Looking at the Empress who was full of expectation, the madam moved her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something. But when she saw the bright smile on her face, she held it back and just said softly, "Yes, Your Majesty."
As formal dressing was not needed at night, the madam just made the Empress an simple but elegant Han Yan Braid and insert a purple jade hairpin with a few pear flowers hanging at the bottom of the tassels. After doing her a light but delicate makeup, the madam help her put on a light purple court dress with a small pear flower patterns, and a white gauze dress outside, which made the Empress look graceful and attractive.
The madam smiled at the woman in the mirror and said softly, "Your Majesty seldom wears such clothes. Your Majesty look much younger in them, much more beautiful than Lady Shu."
Hearing this, the Empress smiled for a while, but with a bit of disappointment, "Even if I look more beautiful than Lady Shu, so what? His Majesty has seen all kinds of beauties. Lady Xiang was the most beautiful one among the imperial concubines. Her appearance was probably incomparable in the world. Although Lady Rui is not as beautiful as Lady Xiang, she has a unique charisma no other ladies possesses. If they two stand together, people will first be attracted by Lady Xiang, but their eyes will linger longer on Lady Rui.
After a long pause, the Empress smiled again, "However, there is only one stunning woman in His Majesty's heart."
Although the Empress didn't say who the one was, the madam got it and fell silent.
After dressing up, the Empress stood up and walked to the outer hall. It was almost time for dinner. The Empress asked the madam to check how it was going in the kitchen.
After the dinner was ready, the Empress sat in the outer hall and waited. She was wondering how long it has been since His Majesty last came to Weiyang Palace? One month? Two months? Maybe longer...
After a while, a voice came from o
"Lady Shu has had a poor health and become weaker after staying in Wuyan Palace for a long time. She needs the warm jade to keep her warm."
After a pause, Xia Huanyu continued, "I've heard that you ordered someone to find for carving shops in Jin City a few days ago? What for?"
Hearing this, the Empress suddenly became vigilant. She smiled and said softly, "My father's 60th birthday is coming. When I was thinking if there was any surprise gift, it struck me that my father mentioned he hadn't found a satisfactory ink slab since he gave his to my brother. Then I decided to give him a Duan inkslab as his birthday gift, but the stone produced in Duanxi was really difficult to find. I heard that many craftsmen who liked to carve words on the stone might have some in their hands, so I sent someone to ask around."
These words sounded reasonable. Duan ink slab was the best among all the ink slabs and the stone was indeed hard to find.
However, after hearing the words of the Empress, Xia Huanyu looked up at the Empress with a bit of coldness in his eyes. "Really? I didn't expect that."
The Empress didn't understand what Xia Huanyu meant. She looked at him in a daze. It was not until then that Xia Huanyu smiled and said, "I have never known that you have ordered someone to look for craftsmen..."