He held Li Yunyan and gently placed her on the bed, and she immediately felt his tall figure looming over her.
She was secretly delighted. She hadn't expected Chu Xingmo to be so quick to understand. He had only given her a slight hint and he had already grasped the point!
Then, she was on the verge of tears!
Chu Xingmo kissed her entire upper body, leaving her breathless from his teasing, yet his clothes remained perfectly intact on her body!
Not even the knot was crooked.
Li Yunyan was going crazy; she was so upset that she actually cried.
Chu Xingmo was also feeling bad.
He felt a fire burning inside him with nowhere to go, and a certain part of his body became particularly uncomfortable. He was afraid of frightening her and offending her eyes, so he kept his body bent over to avoid it.
Only a strong kiss could alleviate the pain.
Finally, Li Yunyan cried herself to sleep. Chu Xingmo held her and it took him a long time to calm her down before he could fall asleep.
*
Cining Palace.
"His Majesty did indeed share a bed with Consort Zhao last night, and there were sounds coming from the room, but he didn't call for water afterwards. When the palace maids went to clean the room this morning, the sheets were clean."
Upon hearing Liu Yuan's report, the Empress Dowager sighed and rubbed her forehead in disbelief. Her foolish son had finally come to his senses, but it seemed he was only half-awake!
"I understand. You may leave now! Take good care of Mo'er!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Liu Yuan left, Jiang Yue and Qiu Yue massaged her shoulders, one on each side.
Qiu Yue gently comforted him, "Empress Dowager, don't worry. His Majesty has only just begun to understand. With time, things will get better!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Jiang Yue said gently, "This servant has noticed that His Majesty is quite fond of Consort Zhao. As the two spend more time together, a solution will naturally be found!"
"Alas!" The Empress Dowager sighed, "I wonder when I will be able to hold my grandson!"
"This servant has a feeling that the Empress Dowager will be able to hold her grandson next year!"
"That's what I think too!"
The Empress Dowager was amused by the two women, thinking that since her son was now willing to touch women, having a grandson was only a matter of time! So she stopped worrying, "Then let's wait and see!"
For half a month, Chu Xingmo went to Zhaohua Palace every day, wishing he could be with Li Yunyan all the time.
Li Yunyan wanted to pounce on him several times, but she was restrained by her last remaining sense of decency. She still had some self-respect!
Then the system mercilessly mocked him in his mind!
Knowing the emperor's movements, the concubines in the harem would dress up in their finest attire and loiter near Zhaohua Palace every day around the appointed time.
Then they were mercilessly driven away by the Imperial Guards.
Unable to intervene with the emperor, they set their sights on Li Yunyan!
Early on, Ziyu announced from the doorway, "Your Majesty, there are many concubines outside who say they want to pay their respects to you!"
If it were any other excuse, Ziyu definitely wouldn't have come to call her young lady. After all, nothing is more important than her young lady sleeping!
However, since it was an honor for the young lady to receive the greetings of the imperial concubines, she was undecided and came to knock on the door to ask.
Li Yunyan turned over uncomfortably. Lately, she had been getting increasingly irritated and was too lazy to deal with those two-faced women.
She refused outright, "I won't see them! Tell them to never bother me again!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Having received her mistress's confirmation, Ziyu felt emboldened. She walked to the palace gate and addressed the waiting crowd, saying, "Your Highnesses, our mistress says that we are all sisters, and there is no need for formalities like greetings. Please go back now!"
Consort Ji smiled and said, "Yes, we are all sisters, so we sisters just wanted to visit each other and have a chat with Your Majesty!"
"Yes, please ask Miss Ziyu to pass on our message again!"
With a polite smile, Ziyu said, "Please forgive us, Your Highness. Our Lady is feeling a little tired. If you wish to speak with Her Highness, please come back later!"
Later?
His Majesty arrived a little later, and with the Imperial Guards standing guard outside, they couldn't even get close to the gate of Zhaohua Palace!
After Ziyu finished speaking, she ignored them and said, "Please do as you wish, Your Highnesses. I will take my leave now!"
The gates of Zhaohua Palace closed, and the expressions on the faces of the concubines varied.
The sun is already high in the sky! How dare Consort Zhao complain of feeling tired!
This is a subtle way of showing off to them!
The concubines were furious; Consort Zhao had gone too far! How could she be the only one clinging to His Majesty like that!
What a vixen!
Meng Qingyu was also furious. Since the last talent show, her brother Zian had not sent her any messages. She didn't know if he had forgotten her or if he had other plans.
Her other target, His Majesty, only had eyes for that vile woman Li Yunyan. Every day, he would head straight for Zhaohua Palace upon entering the harem, ignoring everything else! This prevented her from carrying out any of her scheming plans!
She tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand and smiled gently at the other concubines, "Please don't take offense, sisters! Sister Yan'er has always been like this. She was a little willful even before she entered the palace! She didn't mean to target you all!"
"Is this just being a little willful? This is downright spoiled and arrogant!"
"I had heard before that Prime Minister Li's daughter was arrogant and domineering. Seeing her today, I can confirm that the rumors are true!"
"How can this be allowed? It was one thing when we were outside the palace! But now we're in the palace, and Consort Zhao keeps clinging to His Majesty like this. What are we sisters supposed to do?"
"What a vixen!"
Listening to everyone's increasingly heavy dissatisfaction with Li Yunyan, Meng Qingyu quietly disappeared and stopped participating.
Consort Ji looked at Meng Qingyu in the crowd, smiled, and lowered her eyes.
The words they spoke at the door quickly reached the Empress Dowager's ears.
The Empress Dowager also had a lot to say to Chu Xingmo, so she had him summoned.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
The Empress Dowager asked him to sit down beside her and gently inquired, "I heard that you and Consort Zhao have recently developed a very close relationship?"
Chu Xingmo coughed lightly, "Consort Zhao...very good!"
"What about the other concubines in the harem?"
Chu Xingmo found those concubines to be annoying. Every day when he went to find Yanyan, he would always encounter a few clueless ones who would fall down in front of the imperial carriage, wasting his time!
He said solemnly, "Mother, I wish to dismiss the harem!"
"No!"
The Empress Dowager sternly rebuked, "Mo'er, as the ruler of a country, you cannot be so frivolous! If you dismiss those concubines, how will you explain it to their families?"
"Your subject has a way!"
"That won't do either!"
The Empress Dowager went to great lengths to bring so many women into the palace, all for the sake of having a grandson! Now, she hasn't even seen a glimpse of her grandson, and her son is already dismissing the harem!
What if Li Yunyan is infertile? How could she possibly face those families sending their daughters to the palace again?
The Empress Dowager softened her tone and said slowly, "Mo'er, I know your temperament and won't advise you to spread your favors too widely, but now is not the time to dismiss the harem. Let's wait a little longer!"
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