Chapter 10
Qi Yu lay in bed, not very sleepy, and thought about the things that had happened during the day.
From the fact that Pei Jin rushed to find Zhao Wanyi and neither of them returned to the banquet, it can be inferred that Pei Jin roughly knew Wu Shiyan's thoughts and was on guard, but due to the constraints of being a subject of a ruler, he could not do anything.
If he were to expose this matter, he would only have two options: one is to act as an advisor and persuade Wu Shiyan to change his mind, but the chances of Wu Shiyan listening to his advice are extremely low, and he himself would be demoted instead.
This is the worst possible strategy.
Secondly, he sold his wife for personal gain, sending her to the palace, which earned him ridicule and scorn from the people.
This is still a last resort.
So even if this matter is out in the open and everyone knows about it, Pei Jin will not bring it up on his own initiative. He will deal with whatever comes his way; Wu Shiyan cannot take his wife away by force.
If it was truly stolen, it was because of their own lack of strength.
That was the original plot. If Pei Jin had been sensible, Wu Shiyan wouldn't have gone to such lengths to switch her with Zhao Wanyi and have "Madam Pei" die a reasonable death, leaving Pei Jin speechless.
The thought that Pei Jin, as the rightful husband, still had to guard against the emperor coveting his wife made Qi Yu laugh.
However, Pei Jin also had his own advantages, which prevented Wu Shiyan from hating him to the point of wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Pei Jin was an upright man. When Wu Shiyan left the capital, he resolutely gave up his almost-laid career and left with Wu Shiyan.
Based on this bond between ruler and subject, Wu Shiyan would never dare to touch Pei Jin.
Besides, it was Wu Shiyan himself who took a fancy to someone else's wife. If he weren't the emperor, if he didn't have the merits and achievements of pacifying the country, he would have been criticized and cursed for being so blatant.
There was still some time before dawn, and as she was thinking, Qi Yu heard Wu Shiyan's breathing.
She remembered what Meng She had said: when the Wu Shi Yan poison took effect, the pain would be exponentially greater.
But after all this time, Wu Shiyan hasn't uttered a single complaint of pain, which shows he's no ordinary person.
He can endure hardships that ordinary people cannot, no wonder Wu Shiyan was the one who came out on top in the end and won the story.
Qi Yu's thoughts wandered aimlessly, even considering what kind of meal she would have when she returned to Zhaoyang Palace. She also thought about having the craftsmen play two sets of mahjong, recalling how Zhou Miaoyin, Lü Shu, Deng Yuehuai, and the palace maids had a wonderful time playing in the Imperial Garden last time.
It made her, looking at the account books in Zhaoyang Palace, look like a big, resentful person.
This is utterly absurd.
Wu Shiyan was unusually calm at this moment. Perhaps it was because he had suppressed the poison once again, or perhaps it was because Qi Yu's straightforward and vivid appearance just now made him unable to help but laugh and made him think about it repeatedly.
Or perhaps it was the hazy sight of a handkerchief brushing against her snow-white neck that soothed the long-standing, pricking anxiety in his heart.
Wu Shiyan got up and went to the hot spring to bathe.
Upon seeing this, Qi Yu pushed the blanket outwards.
No sooner had Wu Shiyan left than Tian Wenshan reappeared, accompanied by Pei Jiu and a palace maid. The palace maid was the one who had helped her massage her head and soothe her pain in the palace yesterday.
The Greenhouse Palace was special because there were no palace maids there, which meant that she faced many inconveniences there.
So Tian Wenshan quickly brought Qi Yu's trusted men.
He said from a distance, "Your Majesty, the hot spring is ready. Would Your Majesty like to proceed?"
Qi Yu nodded, then, remembering that they couldn't see her, hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you want to take a bath, have Pei Jiu come over."
"Come over here, the other one too."
Tian Wenshan quickly gave the two women a look, signaling them to come forward and serve him attentively, while he slowly withdrew.
Before retreating outside the hall, he clearly heard a few words.
"May I have your name?"
"This servant is A'Zhu."
"I remember you. My back is a little sore. Could you massage it for me?"
Azhu's voice was soft: "Yes."
Pei Jiu said with concern, "Your Majesty, why is your skin so red..."
Tian Wenshan's eyes lit up, and he was secretly delighted. It seemed that His Majesty was not entirely indifferent to the Imperial Concubine, but rather that his upright demeanor prevented people from seeing his true feelings.
He smiled and stepped out of the greenhouse hall with satisfaction.
"...Did His Majesty order you to do this?"
Qi Yu, who was lying on the bed to let A Zhu exert more force, didn't know what expression to make when she heard Pei Jiu's increasingly outrageous guesses.
She said, "I pressed down on it myself after I fell asleep by the bed. It's such a light red mark. If it had been a little later, you wouldn't have been able to see it."
Pei-Jiu still had doubts: "What about your back?"
"Twisted."
Pei Jiu then believed it, mainly because the bed she had slept on for half the night was not messy, and it was clear that nothing had happened.
His Majesty dislikes the Empress, so she naturally has to be extra careful to prevent the Empress from being bullied by His Majesty and suffering alone.
Azhu's gaze sharpened the moment Peijiu spoke, her lowered eyelashes concealing the expression in her eyes. She listened intently to the conversation between the master and servant, memorizing every word.
A Zhu had skillful hands, and under A Zhu's massage, Qi Yu's mood gradually improved.
She got up, her muscles and bones felt looser, and her back no longer ached, so she happily praised Azhu.
A'Zhu stopped, took a step back, and said calmly, "This is what this servant should do."
Qi Yu led the two to the hot spring for a bath.
The greenhouse hall was very large, and there was naturally more than one hot spring pool. Qi Yu did not meet with Wu Shiyan.
Perhaps Tian Wenshan realized that the greenhouse was too hot for her, so she had someone send an ice chest to her side.
After bathing, Qi Yu changed into new clothes.
Pei Jiu stepped forward to help her straighten her clothes.
Seeing that it was getting light outside, Qi Yu went to say goodbye to Wu Shiyan and then returned to Zhaoyang Palace with Pei Jiu.
"Your Majesty, you like A-Zhu, why don't you let A-Zhu come to Zhaoyang Palace to serve you?" Just now when leaving Wenshi Palace, Eunuch Tian suggested to the Empress that A-Zhu's skills were good and it was a waste for her to stay in the palace. He suggested that she be given to the Empress, but the Empress, who clearly liked A-Zhu, still refused.
Qi Yu chuckled. Just now, Tian Wenshan wasn't sending her a palace maid; he was clearly implying that Wu Shiyan didn't even have a maid who served him regularly, which was why A Zhu's brilliance was being overlooked.
He earnestly hoped that she would care more about Wu Shiyan and send more soup and water to the Greenhouse Palace, and he would surely speak well of her to His Majesty.
However, even if Tian Wenshan didn't have this intention, Qi Yu wouldn't accept A Zhu.
When Tian Wenshan made the suggestion, A'Zhu was not pleased, indicating that she preferred to stay in her bedroom rather than Zhaoyang Palace.
Indeed, Wu Shiyan often lived in the Greenhouse Palace. The palace servants there were idle and not tiring, and because they were in the Emperor's presence, they had a high status in the palace and received a lot of money each month. She wouldn't trade it for them.
Qi Yu thought for a moment and said, "I don't like A Zhu to the point that I can't live without her. Compared to A Zhu, you and Aunt are better."
Pei Jiu is naive; her thoughts are written all over her face, and she can only fool people when she's out in a good way.
She could feel Aunt Jinrong's loving kindness.
Sure enough, a simple compliment moved Pei Jiu to tears: "This servant will always follow Your Highness."
Qi Yu's smile widened.
"Your Majesty, what are you laughing at?"
"I think my Pei-Jiu is very cute."
-
In the following days, the palace was peaceful, and Qi Yu took the opportunity to gather the three beauties of Pixiang Palace together.
Compared to when they first entered the palace together, Zhou Miaoyin is now uneasy in front of Qi Yu. She doesn't understand why the Consort would let them go to Zhaoyang Palace. Could it be that she is plotting revenge?
They ate and slept well in the Pixiang Palace. If they really wanted revenge, shouldn't they have secretly instructed the palace servants to take their things away? Why would they be summoned to the Zhaoyang Palace so openly?
If they were injured in Zhaoyang Palace, the Empress Dowager would certainly not protect the Consort and let her get away with it.
Under the bewildered gazes of the three women, Qi Yu calmly instructed the palace servants to bring out the mahjong tiles, and smiled gently at them.
The two sets of mahjong tiles in Qi Yu's hand were made of jade. The three of them accepted them well when they saw them, and even though they didn't know how to play, they were willing to touch the tiles.
Once she understood the rules and actually started practicing, Zhou Miaoyin's eyes lit up.
In a short while, she understood the wonder of this pile of jade tablets.
He also firmly believed in his heart that if these things could be circulated out of the palace, they would definitely be sought after by the women in the inner quarters, and they would no longer have to worry about having nothing to do when they got together.
At the same time, Qi Yu finally experienced the thrill of crushing newbies, and the smile on her lips never faded.
The three women, who had been holding their breath, breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing this, they understood immediately: the Imperial Concubine needed someone to play with, which was why she had called them in.
Does this mean that they weren't so bad in the eyes of the Imperial Concubine?
In just one afternoon, Zhou Miaoyin quickly got the hang of it and had already started feeding cards to Qi Yu without any instruction. Qi Yu, who had only realized this after winning several rounds, was simply amazed.
Yes, Zhou Miaoyin is intelligent and kind; how can she only be a beauty?
Meanwhile, outside the palace.
Zhao Wanyi went out to offer incense in the Pei family's carriage, but the carriage suddenly stopped at the edge of a grove of trees.
The sound of horses' hooves drowned out the sound of arrows piercing flesh.
Yuelu said, "The young master is still waiting for us, why aren't we leaving?"
She lifted the carriage curtain, then sat back down in horror, her voice trembling as she said, "Uncle Wu has been killed!"
Uncle Wu is the coachman of the Pei family.
Zhao Wanyi's eyes sharpened, and her right hand quietly reached for the sword that was hidden inside the carriage, ready for any eventuality.
She did not act rashly, because to the outside world, she was just a housewife who was weak and had read a lot of books.
Moreover, Wu Shiyan's bodyguards are always watching her, so she can't afford to give anything away unless it's a life-or-death situation.
Zhao Wanyi's gaze fell on her wrist. After all, in order to get closer to Wu Shiyan, she had already abandoned the martial arts she had learned over the years. Now she didn't even know where the hidden guards were, which put her in a rather passive position.
The only good news after a year in Beijing is that I may have found my younger sister.
A man in black leaped into the stopped carriage, knocked out the screaming Yue Lu with a karate chop, and looked at Zhao Wanyi with a scrutinizing gaze: "You are Wu Shiyan's beloved woman?"
Zhao Wanyi's eyes widened suddenly: "What?"
What nonsense are you spouting?
The man in black extended his hand, not wanting to waste words: "It's the Pei family's carriage, Madam Pei, no doubt about it."
They then planned to kidnap Zhao Wanyi.
Hearing the message he wanted, the hidden guards finally moved. A small pebble struck the outstretched wrist of the man in black, and then the carriage broke apart. A kick came from the side, sending the man in black flying away, before the guards drew their swords and killed him.
Zhao Wanyi withdrew her hand from the sword; she was just a hair's breadth away from making her move.
She woke Yuelu, who covered her mouth and followed Zhao Wanyi off the carriage. There was no trace of the guards left, only the corpse of a black-clad man with a tattoo on his neck.
Zhao Wanyi could see clearly that the assassin who killed her was a remnant of the traitorous king, a rat in the gutter.
Even if she wanted to assassinate Wu Shiyan, she would not want to associate with this group of people.
But their information is undoubtedly well-informed; they wouldn't make baseless accusations.
Does Wu Shiyan like her?
Zhao Wanyi wasn't stupid; she naturally connected the dots to the imperial concubine in the palace.
They look almost identical.
Pei Jin, who had come specifically to see the mess after waiting for a long time without anyone showing up, quickly made a judgment about the corpses on the ground, given his experience dealing with many remnants of rebel kings.
At this moment, Zhao Wanyi looked up, and Pei Jin saw the light in her eyes, and immediately had a bad feeling.
A note from the author:
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