Chapter 40 A man who has tasted meat is like a hungry wolf…
Su Panyue was woken up early in the morning by Feixue.
"Your Highness, the head ladies-in-waiting have arrived and are waiting outside the hall."
Still a little dizzy from just waking up, Su Panyue asked groggily, "Who's here?"
“The lady-in-waiting sent by His Majesty to explain the situation to you,” Feixue said as she straightened her clothes.
"Go and take a look!" Su Panyue remembered Xie Lanzhou's arrangement yesterday. She tried to refuse in every way, but in the end, she even had to give up one of her hands. She then washed her hands with the water that Feixue brought.
With a sigh, she tidied herself up and resignedly went out to meet the visitor.
Five female officials have come today, each in charge of different palace affairs.
Su Panyue looked around from left to right and gave a bright smile, because she noticed that Aunt Cui was among them.
But now was not the time to talk, so she could only politely ask them to sit down.
"Thank you all, aunties. Please tell me what your respective responsibilities are."
The five people spoke in turn, each with their own responsibilities. These responsibilities generally included the allocation, promotion, reward, and punishment of palace maids and eunuchs; the distribution of monthly allowances to concubines and palace servants; various palace activities and celebrations; the preparation of meals and fruits; and one person was specifically responsible for matters related to concubines and imperial offspring.
Su Panyue listened attentively, nodding as she listened. These were all trivial yet important matters, and there were quite a few details involved.
Only after the last lady-in-waiting finished speaking did she finally ask, "Now that His Majesty's harem is empty, are you all quite free now?"
As she spoke, she looked at the last aunt in charge of the imperial concubines and their heirs, her eyes sincere.
The latter hesitated for a moment before saying, "His Majesty will always hold a selection of concubines; there's no way he can escape being idle."
Hearing her words, Su Panyue remained silent for a long time. She was right. As the ruler of a country, Xie Lanzhou would eventually have many concubines and children. She didn't know what was bothering her.
Seeing that the atmosphere had turned cold, Aunt Cui spoke up to defuse the situation: "Now you are the only one in the palace. His Majesty has given orders that we will all be at your command from now on."
These words contained a subtle reminder and warning. Since they were all senior members of the palace, the others became more respectful.
Su Panyue temporarily put aside her awkwardness and said, "Although His Majesty has asked me to assist in managing the six palaces, we still need everyone to work together."
Everyone agreed, and Su Panyue asked about some details one by one. When she heard that there was a special person who recorded the emperor's sexual encounters, she couldn't help but become interested: "Let me take a look."
She only had a general understanding of the rest, and that had already taken her a whole morning.
After lunch, a eunuch brought over several boxes.
Su Panyue asked, "What is this?"
The young eunuch pointed to the boxes and answered one by one: "Your Highness, this box contains the records of imperial favors sent by the Imperial Household Department, this box contains the palace expense ledgers sent by the Imperial Household Department, this box contains the palace servant allocation ledgers sent by the Bureau of Imperial Servants, and this box contains the event and celebration details sent by the Palace Administration Bureau."
It seems that everyone except the Imperial Kitchen sent over gifts.
Su Panyue felt her vision go black and looked pleadingly at Aunt Cui, whom she had forced to stay for lunch.
The latter smiled knowingly: "It must be that your final request for the Book of Favors caused the others to misunderstand, and they all want to show off to you."
Su Panyue smiled awkwardly and chatted with Aunt Cui for a while before letting her go back to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare dinner.
Then she opened the box containing the Book of Favors and found that there were only two books inside. She picked one up and flipped through it; the records started from Xie Lanzhou's ascension to the throne.
But it was completely blank.
Somewhat puzzled, she opened the second book. The first half was still blank, with only the dates in the corners of each page proving that someone had indeed kept records.
She didn't find her name until the last few pages; there was nothing else.
In other words, Xie Lanzhou really had no other women? Su Panyue put away the booklet and sat there in a daze for a while.
Then I thought that since the rest of the deliveries had already arrived, I might as well take a look at them too.
Then she saw the name of the youngest palace maid she had met in the Imperial Kitchen.
Seemingly remembering something, she quickly flipped through the pages, found the name of the young palace maid's mother in the laundry department, picked up her pen and wrote a line, transferring her away from the most tiring laundry department.
Sitting by the window, she spent the entire afternoon carefully examining the palace servant allocation register, writing something on a piece of paper as she read.
It wasn't until Feixue reminded her that it was dinner time that she put down the booklet and stretched.
Feixue asked curiously, "Your Highness is watching so intently, and you even took notes?"
"It's not a note, but I noticed some unreasonable aspects in the arrangement of the palace servants. I'll go and ask His Majesty later if he can make any changes."
Feixue asked in confusion, "What's unreasonable about this?"
Su Panyue replied, "Some palace servants are long past the age when they can leave the palace but they still stay in the palace. They do the most tiring work. How can their bodies take it in the long run?"
"In some places, the work is easy and there is money to be made, but the most palace servants are assigned there, such as these kinds of small tasks."
Upon hearing her words, Feixue was deeply moved: "What you're saying, my lady, is no small matter. For those palace servants, it's a tremendous blessing."
"Your Highness is truly beautiful inside and out."
Su Panyue smiled somewhat embarrassedly. The reason she could see these things was because she had once been one of the most inconspicuous palace servants in the palace.
After dinner, she took the note she had written that afternoon and went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
After Eunuch Fu announced her arrival, Su Panyue entered the inner hall with practiced ease, only to find a familiar face.
It was Imperial Physician Gao taking Xie Lanzhou's pulse.
Su Panyue bowed first and then greeted him, "Greetings, Your Majesty. Physician Gao is here too."
"Come sit down." Xie Lanzhou gestured to the seat next to him.
Su Panyue sat down and watched as Imperial Physician Gao finished taking the pulse and put his hand away. She then asked, "How is His Majesty's health?"
Imperial Physician Gao glanced at Xie Lanzhou, and seeing the latter nod, he said, "His Majesty is in good health, and his headache seems to have mostly subsided, but..."
"But what?" Su Panyue hurriedly asked.
The imperial physician stroked his beard and replied, "It's just that His Majesty's pulse fluctuates occasionally, which is quite peculiar. I haven't been able to figure out what this sign is."
Xie Lanzhou said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter, I won't die anyway."
Hearing this, Su Panyue frowned slightly, and then he continued, "Let her see it too."
Physician Gao responded and then turned to take Su Panyue's pulse.
She hasn't seen the imperial physician since her last poisoning, but recently she's been eating and drinking well and in a particularly good mood, so she shouldn't be in any serious condition.
Just as he was thinking this, Physician Gao frowned.
Su Panyue immediately tensed up: "What's wrong with me, Physician Gao?"
"Your Majesty still suffers from the previously mentioned deficiency of qi and blood, and irregular menstruation. In addition, your pulse fluctuates occasionally, which is very similar to His Majesty's condition."
This was really strange, and none of the three of them could figure it out. In the end, the imperial physician Gao could only say that he would go back and check the ancient books again and report back as soon as he had any results.
After seeing the imperial physician off, Su Panyue quickly put the matter out of her mind. It was already an accident that she was able to live a second life, and every extra day she lived was a bonus.
Remembering the important matter she had come for, she asked, "Your Majesty, I met with those female officials in charge today."
Xie Lanzhou said, "You should drink some tonics every day to treat your deficiency of qi and blood."
Upon hearing that she had to take medicine, Su Panyue frowned and said, "I don't need to take medicine anymore. It's been many years, and it's not a serious illness."
Xie Lanzhou, however, was adamant: "You must drink it. I don't mind feeding you myself."
Looking into his eyes, Su Panyue could tell that his "hey" wasn't serious, so she could only nod in agreement.
"How are those female officials?" Xie Lanzhou changed the subject and got back to business.
Su Panyue also said seriously, "They did a good job, but I had some thoughts after looking at the palace servant allocation book today."
"Tell me about it," Xie Lanzhou said, raising an eyebrow.
“I noticed that some palace servants are quite old, yet they are still doing hard labor. So I have a few suggestions for Your Majesty to consider.” Su Panyue said, handing over a slip of paper in which she had written down her proposed measures in detail.
Xie Lanzhou reached out and took the paper. He saw the neat, small-script calligraphy on the silk flowers, and his eyes lit up with appreciation. After reading it, he nodded slightly.
"We'll do as you say."
Su Panyue smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Xie Lanzhou looked at her with a smile and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"That's all, Your Majesty. Please attend to your business. I'll be returning now."
Su Panyue was about to take her leave after her wish was fulfilled, but someone grabbed her wrist.
"It's getting late, I should get back to business." As he spoke, the man pulled her into his arms.
Su Panyue sensed something was wrong: [Don't come any closer!]
Xie Lanzhou reminded her, "What you said yesterday."
Su Panyue looked completely bewildered: "What did I say?"
"Tomorrow." The man began to move as he spoke.
Su Panyue finally remembered that when he asked for it yesterday, she had casually said "tomorrow," and she didn't expect him to remember it.
[As expected, what the storybooks say is true; a man who has tasted the flesh is like a hungry wolf.]
Xie Lanzhou, engrossed in his work, chuckled softly: "Then you should be understanding of me and relax a bit."
Something about those words sounded off; they seemed to be an answer to her own earlier thoughts. But Su Panyue didn't have time to think about it carefully and quickly succumbed to his advances.
With the last vestige of clarity in her mind, she reached out and patted his back, whispering, "You haven't taken a bath yet."
"Okay." The man was busy and gave a somewhat mumbled reply before continuing.
"Wait, wait, let's go take a shower first." Su Panyue pushed him with both hands and feet.
Xie Lanzhou finally stopped, scooped her up, and carried her to the bathroom behind him with one arm.
Hot water was ready, and everything became blurred in the steam. Su Panyue was no longer as shy as before and let him take off her clothes.
Soaking in the warm pool water, the fatigue from sitting for a long afternoon vanished, and she leaned lazily against the pool wall, not wanting to move.
I wish someone could massage my shoulders.
Xie Lanzhou also came over, splashed some water from the pool onto her shoulder, and watched the water droplets roll off her fair skin. The supreme man raised his hand and pressed it lightly on her shoulder, his technique surprisingly skillful.
Su Panyue sighed comfortably, surprised that he could be so in sync with her, and at the same time, she was a little curious: "How come Your Majesty's technique is so skillful?"
"You'll learn it once you see it." Xie Lanzhou said casually, and only started working on other things after he had finished massaging both shoulders.
Ripples spread across the calm surface of the pool, sometimes gentle, sometimes rapid.
"How about we go to the inner palace?" Su Panyue's voice had changed as she spoke.
"No rush." The man's tone showed no urgency whatsoever. Only Su Panyue knew how anxious he was. She slapped him hard on the back, leaving a red five-finger mark.
However, Xie Lanzhou showed no restraint and let her experience the full thrill of a dragon playing in the water.
By the time I finally dried myself off and got back to bed, it was already half an hour later.
It was the first time Su Panyue had ever heard of such a supple Shu brocade being worn out, and she couldn't help but marvel at how this man was truly impenetrable.
Fortunately, she had become more experienced with practice, and this time she was somewhat better than before. She was no longer completely at his mercy and even gained the upper hand in some situations.
Finally having the chance to try out the dragon-riding technique she had been thinking about for so long, Su Panyue was very satisfied. She only lamented that her physical strength was too poor, and in the end, she could only cry and beg for mercy.
Whether it was her cooperation that gave this man a boost of energy, or whether he had been holding back last time, the flickering candlelight stayed lit all night until dawn before things calmed down.
Then Xie Lanzhou's back was covered with many scratches, all thanks to the woman who had fallen into a deep sleep.
He felt no pain, bathed and dressed her again, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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Author's Note: Yesterday's chapter really took me a while to revise, so please enjoy it while you can, my darlings! [crying emoji]
The next chapter is a crucial turning point, so I don't recommend skipping it! But I won't give away any spoilers, hehe.
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