kingnovel Chapter 436 Check Her Sleeves for Me
Chapter 436 Check Her Sleeves for Me
The hour of Xu was about to end, and the birthday party finally came to an end.
Emperor Xiao still had some memorials to deal with, so he went to the Imperial Study first, and then would go to Concubine Shu's Palace to rest.
After everyone left, Concubine Shu ordered Jiang Suining and others to come over, including Yang Manman, a female official.
"I've met Concubine Shu."
"Everyone, get up."
Concubine Shu looked at the five people in front of her and her gaze stopped on Jiang Suining.
"I am indeed very angry about the destruction of the lotus orchid tonight, but the remedial measures taken by Lady Jiang are very much to my liking, so I will not pursue this matter any further."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, ma'am."
Several people bowed and spoke, feeling relieved.
"But I still want to give you a few words of advice. Since I have already received a reason to pray for blessings for what happened tonight, you should not go out and talk nonsense, so as to avoid any rumors."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. It is indeed Your Majesty who wants to pray for the Emperor and the Beiyang Kingdom tonight. There is nothing else to do. The palace maids and eunuchs who helped place the lanterns and sky lanterns also know this reason." Jiang Suining lowered his head slightly, speaking in a respectful tone.
She had already explained this when she made the arrangements.
"Okay." Concubine Shu looked at Jiang Suining with satisfaction, "In that case, you can go down. I will reward you later."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Several people bowed again to express their gratitude.
Just as Yang Manman was about to leave, Jiang Sui and Lu Yan looked at each other, but they did not leave.
"Your Majesty, we have something else to ask."
Jiang Suining's voice stopped Yang Manman from taking a step forward.
"Anything else?" asked Concubine Shu.
Lu Yan took a step forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, today is your birthday. Although the matter of the lotus orchid has been properly resolved, it was ultimately our negligence that caused the lotus orchid to be destroyed. Although your Majesty is generous and does not take it to heart, the four of us are still uneasy, so we have prepared a birthday gift for your Majesty to express our apologies."
Four people?
Concubine Shu glanced at the five people in front of her, and after staying on Yang Manman for a while, she looked at Lu Yan again.
"Then I wonder what gifts you have prepared?"
Lu Yan did not answer, but looked at Jiang Suining.
The latter called out to the outside, and soon a young eunuch came in holding something covered with black cloth.
Jiang Suining said respectfully: "Your Majesty, you are of noble status and are favored by the emperor. I think no matter how valuable something is, it will seem ordinary in front of you. So we got some butterflies, hoping to make you smile."
"Butterfly?" Concubine Shu was stunned. It is not easy to find butterflies in autumn.
Following Jiang Suining and the others' instructions, the young eunuch pulled off the black cloth. Inside the silver cage with fine mesh, butterflies of various colors were flying up and down, about a dozen of them.
"It really is a butterfly!" Concubine Shu looked at it with surprise, "When did you prepare this? You really put a lot of thought into it."
Lu Yan explained, "Your Majesty, this butterfly was suggested by Lady Jiang, and we ordered people to find it together. We originally wanted to wait until Your Majesty and the others were admiring the lotus orchids, and then release it among the flowers to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday. Now, I give it to Your Majesty as a birthday gift, and I hope Your Majesty can always smile."
"Good, good, I am very satisfied with this birthday gift." Concubine Shu nodded with a happy face and said to the maid beside her, "Go and take it. When the emperor comes tonight, you can enjoy it together."
"Yes." The maid stepped forward in response.
Just as he was about to take the cage from the little eunuch, the mouth of the cage accidentally opened a little, and two butterflies flew out.
The young eunuch quickly closed the cage and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was careless."
Concubine Shu was in a very good mood tonight and was not angry. "It's okay, it's just that two flew out..."
Before she finished her words, Concubine Shu suddenly saw the two butterflies landed on Yang Manman's sleeves.
Yang Manman, who was originally dissatisfied with Jiang Suining and the others for secretly preparing gifts, was stunned. She did not expect that she could actually attract butterflies. She was immediately delighted and a hint of pride quickly appeared on her face.
But then she stopped smiling and spoke with a look of surprise.
"Hey, how come this butterfly landed on my sleeve? I didn't use any perfume today. It's really strange."
As he spoke, he tried to chase away the butterfly with his hand, but the butterfly he had just chased away landed on Yang Manman's cuff the next moment.
Seeing this, Yang Manman became even more proud, and only regretted that there were too few people present and others could not see this scene.
Listening to Yang Manman's words, Concubine Shu frowned, feeling that there was a hint of pride in those surprised words, but she didn't say much. When she was about to let everyone leave, she happened to see Jiang Suining's frowning face, as if hesitant to speak.
"Madam Jiang, do you have anything to say?"
"This..." Jiang Suining glanced at Concubine Shu, then at the butterfly on Yang Manman's sleeve. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your Majesty, this butterfly has been fed with nectar from the lotus orchid since it entered the palace. Logically, they shouldn't be so friendly. Even if they are following the scent, they should be used to the fragrance of the lotus orchid."
With just one sentence, all the joy in Yang Manman's heart froze, and the suppressed smile on her face also froze immediately.
Concubine Shu realized the meaning of Jiang Suining's words, and instantly looked at Yang Manman with a suspicious and sharp gaze.
Seeing that the butterfly was still flying around Yang Manman's sleeves, Concubine Shu immediately said to the maid: "Go and smell what her sleeves smell like."
The maid hurried forward, and Yang Manman subconsciously wanted to dodge, but was scolded by Concubine Shu.
"Don't move!"
Yang Manman stood there stiffly. The maid leaned over to sniff her sleeve and then spoke immediately.
"Your Majesty, there is a scent of lotus orchid on Lady Yang's sleeves, and it's quite strong!"
"The scent of lotus orchid?" He Qingrui was surprised. "Yang Manman, why is there the scent of lotus orchid on your sleeves? You were too lazy to take care of this birthday party from beginning to end, and you were not here when I was setting up those lanterns just now."
Wei Yao added at the right time, "Not only was she absent during the lantern festival, from the time Lian Banlan entered the palace until tonight, Miss Yang never intervened. Even when we were watching the lanterns by the lake, she stood far away. If you didn't know better, you would think she had some opinion about the queen, or was dissatisfied with the birthday banquet."
"You are talking nonsense!" Yang Manman panicked and quickly said to Concubine Shu, "Your Majesty, please don't listen to their nonsense. Your humble servant..."
"Shut up." Concubine Shu's face was very gloomy, and she continued to order the maid, "Check her sleeves carefully for me!"
The maid pulled up Yang Manman's sleeve, looked at her carefully, and spoke quickly.
"My lady, there seems to be juice on this sleeve, and there are traces of dirt."
As soon as these words came out, He Qingrui looked as if she had suddenly realized something.
"Yang Manman, you didn't destroy those lotus orchids, so your sleeves are stained with fragrance!"