The cheerful mood lasted until evening. Li Shengyuan watched the blissfully smiling Li Zhu with growing puzzlement.
"What has made you so happy today?"
"Today, Consort Xian invited the sisters of the inner palace to gather at Jinxiu Hall. This humble consort made two good friends."
"Good friends? Who might they be?"
"Junior Consort Cui and Imperial Concubine Sun. They're both quite delightful."
"That's good. If you ever feel bored, you can seek them out for conversation."
"Yes!"
At this moment, Li Shengyuan still felt relatively pleased, unaware of how rapidly the girls' friendship would develop.
Junior Consort Cui and Imperial Concubine Sun began visiting Huaqing Palace to see Li Zhu almost daily. The three would chat together and prepare delicious treats.
Being tactful and perceptive, Junior Consort Cui and Imperial Concubine Sun would always take their leave before Li Shengyuan's arrival at Huaqing Palace.
Within days, Li Shengyuan discovered that he was nearly completely absent from Li Zhu's thoughts!
Whenever Li Zhu came across any delicious food, her first thought was to share it with them—a far cry from her previously stingy demeanor.
What Li Shengyuan found even harder to accept was that all of Li Zhu's inner musings revolved around Junior Consort Cui and Imperial Concubine Sun!
Li Shengyuan decided he could no longer allow Junior Consort Cui and Imperial Concubine Sun to monopolize Li Zhu's attention.
"Li Jieyu, the Empress Dowager's Birthday Banquet is in two months. I intend to put you in charge of the banquet's cuisine."
Li Zhu blinked. "This humble consort?"
Li Shengyuan nodded.
"But this humble consort has never undertaken such a task. What if something goes wrong?"
Although palace consorts typically took pride in managing palace affairs, Li Zhu was an exception—she only wished to remain idle forever.
"My beloved consort is clever. I believe you will handle it well. If uncertain about anything, consult the Female Official."
"But…"
"No buts. You've been indulging in too much leisure lately. It's time to focus your mind."
How familiar these words sounded—exactly what teachers would say after every holiday break!
But she was no longer a student!
[This dog emperor pushes himself relentlessly and can't stand seeing others idle! After all these days of keeping him company, eating together, and "sleeping" together, I still get dragged into work.]
Li Shengyuan didn't understand the meaning of "jüan," but it certainly didn't sound like a compliment.
[Wah, the hot water is too scalding for me to drink, and human hearts are too cold for me to touch!]
Li Shengyuan was exasperated. Where did she learn these dramatic, ready-made phrases?
"Enough. If you perform well, you shall be duly rewarded!"
Li Zhu immediately ceased her internal complaints and asked, "What constitutes 'well'?"
"Avoiding mistakes will suffice."
"This humble consort will not fail Your Majesty's trust!"
~~
The Empress Dowager's banquet should have been jointly managed by Consort Shu and Consort Xian. However, Consort Shu was under confinement, and Consort Xian couldn't handle such an important and arduous task alone.
Thus, Consort Shu's responsibilities were delegated to Consort An and Li Zhu.
Since Li Zhu was in charge of the birthday banquet's cuisine, the Shangshi Bureau temporarily fell under her jurisdiction.
Li Zhu obtained the menus from previous years' birthday banquets from the Female Official and, after discussion, decided on the main courses and beverages for the banquet—essentially following established precedents.
For pastries and sweet drinks, however, Li Zhu wanted to introduce some innovations.
The first innovation was milk tea. As for the second… Li Zhu hadn't thought of it yet.
Fortunately, with two months remaining until the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, there was no immediate rush.
What truly troubled Li Zhu was the birthday gift for the Empress Dowager.
Although her treasury contained numerous valuable items, they seemed inadequate and perfunctory as birthday gifts.
Handmade gifts do show sincerity, but Li Zhu couldn't excel at either calligraphy or embroidery.
This matter troubled Li Zhu for several days, yet she remained clueless.
One night, inspiration struck her—the essence of gift-giving wasn't about whether it was expensive or handmade, but about what the recipient would appreciate.
A gift must touch the heart.
So the next day, Li Zhu sent people to investigate what the Empress Dowager truly liked.
But all those dispatched returned empty-handed.
It seemed… the Empress Dowager had no particular preferences. She didn't chant Buddhist scriptures, nor did she care for gold, silver, or treasures.
"Your Highness, we are incompetent. We truly couldn't find out anything," the eunuch said shamefacedly.
Li Zhu waved her hand, "It's fine. You may go."
Zhi Zi, sharing her mistress's worries, fretted, "Since the Empress Dowager doesn't seem to like anything, we're at a loss for what birthday gift to prepare."
Li Zhu smiled, "Don't look so glum. Come, accompany me to Cishou Palace for a personal investigation!"
She refused to believe anyone could be completely without hobbies.
"What brings Li Jieyu here today?"
"Your Majesty, this is my first time handling a palace banquet, and I feel quite uncertain. So I've mustered the courage to seek your guidance."
As she spoke, Li Zhu presented the nearly finalized banquet menu.
The Empress Dowager accepted it with a smile, "You are clever. Let me review it for you."
While the Empress Dowager perused the menu, Li Zhu finished reading about the Empress Dowager's "melons" (gossip).
There was plenty of gossip about the Empress Dowager, though most concerned palace intrigues before she became Empress Dowager.
What astonished Li Zhu was that as the champion of the previous generation's palace intrigues, the Empress Dowager had never actually harmed anyone!
It was truly unimaginable.
From these stories, Li Zhu also learned that the Empress Dowager hadn't been the Late Emperor's first empress.
Hailing from an obscure family, she entered the palace at sixteen as a mere sixth-rank Guiren. Due to her beauty, she was promoted to fifth-rank Guiji within two years.
At that time, the Late Emperor's first empress had passed away, and the emperor felt constrained by powerful noble families.
Then, the Late Emperor noticed the beautiful, dutiful, but low-born future Empress Dowager.
Against all expectations, the Late Emperor made the fifth-rank Guiji his empress.
This time, the emperor stood firm. The noble families had no choice but to concede.
The Empress Dowager knew she was merely a figurehead. To survive, she had to remain dutiful and cautious in her role as empress.
Though the Late Emperor's harem was constantly turbulent, the Empress Dowager avoided conflicts whenever possible.
Because she was obedient and childless, the Late Emperor never considered deposing her.
She endured and endured until the Late Emperor passed away, and Li Shengyuan, who ascended the throne, had long lost his birth mother.
Thus, the Empress Dowager naturally became the one and only Empress Dowager!
Li Zhu could only sigh in admiration—from fifth-rank Guiji to empress to Empress Dowager, it was all a matter of timing and fate. How enviable.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager finished reviewing the menu, "It follows all protocols perfectly."
"With Your Majesty's guidance, the weight has been lifted from my heart."
"Jieyu didn't visit this old woman today just for this matter, did you?"
Li Zhu smiled faintly, "Your Majesty sees all. I do have another matter that troubles me."
"Speak your mind."
"I fear this might be impolite, but Your Majesty's birthday approaches, and I remain uncertain what gift to prepare."
"Any gift would suffice. Your thoughtfulness is what matters."
"Your Majesty is most gracious, but I still wish to present something you would genuinely like."
The Empress Dowager paused briefly before responding, "I… truly have no particular preferences."
Li Zhu knew the Empress Dowager was lying, but she didn't expose it.
"It was this concubine being lazy, trying to take a shortcut. I hope the Empress Dowager will forgive me."
"There's no need for forgiveness. You are a good child. You are the first person to personally ask what I like. That is quite rare."
The Empress Dowager looked at Li Zhu gently.
"As long as Your Majesty does not blame this concubine."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "You need not worry that the congratulatory gift you send will displease me. I understand your sincerity."
After Li Zhu left Cishou Palace, Zhi Zi said, "Jieyu, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is truly a kind person, but it seems we still don't know what she likes."
Li Zhu smiled faintly. "I already know."
Hearing this, Zhi Zi and Fo Shou were very puzzled.
What exactly did Jieyu know? And how did she find out?
~~
Li Zhu already had an idea in mind, but wanting to prepare a gift that would truly please the Empress Dowager was still somewhat difficult for her alone.
After much thought, Li Zhu sought out Li Shengyuan.
"You want to find medical books? Have you recently taken an interest in studying medicine?"
"No, this concubine is preparing a congratulatory gift for the Empress Dowager. Her Majesty has quite an interest in medicine."
"The Empress Dowager is interested in medicine?" Li Shengyuan was also hearing this for the first time.
"Yes."
"How did you know?"