Chapter 52 Chapter 52 [VIP]
After sweating a lot, although my body still felt heavy, I felt indescribably relaxed mentally.
Shen Youyi thought that she should weave a good dream about the emperor to deal with the interrogation the next day.
Should she make up a story about how she secretly admired him in Yan Guomo's mansion, or should she boldly reveal some of her past experiences living in the Shen family?
But unexpectedly, she did have a dream tonight, and it was related to Emperor Yuan Shuo.
Inside the red silk tent, the older man took a piece of silk ribbon from her and slowly stroked the beauty's cheek.
She was no stranger to such scenes, and she closed her eyes in anticipation, enjoying the gentle caress.
However, she did not notice that the emperor in front of her had an expression as cold as ice.
His breath sprayed on her skin, but his words were no longer gentle: "Shen, have you really served the prince?"
Shen Youyi opened her eyes in astonishment. The silk ribbon was already tied around her neck and was slowly tightening!
She could hardly breathe and tried to struggle and push, but she couldn't move the wall.
Why didn't he ask about what happened before and give her a chance to argue, but just sentenced her to death!
However, when she was almost in death fear, the rope suddenly loosened.
Emperor Yuan Shuo touched the bloodstain and whispered, "Yi Niang, I don't have the habit of helping others succeed. Since you can do this, you know what the consequences will be if you deceive me!"
She tried to argue, but the emperor's eyes glared at her, "I cannot give women I've used to others, but incest between father and son is a scandalous act, and I absolutely cannot keep you!"
…
Shen Youyi suddenly woke up from her dream, reached out her hand, and found that the pillow was already empty.
Tan Rui heard the noise and knew that the imperial concubine had risen. She and her maid brought a hand towel and green salt hand ointment and went in. She said softly, "His Majesty saw that the lady was sleeping very soundly and told us to come back in an hour to ask you to get up. I didn't expect you to wake up already."
Such considerations often happened. If the two of them were not very passionate at night, or if they just slept in each other's arms, she would help Emperor Yuan Shuo change his clothes and say goodbye to him tenderly and sweetly.
However, after four or five rounds a day, Emperor Yuan Shuo couldn't bear to torment her anymore, so Shen Youyi whispered, "What has your majesty been doing?"
Sui Chao smiled and said respectfully, "Your Majesty will personally lead the Crown Prince and the ministers to the outskirts of the city today to inspect the military preparations."
A small city in the capital, of course, could only possess a limited number of weapons and government soldiers. This was far more significant than the actual facts obtained during the inspection. Shen Youyi asked someone to go to the eunuch in charge of books in front of the emperor to get a few books that the emperor often read and local county chronicles to relieve his boredom. He said slowly: "It's better to keep it simple today. Some ladies should be coming."
Emperor Yuan Shuo tacitly allowed her to interact with women from other noble families. As a favorite concubine, even if she had no children, there would be many women from noble families who wanted to curry favor with her.
Tan Rui chose a silk gown in the color of distant mountains for her, and covered it with a thin and soft snow-blue shawl. In addition to the hairpin decorated with gold, jade and coral, the headdress was decorated with some pearls. She used even fewer fish glue and rice beads on the three-white makeup, only a little on the dimples on her cheeks and between her eyebrows, and mostly used rouge to render the transition layer by layer, showing her peach-like complexion.
She was born charming and beautiful, with an easygoing personality. The palace maids who served her in dressing and dressing preferred to dress her with rich gold, red, jade and coral. The stacking of multiple jewels could better show the beauty and dignity of the imperial concubine. However, the imperial concubine did not like such grand ceremony when meeting with ladies of honor.
Sui Chao was sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and she never shied away from this identity. She reminded him, "Madam Yang is representing Your Majesty to receive my wife. Most people wear extravagant attire according to their rank. Why do you have to dress so simply and plainly?"
Shen Youyi smiled slightly: "Madam Xiuyuan is the mother of the crown prince, and she should be praised by others. I don't want them to flatter me. It's just a casual chat, maybe a meal, why bother to dress up so grandly?"
Yang had been out of favor for a long time, and others had to flatter her for the sake of the Crown Prince and the Yang family. However, she herself lived with the Emperor, so when outsiders presented a name card to her, they would meet and talk at the side of the main tent. She smiled and said, "Many wives of noble titles never set foot in Your Majesty's residence, let alone the wives and daughters of local officials. Aren't you afraid of scaring them?"
Most of those who sought to see her were women related to the Wei family, as well as several princesses and first-rank ladies, and the wives and daughters of local officials. Except for her nominal relatives, these people all had a wavering attitude.
But she also knew that there would always be ministers who could not get close to the Eastern Palace and gamblers who tried to make a huge profit. Even if her foundation was weak, she would always have a chance to turn things around.
Shen Youyi comforted her cousin who was humiliated by Yang Xiuyuan. The emperor had already warned Yang, and if she took action again, she might touch the reverse scale of Emperor Yuan Shuo, who rewarded them with many rouge and bright fabrics that girls liked.
This Fifth Lady is from the third branch of the Wei family. Master Wei San and the Imperial Concubine have never had any contact. It was only today that Madam Wei San saw the Imperial Concubine's grand display. She exclaimed in amazement, "At home, I only heard that Madam was favored, but I didn't know it could reach this level. If Madam had a prince, with your favor and the merits of our Wei family, would she still have to endure the wrath of Madam Yang?"
The Wei and Yang families are both foreign relatives, so naturally they have some grievances against each other. Chen Qin also wants to bet on his wife. However, I am just a helpless woman in the deep palace, and no one in the outer court speaks for me. The Crown Princess's family seems to be quite strong. At most, I only hope that Your Majesty will pity my hard work in serving you. If you really have a prince in the future,
Wei Xiao, she glanced at her daughter, motioned her to go out and play with the palace maids, and said softly: "Your Majesty, why worry about this? There are many people who support the hot stove, and there are also children. Moreover, I have heard some rumors recently. Our Crown Princess is not a face
She said this, of course she came to complain, Shen Youyi's eyebrows moved slightly, what does this mean, mother?
"I have become a Jinshi and entered the Hanlin Academy, but unfortunately I have no one to rely on at home. Fortunately, I received some advice from a scholar named Shen. I want to leave, but the Queen can't see the Queen, so it's not easy to ask for help."
She covered her mouth and laughed, "As for the wives and daughters-in-law of the ministers, there are even more who want to be close to you. You are His Majesty's bedside companion. Even if you just give them a little advice and help them when they encounter difficulties in the future, won't they go home and give them some advice?"
If the emperor wants to change the empress or even depose the crown prince in the future, the emperor's favor is of course the most important, but there must also be someone in the outer court to support her, so that Emperor Yuan Shuo can repeatedly refuse her and create a hypocritical illusion that she is the popular choice and has no choice but to obey.
Shen Youyi nodded: "My mother is often ill, and my aunt and sister-in-law have been working hard to take charge of the household chores on my mother's behalf. If there is really a talent that can be used, I would certainly not be willing to bury it. However, the Crown Princess is the wife of the Eastern Palace after all, so whether she is easy to get along with or not has little to do with us."
She didn't have much grudge against the Crown Princess. The reason they were so hostile was simply because she had fallen out with this woman's husband.
Madam Wei San shook her head and sighed, "My lady has worked hard serving His Majesty all day long, and His Majesty took pity on her and sent her away early. I don't know how much he has rewarded the family this year, so how could he know what's going on outside? The Crown Princess isn't favored by His Highness, and that's a well-known fact. Her family has to make some allowances, but the rules of the royal family are not something that ordinary people can afford, so they must have some ulterior motives."
Of course, the prince would not have a hard life, but most of his salary was not under the control of the princess. However, she had to take care of the prince's stepmother, take care of the palace eunuchs, contact foreign ministers, and win people's hearts. To do everything decently and beautifully, she had to spend money like water. But maintaining the scene of the Eastern Palace itself was not easy. The salary approved by the emperor for the Eastern Palace was just an additional three thousand taels compared to his own salary back then, to show his favor to his son, but it was not enough.
Although the Crown Princess's family was willing to provide financial support for the sake of future glory, it was really difficult.
Madam Wei San simply sorted out the conversations she had heard from the ladies over the past few days and told them to the Imperial Concubine. She sighed softly, "Your Highness is indeed filial. These lists have all been approved by Empress Yang. I wonder if Your Highness understands the confusion here."
Shen Youyi covered her face with a fan and smiled: "Husband and wife are one, what is the difference between what the Crown Princess does and what Your Highness does?"
Some of this money might go to her parents' home, but the bulk of it would still be spent on the Eastern Palace.
Although the treatment of concubines was the best among all women in the world, no one would complain about having too little money. Yang Xiuyuan deliberately spread some unclear rumors to these ladies, just to hint to those who wanted to gain connections to come over and enjoy the pleasure of controlling the fate of others.
She gave Madam Wei San a few instructions and wrote down a few names. Several princesses from the Changmo Lord's family came to visit. They were sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law, but they were curious about the reasons why the imperial concubine fell out of favor and regained favor. Shen Youyi chatted for a few words, and everyone slowly turned the topic to the most popular Prince Zhao and his son recently. Some said that the two of them were infatuated with each other, some laughed at the father for being disrespectful to his elders, and some were curious about how pretty the woman was, which made the smile on Shen Youyi's face almost frozen.
Seeing that the imperial concubine had met so many people in one day and was still able to eat snacks while reading the local county annals, Tan Rui gently advised: "Madam, you have worked so hard, why don't you take a break? Those people are not as important as your body."
The royal family and relatives were people who were not convenient to offend. As for the wives of the county magistrates and county chancellors, they might not be able to set foot in the palace even if they waited for another twenty or thirty years. Even Yang Xiuyuan could only let them sit at the back of the table. These ladies were the most honorable wives of officials in the counties and prefectures, but when they were in front of the concubines, they could not even say a word.
They were hoping for a chance to say something flattering, perhaps the high-ranking concubines wouldn't even remember their faces and names.
Shen Youyi shook her head. She was also a woman from this kind of status, so she naturally understood what these people were thinking. Although she didn't expect to gain anything from the women in the inner house, she still said, "Your Majesty is here for many days because I delayed your journey, and I don't know where I will go tomorrow. Since they are so thoughtful, I am not sick and can't get up from the bed. Why should I let them down?"
Relying on the few words she read in the memorials of Emperor Yuan Shuo and the contents in the county annals, she also asked the palace maid in charge to ask some questions from the servants of the Guanglu Temple. Only then did she order the people in the Shangshi Bureau to rearrange the tables and snacks, so that there were always one or two drinks and snacks on each person's table that were different from others.
The wife of the governor of Shangzhou in Shannan East Road and the families of the county magistrates and county magistrates of Danfeng, Shanyang and other counties had been waiting for a long time. However, their status was not enough in front of the nobles accompanying the army. Even if they had some wishful thinking at the beginning, it was completely worn away in the past few days.
Unfortunately, their husbands were far away in the prefectures and counties, and had no idea about the current situation in the palace. According to the convention, they selected several beautiful women to present to the emperor. Although Emperor Yuan Shuo did not reprimand them, it was not until they had been in contact with the ladies in the court for a few days that they realized how domineering the imperial concubine was in the palace, and how she did not allow other concubines to approach the emperor. She was a seductive beauty like a vixen.
This woman was so jealous that she could be separated from the emperor for a long time, and she even ignored the prince's biological mother. She might hold a grudge against their husbands after hearing a few words from someone, but leaving them out and deliberately ignoring them was not considered a special humiliation.
However, when they actually met the imperial concubine, the anxious ladies were all stunned.
The young and favored imperial concubine seemed to be in good spirits, and even wanted to call musicians to play the piano and sing songs to accompany her at the banquet. She received them in the emperor's tent, but her clothes were much simpler than Yang Xiuyuan's, and her expression was very easy-going.
Although she was beautiful and worthy of being called a peerless beauty, she was not as mean and arrogant as one might imagine. She did not even mention the fact that their husbands had shown her beauty, but only asked about what they did in their daily lives.
"Two years ago, there was a locust plague in Guanzhong. I heard that Governor Zhou led the people to exterminate the locusts and burned 140,000 stones of grain. It was truly spectacular. Even after I entered the palace, I mentioned it several times."
Shen Youyi smiled and said, "The governor submitted a memorial and also requested merit for the husbands of several ladies. I also remember that His Majesty seemed to have exempted the areas most affected by the disaster from taxes for three years."
The rules of the palace are strict. Emperor Yuan Shuo is the supreme ruler and does not allow concubines to interfere in politics. However, in the local areas, the boundaries between government offices and inner residences are not so clear. These men also need their wives and daughters to entertain their superiors and subordinates' wives. As part of their support, no matter what their background is, most of them will participate in their husbands' affairs.
At least that's what her mother did back then.
The ladies all had happy expressions on their faces. The natural disasters that occurred during their husbands' rule showed that the officials were not wise. Although they were not hungry or thirsty, they had been worried for a long time. They were able to stay in office until now because of their contributions to disaster relief. However, these things were not worth mentioning in the eyes of a king.
Seeing that the emperor and the imperial concubine had not forgotten their contributions, they gradually became less restrained. They bought properties and shops in the local area. Even though they were not local women, they were very familiar with local affairs. Seeing that the imperial concubine was very interested in those special spices and snacks, as well as the interesting stories of local officials, schools and private institutions, they all perked up and racked their brains to think of strange stories to make the imperial concubine laugh.
This empress, who was greatly favored by the emperor, was born in the Mofu of Yan State. Unexpectedly, she also had some knowledge of local affairs.
For such a noble person, wild fun is more attractive than official documents.
Shen Youyi listened patiently as they openly and covertly praised their husbands for their loyalty to the country and flattered the emperor and herself. She accepted their gifts with a smile and rewarded each of them with some gems and pepper. It was not until the evening that she ordered someone to send them back.
When Emperor Yuan Shuo came back, he saw that the imperial concubine's place was still bustling. Although he didn't know what these officials' wives said to make her happy, even though it was inconvenient for her to show up, he ordered people to send rewards to various mansions.
If he wanted to be busy, there would be endless things to do. Seeing that she was enjoying herself made him feel at ease. The prince had been running around with his father all day and was somewhat exhausted, but fortunately, Emperor Yuan Shuo was in a good mood today and asked him to stay for dinner and have a few words with his father.
However, just as he was about to use it, the beautiful woman, who had almost forgotten her feelings, came in gracefully, her skirt lifted. Before she could even run to Emperor Yuan Shuo, she complained: "Why didn't you tell me that my husband had returned? I should have gone to welcome the emperor!"
She looked quite tired and aggrieved, and her smile was even more adorable. However, when she saw the table and the prince below the imperial desk, she was almost frightened. She glanced at Emperor Yuan Shuo timidly, wondering whether she should leave.
Ever since he learned that Yi Niang had lost her memory, the Crown Prince had been feeling restless these past few days. He was worried that the thing would really cause harm to her body, and he was also worried that his father would one day decide to post an imperial edict and seek treatment from famous doctors all over the world.
But after just one day, she was not only able to meet with the ladies of honor alone, but also had fun with these outsiders without worry, which even surprised him.
Emperor Yuan Shuo saw that she was in a dilemma, like a child who had done something wrong. He sighed quietly and waved to her, "Come here."
Shen Youyi slowly moved in front of him, tightly grasped the emperor's sleeve under the table, and refused to leave him for a moment.
Seeing that Emperor Yuan Shuo did not express dissatisfaction with the concubine's behavior, Chen Rongshou only sent another set of gold utensils without setting up another desk.
His father and stepmother were eating at the same table, and the prince should have stood up and said goodbye immediately, but Yiniang huddled beside her father and glanced at him secretly.
Her face was innocent, and seemed to contain curiosity and exploration, as if after he rescued her, he invited her to the East Palace. She looked at him doubtfully and warily, asking him if he liked her.
Shen Youyi just glanced at him and quickly lowered her head, like a peony that was shy of the wind and dew, but the other party was left to guess what she meant.
Emperor Yuan Shuo saw her running towards him happily. Perhaps she had many interesting things to share with him today, or perhaps the method really worked. She remembered a lot of things, but with the prince here, it was always inconvenient to talk about private matters between husband and wife.
He glanced at the prince casually. The eldest son was usually very good at reading people's expressions, but today he remained silent. However, when their eyes met, the prince subconsciously felt a little panic and lowered his head.
Emperor Yuan Shuo was slightly displeased. He didn't want her to have much contact with the young crown prince. He frowned slightly and asked, "Zihui, do you have something to report?"
The prince barely suppressed his shock and whispered, "I just remembered that I have some matters to attend to in the inner chamber. I would like to ask for your permission to leave first."
When Shen Youyi heard his slightly nervous tone, she inexplicably remembered what Madam Wei San had said. She raised her head and glanced at him again, but her sight was blocked by a hand covering her forehead.
Of course she didn't have a fever. She just chuckled softly, "Father has a goddaughter, so why doesn't he allow his own son to finish his meal before leaving... What's so urgent that His Highness has to leave first?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo's face flushed as he listened to her words, but seeing her completely indifferent expression, his face darkened slightly and he gently scolded her, "You still remember to come back?"
Shen Youyi was slightly unhappy and showed him the makeup on her face that was about to be mottled: "Didn't you ask me to go meet people? I was worried about His Majesty's hard work outside. My husband doesn't feel sorry for Yi Niang at all."
Her voice was so soft that it almost melted people's hearts. Emperor Yuan Shuo suppressed the throbbing in his heart and asked the palace maid to bring in the ointment for makeup removal. He wiped it off bit by bit with his own hands and said with a faint smile: "Yi Niang, I want you to meet them so that these people can coax you into happiness and teach you to listen to some outside news to relieve your boredom. Why do you make it so hard?"
Even if they were his relatives, she could just turn them away and pick a few that caught her eye and talk to them for a while, so that people would know that the imperial concubine was not an idle decoration. Why should she force herself to socialize with those people?
"You're not the type to be affectionate with men. How can the Emperor know the thoughts of us little women... How difficult is it to see His Majesty's concubine? Even if it's just a smile from me, knowing that His Majesty has them in his heart is much more useful than rewarding us with any rare treasures."
Shen Youyi raised her head and kissed him, whispering, "I don't want to hear those flattering words. I just want to know some of His Majesty's past events to appease them. They told me about the emperor's decrees, the reading habits of the people in the county, and the harvests of the past two years. I found it very novel and interesting... It turns out that locusts will produce a highly toxic poison when they gather in one place. Although the method of neutralizing it is not difficult, it is really hard to put it into practice."
She almost touched his cheek and whispered, "It's so hard for their husbands to govern a county or a state, let alone Your Majesty governing an entire country."
Emperor Yuan Shuo's heart moved slightly. These ladies discussed government affairs with the concubines. He really should teach them to read more "Female Rules" and "Female Instructions." But she was actually very interested in these. He said softly, "It's not difficult. It's just that Yi Niang hasn't been exposed to much..."
He realized that the following words seemed to have exceeded his standards, but Shen Youyi took the initiative to say: "My lord, don't you want to teach me these things? I just need to serve you well. Those matters are the ministers' business."
Emperor Yuan Shuo stroked her hair. As a monarch, he did not want the harem to interfere too much in state affairs. As for himself, the successor monarch would naturally not want his stepmother or biological mother to have any say in state affairs.
Yi Niang only has eyes for him. Of course, she has her own fun, but her mind is not so complete and she even has a disease.
But even at this point, she would still think about sharing some of his worries.
If she really gave birth to a prince, and was appointed as the Crown Prince, the son would be young and the mother would be strong, and she would know nothing, so she would be like a weak sheep that would fall into the tiger's mouth at any time.
He wanted to eat her whole and carry her in his arms at all times, and others would want that too.
He said softly, "Haven't you read the memorials I reviewed? If you're really curious, I can have someone explain them to you."
Shen Youyi immediately laughed and snuggled in his arms. Emperor Yuan Shuo thought of what had just happened and was inevitably a little unhappy. He asked softly, "Is Yi Niang thinking of Zihui?"
She was beside him, her eyes fixed on the prince!
Shen Youyi's heart tightened, and she snorted longly: "When I'm not by your Majesty's side, haven't your eyes ever looked at others... I just don't want to teach these people who are trying to please your Majesty to think that I'm a jealous woman, not someone who doesn't bear grudges!"
The concubine was so jealous that she provoked him like this, which was more than just audacious. Emperor Yuan Shuo was slightly angry. He held her waist and asked her to move a little further away. His fingers ran across the soft silk ribbon and paused for a moment. He was wondering whether this thing would be so light that it would make her laugh when hitting her, or whether he should use it to tie her hands behind her back and push her onto the table, when the beauty in his arms trembled unconsciously.
Fear gradually appeared in her eyes, and her dirty thoughts disappeared.
Although he had used the belt to do something to her, and she had even acted coquettishly and asked him to whip her to his heart's content, but she was so scared by the quarrel, so perhaps she thought the punishment would be much more severe than this.
Emperor Yuan Shuo brought her back and said helplessly, "If Yi Niang is jealous, she can just say it. Stop reading those messy books. You're getting yourself into trouble."
He handed the steps over, but his concubine was still trembling. She burst into tears and fell into his arms, saying, "I thought Your Majesty untied my belt to... kill me."
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