Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Red fingertips clasped the edge of the bathtub...
It is easy to be honest with each other, but it is difficult to become one. She was only concerned about her shyness before, but when the critical moment came, she found that there was an insurmountable mountain in front of her.
She can't tolerate it and can't climb up to it.
She lowered her head, looked away, and slowly came down.
Chu Yuanhe held her waist and was ready to attack, but he found that she was beginning to want to retreat.
"...What's wrong?" He gasped heavily.
Zhao Qingyi didn't know how to explain her cowardice in battle. Having lived two lives, she was not completely ignorant. Just by looking at it, she felt that it was extremely dangerous.
Compared to the unknown, inevitable pain, she felt that the suffering at this moment... was still bearable.
She was about to crawl away dejectedly.
Chu Yuanhe held her slender wrist, pondered for a moment, and said in a terrifyingly low voice, "...Do you regret it?"
His eyes were as dark as ink, surging with an irrepressible rage.
“No, no…”
Zhao Qingyi was inexplicably frightened. The Chu Yuanhe of today was still too unfamiliar to her. He was strong, barbaric, and unreasonable.
It seemed that if she dared to retreat, he would pounce on her and tear her to pieces, leaving no room for regret.
Zhao Qingyi bit her lip tightly and found a decent excuse, "Yes... I'm not very good at it."
Chu Yuanhe was stunned.
He probably didn't expect it. After all, she had been married before. As for whether the marriage was consummated, he never asked. Privately, he didn't care and didn't want to know.
But she told him that she wouldn't...
The positions were reversed again, and his palms slowly soothed her waist and abdomen. His tone was soft and gentle, "Then relax..."
"Can you?" Zhao Qingyi asked subconsciously, then realized that the question was too stupid.
He is the Prince of Pingxi County. Even if he has not married yet, he must have a few beautiful maids around him who can serve him well.
Why should she ask such unnecessary questions and only cause trouble?
Chu Yuanhe was afraid that if he told the truth, the other party would laugh at him for being useless, so he asked, "This... does it require teaching?"
He had been placed high hopes on by his father, the emperor, and his mother, the empress, since he was born. There were no beautiful women around him to disturb his mind. Later, when he ascended the throne at the age of sixteen, he fought in the northwest, focusing only on expanding the territory and had no time to think about women.
It wasn't until he met her that he had the idea of getting married. Unfortunately, it was too late. So in the following years, whenever he thought of her and felt sad, he had to endure it by himself...
But if Zhao Qingyi knew about this, she would probably be disgusted. After all, she was already married to Li Che at that time, but he still coveted her and desecrated her in his dreams at midnight...
They kept their thoughts to themselves and no one dared to say much.
Chu Yuanhe slowed down his pace and kissed her cheek first, being extremely gentle and affectionate, making circles with his palms and slowly wrapping around Xueling.
At that moment, Zhao Qingyi felt as if someone was strangling her throat and she could hardly breathe. The tears hanging on her eyelashes rolled down again.
She held his shoulders nervously, her fingertips almost digging into the man's tangled muscles. As the fine and dense kisses fell, the discomfort gradually subsided. She slowly let her mind go and felt a little comfortable.
In that instant, the pain and indescribable joy broke through her heart.
She opened her eyes slightly, looking at her toes swaying in the air, sobbing and trembling with his thrusts.
…
In the evening, the golden light of the setting sun diffused into the side hall through the hazy window paper.
Zhao Qingyi struggled to get up from the couch. Her jade feet almost lost their balance on the footstool and she almost fell down. She managed to keep her balance with the little strength she had recovered after a short rest.
Zhao Qingyi held her breath and concentrated, supporting her trembling waist and slowly moving her legs. Her cloud-like black hair fell from behind her ears, covering the boundless spring scenery in front of her.
Her temples were already wet, and she couldn't tell whether it was sweat or tears. She crossed her arms and looked around the hall. Her palace dress had been torn to pieces, and her shoes and socks had been kicked off somewhere. Only a small scarlet dress was left hanging crookedly on the head of the bed, which was barely wearable.
Zhao Qingyi propped herself up, pulled back the small dress and tied it up slowly. Then she found a dusty box and dug out a set of old clothes from it. It might be the daily dress of a concubine in the past. The style was outdated, but it was neat and enough to cover her body.
Enduring the soreness, she hurriedly changed her clothes and dug out the purse she carried with her from the pile of messy clothes.
When the first time was over, she felt much better and the effect of the medicine had almost worn off. She was ready to leave, but as soon as she climbed to the head of the bed, the man grabbed her ankle and dragged her back. It was a second time, and it was quite a hassle.
In view of this, she did not intend to leave the entire purse behind. She only took out two silver bills and threw them on the couch, then tiptoed to open the door of the side hall.
Two hours later, the Flower God Banquet had already ended.
Zhao Qingyi carefully observed the surrounding environment and made sure that there was no one around before she slipped out. Just as she walked a distance, she bumped into the patrolling imperial guards. Her rosy little face turned pale with fright in an instant.
Countless excuses flashed through his mind as he wondered how to explain himself if he was caught by the imperial guards.
However, the deputy commander of the imperial guards seemed to be blind when he saw her. He ignored her and went to patrol elsewhere. The imperial guards following behind him also did not even look at her.
Zhao Qingyi: "..."
She didn't understand, but it was a good thing, so she lowered her head and staggered away.
Shortly after she left, the imperial guards all breathed a sigh of relief. However, some people still cast curious glances at Zhao Qingyi's back. It turned out that the woman His Majesty favored was Princess Chenhua.
But thinking of the county lady's identity, everyone fell silent and no one dared to say anything.
The coldness on Lin Feng's face faded a little, and he summoned the imperial guards patrolling the periphery to gather in front of the side hall door to await the emperor's arrival.
Chu Yuanhe woke up from his sleep with a satisfied look on his face. However, when he turned around, the side hall was empty and the woman who had been resting her head on his arm was gone.
He subconsciously reached out and touched the place where she had been lying. There were only unsightly marks left there, but no warmth at all. It was obvious that she had been gone for a while.
Chu Yuanhe suddenly woke up and when he sat up he saw a stack of banknotes beside his pillow.
He grabbed the banknote and was stunned for a long time, then laughed out loud. One hundred taels?
Just one hundred taels and send him away?
...No, this isn't a question of how much money it costs. It's about how Zhao Qingyi could leave without saying a word.
What did he think he was? An antidote?
Throw it away after use?!
A pent-up anger suddenly filled his chest, making him dizzy. He must have been too restrained, which allowed the other party the strength to escape. If he had known earlier...
Forget it, Zhao Qingyi has already taken over his body, and it is impossible for her to escape from his palm. They still have many opportunities to learn from each other.
What difference does it make if it’s a day earlier or later?
Chu Yuanhe swallowed his anger, grabbed his clothes and put them on slowly. When he was tying his belt, he noticed the phoenix hairpin left on the couch. A fragmented picture suddenly flooded into his mind.
Her slender waist swayed in his hands, and the phoenix hairpin on her temples tried to flutter with his movements, but in the end, it could not bear it and slipped through her silky black hair...
The dark brows finally relaxed.
Chu Yuanhe put the phoenix hairpin and the banknotes into his arms, asked Lin Feng to come in, and asked about Zhao Qingyi's situation.
After Lin Feng entered the palace, he bowed his head respectfully, not daring to glance around. He reported the situation truthfully, "The Princess has already sent someone to escort the County Lady out of the palace."
At this time, the ladies who came to the banquet had already left the palace one after another. It was because Zhang Wanyan had been waiting for Zhao Qingyi for a long time that she begged the princess to keep an eye out for her.
The eldest princess was not stupid either. She guessed that the person must have been coaxed away by her evil brother, the emperor, so she sent her confidant to keep an eye on her and escort Zhao Qingyi out of the palace as soon as she was found.
With the eldest princess's protection, Chu Yuanhe felt a little more at ease.
Lin Feng thought about it and decided to tell Chu Yuanhe about King Qi. It just so happened that Chu Yuanhe had no place to vent his anger.
Although the other party's move was a sham for him, what if, what if he didn't arrive in time, what if King Qi succeeded...
King Qi still deserves to die, not to mention Zhao Qingyi. The other party dared to act so presumptuously in the palace and should pay the price for it.
The Jiangnan area is an important tax collection area for the imperial court and the lifeline of the country. It is really not suitable to become the fiefdom of any vassal king. However, King Qi has occupied this land and enjoyed wealth and glory for more than 30 years. It is time for him to suffer some hardships and gain some experience.
Chu Yuanhe summoned the cabinet that night and issued an order to change the fiefdom of King Qi and move it to the barren land of Ningxia.
When the imperial edict was delivered to King Qi, he was furious. The edict clearly stated that he was in his prime and suitable for guarding the border, and ordered him to move his family to Ningxia, but did not give him even any military power.
How could this be considered guarding the border? Without military authority, if chaos really broke out in the northwest, would he be expected to risk his life to charge into battle?
It was just a way to deprive him of his originally rich and comfortable life, forcing him to suffer in Ningxia, where he could only survive on the salary from his title, completely cutting off all his financial resources in Zhejiang.
King Qi gritted his teeth and spoke. Several concubines serving by his side were uneasy. They were all toys given to King Qi by some bigwigs in the capital. They thought that if they followed King Qi, they could continue to eat and drink well when they returned to their fiefdom in the future. But in the blink of an eye, King Qi changed his fiefdom and they had to go to a bitter and cold place.
Then these women...
That’s right, woman.
Prince Qi looked at the beauties around him and immediately thought of Princess Chenhua who had escaped from the Flower God Banquet.
In the past, they had never had a quarrel with each other, but now Chu Yuanhe is a divorced woman and doesn't care about the relationship between uncle and nephew at all. Well... he is very good!
As soon as the imperial edict was announced, the capital was once again in turmoil. When the Empress Dowager learned about this, she did not care.
Prince Qi was not her biological son, and he was the late emperor's favorite prince. He once overshadowed her son, and the Empress Dowager wished he would get away as soon as possible.
At the moment, the Empress Dowager is still concerned about her own grandson. She wonders if there is any girl from a noble family that she has taken a fancy to at the Flower God Banquet. She immediately summoned Chu Yuanhe to Shoukang Palace to pay her respects.
"I think Yingxue is a good child. She is of noble birth and has a virtuous character. Looking at her is like seeing myself when I was young." These words were almost a direct statement, asking Chu Yuanhe to make Wang Yingxue the queen.
Chu Yuanhe leaned lazily aside, saying indifferently, "If the Empress Dowager likes it, I will let her enter Shoukang Palace as a maid and let her stay by your side to serve you."
The Empress Dowager choked. Considering Chu Yuanhe's unconventional personality, it was impossible for him to do such a thing.
If this were true, Wang Yingxue would become a huge joke, and the Wang family would also lose face.
She immediately dismissed the man and asked in a softer tone, "So you mean you've chosen the Zhang family's daughter?"
Chu Yuanhe remained silent and just gave the Empress Dowager a look.
The Empress Dowager understood, "You don't like any of them, so who do you want to marry?"
"Grandmother, please worry less." Chu Yuanhe didn't like being disciplined or lectured. If he didn't respect the Grand Empress Dowager, he would have lost his temper.
"It's getting late, and I still have to review memorials, so I'll go back first."
"Wait." The Empress Dowager's eyes were sharp. "Don't tell me that you have set your eyes on Princess Chenhua."
Chu Yuanhe didn't get angry when his secrets were exposed. He just smiled nonchalantly, "Since the Empress Dowager already knew, why are you asking so many questions?"
"You—" The Grand Empress Dowager was so angry that she could no longer sit still. She pointed at him and trembled. "You are really ridiculous! Ridiculous!"
"If your dirty thoughts were known to the civil and military officials, your reign as emperor would be over!"
Chu Yuanhe's smile instantly disappeared, and he was still standing there, but the pressure from all around him was already overwhelming him.
The Empress Dowager came back to her senses from her anger and subconsciously took a step back. "If you really like her, wait until the position of Empress is decided, then take her in..."
"Royal Grandmother."
Chu Yuanhe interrupted her coldly, "I've long disliked this bunch of so-called clean officials. All they do all day is impeach this and that. They can't fight the enemy, nor can they work for the benefit of the people. If they weren't elders in the court and related to the royal family, I would have sacrificed them to heaven long ago."
He spoke slowly and calmly as usual, but the Empress Dowager's face turned pale.
Who else but the Wang family is related to the royal family?
When Chu Yuanhe first came to the throne, the first thing he decided to do was to subdue the thirty-six tribes in the northwest. The ministers in the court thought he was a young man with a reckless attitude and did not know the consequences, so no one agreed with him. But what was the result?
He conquered the vast territory in the northwest, and a steady stream of products were transported to Daliang. The prices of grain and salt tended to stabilize, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. The only ones whose interests were harmed were the wealthy families who could not take advantage of the opportunity to drive up the prices of grain and salt, cutting off their way of making money by taking advantage of the chaos to drive up the prices of salt and grain.
Because of his great reputation, the four seas submitted to him, and at least during his reign, Daliang could maintain stability for decades.
He is no longer the young man who was at the mercy of others when he first ascended the throne.
"Today's Daliang was won by my own hard work on horseback, not by the rhetoric of these aristocratic families."
So what if these noble families have objections? He has the final say on who he wants to marry.
The Empress Dowager was shocked. In her eyes, Chu Yuanhe was still a teenager and a little emperor who needed the support of her and the aristocratic family.
But in the blink of an eye, Chu Yuanhe had indeed changed. In less than ten years, his growth far exceeded everyone's expectations.
"But……"
The Grand Empress Dowager was still not used to the feeling of being out of control. She hoped that Chu Yuanhe would still be the little emperor who respected and relied on her, but she thought for a long time and found that she could not say a word of rebuttal.
Chu Yuanhe's last bit of patience ran out, and he warned coldly, "The Empress Dowager attaches great importance to etiquette and requires women in the world to follow the rules of the harem. Then the Empress Dowager should know that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs."
The Wang family is powerful and omnipotent. Even if they want to go beyond the emperor, they will commit the biggest taboo and will be liquidated sooner or later.
"If the Empress Dowager can't remember her identity and becomes involved with the Wang family again, I don't mind sending her back to her parents' home." After leaving this last warning, Chu Yuanhe turned away.
The Grand Empress Dowager stood on the platform in a daze for a long time before she realized her legs were numb. She slumped back down and sighed for a long moment, "I'm old now. I can no longer discipline him on behalf of his father, the Emperor, and his mother."
The nanny hurried over to support him, comforting him by saying, "Your Majesty may seem eccentric and disobey the rules of propriety, but since ascending the throne, everything you've done has benefited the country and the people. Now, he simply wishes to marry a woman of his choosing. Why would the Grand Empress Dowager reject him so harshly?"
The main thing is that there is no point in refusing or disagreeing. In the nanny's opinion, the Empress Dowager has indeed reached the age of enjoying her retirement and has become confused.
Daliang originally belonged to the Chu family. How could the Empress Dowager support the Wang family instead of the Chu family?
It is not wise to argue with His Majesty over a woman again, to point fingers at His Majesty's private affairs, and to meddle in his affairs. In her opinion, the Empress Dowager should just go along with His Majesty.
But the nanny didn't dare to say this, so she could only suggest that the Empress Dowager repair the relationship between the grandfather and grandson, "Instead of blindly blocking and rejecting them, it would be better to help Your Majesty solve the problem."
The Empress Dowager rubbed her swollen and painful forehead and waited for what was to come.
The nanny observed her expression and said tentatively, "The Empress Dowager refused to accept the County Princess simply because she had been married before, and she was afraid that if Your Majesty married her, it would be difficult to stop the gossip. But if this marriage is annulled..."
At the Dali Temple court, His Majesty allowed Zhao Qingyi and Li Che to divorce, but Li Che would rather die than write the divorce letter, and the divorce was always missing the last step, which made it neither legal nor legitimate.
Since you are unwilling to divorce, why not just cancel the engagement and pretend that this marriage never happened?
This was an angle the Grand Empress Dowager had never considered. She lifted her wrinkled eyelids and said, "Go on."
"During the initial confrontation in court, the people all knew that the County Lady had done nothing wrong. It was the Li family who were ungrateful and had deceived her into marriage. Li Che was also a corrupt official and was truly unworthy of the County Lady. The Grand Empress Dowager could have made the decision and issued an imperial decree to dissolve the engagement between the two families. In this way, the County Lady would no longer be considered a divorced woman."
This method can be considered as covering one's ears and stealing the bell, but it is indeed the best way for Zhao Qingyi to completely get rid of the Li family. More importantly, it conforms to the will of the people and the emperor.
The people do not think the county lady is wrong, and His Majesty also thinks the county lady is innocent. That is enough.
As for the court officials, they were under pressure from the Empress Dowager's decree and dared not discuss right and wrong openly. At most, they would say a few words in private, which was harmless. As long as it was not brought to the surface, everyone would turn a blind eye and let it pass.
"If I were to ask you, Your Majesty might have wanted to do this a long time ago. However, Your Majesty is the ruler of a country. If he were to cancel the engagement and then take the county lady into the palace, people would inevitably accuse Your Majesty of forcibly taking my wife."
But if the Empress Dowager came forward, the subsequent rumors would not be able to ferment, after all, it was not done by His Majesty himself.
"If the Empress Dowager is willing to step forward and give the county lady some respect, His Majesty will certainly remember your kindness."
The Grand Empress Dowager thought about it seriously for a moment, and suddenly felt that what the nanny said made sense. Then she thought of Chu Yuanhe's sour face when he left, as if he wanted to never have anything to do with her, the imperial grandmother, so she compromised.
He waved his hand and said, "As you said, I will issue the decree on a chosen day."
—
It was almost night when Zhao Qingyi returned home.
As soon as she entered Lanyue Pavilion, she had the gate closed tightly and stored hot water in the room for bathing and cleansing. This time, the two maids were sent out early, and Zhao Qingyi changed her clothes by herself.
Her current body is too ugly to look at, so it’s better not to scare me.
The maids who were "driven" out of the door looked at each other in confusion. Qiao Yue stayed in the mansion today, so she asked Tan Yue what had happened.
Tan Yue had been waiting outside the palace, shaking her head in confusion, "The county lady came out late, and on the way she urged the driver to go faster, and then she disappeared."
"Is there nothing unusual?" Qiao Yue asked suspiciously.
Tan Yue, who was always smart and steady, fell into deep thought. After thinking for a long time, she thought, "What's unusual?"
My face is a little red, my hair is a little messy, and I changed my clothes. Does this count?
It’s not Tan Yue’s fault. She is still an unmarried girl, and Zhao Qingyi and Li Che have never consummated their marriage in the past. It’s normal for her not to understand.
Qiao Yue admired Tan Yue's intelligence the most. When she heard that there was nothing unusual, she believed her and said worriedly, "Oh, by the way, there's something I forgot to tell the county lady. When I sent the clothes to be washed today, I saw a maid from the outer courtyard sweeping the floor sneaking in."
Tan Yue immediately became alert and asked for details.
Qiao Yue tilted her head and said, "I felt like she came in to steal something, but I checked the warehouse and nothing valuable was missing."
Don't steal valuables...
Tan Yue suddenly realized, "Let's check again to see if any of the county lady's personal belongings are missing."
In the room, Zhao Qingyi no longer cared about anything else. She took off her clothes with difficulty and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Her snow-white skin was covered with mottled red marks from top to bottom, without a single mark left out.
Looking at these red marks, she couldn't help but think of the scene in the side hall where the two of them were entangled and rubbing against each other, with red waves rolling.
It was clearly just for detoxification at the beginning, but later on...
It seemed that both of them had regained consciousness, yet they willingly fell into unconsciousness and sunk into depravity together...
She didn't know what happened at the time. She could only cry and obey. It hurt, but afterwards she also... tasted a kind of joy that she had never experienced in her previous life.
As she thought about it, Zhao Qingyi's face felt like it was burning again. She quickly held the edge of the bathtub and got in. The warm water mixed with bright red petals soaked her skin, and the soreness was relieved a lot.
At the same time, under the effect of warm water, something that was difficult to talk about slowly flowed out from his body.
How can there be so many?
I'll have to ask for a bowl of contraceptive soup later.
Zhao Qingyi held the edge of the bathtub with one hand and cleaned it carefully with the other hand, which felt a little painful.
She thought of him again, of the way he had caressed her, and of the way he had whispered softly in her ear...
I don’t know if it’s because of my psychological reasons, but Zhao Qingyi always feels that the clear bath water has become turbid and sticky.
She was about to get up and asked the maid to come in and change the bucket of water. Just as half of her body emerged from the water, a rough big hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder.
Zhao Qingyi let out a low cry, turned her head and bumped into a pair of smiling peach blossom eyes.
Pushing away the warm steam, the other person's gaze slowly moved downwards, quickly becoming tinged with a dark color.
Zhao Qingyi panicked, slipped and fell into the bucket, and the warm water instantly covered her head.
Chu Yuanhe immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the water.
The sound of water splashed, and Zhao Qingyi stood up. Her wet long hair stuck to her body, fitting perfectly with her exquisite curves. The bright red petals were also adorned on her fair skin, red and white, so gorgeous that it was hard to look away.
Chu Yuanhe's hand, which was supporting her slender arm, trembled a little, and he almost fell down.
"Does it still hurt?" His voice was low and extremely gentle.
Drops of water slid down Zhao Qingyi's eyelashes. She lowered her eyes and looked at the other person holding his big hand. With just a little force, it once again embedded into her skin, leaving a shallow indentation.
She pushed him away, hugged her shoulders and retreated back into the water. "Why are you here?"
She didn't answer his question, still too embarrassed to speak.
Chu Yuanhe was still outside, looking down at her from above, and could only see the dark top of her head.
"You left without saying a word, so of course I had to come and see you." He squatted down, leaned out of the bathtub to look at her at eye level, and sure enough, he saw her little face as rosy as smoke.
Zhao Qingyi's eyes flashed, "I'll have someone get you some banknotes later..."
Chu Yuanhe pointed at himself in disbelief, "Do you think I'm here to ask you for money?"
Does he look poor and short of money?
"Banban has taken away my innocence, and I'm here to ask for an explanation."
Zhao Qingyi was extremely surprised. It was something we both agreed on, and we still needed to ask for an explanation?
Chu Yuanhe's straightforward look made her feel pressured again. She racked her brains for a long time before mustering up the courage to say, "But you are my concubine. Even if I did something, you will have to bear the consequences..."
"At most, I'll give you one hundred taels of silver every month from now on. All you have to do is please me."
She said as a matter of course, "If you are dissatisfied and have resentment in your heart, then come here."
Chu Yuanhe didn't hesitate and leaned closer to her, "What do you think?"
Zhao Qingyi's hand emerged from the water, cupping his face and gently kissing him on the lips. Finally, still shy, her voice trailed off, "So... does this finally comfort you?"
Noticing that his gaze was malicious, she quickly turned away, not daring to look at him.
Chu Yuanhe almost couldn't suppress the smile, he loved to hear these words.
"Okay, Madam, you're so generous. I'll follow you from now on. That's not bad." He took the towel and walked forward warmly. "Then I'll rub your back, Madam?"
I adapted quite quickly.
Zhao Qingyi was panicked for a moment, but quickly suppressed the urge to run away.
The man was really just rubbing her back, his head resting on the back of her neck, and his voice was low, "Serving Madam and satisfying Madam is what I should do, Madam, please don't refuse."
His breath was so close that Zhao Qingyi groaned and gripped the edge of the bathtub with her red fingertips.
The wet bath towel moistened her skin little by little, and the woman's slender waist was faintly visible in the gently swaying water.
Chu Yuanhe moved slowly, the towel sliding across the back of her neck, slowly down along her delicate butterfly bones, and then across the water...
Zhao Qingyi unconsciously tightened her slender waist, her thick eyelashes trembled constantly, and her slender fingers holding the bathtub felt sore because of excessive tension.
In the dim light, Chu Yuanhe's dark eyes were as gloomy as the sea, hidden with turbulence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com