Chapter 2 Chess Pieces
"If Tingyue suffered injustice, why didn't she come to Chengming Palace?" Xie Chen asked casually.
He was somewhat surprised that she didn't come to complain or seek comfort, considering her spoiled nature.
Pei Tingyue raised her head timidly, the corners of her eyes slowly turning red. "A few days ago, when I came to Chengming Palace, the Emperor didn't see me. I thought... you were tired of me."
At the end of her story, the woman's long eyelashes were covered with tears, and the crystal clear tears were about to fall, which looked very pitiful.
Has she been here?
Xie Chen raised his eyebrows slightly, thought about it carefully, and realized that this was indeed the case.
Some time ago, the palace maid informed him that she was coming, but unfortunately he was busy with government affairs and had no time to deal with her, so he sent her away.
He did not summon his concubines during these nights.
After being ignored one after another, no wonder she was so scared.
Xie Chen's eyes flickered, and he reached out to wrap his arms around her slender waist, holding her in his arms as he softly soothed her, "You hate Tingyue? I can't bear to let her go."
He seemed distressed, holding her delicate little face and saying, "I've been busy with government affairs these past two days and accidentally neglected Tingyue. It's my fault. Now, if Tingyue has any grievances, just tell me and I'll take care of it for you, okay?"
Hearing his words, Pei Tingyue's face still had that weak and shy look, but a thousand thoughts were running through her mind.
Dog Emperor!
Feel free to express your grievances, but then what?
Exempt her from punishment, give her favoritism, put her on a high pedestal, and make her a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the concubines in the six palaces, right?
She couldn't fall into this trap.
Pei Tingyue calmed himself down and instantly came up with an idea.
Finding a comfortable position in his arms, Pei Tingyue hooked her arm around his neck and said sweetly, "As long as the emperor doesn't dislike me, everything else..."
Her voice gradually became softer, and a hint of shyness appeared between her eyebrows.
Xie Chen raised an eyebrow at her, motioning her to continue, but he didn't expect that she just stuffed something into his hand.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the thing in his hand, a little surprised.
This is her plain white belt.
The knot around her waist was extremely simple.
As long as he pulls gently, he can see all the beautiful scenery.
"I don't care about the other concubines." The woman slowly leaned close to his ear, her voice as gentle as a nightingale's chirping: "Your Majesty, the night is late. Let's talk about other matters another day, okay?"
The two men's eyes met, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually heated up.
Xie Chen looked at her for a long time, and finally his eyes fell on her bright red and plump lips. He laughed very softly: "Then I can't waste this good time."
He reached out and lowered the gilded tent.
Soon, the inseparable figures of the two appeared on the hibiscus tent.
The red waves rolled over and the candlelight flickered.
A touch of warmth.
After everything fell silent, Xie Chen looked at the beautiful sleeping face of the woman, and the emotion in his eyes was hard to discern.
She is very different tonight.
It was as if a dull puppet suddenly gained intelligence and became lively and bright.
Xie Chen's lips curled up in an imperceptible arc.
interesting.
He wanted to see what kind of waves this chess piece, which was firmly under his control, could cause!
*
The next morning.
When Pei Tingyue woke up, there was no one beside her.
She forced herself to sit up, enduring the pain, and cursed inwardly as she looked at the mottled marks on her body.
This dog emperor really has no self-control!
"What time is it?"
Seeing that she had woken up, the palace maid waiting in the hall hurriedly lifted the curtain and hung it up, and then respectfully replied: "Reporting to Baolin, it is just the morning hour now."
Hearing this answer, the beautiful images that remained in Pei Tingyue's mind disappeared completely, and she hurriedly lifted the quilt and got up to change her clothes.
The time for the concubines in the six palaces to pay their respects to the Empress is 2:15 am, she is almost late!
Seeing her anxious movements, the senior palace maid of Chengming Palace softly reminded her, "When the emperor left, he specifically instructed that Baolin had worked hard last night and did not need to pay her respects today, so we did not wake you up."
It's more than just hard work!
He was torturing her!
Pei Tingyue rolled her eyes silently in her heart, but she still washed quickly.
Although the emperor has excused her from paying her respects today, she has to go.
It was already a great favor to let her stay overnight in Chengming Palace. If she was exempted from paying respects, she would probably not be alive tomorrow.
No matter how hard he tried, Pei Tingyue was still late when he arrived at Fenghe Palace.
Facing the unfriendly gazes of the concubines, she slowly bowed to the main seat: "This concubine greets the Empress, may the Empress be blessed with good health."
On the phoenix throne, a beautiful woman was wearing a palace dress embroidered with peonies in gold thread. Although she had a faint smile on her face, her eyes and brows showed her natural majesty and she would not tolerate any insolence.
This is Cui Wan, the second female lead in "The Palace of Power".
Empress Cui was born into the Qinghe Cui clan, the most powerful family in the country. She was the eldest daughter of the Cui family and had beauty, family background and skills.
If she had not been in poor health and passed away early, the heroine Shen Yuyao might not have been the one laughing last.
Seeing the figure in the hall, Empress Cui smiled slightly and said in a gentle voice: "Pei Baolin is here, please take a seat."
"Thank you, my lady."
Pei Tingyue had just sat down and hadn't had time to take a sip of tea to moisten her throat when she heard a slightly harsh voice: "Pei Baolin has only been favored for a few days, and now he's late for morning and evening visits. Won't he become even more presumptuous in the future?"
Pei Tingyue looked carefully and saw that the person who spoke was Lin Zhaorong, who had punished her to copy scriptures a few days ago.
From what she had observed over the past few days, she found that among all the concubines in the palace, this one spoke the most sour words.
Because Pei Tingyue has been quite favored these days, many people are jealous. When Lin Zhaorong spoke up, the concubines below all agreed.
"What will happen in the future?"
"She doesn't take palace rules seriously at all."
"The Queen should also discipline her..."
Pei Tingyue listened to the voices criticizing her one after another, and once again sighed at the original owner's popularity.
How can interpersonal relationships be so bad!
No one to help speak up!
But she was not anxious at all.
After thinking for a while, he looked at Queen Cui with an extremely aggrieved expression.
Their eyes met briefly, and Pei Tingyue received a look of relief.
The next moment.
“That’s enough!”
Queen Cui frowned slightly, and her sharp eyes swept around the stage.
Suddenly, the hall was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.
"The Emperor sent someone early to say Pei Baolin was excused from paying his respects. Pei Baolin came despite feeling unwell, and you didn't praise his respect, but instead you mocked him. It's really outrageous!"
Empress Cui's tone was rarely so harsh. For a moment, the concubines were afraid and dared not speak again.
The faces of the concubines who had spoken just now were extremely stiff, especially Lin Zhaorong.
After all, she was the main concubine and had experienced ups and downs in the palace for many years. She adjusted herself in a moment, glanced at Pei Tingyue hatefully, and then lowered her head to admire her hair.
Because of this little episode, no one targeted Pei Tingyue anymore and the gathering soon dispersed.
When they reached the gate of Fenghe Palace, a palace maid saluted Pei Tingyue and said, "Baolin, our queen is waiting for you at the palace entrance."
Hearing this, Pei Tingyue looked outside the palace gate. Lin Zhaorong was sitting upright in the sedan chair, looking straight at her with a sneer on her red lips.
Pei Tingyue thought to herself what a coincidence, as she just happened to have something to say to Lin Zhaorong.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
