Chapter 85: Ancestral Rules, Staying in Kunning Palace for One Month
It must be said that the phoenix bed in Kunning Palace was extremely spacious and comfortable.
The entire bed is made of precious huanghuali wood, with exquisite and gorgeous carvings of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix on the bed frame. Every gemstone and pearl adorning it is priceless. The curtains are as thin as cicada wings and shimmering with iridescent cloud gauze. Beneath you are a delicate and soft wool blanket and a gorgeous and bright cloud brocade mattress. Sinking into it, you feel as if you are lying on a cloud, and you are comfortable even in your dreams.
Yun Kui felt like a bowl of lychee pastry in the hot summer. The snow-white pastry was mixed with sweet and soft lychee flesh and glutinous rice balls. She ate it slowly from top to bottom, and the shaved ice buried under the pastry melted into water and was licked clean little by little.
She slowly woke up, her unfocused pupils gradually clearing. It took her a long time to realize why she had thought she was a bowl of cheese ice in her dream. It turned out that she... was really being eaten.
"Such behavior from a monarch is truly unseemly."
"However, I am magnanimous and generous. For the sake of our wedding night, I will give you a chance to serve me!"
She stroked the man's hair, her gaze falling on the top of the Shu brocade tent embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, everything seemed so unreal.
Just as a slight stinging pain came from below, the man's voice almost brushed against her ear, "Feeling like you're dreaming again?"
Yun Kui was bitten and felt pain. After he got up, she looked at his face carefully and traced his outline with her fingertips.
The man's brows no longer held the fierce look he had when he was afflicted with headaches. His sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes now exuded confidence and vigor. In his eyes, she saw the flickering candlelight filling the room, and her own reflection, just like any dashing young man in the throes of spring, celebrating his wedding night, with only his beloved wife in his eyes.
Yun Kui exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you have become even more handsome."
Xiao Qi'an: "Was I ugly before?"
This man was subtly trying to hear praise. Yun Kui stroked his moist lips, thinking of all the effort he had put in to please her, and said without hesitation, "You were beautiful before! If you were truly repulsive, why would I have ignored three thousand beauties and only favored you?"
Xiao Qi'an bit her cherry lips, which were uttering such outrageous words, and said, "You'd better be just as bold outside, instead of only being a bully at home."
Yun Kui chuckled and placed her hand where she most wanted to go. "I'm just overjoyed. My first marriage is to the most noble and the most important person in the world... I mean, status."
They were an old married couple, and the young prince was very affectionate towards her, constantly nuzzling her. But before she could tease him any further, the man flipped over and pinned her down, never giving her another chance to act tough at home.
...
According to the laws of the Great Zhao Dynasty, the emperor had to stay in the Empress's Kunning Palace for the first month after his wedding. This was a sign of respect given to the principal wife by the imperial family. After that month, he only needed to stay in the Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth of each month.
Yun Kui had been looking forward to a month from the third night of her wedding.
She didn't know what to say. Despite being a busy person with countless affairs of state, she was still unrestrained at night, as if she wanted to make up for all the things she hadn't accomplished in the previous three months.
She hadn't had a proper rest for several days in a row. During the day, she had to meet with members of the imperial family and noblewomen. She used to be most afraid of such occasions, fearing that she would show her weakness. Now she could face them calmly. She even hoped that the princesses and noblewomen would keep her company and talk to her for a while, which would be better than seeing the young prince rise up every night.
She tried to negotiate with him, even just to be allowed to rest for a couple of days, but he insisted, "The ancestral rules cannot be abolished. The Empress will naturally have to work harder in the first month."
She brought up the idea that frequent sexual activity was bad for his health, which was tantamount to a provocation to a man. He could only show her through his actions that his body would only become stronger with each encounter.
A month later, Yun Kui thought he could finally rest. According to ancestral rules, he should go back to the Qianqing Palace.
Then this person added, "Our ancestors only stipulated that we should stay in Kunning Palace for the first month; they didn't say that we couldn't continue after that."
Yun Kui: "..."
Xiao Qi'an said grandly, "My father stayed in Kunning Palace back then."
Yun Kui: "..."
Xiao Qi'an: "Besides, isn't this also your wish?"
Yun Kui refused to take the blame: "I never said I wanted to do this every night!"
Xiao Qi'an said, "You said it yourself, your biggest wish in this life is to marry a strong and healthy man and live the rest of your life without shame. I'm just helping you realize it."
Yun Kui: "..."
That cannot be refuted.
Later, a single sentence from Granny Yan finally reminded her.
That night, while he was working hard, she suddenly asked, "Does Your Majesty want a little prince or a little princess right now?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi'an finally slowed his attack, frowning deeply: "No, what's wrong?"
Indeed, there were a few old ministers in the previous dynasty who were obsessed with having offspring. They always submitted memorials advising him to take in more concubines so as to continue the family line for the sake of the country. He was annoyed by this and rejected them one by one.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "Did someone say something to you during the day?"
Yun Kui said, "No, I was just reminding Your Majesty that if you continue to be so unrestrained, I might get pregnant, and then Your Majesty will only be able to look but not eat."
The man indeed thought it over carefully, and in the end, he chose the latter between indulging in pleasure and continued development, and let it go after only two times.
Yun Kui planned to discuss with him the idea of gradually reducing the frequency and the number of days, ideally settling on once every two days, which would be a comfortable state for her both physically and mentally.
To his surprise, the frequency stabilized at twice a day, but the duration became longer and longer. He forbade her to exert herself secretly, otherwise he would escalate the situation.
This continued until the end of September, when suddenly, contrary to his usual behavior, he took pity on her and decided to let her go.
"Next month, you can have five days off."
Looking at the mottled hickeys beneath her, Yun Kui no longer believed his lies. "You're really that kind?"
Xiao Qi'an said, "The autumn hunt in Yanshan is on the tenth of next month. Your health is not up to par, so you don't need to accompany the emperor."
Yun Kui's eyelashes, still glistening with tears, fluttered, precisely extracting the crucial information: "Autumn Hunt?"
Xiao Qi'an: "Mm."
Emperor Taizu pacified the world through military force, and all the ancestors of the Great Zhao Dynasty were brave and skilled in battle. Although his father did not indulge in hunting, he held at least two large-scale royal hunts every year. This was not only a test of the soldiers' riding and archery skills, but also a necessary means for the emperor and his subjects to enjoy themselves together and boost morale.
During the twenty years of Emperor Chunming's reign, he suppressed military generals both openly and secretly for his own selfish desires. In addition, he and several princes were not good at riding and archery. In the first few years, they pretended to be good at it, but later the royal hunting trips became a place for him and his concubines to seek pleasure incognito. The military generals in the court dared not speak out against this.
Now that he has just ascended the throne, he naturally wants to boost morale, win people's hearts, and give these young men from military families a chance to show their skills and let them stretch their muscles and bones.
"Why didn't you take me with you on the autumn hunt?" Yun Kui asked, suddenly intrigued. "Didn't you say you'd take me with you every time you left the palace?"
Xiao Qi'an said calmly, "Isn't it because I'm worried you'll be too tired?"
Yun Kui immediately stood up. "It is tiring, but if you give me two days to rest and recuperate, I will definitely accompany you and won't interfere with your important business. Besides, this isn't military training, it's a hunt! Isn't it common for concubines to accompany the emperor on autumn hunts?"
Xiao Qi'an didn't want to talk about it, so he could only use another reason to evade the question: "There will also be relatives of the imperial family and noblewomen accompanying the court officials. If you are there, these people will definitely treat you with the utmost respect and surround you. Aren't you the one who hates these kinds of occasions the most?"
Yun Kui said, "I'm not afraid anymore! It's just a matter of keeping a straight face. You taught me to talk less and delegate things to my subordinates. As long as I smile without saying anything, they will think I have ulterior motives. If I don't smile, they will worry that they have said something wrong. I have mastered this expression. No one can find out my attitude."
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Yun Kui frowned: "You're not planning to do something bad behind my back, are you? Don't bring back a few concubines from Yanshan, are you?"
Such a lustful person, he actually didn't want to bring her this time!
Xiao Qi'an curled his lips: "I'm afraid you'll be so engrossed in the sight that you'll completely forget who your husband is."
Yun Kui was momentarily speechless.
It wasn't until she witnessed the royal hunt firsthand that she understood what he was worried about.
...
In October, the Yanshan Mountains are blessed with clear skies and crisp air, lush grass and plump animals. Wherever the imperial carriage passes, banners flutter and dust billows.
Yun Kui had never been to such an occasion before. Lifting the curtain and looking out, she felt that the sky was as blue as jade and the forests were dyed in vibrant colors. Inside the dragon carriage, listening to the clattering of horses' hooves like stars, her heart felt expansive.
As they approached their destination, Xiao Qi'an reminded her, "Don't look at things you shouldn't. Don't forget I can read minds. If I hear you..."
Yun Kui sealed his lips with hers: "I know! I only cheer for my husband. No matter how good others are, they can't compare to a single hair on your head."
Xiao Qi'an was finally satisfied.
Yun Kui had never had such a direct experience of hunting until she got off the carriage and stood on the platform, watching the soldiers line up in full gear, raising their arms and cheering. The sound shook the sky, and birds and beasts scattered. The high morale of the soldiers stirred up a thousand waves in her heart.
The young men rode on tall horses, fully equipped and ready to go, while she and her female relatives stayed in the stands.
Your Majesty's concerns are not unfounded; the ground is indeed filled with tall and imposing men, a feast for the eyes indeed.
But he could rest assured that even with thousands of troops following him, he would still be the most conspicuous person in the crowd.
Looking into the distance, the leader, dressed in a black and gold dragon-patterned outfit and holding a powerful bow, leaped onto his horse. With a command, hundreds of soldiers followed closely behind. In an instant, the sound of drums filled the air, the horses neighed, and the earth shook.
He possessed the majesty and nobility of an emperor, as well as the dashing spirit and high aspirations of a young man. Her gaze was fixed on him, oblivious to everyone else.
As the young men spurred their horses away, the women of the royal family gathered around her in twos and threes, talking to her.
"Your Majesty is handsome and brave, and we have truly witnessed it today!"
"His father-in-law is as dashing as ever; I foresee he will reap a great harvest today..."
Yun Kui was already quite adept at handling such occasions. She invited everyone to have tea and snacks, while she herself pulled Shen Yanyu's wife, Jiang Qingci, aside to talk.
Shen Yanyu has now been promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Jiang Qingci is also a third-rank imperial consort. She is one of the few people who know her former identity. Yun Kui only dares to speak frankly with her.
The main reason is curiosity: how did Madam Shen manage to maintain such a harmonious and loving relationship with her husband?
However, since it was inappropriate to ask these questions directly, she changed her approach: "I have heard that Madam Shen and Lord Shen are a loving couple, a beautiful story in the capital. I have come to you today to learn a thing or two from you."
Jiang Qingci was also somewhat surprised: "His Majesty and the Empress are deeply in love and affectionate. Why would the Empress want to ask me for advice?"
Yun Kui sighed, "As you know, His Majesty has been in the army for many years and is decisive and ruthless... I just envy Lord Shen's gentle nature. His Majesty is always a bit... a bit rough."
Jiang Qingci understood immediately upon hearing this.
Actually, at first, Shen Yanyu wasn't as gentle in the room as she is now, and it was quite different from his usual gentle demeanor. Later, she couldn't take it anymore, so she came up with a solution. From then on, no matter how much the man wanted her, he would still cherish her.
Jiang Qingci lowered her voice and whispered her solution to Yun Kui.
Yun Kui's eyes lit up after hearing this, but they quickly dimmed again.
Jiang Qingci said, "However, this method may not be applicable to His Majesty. As the supreme ruler, His Majesty cannot be deceived."
Yun Kui sighed inwardly, realizing that no one understood her suffering.
She had absolutely no secrets from him! He could read minds and could easily catch her doing something wrong!
However, this is one way, it just requires some acting skills.
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I got reported again! [crying][crying] I almost fainted when I saw the message. I also have to revise the previous text. I didn't write much today, but I'll add another chapter tomorrow night for everyone. [heart][heart][heart] Also, the rendering of Consort Xiao's gold chain has been put in the supporting character section. You guys can take a look. [covering face and peeking][covering face and peeking]
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