Chapter 120 Yangzhou Cousin

"What's this?"

Concubine Shu stared at the things in the boxes on the ground with an expression of disbelief.

The young eunuch who came to deliver the things bowed and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, this is a box of books."

The words were met with an angry rebuke from Concubine Shu: "You little slave! Of course I know this is a box of books. I'm asking what your Majesty's intention is. Why did you send me a box of books?"

She heard from the palace servants that early in the morning, the emperor sent a large number of rewards to Qiyun Palace with great fanfare, and they were all good things.

In comparison, the box of books she has here seems really shabby and inexplicable.

The eunuch smiled and said, "Your Majesty said that books can bring you a golden house and a beautiful wife. I hope you will read and copy more books every day, keep calm, cultivate yourself and rest, and don't go out and talk nonsense, bullying other ladies."

It was actually inappropriate for a small eunuch like him to say this. He wanted to be more tactful, but no one would be happy to be called a "dog slave" for no reason.

"?"

Concubine Shu was even more confused: "Who did I bully?"

Eunuch: "I don't know either. I am only delivering His Majesty's oral instructions."

"The emperor also said that you must copy fifty pages of the book every day and not use anyone else's hand to do it. Otherwise, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor, an unforgivable crime."

Concubine Shu frowned coldly, "I'm the assistant in charge of the six palaces. How can I have so much time to copy books on weekdays?"

The eunuch smiled, his voice becoming softer and softer: "Your Majesty, please be patient. The Emperor said that you don't need to worry about palace affairs for the time being."

This was a disguised way of removing the power of the six palaces from Concubine Shu. As for how long this "temporary" period would be, it was up to Emperor Jingxuan to decide.

It is obvious that the emperor is dissatisfied with Concubine Shu.

After the eunuch left, Concubine Shu thought about it and realized that the only person she had bullied in the past few days was Yun Wan.

Can--

She stared at the books in the box, her chest aching with anger. "When did I ever bully her?"

Could it be that telling her a few truths is bullying her?

What infuriated her the most was why Yun Wan was still complaining?!

There has always been an unwritten rule in the harem: as long as it is not a big deal, it will not be brought to the emperor. Even if there is a disagreement between them, they see each other every day in the palace, and everyone at least maintains superficial harmony. How could they blatantly report it to Emperor Jingxuan?

Yun Wan is breaking the rules!

Yun Wan didn't care about any rules. She was a newcomer and had not learned the rules of the palace.

Since everyone thinks that she can only rely on Emperor Jingxuan, why shouldn't she do so?

In contrast, the concubines who were watching silently became even more silent, and the harem was calm for a while.

In mid-September, as autumn deepens, the capital city suddenly becomes colder and the wind is biting like winter, so you need to wear thicker clothes.

After a new round of decoration, Qiyun Palace was renovated with many gorgeous and exquisite utensils, all of which came from Emperor Jingxuan's private treasury.

Yun Wan originally wanted to put those valuable items in the warehouse to prevent them from being accidentally broken, but Emperor Jingxuan disagreed.

On the contrary, he ordered the objects that were not gorgeous and valuable to be removed and replaced with those that he had sent that day.

Emperor Jingxuan wanted to fill the Qiyun Palace with his carefully selected things so that his wife would naturally think of him when she saw these items.

It had been a while since I had made perfume. Could it be that no one would disturb me during my free time? Yun Wan stayed in the incense room for a while this morning, until Yue Jian knocked on the door.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has just come to inform you that you should go to the Qinzheng Palace."

Yun Wan was suspicious: "Now?"

Yue Jian nodded.

Not knowing what was going on, Yun Wan didn't want to delay any longer, so he put down the incense burner, washed his hands, and went to the Qinzheng Hall.

It was windy today, so Yun Wan put on a cloak when she went out. When she reached the front of the hall, she met Yun's father.

Father Yun: "This humble servant greets Her Majesty Yun. I wonder how Her Majesty is doing these days?"

Although they were both in Beijing, the father and daughter had only met twice in the past five years.

The last time Yun Wan was ordered to enter the palace was as Yun Xiangshi, who came to deliver soup to the emperor on behalf of Concubine Shu.

This time she has become the honorable Concubine Yun.

Yun Wan: "I'm fine, please keep me in mind, Lord Yun."

She looked indifferent and distant, as if they were not father and daughter.

Father Yun sighed, feeling heartbroken and distressed: "You've been blaming me for all these years and you're unwilling to call me father?"

Yun Wan was unmoved: "Master Yun has many children, so he doesn't need an unfilial daughter like me."

"If your mother—"

Yun Wan's eyes flashed and she interrupted him: "Master Yun, if you don't mention my mother, we are still father and daughter."

She looked at Father Yun with a cold expression, "You don't have to act so sad and regretful. I just want to ask you, do you still remember what my mother looked like, and when her birthday and memorial were?"

There was a hint of fatigue and difficulty in Yun's father's expression, and it was obvious that he couldn't answer.

Yun Wan sneered inwardly, "I know what Father wants, but it also depends on whether I'm happy or not. Otherwise, Father knows the power of pillow talk best of all."

Like many other scholars, Yun's father was very concerned about his reputation. When he was questioned by his own daughter, embarrassment and shame flashed across his face.

But remembering Emperor Jingxuan's warning and Yun Wan's current status, he could only hang his head in shame. "A few days ago, your aunt in Yangzhou wrote to me, saying that your cousin will come to Beijing next month to participate in the next spring imperial examination."

Hearing the two of them, Yun Wan's expression finally fluctuated. She asked her father, "Where's the letter?"

Father Yun said: "It is inconvenient to enter the palace. I will find an opportunity in two days and ask someone to bring it to the palace."

Thus, the few exchanges between father and daughter ended, and Yun Wan stepped onto the bluestone steps and came to the Qinzheng Hall.

The palace door was closed. The palace servant said that His Majesty was summoning His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so Yun Wan waited in the corridor.

After about a cup of tea, the palace door opened and the prince came out with a pale face.

Seeing Yun Wan, he glared at her fiercely and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Yun Wan felt extremely confused.

As soon as she entered the palace, Emperor Jingxuan noticed her and his expression eased slightly: "Madam is here."

Yun Wan took off her cloak and walked towards him, saying casually, "I just met my father and had a few words with him."

She did not mention the look the prince gave her because she did not want to get involved in the affairs between Emperor Jingxuan and the prince.

Yun Wan knew that she could flatter other concubines in front of Emperor Jingxuan, and if it got out, it would just be jealousy, which could be a big deal or a small one.

But if it were the crown prince, it would be alienating the father and son and interfering in state affairs.

She didn't want to be called a 'witch concubine' by others.

Pulling her to sit on his lap, Emperor Jingxuan lowered his head and buried it in her clothes, greedily inhaling the warm fragrance from her body.

"What did you talk about?"

"He said my cousin will come to the capital next month to prepare for the next year's spring exam."

"cousin?"

Emperor Jingxuan raised his head and asked, "How old are you? Are you married?"

Yun Wan touched the stubble on his chin, which was a bit prickly, and said truthfully, "My cousin is one year older than me. He is twenty-four this year and still unmarried."

Emperor Jingxuan said in a gloomy tone: "You are still unmarried at the age of twenty-four. Is there something you cannot tell others about?"

Yun Wan was not happy and defended her cousin: "When my cousin first took part in the Spring Examination, his uncle passed away suddenly due to an old illness. He then observed mourning for his uncle for three years. He was originally engaged, but he withdrew because he did not want to delay the girl."

"After the mourning period was over, my aunt unfortunately fell ill and missed the Spring Examination. That's why it's been delayed until now, and the marriage has also been postponed."

Emperor Jingxuan tutted his words and said, "What an unlucky fellow."

Hearing this, Yun Wan choked and glanced at him.

Emperor Jingxuan was about to say something when a palace attendant hurried in from outside the hall and said anxiously:

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Third Prince is missing!"