Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Palace Maid Fifty-Five Days

The next day, at the beginning of the morning hour, when dawn was about to break outside and the morning light had not yet penetrated into the palace, Ji Chen got up.

Shen Qing heard the noise and turned her back to the outside, her black hair falling on her back. She was not fully awake yet, but the sounds around her were beginning to enter her ears, fortunately they were not loud.

At this time, the door of the bedroom was opened, and the palace maids came in with things to serve. Soon, the sound of water wiping faces was heard, followed by the rustling sound of fabrics rubbing against each other when dressing.

During the whole process, Ji Chen signaled with his eyes and no one spoke without permission.

The palace servants were silent. From the sound of Ji Chen's footsteps, they could imagine him walking out in big strides. When he reached the door of the bedroom, he probably felt that the distance was far enough, so he said, "No one needs to enter the bedroom this morning."

Qian Ji said yes in a low voice.

Finally, the door of the bedroom closed with a creaky sound, and Shen Qing fell into a nap.

When he woke up again, an hour had passed. Ji Chen had also successfully finished the morning court session. It was already bright when he stepped into the bedroom. Unlike when he got up, the room was not brightly lit with candles. Unless he stood beside the dragon bed, he could not tell that there was a person sleeping in it.

He kept his promise last night. Even though Shen Qing was drunk, he did not take any physical advantage of her.

Even the thought of lying in the same bed with her made my heart burn and I had trouble sleeping.

Since I have promised the young lady, I must do it, otherwise I will lose face if I want to keep her next time.

After Shen Qing woke up, he was dazed for a while. He heard someone coming in and saw the dragon robe beside the bed, so he rolled out of the bed with peace of mind.

Her long black hair spread under her body, and her eyes were still a little blurry and gentle. The former was because she had just woken up, and the latter was because she was not an aggressive person, so she was quite popular.

"Your Majesty, are you leaving court?"

From Shen Qing's perspective, the tall man wearing a dragon robe, who had just passed the age of coming of age and could be called a husband, had a mature and majestic aura, and carried the air of an emperor. The morning light overlapped on his young face, and the light was so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at him.

Then such a person leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Even though Shen Qing had complicated feelings towards Ji Chen, it was undeniable that she felt great at that moment.

Refreshing both physically and mentally.

Ji Chen picked up the young lady, who instantly became full of energy and had sparkling eyes. He walked a few steps before putting her on the exquisitely woven palace carpet.

When it comes to serving people, Ji Chen knows nothing about it, so when Shen Qing was washing and dressing, he could only help pass the tools.

After washing up, Shen Qing sat in front of her dressing table, preparing to put on some gentle makeup.

When it came time to draw eyebrows, Ji Chen rolled up his sleeves and volunteered, "I'll do it."

Shen Qing pursed her lips which were painted with crystal lipstick, and looked at him with a long gaze, trying to persuade him to give up. Given Ji Chen's clumsy appearance in this regard, how could he draw eyebrows well?

But Ji Chen loved Shen Qing's serious and quiet face when she was looking in the mirror and putting on makeup. It was so enjoyable to watch her from the side that he naturally had to join in.

Facing Ji Chen's attitude of not giving in as a matter of course, Shen Qing puffed up her cheeks and handed him the indigo in her hand, and carefully reminded him: "When drawing eyebrows, you must be gentle, just draw twice."

Ji Chen agreed and gently lifted up Shen Qing's face. Her delicate and smooth cheek fell into his palm. The size was just right, and it was pleasing to the eye alone. Coupled with Shen Qing's uneasy look, Ji Chen's mood became even better.

It fell into his hands.

Of course, he didn't deliberately make things difficult for Shen Qing, he just wanted to make her feel uneasy a little longer.

How could he, an emperor, seek revenge through such childish means?

How dare you dislike his kiss? How audacious!

Only when she fell into Ji Chen's hands did Shen Qing feel that something was wrong. She should have refused sternly just now. Now that Ji Chen had already taken control, it was too late to regret.

Fortunately, Ji Chen's hands were steady.

Shen Qing didn't move, fearing that Ji Chen would paint in the wrong place, which would make his already impeccable skills even worse. He didn't dare to urge him, in case he was not satisfied with the painting this time and insisted on doing it next time.

Even if the next time may be a long time later.

Shen Qing was extremely concerned about her appearance and lived every day like a year. On the contrary, Ji Chen was much more relaxed. His eyes fell on Shen Qing's eyebrows and he was carefully drawing them. He didn't look like he would return the indigo after just a few strokes.

Finally, Ji Chen stopped and looked quite satisfied.

He is indeed a genius!

When Ji Chen let go of her hand, Shen Qing immediately looked at the bronze mirror. Unexpectedly, Ji Chen's eyebrow-drawing technique was quite good. It did not destroy the beauty of her entire face, but made her stand out a lot.

Even though Shen Qing originally wanted to draw a low-key eyebrow shape, he couldn't say that the eyebrows drawn by Ji Chen were bad.

Shen Qing heaved a sigh of relief and did not intend to change it, so he did not hesitate to praise: "Your Majesty, you are amazing. You draw eyebrows really well. Why don't the empress in the palace praise such a good technique? It really makes Baozhu look unworthy."

She said lightly, which also gave her a false alarm.

Shen Qing wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and was about to go and see the eldest prince, but when he turned around, he found Ji Chen with a face hanging.

Just now he had a smile in his eyes and looked very contented.

Shen Qing asked tentatively: "Are you unhappy when I praise you?"

Ji Chen felt that Shen Qing was heartless. What did it mean that if the ladies in the palace didn't praise him, did he have to get up early in the morning to help them draw their eyebrows?

He had only drawn eyebrows for her. He had only seen women draw eyebrows, and this was his first time. But women's eyebrows were shaped like that, so how could he not be able to draw them?

Moreover, Shen Qing's tone when he mentioned the concubines was so indifferent, without any jealousy at all, as if... his attitude towards the concubines was the same as Shen Qing's attitude towards him, dispensable.

But how could she do that? He was the emperor, and Shen Qing was just a palace maid. She shouldn't be like this. She had to learn to be jealous, to try to please him, and to have the desire to monopolize him.

However, Ji Chen couldn't say it because he still had his dignity.

As soon as he said it, it seemed that he was in a lower position between him and Shen Qing.

So Ji Chen said coldly: "Nothing."

It doesn't look like nothing happened... Shen Qing muttered to himself, perhaps remembering the things that made him unhappy and the annoying ministers in the court. Anyway, it couldn't be her fault.

Shen Qing happily went to find the eldest prince.

Ji Chen came out of the bedroom after a while and ran into Qian Ji who was waiting for him.

He walked forward, and Qian Ji hurriedly followed him and said, "Your Majesty, would you like the historian to record what happened in the bedroom last night? If you get pregnant in the future, you will have a source to prove it."

Ji Chen stopped and said coldly: "I didn't touch her last night." After that, he didn't look at Qian Ji, who had no tact.

Now, he didn't want to have breakfast and went straight to the place where he reviewed memorials.

Qian Ji was stunned and didn't dare to follow. How could he know that nothing would happen when a man and a woman were alone in a room? Is this common sense?

He did not dare to show any dissatisfaction with the emperor's anger. He silently raised Shen Qing's status in his heart, and immediately ordered people to send some fresh fruits, meals and pastries to the people around the eldest prince.

Shen Qing was unaware of all this and stayed with the eldest prince for the entire day, and Ji Chen did not find any reason to call her away.

He only came over in the evening to take a look at the eldest prince.

Because there were other people around, Shen Qing did not look up at the emperor, and naturally did not observe his flickering expression. In the end, he left in anger because he did not get the attention he wanted.

Even if the wet nurse noticed the emperor's unhappiness, she didn't dare mention it. This was in the Qianqing Palace. Was she courting death by talking about the emperor in private?

Shen Qing missed the truth just like that.

After staying in the Qianqing Palace for two days, they returned to the Kunning Palace.

The following time was very calm for Shen Qing.

In mid-March, the eldest prince sat up for the first time, and there was joy in Kunning Palace. At that time, He Cairen from Ninghui Garden also started to go into labor. She gave birth to a son after a day and a night, almost losing half her life. He was ranked as the second prince.

He Cairen was in serious poor health and needed to stay in bed to recuperate. When she had recovered, she was told the bad news that she could not get pregnant again due to the difficult delivery.

It was already April at this time. When the empress heard how grief-stricken she was, she sent her some rewards and then ignored her.

Only Qinggu and Shen Qing knew that He Cairen could no longer get pregnant because of the Queen's doing.

It was normal for Qinggu to know the secret since he was involved in the matter, but Shen Qing accidentally heard the Queen mention this matter in her heart.

However, after knowing this, Shen Qing was not at all moved and just pretended not to know.

He Cairen's position was not high enough to raise the second prince, so the empress dowager specially called the emperor to the Cining Palace to talk about this.

Finally, after many twists and turns, the Queen and Concubine De caused Concubine Xian a lot of unhappiness, making Concubine Xian feel uncomfortable even after taking over the Second Prince.

The second prince was eventually raised by Concubine Xian. The empress dowager was overbearing and thought that when the second prince grew up, others would mention his biological mother, which would cause trouble for Concubine Xian. So, the second prince was listed under Concubine Xian's name in the imperial genealogy, and the second prince's name was also determined, which was Ji Min.

From then on, the concubines could no longer say that He Cairen was the second prince's biological mother, as this would only make Concubine Xian unhappy.

After He Cairen found out, although she was filled with hatred, she went to Concubine Xian's Changchun Palace without delay after she recovered and held her with great respect.

Although Concubine Xian knew that He Cairen might not be as obedient as she appeared, she had her son in her hands, and she thought that even if He Cairen pretended to be obedient, she would have to pretend to be obedient for the rest of her life. By then, no one would care what He Cairen was thinking. So she accepted He Cairen.

The Empress Dowager knew from this incident that Concubine Xian was very scheming. As early as last year, she had been discussing with her how to seize the baby in Concubine He's belly. If Concubine He gave birth to a princess, everything would be invalidated. If it was a son, the same would be done.

He Cairen has a good life, but also a bad life.

Based on the Queen Mother's past experience of monopolizing power in the palace, she felt that He Cairen was not a simple person. However, after reminding Concubine Xian once, Concubine Xian did not take it seriously, so she did not mention it again.

It's just a stumble, but the virtuous concubine has to be hurt before she knows the consequences.

Once a plan went as she expected, she became proud, which was not the way the Queen Mother expected the girl from the Yan family to be.

Undercurrents are stirring in the harem. The emperor will hold the summer and autumn hunts and has issued an order to go to the Mountain Resort. The departure time is not until the end of May, but the advance deployment and preparations have kept the relevant departments busy.

Since they parted in mid-February until April, Shen Qing and Ji Chen had not been alone together. Ji Chen went to see the eldest prince and no longer went to see her. His cold appearance made people feel unfamiliar.

No matter how slow Shen Qing was, she finally realized that the emperor was dissatisfied with her and was in a cold war with her.

Shen Qing rubbed his hands. Is there such a good thing?

Of course, the word "cold war" is still a bit intimate, like a young couple having a temper tantrum.

But in April, she really couldn't take care of Ji Chen because the eldest prince began to learn to crawl and she couldn't spare the time. Also, she didn't want to coax Ji Chen.

Did you trick him into eating her? It was a loss without any gain.

After returning to the Palace of Heavenly Purity from the eldest prince, Ji Chen's resentment was enough to assimilate others. He was more vicious than a ghost, but he didn't think so. Hasn't he always been like this?

He is the emperor, why does he smile so much?

He would never admit that he was influenced by Shen Qing.

Just a palace maid.

That's all.

Ji Chen took out the imperial edict to appoint concubines and made changes to it again and again.

He didn’t even want to give her the title of Talented Lady... Baolin, only by pleasing him could one advance in rank... Forget it, he was magnanimous and just wanted Talented Lady... Beauty, no higher... Noble Lady, neither higher nor lower, neither could she be happy and would only increase resentment... As for Concubine Zhen, he remembered that Du had been a Concubine Zhen before, what if there was a shadow on her... There were already two concubines in the palace, wouldn’t it seem bloated if there was one more?

The noble concubine who was above him satisfied Shen Qing's wish in one go, but what about his face?

Ji Chen put away the imperial edict with a gloomy face.