Empress's favorite
Empress n. 皇后；女皇（第一眼看成了princess）
阅读了这一章后，开始对宋朝的历史感兴趣，林语堂在这一章说到宋朝有好几位贤能的皇后。这颠覆了我对久居深宫中女人的印象😂
此外，这一章和之前的几章内容中介绍了神宗皇帝对于苏轼才华的喜爱，我每次读到这里都不由得紧张起来，感觉皇帝马上会对苏东坡予以重任。有时也会感概，怎么皇帝也会身不由己呢……
下图：宋朝市井的生活👇
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How did the empress help Su Tungpo? Did Su Tungpo like living in the capital city?
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表达积累
1⃣️ Su Tungpo always had luck with empresses. 苏东坡总能得到太后的荫蔽。
2⃣️ erobserve （熟词僻义）常用的解释是“观察”，这里是“遵守”的意思
原句：…… to make up the three years' mourning for his mother which he had failed to observe.
3⃣️ 起草圣旨 the work of drafting imperial edicts
4⃣️ sonorous adj. 响亮的；作响的；能发出响亮声音的
5⃣️ at the height of one's fame
