Li Yunyan finally got a chance to catch her breath.
She opened her watery eyes, her gaze red and misty, and stared blankly at him.
Her expression was somewhat bewildered, somewhat vulnerable, and also contained a hint of allure.
They make you want to bully them.
Damn it!
Yun Yi felt something was wrong with his body, cursed under his breath, and immediately rolled over and got out of bed.
He walked behind the screen, and then the sound of water splashing could be heard.
"grown ups?"
"sleep!"
"oh."
When Li Yunyan was half asleep, she felt herself fall into a cold embrace. She shivered from the cold and instinctively wanted to escape.
Her waist was firmly held in place by his arms.
She protested softly a few times, stirred, and then fell asleep again.
She didn't notice his dark, inky eyes, which were filled with helplessness as he looked at her.
The next day, when Li Yunyan was helping Yun Yi get dressed, she noticed that his gaze was lingering on her neck.
She knew there must be marks on her neck; after all, that man's mouth was like a suction cup last night, sucking on her endlessly!
After seeing him off, Li Yunyan sat down in front of the bronze mirror and looked at herself.
Good heavens!
This is cupping done on the neck!
She's a human aromatherapy diffuser, and Yunyi is a human cupping machine—the two are a perfect match!
Yunyi disliked the smell of cosmetics, and there were no cosmetics to cover up in the Ziyun Palace, so Li Yunyan had to wear a high-necked dress, which only covered half of her body.
This isn't the Qing Dynasty, and the imperial harem doesn't have scarves like the Longhua scarf. Li Yunyan had to find a light gauze belt to match her dress and wear it around her neck as a scarf, even tying a bow on it.
She looked at herself in the mirror. If she had been sitting still and not looking closely, she probably wouldn't have noticed!
I thought I could stay in the palace all day as usual, but unexpectedly, people came to the palace in the afternoon.
Yuanbao came over to report: "My lord, Consort Zhao from Chengen Palace requests your presence!"
"Lady Zhao?"
Li Yunyan raised an eyebrow; this was her enemy!
Before she could even approach her, this beauty Zhao came looking for her first!
However, the two of them have had no interaction so far, so why would Zhao Meiren think of coming to find her?
"Is she outside the palace?"
"No, Consort Zhao sent her maid, Taozhi, to invite you over."
Did they say what it was about?
"This servant doesn't know!" Yuanbao shook his head and reminded him, "Master, Consort Zhao has always acted eccentrically. Should this servant send someone to inform the Grand Master?"
"No need!"
Li Yunyan walked to the bronze mirror, checked her demeanor, and gave a flawless smile: "I'm busy with the affairs of the seal-bearer. I can handle such a small matter myself!"
Taozhi stood outside the Ziyun Palace, waiting somewhat bored.
The Purple Cloud Hall of the Lord Seal is a restricted area within the palace; no one may enter without the Lord's permission.
She had always been able to move freely in the harem thanks to Consort Zhao's influence, but now she had to stand outside because of a mere palace maid, which made her very unhappy.
He secretly thought about how he would torture this bastard!
When she saw Li Yunyan gracefully walking out in a milky white dress embroidered with gold lilies, her brows furrowed instantly.
This woman!
She's even more beautiful than Zhao Meiren!
Not only that, but judging from her attire and overall demeanor, she was even more like a favored concubine in the imperial harem than Consort Zhao! If Consort Zhao stood next to her, she would immediately pale in comparison.
Tao Zhi felt an instinctive surge of hostility towards Li Yunyan. Thinking of the Empress's arrangements today, she sneered inwardly: So what if she's beautiful? After today, the person in front of her will become a hideous monster!
Li Yunyan walked up to her and paused for a moment. "Taozhi, right? Lead the way!"
Taozhi's face twisted in pain. Why did this vile woman treat her so casually?
She clenched the handkerchief in her hand, a stiff smile on her face. For the sake of the Empress's plan, she had to endure it!
Seeing Eunuch Yuanbao following behind Li Yunyan, Taozhi said, "Miss Li, our lady only called for you."
Li Yunyan glanced at her and said coldly, "This is the rule of our Ziyun Palace. The Lord of the Palace said that no matter where I go, Yuanbao must follow. If your lady has too many rules, then I won't go!"
"How dare you speak ill of my mistress behind her back!"
"How dare you be so insolent! How dare you shout and yell in front of the Ziyun Palace!"
Li Yunyan walked back leisurely, "It seems that Lady Zhao didn't sincerely want to invite me to her home, so I won't go and bother her."
"Miss Li, please wait!"
Tao Zhi gritted her teeth, determined to bring this vile woman to Cheng'en Palace no matter what!
She curtsied to her and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Taozhi misunderstood just now. Our mistress sincerely invited Miss Li to have tea. Please, Miss Li, for the sake of Consort Zhao, don't hold it against Taozhi!"
Li Yunyan rubbed her ears. "What are you buzzing about? Speak louder!"
She had a languid expression, but her voice was rather loud, and her face carried a hint of mockery.
Taozhi noticed that many palace servants nearby looked over curiously after hearing Li Yunyan's voice. Many of them recognized her and looked surprised.
Taozhi felt utterly humiliated.
Her face was extremely pale, and she lowered her eyes, a flash of resentment passing through them.
She took a deep breath and said respectfully, "Miss Li, our mistress sincerely invites you to have tea. Please, for the sake of Consort Zhao, do not hold Taozhi against us!"
"Oh well!"
Li Yunyan swayed out again, her expression magnanimous, and said, "Since it is Lady Zhao who sincerely invited you, then I will not hold your crime of disrespecting Ziyun Palace against you. Lead the way!"
Li Yunyan was actually afraid that if things continued to escalate, Taozhi might lose her nerve and really abandon her and run away. Who would she then seek revenge on?
When Taozhi heard her pin this crime on herself, the fake smile on her face almost crumbled. She gritted her teeth, lowered her head slightly, and suppressed hatred in her eyes.
"Miss Li, please come with me!"
Chengen Palace is quite far from Ziyun Hall!
Li Yunyan felt like her feet were about to get blisters, but they still hadn't arrived at their destination. If it weren't for Yuanbao, who knew the way, she would have thought Taozhi was deliberately taking a longer route for her!
She asked between breaths, "Isn't Consort Zhao a favored concubine? Why does she live so far away?"
Tao Zhi gritted her teeth and said, "Miss Li is joking. The concubines in the harem all live in this area. The area around Ziyun Palace is where His Majesty and the Empress can reside."
Oh, so it's because of different regional divisions! No wonder it's so far!
Yuanbao interjected at the opportune moment, "Master, actually, the Grand Master has prepared a sedan chair for you in the Ziyun Palace. You can travel by sedan chair!"
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