Chapter 34 Chapter 34 [VIP]
Since the emperor has come here, the wine and food prepared in Yaoguang Palace are not enough, and there is no reason for the emperor to use the leftovers.
The Empress speculated on Emperor Yuan Shuo's intentions, perhaps wishing to speak with them. She ordered the meal to be prepared again and said with a smile, "Zi Yan has been spending a lot of time in the pharmacy pondering things. I'm afraid Your Majesty will reprimand him."
Emperor Yuan Shuo knew it was her swinging when he heard the sound from afar. He listened quietly for a while, but the second prince thought it was Wuyang and a few sisters having fun. He smiled and suggested that Shen Huaian draw a picture of the beauty on the swing.
Shen Huaian had no doubts about it and agreed to it smoothly.
Speaking of this son, Emperor Yuan Shuo felt some regret from the bottom of his heart. Zi Yan was intelligent and quick-witted, not obsessed with women, and only liked to go into the pharmacy and fiddle with those medical books. Unfortunately, he was born with deficiencies. He did not expect this son to inherit the throne, so he was naturally more tolerant of him and let him do as he pleased with some things.
However, the person he scolded just now was not the second prince, but the crown prince.
The Prince of Hengshan was sent back to the Crown Prince's residence, and was told orally to spend more time with his wives, concubines, and children in the inner house, to manage his family and cultivate himself. The palace was small, and the Crown Prince did not want to look at the Crown Princess in the eye all day long, so he went to his father and "carried a bundle of firewood to apologize."
After all, he is the first son to be established. Even though he knows that his father is strict, he would rather choose to act coquettishly to get away with some unimportant little things.
How could Emperor Yuan Shuo not know what his son was thinking? It was just that those concubines were not to his liking. But so what? Wasn't he the same in the past?
The Crown Princess's family background was not high, but she was chosen by him. The other concubines were given by his elders. Even if he didn't like them, and the concubines were fighting each other to the death, they should still pretend to be loving couples and harmonious fathers and sons. Before he even ascended to this position, he lost his temper and made the harem a mess, which even several ministers heard about.
Shen Huaian and several close ministers who followed the emperor paid their respects to the concubines. Shen Youyi felt a little uneasy. She had revealed the truth to her brother. Would her brother think she was crazy?
Chen Rongshou glanced at the imperial concubine's inquiring expression and said, "Madam, this is Scholar Shen, who is waiting for orders in the Hanlin Academy. He now often drafts documents for Your Majesty."
She actually recognized all these people. Shen Youyi nodded and said guiltily, “They are indeed young talents.”
Emperor Yuan Shuo knew she was ill and might not be able to handle so many people, so he said softly, "Why is your forehead sweating so much? Would you like to rest for a while, Imperial Concubine?"
Shen Youyi hesitated a bit. She didn't want to get entangled with the prince at all, but it was rare for her to see her brother. She said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I feel lighter now that I have come out to see the Empress."
Emperor Yuan Shuo raised his hand, motioning her to sit closer. She had already met the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, so she must be able to tell them apart. He did not mention it again: "You just sweated, don't eat the icy bowl."
Shen Youyi responded briskly, her eyes meeting the prince's, and she hesitated for a moment.
She and the prince had not made their relationship clear, perhaps he was still hoping that one day they would live together and become an adulterous couple...but that was too far away. Before she met Emperor Yuan Shuo, she would not feel that she was fickle if she said a few perfunctory words to him. But his majesty was so good to her, even if there was no lovemaking at night, she would not dare to do anything out of line again.
Although this feeling was very uncomfortable, as she was his father's concubine and had to consider the prince's mood when joking with the emperor, Shen Youyi thought that the empress dowager wanted Wei's daughter to enter the palace to accompany the emperor, so she ordered the maid to move the seat to the side of the queen.
Emperor Yuan Shuo looked at her deeply, but said nothing. Instead, the Second Prince said, "From afar, I thought it was Wuyang. This is quite unfortunate."
Shen Youyi resented him for pricking her with a silver needle and always suspected that he was being sarcastic. Even if they were not from the same mother, couldn't he recognize the voice of his own sister?
This person was clearly coming for her.
She ignored the Second Prince and looked up to ask the Queen, "My Lady, am I really that young?"
The Empress smiled, taking into consideration the presence of Emperor Yuanshuo and the foreign ministers. She said with a smile, "Of course. You and Wuyang are not much different in age. Ziyan must be dazzled."
She had always had a good relationship with the imperial concubine, but her son, who was gentle and polite to others, often quarreled with his young stepmother.
But it’s not that Zi Yan hates Concubine Wei.
The father and son and his wife of the royal family were all talking and laughing. Zhou Mingchun, who was standing by, listened for a long time and finally couldn't help but asked Shen Huaian in a low voice: "Wei Xing, does the voice of the imperial concubine sound familiar to you? I seem to have heard it somewhere before."
The imperial concubine's voice was soft and gentle. Not to mention men, even girls might not be able to resist her charm, which was unforgettable.
Shen Huaian frowned slightly. He looked up at the steps and saw the imperial concubine carefully avoiding the emperor's sight, secretly looking at him. Their eyes met, and she hurriedly looked away, talking to Feng Chongyi as if nothing had happened.
As expected, as soon as she stopped taking the medicine, she would get sick.
He lowered his head and said in a slightly cold voice, "Who is the imperial concubine? How can we discuss her?"
Since the imperial concubine was present, Emperor Yuanshuo only ordered the drinking picture and a few poems to be written in response, and did not mention the matter of the beauty picture.
The prince drank a few glasses of wine and was about to toast several concubine mothers, but his mother couldn't help but look at Shen Huaian with a slight displeasure.
Even though they have been brother and sister for more than ten years, has Yan Guo already recognized her as his own?
Not to mention that they are not blood relatives, even if he is really her brother, it is a bit too much in public.
He toasted Feng Chongyi and Shen Youyi, said a few auspicious words with a smile, then apologized to Emperor Yuan Shuo and stood up to change his clothes.
Shen Youyi had only drunk two glasses of sweet fruit wine. Her face flushed easily, and by now her face was already red. She was also a little slow in dealing with Feng Chongyi.
Feng Chongyi knew that the imperial concubine could not drink much, but he did not care much. He talked with her about several young ministers present and compared them one by one with the husband that His Majesty had chosen for Wuyang.
Shen Youyi listened to her praising the virtues of each man one by one, and after a series of twists and turns, she finally sighed that these scholars and ministers were not as good as the man Wuyang married.
Her eyes were furrowed and she looked a little drunk. Most of the time she just listened, but when she mentioned that name, she couldn't help but retort.
It was not until Feng Chongyi drank some iced bayberry wine, felt a little unwell, and stood up to apologize that her ears were relieved.
Shen Youyi breathed a sigh of relief. Today's wine was indeed delicious. The slight bitterness only added a special flavor to the sweetness of the fruit. When the eunuch came to replace it, she was a little reluctant.
The emperor didn't like her eating such cold and sweet things. Knowing that she didn't like drinking real wine, he would definitely ask someone to replace it with the heated wine made in the palace.
Shen Youyi's body became weaker due to the effect of alcohol, but her temper became much more stubborn. She picked up the wine cup and was about to take a sip to protest, but she saw that the eunuch's eyebrows and eyes had a strange look.
She glanced at him in confusion, and her hot palm landed on a ball of paper without her noticing.
Shen Youyi barely suppressed the confusion in her heart, and pried open a corner with her fingernail, revealing a bit of flying dragon and phoenix calligraphy from the crumpled paper.
The few words inside told her to come out on July 17th... to the Taoist temple for a chat.
Her heart was beating very fast, and she subconsciously looked at the Second Prince. Seeing that he caught her gaze sharply and looked at her with a smile, she felt a little flustered.
His father, the emperor, was still at the table. Why was this person flirting with her? Did she have some kind of affair with him?
When a person feels guilty, he always wants to do something to cover up his whereabouts. By the time Shen Youyi reacted, the bloody wine had already gone down his throat.
The taste of the wine was not strong or pungent, which was very deceptive, but it burned her internal organs. She subconsciously spit out the wine. Several maids serving by her side had already brought basins to receive it, and arranged for someone to order a bowl of strong tea for the imperial concubine to calm her down.
Such a big commotion could not have escaped the eyes of the emperor and empress. After the empress heard the second prince talk about the wonderful uses of the medicinal wine, which was brewed by her own son, she asked Emperor Yuan Shuo's opinion and served some to everyone. Not wanting the imperial concubine to drink too quickly, she hurriedly asked someone to help the imperial concubine get up and go to the dressing room to relax.
When the wine was served, Shen Youyi naturally ignored all these words.
Shen Youyi's face flushed and her throat was burning. The piece of paper with words on it was crumpled and tightly clenched in her palm. She couldn't speak until she drank a few cups of tea in the dressing room. She asked everyone to leave, carefully unfolded the note and burned it, sweeping the remaining ashes into the incense burner.
She was already feeling a bit impatient and was about to undress and lie down on the couch to relax when a dark figure who looked like a young eunuch flashed out from behind the screen and put his arms around her waist from behind.
There was something vaguely irritating him. Even though Shen Youyi's mind was in a fuzzy mess, one thought was still clear.
The person behind her is definitely not some daring eunuch!
The man's breath was tinged with alcohol, but his voice was extremely tender and affectionate. He called out "Ah Zhen" twice, and when he searched for her lips and teeth, he was almost eager. He also did not forget to comfort her, "My dear girl, you don't know how many days I have endured for you. Today, how about I teach you a lesson?"
The prince's restlessness was temporarily soothed. As expected, Yi Niang still liked him in her heart. He arranged for the palace servants serving at the banquet to overturn the wine in front of her, hinting that she should come to this palace. Unexpectedly, when he sneaked in, Yi Niang was also here.
His heart was filled with bitterness. Now that the people he had arranged were gone, there was no way for her to take the medicine in time. In the past, he had an excuse that she was forced to be favored by her father, but she did not give birth to a child that would be difficult for him to deal with in the future.
But his father had once again favored his beloved woman. The facts were before him and he could no longer escape.
Unless the emperor is infertile, given Concubine Wei's current favor, she will sooner or later give birth to a child for the emperor.
Shen Youyi almost screamed out loud. She struggled to open her eyes and tried to turn around to see the man's eyebrows clearly. Her heart was agitated and her hands and feet became cold.
In the dim light, she could see a face clearly.
His facial features were firm and he looked young and handsome. Even when he was drunk, he looked like a jade mountain about to collapse, and he looked quite similar to Emperor Yuan Shuo.
But he shouldn't be here.
"Your Highness, I am your stepmother..." She couldn't muster much strength to struggle, so she took out Emperor Yuan Shuo and warned him in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the concubines and ministers are still outside, do you want to die?"
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