The three people present immediately stood up to greet him. The emperor walked in leisurely. Just as the three were about to salute, the emperor raised his hand to exempt them from the ceremony: "No need for so much formality."
"Why is Your Majesty here?" Concubine Cen asked with a smile.
The emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, "You don't welcome me?"
"No way." Concubine Cen said coquettishly, "Your Majesty has arrived at the perfect time. Please sit down."
The emperor sat down and saw Shi Mingyue and Huo Qiurong still standing. He smiled and said, "You can sit down too."
"Yes, Father." Shi Mingyue and Huo Qiurong also sat down. However, they had never been so close to the Emperor before, and for a moment they felt uncomfortable. Their previous meetings had always been at a distance, and this time they were actually dining at the same table, and they were quite nervous.
"How did Mrs. Mo speak today?" the emperor asked casually.
Huo Qiurong answered first: "Madam Xie's speech was very good, and I benefited a lot from it."
The emperor nodded slightly and looked at Shi Mingyue again.
Shi Mingyue said, "Thank you, Madam, for your detailed explanation. I have benefited a lot from it."
Concubine Cen continued, "Mrs. Mo is a famous talented woman, well-known for her virtue. You should learn from them."
Shi Mingyue and Huo Qiurong nodded and answered yes.
The dishes were served quickly, and two palace maids served with white porcelain wine jugs, pouring a glass of wine for each person.
Shi Mingyue wasn't much of a drinker; her alcohol tolerance was very low. What if she got drunk and lost her composure in front of the emperor? She was about to politely tell the emperor she couldn't drink, but the emperor spoke up, "This is plum wine. Even the most intolerant person can drink seven or eight cups."
Since the emperor had said so, could Shi Mingyue still refuse? Then she heard the emperor chuckle and say, "There are no outsiders here. It's just a family dinner. You two don't need to be restrained."
"Yes." Shi Mingyue and Huo Qiurong said at the same time.
Picking up a glass of plum wine, it felt icy to the touch, evidently from a frozen cellar. Shi Mingyue took a sip; the wine was cool, sweet, and slightly sour, though not overpowering. She felt reassured, thinking one or two wouldn't make her drunk. But as soon as she set the glass down, the maid refilled it for her.
"Thank you for your hard work these days. I would like to offer you a toast." The emperor suddenly said with emotion.
Shi Mingyue had barely slept recently due to the Empress Dowager's funeral, often kneeling for two or three hours at a time. Her knees had been a bit uncomfortable lately. Now that the Emperor had spoken, she had no choice but to join the other two in picking up their wine glasses and quaffing them.
The meal was very uncomfortable. Shi Mingyue barely ate any of the food, but drank quite a bit of wine. When it was over, she stood up and felt dizzy. She couldn't even stand. Just then, someone caught her.
"Are you drunk?" I heard concerned words in my ears.
Shi Mingyue looked down and saw a pair of large hands holding her upper arms. Aren't those sleeves of luxurious dark satin the emperor's? She instantly came to her senses and quickly stepped aside, lowering her head and saying hurriedly, "My concubine has lost her manners!"
The emperor smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Since you are drunk, go to bed early." After that, he and Concubine Cen left first.
Shi Mingyue was extremely embarrassed and followed the palace maid to the guest room to rest. She didn't sleep well that night.
The next day, Mrs. Mo, the wife of Left Prime Minister Xie Qichang, arrived early to give a lecture. Their topic was "Nu Ze," a book written by Empress Changsun of the Tang Dynasty, which primarily recorded the deeds of concubines throughout the dynasties, along with commentaries on them. Empress Changsun was a virtuous empress, and the book itself was inherently valuable, but Mrs. Mo's presentation rendered it stilted and dull.
After another day, Shi Mingyue was about to return home, but Concubine Cen tried to stop her again: "The classes will be over tomorrow, so why don't you go back tomorrow? Otherwise, it will be troublesome to go back and forth."
What she said made sense. Shi Mingyue didn't want to go back and forth. It would take at least half an hour to get from the prince's mansion to the palace. She thought the emperor would not come today, so she stayed.
But at dinner time, I don’t know what the emperor was thinking, he arrived on time again.
Shi Mingyue felt uneasy thinking about yesterday's events. Luckily, the emperor didn't let them drink alcohol today; he just ate a meal and asked them about their thoughts on the lecture. After dinner, she followed the maid back to her guest room. However, she hadn't bathed in two days, and the weather was getting hotter, making her feel uncomfortable. She asked the maid if she could bathe, and she quickly prepared it.
After waiting for a while, the maid came back and told her: "There is a bathing pool in the imperial concubine's palace. The imperial concubine said that the princess can go there to bathe."
"Is this appropriate?" Shi Mingyue thought that the pool was where Concubine Cen bathed, after all, so it might not be appropriate for her to go there.
The maid said, "Don't worry, Princess. Her Majesty has said it's all right."
Shi Mingyue then accompanied the palace maids to the bathhouse. The hot water was already in the tub, a square, beautifully and neatly built. Flower petals strewn across the surface, wafting thick with steam. Shi Mingyue disliked being waited on, so the maids left. She stripped off her clothes and soaked in the water, feeling much better.
The empty hall was silent and quiet, and Shi Mingyue's heart calmed down a lot, and all the emotions she had been feeling for the past few days were temporarily forgotten. A sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. She thought it was a palace maid entering, and subconsciously turned around to look, and her whole body froze.
The man was dressed in black clothes with a dark red belt around his waist. He was clearly the emperor.
After seeing her face clearly, Fu Xingkai immediately turned around and said in a panic: "I didn't mean it." After that, he left the hall.
Shi Mingyue held onto the stone wall. She still hadn't fully reacted, her mind still fuzzy. Was that the Emperor who just walked in?! She could only be thankful that she was in the water, which had already reached her shoulders. Plus, with the petals floating on the surface, the Emperor probably hadn't seen anything. But she still couldn't wrap her mind around it. How could she have encountered such an embarrassing situation?
She hurriedly went ashore to change her clothes, then returned to the guest room, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She felt so ashamed that she never wanted to see the emperor again in her life!
She stayed awake almost until dawn, when Madam Mo came to teach again. Shi Mingyue was in a daze all day, and finally waited until Madam Mo finished. She just wanted to go back home immediately, but Concubine Cen kept nagging her, saying something irrelevant. Finally, she said, "It's time for dinner now. Why don't you eat before leaving?"
Shi Mingyue declined politely: "I am not feeling well and just want to go back and rest as soon as possible. I won't bother you anymore. Thank you for your hospitality these past few days."
Seeing her firm attitude, Concubine Cen had no choice but to let her go. However, when she walked out the door, a meaningful smile appeared on her face.
Huo Qiurong saw it clearly and thought that her mother was probably secretly planning something.
Back in the mansion, in her own room, Shi Mingyue finally relaxed. She tried her best not to think about the events of the previous night, drank some calming tea, and slept through the next morning without even eating dinner.
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