tallest building

Chapter 214 Entering the Palace

Sure enough, not two days later, the Empress issued an edict summoning Wen Mingqian to the palace to serve as an incense maker.

However, she was given three days to settle her affairs.

Wen Mingqian first found Sang Er and asked her, "I'm going to the palace, so naturally I can't take you with me. I had planned for you to stay by the Princess's side. But now that you're with Cuiyi, I want to ask what you think."

Sang Er lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "If we're talking about closeness, I naturally want to stay with the Zhou family. After all, that child is my uncle's flesh and blood."

But I thought I should become more useful; in the Zhou family, I'm just a maid. If anything happens, I'm only good for reporting.

Who knows if there will be any other changes in their family in the future? My uncle is just a businessman, and my mother has gone to the palace, so he can't take care of things outside for the time being.

Therefore, it would be better to go to the Princess's side. If anything really happens, you can borrow the Princess's help to assist others.

“You’ve grown up now, and you’re not just acting on your own feelings anymore.” Wen Mingqian affectionately patted her head. “In that case, go and tell Cuiyi and your uncle, and I’ll take you to the Princess.”

Wen Mingqian stopped by Liu Cuiyi on his way and gave her a lot of advice.

Liu Cuiyi reassured her, "Sister, just go to the palace and don't worry about us. I'm not the same person I used to be, and I'll definitely be able to take care of myself and the child. You told me before that it's better to rely on yourself than on anyone else. Now I truly understand that."

Hearing her say that, Wen Mingqian felt gratified.

After leaving the Zhou family, Wen Mingqian entrusted Sang Er to the Princess. The Princess did not forget to remind Wen Mingqian: "Be careful in everything you do when you go to the palace this time. If you need to find me, just go to the Imperial Wardrobe and find Aunt Cui. She will pass on your message to me."

The eldest princess knew that once Wen Mingqian entered the palace, he would be fighting alone, so it would always be good to have some helper.

Wen Mingqian thanked the princess and left behind the perfume and other items he had made for her, saying earnestly, "I'm going to the palace, and I'm afraid I won't be able to see Your Highness for a while. I'll make these things you usually use in the palace according to the appointed days, and have someone send them to you when the time comes."

Sang Er has always been mischievous around me, but now that she's been placed by Your Highness's side, I no longer need to worry about her. If Your Highness wishes to write to the Prince, you can also tell him that I have entered the palace and will act accordingly.

After leaving Bowang Mountain, Wen Mingqian wrote to Gong Chang'an and Zhang Ma, telling them about his recent situation.

Finally, they arrived at the Prince Zhao's residence to meet the Prince Zhao's wife.

Princess Zhao said, "People say that a good beginning should end well. I was the one who introduced you to the Empress. Now that you're entering the palace, I should be the one to escort you there."

"Your Highness's kindness is beyond my ability to repay even a fraction of it," Wen Mingqian said, his eyes glistening with tears.

“There’s no need for that. You are a gem in yourself, which is why you have been appreciated,” said Princess Zhao. “If you encounter any difficulties in the palace, you can tell Physician Wu, and he will pass on the message to me.”

Thus, Wen Mingqian followed Princess Zhao into the palace and became the incense maker by the Empress's side.

People in the palace were inevitably curious about her, but Wen Mingqian was always low-key and cautious, which inadvertently avoided a lot of trouble.

After breakfast that day, the Empress asked those around her, "Why do I feel like I haven't seen Mingqian these past two days?"

Chunying laughed and said, "You know, she's locked herself in her room these past two days, I don't know what she's been up to."

"Go and call her here. I want to ask if she has cured anything good yet?" The Empress was also very interested.

Because she knew that Wen Mingqian was skillful and his creations were all irresistible.

A short while later, Wen Mingqian was summoned and greeted the Empress. "What have you been doing these past two days?" the Empress asked, gesturing for him to rise.

"Your Majesty, this servant did indeed attempt to make something," Wen Mingqian smiled slightly, "but I don't know if it will suit your taste."

"Oh? What have you done for me this time?"

"This servant has already asked several eunuchs to help carry it over; it's right outside the hall." As Wen Mingqian finished speaking, the head eunuch Yu Lu led several junior eunuchs in carrying in an extremely large frame.

The entire frame is enclosed by copper pipes, and there are empty grooves underneath.

"What is this?" The Empress and everyone else were puzzled.

"Your Majesty, please be at ease. Once this servant has assembled it and put it into operation, you will understand." Wen Mingqian smiled and directed two eunuchs to help.

Then two buckets of water were brought in and poured into the empty trough below.

With a gentle turn of the rocker, the water was stirred up.

"You need to shake it for a while at first, and then you can let go once the water starts circulating," Wen Mingqian told the young eunuch.

As the eunuch vigorously shook the pipe, everyone noticed that water began to flow down from the top copper pipe. It turned out that the top horizontal copper pipe was covered with tiny round holes, and the water flowed down in a steady stream, forming a curtain of rain.

The things Wen Mingqian made appeared simple on the outside, but in fact they contained many ingenious mechanisms, which were all concealed.

All the people saw was water circulating from bottom to top.

"I overheard Your Highness mentioning that you enjoy listening to the sound of rain the other day, so I took the liberty of making this rain curtain," Wen Ming said respectfully. "I thought that if Your Highness wanted to listen to the sound of rain on a dry day, that would be fine too."

"This is exactly what I wanted to make. It's amazing how clever you are, and even more so how considerate you are." The Empress was extremely satisfied with Wen Mingqian. "No wonder Princess Zhao praised you to me as a precious little darling. With this rain curtain, I can not only hear the sound of rain, but also enjoy the coolness. Go and make a few more. I also want to give one to His Majesty."

The palace maids and eunuchs all looked at Wen Mingqian with envy and admiration.

The Empress was very difficult to please. To them, it was already a stroke of luck to remain unremarkable, let alone receive praise from the Empress.

However, Wen Mingqian had only been in the palace for a short time, yet he was already the Empress's darling, so they had to befriend him no matter what.

That day, the Emperor came to the Empress's palace for lunch.

The Empress pointed to the rain curtain with great interest and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, take a look at this. It was made by Wen Mingqian, the newly appointed incense maker. Shall I ask her to make one for you in the same style?"

"That's quite unique," the Emperor said, glancing at it. "Is the Empress sleeping well these days?"

"That's wonderful," the Empress said with a satisfied smile. "This is also thanks to Lady Wen. By the way, she hasn't met the Emperor yet. Go and call her over so she can pay her respects to the Emperor."

Wen Mingqian has been in the palace for ten days, and today he finally had the opportunity to meet the emperor.

She bowed her head and went in, then knelt down to pay her respects, saying "Long live the Emperor!"

The Emperor merely glanced at her indifferently and said, "Get up! You have served the Empress well, so I should reward you with something."

“Serving the Empress is my honor, how dare I ask for a reward?” Wen Mingqian said. “A word of praise from His Majesty is enough.”