Chapter 23 might not be much better looking than her...
Feeling the gaze that seemed to pierce her brain, Yang Liuqing suddenly felt suffocated.
She was shocked when she saw that Yan Dibai was taking his concubines, entertainers, and musicians to the hunting grounds. But this was none of a maid's business. Who would have thought that Yan Dibai would arrive at Chonglan Palace by carriage, smiling as he reached out to pull the uneasy Xiao Yuanshu up, only to stop halfway there and order Woxue to arrest Yang Liuqing and take her inside.
She got into the car in a daze, her clothes disheveled, and cried out in surprise before the door closed. Yan Dibai pulled her into his arms, and Xiao Yuanshu, sitting opposite him, was so shocked that she forgot to control her expression.
…Then, Yan Dibai began to act intimately. He played with Xiao Yuanshu's hair and touched her hands in front of her, driving Xiao Yuanshu's eyes to tears.
Yang Liuqing dared not move, keeping her head down the whole way. Yet she still couldn't escape making her grand entrance in such a manner, and unsurprisingly, the reputation of this vixen would spread throughout the capital within half a day.
A profound silence fell over the surroundings. The performers, wearing Nuo masks, immediately formed a flower-like formation at the musicians' command to beat the drums.
All sorts of games, like pitch-pot and ball games, were laid out. Maids carried wine cups and poured wine for everyone. Dozens of concubines knelt on soft cushions below Yan Dibai, their fragrant scents wafting through the vast hunting grounds with the cold wind.
The imperial chefs were building a stove in the back, the firewood crackling and popping. A few cries came from afar, and several eagles of varying sizes flew in, one of them, a brown-feathered eagle, perched steadily on the flag that Woxue had just set up, its feathers fluttering. It was majestic and awe-inspiring.
After all this was done, more than ten palace servants waved the felt blankets in the air, and with a whoosh, a felt blanket tens of meters long was laid on the original thin mat, extending outwards by half.
Yan Dibai strolled along, embracing Yang Liuqing who wished she could disappear into the ground, stepping over the backs of the eunuchs, and finally stepping onto the felt mat to sit on the dragon throne. The soles of his newly made boots were still spotless.
Such extravagance!
Yang Liuqing felt as if she were walking on knife's edge; the few dozen meters felt longer than a lifetime. Finally, she reached the end. The imperial concubines took their seats on either side. Yan Dibai slightly parted Yang Liuqing, holding a mallet to beat the drum, signifying the start of the banquet.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
If one did not know that this trip was to entertain Xiao Yuanjing, one would think that the young emperor was taking his female relatives out of the palace for a spring outing!
Jizhou was in dire straits, yet the emperor still dared to act in this manner. Although Prime Minister Lin disliked Xiao Yuanjing, he too could not tolerate it. Ignoring the soft white felt, he stepped on it, his voice filled with hatred:
"Your Majesty! The autumn hunt is simple and requires no such cumbersome items."
The implication is, why make things so complicated?
The Prime Minister spoke, and the surrounding officials all breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yuanjing's face remained cold and stern as he stared at his sister, who remained seated.
Lin Xiang glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and knew he was still annoyed. He immediately said again:
"Your Majesty treats Consort Xiao very well, and has specially prepared female servants to serve her. I have heard that Consort Xiao has learned riding and archery skills from her elder brother since childhood. Your Majesty will accompany Consort Xiao on this hunting trip, and we are sure to return with a full load."
Xiao Yuanshu was stunned. She looked at the old prime minister, who was talking nonsense with a straight face, and then looked at her brother.
Lin Xiang wanted to help him out of the predicament, and even though Xiao Yuanjing was still in a bad mood, he still had to save face for him.
He stared at the debauched emperor on the throne, expecting him to make a statement, but then saw him lift the maid in blue and sit her on his lap, fiddling with her chin as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Xiao Yuanjing's face turned as blue as the maid's clothes.
Seeing the situation was unfavorable, Prime Minister Lin made a decisive decision:
"Lead the horse!"
He then claimed he had to leave first, and after everyone mounted their horses, he went around to the back to advise Yan Dibai. Unexpectedly, Yan Dibai, seemingly belatedly realizing what was happening, clapped his hands and shouted:
"Minister Xiao, your mounting of the horse was swift and skillful! I am pleased! Here is a bow!"
Suddenly, a strange idea struck me; I wonder what kind of mischief I'm up to now.
However, this action wasn't wrong. Wo Xue immediately took small steps forward to deliver the bow, saying:
"This is the Wenhou Bow. His Majesty admires Lord Xiao's martial prowess and has bestowed this fine bow upon him. Please wait a moment, my lord, His Majesty will be here shortly."
Xiao Yuanjing's face remained tense, but he still nodded and picked up the bow. He was slightly surprised as soon as he grasped it.
It wasn't heavy at all.
Wo Xue laughed: "This bow is light yet sturdy, forged from rhinoceros horn and refined iron. It can easily hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away."
It's a rare find.
The young man barely tolerated the young emperor's initial absurdity. "Your subject will go ahead to wait for Your Majesty and the concubine." Before taking the reins, he gave Yang Liuqing a deep, lingering look.
Wo Xue nodded, then pondered the word "talented person," and reported it to Yan Dibai as instructed.
Yan Dibai's hand, which was caressing Yang Liuqing's waist, suddenly stopped, and she turned her head to the side.
The bright-eyed girl in the lower right corner immediately turned her red eyes away and clutched her sleeve.
Yan Dibai smiled and released the girl beside him.
"Yuan Shu," he called.
Xiao Yuanshu looked up in surprise.
The boy opened his palm to her, his tone as alluring as it had been yesterday: "Come here."
“…Your Majesty,” Xiao Yuanshu stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with longing.
Yang Liuqing observed all of this without showing any emotion, and felt a deep sadness in her heart.
This was not the first time Yan Dibai had treated Xiao Yuanshu like this.
If Xiao Yuanshu weren't so love-struck, she would understand that this was nothing more than the casual manipulation of a young man who loved to trample on people's hearts.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yuanjing had vanished without a trace. Yang Liuqing pursed her lips, thinking self-deprecatingly, "It would have been better to abandon the darkness and embrace the light, drawn by his imperial aura at age 50."
She was curious about Xiao Yuanjing.
Xiao Yuanshu, dressed in a nomadic-style robe with bound sleeves, nearly burst into tears after uttering just a few words. As obedient as a kitten, she followed him onto the stirrups.
A black horse, a chestnut-colored Akhal-Teke. The black horse was for the emperor, the red horse belonged to her.
Although it is a second-best, it is still an excellent horse.
Xiao Yuanshu was pleasantly surprised and awkwardly thanked him in a low voice. The beautiful young man smiled slightly and personally tightened the bowstring for her.
"My beloved concubine, be careful."
Xiao Yuanshu gripped the bow he offered tightly, almost bursting into tears.
It's definitely good that my brother is here.
His Majesty had not seen her for a long time, yet he still showed immense patience and gentleness.
If my brother could stay in Beijing...
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, then lingered for a while. It wasn't until the young emperor spurred his horse, turned, and shouted at that damned Yang Liuqing, "Come and keep me company."
Xiao Yuanshu glared hatefully at the girl who was hurrying towards him, and for a moment an impulse arose in his heart—to kill her right here.
The horses' hooves pounded, and Xiao Yuanshu was momentarily dazed. He then looked at Yang Liuqing, who was running silently through the dust.
The grip on the bow tightened suddenly.
Yang Liuqing was unaware of the potential danger. She could only hold her breath, her heart pounding wildly. Enduring the cigarette ash, she ran forward headlong, resigned to her fate as their beast of burden.
*
The royal hunting grounds were extremely vast.
When Emperor Chengde was still lucid, he would come here every year. Later, he became increasingly delirious, and this western suburb was abandoned for more than ten years.
He made a symbolic visit in the first year of Yan Dibai's reign, and did not set foot there again for the next two years.
This visit is a generous gift to entertain Xiao Yuanjing.
Therefore, emperors should ride alongside their subjects.
But Yan Dibai did not.
The reason... there isn't really any reason.
This western suburb, neglected for years, has suddenly become overgrown with weeds. The trees are also dense, making it difficult to discern directions.
Furthermore, he didn't want to be with Xiao Yuanjing. He deliberately postponed it.
Yan Dibai led Xiao Yuanshu in firing arrows haphazardly. Even though Xiao Yuanshu was a skilled archer, the horse was too fast, and many of his shots missed their mark.
After half a day, not only were the people exhausted, but they had also only caught two or three wild rabbits.
When it comes to being tired, there's probably no one more tired than Yangliuqing.
As a maid and a female official, serving Yan Dibai was like having one foot in the grave. She had to pick up all their prey, and soon she was exhausted. She forced herself to stay behind, keeping a dozen meters behind.
Finally, Yan Dibai was exhausted. He threw down his bow and urged his horse to head back. But he seemed to be lost and couldn't find his way out for a long time.
In a moment of distress, Xiao Yuanshu suggested:
"Why don't we send Imperial Attendant Yang ahead to scout the way? It's getting late, they're probably already looking for His Majesty."
Yan Dibai glanced at her, then looked down at the dusty Yangliuqing below.
Her blue jacket and skirt were now covered in yellow dust, and her hair was a mess, with withered leaves and twigs stuck in it. Although she tried her best to keep quiet, the rapid breathing in her chest and the weakness in her legs made no lie.
The boy looked away: "Go."
Yang Liuqing put down his prey and obediently followed the slightly narrow path inside.
This journey took an hour.
With his groin aching from the chafing, Yan Dibai lay back on the horse to rest. It was getting dark, but Yang Liuqing still hadn't returned.
I glanced at that path a few times for no apparent reason.
Xiao Yuanshu sat close to Yan Dibai, wanting to have some private conversation between the two of them. However, the once affectionate young man only smiled and responded half-heartedly, not even bothering to look at her.
She'd been trying to get his attention for a while, but he was suddenly overcome with resentment. As dusk approached and no one was around, she impulsively blurted out:
Why does Your Majesty treat me this way?
Yan Di's white eyebrows twitched, inwardly scoffing at her stupidity. She couldn't be bothered to give her a perfunctory response.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yuanshu was speechless with anger: "Why is Your Majesty ignoring Yuanshu again? Could it be that Your Majesty really likes that ordinary palace maid?"
Before Yan Dibai could speak, Xiao Yuanshu burst forth, her voice trembling with tears: "Yuanshu isn't stupid. If it weren't for my brother being here today, would His Majesty still not have given me a second glance? His Majesty promised me he would dote on me for life. Why did he break his promise? His Majesty's word is law, why did he go back on his word? In what way am I inferior to that Yang Liuqing? I don't understand!"
Yangliuqing, Yangliuqing.
It's ridiculous that no matter what, they can't get around a mere maid.
The words, to the young man, were like a pebble thrown into a stagnant pool, causing a commotion.
She reached out and grabbed the hem of his robe, her eyes brimming with tears: "Your Majesty, please stop lying to Yuan Shu."
A beautiful woman with tears in her eyes is naturally endearing.
However, Yan Dibai quietly observed for a moment, and just when Xiao Yuanshu thought she would get a positive answer, she suddenly glanced sideways. Her eyes were filled with tenderness, but the words she spoke were like daggers to the heart:
"Since you know it's a scam, just accept it."
"Your Majesty?!" Xiao Yuanshu couldn't believe it; her heart ached as if pierced by a thousand needles. "What did Your Majesty say?"
The boy, who was always so warm and friendly when facing her, seemed like a completely different person now, glancing at her with disdain and annoyance.
Cold and unfamiliar.
Those beautiful eyes were like swords and spears, capable of piercing and leaving one bloodied and mangled.
Xiao Yuanshu trembled, and unconsciously let go, a sore throat rising in her throat.
Yan Dibai revealed the fangs beneath his mask and sighed softly:
"If you continue to act foolishly, I might be able to tolerate you. But I despise people like you who think they're special."
Come to think of it, he seems to have always been annoyed by this person.
The beauty's face suddenly contorted into a comical grimace, and Yan Dibai, staring at her, couldn't help but sneer:
"Compared to Yangliuqing?"
It's Yangliuqing again...
"I've always hated her intensely. But now, she's more lovable than you."
In reality, it was only a short period of time. Now, looking at this woman who had angered him several times, he actually found her more pleasing to the eye than Xiao Yuanshu.
Yan Dibai leaned closer to the shocked Xiao Yuanshu. His expression suddenly turned sinister:
"Fools should know their place. When you used Xiao Yuanjing to subtly criticize me, didn't you consider whether I would be displeased?"
As if savoring a memory, he gently touched the beauty's face. The young man chuckled, his words filled with a long-prepared malice.
“If you were to peel off your skin, you might not be much better looking than her. Without your identity, you'd only be worth a few coins in the skin shops of the West Market.”
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-08-30 23:24:17 and 2023-08-31 23:13:31!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Xi'an (10 bottles); Lueluelu (2 bottles); Tianya Shuangke (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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