After the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, the capital was set up in Jiankang, which was very close to Chaoge. The emperor's detached palace when traveling was Xin Palace.
Inside Changxin Hall.
Yan Beimo leaned back on the soft couch. He had just drunk some wine and was now feeling hot and intoxicated, his whole body was covered in sweat, and his snow-white undergarment was soaked through.
He seemed oblivious, squinting at the portrait in his hand.
The entire hall was empty.
When the guards entered, bowing low, they saw portraits of women scattered on the ground.
The woman in the painting is dressed in a light green dress. Her eyebrows and eyes are as beautiful as if they were painted with vermilion ink. She has a delicate nose and beautiful eyes. Her appearance is as hazy as rouge and autumn water. Her black hair drapes her waist, and her slender waist is like jade.
However, the expressions on each portrait are different. Some are delicate and beautiful, with a radiant smile that reveals a hint of lust. Others are pitiful and charming, with a gentle, shimmering beauty that is captivating.
He stared wide-eyed, and when he noticed the gaze from above, he quickly and respectfully knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, Lord Wu has arrived."
Yan Beimo appeared relaxed and dejected. He casually brushed aside the portrait on the couch and picked up a glass ivory brush to start drawing on the rice paper.
The kneeling guards dared not breathe, and could not help but look at the woman in the portrait again.
Suddenly, a hoarse male voice came from above.
Is it pretty?
The guard was terrified and immediately kowtowed deeply to the ground.
"I dare not."
Yan Beimo looked at the figure drawn on the Xuan paper with dissatisfaction. When he raised his eyes, his once gentle features were now filled with a hint of ferocity.
"Inanimate objects can never compare to living people."
The guard was terrified. Trembling, he picked up the knife from the ground, and with a whoosh, his eyeball fell to the ground, and blood splattered out.
The guards outside immediately came in, dragged the person away, and cleaned the hall.
Yan Beimo closed his eyes, leaned back on the soft couch, and remained silent.
His snow-white robe was soaked through, and large beads of sweat trickled down his body, landing on his well-defined chest and seeping down his muscular waist.
Inside the hall, mist swirled.
After an unknown amount of time, he got up and went to the bathhouse at the back to cool off.
As the moon rose above the branches, the cawing of crows echoed throughout the palace gardens.
Nighthawk circled around from the other end of the corridor. Thinking of the useless messages that had been sent back, he suddenly felt that the heavens were against him, and his back trembled involuntarily.
Since the lady ran away, the lord appeared to be doing nothing on the surface, but his calm was frightening.
He doesn't even want to face his current lord.
"Come in."
A calm, indifferent voice came from inside.
Night Hawk stiffened at the doorway, composed himself, and pushed the door open to enter.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Yan Beimo had changed into a clean robe. He stood in front of his desk, the moonlight streaming through the window and enveloping him, his demeanor as serene as a clear moon and gentle breeze.
"Any news?"
Nighthawk stiffened slightly and whispered, "The search is still ongoing."
"However, the Qilin sent a message saying that it was confirmed that the person was in Penglai."
"Penglai?!" Yan Beimo put down the book in his hand and glanced at him. "A tiny Penglai, and you've gone to so much trouble to find anyone. Why don't you send the entire Northern Army to the eighteenth level of hell?"
Night Hawk was taken aback, his head pressed tightly to the ground, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.
Although Penglai is not as vast as the Central Plains, it is located by the sea, surrounded by mountains, and a great deal of manpower and resources have been spent searching for it.
Our lord has made too many enemies. To avoid alerting them and having their enemies threaten him by finding his wife, they dare not make any major moves.
“All roads leading out of Penglai are blocked. If you show yourself, Madam, you will find out.”
Yan Beimo had heard this countless times.
He kept a cold expression and didn't say anything.
The entire hall was eerily silent.
The nightjar lay prostrate on the ground, silent.
Yan Beimo flipped through the portraits on the table and suddenly spoke.
"Tell me, why did she run away?"
Nighthawk, "---"
"Maybe...madam wants His Majesty to pay more attention to her?"
The last word was clearly emphasized, carrying a hint of doubt.
"Is that so?" Yan Beimo sat down and asked calmly, "Was I bad to her before?"
Nighthawk, "---"
"Women are sensitive and thoughtful. Perhaps His Majesty has neglected the lady in some way, and she feels a sense of estrangement."
Listening to his words, Yan Beimo suddenly recalled her accusatory words on the ship that day. He closed his eyes slightly and leaned back in his chair.
"She secretly conspired with Helian Ye, faked her death and fell off a cliff, attempting to deceive her superiors and subordinates. She was incredibly audacious."
No one had ever dared to play tricks on him like this before.
Nighthawk dared not comment on his master's affairs and remained silent.
"I sent a message by carrier pigeon to the Governor of Jingzhou, telling him that I will personally go to Penglai in a few days."
He has no shortage of people he's had his fill of, so how could he let one go?
He was going to go and bring her back himself.
"yes."
Penglai.
Since that day, Chu Changning has stayed in the courtyard and never went out. Xiao Yan would come to bring her fresh food every few days.
The guards, fearing she would be bored and also for their own safety, often hid in this area, only to be summoned by her from time to time to play cards.
Chu Changning was skilled at gambling on stones, so he taught them to go out and buy stones to play with.
However, she is now heavily pregnant and about to give birth, so Taozhi has ordered her to rest and can no longer play around.
Perhaps as time went by, she became less resistant to the baby in her belly and obediently started taking the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine.
A few days ago, the doctor came to check on me and said that I would be giving birth in the next few days.
Chu Changning had never given birth in her previous life, so she couldn't help but feel nervous knowing that she was about to give birth.
Sometimes she would be startled awake at night, and as soon as she woke up, she would start crying and cursing Yan Beimo, and then she would fall asleep again.
Taozhi was also afraid that something might happen to her, so lately she had been keeping watch on the soft couch in her room at night so that she could detect any movement in time.
"Miss--"
In a daze, Taozhi heard her sobbing and cursing, using words she couldn't understand.
She slipped on her shoes, got off the bed, walked to the bedside, lifted the gauze curtain, and saw that she was sweating profusely on her forehead. She quickly went to the washroom, wet a handkerchief, and gently wiped her sweat.
The temperature in Penglai has been low lately, and it's cool at night. Fortunately, the house is heated by the underfloor heating, so it's not cold.
Taozhi tucked the blanket around her and then went back to sleep.
Thinking that I would sneak out tomorrow and invite the midwife over.
A few days ago, Xiao Yan heard from the doctor that he was about to give birth, so he hurriedly found a midwife.
I've heard that this midwife has delivered many babies, and with her years of experience, she can determine the sex of the baby just by taking a pulse and feeling the baby's pulse.
But the young lady didn't want to see it, and was also afraid that the midwife would go around spreading rumors, so she hadn't invited her to the house yet.
She couldn't help but think of the concubines in the imperial palace when they gave birth, and how many people served them, including several midwives.
The birth of a child must be recorded in the royal family's jade tablet, so the poor young lady can only give birth among commoners now.
She sighed for a while, then said she would have to ask around tomorrow and call in a few more midwives to be on standby.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when a weak, low sound came from the bedside.
"Peach branch----"
Taozhi turned around and saw the princess struggling to pull at the gauze curtains, reaching out her hand.
She jumped in fright and rushed over, asking anxiously, "Princess, what's wrong—"
"I...I think I'm going into labor..."
"Quickly, go and call the midwife."
Tao Zhi hurriedly called out to the outside, and the guards waiting outside heard the commotion and rushed over.
'Princess, what's wrong?'
A clever guard overheard the conversation using his internal energy and dashed off to catch the midwife.
"You blockhead, what are you shouting for? Quick, quick, bring the midwife here, the princess is about to give birth."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com