A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

”Marrying an Emperor husband who is drop-dead gorgeous, being showered with love and affection, and even having a super beautiful son!”

”Not bad, not bad!”

”Alas... the only regret is that the Emperor husband has too many concubines!”

”It’s truly an irreparable BUG.”

...

The day of the Double Ninth Festival arrived quickly.

The festive atmosphere of ancient times was rich. Early in the morning, Zi Yue, Zi Su, and Zi Ning adorned their hairpins with dogwood sprigs and chrysanthemums.

And truth be told, these delicate and gorgeous maidens wearing fresh flowers looked stunning!

Xia Ruqing asked with a smile, ”Do you have one for me?”

Zi Yue came over carrying a purple sandalwood box.

Inside there were two fresh flowers, a sprig of dogwood and a chrysanthemum.

The chrysanthemum was a pale jade color, and the dogwood sprig was red; put together, they were charmingly vibrant and exquisitely beautiful!

”Mistress, today I will do your hair!” Zi Su said with a smile.

”Oh? You know how to style hair too?” Xia Ruqing asked with a smile.

Zi Su smiled without answering. Together with Zi Yue, they indeed styled Xia Ruqing’s hair into a fresh and beautiful hairstyle.

”In our hometown, when the Double Ninth Festival comes, all the girls wear the same hairstyle and the same flowers!”

Xia Ruqing asked with a smile, ”Does it have any special meaning?”

Zi Su shook her head while smiling, ”It’s been so long, I don’t remember anymore!”

Xia Ruqing didn’t inquire further, thinking to herself, Poor child!

Zi Yue selected a celestial blue dress for her and matched it with jewelry of the same color to form a set.

The Yunjin fabric of the dress was edged with gold thread and embroidered with clusters of chrysanthemums.

On her wrists, she wore a pair of crystal bracelets.

Atop her head was a Jade Hairpin, another Jade Hairpin, and two pairs of Zhu Hua made with gemstone fragments.

The earrings were also exquisite, a pair of Zhen Zhu as large as thumbs, round and full, obviously valuable at first glance.

Dressed up from top to bottom, she looked refreshingly elegant and expensive, someone no one would dare to take lightly.

”Mistress, you really do look beautiful in this outfit,” Zi Su said, her eyes shining as she smiled in praise.

Xia Ruqing, looking at herself in the dressing mirror, nodded as well, ”It is quite nice!”

While the master and servants were talking, Xiao Xizi was already back, carrying a meal.

Everything was light, including a pot of crucian carp tofu soup, a dish of flaky meat buns, a bowl of egg custard, and several pan-fried dumplings.

Besides that, there was a large plate of fruit, with watermelon, cantaloupe, yellow peaches, and lychees.

Xia Ruqing ate a bit of everything, drank some fish soup while holding Little Bun, and fed him some steamed bread.

In the end, Little Bun clamored for watermelon, and Xia Ruqing also gave him a small piece to taste.

After eating and drinking her fill, she finally managed to send off this little ancestor to play with his Wetnurse Nanny and ’sister’.

Just after the meal, rewards from the front arrived.

Fabrics, spices, Zhen Zhu, gems, and even cosmetics were all included.

Little Zhuzi, with a mysterious air, pointed at the box of perfume and said, ”Consort Xian Pin, this is a new product from the Kingdom of Goryeo, and we only received two boxes this year—one for the Empress and one for you! The Emperor especially ordered me to deliver it to you!”

Xia Ruqing was slightly amused. ”Such a precious thing, I must personally thank the Emperor later!”

As she spoke, she took the box of perfume and examined it.

It truly was exquisite; the box was made from fine, lustrous white porcelain.

After opening the lid, there was a layer of beeswax sealing the top, yet even through the seal, a strong fragrance wafted out.

It was refreshing and not overpowering, clearly made of high-quality spices!

”Many thanks to the Emperor! You’ve also worked hard!”

Little Zhuzi hurriedly bowed, ”Master, you jest! If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave first!”

With a smile, Xia Ruqing put the box away. She had Zi Yue take a purse and sent Little Zhuzi off properly.

The rewards were quite generous. Especially the fabrics, which were all extremely valuable.

Unfortunately, Xia Ruqing was not much of a connoisseur. Whatever she found comfortable, she wore. As for those only boasting a splendid appearance but were uncomfortable on the body, she simply gave up on them.

...

Having received the Emperor’s rewards, as a master, she could not skimp on the rewards for her servants.

After breakfast, having tidied up, she started to distribute the rewards to them.

Zi Yue, as a First-Rank Senior Palace Maid, received ten taels of silver and a pair of silver hairpins.

According to the rules, they were not allowed to wear gold, only silver, so the jewelry she rewarded was also only silver.

Zi Su and Zi Ning, being second-rank, got eight taels of silver and a pair of silver hairpins each.

Then there was Qiu Ye, a third-rank junior servant.

Originally, Xia Ruqing did not particularly like her. But over time, as true characters revealed, this girl was hardworking and never complained about her hardships.

Gradually, Xia Ruqing came to see her in a new light and considered her as one of her own.

This time, her reward was five taels of silver and a pair of silver hairpins.

Qiu Ye was overwhelmed with gratitude. One should know that in the palace, no master would give rewards to a junior servant like this. Usually, they would only get two taels for the holidays.

And here she was, getting five taels on just the Double Ninth Festival. Qiu Ye was truly grateful from the bottom of her heart.

Xia Ruqing then said, ”No need to thank me. You should really thank yourself! This reward is something you’ve earned! Would you have it if you weren’t hardworking?”

Qiu Ye didn’t understand, but that didn’t matter; bowing was the right thing to do.

In the end, Xia Ruqing was amused by her honest and clumsy manner.

Xiao Xizi, as a top-ranked managing eunuch, received the same reward as Zi Yue: ten taels of silver.

As he couldn’t be rewarded hairpins, he was instead given a pair of Silver Tokens.

Xiao Zhu Zi, like Zi Su and the others, also received eight taels of silver and two Silver Tokens.

As for third-rank junior eunuchs, there were none under her at the moment. It was just these few people!

”Life in the palace is not easy for you, nor is it for me. We share the master-servant bond. You have been loyal and diligent, and I will help where I can! This is the affection between master and servant fulfilled!”

Everyone knelt down and thanked her with kowtows.

Xia Ruqing let out a long breath. ”Alright. I’ve been busy since early this morning. Finally, I can rest!”

After saying this, she stood up.

...

Zi Yue came up to attend to her.

Xia Ruqing sat in the courtyard, admiring the flowers, observing the grapevine, and even swinging on the swing.

Her little courtyard, under her care over these years, truly became more beautiful with each passing year!

”Another year, and the grapes are ripe. The wine I brewed the first year is still not finished!”

”Later, use scissors to cut the grapes down. Send two bunches to the Emperor, two to the Empress, um, one each to Consort Ning and Consort Hui Pin...”

She was counting on her fingers.

Zi Yue noted down everything with a smile.

Sitting on the swing, Xia Ruqing suddenly remembered something and asked, ”Do we have any rice wine in the palace? If so, let’s add a dish of rice wine and sweet dumplings to tonight’s supper! Remember to use less sugar and put in more wolfberries!”

Zi Yue did not know, but Xiao Xizi understood perfectly well.

”Of course, we have it! Rice wine isn’t anything precious!”