Chapter 91: Jealousy

Yang Manyan lowered her eyes, and her thick, curled eyelashes seemed to tremble slightly in the light.

Even now, she still feels scared when she thinks back to that night. She still remembers the feeling of helplessness, panic and despair.

If what she met that night was not the emperor, but a criminal with ulterior motives... losing her virginity would be a small matter, but she was afraid that her whole family would be implicated and die with her.

At first, Yang Manyan thought that the young eunuch was instructed by Empress Xu to harm her. After all, Empress Xu's reaction when she first saw her that night was really strange.

Later, she entered the Eastern Palace, but Concubine Wei took advantage of the prince's absence from the capital to provide disaster relief to invite her to appreciate the night-blooming cereus at night and led her to the Imperial Garden.

What happened that night happened again. She failed to escape as successfully as she did the first time, but was imprisoned in Xiyuan Yingtai for more than a month.

The two murders were exactly the same, and there is a high probability that they were committed by the same person.

For some reason, she had an indescribable intuition that the aphrodisiac powder that the young eunuch sprinkled on her was very likely the warm fragrance that caused the previous emperor to die.

Yang Manyan was so confused that his fingertips hidden in his sleeves were deeply embedded in his palms and he didn't even feel the pain.

Xiao Yan was also looking at her carefully.

After dinner, she took a shower and changed into a light green satin nightgown. She was now leaning against the head of the bed, her long hair loosely tied up, her cheeks rosy and plump.

He knew from a young age that he was different from his father. His father already had him as his adopted son, so he could leave the six harems empty and stay away from women, but he had to take on the responsibility of continuing the imperial bloodline.

In his imagination, his wife would probably be a dignified and sophisticated girl from an aristocratic family, who might not be particularly good-looking, but who could treat him with respect.

But the reality is completely opposite to what he imagined.

His Yuanyuan was not from a noble family, nor was she beautiful, and he was not able to remain calm. He would have wanted to present the best things in the world to her to make her happy.

Even though he was not the only one in her heart.

In fact, he is far from being as calm and composed as he appears.

In the past few days, he repeatedly caught Yang Manyan and his father being intimate behind his back. He watched them grow more and more affectionate, and the jealousy in his heart grew like weeds.

After a while, Yang Manyan suddenly asked, "Zi'an, have you found out what happened to the Nuanqingxiang?"

Xiao Yan calmed down and explained in a gentle voice, "At that time, there was no main seat in Xianfu Palace. The noble lady Jiang lived in the west palace. After the incident, she stabbed her throat with a golden hairpin and committed suicide on the spot. The palace maids around her also said that she ordered the spices herself."

"Noble Lady Jiang?" Yang Manyan looked up in surprise. "Is she from the Empress Dowager's mother's family?"

But if she was from Queen Mother Jiang’s mother’s family, why was she only given the title of noble lady?

Above the noble ladies are concubines, imperial concubines, noble concubines, and imperial noble concubines. According to the temperament of Empress Dowager Jiang, the initial title given to the girls from her mother's family should be concubines or above.

"It is true that Concubine Jiang was sent to the palace by the Jiang family, but she is only the adopted daughter of the Empress Dowager's second brother. It is said that she is an actress kept by the Jiangnan Weaving House."

Having said this, Xiao Yan paused slightly.

Rumor has it that Concubine Jiang was stunningly beautiful. An outspoken old eunuch once mentioned in private that Yang Shangyi was somewhat similar to Concubine Jiang.

However, he suppressed the matter before it became known, and the old eunuch was sent to the imperial estate outside the capital and placed under strict surveillance.

If Yang Manyan knew about this, she would suddenly understand why Queen Mother Jiang made an exception and selected her, a girl from a humble family, among hundreds of beauties, and why Queen Xu cried and laughed at the same time after seeing her, as if she was crazy.

Yang Manyan couldn't help asking again, "Your Majesty and the Queen Mother are usually so estranged, is it because of this incident?"

Although she is an adopted daughter, she is ultimately inseparable from the Jiang family.

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, "That is indeed the reason, but it is not the only reason."

As he spoke, he raised his hands and lowered the crescent-shaped golden hooks on both sides of the bed, and the gauze curtain slowly fell down.

The bed suddenly became dark, but there were still flickering lights outside the curtains and flickering candlelight in the room.

Seeing this, Yang Manyan silently crawled into the bed, lifted the quilt and got in, "Then what's the reason?"

Xiao Yan also lay down, held her in his arms through the thin quilt, and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"Do you know that your father was raised in the palace of your grandfather's Imperial Consort Tang when he was young?"

Yang Manyan nodded. This was not a secret in the palace and she had heard about it.

Imperial Noble Consort Tang was the cousin of Emperor Wen's biological mother. She gave birth to Emperor Wen's second son. After the second son died, she raised the third prince, who is now the emperor.

Xiao Yan said in a low voice, "The Imperial Concubine Tang did not like my father's adopted son, and the people who served her also neglected my father. Later, Concubine Tang became seriously ill, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that her fate was incompatible with my father's. After that, my father was placed under house arrest in the Xuanguang Pavilion in the Imperial Garden for many years."

Yang Manyan's pupils dilated slightly when she heard this. The last two times she and the emperor had unexpected intimacy were both in Xuanguang Pavilion.

But she didn't know that was where the emperor was once under house arrest, let alone that he had experienced such a situation when he was young.

Xiao Yan untied the hairband hanging on her shoulders, and the girl's black hair instantly spread out, like the finest silk.

He picked up a strand of hair and twisted it around his fingertips, then said slowly:

"My grandfather loved Concubine Tang very much and once thought of executing my father for praying for her. The Empress Dowager, in order to protect herself, took the lead in distancing herself from my father. Only the late emperor insisted on pleading for my father."

Yang Manyan's heart trembled and he remained silent for a long time.

When she first met the emperor, he had been in power for more than ten years. He was the supreme ruler, with a majestic and strong figure and a stern aura.

It was also difficult for her to imagine that he had been imprisoned and his life was in danger.

Xiao Yan added: "When my father inherited the throne, he dealt with a large number of Jiang clan members who had committed crimes with great vigour. Since then, the relationship between the Empress Dowager and my father has become increasingly cold and distant."

There was now a subtle rivalry between them, but he did not take the opportunity to exaggerate, and simply repeated everything he knew truthfully.

Compared to his father, he was much luckier, and he never thought that it was his father who stole his throne.

He was just one year old when the previous emperor passed away. At that time, Daliang was plagued by internal and external troubles. If he succeeded to the throne at a young age, the situation would only be worse.

For a moment, the hall was silent, with only the flickering candlelight.

The chaotic thoughts in his mind were only a flash, and Yang Manyan quickly calmed down.

The most important thing at the moment is that her father's reform in Jizhou was frustrated. Other trivial matters can be put aside for the time being.

The next day, at daybreak, Xiao Yan got up, washed and dressed, and went to Wenhua Hall for morning lessons surrounded by a group of eunuchs.

Normally, Yang Manyan would still be fast asleep at this time, but today, contrary to her usual behavior, she got up early to dress up.

The palace servants opened every window in the palace in an orderly manner, and the soft and bright morning light poured in, making the inner hall look bright.

Yang Manyan looked at Xingyun behind him through the peep show and asked in a low voice, "Xingyun, is Tong Lin in the East Palace now?"

Xingyun replied hurriedly, "Yes, I saw him just before I came in."

After a moment's hesitation, Yang Manyan said, "Go and tell him to send some people to the Minister's Mansion to strengthen the defense. Now that only A Niang and Zhen Zhen are left at home, I am really worried."

Before Xingyun could agree, she changed her mind and said, "Forget it. Just ask him to send someone to bring A Niang and Zhen Zhen to the palace to stay for a few days."

"And have someone clean up Yanqing Palace so that A Niang and Zhen Zhen can stay there for a while."

Xingyun nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I will do it right away."

After breakfast, Yang Manyan estimated that the morning court should be over, so he set off for the Qianqing Palace.

She couldn't just sit there and wait for death.