Spring in the East Palace

Chapter 182: Making Tea

"Yes." Shen Muyin then stood up and still stood quietly.

The Queen Mother said slowly: "You should know that I like girls who are good at riding horses, so I summon you to the palace to accompany me for a few days."

"I know." Shen Muyin responded.

"I heard that the Crown Prince taught you how to ride a horse?" the Queen Mother asked calmly.

The Queen Mother thought that if it were an ordinary girl, she would be eager to establish such a relationship when she took the initiative to mention the Eastern Palace.

After all, everyone knows that she is anxious about the marriage in the Eastern Palace. This is equivalent to giving people a message, and smart people will follow the trend.

Instead, it was Shen Muyin in front of her that surprised the empress dowager a little.

"It was taught by His Highness. When we were in the paddock, His Highness was probably afraid that I would hold back, so he let me learn to ride a horse to save my life." Shen Muyin just stuck to the facts.

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and said, "You are really amazing. You have only been in the enclosure for three days and you have already won the first place."

Shen Muyin stood calmly, and responded in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "This is for the ladies to accept. My horsemanship is not superb, I just have good luck. But I think that as long as I practice more, I will be able to really be like a fish in water in the future."

Shen Muyin did not take credit for this, but he also expressed his meaning clearly.

The Queen Mother listened and chuckled softly, seeming delighted.

This Shen Muyin is indeed a likable girl. Her words do not offend anyone, and she is not proud or complacent.

The Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace needs such a person, but she is not very satisfied with Shen Muyin's background.

How could a mere prefect of Beijing be qualified to be the father-in-law of the prince? How could she not know what these people were thinking?

Just because the Eastern Palace had told her about this personally, the Queen Mother had to take it to heart. After all, this was the first time in so many years that the Eastern Palace had begged her like this.

"You are very smart." The Queen Mother was generous in praising Shen Muyin.

Soon, the Queen Mother casually asked some questions about Shen Muyin, and Shen Muyin answered truthfully without hiding anything.

In this situation, the Queen Mother snorted: "The Shen family's partiality is known to the whole capital. Shen Zhenzhen is plotting something bad and is still imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. And you are still here speaking for her?"

"Your Majesty, be kind to others. I think there are more beautiful things than dirty things in this world." Shen Muyin smiled calmly.

"That's well said." The Queen Mother nodded.

At this time, the nanny beside her brought tea: "Madam, your tea is Longjing tea sent from Jiangnan this year. It is saved with the morning dew and then boiled and steamed for you."

The queen mother took a sip of the tea and her brows furrowed. Then she put the cup aside without saying a word.

This means that the Queen Mother is displeased.

The nanny also seemed embarrassed. After following the empress dowager for so many years, she had never seen the empress dowager like the tea brewed by anyone. Only the late queen could make the empress dowager drink a few more sips.

This pickyness is exactly the same as that of the Eastern Palace.

But the Queen Mother is not as cruel as the Crown Prince. If she is not happy, someone’s head will be chopped off. At most, the Queen Mother will not touch him again.

Shen Muyin was quiet for a moment: "Your Majesty, I can make tea, and Your Highness has drunk it before. Why don't you let me make tea for you and see if you like it?"

The Queen Mother looked at Shen Muyin with interest: "You can make tea? Do you know what will happen if you can't make it well?"

"If the food I cook does not satisfy the Queen Mother, then I will accept the punishment." Shen Muyin was calm and composed.

The Queen Mother watched quietly for a long time before looking at Eunuch He beside her: "Prepare tea for Miss Shen."

"I'll do it right away." Eunuch He nodded and left quickly.

The servant beside her offered Shen Muyin a seat, and Eunuch He quickly prepared the tea and whispered in Shen Muyin's ear about the Queen Mother's preferences.

Shen Muyin listened.

Soon, Shen Muyin made tea in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, and everyone in Fengxi Palace was looking at Shen Muyin.

They also wanted to see how Shen Muyin could make the Queen Mother happy, so everyone remained silent.

Shen Muyin was neither impatient nor anxious, and she controlled the heat just right. When she finished cooking, she personally brought the tea to the empress dowager: "Your Majesty, please try it."

Eunuch He at the side immediately brought it up and said, "Your Highness, I smell the fragrance of this tea, it is different from the usual ones, would you like to try it?"

"I am curious." The Queen Mother did not show much emotional reaction.

But she did not refuse. She took the tea brought by Eunuch He and took a sip. Then a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Indeed, it is the same Longjing tea, but the brewed tea made by Shen Muyin is completely different and surprising.

The Queen Mother finished the cup of tea.

The people in Fengxi Palace also looked at Shen Muyin in surprise. After the Queen Mother finished drinking the tea, she put down the teacup and looked at Shen Muyin calmly: "Who taught you how to make tea?"

"My adoptive father passed away unfortunately. When it comes to tea art, I am far inferior to him." Shen Muyin did not take credit for it.

The Queen Mother nodded, and her favorable impression of Shen Muyin increased. It was rare to find such a girl who was not easily affected by praise or criticism nowadays. You couldn't even see the slightest bit of arrogance in her.

In this situation, the Queen Mother summoned Shen Muyin to her side, and Shen Muyin answered the Queen Mother's questions while making tea.

Shen Muyin answered all these questions flawlessly.

The Queen Mother was even more satisfied.

The Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace must be absolutely flawless in her words and be fair and just.

At this moment, it was already time for dinner, and the maid had come to ask the Queen Mother: "Your Majesty, it's time to eat. May I bring you the meal?"

"What are we having for dinner today?" the Queen Mother asked calmly, not seeming to care.

"Stir-fried celery with lily, winter melon and pork ribs soup, hot and sour shredded potato, steamed tiger grouper, as well as cold seaweed and garlic peanuts are all your favorite dishes." The nanny whispered.

Shen Muyin listened quietly there, but didn't say anything.

She had even fewer memories of the empress dowager in her previous life. She had offended the empress dowager from the very beginning, and naturally there was nothing else after that.

But Shen Muyin more or less knew from the Shen family that the Queen Mother was an extremely picky person.

As she got older, she became more difficult to serve with food, and the Empress Dowager liked none of the chefs in the imperial kitchen.

Naturally, the Queen Mother's meals became the most troublesome thing for the Imperial Kitchen. After all, the Emperor had ordered that if the Queen Mother was not satisfied, they would be replaced sooner or later.

"Hmph, it's true that I like it, but what kind of things did the imperial kitchen send?" The Queen Mother was not polite at all.

"If Your Majesty doesn't like it, can I ask the kitchen to redo it?" the nanny said cautiously.