The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Consort Xian got out of bed and prepared to change her clothes and go to the Empress's Phoenix Palace, intending to snatch His Majesty to the Peony Palace, but was stopped by Bai Zhi.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! It's not a good time to go to the Empress's bedchamber. You should at least wait until tomorrow morning when you pay your respects."

Bai Zhi then advised, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has been staying here with you these past few days. If he wasn't coming, he should have at least sent Eunuch Fu to inform you. Perhaps His Majesty just had some urgent business at Fengming Palace and might come back later."

Consort Xian decided to wait a little longer. Bai Zhi was right; if His Majesty didn't come, he would definitely send someone to inform him. Since he didn't say he wouldn't come, she believed His Majesty would still come.

Consort Xian changed into several more alluring positions, keeping her eyes open until dawn. She looked extremely haggard and had a fierce expression on her face.

Having not slept all night, her eyes were bloodshot and frightening, and her temper had flared up. She reached out and ripped off the tablecloth embroidered with brightly colored peonies.

The vases and teacups on the table crashed to the floor and shattered.

That wasn't enough; Consort Xian then took scissors and shredded the tablecloth to shreds.

Bai Zhi dissuaded him, saying, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! His Majesty once said that he likes you most for your gentleness and virtue, and therefore specially promoted you to the rank of Virtuous Consort."

Consort Xian finally calmed down after hearing this. Yes, His Majesty liked her gentleness the most, so she had to remain gentle.

Bai Zhi quickly directed the palace maids to help Consort Xian wash up.

After Consort Xian finished dressing, Bai Zhi asked, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Shall we go to pay our respects to the Empress?"

The Empress Dowager did not allow the concubines to pay their respects, mainly because she had trouble sleeping and needed to catch up on sleep every morning, so the concubines in the palace did not need to come to pay their respects and disturb her.

But he visited the Empress every day.

When Consort Xian heard the word "Empress," her fierce expression returned to her face.

A few days ago, she took advantage of her favor with the emperor and did not go to Fengming Palace to pay her respects.

But today, she plans to go to Fengming to see what exactly made the Empress stay overnight with His Majesty.

"Bai Zhi, please bring me the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Crown that His Majesty gave me. I want to wear it to pay my respects to the Empress."

The "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" headdress was a masterpiece created by the Imperial Household Department over a year. It was unique in the harem and was originally made for the Empress, but by the time it was finished, the Empress had already fallen out of favor.

Because Consort Xian expressed her liking for it, Emperor Qi Jing ordered the crown to be sent to the Peony Palace.

When Consort Xian went to Fengming Palace, Bai Zhi carefully reminded her to remain calm and composed, lest she lose her composure and be disliked by His Majesty.

When Consort Xian arrived at Fengming Palace, she found the Emperor still there. Had the Emperor been staying since last night? Had he not attended the morning court session?

Previously, when the emperor stayed at the Peony Palace, he would rise early every day to preside over the morning court session. The empress is truly cunning; she has managed to seduce the emperor into skipping the morning court.

Consort Xian wore long, sharp nail guards inlaid with cat's-eye stones. In her anger, the nail guards tore the handkerchief embroidered with purple peonies.

Despite Bai Zhi's constant reminders not to lose her composure, Consort Xian had always had a bad temper.

As soon as Emperor Qi Jing stepped out of the gates of Fengming Palace, Consort Xian immediately flew into a rage, berating the Empress in front of all the other concubines in the room.

"Your Majesty, you are a model for the harem, yet you have caused His Majesty to miss the morning court session. What kind of conduct is this?"

Bai Zhi tugged at the Empress's sleeve from behind and whispered, "Your Majesty, today is the fifteenth. His Majesty and his ministers don't have to attend court on the fifteenth of each month."

Emperor Qi Jing had not gone far when he suddenly remembered that he wanted to ask the Empress for some tea to drink in the Imperial Study, so he turned back.

He heard everything Consort Xian said clearly and saw that her eyes were bloodshot and her face was contorted with rage.

Only someone who was blind would have found Consort Xian charming and adorable.

In contrast, the Empress appeared dignified.

Emperor Qi Jing immediately flew into a rage, "How dare you, Consort Xian, disrespect the Empress! Guards, take Consort Xian back to Peony Palace and confine her there for a month!"

Emperor Qi Jing was so angry because Consort Jin had ruined the atmosphere at Fengming Palace. The atmosphere was originally quite pleasant, which was a perfect opportunity for him to ask the Empress for tea.

Now that the Empress has been angered by Consort Xian and gone back to her inner room, he felt embarrassed to lift the curtain and go in during the day.

That's infuriating!

The Empress was angry and lost all interest in sending tea to the Imperial Study.

He really wanted that tea!

Emperor Qi Jing knew that the current situation was not suitable for asking for tea, so he planned to come to Fengming Palace in the evening.

For several days in a row, Emperor Qi Jing stayed in the Empress's palace in order to enjoy flower tea.

The Empress sent a maid to the Duke of Anguo's residence to deliver a message.

Lady Anguo was overjoyed upon hearing the news. "Our Yan'er has regained the Emperor's favor. He stays in Yan'er's palace every day. Perhaps she will conceive soon. It's all thanks to the flower tea that Zhaohua sent. The flower tea is almost gone, and Yan'er wants some more."

Princess Zhaohua was surprised to find that her prediction had actually come true.

That flower tea actually won the favor of Emperor Qi Jing for my sister.

Let me tell you, there's no one in this world who can resist Miss Su's delicious flower tea.

Lady Anguo was very grateful to Miss Su who delivered the flower tea to Zhaohua.

The fact that her eldest daughter had fallen out of favor had been a source of great anxiety for her as a mother. The entire Anguo Duke's mansion racked their brains and tried every possible method, but they were still unable to regain the Empress's favor.

I never expected that a small packet of herbal tea could achieve this.

The dress that Zhaohua copied from Miss Meng Qi was also seen by the Duchess of Anguo, and its style was stunning.

I thought the design was conceived by a seasoned embroiderer with decades of experience, but I never expected that such a rare design would come from a young girl.

"Zhaohua, go to our manor's storeroom and pick out a few presentable gifts. Don't worry about the money; the more expensive, the better. Take a lot of these to give to your friend, Miss Su. Also, write to Miss Su and ask if she can provide some more of the same flower tea."

Lady Anguo thought to herself that Qinghe County was too far away. If it were closer, she should really invite the person to the Duke's mansion to express her gratitude in person.

That Miss Su is a great benefactor of the Duke of Anguo's family.

\

At lunchtime, Su Qianqian was busy serving tea to customers at Gu's Restaurant, unaware that her flower tea had already stirred up a bloody storm in the palace.

The restaurant was packed again at lunchtime today, even that shameless Fang Cheng was there.

She overheard the scholar sitting at the same table as Fang Cheng congratulating him, saying that this scoundrel had won first place in the academy's exam a few days ago.

God is truly blind; He actually gave that scumbag Fang Cheng such a brilliant mind.

Su Qianqian retreated behind the curtain, secretly spat into one of the tea cups, and quickly brought the cup to Fang Cheng, watching him drink it.

Fang Cheng: Su Qianqian looked at me. She kept looking at me. She must still like me a lot.

Fang Cheng waved his paper fan even more gracefully.

After not seeing her for a few days, he noticed that Su Qianqian had become even more beautiful, attracting the attention of many young men in the restaurant.

The best fate for a beautiful woman is to marry a powerful man as a concubine and use her beauty to serve him.

Once he becomes an official, he will come and take Su Qianqian into his mansion as a concubine. Su Bing, being a commoner, certainly wouldn't dare to resist.

Fang Cheng overheard that the guests at the next table were not speaking the local dialect of Qinghe County. After listening carefully to their conversation, he realized that they were merchants from the capital.

In the past, it was rare for merchants from the capital to come to such a good place as Qinghe County. Now, so many have come all at once. He even met a table of merchants from the capital when he came to eat yesterday.

Su Qianqian is really capable; she's made the restaurant so successful.

Several merchants were chatting enthusiastically about flower tea.

"This tea tastes really good. I asked the shopkeeper if he would sell it. Guess what? He said he wasn't selling it for the time being, saying he couldn't keep up with the demand. It's like he's willing to take money even if he has it."

"That's right, I can't resist the flower tea here. I've already bought a lot of trendy clothes wholesale, planning to sell them back in Beijing. But I can't bear to part with this free flower tea, so I'm staying another day. I have to leave for Beijing tomorrow."

"Yes, this is the best tea I've ever had. It's a pity I've looked in several tea shops but haven't been able to find a good tea with a similar taste."

"I heard that they used to sell a small packet for 10 taels of silver. It's a pity we missed that opportunity. Now they don't sell a single packet. If they did, even if it was 20 taels of silver a small packet, we could wholesale it and sell it to those rich gentlemen in the capital and make a small fortune."

Fang Cheng was thrilled to hear this. Merchants were scrambling to buy a small packet of tea for 20 taels of silver, which meant that the tea had become a rare commodity.

If you hold the formula in your hands, it's like holding onto wealth. Once you pass the imperial examination, you'll have a large sum of money to bribe your way into an official position.