Chapter 26: Attentive Service
Zheng Baolin's shoulders were held down by Su Qingrong, the broken porcelain pieces under his knees penetrated deeper into his flesh, and bright red blood seeped out from under his skirt.
Surprise and fear flashed in her eyes.
"Jia Jieyu is more beautiful than me, and she has a past relationship with Your Majesty. How could I possibly compete with her?"
That night, His Majesty didn't even look at her, and his tone when he asked her questions was so cold.
Su Qingrong's hand touched Zheng Baolin's face, "There is no shortage of beautiful women in this harem. Although you are plain, you have a unique charm."
"Empress, ah——" Zheng Baolin cried out in pain. Su Qingrong stepped on her leg.
Zheng Baolin's face turned pale, cold sweat oozed from his forehead, and his eyes were filled with tears.
Su Qingrong patted her face happily, "Yes, that's it. You're on the verge of tears, and I feel pity for you. Remember? Use this look to seduce His Majesty."
"However, you must remember that your goal is simply to get His Majesty to come to Qixiang Palace. If you truly seduce His Majesty to your bed, I can just move my finger, and your father, whose official position is as lowly as a sesame seed, will be crushed like an ant by the Su family. Do you understand?"
Zheng Baolin was shaking with pain, his eyes filled with despair.
"... Concubine, I understand."
A look of satisfaction flashed across Su Qingrong's face, and then she smiled and said softly:
"Don't worry, as long as His Majesty comes to Qixiang Palace, I will definitely be favored. When I become the master of the six palaces, I will naturally also benefit from you, a meritorious official. When that time comes, no one will bully you anymore, and everyone will look after you."
After returning to his Xiyan Pavilion, Zheng Baolin sat on a chair in the room while Qian'er cried and applied medicine to her knees.
"My lady, Empress Xiuyi is really going too far. She even threatened you with your father!"
Zheng Baolin did not react, but just held the box containing the golden hairpin tightly.
Qian'er said distressedly, "My lady, since the hairpin is already in our hands, you can use the opportunity of interacting with Concubine Jia to try to gain His Majesty's favor! If your feelings for her grow strong, you can report her to His Majesty and expose Su Xiuyi's evil deeds. His Majesty will surely feel sorry for you."
Hearing Qian'er say this, Zheng Baolin smiled helplessly.
"No, even if I could gain His Majesty's favor, it would be useless to complain. She has the support of the Su family and the Queen Mother. I can only give her a mild punishment. Otherwise, if Su Xiuyi finds out about the complaint..."
Zheng Baolin didn't dare to say anything more, and Qian'er also fell silent.
Qian'er knelt helplessly on the ground, hugging Zheng Baolin's legs.
"My lady, how could you have such a miserable fate, being assigned to Qixiang Palace..."
Zheng Baolin opened the box and took out the ruby hairpin that was shining with golden light.
The light illuminated her lifeless eyes.
Since you can only accept it, just give it a try.
Maybe it's really as Su Xiuyi said, once she is in favor, her life will be better.
**
Afternoon, Zhaohua Palace.
Xiao Chenglan was the first to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a furry head lying on his chest.
The unique sweet scent of Jiang Yingli lingered on his nose.
Xiao Chenglan raised the corner of his lips slightly, looked at her quietly with his deep eyes, and reached out to stroke her hair.
Not long after, Jiang Yingli slowly woke up. As soon as she saw Xiao Chenglan clearly, her eyes lit up.
"Your Majesty is awake. Did you rest well? Are you still tired?"
Her voice was soft, as if she had just woken up, and her words were full of concern for him, which made Xiao Chenglan feel a little shaken.
With the beautiful girl in his arms, Xiao Chenglan's eyes darkened a little, but also revealed a bit of regret.
It's daytime now, there's nothing more to do.
Xiao Chenglan had very high demands on himself as an emperor.
Indulging in debauchery in broad daylight is not the behavior of a wise ruler. He would not indulge himself like this.
Xiao Chenglan sat up and naturally raised his left leg. Jiang Yingli, who had been lying in his arms, also sat up as he moved, with half of her body lying on his knees.
Jiang Yingli's little face was slightly red from sleeping, her hair was a little messy, and she looked not fully awake yet, and was in a daze. She was really soft and obedient.
Xiao Chenglan looked at her and thought of the poem that often lingered in his mind because of her.
She hadn't combed her hair for the past few days, and it was hanging down on her shoulders.
How could I not be pitiful when I stretch myself gently on my lover's lap?
Xiao Chenglan narrowed his eyes slightly and stretched out his hand to stroke her slightly red cheek all the way to the corner of her lips.
Although you can't have sex in broad daylight, you can still kiss.
As soon as Jiang Yingli looked up, she felt a shadow cast down.
"Your Majesty... well..."
A lingering kiss in the quiet afternoon.
After finishing, Xiao Chenglan tried his best to look away from the alluring color of her lips, stood up, and said:
"I will have lunch with you. This afternoon, I must go to Changqing Palace to meet with the ministers. You should stay in Zhaohua Palace and stop crying alone."
Jiang Yingli nodded heavily: "Okay! Your Majesty, please go and do your work. I will be a good girl. I am very happy now and I won't cry anymore."
After the meal, Xiao Chenglan glanced at Jiang Yingli, who was swinging her legs and looked happy, and finally felt relieved.
He ruffled her hair and said, "I'm leaving."
Jiang Yingli stood up to see him off. She stood at the palace gate and watched him sit on the dragon chariot until he disappeared at the end of the palace road.
As the sun was setting in the west, Concubine Liang, who was kneeling at the gate of Baohua Palace as punishment, could no longer hold on when she heard the supervising eunuch say that the time was up. Her body tilted and she fell on the bluestone bricks.
My knees were so swollen and painful that my legs were numb and painful.
However, the young eunuch beside her said to her: "My lady, His Majesty has ordered that you rest for a while, as you still have ten strokes of the cane to follow."
Lady Liang propped herself up and climbed to her feet, angrily saying, "Don't you see how badly I'm in this state? And you're still talking about caning? You're such a tactless person."
The young eunuch was stunned, and his expression, which had been respectful just now, immediately turned cold. "My lady, your words terrify me. This is the will of His Majesty, and I dare not disobey you in any way."
Lady Liang was furious and turned around and spitted at the young eunuch.
"Bah! Who the hell are you? You, a eunuch, dare to threaten me with His Majesty. The Queen Mother has a soft spot for me, and you dare to speak to me like that?"
A sinister look flashed in the young eunuch's eyes, but he smiled and slapped his mouth: "Look at my mouth, eunuchs' words are not pleasant to hear, please don't blame me, my lady."
Lady Liang glared at her and curled up again in pain.
When the young eunuch turned around, the smile on his face disappeared. He stared at the two eunuchs behind him who were preparing to execute the executioner, walked over and whispered:
"Just hit him hard. Remember, if you beat him so hard that he can't get out of bed for a month and the injuries are unnoticeable, then ten strokes of the cane should look like ten strokes."
Those two eunuchs had been beating people with sticks for so many years that they had already mastered the technique, whether it was light or heavy, and the timing, to perfection.
Some people only get minor bruises after ten strokes of the stick, but for others, ten strokes can kill them directly.
They also heard how Lady Liang belittled the eunuchs just now, so they knew what was going on.
"Don't worry, sir. We will take good care of you."
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