nucmednet Chapter 144: Lift Barbells More Often
Chapter 144: Lift Barbells More Often
After about a cup of tea, Yu Liu opened the door of the palace and walked out slowly.
She bowed to the four concubines standing outside the palace and said respectfully, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Her Majesty Xian is already waiting in the palace. Please follow me inside."
"No, no, we just talked for a while. Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!" Wang Qian bowed.
"Although it is early winter now, there was a snowfall yesterday, and it looked like catkins falling on the branches. The scenery is quite charming. It is a good opportunity for the sisters to enjoy the snow, so it can't be considered a long wait." Xie Zhiqi also agreed with a smile.
"What are you talking about, little girl!" Su Feiran glanced at Xie Zhiqi, a smile spreading in his eyes, and a hint of teasing in his voice, "Who insisted on shaking the lotus magnolia just now, and ended up being almost covered in snow?"
The four concubines were all smiling, and their words were full of joy.
After a while, Ma Shuya looked at the sky and said softly, "Let's stop chatting here, lest we make the birthday boy wait anxiously in the hall, which would make us look negligent."
"What Juncairen said is true."
After hearing this, the four concubines quickly agreed. After tidying up their clothes, they followed Yu Liu and walked slowly into the hall.
Lin Xiuqing sat at the Eight Immortals Table in the main hall, holding the porcelain bowl in her hand gracefully, sipping the matsutake and shredded chicken soup gently, the hot steam rising slowly from the silver spoon.
Yu Liu walked forward slowly, bowed slightly, and reported respectfully: "Your Majesty, the four masters have arrived."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuqing gently put down the porcelain bowl and glanced at everyone indifferently.
The four concubines came forward to pay their respects. She nodded slightly, her face still calm. However, when her eyes fell on Su Feiran, they became a little deep, and there seemed to be a hint of strangeness in her eyes.
The four of them stood in front of Lin Xiuqing, bowed and saluted, and said in unison: "Greetings to Her Majesty Empress Xian! We wish Her Majesty a happy birthday and a long life. May Her Majesty be safe and happy, and may she be blessed with eternal happiness!"
Lin Xiuqing smiled slightly, with a hint of warmth in her eyes, and nodded gently, accepting everyone's congratulations. She smiled slightly, her eyes moving among the crowd.
Then, she opened her red lips and said sincerely:
"I have a deep friendship with all of you sisters. Now that I am older, I hope this friendship will last forever and never break."
When Lin Xiuqing said this, he slowly raised the teacup on the table and glanced at the four people in front of him with a subtle smile in his eyes.
She just raised the lamp lightly, and the hot air swirled up. She said calmly and generously,
"This tea is from the Jiangyin tree. Although it tastes bitter, it does not become bland even after being brewed for a long time. I hope that our friendship can be fully absorbed in this cup, and we can drink tea together year after year."
The four people responded with smiles, and when the voices died down, only the slightly bitter tea fragrance was diffused in the air. The other three people looked at Su Feiran, who waved his hand, and Yu Xiao came forward with the wooden box.
Su Feiran smiled and said, "Today is Sister Lin's birthday. As a younger sister, I have already prepared a gift and am waiting to give it to you today!"
"Oh?" Yu Xiao looked at the long and flat wooden box in her hand curiously, unable to guess what was inside. "What did Sister Su prepare?"
"Your Highness will know it at a glance."
Su Feiran directed Yu Xiao to open the lid of the wooden box. Everyone looked up and saw a luxurious dress lying quietly at the bottom of the box.
Everyone was amazed at its dazzling beauty at a glance. The dress was made of silk satin with delicate gold and silver embroidery. The skirt was painted with a phoenix with its wings spread out, and the feathers were inlaid with pearls and gems, which were dazzling. Every embroidery was neat and exquisite, not like ordinary clothes at all.
When Lin Xiuqing saw the dress, she was slightly surprised and asked, "Is this a formal dress?"
Su Feiran bowed and said, "Your Highness loved dancing in the past, but I have never seen her before. I heard that Your Highness has not danced for a long time, which is really a pity for the palace. I believe Your Highness also misses it very much. Therefore, I specially ordered someone to make this dance dress, hoping that Your Highness can regain her past and reappear her peerless elegance."
When Yu Liu first saw the gorgeous dance dress, he could not help but stare at it in amazement. Then he noticed that the base material of the dress looked familiar: "Is this brocade satin?"
"Exactly."
Su Feiran answered honestly, and then looked at Lin Xiuqing tacitly, hiding the secret between them in their hearts.
Yu Liu saw correctly that Su Feiran had made the undergarment with the brocade satin given to her by Lin Xiuqing.
Lin Xiuqing had given Su Feiran a lot of embroidery satin, and after Yuxiao used it to make a casual dress, there was still some left in the storeroom. Su Feiran took it out and used other precious fabrics to make a dance dress for Lin Xiuqing.
When Lin Xiuqing saw the dance dress, her heart was shaken. She was silent for a moment and then told Yu Liu: "Put it in the warehouse first."
Then, she turned to Su Feiran and forced a smile on her face: "Thank you for your kindness, Sister Su. This gift is very rare. I appreciate your consideration for me."
Su Feiran noticed that Lin Xiuqing's attitude was different, and she felt a pang in her heart. She quickly asked, "Sister, do you not like the gift I gave you? If you don't like it, I have prepared something else——"
"No," Lin Xiuqing's voice was slightly choked, "I like it very much."
After Lin Xiuqing calmed down, the other three presented their gifts and said some auspicious words. Ma Shuya gave a jade bracelet, Xie Zhiqi prepared a white ganoderma lucidum, and Wang Qian's gift was the most unique among the three, a specially made small stone lock.
"I heard that Empress Xian is weak in winter and prone to colds. If she strengthens her body, it can improve her yin deficiency and reduce her pain." Wang Qian explained, "However, the ordinary stone locks used by the guards for exercise are too heavy for women who rarely exercise. If they are not careful, they may overexert themselves and hurt themselves. For this reason, I specially ordered people to make these two stone locks, which are just the weight for women to use for basic physical training."
"That's... quite thoughtful."
The other three looked at this strange gift, wondering how Lin Xiuqing would react.
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "This stone lock is ingenious, and Concubine Wang is very creative. I will practice with this pair of stone locks tomorrow, and I hope that one day I can be as strong as Concubine Wang."
The people in the hall laughed and talked for a while, and Yu Liu stepped forward and said, "It's almost noon, the masters should move to the Imperial Garden first."
Everyone, wearing thick cloaks, surrounded Lin Xiuqing and came to the Imperial Garden, only to see that the venue for the poetry competition had already been set up in the Imperial Garden.
An open space in the Imperial Garden is surrounded by exquisite mahogany tables and chairs, the tables are covered with delicate brocade, and a sprig of freshly picked camellia is inserted on each corner of the table, emitting a fresh and distant aroma.
Several palace maids held thin bamboo poles and gently propped up the colorful silks around them, causing them to flutter gently, adding a touch of poetry and lightness to the venue.