Chapter 217 In Your Hand
Lu Haozhi's expression changed suddenly. Rong An noticed it and, without waiting for the emperor to speak, he quickly scolded him, "Nonsense! Why would the Empress suddenly want to move back to Changchun Palace?! It must be you servants who misunderstood and acted on your own!"
The man felt rather aggrieved after being reprimanded for no apparent reason. He pouted and said, "Eunuch Rong, this was the Empress's personal instruction to clean up Changchun Palace. How could she have misunderstood?"
Rong An raised his hand and tapped her on the forehead, "How dare you talk back!"
"Don't make things difficult for her. She's just following orders."
Lu Haozhi spoke calmly, his cool and handsome face as calm as frost and snow. He then asked, "Since you said you followed the Queen's order, where is the Queen now?"
When the palace maid saw the emperor asking questions, she lowered her head and dared not speak.
Rong An looked at him in surprise and scolded, "The Emperor is asking you a question. You were so eloquent just now, how come you're mute now?"
The palace maid hesitated and replied, "Your Majesty, the Empress is currently in Shoukang Palace, talking with the Empress Dowager. She also sent a message saying that she hasn't seen the Empress Dowager for a while, and today she wants to fulfill her filial duty and stay in Shoukang Palace to have lunch with the Empress Dowager before returning. Please... please make yourself at your own convenience..."
As soon as she said this, she secretly glanced at the emperor's expression and lowered her head with a sad face.
There were so many palace maids and eunuchs coming in and out of Tishun Hall, but she was so unlucky that she was summoned by the emperor for questioning.
Rong An gasped and looked at the emperor hurriedly, observing the expression on his master's face. He secretly thought that perhaps only the queen would dare to say such disrespectful words in the world.
Lu Haozhi still had his hands behind his back, and after a while he smiled and said, "Well, the Queen is indeed very filial." Then he told Rong An, "Go to Shoukang Palace, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
Rong An responded and hurried to call the ceremonial guard.
In Shoukang Palace, Meng Yan was still chatting with Empress Dowager Jiang, and Doukou was nestled in her lap, listening to the two elders obediently without making any noise.
While Meng Yan was answering the empress dowager's words, her delicate hand kept caressing Doukou's cheek and neck.
Empress Dowager Jiang saw this and understood the mother and daughter's thoughts. She smiled and said, "Back then, because you couldn't leave Ti Shun Hall, you left Princess He'an with me. Now that you're empress and are moving back to Changchun Palace, you can no longer be lazy. Later, you can take this little girl back with you."
Meng Yan's heart suddenly burst with surprise, and she hurriedly said, "What the Queen Mother said is true. I will obey your orders."
After being separated from Doukou for some time, she really wanted to take the child back, but she was concerned about the loneliness of Empress Dowager Jiang's children, and only this little granddaughter could make them laugh. She hesitated, not knowing whether she should speak up.
Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Jiang herself asked her to take her daughter back, which was a pleasant surprise.
Empress Dowager Jiang laughed again and said, "This little girl has been here for a while now, making me restless day and night. She's always chasing chickens and beating dogs. Even when I'm just reading Buddhist scriptures during the day, I'm always worried about whether she's causing trouble again. It would be best if you could take her away so I can have a good rest."
As she spoke, she casually put down the tea bowl and said, "I feel hungry now. What time is it?"
Zang Xiu replied, "It's no wonder the Empress Dowager is hungry. It's already two quarters past noon. Lunch has been delivered. Should we send it now, or wait a little longer?"
Empress Dowager Jiang said, "Everyone is hungry. What are you waiting for? Just put it in the palace!"
Zang Xiu obeyed the order and turned around to order the meal to be served, but she heard the palace servant at the door announce, "The Emperor has arrived——!"
As soon as the ground landed, she saw a bright yellow figure striding towards her. She hurriedly stepped aside and bowed down.
Meng Yan looked at the tall man walking into the door, couldn't help but smile, and slowly stood up to greet him.
Lu Haozhi stepped forward and greeted the Queen Mother first.
Meng Yan also bowed to him.
Empress Dowager Jiang nodded with a smile, "The Emperor is free today and came to visit me. I guess the Empress is here and came all the way to get me, fearing I might keep it and not return it."
Lu Haozhi smiled and said, "Mother, you are making fun of me. Such a big thing happened in the court today, so I should come and report it to you. Besides, it is the right thing in the family for mother and son to visit each other." As he said this, he helped Meng Yan to stand up and stood with her arm in arm.
Empress Dowager Jiang looked at her son and daughter-in-law, one with a majestic figure, the other graceful and elegant, standing side by side like a perfect match. She was delighted and said casually, "I was just about to serve the meal, and the Emperor's arrival is quite coincidental. Why don't we have lunch together before leaving?"
Lu Haozhi smiled slightly, "That's exactly what my son meant."
Meng Yan couldn't help but look at him and wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it tightly and she could only give in.
The whole family enjoyed a happy lunch.
After the meal, Empress Dowager Jiang wanted to take a nap, so she let the two of them leave.
Coming out of Shoukang Palace, Lu Haozhi immediately ordered, "Go to Changchun Palace!"
Meng Yan looked at him and smiled slightly, "Your Majesty, isn't going back to the Yangxin Palace? Why did you suddenly want to go to Changchun Palace?"
Lu Haozhi stood under the sun, squinting his eyes as he glanced at her, and said, "Why do I have to go to Changchun Palace? Doesn't the Queen know?"
As he spoke, he took a step forward, put his arms around Meng Yan's waist, and held her in his arms, scolding her softly, "I just let you out, and you can't wait to go back. It's obvious that now that you're the queen, you don't need me anymore."
He lowered his head and rested it on Meng Yan's smooth forehead, staring into her eyes.
The hot man's breath gently sprayed on her face. Looking at that handsome face, Meng Yan's face felt hot. She complained softly, "It's broad daylight, in public, and everyone is watching. How can it be embarrassing? The emperor really doesn't care about being laughed at!"
As he said this, he tried to break free.
Lu Haozhi naturally refused and hugged her tightly, "You and I are the most noble couple in the world. Who dares to laugh at us?"
Meng Yan glanced over and saw that the palace servants who were serving them all lowered their heads, and no one dared to look over here.
Lu Haozhi was quite pleased with himself and chuckled, "Well, what I said was not bad, was it?"
Meng Yan was quite helpless and smiled slightly, "As long as the emperor doesn't feel ashamed."
Lu Haozhi hugged her, bent down and kissed her lips until Meng Yan was a little breathless, and then he reluctantly left her lips.
"Tell me honestly, why are you in such a hurry to move back to Changchun Palace? Are you trying to hide from me? I'll tell you, this harem is so big that there's no place I can't go. Wherever the Queen is, I'll be there too. There's nowhere for you to hide!"
Looking at the woman in his arms, Lu Haozhi spoke fiercely.
Perhaps it was because he almost lost her in his previous life, he always liked to say these words to her to cover up the uneasiness in his heart.
He was always afraid, as if if he wasn't careful, she would disappear from the palace like a wisp of smoke.
No matter how many nights he spent with her skin pressed against his, he still couldn't get enough.
Perhaps, only after a hundred years, when she is buried beside him, can her uneasy heart calm down.
Meng Yan raised her hand, smoothed his furrowed brow, and sighed with a smile, "What else could it be? I am now the Empress, and I will surely have many things to do in the future. How can I force myself to stay in the Yangxin Palace, eating neither meat nor vegetables? What kind of words would that make? Besides, I have been in the palm of your hand all my life, where else can I run away?"
She could sense the fear and anxiety in his heart, but no matter how much tenderness and sweet words she offered him, she could not comfort him for a moment.
Meng Yan didn't know what to do, but they still had a lifetime to spend together.
The two of them exchanged a few words, and as the sun gradually grew hotter, they took a carriage to Changchun Palace together.
Although Meng Yan had not lived here for quite some time, she had already asked someone to clean up the place early in the morning, and now the bedroom in the main hall was large enough for people to rest.
Now that she is the queen, the Changchun Palace naturally has a different style.
However, Lu Haozhi was still dissatisfied. He kept finding faults as he walked in. He either complained that the screen was not luxurious enough or that the vase was not grand enough. He wanted to replace all the furnishings in the palace before he would be satisfied.
Seeing that he was in high spirits, Meng Yan was too lazy to ask about the furnishings, so she just let him go.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Lu Haozhi simply ordered Rong An to move all the books, memorials and other items in the Yangxin Palace into the Changchun Palace, as if he was going to stay there.
Rong'an was so busy running back and forth between the Yangxin Palace and the Changchun Palace that he almost broke his legs and complained bitterly.
Why did the Empress move out of the blue? Now, the Empress has moved, and the Emperor has moved too, and it's no different from before.
The commotion lasted until evening before Changchun Palace finally calmed down.
When Bai Yuxin came back, she saw Ruizhu and Yunxiang walking around in the courtyard. She couldn't help but feel happy and asked, "Could it be that my sister is back?"
Ruizhu came over, bowed, and replied, "To answer your question, the Queen has returned this afternoon and is thinking about you. Would you like to go and see her?"
Bai Yuxin wanted to go over, but when she saw the imperial maids standing in front of the main hall, she knew the emperor must be inside. She hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Forget it. Sister must be tired after all the commotion today. I'll go over early tomorrow morning."
Having said that, he returned to his room.
At night, when the lights are on.
Meng Yan huddled in bed, wearing only a bright red dress embroidered with lotus petals and flowers, her long black hair cascading down like a waterfall over the snow-white skin of her chest and back.
Her eyebrows were raised, her almond-shaped eyes were filled with anger. She slapped away Lu Haozhi's hand that tried to tear off her clothes. While protecting herself, she scolded with a smile, "You can only endure this for a few days, is the emperor going to break his promise and get fat?"
Lu Haozhi had already taken off his nightgown, revealing his muscular body. He pushed Meng Yan to the corner of the bed and said with a smile, "Today is not special. Now that you are the queen, we are just like newlyweds. On this wedding night, of course, the couple must be intimate, otherwise it is unlucky. I asked the imperial physician, and as long as we are gentle, it will be fine."
Even though she had been married to him for seven years, Meng Yan still lamented how shameless this man was.
The emperor of the Great Zhou, the supreme ruler of the world, could be so disregarding of decency in bed at night and pestering his own queen.
Meng Yan's face turned slightly red, and she scolded, "Your Majesty, don't let me say anything nice! Although we have three rules, has Your Majesty ever been obedient? You think I don't even know what you have done!" As she said that, she spat.
It turned out that after being a monk for more than ten days, Lu Haozhi felt that he could not bear the pain of taking the precepts. Unfortunately, he had agreed to Meng Yan on impulse before, and he was embarrassed to pester her.
After all, he had been a vegetarian for most of his life, so of course he knew how to relieve the pain.
But at first, he still cared about his status and felt that he could not afford to lose face. But after staying up for a few nights, he thought that it seemed useless to keep this face, so why bother himself.
Once there is one, there will naturally be two, three, four, and five.
Meng Yan was sleeping beside him, how could she not know? But she was too embarrassed to open her eyes and laugh at him, so she had to pretend to be asleep and pretend not to know.
Tonight, Lu Haozhi used the funeral arrangements as an excuse to stir up trouble again, and she couldn't help but bring up these old accounts.
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