sat down to eat snacks and pick out clothes, and said with a smile, "It's the Empress Dowager who invited us anyway. Since we're going, don't think about it."

If Emperor Yongjia could be seduced away so easily, then all her efforts over the past few years would be in vain.

Qin Liuse is now barefoot and is not afraid of wearing shoes.

It doesn't matter if it's Emperor Yongjia, but the two children can't go with them and have to be separated for a while, which makes Qin Liuse reluctant.

At night, Qin Liuse did not let the two wet nurses look after the children, but instead accompanied the little prince and princess to sleep herself.

Nowadays, little princesses and little princes can sleep through the night and sleep until dawn, and they are not difficult to take care of.

When she woke up the next day, she began to busy herself with preparations, waiting for the time to leave the palace.

The little prince and the little princess had no idea that their mother would be away for some time, and they were still jumping and chasing each other in the yard.

This time when going to Yuanyang Spring, Qin Liuse only brought Qingqing Zijin with him, leaving Aunt Mingyue in Zhaoyang Palace to take charge.

After all, she was a mother, and she was a little worried about the two children, so she kept telling Aunt Mingyue, "Stay away from the palace and keep an eye on the two little masters."

Aunt Mingyue naturally knew this truth, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will not let the two young masters out of my sight after you leave the palace."

In fact, Qin Liuse only said this because she was reluctant. She knew Aunt Mingyue's personality very well. Besides, weren't there secret guards sent by Emperor Yongjia watching over her?

Although there were quarrels with Emperor Yongjia, the trust was still there. As the saying goes, even a tiger will not eat its own cubs, and Emperor Yongjia was not the least bit cruel to his own children.

After having breakfast and sitting in the yard for a while, the time had come. Qin Liuse followed Qingqing Zijin to meet up with the people leaving the palace.

-

When a group of horse-drawn carriages drove out of the palace in the cold wind of late October, Emperor Yongjia and Yan Shouyu were walking out of the imperial study.

The platform of the imperial study was high. When the two of them walked to the white jade railing, they could see the Empress Dowager's entourage leaving the palace gradually going away.

Yan Shouyu looked at the convoy and couldn't help but say, "I heard that the Empress Dowager is going to Yuanyang Spring to spend the winter this year. Why is she going so far? Isn't there a hot spring villa nearby?"

Emperor Yongjia looked at the last carriage and said calmly, "Yuanyangquan is more appropriate."

When the carriage drove out of the palace gate, Qin Liuse suddenly had an idea and opened the curtain and took a look at the imperial city behind.

All I could see from afar were two tall figures standing by the white jade railing on the other side of the imperial study.

But it was too far away to see clearly, and I didn't know whether it was the Royal Guards or the Emperor Yongjia.

But it doesn’t matter. After all, we are so far away that no one can see each other clearly.

Because he couldn't see clearly, he never let go of the hand that lifted the curtain, but stared at the two people in the imperial study.

The figure became smaller and smaller until only a black dot remained. Qin Liuse then lowered the curtain and turned back into the car.

-

After a day of rolling on, we finally arrived at Yuanyang Spring.

Yuanyangquan is worthy of being a royal palace. Its structure is much more luxurious than that of the hot spring villa. It is built with blue bricks, green tiles, and carved red beams. It is located at the foot of the mountain. It is just as the palace lady said, this place is not on the mountain, so it will not be as cold as the hot spring villa in winter.

When such a large group of people arrived at Yuanyang Spring, the maids and eunuchs had already come to prepare the place, so they could check in directly upon arrival.

Although this is a branch of the imperial palace, it is located on a mountainside and has a spring. Therefore, a piece of land is built not far from the palace to raise game, chickens and ducks. In the low place where the hot soup flows down, vegetables are grown using the heat. There are not many vegetables, but they can ensure that the master's food is fresh and they can also be self-sufficient.

It was a coincidence that the first snow of the winter fell on the third day after the Empress Dowager arrived at Yuanyang Spring.

The entire Yuanyang Spring was immediately covered with snow, as if it was wearing a layer of white outer coat.

The spring of Yuanyang Spring is even fuller than that of the hot spring villa. Steam is coming out of the ground near the spring.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager lived in the temporary palace, with warm hands and feet, active body, and an especially good appetite.

Yuanyang Spring is not very big. It is built around two springs and is smaller than the hot spring villa where Emperor Yongjia took Qin Liuse to stay last time.

On the first two days after arriving here, Qin Liuse wandered around the villa, looking at every tree and blade of grass here with curiosity.

But this place is a little small after all, and there is nothing special about it except the hot springs. It is not like the hot spring villa which is located on a high place, where you can enjoy the mountain scenery from afar.

After staying there for a few days and walking back and forth a few times, there was nowhere left to go.

Qin Liuse couldn't sit still, so in order to pass the time, she started to find things to do for herself. After thinking it over, she went to the kitchen, wanting to show off her skills and cook meals for the Empress Dowager.

The winter solstice is the best time to nourish the body. Qin Liuse went into the kitchen, took a look at the ingredients in the kitchen, and felt relieved.

The old man didn't eat much, so Qin Liuse made a chestnut, jujube, mushroom and chicken soup, and a stew of yam, quail eggs, shiitake mushrooms and black fungus, as well as red date millet porridge.

The Empress Dowager was afraid of the cold and had bad teeth. Qin Liuse cooked the chicken soup until it melted in the mouth, and the stewed four fresh vegetables were also easy to chew and fragrant. When the dinner was served to the Empress Dowager's palace, the old lady's mouth was grinning.

However, when Qin Liuse and her old aunt came in with things, they were not surprised by the Empress Dowager's praise for them, but by seeing Emperor Yongjia sitting next to the Empress Dowager.

Emperor Yongjia always wore casual clothes when he left the palace, but today he came here wearing a dark blue robe with dark cloud patterns and gold weaving, a white jade crown on his head, and a black cloak inlaid with gold. He did not wear a dragon robe, but he looked noble and low-key like a young man from an aristocratic family.

The elderly digest food slowly, so the dinner was prepared long before the sun went down so that the Empress Dowager could eat it and would not feel full before going to bed at night.

And Emperor Yongjia actually appeared here at this time. Qin Liuse's heart was pounding. It would be a lie to say that he was not surprised. He didn't know what he was doing here.

But no matter how surprised he was, he still had to pay his respects to Emperor Yongjia.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Qin Liuse came to his senses after being stunned for a moment, and hurriedly walked in from the threshold to pay his respects.

Emperor Yongjia said "stand up" in a calm voice.

Qin Liuse breathed a sigh of relief, walked to the right of the Empress Dowager and sat down, serving the old lady virtuously by adding more rice and dishes. Being the chef today was indeed a bit of a show, so naturally she had to do the whole thing.

The Empress Dowager shook her head in her heart, it was obvious that the two had not yet reconciled.

If they had made peace, seeing Emperor Yongjia appear here, Qin Liuse would naturally ask him why he came here so suddenly.

But Qin Liuse only asked about well-being. She showed no joy but only surprise. She didn't ask anything else. It was obvious that the two of them had not reconciled yet.

Maybe it's true that age makes the most sense. The Empress Dowager noticed something was wrong with just one sentence.

Now, the three dishes became dinner for three people. Fortunately, there was always white rice prepared in the kitchen of this villa, so Emperor Yongjia would not go hungry when he came.

The Empress Dowager had a good appetite. She ate two bowls of millet porridge with the vegetables at once, and almost all the chestnuts in the chicken soup went into her stomach.

After eating, he said to Qin Liuse, "You are a very good cook. Before returning to the capital, you must cook a few more meals for me."

Qin Liuse's face turned slightly red. She wondered why the Empress Dowager suddenly mentioned her return to the capital... Was it because Emperor Yongjia was coming?

But Emperor Yongjia did not inform her that he was returning to Beijing, so she refused to acknowledge him. She just nodded and smiled without saying anything.

Since Emperor Yongjia had come, Qin Liuse naturally had to give the two of them some space to talk.

After dinner, he returned to the main room, sat down and drank a cup of tea, then left and went to his room to wash up.

Qin Liuse and the Empress Dowager's palace each have a hot spring pool, which are the two dragon and phoenix springs of the Yuanyang Spring.

He returned to the house, let Qingqing Zijin serve him, and went to the inner room to take a bath.

The water of this hot spring pool is directly introduced from the spring outside, so the hot spring pool is built very large, made of white marble, and is in the shape of a full moon disk.

Qin Liuse took off her clothes and got into the pond. She felt free like a fish in water.

The hot spring pool uses running water that is always flowing, so there is no need to worry about the water being unclean.

After swimming around twice, the smell of smoke that I had just been exposed to in the kitchen disappeared in an instant.

After swimming a few times, Qin Liuse returned to the pool, put his hands on the edge of the pool, wrung out a cotton handkerchief, and applied it to his face to relieve fatigue.

When the heat has almost dissipated, peel it off, twist it again and apply it again.

As soon as he took it off, he saw Emperor Yongjia sitting next to him.