Chapter 2659
Being an Empress Isn't Easy 5
A line of eunuchs and palace maids, each carrying a large food box, quickly placed nine dishes on two tables, along with two plates of desserts and a bowl of staple food. The remaining dishes were placed on the third and fourth empty tables. Surprisingly, even empty tables were moved over to continue setting out dishes.
Xi Ning reminded, "Your Majesty, please choose what you like to try. You may eat no more than three bites of each dish, and the table may be cleared away after a maximum of nine bites. There is no need to worry about waste. The dishes that have been eaten will be sent to various places according to the rank of the concubines. If Your Majesty remembers a particular concubine, you may bestow an extra dish upon her."
Looking at the queue behind him, Liu Cheng estimated there were still twenty or thirty tables left. Even if each table only ate nine bites of the food, it would be enough to fill him up.
But this approach is a bit puzzling: "What's the point of this?"
Xi Ning explained, “Many disputes in the palace involve poisoning. By doing this, those with malicious intent will not know which dish His Majesty will eat. Distributing the dishes His Majesty has eaten to each palace will also prevent anyone from poisoning the concubines, and those who use His Majesty’s dishes will feel that the Emperor is benevolent. There are few people in the palace now, but there will be more dishes after the selection of concubines.”
Liu Cheng found it somewhat interesting, but still felt there was a problem: "What if someone has dietary restrictions?"
You wouldn't ask if someone dislikes something; who would dare say they dislike something the emperor has eaten?
"You can state your dietary restrictions and register them to avoid them. If you feel that His Majesty's food is not to your liking, you can build your own small kitchen and prepare it in the palace. However, you will have to bear the consequences yourself if you suffer from any poisoning or discomfort. Don't blame others for poisoning you."
Xi Ning also pointed out a benefit: "The practice of 'tailoring food to those in power' has always existed in the palace. Many who are neglected may not only receive meat, but also food that is leftover or even spoiled. Now, by taking food from His Majesty's meals and sending it to him, at least we can guarantee that it will be edible. If those who are favored find His Majesty's food unpalatable, they can use their own money to eat their own food, which will also eliminate any underhanded skimming. Let's try it for a year or two first, and if it works, we'll do it that way. At least His Majesty can eat with peace of mind."
Thinking that he could reduce the risk of poisoning, Liu Cheng nodded: "Let's give it a try."
In this world and in this era, oil is a precious commodity, and deep-frying is rare. Meat is mainly prepared by roasting and boiling, as well as grilling, pickling, and air-drying. Normally, even the emperor only has nine dishes and one soup, but now, with tables full of food, he can enjoy a wider variety of flavors.
Sometimes when you find something you like, it gets taken away after only three bites, which leaves you feeling a bit unsatisfied.
When he was about 70% full, Liu Cheng stopped and said, "That's enough, I'm done eating."
Xi Ning also stopped, had all the food and snacks removed, and took Liu Cheng outside to see.
The palace servants outside the hall placed the food into food boxes one by one and sealed them. Xi Ning slowly explained, "The food boxes will be placed randomly, ensuring that each box contains four bowls of food, with at least one plate of meat and a staple food. Consorts and above will receive four boxes, concubines can choose three boxes, ladies below the rank of Jieyu will receive two boxes, and ladies below the rank of Meiren will receive one box. The quantity is like this for now. Anyway, the amount we receive is enough for the staff assigned according to ancestral rules. If there is not enough staple food, we can make some ourselves."
Many women entering the palace brought their own personal maids, sometimes even four or five maids and servants. This meant that from then on, they either had to serve according to their rank and the ancestral rules, or they had to pay out of their own pockets to support themselves.
Currently, to ensure people's livelihood, grain prices are regulated. Even the lowest-ranking palace maid who has just entered the palace receives 12 bushels of grain per month. Assuming each person consumes one kilogram of grain per day, this is enough to feed thirteen or fourteen people. Not to mention the concubines who receive even higher monthly stipends, they can easily afford to support them.
As for the quality of the food in the food boxes, since they were all sealed, it was all a matter of luck. The maids who went to get the food would choose whichever one they wanted.
Liu Cheng asked, "What about the Empress Dowager...? Filial piety is the way, and we cannot allow our subjects to have a chance to find fault."
When Liu Cheng learned that the Empress Dowager was still the same as before and that he didn't need to follow the younger generation, he was finally at ease.
Liu Cheng took the Empress's hand and said, "Yu'er, I feel bad for you having to think so much. With you here, I can relax and get away from these domestic matters."
Xining wanted to pull her hand back, but this action by the royal couple, who had married at a young age, would surely reveal something.
He could only smile and feign gentleness and virtue: "Your Majesty, my health has been declining day by day these past few years. I was thinking of delegating some tasks to Consort Shu. Anyway, with the Empress Dowager around, I can take better care of the young children." This was for the best. In the past, the Empress had been too controlling, keeping him under her thumb. If it weren't for the fact that her maternal family, the Duke of Zhenguo, guarded the northern border and kept the southern border in check, he would have had no choice but to comply.
"There's one more thing I'd like to discuss with His Majesty." Xi Ning smiled sincerely: "With the newcomers coming in, shouldn't His Majesty also consider raising the ranks of the older sisters?"
Liu Cheng raised an eyebrow. He had the same thought, and was just wondering how to bring it up, fearing that the Empress would make a scene if she did. Then, the Duke of Zhenguo and the Wang family lineage would quote classical texts in court, crying and saying that the Duke of Zhenguo's generations of service to the country had been hard-won... They couldn't scold him, they could only coax him, which was annoying just thinking about it.
Now that they've actually offered it themselves, I couldn't be happier.
Liu Cheng tentatively asked, "What would be a good promotion for the Empress?"
Xi Ning replied, "Your Majesty can decide on this matter. With new concubines coming in, the sisters will inevitably feel uneasy. Raising their ranks will put their minds at ease and allow them to serve Your Majesty more diligently."
Liu Cheng was overjoyed, but his face remained largely expressionless. He simply held the Empress's hand and sighed twice, "My Empress is virtuous; what more could a husband ask for!"
Xi Ning told Qiu Shi to pick four food boxes at random and take them back. Sitting in the phoenix carriage, she rubbed her cheeks with her fingers. She had been faking a smile for so long that her flesh felt a little sore.
Liu Cheng let her come closer, massaged her shoulders, and complained that it was too light and he should tap her instead, which was actually a kind of test.
He was testing her to see if she harbored any resentment or what her emotions were. If she were the original owner of the body, she would have already started pounding her shoulders, taking the opportunity to vent her dissatisfaction, let alone just patting them.
Currently, the Wang clan is among the most powerful clans, but they will not rebel. A thousand-year-old clan, with emperors coming and going. If it weren't for the fact that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is a collateral branch of the Wang clan, the legitimate Wang clan would look down on marriage alliances with the royal family.
Liu Cheng did not believe in any elixirs of immortality and lived to be over sixty years old.
Liu Cheng is currently in good health and skilled in martial arts. The only ones capable of fighting him one-on-one are the Duke of Zhenguo and his heir. The Duke of Zhenguo is blindly loyal; he wouldn't rebel even with a knife to his throat.
With the original owner's limited intelligence, she shouldn't even dream of becoming Wu Zetian or the empress herself. Furthermore, she didn't want to wait until Wu Zetian was over sixty to ascend the throne, and given Liu Cheng's long life, she might have to wait until over seventy to have a chance of becoming emperor.
I can't win in a fight, and I can't win by outsmarting anyone, so let's just give up. Poisoning and seizing the throne isn't a solution; it's a dead end. The only way is to find another path: to become a wise empress!
The next day, Xining got up early, dressed herself up, and sat in the main seat, watching the concubines from various palaces bow and greet her.
The leader was Consort Xiao, a member of a collateral branch of the Lanling Xiao clan, whose father was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
Next to her is Cui Zhaorong, who holds the rank of concubine and is from a branch of the Qinghe Cui clan. Her father was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
These two were originally concubines of the Crown Prince. They fought for so many years without ever figuring things out, and ended up killing their respective sons, with only one princess surviving each.
Originally, the beauties and talented women only came once when they first entered the palace; otherwise, they weren't even qualified to come. But since there were so few people, they all came, making a total of four.
The original owner of this body was quite adept at creating a lively atmosphere. She only had two of the four imperial concubines and nine concubines, and four others of lower rank—that was the entire setup of the three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines. In the sixteen years of her marriage to Liu Cheng, she had a total of six concubines. She felt a little embarrassed about it. (End of Chapter)