Chapter 6 Chapter 6
Tangquan Palace is named after its numerous underground hot springs. During the reign of the previous emperor, nine springs were diverted into a channel to build the Nine-Bend Flowing Fragrance Corridor, which flows down around the mountain.
The mist and clouds are vast, guarding the magnificent palaces and pavilions. Occasionally, beauties can be seen boating and playing in the water, scattering peach blossoms and sesame for fun. It is like a fairyland of Penglai in the mountains.
Shen Youyi was a person who liked to be lively. She played with the colorful embroidered wooden duck paddling in the pond, half of her body was raised from the water, she lazily approached the wooden boat, looked up and mouthed the grapes that Tan Rui had peeled and handed to her.
Her tied-up black hair had fallen down at some point, and after being soaked in water, it clung tightly to her body with her transparent nightgown. Strands of hair meandered along her cheeks, outlining a gorgeous and charming scene.
She is a wet demon, innocent, carefree, and unaware of her own beauty. She jumps onto a small boat and chats up the boat girl just to taste the fruits of the human world.
The abundant grape juice dripped down her fingers into her lips and teeth, and the sweet taste tempted her to suck it, and Tan Rui's heart trembled.
Shen Youyi saw her wandering in thought and smiled, "What are you thinking about?"
When she smiled, her eyes were dazzling. Tan Rui was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly wiped her fingers with silk satin and said, "I was thinking about what jokes I should tell to make you laugh."
The smooth silk is dry, smooth and delicate to the touch, but it becomes numb and tingling when you wipe it.
Shen Youyi glanced at her with a smile: "How else do you want me to be happy?"
Tan Rui quietly observed the expression of the imperial concubine. She came from a noble family, was extremely beautiful, and dominated the inner court. She was destined to be flattered and coaxed. She also had the confidence to be heartless. Even though she was far away from the emperor, she still had the energy to find her own fun in this lonely palace.
But this beauty who seeks happiness always seems to be a little surprised when she looks at herself in the mirror and into the water. It is not that she is amazed at her own beauty, but she feels confused and melancholy.
…As if possessed, he whispered to himself, “Can there really be two people in this world who are so alike?”
"I am afraid that my lady will keep everything in her heart, which will be bad."
Tan Rui lowered her eyebrows and said, "Even though the weather is hot, my lady shouldn't soak in the water for too long. What if she gets sick?"
Shen Youyi turned her head away. She was a lonely ghost. She had enjoyed the wealth and glory brought to her by Concubine Wei's body. Everything in her previous life had disappeared like smoke. It was her duty to serve the prince's father, but once she returned to Emperor Yuan Shuo, she had to be extremely careful. She was afraid that she would not be able to hide the truth, afraid of knowing the bad news about her father and brother, and also afraid... how could she still have the carefree life in Tangquan Palace?
She covered her ears tightly, but she could not block out Tan Rui's nagging. She couldn't pretend not to hear the man's voice that rose a few degrees outside the garden even if she wanted to.
"Who are you to stand in my way?"
It was as clear as gold and jade, and despite his anger and urgency, he still maintained his majesty. It was just too familiar, as if she was hallucinating.
Shen Youyi's expression changed. How could the prince suddenly appear here?
When the voice of the foreign man came, the palace maids who were originally accompanying the imperial concubine to play did not care about the wet clothes sticking to their bodies, and jumped to the shore in a panic, pulling up the ten-foot-long brocade curtain to cover Shen Youyi tightly.
Several palace maids helped Shen Youyi to the shore and brought her a brand new robe and skirt to help her change. However, her hair was too heavy to dry, so she had to use several sandalwood hairpins to tie it up tightly.
Shen Youyi's heart pounded for a while, and she let them serve her in a hurry. Then she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the handheld bronze mirror, and suddenly she calmed down and felt a sense of absurdity that was both ridiculous and laughable.
She had witnessed the reverence and yearning the Crown Prince showed when he mentioned his father, and his admiration was beyond words. No matter what he thought privately about the Queen and his concubines, he could not find fault with them on the surface.
He was just used to being noble, so he was naturally unhappy to be stopped. If he knew that his father's concubines were bathing and playing here, would he dare to break in?
Even if the two look alike, Concubine Wei is not her... How dare he use the same methods on her on his stepmother?
Shen Youyi looked to the end, and the voices of the palace guards came intermittently. The sound of the dispute became lower. Although it was not unexpected, it was a bit disappointing.
Although she could not see the prince's figure or expression, she really wanted to see what her former lover would think when facing Concubine Wei.
Tan Rui advised, "My lady, there are so many people here, and if we really start arguing, you're not well-groomed right now, and who knows what will happen if the news gets out. Why don't you..."
"Your Highness is a man of courtesy, and he is my junior. He would definitely avoid us if he knew we were here. Why would he be so reckless?"
Shen Youyi remained unmoved. Instead, she lifted her skirt and leisurely sat on the wooden boat. She asked someone to call female musicians to play music along the shore, raised her chin and said, "Is there any reason in the world that elders should give way to younger ones?"
After being disturbed by the prince, their original interest in sightseeing was gone, and they even felt uncomfortable.
The garden can be visited at any time. Not to mention that Concubine Wei has no children, even if she did, they would still rely on the prince for food in the future, so it would not be a big deal to flatter the future emperor occasionally.
But today she didn't want to give in at all.
From childhood to adulthood, she has always been the one to avoid other men, as if she were not a very presentable person.
The Shen family was not so conservative. Since childhood, her cousins could hide behind the screen and whisper about the male guests who visited their father and brothers.
But when she reached the age of marriage, every time she was discovered by her brother, he would temporarily apologize to the guests, personally grab her arm and take her back to the inner house, warning her that a woman should be reserved and self-respecting and not allowed to meet guests casually.
Later, the prince took a fancy to her and could not resist even after several months of hard work. Regardless of the strict palace rules, he asked her to dress up as a palace maid and sneak out before the wedding so that the two could meet privately.
But there were several times when they were almost caught, and the prince would subconsciously hide her, saying that he was afraid of ruining their reputation... But he was reluctant to give up the excitement of this almost adultery, so he would come to see her two or three times a month.
At that time, she thought that she would have a legitimate status soon, but the number of women of the prince would increase day by day. She could neither be too accommodating to him nor anger him. Four out of ten times, she would not be able to refuse him.
But this is a different time now. Who cares if he is the crown prince or not? Shen Youyi thought maliciously that the emperor has more than one son, the prince, and it is not certain whether he can become the emperor. Even if he does, it will be decades later. Anyway, she has offended Yang Xiuyuan completely, and today she wants to make him suffer a setback!
Tan Rui sighed softly. The Duke of Yan was on better terms with the Queen and the Second Prince, but the Imperial Concubine seemed to be even worse in this regard, completely disregarding the face of Yang Xiuyuan and the Crown Prince.
But... a trace of doubt arose in her heart. After all, Tangquan Palace was the emperor's residence to avoid the cold in winter. Why would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince appear in the palace for no reason?
The pipa girl sat on the slope, plucking the pipa skillfully. After just a few strokes, ethereal and soothing music flowed out from her slender and flexible fingers. Behind the distant mountain pavilion, there were the sounds of zither, flute, bells and drums, gurgling water, and clanging strings. Shen Youyi simply lay back on the boat, and asked a strong young palace maid to row the boat, and they enjoyed the pleasure of drifting with the current.
The shadows of the trees on both sides were long and the red flowers were like fire. The not very strong sunlight made people drowsy. Shen Youyi's eyelids felt a little heavy until a cool shade completely covered her entire body.
The boat slowly stopped, creating ripples on the water.
Shen Youyi had just soaked in the warm hot spring and shivered slightly. She felt a little unhappy in her heart. She was about to open her eyes and call for help when her eyes fell on the palace servant. It was as if someone had poured a basin of cold water on her. Without having time to think about the cause and effect, she immediately stood up using her hands and feet!
The wooden boat was moored at the back of the rockery, and suddenly it began to sway violently, startling countless birds.
After a long separation, the Crown Prince imagined many scenes of Yi Niang opening her eyes. She might have been surprised and delighted, or she might have tearfully recounted to him the injustices and fears she had endured, or even blamed him for not stepping forward and admitting everything that had happened between them to his father.
But I didn't expect that the first thing she did when she woke up was to grab the paddle!
Then he attacked him without any plan!
The prince dodged the attack by leaning sideways and reached out to grab her wrist. Suddenly, he remembered the figure of the palace maid in the western corridor, and his heart sank a little.
He went back and forth thinking of a solution, ran for dozens of miles, and was even forced to dress up as a eunuch. How could he be happy? But when he saw Yi Niang's moist hair and skin, and slightly rosy cheeks, like a peony covered with morning dew, he could fully imagine the beauty's delicate and lively appearance after taking a bath, and his sorrow and unhappiness disappeared.
If there weren't countless eyes watching him in the palace and almost all of his confidants stationed in Zhaoyang Palace were beaten to death by his father, he wouldn't have to come up with such a way to meet her.
But he is also a martial artist, and he clearly used a ruthless move just now!
She had offended her father and could beg him again and again, but when it came to him, he was just cruel.
Is it because he has not yet ascended to the supreme position and is not worthy of her lowering herself to a lower position, or... has she changed her personality in the past few months and truly fallen in love with his father, not only driving Hanxun back, but also refusing to see him in private?
The man tied her hands behind her back and clenched them together. His broad chest was soaked in spring water, wet and heavy. But his arms were as hard as iron, almost pressing her into a piece of dough, embedding her into his skin and flesh, forcing her to feel the dull dampness together.
Shen Youyi was forced to lean on his shoulder, her chest was pressed so hard that it hurt. She was gasping for breath, still in shock.
At first glance, she thought it was just a nightmare, but when she came to her senses, she realized it was even worse than a nightmare!
Shen Youyi had died a long time ago, and she was no longer the girl who was in love with the prince, but she was very familiar with that unconcealed look... There was no respect and gentleness when serving the elders.
It is a man's desire for a woman, like a wild beast silently approaching its prey. He looks down at her from above, his heart eager to try, and he has planned countless times how to enjoy her.
Would a normal son go to such great lengths to put on eunuch's clothes just to have a private meeting with his disheveled stepmother?
Is it that the Imperial Concubine couldn't stand the loneliness and preferred the young and heroic Crown Prince to the Emperor Yuan Shuo who ruled the world, or is it that in the years since her death, the Crown Prince indulged in wine and women, and the ordinary concubines could not satisfy his desires, so he set his sights on the Imperial Concubine who looked similar to himself, and forced her to submit?
A worse thought came to her mind... Could it be that the reason why the original body fell out of favor was that the emperor knew about their affair, and Emperor Yuan Shuo was too embarrassed to punish the prince, so he had to exile her to the temporary palace?
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