Chapter 9: Harem Sidelined

Pei Tingyue's ears burned at his gaze, and she defended herself, "There's a reason why Tingyue can't wait!"

Xie Chen raised his eyebrows and waited quietly for her next words.

Pei Tingyue let go of the jade belt and pushed it down. "The emperor looks so handsome wearing the sachet made by this concubine!"

Xie laughed dully: "How handsome is he? Let Yuehao tell you."

Pei Tingyue got up from his arms, took two or three steps back, and looked at the distinguished young man sitting in front of her.

He was wearing a moon-white brocade robe with intricate dark patterns outlined with silver thread on the cuffs and lapels, which gave him an indescribable elegance and grace.

The jade belt around his waist and the silver-white sachet hanging from his waist made him look even more noble.

Coupled with that elegant and noble face, it is really impactful.

It was to the extent that she could blow the whistle on a hooligan when she saw him.

Pei Tingyue frowned, searching for words, but rejected them one by one. Finally, he said in distress, "I can't find a way to describe it."

A few words cannot describe the amazement I felt when I saw him.

Xie Chen stood up slowly and walked over here: "It won't work if Tingyue can't tell me."

Pei Tingyue's eyebrows jumped, not understanding his intention: "Your Majesty means..."

The next moment, she understood what he meant.

After a dizzying moment, she was carried by the man around the waist towards the bedroom.

He actually used this to punish her.

Bedroom.

The rustling sound of undressing seemed even more ambiguous in the dim candlelight.

The gilded tent was slowly lowered, and then faint, broken moans could be heard from inside.

After a long time, a snow-white arm stretched out, as if trying to escape, but in the blink of an eye, it was ruthlessly caught again.

Inside the curtains, Xie Chen smiled faintly at the woman shaking her head and crying silently. "I'm not satisfied yet. Why doesn't Tingyue describe it?"

Pei Tingyue's whole body was flushed red, and she could no longer utter a word. She could only open her watery eyes and beg.

Xie Chen's voice became gentler, and his fingertips caressed her sweaty little face. "How pitiful! I can't bear it."

He said sweet words, but his actions were completely different.

Pei Tingyue could only fall into joy again and let him climb to the clouds again and again.

Suddenly, the jade bracelet on her wrist collided with each other with a sharp movement, making a crisp "ding-ling" sound.

Xie Chen turned his head when he heard the voice, looked at the pair of snow-white wrists hooked around his neck, and smiled gently.

"Something spoke up for Tingyue."

In the quiet snowy night, the sound of the jade bracelets colliding was particularly clear.

It was not until the second half of the night that the sound finally stopped.

After a quick scrub, Xie Chen tucked the quilt in for Pei Tingyue. He said gently, "It's getting late. Tingyue, go to bed early."

Pei Tingyue saw him sitting up and asked in confusion, "Where is the emperor going?"

Xie Chen lifted the quilt and stood up, then called the palace servants to change his clothes for him: "There are still memorials to be approved, you go to sleep first, I will come after I finish dealing with them."

Pei Tingyue was shocked.

After this night, she was exhausted, but he was still able to handle government affairs with a clear mind. His physical strength was truly terrifying!

After watching him leave, Pei Tingyue closed her eyes and soon fell into a drowsy sleep.

She slept soundly and peacefully, completely unaware of the turmoil outside.

The individual promotion and two consecutive days of staying overnight attracted the attention of all the concubines.

That night, many people couldn't sleep.

*

The second day.

Pei Tingyue got up, her legs still trembling slightly. With Yunshu's support, she arrived at Fenghe Palace on time.

Seeing her coming, all the concubines in the hall looked over, then looked away after a moment.

Pei Tingyue sat down in his usual seat and looked at the concubines calmly.

On the high platform, the Phoenix Throne was empty, as the Queen had not yet arrived.

There were two rows of small-leaf red sandalwood chairs in the hall, and the two leading chairs were still empty.

Concubine Song was ill all year round, leaving one photo empty. The other photo belonged to Concubine Shen Liang, who had been confined to the palace to recuperate since her miscarriage.

Pei Tingyue shifted his gaze downwards to the second chair on the right. Concubine Xie was sitting there silently, with a cold expression that hadn't changed for a thousand years on her face.

After paying her respects for the first time, she felt very confused.

Although the four virtuous concubines were all of the second rank, there was also a ranking within this rank. Among the four concubines, the virtuous concubine was the most respected, and the virtuous concubine was the next.

According to common sense, Concubine Xie should sit in the first seat on the left, so why did she sit in this position?

After some inquiries, she learned that Concubine Shen Liang was pregnant at the time and had been promoted to Imperial Concubine. All her treatment had been improved, and the only thing left was the canonization ceremony.

Unfortunately, something happened in the end and the enthronement ceremony was not held as scheduled.

But after that, the emperor did not withdraw his order, and no one knew what he was thinking, so the virtuous concubine had no choice but to continue sitting like this.

Seeing that she didn't move, Pei Tingyue turned his eyes secretly to the opposite side of Concubine Xian.

There sat a palace concubine wearing a goose yellow flowered dress. She had a beautiful face and gentle eyes and eyebrows, which made people feel good like a warm spring breeze.

This person is none other than Concubine Jiang Shu, one of the four concubines.

Perhaps she noticed someone was looking at her, she turned her head slightly, and her eyes met Pei Tingyue's, then she smiled gently at Pei Tingyue.

Pei Tingyue also nodded at her.

Looking further back, there were a few old people from the Eastern Palace, headed by Lin Zhaorong, chatting in groups of three or two, but I couldn't hear what they were saying clearly.

No need to think, it must be Cricket's.

Pei Tingyue sighed and continued to look back.

After the old people in the Eastern Palace, there are the concubines who entered the palace in the third year of Xining. Including her, there are four people in total, firmly occupying the last position.

When they first entered the palace, they were all of the seventh rank Baolin. Except for Pei Tingyue who was promoted to talented person yesterday, the others are still Baolin.

At this moment, the three of them looked at her quietly, with envy and jealousy inevitably flashing in their eyes.

After looking around the hall, Pei Tingyue felt quite satisfied.

Even though she was promoted to a talented person yesterday, without Lin Zhaorong's role as a role model, these concubines did not dare to openly criticize her. At most, they made some subtle remarks and actions.

Much better than before.

Finally, she no longer had to argue with people every day or pretend to be weak and ask the queen for help.

Pei Tingyue was in a good mood and picked up the pastries on the table and started eating.

The pastries in the Queen's palace are unique, they are mellow, soft and melt in your mouth, much more delicious than those in her palace.

She wants to eat more before the queen comes.

Seeing that she was enjoying her meal, Yan Baolin, who was sitting behind Pei Tingyue, glared at her angrily, feeling so angry that he had no place to vent.

Among the new concubines who entered the palace last year, two of them entered the palace based on their family background, while she and Pei Tingyue were chosen purely because of their good looks.

When she first entered the palace, she thought she would be favored by virtue of her beauty.

But who would have thought that except for being summoned once as per the rules, she was never able to serve him in bed again.

Not only was she unable to sleep with the emperor, but other concubines were also unable to sleep with him.

For some unknown reason, after summoning his new concubine, the emperor did not set foot in the harem for more than half a year.

It was not until the beginning of spring this year that he gradually summoned people to sleep with him.

First came the queen, then several concubines, one by one according to their rank.

She was secretly delighted, thinking that it would be her turn soon. Then, she would show off her beauty and firmly capture the king's heart.

But who would have thought that after summoning the main concubines, the emperor suddenly skipped several people and favored Pei Tingyue directly.

And he never summoned anyone else after that. For the past month, she has been the only one who slept with him.

How can this not be enviable?

Yan Baolin felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She thought of many words to attack Pei Tingyue, just waiting for Lin Zhaorong to speak.

But no matter how long they waited, Lin Zhaorong still didn't say anything.

She wondered what happened to Lin Zhaorong?

Normally, she is the one who bullies Pei Tingyue the most, so why is she silent today?

As time passed, Yan Baolin became more and more anxious, and his eyes were always glued to Lin Zhaorong.

Not only her, most of the concubines frequently turned their eyes to Lin Zhaorong.

Among them was a concubine who was on good terms with Lin Zhaorong, who coughed lightly as a reminder.

Following this light cough, Lin Zhaorong finally moved. She picked up the Ruyao teacup, took a leisurely sip, and praised, "This tea is good."