Chapter 284 Imperial Attendant
According to the old customs of the Great Qi Dynasty, after the death of the previous emperor, the new emperor must observe a three-year mourning period before he can get married.
However, the country had suffered two rebellions in succession, which had severely damaged its vitality. The Imperial Observatory petitioned that "a great joyous event is needed to dispel the gloom and revitalize the people's spirits."
This allowed the imperial wedding to take place in the third month after Li Yuanzhao ascended the throne.
However, after the marriage, the selection of concubines for the imperial harem was delayed for several months.
The reason was simple: Li Yuanzhao, who had just taken over the government, focused all his attention on reforming the previous dynasty and implementing new laws, and thus temporarily put aside matters concerning the inner palace.
In the present day, including Empress Pei Huaijin, there are only two people in the imperial harem.
Another one is Jue La Yun Dan, who was just appointed as a Noble Attendant.
Everyone could see that, compared to the dignified and composed noblewoman like the Empress, the Emperor clearly preferred the stunningly handsome and spoiled Tibetan prince.
On weekdays, apart from spending three days a month at the Empress's Kunning Palace, Li Yuanzhao would spend almost all his evenings, when he wasn't busy with official duties, at Ningxiang Palace, where Jue La Yundan resided.
Such obvious favoritism would have caused a huge uproar if it were anyone else.
However, the Empress remained unperturbed and continued to manage the affairs of the harem in an orderly manner every day.
What's even more remarkable is that he often instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare nourishing soups for Jue La Yun Dan, and told the palace servants: "Your Majesty is young, so please visit him often and don't let him get too tired."
As time went on, the people in the palace gradually discovered that these two mistresses of the harem were surprisingly harmonious.
Jue La Yun Dan was a simple-minded person. Besides looking forward to His Majesty's visit, her greatest hobby was to stay in the palace reading storybooks. When she came across an exciting part, she would run to Pei Huai Jin to share it.
Pei Huaijin was calm and patient, listening to his rambling and occasionally explaining obscure allusions from storybooks.
One was like still water flowing deep, the other like oil being poured on a raging fire; yet they got along surprisingly well.
That evening, after dinner, the candlelight flickered in Ningxiang Palace, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Jue La Yun Dan was nestled on a soft couch looking at her newly acquired picture album when she suddenly heard a palace servant announce, "His Majesty has arrived."
He hurriedly shoved the book under his pillow, stood up abruptly, and frantically tidied his disheveled clothes and hair.
Then she skipped and hopped over, her face beaming with excitement, "Why are you here today? Aren't you busy?"
Li Yuanzhao stepped into the palace, glancing almost imperceptibly at the half-open picture book peeking out from under his pillow, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"I'm done with work, so I came to see you. Have you had dinner yet?"
“I’ve already eaten them!” Jue La Yun Dan listed them one by one, “The Imperial Kitchen made my favorite steamed pork knuckle, perch soup, roasted mutton... and a plate of hibiscus cake.”
Li Yuanzhao walked to the soft couch and sat down. He stretched out his long arm and pulled Jue Layundan into his arms, letting him rest his head on his lap.
She reached out and slipped her hand inside his collar to touch his round belly, teasingly asking, "Eating so much? Aren't you full?"
Jue La Yun Dan has been reading too many romantic novels lately, and is no longer the naive boy he once was. He has also begun to understand shyness and impoliteness.
He hurriedly broke free from her embrace, pulled away the mischievous hand, and complained with a hint of coquettishness, "What are you doing? There are other people here."
After he finished speaking, he secretly glanced at the palace servants standing in the hall.
Li Yuanzhao followed his gaze and calmly ordered, "You may all leave."
After everyone had left, Li Yuanzhao looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Is it alright now?"
Jue La Yun Dan's face flushed slightly, but she still obediently moved her feet and snuggled back into Li Yuan Zhao's arms, burying her head in her knees and letting Li Yuan Zhao gently stroke her hair.
Li Yuanzhao casually asked, "What new stories did you read today?"
Upon hearing this, Jue La Yun Dan's mind instantly conjured up the picture book filled with the emperor's romantic escapades under her pillow, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
His gaze unconsciously drifted to the inside of the bed, and he mumbled, "It's just... just some ordinary stories about the emperor and his favorite concubine."
"Oh?" Li Yuanzhao leaned close to his ear, teasing him deliberately, "The Emperor and his favorite concubine? How much do they dote on each other? Is it like how I dote on you?"
Previously, everyone thought Li Yuanzhao was a cold and aloof person, but unexpectedly, when he doted on people, he was just as good as the emperors in the novels.
These days, in order to please her beloved, she ordered people to transplant Tibetan Gesang flowers all over the imperial garden.
They even specially invited a chef from Tibet to cook hometown dishes for Chen Guishi, just to comfort his homesickness.
Even in his spare time, he personally taught Jue La Yundan to write, and even though his writing was worse than chicken claws, he still smiled and praised him.
Jue La Yun Dan murmured softly in her arms, "The emperors in those stories spend every day with their beloved, watching the stars and the moon, expressing endless tenderness... Unlike you, who are always so busy, sometimes we don't even see each other for several days."
Li Yuanzhao wasn't annoyed after hearing this. Instead, he pulled out the "storybook" that Jue La Yundan had hidden from under his pillow and said seriously, "Is that so? Then I'll study it carefully..."
But this is not a storybook at all; it is clearly an extremely erotic erotic picture book.
The page that Li Yuanzhao casually turned to showed a picture of tiny, naked figures embracing each other in a strange and intimate way.
The painting is exquisite, even depicting the expressions of those moved by emotion with lifelike realism, making the viewer's blood boil.
Jue La Yun Dan realized what was happening and hurriedly reached out to snatch it back: "Don't look! Give it back to me!"
Li Yuanzhao raised his hand to dodge, his gaze still fixed on the picture book, deliberately drawing out his words, "Oh~ so this is how you spoil someone..."
Jue La Yun Dan couldn't win the bid no matter how hard she tried, and could only watch helplessly as Li Yuan Zhao turned a few more pages and slowly read the annotations beside the illustrations: "Diao Chan worships the moon, this posture is quite novel..."
He felt utterly ashamed!
Finally, she rolled off Li Yuanzhao's lap, rolled to the other end of the bed, grabbed the brocade quilt next to her, covered her head tightly, and shouted in a muffled voice from under the covers: "Stop reading!"
Li Yuanzhao glanced at the little bundle huddled under the covers, a playful smile curving his lips. He continued reciting, "Crane necks intertwined, jade..."
"Ah!" A scream erupted from the group, and the girl kicked her legs wildly outside. "Stop reading!"
Li Yuanzhao finally burst out laughing, put down the picture album, and bent down to pull at the cocoon-like quilt.
Jue La Yun Dan tried to hold on tightly with both hands and feet, but how could she possibly match Li Yuan Zhao's strength?
In an instant, her bright red cheeks and pinkish skin were exposed to Li Yuanzhao's view.
Their eyes met, and they were both stunned.
Looking at Jue La Yun Dan's tearful eyes, Li Yuan Zhao smiled and said, "Since you like them, I will have more sent over tomorrow."
"I don't want to!" Jue La Yun Dan angrily tried to hit her, but her wrist was gently grasped.
"Then what do you want?" She traced her fingertips across his wrist, her voice soft. "Shall I help you try this...?"
Jue La Yun Dan blushed instantly from her neck to the tips of her ears, her previous arrogance vanished, leaving only a pounding heart.
He bit his lip and glared at her, his amber eyes glistening with tears, making him even more vibrant and alluring than the beauties in the picture books.
A night wind suddenly rose outside the window, causing the candlelight to flicker.
In the flickering light and shadow, one could hear the boy's panting reproach: "You...you're bullying me..."
Li Yuanzhao's low laughter gradually faded into the brocade quilt: "Hasn't I already made amends?"
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