Chapter 65: Past Life (V)
In the winter of the twentieth year of Zhaohua, a rare heavy snow fell in the capital. Three months had passed since Chan Zhen was brought back to the Purple Palace.
Rumors swirled throughout the palace. Everyone knew that His Majesty had hidden a beautiful woman in the Purple Palace, doting on her nightly and nightly, neglecting the harem. Countless people sought to see this beauty, but all were met with disappointment. Even the previously favored Concubine Yang, for merely speaking a few words to His Majesty, was harshly rebuked, stripped of her Concubine status, and demoted to a Concubine overnight.
With Concubine Yang in front, the people in the harem were less tempted to explore the mysterious beauty in the Purple Palace, but their curiosity became more and more intense.
Everyone was guessing what His Majesty was planning: would he continue to keep his mistress in his golden house, or would he give her a good position and put her in the harem, or would the emperor just be in the mood for it and lose interest in a few days and forget about her.
Chan Zhen was completely unaware of the outside world's speculation and inquiries. The Zichen Palace was like an airtight cage, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
When she stood up that day, Chan Zhen felt a chill. Luzhu, the palace maid in charge of her hairdressing, helped her out of the bed with a very respectful attitude.
"My Queen, it snowed heavily last night. It's so beautiful outside, all white. Would you like to go out and see the snow?"
Zen Zhen tilted his head to look at her: "Can I go out?"
There was a hint of mockery in her eyes. His Majesty claimed to love her, having forcibly snatched her from the Prince of Jin, yet he had imprisoned her in this palace, barring her from even a single step. Her identity was, after all, a shady one, and His Majesty knew it all too well.
Lu Zhu sneered and said, "It's okay to just go out for a walk as long as you don't leave the Purple Palace."
She naturally knew the identity of the beauty hidden in His Majesty's golden house. Last year at the palace banquet, the Prince of Jin's concubine had attracted countless astonished glances when she first appeared. Such a beauty was unforgettable. But Lu Zhu never imagined that His Majesty would be so attracted by this beauty that he would desperately take her back to the palace and hide her there.
Everyone in the Purple Palace was ordered to guard this beauty with trepidation, fearing that the secret would be discovered. However, occasionally when the emperor was not around, Lu Zhu could not help but feel a little pity when she saw the beauty who was forcibly taken back by the emperor looking at the distant sky sadly and absent-mindedly.
Luzhu knew that she was unwilling, but who could refuse the emperor's favor? Luzhu could only feel pity for her but did not dare to disobey the emperor's order for her.
Chan Zhen calmly withdrew her gaze and let Lu Zhu put clothes on her to cover up the traces of ambiguity on her body. "Then there's no need to look."
She hated the Zichen Palace, which was filled with his scent.
Luzhu saw that she was in a bad mood, so she didn't mention watching the snow again.
Chan Zhen had no entertainment in the Purple Palace. Apart from waiting for the emperor's favor at night, he just sat by the window and stared blankly during the day.
"Why are you sitting here? Are you cold?" A voice so familiar that it disgusted her sounded behind her.
Zen Zhen didn't move, and the next moment she was covered with a thick cloak. The man ignored her cold attitude and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Today, someone in the court is urging me to appoint a crown prince, but I want to wait a little longer. When can you, Chanzhen, give birth to a little prince for me?" His hand quietly moved to Chanzhen's abdomen.
Zen Zhen still didn't turn around and said calmly: "Why? Doesn't your majesty have enough princes?"
There was clear sarcasm in her tone, but he raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Zenzhen, are you jealous?"
He kissed the back of her neck with great joy. Although Chan Zhen hated his closeness in her heart, her body had already responded unconsciously. Her white jade-like skin gradually turned red, and she couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Zen Zhen frowned, forcibly restraining the desire in his body, turned around, put one hand on his chest, and pushed him away.
He was not annoyed by the interruption, but instead admired her slightly flushed cheeks and eyes that were about to shed tears with great interest.
Zenjin was annoyed by his body's reaction and turned his face away to avoid his predatory gaze.
"Whatever Your Majesty thinks, I have nothing to say to Your Majesty."
"But I want to hear you say it," he leaned closer, lifted her chin and looked at her forcefully, "You are not completely unresponsive to me."
Even if he had forced her to do it, her body clearly felt pleasure, and she couldn't help but want to be closer to him, so why was she still resisting him? He believed that he was much better than that young boy Yun Yi, and the pleasure she got from Yun Yi must not be comparable to what he gave her, not to mention that every time they got close, he would deliberately guide her to enjoy it.
Zen Zhen raised his eyes and glared at him in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, can't you have some dignity?"
"How could I get you if I cared about my face?" he said frankly.
Zen Zhen couldn't argue with him, so he could only close his eyes and turn his back, pretending not to see anything.
But he refused to let her have some peace and quiet. He wrapped himself around her like a giant python, and his hot breath made it hard for her to breathe.
"I really like you and want to be with you forever. What's so good about Yun Yi? He can't protect you and always makes you suffer." He spoke ill of his son with jealousy, without any guilt about forcibly taking his son away.
Chan Zhen opened his eyes and looked out the window. "What about Your Majesty? Your Majesty's so-called kindness to me means locking me up in the Purple Palace, like a shameful canary waiting for your favor."
"That's not what I meant." His arms around her suddenly tightened. "I just wanted to prepare everything first, so that you can become my woman with dignity and stand shoulder to shoulder with me before all the ministers."
"Your Majesty is undoubtedly trying to cover up his mistake," Chan Zhen said with a bitter smile. "How many people in the palace have seen me? How could they not recognize my identity?"
Last year, she had accompanied His Highness to the palace to attend a palace banquet. Although she could only stand behind the princess as a foil, many people noticed her. Moreover, when she first entered the palace, she was punished by Concubine Shu to kneel outside the palace gate. How many people came and went? How to explain that His Majesty's private favorite hidden in the palace had the same face as His Highness Prince Jin's concubine?
"I will take care of it." He did not give a direct answer, but just assured her.
Zen Zhen was unmoved: "How your majesty handles this is none of my business."
Now that things have come to this, she no longer has any expectations for the future.
"Zenzhen," he buried his head in her shoulder, "don't treat me so cruelly."
He just arrived one step later than Yun Yi. If he could have met her before Yun Yi...
Zen is truly silent and speechless.
Aren't you cruel enough to me? You are an emperor who is high above everyone else, you can do whatever you want to seize what you like, but you have never considered my wishes.
"I love you, I love you more than anyone else." He said harshly, "Why can Yun Yi do this? But I can't!"
He clearly loves her more than Yun Yi and treats her better, so why would she rather accept Yun Yi than him?
He went crazy, suddenly grabbed her shoulders, turned her over, and kissed her lips fiercely.
Zen Zhen felt like she was being bitten by a wild beast. His hot lips and tongue were filled with fierceness, and a cluster of flames ignited in his dark eyes, wanting to devour her and burn her to ashes.
She did not resist. After so many days, she knew that resistance was meaningless. She just let him do whatever he wanted like a hollow puppet.
Feeling her indifference, the fire in his eyes gradually died down. He left her lips, which were slightly swollen from being bitten and sucked, and stroked her face weakly.
"What do I have to do for you to accept me?"
He thought he wouldn't get a reply, and after a long silence, he suddenly heard her unclear voice.
"Maybe in the next life."
…
On the hundredth day in the Purple Palace, Chan Zhen welcomed an uninvited guest.
The woman in gorgeous palace dress broke in despite the guards' obstruction. The moment she saw Zen Zhen, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's you, it's really you!"
Zen Zhen didn't hide or avoid her, but looked at her expressionlessly: "Empress Shufei."
"Bitch!" Concubine Shu's eyes turned red with hatred, and she was about to pounce on her and slap her, but she was stopped by Luzhu and others when she was one meter away from her.
She was still struggling, her eyes fixed on Chan Zhen. "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have listened to Yun Yi. I should have killed you long ago!"
Suddenly hearing the name of Prince Jin from her mouth, her mind suddenly flashed back to the image of His Highness pushing her hand away and walking away from her without looking back. She smiled sadly, "I also wish you had killed me then."
Then she would not have met His Majesty, and would not have fallen into such a desperate situation.
Concubine Shu recalled that day when she punished Yun Yi's favorite concubine to kneel outside the palace gate, and then the emperor came in and asked her what happened. She was worried that the emperor would think she was cruel and ruthless, so she mercifully let her go. Now she thinks that the emperor may have had feelings for this bitch at that time.
She glared at the woman in front of her angrily. She was so coquettish that it was not enough for her to seduce Yun Yi, but she also tried to seduce His Majesty and serve the father and son together. She couldn't help feeling nauseous when she thought of the recent rumors in the palace.
"You betrayed Yun Yi and threw yourself into His Majesty's arms. Don't you feel ashamed at all?"
Zen Zhen raised his eyes when he heard her question: "Why should I be ashamed?"
"Your Highness, as a husband, cannot protect his woman. Your Majesty, as a father, disregards ethics and forcibly seizes his son. They are not ashamed, so why should I be ashamed?"
"Your Majesty forced me? How could I resist?" She said with tears in her eyes, "Why don't you question His Majesty instead of me?"
Whether it was her father sending her to be the concubine of His Majesty the Prince of Jin, or His Majesty forcibly taking her from His Majesty, which one could she resist? Why didn't Concubine Shu question her son why he accepted her, why didn't she question His Majesty why he forcibly took her, but instead thought everything was her fault?
Concubine Shu felt that the tearful face of the beautiful woman before her was even more hateful: "A woman should not serve two husbands, let alone a father and a son. If you really don't want to, you should have ended it earlier."
"You think I deserve to die?" Zen Zhen smiled while crying. "But I want to live. I don't dare to die. Do I have to die?"
She had thought about dying countless times, when her mother pushed her off the bed in disgust because she disliked her daughter, when her father forced her to learn the skills of serving others, when she was forced by His Majesty, when she was abandoned by King Jin, she had thought about dying so many times, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"You want me to die?" She took a step closer to Concubine Shu with tears in her eyes. "Then kill me with your own hands."
She was timid and couldn't do it herself.
If she had a dagger in her hand at this moment, Concubine Shu would have stabbed her in the chest without hesitation, but she was stopped by everyone and was powerless.
Just then, a cold voice came from the door.
"I want you to live, to live with me forever."
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