"Sister, let's go." Huo Qiurong called her.
Shi Mingyue came back to her senses and looked at her, realizing that Huo Qiurong looked at her with a hint of jealousy. The clothes Huo Qiurong was wearing were not brocade. She was the daughter-in-law of Concubine Cen. Didn't Concubine Cen give her brocade?
A group of people walked to the place where crape myrtles were planted. From a distance, they saw clusters of bright purple flower balls dotted all over the branches. When they looked closer, they found that the flower balls were just flowers that had bloomed too profusely and were crowded together.
"I only enjoy the beauty of summer, and I don't entrust my colors to the spring breeze." Huo Qiurong suddenly sighed.
This is a poem written by Bai Juyi about crape myrtle. Shi Mingyue is not interested in showing off her literary talent, she just wants to appreciate the flowers quietly.
When Concubine Cen saw these crape myrtles, she praised them, "Well, they are truly as beautiful as the morning glow."
Shi Mingyue would rather enjoy the flowers alone. She saw a familiar figure on the other side of the crape myrtle bush. It looked like Concubine Liu, who had been punished by the emperor for yawning that day. Concubine Liu was standing in front of a crape myrtle. She lowered her head and approached the flower. As if attracted by the fragrance, she suddenly opened her mouth and took a bite of the flower.
What happened to her? Shi Mingyue hurried over and saw that Concubine Liu chewed two mouthfuls of the flower and then spat it all out on the ground with a disgusted expression on her face: "It's so disgusting!"
Shi Mingyue stopped walking. She noticed that Concubine Liu seemed a little dazed. Seeing her coming, Concubine Liu smiled foolishly and said, "Your clothes are so beautiful."
"……Thanks."
Concubine Liu said somewhat aggrievedly, "We don't have any."
"No Yunjin?" Shi Mingyue asked.
Concubine Liu nodded, "Yes." She suddenly turned around and began to talk to herself, "Your Majesty no longer favors me. I don't even have beautiful clothes... What should I do..."
Shi Mingyue felt quite uncomfortable seeing her like this. What kind of punishment had she suffered that night that made her mentally unstable?
After admiring the crape myrtles, she went to see the crabapples, whose pink and red blossoms were in full bloom. The sun was at its peak, and Concubine Cen and Huo Qiurong, thirsty, went to a nearby pavilion for tea. Shi Mingyue walked along the gravel path, where crabapples blossomed on either side, their red and pink hues adorning the landscape.
Suddenly, she saw a white crabapple tree and happily moved over to it, wanting to pick one. After hesitating for a while, she finally gave up the idea. When looking at a flower, you must see its spirit; when picking a flower, don't damage it.
"She is the most beautiful among all the flowers, with natural talent and extremely gorgeous. Her delicate features are cherished by all, and her lack of fragrance is not enough to satisfy me." A familiar voice came from behind.
Shi Mingyue's body stiffened. Why did the emperor suddenly appear? She turned around and bowed, "Greetings, Father."
The emperor sighed deeply and looked her over carefully, "This dress suits you very well."
Shi Mingyue was extremely embarrassed. The events of that night came to her mind, and she wanted to leave immediately. Suddenly, she realized that the maid who had been with her had disappeared, and there were no palace servants accompanying the emperor, which meant that they were alone at the moment.
"I really didn't mean it that night." The emperor noticed her expression and raised the corners of his mouth.
Shi Mingyue lowered her head and said calmly, "I have already forgotten it."
The emperor looked at her with deep eyes. If you looked closely, you would find that they seemed to contain nostalgia. He suddenly asked, "Is Li'er treating you well?"
Shi Mingyue was baffled. Why would he suddenly ask such a question? However, she still had to answer him: "Very good."
"You look a lot like Wanzhen." The emperor sighed.
Shi Mingyue felt that this conversation was quite strange. She said, "The Imperial Concubine and the others are still waiting for me. I will go find them first."
The emperor didn't respond, as if tacitly agreeing. Shi Mingyue immediately passed him, wanting to leave the place as quickly as possible. Unexpectedly, she had only taken two steps when the emperor grabbed her arm.
Shi Mingyue turned back in shock and anger, only to find that the emperor looked confident of victory. A determined smile etched across his face as he said, "All people in the world wish for is to be like a pair of wings in the sky and a pair of branches on the ground. I am no exception."
So that's what he was thinking! Shi Mingyue tried to break free from his hand, but his grip was too tight, and she couldn't break free. She looked the emperor in the eye and said seriously, "I've also heard in the Song of Everlasting Regret: 'The six armies refused to move, and there was nothing I could do; the beautiful woman died before the horse;' and 'The beautiful woman died in the mud at the foot of Mawei Slope, where she was buried. Your Majesty wants to emulate Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, but I don't want to emulate Yang Guifei. Please let me go, Your Majesty."
The emperor wasn't surprised by her resistance. Her change of addressing him from "Father" to "Your Majesty" was a clear sign of her anger. But he didn't care. He still didn't let her go, chuckling softly, "You don't want to be Yang Guifei, do you want to be Empress Yang? The position of Empress is vacant, so it's not impossible..."
"Your Majesty, as a ruler, how can you ignore ethics? Please stop saying these things." Shi Mingyue interrupted him, suppressing her anger.
Fu Xingkai stared at her deeply with his dark eyes. "Do you think I'm no match for Li'er?"
"Since you know that Fu Yueli is your son, why do you still say such things?" At this moment, Shi Mingyue could no longer suppress her anger.
Fu Xingkai sneered, "Of course I know that Li'er is my son, but what does it matter? I will naturally pay him back what I owe him." He finally met a woman who looked so much like Wanzhen. No matter who she was, he would never let her go.
"Do you think I look like Queen Lu?" Shi Mingyue recalled what he had just said and felt sad. "I can understand that Your Majesty loves Queen Lu, but if you casually find a substitute like this, do you think Queen Lu would be happy if she knew about it?" Such love is really too cheap.
"Wanzhen won't be angry. She will understand me." Fu Xingkai said as if it were natural. "Emperor Xuanzong of Tang took Yang Yuhuan as his concubine at the age of sixty. I am thirty-five, not old, and I am not bad looking. Besides, you are the king of a country. How can you look down on me?"
Fu Xingkai certainly didn't exaggerate. He was still young, handsome, and tall, looking not much older than his sons. Moreover, the black dragon robe he wore showed his supreme status. So he was very confident that no woman would refuse him.
Shi Mingyue almost vomited. "So what if you're the king of a country? Why should I fall for you?"
Fu Xingkai smiled and said, "If you're afraid of rumors, don't worry. No one will dare to say anything. I will make you my queen and make you the happiest woman in the world."
Shi Mingyue was stunned by his shamelessness. The emperor must have read the books of sages, right? Why could such a decent person say such unbelievable and despicable words? She said coldly, "I don't want to, and I don't want to."
Fu Xingkai's smile finally froze, "If I really want you, will you die?"
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