kvmb Chapter 346 Meeting the Saint
Chapter 346 Meeting the Saint
Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi returned to the capital in December.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Prince of Guangling's mansion, and the steward Hu Jin'an immediately came forward to greet Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan with utmost respect.
He had received the news early in the morning and was waiting at the gate of the mansion to greet Zhao Yi. His purpose was to make a good impression on Zhao Yi and hope that Zhao Yi would not remove him from his position as steward.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, the underground heating system is running in Lanxue Garden, and two pots of hot water are boiling in the large boiler connected to the bathroom. The meals in the kitchen are all ready."
Hu Jinan asked, "What are your initial arrangements?"
Zhao Yi replied, "Take a bath and wash up first, then have the kitchen serve the dishes."
"Yes." Hu Jinan readily agreed, and then sent a message to the palace: "This morning, the palace sent an imperial edict exempting you from entering the palace today. Rest well at your residence and come to the palace to pay your respects tomorrow."
Zhao Yi was the heir apparent. When he returned to the capital from his official duties in the provinces, he was required by custom to enter the palace to pay homage to the Northern Qi emperor.
The Northern Qi emperor exempted them from entering the palace today, demonstrating the grace of a benevolent father.
Zhao Yi nodded slightly, not trying to guess the Northern Qi emperor's thoughts.
Hu Jinan had been observing Zhao Yi's words and expressions, trying to figure out what she was thinking. But Zhao Yi was taciturn, never showing her emotions, and her expression remained indifferent, revealing nothing about her.
He turned his gaze to Shen Qingtan beside him and asked, "Your Highness, how do you intend to arrange the eunuchs and palace maids in the manor?"
These words reminded Shen Qingtan that when she first arrived, she did not know who the masters behind the eunuchs and palace maids were, so she did not meet any of them and instead tested the waters first.
Afterwards, news came that Zhao Yi had "died of illness." She played along and had no intention of arranging for the eunuchs and palace maids to be on duty.
She shifted her gaze slightly to the steward who was good at performing: "I'll leave this matter to you to arrange."
Hu Jinan's expression suddenly changed. The eunuchs and palace maids in the mansion were all people who were not easy to mess with.
The princess entrusted him with solving such a thorny issue.
Shen Qingtan asked, "Is it difficult?"
"No...no trouble at all..." Hu Jin'an's mind raced, realizing this was a test from Shen Qingtan. If he handled this matter well, he would be a person of name and standing before his master in the future: "I will definitely handle this matter properly."
Shen Qingtan smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Hu Jinan gave an awkward smile: "This is my duty."
He was very perceptive and didn't mention arranging for palace maids and eunuchs to come and introduce Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan.
Hu Jinan escorted his two masters into the main courtyard and then hurriedly left to run errands.
Shen Qingtan stood by the window, watching Hu Jinan leave.
Zhao Yi stood beside her: "You want Steward Hu to settle the people sent by the palace, thus disrupting the palace's plans. And also to test his background and see if he's a useful person?"
The eunuchs and maids sent from the palace were specifically there to serve the two of them closely, undoubtedly leaving spies around them.
Hu Jinan had been staying at the mansion to guard it, and on the surface, he had no connection with the people in the palace.
If he had no master behind him, in order to gain a foothold in the Prince of Guangling's mansion, he would definitely follow their wishes and marginalize the eunuchs and palace maids.
If the nobles in the palace are dissatisfied, Shen Qingtan will have something to say.
They deliberately pretended that Hu Jinan was a steward appointed by a noble person in the palace, and then entrusted the affairs of the mansion to Hu Jinan.
Then, taking the opportunity to express gratitude to the benefactor, they assigned him a steward from the Guangling Prince's mansion. He was very efficient and easy to manage.
Even if the important person is dissatisfied with Hu Jinan's actions, they will not use this as an excuse to punish him.
After all, the Northern Qi invited them to the capital in order to restrain the Great Zhou, and they would do some superficial work.
If Hu Jinan had powerful connections who deliberately arranged for the palace eunuchs and maids to reside in the main courtyard, Shen Qingtan could use this as an excuse to cause trouble and eliminate them all.
"If the eunuchs and maids sent by the palace are not dealt with as soon as possible, I will feel uneasy." Shen Qingtan smiled slightly. "Before you were not in the capital, it was inconvenient for me to take action against them. Now that you are in the capital, I feel that I have something to rely on and do not need to worry about anything."
"Do whatever you want, don't hold back." Zhao Yi looked at Shen Qingtan's gentle, smiling eyes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with his fingertips: "I'll cover for you."
"Then go take a bath first." Shen Qingtan took out clean clothes from the trunk and stuffed them into Zhao Yi's hand: "I'm hungry."
Zhao Yi's eyes were filled with helplessness. He placed the clothes in Shen Qingtan's hands, then carried her around the waist and headed towards the bathroom.
"Let's wash together to save time and have dinner earlier."
"..."
-
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Shen Qingtan woke up and rang the bell by her bedside.
Liuyue and Tingxue came in to help Shen Qingtan get up.
"Your Highness, Steward Hu has settled the eunuchs and palace maids. Some have been assigned to purchasing, and others to stewardship. These are all lucrative positions, but they cannot interfere with the affairs of Lanxue Garden or the front study, and the people in the palace cannot find fault with them."
Liu Yue retrieved the princess's crown and robes that the Imperial Household Department had sent the previous night and helped Shen Qingtan put them on, saying, "This Steward Hu does have some tricks up his sleeve."
Shen Qingtan wasn't surprised. If Hu Jin'an hadn't been a very principled person, he wouldn't have treated her with such respect when she first came to Northern Qi.
"Manager Hu is so capable, he has saved us a lot of trouble." Shen Qingtan sat in front of the bronze mirror, watching Liu Yue apply a box of rouge to her face. She raised her hand to stop her: "There's no need to put rouge on my face, just apply some fine powder."
Liu Yue understood immediately, put down the rouge in her hand, and started to do Shen Qingtan's makeup again.
Shen Qingtan slowly rose to her feet, wearing a gold-embroidered robe with cloud and phoenix patterns and a nine-phoenix crown on her head, exuding an air of elegance and nobility.
His face was deathly pale, devoid of color, and showed signs of exhaustion from the long journey.
Shen Qingtan looked at herself carefully in the mirror, and only after confirming that her makeup was perfect did she go to the palace with Zhao Yi to meet the emperor.
Because of the previous news of Zhao Yi's death, the Northern Qi emperor posthumously conferred titles upon Zhao Yi and Princess Yizhen, and his name has been recorded in the imperial genealogy.
Now that Zhao Yi has returned alive, the palace will not hold a grand ceremony to bestow titles and rewards upon them; instead, they will be invited to the palace to pay homage to the Emperor and Empress.
The carriage stopped in front of the palace gate. Zhao Yi adjusted her hair ornament, his fingers inadvertently brushing against her cheek, leaving a trace of fine white powder on his fingers.
Zhao Yi gently wiped the powder off her fingers with a handkerchief and warned, "Lin Yi died at my hands. Consort Shu will probably make things difficult for you. Be careful."
Shen Qingtan nodded: "I know what I'm doing."
The two got off the carriage and each boarded a small sedan chair to go into the palace.
Zhao Yi went to meet the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Shen Qingtan then went to meet the Empress.
The sedan chair stopped at the entrance of Chang Le Palace. Shen Qingtan stepped out of the sedan chair and saw a palace concubine alighting from her palanquin, looking down at her.