Chapter 51 Chapter 51 "Empress Tong is really smart..."

Li Shuyao's body was still in pain, and after walking all the way, her smooth forehead was covered with sweat.

Qingyao, immersed in sadness, did not notice these for a moment, but was noticed by Lingluo, who was always careful.

He then took another look at Li Shuyao's current state: her face was pale, her lips were slightly cracked, and she was shaking unconsciously as Miss Guo Luoluo held her tightly. And then there was Nanny Lin standing beside her, carefully protecting her...

Lingluo understood something in an instant.

A trace of worry quickly appeared on her face.

She hurried over, stopped her young mistress from muttering, and held Li Shuyao's elbows with both hands, indicating that she could lean all her strength on her.

Li Shuyao bit her lip lightly, frowned and wanted to refuse.

——Qingyao just said that if she didn't learn the rules well, Lingluo would take the beating for her...

Who knows how many wounds he has on his body now.

She was reluctant to trouble Lingluo at this time.

Then he patted Lingluo's hand with his other hand, gave her a weak but not gloomy smile, and asked softly, "Sister Lingluo, have you been having a hard time these days?"

Qingyao pinched her sleeve and nodded, "Yes, Lingluo is also very miserable."

"I heard that the maids who supervise the palace maids are often called 'cold-faced devils'..."

As Qingyao spoke, she seemed to realize that something was wrong with Li Shuyao.

She suddenly raised her face, and the hairpin that was only half fixed on her head swayed messily.

She looked at Li Shuyao in surprise.

Li Shuyao subconsciously covered her mouth with her hand and blinked. She felt that she was trying to cover up the truth by doing so, so she decisively put her hand down.

Qingyao could clearly see her lips that were red and moist from being kissed, as well as the slight cracks at the corners of her lips.

She vaguely understood something.

He lowered his head, gently grasped Li Shuyao's hand, and very slowly lifted Li Shuyao's sleeve up a little bit.

Li Shuyao:?

What are you doing by lifting her sleeves?

She lowered her head curiously and saw several small plum blossoms of different shades on her exposed white wrist.

Her eyes suddenly widened.

She shyly wanted to take her hand away from Qingyao's.

Unexpectedly, Qingyao used a little strength to prevent her wrist from escaping easily. Her other hand slid along the sleeve to touch Li Shuyao's elbow. She touched an unknown place, but she tapped it twice with her fingertips. Li Shuyao instantly felt a slight tingling sensation like an electric current.

"What is this?" Li Shuyao asked.

Qingyao shook her head, said nothing, and straightened her sleeves.

He clasped his fingers together, took her hand and walked towards the house.

Lingluo and Nanny Lin quickly followed.

After entering the house, Qingyao walked to a small box and took out a white ceramic jar.

He walked to Li Shuyao again and motioned her to lift up her sleeves.

Although Li Shuyao was puzzled, she still obeyed without hesitation. After lifting her sleeves, she raised her hands to her eyes in a very awkward posture and saw——

"Ah, this..." Li Shuyao was shocked.

She turned around and asked Nanny Lin, "Are there any bugs in the East Warm Pavilion?"

Nanny Lin's expression looked very complicated, and emotions that Li Shuyao could not understand flashed across her cloudy old eyes rapidly.

After a moment, she shook her head and said, "The East Warm Pavilion is cleaned three times a day, so there shouldn't be any bugs."

Qingyao pursed her lips and smiled. As she lowered her head to apply medicine to Li Shuyao, she whispered, "This must be because the emperor loves you too much, so he kissed you."

She said, "You should have a lot of marks like this on your back as well."

"Why, didn't the emperor give you medicine today?"

When she said the last sentence, she raised her face and winked at Li Shuyao in a very coquettish way.

Li Shuyao's face instantly burned, even hotter than last night.

I always feel like I have no privacy at all.

It seems like everyone knows that she and the emperor...

Li Shuyao now wanted to find a hole in the table to crawl into and never wanted to come out to see anyone again.

Qingyao quickly applied the medicine to her two hands and looked at the back of her clothes.

Li Shuyao hurriedly pinched her collar tightly, trembling.

He stammered and explained to Qingyao: "I have already applied the medicine."

"Did the emperor give it to you?" Qingyao's eyes lit up again.

Li Shuyao nodded quickly.

Qingyao smiled again, moved closer, and whispered in Li Shuyao's ear, "Have you applied medicine to your thighs and ankles?"

Li Shuyao: "..."

She seemed to see a car driving by.

Qingyao, she, she, she is actually an old driver.

And...and is it really okay for them to talk about this in front of Lingluo and Nanny Lin?

Li Shuyao was so embarrassed that she stretched out her hands and covered Qingyao's soft cheeks on the left and right, trying to stop her from continuing.

Turning around, he was about to explain something, but saw that Lingluo and Nanny Lin had left at some point.

There were only her and Qingyao in the room.

After realizing that no one had heard these embarrassing topics, Li Shuyao breathed a sigh of relief.

She bit her lip again, and the slight stinging sensation made her consciousness, which was already hazy from shyness, gradually become clearer.

She quickly found a way to refute him: "You, you say you are so experienced, could it be that you, you were like this when you slept with me before?"

——It would be better if there was no stuttering.

——It will also appear more imposing.

After Li Shuyao finished speaking, she realized that her voice sounded a little weak, and she unconsciously reviewed it in her mind.

Qingyao's face hit her palm twice.

Li Shuyao then realized that she and Qingyao were too close, so she quickly let go of her face and helped her sit beside her.

He then asked again with a confident tone, this time with more force.

But his eyes were still evasive. After he finished speaking, he didn't dare to look at Qingyao at all, and instead focused all his attention on the white porcelain jar in Qingyao's hand.

Qingyao put the white porcelain jar on the table, and Li Shuyao's eyelashes trembled.

Qingyao pretended not to notice her guilty conscience and replied in a clear voice, "Of course, otherwise how would I know?"

She had long discovered the emperor's little hobbies.

I've been so busy these days, and I don't know when the emperor will summon Shu Yao to sleep with him, so I failed to remind her in time.

Shu Yao must have been frightened last night... right?

However, it might be a good thing.

After all, Shu Yao must look so pretty and adorable when she cries.

The beauty sheds tears, like pear blossoms in the rain.

No man in the world can resist this temptation.

Therefore, after she leaves the enclosure, the emperor will definitely assign more people to look after Shu Yao and will never let her be like herself before, where she was almost poisoned!

At this time, Li Shuyao was still unaware of her best friend's good intentions.

After hearing Qingyao's words, my face felt so hot that I could almost fry an egg on it, and the pink mist slowly spread to my ears and neck.

Li Shuyao clenched her fists, unable to continue with this topic that was not suitable for children.

So she coughed lightly and whispered, "You, you don't want to learn the rules today?"

Qingyao sat up straight when she heard this, "Oh, right, I almost forgot."

She got up in a hurry and packed her wedding clothes.

Lingluo, who was outside, heard the noise inside the house and quickly pushed the door open. However, she did not help Qingyao to tidy up her clothes or hair, but first took off the cumbersome ornaments on her head that were so heavy that they could almost break her neck.

As she picked the flowers, she said, "Madame Lin has already returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Before she left, she told me that the Emperor had sent someone to deliver his instructions. My lady, there's no need to learn the rules today. Just stay in the room and chat with Miss Li."

After a pause, she continued, "It's not a big deal. Hasn't the young lady already learned the procedures and rules of the ceremony? As for those palace rules and regulations, when the young lady becomes a concubine, will anyone dare to use them to compare her every word and action?"

When Lingluo said these words, there was obvious anger on her face.

Li Shuyao quickly poked her head out from behind Qingyao and asked Lingluo, "What happened?"

Lingluo and Qingyao looked at each other, hesitating whether to tell Li Shuyao about these things.

Li Shuyao became anxious when she saw their expressions.

She didn't want to be the one being hidden.

So he pulled Qingyao's sleeve and pleaded with her pitifully, "Didn't you say you loved me the most? You shouldn't have hidden things from me. Otherwise, you just don't like me. You like Lingluo. Lingluo is your best friend. I'm ranked behind her. I don't know how many places I'm ranked..."

Qingyao felt helpless after hearing what she said.

Lingluo also smiled and shook her head. She deliberately took Qingyao's hand, raised her chin and said to Li Shuyao, "If that's the case, what are you going to do?"

Li Shuyao silently turned his pair of dark, soft, and bright apricot-shaped eyes to her, with an expression that looked very aggrieved.

It makes people feel soft-hearted.

Li Shuyao thought for a moment and said, "Well, second best isn't bad either. I'll be Qingyao's second best friend, and also Sister Lingluo's second best friend."

She looked at Qingyao, then at Lingluo, and sighed, "I understand now. It turns out I'm the 'last' in 'first come, first served'..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Hearing this, Qingyao couldn't help but give her a coquettish look.

Lingluo also laughed out loud.

Li Shuyao perked up immediately. "Then I'm the 'first' in 'first come, first served'. Qingyao should have told me that, right?"

As he spoke, he snorted softly from the tip of his nose and said unhappily: "Besides, is there any secret that I can't hear?"

She has read the original novel.

Although the plot is now a mess, but...

Maybe?

Thinking of this, he puffed out his chest, trying to appear reliable.

However, as soon as she moved, she felt a sore pain in her lower back that made her limbs go limp and powerless. The pain spread throughout her body, and she was so scared that she dared not move at all.

Qingyao and Lingluo noticed that she was not feeling well and hurried over to help her.

Li Shuyao took the opportunity to grab the sleeve of Qingyao's wedding dress and shook it pitifully.

Qingyao had no choice but to tell her what had happened while she was learning the rules in the past few days.

Li Shuyao listened attentively, using her small little brain to help analyze while listening.

Finally, he made the final decision, "That steward surnamed Wu is Concubine Niuhulu's man!"

Qingyao and Lingluo looked at each other and asked her curiously, "How did you tell that?"

Li Shuyao: "..."

It was difficult for her to explain to them because it was in the book.

——Concubine Niohuru knew that there was a female official in the Qianqing Palace who was very favored by the emperor, and she was already vaguely jealous.

Because of his identity, he didn't dare to attack Qingyao.

Later, she learned that the Emperor, disregarding palace rules and the opposition of the Empress Dowager, was determined to give Qingyao the title of "Yipin" and even let her live in the Yiku Palace... The string in Concubine Niuhulu's mind instantly broke.

You should know that the word "Yi" in Yiku Palace originally means "assist", and "Kun" refers to "Kunning Palace".

Yikun means assisting the queen in managing the harem. [1]

In addition, there has never been a rule in the palace that allows official women to be directly promoted to "concubine".

Even if the emperor likes her very much, she should start from the lowest rank of "concubine".

This was also the reason why Concubine Nianhulu did not take Guo Luoluo Qingyao seriously at the previous Dragon Boat Festival banquet.

Concubine Niuhulu was jealous of Qingyao at first, and then looked down on her. However, such a person whom she looked down upon became the mistress of a palace in the blink of an eye.

One can imagine how Concubine Nianhulu felt.

She originally planned to wait until Qingyao agreed and then slowly deal with her.

But it’s difficult now.

Therefore, he could only boldly use the people that the Nianhulu family had previously placed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and wanted to deliberately make things difficult for Qingyao when she was learning the ceremonial rules and procedures, so as to induce her to make mistakes and lose her position as a concubine.

*

Because of the messed up plot, she and Qingyao did not encounter any difficulties at the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.

Li Shuyao thought that this part of the plot had been dropped by Butterfly.

But I didn’t expect…

Li Shuyao quickly put on a serious expression and carefully explained the twists and turns behind it.

Seeing Qingyao frowning and lost in thought.

She anxiously tugged at Qingyao's sleeves twice and said to her quickly, "You must never underestimate that eunuch surnamed Wu..."

As soon as the words fell, Lingluo beside him couldn't help but speak, "But...but that eunuch surnamed Wu, he, he was kicked out of the Imperial Household Department on the first day."

ah?

What?

Li Shuyao's brain froze.

Lingluo stood up, walked behind Qingyao, and continued to remove the hairpin on her head.

While busy, he explained to Li Shuyao: "That eunuch surnamed Wu is not a good person at first glance. On the first day that my lady and I went to learn the rules, I saw him with a wicked smile on his face reaching out and touching the hand of a little palace maid."

"That little palace maid was serving Concubine Zhaojia."

"Although Concubine Zhaojia was only granted the title of noble lady this time, she still has a little princess. Even if she's not particularly favored, how could she tolerate this? She immediately filed a complaint."

"By the way, Shuyao, you may not know this, but at the end of August, Consort Niuhulu will be crowned empress."

"Concubine Zhaojia took that little palace maid to complain to Concubine Niuhulu, but who would have thought that Concubine Niuhulu would just let her go with a few words. She didn't even give her a beating, nor did she ask the eunuch surnamed Wu to apologize to the little palace maid."

"Concubine Zhaojia was almost crying with anger at that time."

"What happened next?" Li Shuyao asked repeatedly.

She was really curious.

The original plot shouldn't be like this.

Lingluo did not reply immediately, but put the disassembled hairpins in order and put them back on the dressing table one by one. She also took out a comb and wanted to comb Qingyao's hair into a bun.

Qingyao was sitting next to her.

Seeing that Lingluo was really busy, Li Shuyao could only look at Qingyao eagerly, hoping that Qingyao could help her solve her doubts.

Qingyao was still thinking about what Li Shuyao said, curious about how she knew about the affair between Eunuch Wu from the Imperial Household Department and Concubine Nianhulu without leaving the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Could it be that when she was still a palace maid, she went to the Imperial Household Department to do some work and ran into him?

Qingyao felt that it was not that simple, but after thinking about it, she still couldn't figure out where Li Shuyao got the information from.

While deep in thought, he accidentally caught a glimpse of Li Shuyao's big, blinking eyes in confusion.

Qingyao: "..."

She immediately put all those doubts behind her.

He enthusiastically took Li Shuyao's hand and sat very close to her. While playing with Li Shuyao's slender fingers like scallions, he asked her, "What do you want to know? Just ask me."

Li Shuyao asked, "What happened next?"

later?

Qingyao frowned and thought about what Lingluo had talked about before.

Oh yes, I almost cried when I talked about Concubine Zhaojia.

Qingyao: "There were a lot of people watching at the time. I didn't want to be exposed to the scorching sun, so Lingluo and I went to find a shady open space. When we found a place, we saw Concubine Tong also walking over. I don't know what she said, but Concubine Niuhulu was so angry that she wanted to fight with her."

"Wow, a fight?" Li Shuyao widened her eyes in surprise, and her other hand unconsciously clenched into a small round fist.

It was obvious that his mind was immersed in it.

Qingyao nodded.

Li Shuyao tutted twice and said with a gloating look, "She originally wanted to use that eunuch Wu to provoke you, to make you make mistakes so that the emperor could revoke his order. But she never expected that on the first day, she almost came to blows with Concubine Tong."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something, and her expression suddenly became a little nervous. "Is Concubine Tong okay?"

Qingyao said, "Empress Tong is the emperor's cousin. She often entered the palace when she was very young. She and the emperor can be considered childhood sweethearts, two people who are inseparable. Plus, there is Empress Dowager Cihe... So, let alone quarreling, even if she demolished Chengqian Palace, the emperor would only try his best to cover up for her and would not really blame her."

Really?

These don't seem to be mentioned in the novel.

And the emperor is such an easy-going person?

Li Shuyao was a little confused.

But since Qingyao said so, Li Shuyao could only treat it as a place where the plot automatically filled in the blanks.

Her tone quickly became lively and excited again, "So what happened next? Did they really fight?"

"No, how could that be possible?" Qingyao's eyes widened dramatically, and she glared at Li Shuyao unhappily. "With so many palace servants watching, how could the two most honorable ladies in the palace fight in broad daylight in front of everyone?"

Li Shuyao: "..."

She really wanted to say, it’s not allowed to do it behind someone’s back.

Li Shuyao moved her mouth but didn't say anything.

I continued to listen to Qingyao's words, "It was just that Concubine Niuhulu was making a lot of noise, but Concubine Tong was calm and composed... Maybe she said something provocative, but I was too far away at the time and didn't hear it clearly."

"Later, people from the Cining Palace came over."

"Oh, I see. The people from the Cining Palace were sent by the Grand Empress Dowager. They heard that the concubines were arguing, so they sent someone to mediate..."

Before Li Shuyao could finish her guess, Qingyao interrupted her without hesitation: "If it's not mediation, how could it be mediation?"

"What is that?" Li Shuyao didn't expect that she would guess wrong, and her expression was very surprised.

Qingyao: "..."

She sighed deeply and said to Li Shuyao with a hint of disappointment, "From the time Concubine Zhaojia started making a fuss to the time Concubine Tong came to talk, it took less than a cup of tea. How could the Grand Empress Dowager possibly know about this?"

Li Shuyao opened her mouth.

Then he closed it again.

Qingyao: "The people from Cining Palace were here to watch us learn the rules."

"But I didn't expect to see such a scene."

"I immediately reported it to the old ancestor. The old ancestor didn't show up, but only sent someone to pass on the message. He said that when the late emperor was alive, the rules of the harem were very chaotic. There were all kinds of terms like concubines, junior wives, eldest wives, legitimate wives, and concubines. There were all kinds of messy terms."

"After the current emperor ascended the throne, she wanted to reorganize the government. However, due to the busy court and turbulent times in the past few years, and the small number of concubines in the harem, she put it on hold for a while."

"Before the late queen passed away, she had already roughly drawn up the harem's hierarchy and various palace rules, but before she could implement them, she..."

Qingyao paused here, obviously not knowing what words to use.

Li Shuyao patted her hand obediently, "I understand."

Qingyao skipped over this part and only recounted the Grand Empress Dowager's decision: "So what the Grand Empress Dowager meant is that the atmosphere in the harem is really outrageous, and the palace servants in the Forbidden City have no rules."

"So before this canonization, all the concubines in the harem must go to the Cining Palace to establish the rules. Aside from the personal servants, all other palace servants will be trained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"If the Imperial Household Department doesn't do a good job of training, there will be plenty of people outside who want to squeeze into the Imperial Household Department."

"The same applies to concubines. If you don't learn the rules well, don't even attend the enthronement ceremony."

Li Shuyao listened: "..."

Blinked, and blinked again.

I have great admiration for Concubine Nianhulu, who was able to turn the simple study rules into a "military training plus drill" model by herself.

Everyone must hate her now, right?

Li Shuyao expressed his last guess.

Qingyao shook her head. "No, as soon as Eunuch Wu saw the people from the Cining Palace coming, he quickly took all the blame on himself, saying that Concubine Nianhulu was simply deceived by him."

"And Concubine Tong did indeed say some sarcastic words to provoke Concubine Niuhulu, and all of this was witnessed by the surrounding palace servants."

"So, Concubine Nianhulu herself was fine, but that eunuch Wu was not only beaten with thirty sticks, but also expelled from the Imperial Household Department. As for Concubine Tong, she was confined to her own Chengqian Palace, copying scriptures and reflecting on her mistakes every day..."

As Qingyao was talking, she suddenly had an epiphany.

"That's right, this way we don't have to learn the rules. Concubine Tong is really smart!"

Li Shuyao: Ah?

She didn't understand.