Chapter 10 Chapter 10
Selecting musicians and female musicians for His Majesty was originally the job of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He had served His Majesty the longest, and today he didn't know how to tactfully express that the Imperial Concubine had indeed had a secret relationship with him, but he didn't intend to fawn on her like before, but wanted to hide away and have some peace and quiet for a while... and not to anger His Majesty.
The imperial concubine was a cunning and beautiful woman, and she must have known what His Majesty meant. She knew it then, and she knew it today, but she refused in a seemingly tactful but actually ruthless manner.
Sometimes even he secretly wanted to cry out in pain. His Majesty knew that the Concubine's obsession was just to find a place to settle down. Once the relationship broke out, he would not be able to continue the show.
If the emperor had been moved when the empress pleaded for the imperial concubine last time and sent someone to ask a few questions, the eunuchs in the Purple Palace would not have lived in fear every day.
Chen Rongshou shook his head. Based on his understanding of the emperor, that was absolutely impossible.
"Why is the Imperial Concubine coming to Wangming Palace for no reason?"
Chen Rongshou tried his best to lower himself, but the slight movement still caught the attention of Emperor Yuan Shuo. He gathered himself and said subtly, "It's the old lady who wants to see the imperial concubine. See if her illness has improved."
The Empress Dowager didn't care much about her young daughter-in-law, who could be her grandchild. She just felt sorry for the Emperor. If the Imperial Concubine understood, she would have to cheer up as soon as possible and serve the Emperor to please him.
He could hear the occasional tapping of fingers on the armrest, a muffled sound that made it impossible to tell what it meant.
"I see she is very ill."
Emperor Yuan Shuo's face was expressionless, his jaw slightly tightened. "Since you're not feeling well, please come out less often. The Queen Mother is a daughter of gold, she should know her limits."
Chen Rongshou was slightly surprised. Before he could instruct the man to persuade the imperial concubine in private, the emperor already knew about it!
But it's understandable.
The imperial concubine didn't come yesterday, and she didn't come today, so from now on... she won't be needed at all.
Shen Youyi rarely came out, and was just about to stop by to see the queen. Before she reached Changle Palace where the queen lived, she was stopped politely by a red-dressed attendant.
The eunuch didn't dare to look at the imperial concubine's expression, and explained Chen Zongguan's intention to her as tactfully as possible.
Before he even saw the emperor, he was placed under house arrest, even though there was no explicit decree and no imperial guards were dispatched to guard him.
But the direction of the wind revealed was like the dark clouds before a storm in the city, pressing heavily on the Yaoguang Palace. Even the usually carefree and relaxed imperial concubine suddenly changed her expression.
What Chief Steward Chen meant was no different from what the emperor meant. The imperial concubine had lost face in public, and even though she had fallen out of favor, the maids were still a little trembling with fear, fearing that the imperial concubine would vent her anger on them.
Tan Rui carefully filled a censer of orchid incense and placed it on the table. She carefully observed the beauty who was eating the jade dew balls on the couch in a depressed mood, trying to find some undisguised resentment in her expression. If the emperor had not arrived at the palace, the six palaces would still be guessing whether his will would change. Now even she had no hope.
Although her master wanted to win favor, it was probably inevitable that she would fall out of favor.
There seems to be something wrong with the imperial concubine recently. There are often women who are favored and out of favor in the palace. It is not surprising that she goes crazy when she falls from the clouds to the mud.
She suppressed her worries and comforted him, "My lady, don't keep everything to yourself. His Majesty has always treated the harem in this way. If he's not just being unkind to you, he's also treating the Empress the same way. Don't let your imagination get you down..."
Before she finished speaking, a ball of jade dew had already blocked her mouth. Shen Youyi looked at her with a smile and said jokingly: "You didn't say that before!"
Tan Rui chewed the food subconsciously twice as the cool sweetness entered her mouth. She was many years older than the imperial concubine, yet she was being teased and fed by her like a civet cat. She felt a little strange in her heart.
The imperial concubine is also cool and sweet. When you see her smiling, all the summer irritability disappears without a trace.
Before coming to the palace, the imperial concubine liked Hanxun and those palace maids who were beaten to death more from the bottom of her heart, and ordered them to do many things, but now she treats her very intimately and gently, and it can even be said that she does not hesitate to let her see her liveliness and comfort.
Perhaps for the imperial concubine, it was a blessing in disguise.
Shen Youyi leaned over and looked at her, the light in her eyes shining like pearls and jade, and her smile shone with a heart-warming luster: "I was also unsure before, do you still have me in your heart?"
The reason why Concubine Wei fell out of favor was because she was jealous of the concubines, but she could clearly feel from the prince that when a man truly loves a woman, he is not afraid of her jealousy. The emperor likes her youth and beauty, but does not like her willfulness. She wants to use Concubine Wei's body to return to the harem, but she dare not be careless about this.
Tan Rui sighed softly: "Have you thought it through now?"
Shen Youyi lay back down and raised her chin slightly: “I think I understand a little bit.”
Not only could she peek into a corner of Qingping Palace, but Qingping Palace could also see her.
When the Empress Dowager ordered her to go, the Emperor had clearly not yet gone to the front court.
That low, soft laugh seemed to still be in her ears. Now when she thought of the owner of that voice, Shen Youyi's cheeks became slightly hot.
When she was gentle and weak, the emperor who was almost her father-in-law stood in the palace, watching her every move.
But if you say I'm proud of it, I'm not without it.
The kite soars in the sky, overlooking all living beings, but the other end of the silk thread is in the hands of the delicate girl. Just a gentle pull can make it flip and move in the clouds.
Tan Rui didn't understand how the imperial concubine could be so sure that the emperor still had his heart in her. Among all the concubines in the palace, the imperial concubine climbed the highest but also fell the hardest.
"Then you should take this opportunity to go to Qingping Palace..." Tan Rui chose her words carefully, "But if you go now, will His Majesty be angry with you?"
"Your Majesty has said that I need to recuperate more, so why should I go? I might as well ask the Empress for leave and remove my seat from the birthday banquet to save His Majesty from being upset."
Shen Youyi shook her head. She took Tan Rui's hand and stood up. She smiled and said excitedly, "I'm a bit bored today. Let's call a few palace maids to accompany me to fly a kite!"
As the Emperor's birthday approaches, the Yaoguang Palace becomes quieter and quieter.
Shen Youyi was embroidering the purse that she would never finish, and sometimes she would stay there from morning till night without even stepping out of the palace.
The pale moon and sparse stars hung high in the sky. She sat in the Minghui Tower in the palace embroidering, and sometimes she could see the candlelight in the Qingping Palace flicker and go out.
Occasionally, there were shadowy figures inside, but most of the time there were only two or three eunuchs and palace servants serving tea, who rotated every three hours.
They made clay figurines with great reverence, keeping their postures as low as possible and walking as if silently, like devout worshippers, solely to serve the emperor illuminated by candlelight.
The night was so quiet that she could hear the sound of silk thread splitting and passing through satin. She peeked at the light and seemed to hear the ink stick sliding along the inkstone, grinding slowly and steadily, making a rustling sound, and the scent of cinnabar spreading in circles.
The imperial palace is so close yet so far away. Most of the concubines are desperately waiting for the king's favor in the boring silence night after night.
She has fallen out of favor, but still lives in the Yaoguang Palace, which represents the king's favor. Will the former Concubine Wei go crazy when she sees the emperor right in front of her?
However, the man hidden behind the pearl curtain and jade screen rarely went up to the tower to enjoy the scenery. There were many things to distract his attention with the vast mountains and rivers. For the emperor, no matter how beautiful the scenery of the palace was, it had lost its novelty.
But this may not be the case for Concubine Wei who lives in Yaoguang Palace.
He should always care about her a little bit, even if it is disgust or resentment, it is not a bad thing.
Sometimes Shen Youyi thought that her Yaoguang Palace was so close to the emperor's residence. Even if this palace was as silent as water, it would be glaring to him, not to mention that this place was full of red lights every night.
Even if you just glance up quickly, it would probably be glaring.
But unfortunately, her gentleness and caution were all on the surface, but at night they would become an eyesore and irritate his ears, gently stepping on the limit of his tolerance once or twice, and then quickly withdrawing.
The moonlight was so bright, but there was nothing interesting happening in Emperor Yuan Shuo's daily life. He was not here because he was having fun with the princes and princesses. She had been peeping for many days before she had to admit a fact.
If she were to be the emperor's attendant, she would definitely want to doze off in the middle of the night.
A smile appeared on Shen Youyi's lips, and then she pursed her lips again.
Being an official is not that boring...at least the recorder hasn't written about her yet.
A concubine who was caught between the emperor and his son and was possessed by wandering ghosts. She was the prince's concubine mother and almost became the emperor's daughter-in-law.
But she didn't want to do that. She just wanted to find a husband who was satisfactory to her.
To be her husband, you must be rich and powerful. It would be best if he is handsome and treats her well, but at least not too bad.
Poor couples have many sorrows, feelings are changeable, and appearances will fade, but money and power always lie there coldly, tempting and dangerous. She was only briefly afraid when she first entered the palace, but the thought of getting close to it and grabbing it made her blood boil, as if adding a bit of vitality to her charming appearance.
She is such a greedy woman, she wants everything, but she only wants one, not many.
Shen Youyi's heart sank slightly. Whether it was her before or after coming here, she had never really seen her husband who looked down on the world. She only had a vague impression of him.
If the kite string is loose for too long, the strong wind from thousands of miles away will pull away the reel.
It was almost time for her to hang up.
When Sui Chao came in to sort the silk threads, he saw the imperial concubine gazing in deep thought.
When she was giving birth at home, she heard people talking about some of the things that happened to the imperial concubine in the palace. Only when she really started serving Madam Wei did she realize that this master was much kinder and more cheerful than she had imagined.
So when he saw her sentimental look, Sui Chao was a little surprised.
"Madam, are you upset?"
Sui Chao probed, "Doing embroidery for too long hurts your eyes. I heard the theater is very busy these days. Would you like to go and relax?"
The imperial concubine was not under house arrest on the surface, but no palace servant dared to take the initiative to persuade her master to go out for a walk. Shen Youyi pulled herself out of her thoughts and glanced at the new female official who was serving her.
She would sometimes ask for leave to go home to visit her husband and son, and she always agreed to it, but since the emperor visited the palace, she has not been home yet.
Shen Youyi's heart moved slightly, and he lowered his eyes and sighed: "You are considerate, but His Majesty has been in Qingping Palace these days. Even if I have this intention, I dare not go out."
Even the stewards around the Imperial Concubine found it difficult to convince her to yield. Sui Chao knew her own weight, but she didn't expect her casual words to have unintentional consequences. She smiled and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, my lady. I'm going to deliver something for the Empress today. Aunt Zhuiyu also said that His Majesty will take the princes and princesses to listen to a Taoist lecture tomorrow. It will take a whole day!"
The Taoist temple in the temporary palace is located halfway up the mountain, twenty miles away from the inner court. The royal procession is so grand that a single day of delay would be too little.
After she finished speaking, the imperial concubine seemed to no longer be as happy as before. She felt a little uneasy, wondering if she had spoken too quickly and aroused suspicion.
However, the imperial concubine seemed to be distracted for a moment. She lowered her head and thought for a moment before she smiled at her: "That's fine. Why don't I change your clothes and go out quietly? Don't let anyone know!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
