When Commandery Princess Shuanghua heard this, she felt like she was about to go crazy.
She shot a glance at Su Nuan with her phoenix eyes and sneered, "Heh, royal cousin-in-law? And I have to bring gifts?"
Su Nuan looked disappointed and nodded seriously. "Yes, did you really not bring any?"
Commandery Princess Shuanghua felt outraged at Su Nuan's foolishness.
Initially, she had wanted to see what Su Nuan had been doing in her chambers every day. She wanted to know what tricks she was using to make her Emperor cousin visit her chambers every day. She did not expect Su Nuan to ask her for gifts.
Although her behavior was infuriating and her words coarse, her logic was reasonable.
The Commandery Princess was the Empress Dowager's niece and the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. Her father was a current minister of the royal court. Regardless of family background or physical appearance, she was more respected than most women in Shang Nation.
Therefore, she could not afford to lose face.
She noticed that Su Nuan was still looking at her, so she gritted her teeth and removed the emerald green bracelet on her wrist. "Here, take this. Is that alright?"
Su Nuan was not an expert at these things, but she had a taste for beauty.
The jade bracelet was lustrous and was obviously not an ordinary item.
She happily took the bracelet and handed it to Zhen Zhu, who rushed forward to receive it with both hands.
"Put it on for me."
Zhen Zhu slid the jade bracelet onto Su Nuan's slender wrist. The dark green color complimented her fair skin, making it appear even more fair and delicate.
Jealousy flashed through the Commandery Princess' eyes.
The bracelet was a gift from the Empress Dowager, who had given her countless gifts. She received the bracelet a couple of days ago. She had found it new and interesting, but after wearing it for two days, she realized that it didn't look good at all.
She didn't think that Su Nuan would look so good wearing it. She was already regretting giving it to her.
Commandery Princess Shuanghua looked at the exquisite box next to her and noticed that there were five or six luminous pearls the size of eggs in it. Her eyes widened immediately.
The Empress Dowager was extremely fond of luminous pearls, so she was usually unwilling to give them away. Even if she requested, she could only ask for one.
Didn't this fool refuse them the other day? Why does she have so many now?
Hence, she couldn't help but remark, "Your luminous pearls…"
"Big Brother Emperor gave the luminous pearls to me. I plan to give one to Empress Dowager."
Su Nuan didn't try to hide anything. Commandery Princess Shuanghua would find out sooner or later anyway, so there was no harm in letting her know in advance.
Upon hearing this, Commandery Princess Shuanghua gritted her teeth in anger. "Really? If so, you're giving it to the right person. The Empress Dowager fancies these things," she said.
Su Nuan pretended not to notice her hatred and said casually, "By the way, Zhen Zhu, have you done what I asked you to do? Is the imperial kitchen done?"
Zhen Zhu quickly replied, "Yes, everything is all wrapped up already. The people from the imperial hospital just came, and they left it in our palace."
"I'll go take a look then."
Commandery Princess Shuanghua stared at Su Nuan. She wanted to ridicule the new Empress who had just entered the palace, but she did not expect the other party to be so heartless even to let her know that the Emperor had gifted her so many luminous pearls. She was obviously seething.
She watched as Su Nuan lifted her dress and walked out quickly. She couldn't help but follow after.
Su Nuan looked at the things placed beside her, and her eyes lit up.
"Now this looks like a legitimate donkey-hide gelatin cake."
After saying that, she pinched a piece and put it into her mouth. It tasted really good.
Zhen Zhu asked carefully, "Your Majesty, can this… be eaten?"
"Of course. This is called donkey-hide gelatin cake. It nourishes a woman's blood and face, and prolongs her life. It's much more nourishing than other foods like bird's nest soup. Find a nice box and put this in it. I'll bring it to the Empress Dowager later."
Zhen Zhu did not fully understand, but she gave Su Nuan a thumbs up anyway. "The Empress is amazing! You know so much."
"Of course."
She turned to Commandery Princess Shuanghua and asked, "Huh? Why are you still here?"
The latter felt like she was going to have a heart attack. Where would I be if not here?
I can't believe this idiot got the imperial kitchen to make something to send to the Empress Dowager. Wait a minute. Sending something to the Empress Dowager…
Commandery Princess Shuanghua slowly withdrew her gaze from the black item and said indifferently, "The Empress is quite devoted. You know how to give the Empress Dowager good presents. Alright, I won't delay you any longer."
Zhen Zhu watched the Commandery Princess leave and asked softly, "Your Majesty, is it wrong of us to do this?"
"What's wrong? It's only a trap if she has malicious intentions. If the Commandry Princess intends to harm people, we can use this incident to give her a warning. If she doesn't, the Empress Dowager would be happy to receive all these anyway. Once she's happy, she won't kill me," Su Nuan replied calmly.
She still remembered the previous time when she overheard the secrets of the palace. Although the Empress Dowager had put her to the test subsequently, she had never completely believed her.
"Alright, go and prepare. Remember to find a box as beautiful as the box containing the luminous pearls."
…
As soon as she left Fengqi Palace, Commandery Princess Shuanghua's expression turned ugly.
The palace maid beside her said softly, "Your Highness, the Empress knows how to personally deliver gifts to the Empress Dowager to express her sincerity. Should we…"
"Shut up. I'm the niece of the Empress Dowager. Even if I don't give her anything, my aunt still likes me. There's no need for me to suck up to her. Besides, we still don't know whether she'll have good fortune or disastrous luck when she brings gifts to the Empress Dowager this afternoon."
When Su Nuan greeted the Empress Dowager in the evening, Commandery Princess Shuanghua was there.
Of course, Feng Junyi was also present.
When Su Nuan saw Feng Junyi, she immediately smiled at him, but she received a cold gaze from him in return.
She stuck out her tongue and looked away. The Empress Dowager admired the gifts she brought. She pointed at the gelatin cake and asked, "Empress, I'm familiar with the luminous pearls, but what is this?"
The Empress Dowager was referring to the donkey-hide gelatin cake, and Su Nuan repeated what she had explained to Zhen Zhu. She even added mysteriously, "Mother, this is the secret recipe that an imperial physician who once had a good relationship with me told me. If you eat it, you will always look beautiful."
"Really? Nanny Zhao, bring me a piece."
The Empress Dowager looked pleased. Nanny Zhao then took out a piece of gelatin cake from the box and handed it to the Empress Dowager.
"Can I just eat it like that?"
"Yes, it's just like eating pastries. You can just eat it directly."
Su Nuan looked at the Empress Dowager with her pair of big eyes that were filled with innocence. The Empress Dowager pinched a piece and put it into her mouth.
Feng Junyi couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward to knock the gelatin cake out of the Empress Dowager's hand.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
The gelatin cake fell to the ground, startling the Empress Dowager.
Su Nuan heaved a sigh of relief.
If the Emperor did not knock it out of the Empress Dowager's hands, she would have done it too.
"The gelatin cake is poisonous," Feng Junyi said coldly.