My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

[Ahhhhh my idol sat down! He's sharing a table with the boss! They're drinking tea together!!!]

Yet after the screaming, she suddenly became emotional, crying in her heart, [Waaah they have it so hard! Is this the first time in their lives they're sitting together? It's so heartbreaking...]

Yuwen Lan: "..."

How could someone think so much?

Tsk, would such dramatic mood swings be healthy?

Fortunately, after all the crying and whimpering, Yanshu finally calmed down. Seeing the maid bring tea for Qi Shuguang, she quickly said, "Oh right, we brought some snacks today. Let's all try them together."

The maids responded and brought out the food boxes, arranging various pastries on the stone table in the pavilion - Double Ninth Festival cakes, chestnut cookies, lotus seed cakes, osmanthus pastries, and more. They all looked quite appealing.

Especially the Double Ninth Festival cake, made from glutinous and non-glutinous rice flour mixed with red beans and preserved fruits, looked white, soft, and sweet - absolutely tempting.

Moreover... ahem, these pastries were from the Palace of Benevolent Peace's kitchen, something that outsiders couldn't buy even with money.

Yanshu said, "Today is the Double Ninth Festival, we must eat Double Ninth cakes. Everyone please try some."

Ahem, mainly she hoped her idol Mr. Qi wouldn't be too polite - such opportunities were rare!

However, after she spoke, she saw the emperor and Empress Dowager pick up the cakes, but Mr. Qi still didn't dare to move.

Yanshu felt somewhat disappointed but couldn't say anything more.

Fortunately, at this moment, her cool boss the Empress Dowager spoke again, "I made these Double Ninth cakes myself. Won't you do me the honor of trying some, sir?"

Yanshu: [What!!! These were actually made by the Empress Dowager herself??? Mr. Qi absolutely can't miss this opportunity!!!]

Then, she saw Mr. Qi hesitate again before saying, "Your Grace is too kind. How could I dare?"

The Empress Dowager laughed softly under her veiled hat and said, "Since we're sitting at the same table, it wouldn't look right if we eat while you don't. Please don't be so formal."

Yanshu: [Ahhh the boss is so awesome! What she said makes so much sense! Mr. Qi, please don't be so polite anymore!!!]

After these words, she saw her idol Mr. Qi finally respond with a "yes" and pick up a piece of Double Ninth cake, joining the other three in eating.

Yanshu finally felt relieved and carefully tasted the Double Ninth cake herself.

Yuwen Lan's ears were finally quiet, and he too could properly taste the pastry.

But before he could swallow, he heard Yanshu flattering the Empress Dowager again, "This cake is so soft and smooth, sweet but not cloying, with just the right amount of red beans and preserved fruits. Your Grace's culinary skills are amazing!"

This made the Empress Dowager laugh and say, "You little girl, always know how to please people!"

Yanshu shamelessly continued, "Not at all, I'm speaking from my heart! If you don't believe me, ask the Emperor - isn't this cake especially delicious?"

Yuwen Lan, who was suddenly put on the spot: "..."

Wasn't her own flattery enough? Did she have to drag him into it too?

But since he had been called out, he could only say, "Indeed, it's very good. Mother's cooking has always been excellent."

After speaking, he couldn't help but wonder - the Empress Dowager actually made these Double Ninth cakes herself, could it be for Qi Shuguang?

But thinking again, she didn't know they would meet today, so probably not.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but probe Qi Shuguang's thoughts, and heard him silently sigh, [The cake is delicious, and it's rare for her to make it herself. I suppose it's all for His Majesty? At least now mother and son are close - it wasn't all for nothing, those hardships of the past.]

Yuwen Lan secretly raised an eyebrow.

Well, he had to admit, he had never heard anything improper in this man's thoughts.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who could hear Qi Shuguang's thoughts now. Soon after, Yanshu's mental voice came to his ears, [Waaah idol is always thinking about the Empress Dowager, sympathizing with her... is there another man as good as him in this world???]

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Was he not considered a good man?

Why did he always rank behind Qi Shuguang in comparison?

Perhaps due to that inexplicable displeasure in his heart, he asked Qi Shuguang, "Why did you come to Osmanthus Mountain today, sir?"

Qi Shuguang hurriedly replied, "In my hometown, we have the custom of climbing heights during the Double Ninth Festival. I heard Osmanthus Mountain isn't very high, so I thought I'd come take a look."

After hearing this, Yuwen Lan didn't detect any other thoughts from him.

However, he heard Yanshu secretly grumbling, [How dare he question my idol like that!!! Do you think he deliberately came to encounter the Empress Dowager?!!! My idol is already in his forties, couldn't it just be that he can't climb high mountains anymore so he had to come to a shorter one? So heartbreaking...]

Yuwen Lan: "..."

He was just asking a simple question, was there any need to get so angry...

Right after, he heard the Empress Dowager sigh, [He's not young anymore either, probably like me, his legs aren't what they used to be.]

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Well, indeed, just like the Empress Dowager, Qi Shuguang wasn't young anymore, and he might truly be unable to climb other, higher mountains.

Though unsaid, time had passed quickly. He remembered when Qi Shuguang served in court, he had been in his prime.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.

Yuwen Lan didn't say anything more, just picked up another osmanthus pastry and started eating.

After a couple of bites, finding it good, he passed one to Yanshu, saying, "Try this one, it's fragrant and delicious."

Yanshu took it and had a bite, immediately starting to flatter the Empress Dowager again, "Did Your Grace make this too? It's so crispy and has such a lovely osmanthus fragrance!"

The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "Well, you're praising the wrong person there - this one's from the kitchen."

But Yanshu, without missing a beat, continued her shameless flattery, "The kitchen staff were trained by you, weren't they? How could any other place compare?"

This made the Empress Dowager laugh again.

Even Qi Shuguang couldn't help but show a slight smile.

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Well, so this was how she had won the Empress Dowager's favor.

But seeing the Empress Dowager so happy, today's outing hadn't been in vain after all.

As they chatted and laughed, two cups of tea's worth of time had passed.

There seemed to be fewer visitors climbing the mountain now, and few people were coming into the courtyard.

Just as Yuwen Lan was considering whether it was time to head down the mountain, several people suddenly came into view.

Leading them was what appeared to be a mother and son - the son looked about fifteen or sixteen, while the mother seemed not yet forty. Behind them followed a manservant and a maid.

Strangely, though the mother and son's manner and bearing suggested they weren't from a humble background, their clothes weren't as eye-catching as those of wealthy families.

Moreover, all of them had the air of having traveled a long distance.

Yuwen Lan couldn't help but look at them more closely.

Just then, he heard the young man say, "Mother, let's rest a while."

From his accent, he clearly wasn't from the capital.

After speaking, he looked around, and seeing people in the courtyard, led his mother to sit on a stone stool nearby.

The maid then untied the bundle from her shoulder and took out a water flask, seemingly about to serve the two some water. Surprisingly, after taking out the flask, she also retrieved two bamboo cups from the bundle.

Before pouring the water into the cups, she deliberately poured out a bit first to rinse them, only then formally filling them and serving them to the mother and son.

Such manners...

Yuwen Lan raised an eyebrow - clearly not an ordinary family.

Of course, with few people in the courtyard at this time, not just him, but everyone else had noticed these people too.

Then he heard the Empress Dowager say, "That woman... looks somewhat familiar? I seem to have seen her before."

Hearing this, Yanshu also took a look, confirming that in all the palace banquets she had attended over the past half year, she hadn't seen this mother and son.

However, indeed, judging by their behavior and manners, they didn't seem to be ordinary people.

Just as she was about to ask the system, she saw the young man look around the courtyard, then suddenly fix his gaze on her idol Mr. Qi. After a pause, he unexpectedly came forward to greet him, saying, "May I ask if you are Mr. Qi Shuguang?"

Oh?

Yanshu was startled - this young man actually knew her idol?

As the words fell, she saw her idol, Master Qi, also stand up and reply, "I am indeed Qi Shuguang. May I ask who you are?"

The young man suddenly became very excited and said, "I am Ren Kaiji from the Marquis of Yanping's household. Do you remember me, sir?"

Marquis of Yanping's household?

At these words, everyone in the hall was stunned for a moment. The maid Hong Yu hurriedly whispered to the Empress Dowager, "This servant remembers now, that lady seems to be the Marchioness of Yanping."

The Empress Dowager glanced at her and nodded, "I remember now too."

Yanshu thought to herself, of course, since the boy had already identified himself as being from the Marquis of Yanping's household, and that was his mother, there was a 95% chance she was the Marchioness of Yanping.

However, judging by the title, the Marquis of Yanping's household was probably in Minyue region. Why had this mother and son traveled all the way to the capital?

Yuwen Lan was also puzzled, and moreover, how did people from the Marquis of Yanping's household know Qi Shuguang?

Then they saw Qi Shuguang finally react, hurriedly saying, "Oh, it's the young master. What brings you here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man suddenly looked grief-stricken and said, "It's a long story... Please wait a moment, sir, I need to inform my mother."

With that, he returned to his mother's side, and Qi Shuguang hurriedly followed.

Then they saw his mother suddenly stand up as well, speaking very emotionally to Qi Shuguang.

Being some distance away, the people in the pavilion couldn't hear clearly, only glimpsing that the lady seemed quite agitated, as if about to cry.

This only made everyone more curious.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Qi Shuguang returned to the three of them, reporting, "Your Graces, this humble one had the fortune of being invited to the Marquis of Yanping's household several years ago while passing through Minyue, to tutor the young master. I just now discovered that the lady and young master of the household have come here."

After he finished speaking, the Empress Dowager asked, "Why did they suddenly come to the capital?"

Qi Shuguang replied, "According to them, something terrible happened at home. The Marquis wants to kill his son and wife. With nowhere else to turn, they came to the capital seeking justice from Your Graces."

What?

Kill his son and wife?

At these words, everyone was shocked.

Yuwen Lan ordered the guards, "Watch the courtyard gates for now, don't let any outsiders enter."

Then he instructed Qi Shuguang, "Have the mother and son come forward to speak."

Everyone went about their tasks.

Soon, the courtyard gates were secured, and the mother and son from the Marquis's household came forward to the pavilion, kneeling in shock to pay their respects.

"This humble wife Madam Tao of the Marquis of Yanping's household, along with my son Kaiji, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and Consort Yi."

She was already crying as she spoke.

Before Yuwen Lan could speak, the Empress Dowager had already said, "Please rise. Why have you two come all the way to the capital? What exactly happened?"

The Marchioness of Yanping cried, "Thank you for your grace, Empress Dowager. This humble wife came uninvited because something terrible happened at home, and my son and I were about to lose our lives! Recently my husband fell ill, and we invited a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits. But that priest claimed my son Kaiji was an ill omen, and my husband believed him. At first, he would scold our son daily, and when I tried to stop him, he would scold me too. Later he even tried to burn Kaiji to death. I had no choice but to flee the household with Kaiji. But when I sought help along the way, no one in Yanping dared to intervene. With nowhere else to turn, I could only come to the capital to beg Your Graces to help us!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager immediately frowned, "Such a thing happened?"

Everyone's eyes widened, finding it incredibly hard to believe.

How could the Marquis of Yanping kill his own son? And not just any son, but his legitimate heir, the court-appointed young master!

How could the noble lady of a Marquis's household be forced to flee to the capital to file a complaint?

It was too absurd!

Yanshu thought the same, and in her disbelief, she quickly consulted the System, [System, is this true or false?]

The System replied, [What the lady says is not exaggerated at all. The Marquis recently contracted a stubborn illness called "waist-encircling dragon." This illness was quite difficult to treat, and after consulting many famous doctors with no success, they happened to hear of a famous Taoist priest and invited him. The priest took one look and immediately said there were evil spirits in the household. He performed a ritual, and the Marquis's condition improved somewhat.]

[But as soon as the priest left, his illness returned and the pain was worse than before. The Marquis had a favored concubine who took the opportunity to bribe the priest to return. Unexpectedly, this time the priest told the Marquis that the evil spirit in the household was his legitimate son, suggesting that the title of heir should be taken from the legitimate son and given to a concubine's son.]

[Didn't the Marquis start looking at his son with disfavor after that? At first it was beating and scolding, then he thought about burning his son alive. How could a mother tolerate such a thing? So she fled with her son, but unfortunately the Marquis had considerable power in the area at the time, and no one dared to intervene. The mother and son had no choice but to come to the capital. Today happened to be the Double Ninth Festival, and they came to pray at the temple, unexpectedly meeting your idol. Speaking of luck, it's fortunate that Qi Shuguang is so honest and sincere, otherwise others might not have believed this story.]

Her idol was indeed honest and sincere, but Yanshu was still incredulous and said, [Is the Marquis an idiot? How could he believe such nonsense?]

The System replied, [On one hand, he might indeed be somewhat foolish, and on the other hand, the illness was truly unbearable. The Marquis had lived in luxury for so many years, he certainly couldn't endure the pain. It's not surprising that he would become desperate and try anything, especially since the priest's first ritual seemed effective. It would be hard for him not to believe.]

Yanshu thought about it - "waist-encircling dragon" seemed to be what later generations would call shingles, which was indeed difficult to treat.

But why did the priest's exorcism work?

The System explained helpfully, [Because this priest actually knew medical arts.]

Yanshu: [??? What, the priest knew medicine? If he was so skilled, why not properly treat people as a doctor instead of putting on these supernatural acts?]

The System enlightened her, [Because pretending to be supernatural could earn much more money!]

Yanshu still didn't understand, [??? What does a monk need so much money for? Don't tell me he wants to build a mansion and secretly enjoy a life of luxury?]

The System said, [Now you're being narrow-minded, this priest's ambitions are far greater! By the way, this priest happens to be an acquaintance of the Empress Dowager.]

Yanshu: [??? The Empress Dowager's acquaintance? Who?]

The System: [The "Baihe Taoist" who helped the Old Emperor pursue immortality.]

Yanshu's eyes widened, [What??? The same corrupt priest who put drugs in the Qianming Palace bedchamber and made the emperor impotent?]

The System: [That's right, the very same.]

Hearing this, Yanshu nearly coughed blood, [That charlatan actually fled to Minyue? The emperor's men couldn't find him?]

At that moment, Yuwen Lan beside her also tensed up.

Indeed, from Yanshu's thoughts, he had just learned that the Baihe Taoist was behind this.

Ever since discovering the truth back then, he had been sending people to search for him, but they had never found him. Who would have thought he had gone to Yanping?

Yanshu was still confused, but before she could ask the System, she heard the Empress Dowager say, "How could the Marquis of Yanping be so foolish? To be manipulated to such an extent by a charlatan?"

The Marchioness of Yanping nodded through her tears and said, "I dare not deceive you, this priest has gathered many followers in Minyue in recent years. Some have even built temples to worship him, spreading tales of his supernatural powers."

"What?"

The Empress Dowager immediately furrowed her brow.

For a moment, she couldn't help but think of that foolish man from years ago.

Yuwen Lan also frowned.

Had the Baihe Taoist already achieved such influence?

Why hadn't his men discovered this?

Yanshu quickly asked the System, [System, what's going on? Isn't the emperor trying to catch this Baihe Taoist? How did he manage to build such a large operation? Didn't the Imperial Guards notice?]

The System replied, [Because after fleeing the palace back then, he changed his name. He now calls himself the Yuanchong Taoist. Few of the Imperial Guards had seen him back then, so of course it was difficult to catch him.]

So he had changed his name.

Yanshu still didn't understand, [What skills does this person have that he could actually gather followers!]

However, the system continued, [This person knows medicine, and his medical skills are quite exceptional. Over the years, he's maintained his youthful appearance despite his gray hair. Those wealthy people with time on their hands are always pursuing immortality, so isn't it easy for them to fall for this? This Yuanchong Taoist has been wandering around the Min-Yue regions these years, amassing enormous wealth. Within a few years, he's taken many disciples and established a sect called the "White Cloud Sect."]

Yanshu still didn't understand, [So what does he want to do with all that wealth? Is it just for the feeling of being worshipped by others?]

The system replied, [No, his true purpose is to support the Red Lotus Cult's rebellion.]

Rebellion?

Yanshu was shocked.

Holy crap, this Red Lotus Cult was no small matter.

This had been a nightmare plaguing various dynasties for hundreds or even thousands of years!

Things were getting way out of hand!

She needed to tell the Emperor right away.