The maidservant is too charming. I want to help her become the queen.

Chapter 12: Persuade him to treat everyone equally?

Lu Qingqing saw Shu Qing'er off and breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally enjoy her morning tea leisurely.

After returning from paying respects to the Queen at Fengyi Palace, she hasn't had time to have breakfast yet.

"Sanpang, prepare the food."

Following Lu Qingqing's order, the palace servants of Yinglan Pavilion came in one after another, each holding an exquisite food box in their hands, and placed the food in the box in front of Lu Qingqing one by one.

Since she was promoted to noble lady, Lu Qingqing's treatment in the harem has improved a lot. Not only does she have the share that a noble lady deserves, but she can also order dishes and meals on her own.

In fact, it is not just the imperial kitchen, everyone in the entire harem has a pair of snobbish eyes and a desire for wealth and luxury.

Everyone knew how much Lu Qingqing loved him, and the imperial kitchen was eager to please her. They did not dare to slack off on the daily meals.

Lu Qingqing had specifically instructed the imperial kitchen that the daily meals should focus on efficacy and that most of the ingredients should be beauty-enhancing.

The beautiful face and voluptuous body that she had finally obtained through traveling through time and space not only needed to be maintained every day with her own specially formulated skin care products, but more importantly, relied on daily meals to nourish her and take care of her body.

After all, beauty is the only weapon Lu Qingqing has at her disposal at the moment.

Erxi waited on her while she was eating and asked:

"My lady, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"Ok?"

Lu Qingqing put down the chopsticks in her hand and looked at Erxi.

The eyes that had just been filled with tears from pretending to cry regained their former clarity and liveliness, and the traces of tears at the corners of the eyes blurred the makeup, adding a hint of charming and pitiful charm.

"Erxi, you go ahead."

Lu Qingqing smiled and didn't mind. Erxi was not only her personal maid, but also a close friend in the palace who she could rely on and talk to about anything.

"When Concubine Shu was here just now, why did you tell her about the private matters between you and the Emperor? Moreover, you belittled yourself so much."

"I wonder how the other concubines will look at you after you say that!"

Erxi felt a little unfair for Lu Qingqing. It was obvious that the young lady was favored by the emperor, so why did she have to be so submissive in front of Concubine Shu?

Lu Qingqing was amused by Erxi's angry look and stretched out her finger to touch Erxi's forehead.

"Do you know what it means to be able to withstand the brunt of public opinion and to bide one's time?"

"At first, Noble Lady Shu really wanted to ask me how to gain the emperor's favor. I'm afraid it wasn't just her. Most of the concubines in the harem had the same idea. They thought that since I was born a maid, I must have a unique way of seducing people.

Lu Qingqing paused in the middle of her words, restrained her spring-like smile, and her expression became serious.

"But Erxi, have you ever thought that if I still brazenly tell Concubine Shu how I was gentle and flattering to the emperor, others will regard me as a thorn in their eyes and flesh."

“How am I going to cope with this?”

"It would be better to tell Concubine Shu directly that the emperor only sees me as a bed warmer, so that they can feel more balanced."

After hearing this, Erxi's anxious mood was slightly relieved and he asked again.

"But my lady, what if this gets to the emperor's ears? Will it affect your relationship with the emperor?"

Although Erxi had served in the palace for many years and was well aware of the intrigues among the concubines, she was, after all, just an inexperienced girl and lacked the ability to understand men's psychology.

Lu Qingqing found it interesting and couldn't help teasing her. She said with a smile, "No, have you ever seen a woman discussing with her husband what he did with another woman in the bedroom?"

Lu Qingqing knew in her heart that this Concubine Shu looked like a troublemaker. Not only would she not tell the Emperor what she had just said, she also had no chance to tell him. It would only become a topic of gossip between her and other concubines.

It would be even better if this gossip could reach the ears of the Queen.

After all, who would want their husband to be attracted to a palace maid who warmed their bed? Especially when the husband was the emperor.

"My lady, are you still going to persuade the emperor?" Erxi asked.

"Persuade, of course I will."

She told Shu Guiren that she couldn't persuade her, but who would know what she actually said to the emperor?

Honesty and trustworthiness are virtues.

But sorry, Lu Qingqing only has beauty.

……

By evening, the midsummer heat gradually faded away, a gentle breeze blew, and the gorgeous afterglow of the setting sun fell on the green tiles of the palace walls, giving the solemn and majestic Forbidden City a gentle and sparkling gilt.

In the Qianqing Palace, Li Xuansheng was discussing matters with the ministers. Eunuch Qing lowered his head, waiting motionlessly outside the palace. Harsh scolding voices were heard from the palace from time to time.

"As the Minister of Revenue, how did you plan this year's treasury budget?"

Li Xuansheng was holding the memorial of the national treasury's half-year revenue and expenditure report in his hand and was furious.

The Minister of Revenue Fang Zhonghe knelt on the ground and kowtowed, his big hat making a thumping sound and the red tassel on it becoming tangled into a ball.

"Your Majesty, it is not that I, an old minister, did not prepare the budget for the treasury well. It is that the floods in the south were severe this year, and tax collection was affected."

"Moreover, most of the expenditure in the first half of the year was used for flood prevention and relief, so the income was not enough to cover the expenditure and there was a deficit."

When Li Xuansheng heard this, his heroic brows twisted into a "川" shape.

The floods in the south are natural disasters. I have been on the throne for less than three years and the national treasury is not very rich. Flood control and disaster relief are currently a difficult problem.

He looked serious, his thin lips pressed into a line, and after a long silence, he finally spoke.

"You should step down. Resisting the flood and providing relief to the victims is a very important matter. Go and quickly draw up a disaster relief budget, and we will discuss it in court tomorrow!"

Fang Zhonghe received the order and hurriedly withdrew. After he walked out of the hall, the coldness on his back still lingered for a long time, and he shivered from time to time.

The young emperor Li Xuansheng was majestic without even getting angry. When he was furious, the cold aura he exuded made the entire Qianqing Palace look like an ice cellar. The heat outside the palace was completely ineffective here.

At this extremely solemn moment, Lu Qingqing came over with a lunch box, smiling.

She bowed slightly and saluted, "Eunuch Qing, I have specially prepared some refreshing refreshments to pay my respects to the Emperor."

The gentle warmth in the voice dissipated some of the terrifying coldness.

When He Qing saw Lu Qingqing coming, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He started serving when Li Xuansheng was still the crown prince, and almost grew up with the current emperor.

He originally thought that the queen, who was the emperor's childhood sweetheart, was his beloved, but later the concubine Shu appeared.

Just when Concubine Shu was the most favored concubine in the harem, Noble Lady Lu appeared before them.

The concubines in the palace are like beautiful flowers, blooming one after another with new ones replacing old ones.

Having a new favorite by his side should be able to calm the emperor's mind.

He Qing thought so and then went into the hall to report.

When Li Xuansheng heard that it was Lu Qingqing, he didn't even raise his head and just said coldly, "Let her in."