Chapter 6
Although Zhao Wanyi and Pei Jin had left, Wu Shiyan was once again lost in his own thoughts.
Qi Yu remained unaffected, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the commotion nearby.
The day she entered the capital, her carriage stopped directly at the palace gate. What was an ordinary scene of the bustling market to others was extremely interesting to Qi Yu.
The teahouse is in a great location, surrounded by clinics, pharmacies, bookstores, restaurants, embroidery shops, clothing stores, and jewelry stores.
Wu Shiyan comes about once every ten days, so can she go out with Wu Shiyan again next time?
You can also stroll around the area and buy some things from outside the palace.
It's a pity I didn't bring any money with me this time, otherwise I wouldn't be here leisurely drinking tea.
"Let's go," Wu Shiyan said, pulling himself out of his thoughts and regaining his composure.
Qi Yu agreed.
The two came down from the teahouse, walked onto the street, and finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous carriage.
Qi Yu asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, shall we not return to the palace?"
"It's too late today, returning to the palace would take too much time. I have a residence in the capital."
Qi Yu gave an "oh" and, at Wu Shiyan's prompting, lifted her skirt and boarded the carriage.
Wu Shiyan watched as Qi Yu stepped onto the stool and got into the car. The woman's clothes were a bit complicated, and she had to watch her step at all times, which made her seem a little unsteady. This made people subconsciously worry and couldn't help but reach out to help her.
Especially their similar profiles.
Wu Shiyan clenched his fist and suppressed the urge.
Qi Yu's words still stirred up ripples in his heart. He couldn't help but think hard about the daily interactions between Zhao Wanyi and Pei Jin, and he didn't seem to see any particularly intimate scenes.
Of course, perhaps when they were about to get intimate, he couldn't stand it and turned his face away, which is why the image of even a kiss didn't appear in his mind.
Qi Yu didn't feel anything was amiss. She quickly boarded the carriage and found a seat.
Then Wu Shiyan bent down and came up.
The carriage headed in the direction that the Pei family's carriage had left earlier.
A moment later, the carriage stopped in front of a house.
Qi Yu got off the carriage and scanned the neighbors of the house, discovering that it was the only house on the entire street.
One can't help but marvel at Wu Shiyan's immense wealth.
Hearing the commotion, the steward came out first, followed by several simply dressed guards. Although their clothes were simple, they were still clearly strong and robust young men.
Qi Yu followed Wu Shiyan into the house.
The house was very quiet, with no flowers or plants. After passing through an archway, the area where flowers and plants should have been planted was paved with square bricks.
Soon, the housekeeper arranged for a quiet woman to follow behind Qi Yu.
The woman was tall and thin, with her head bowed and silent. Her face was very ordinary, the kind that would go unnoticed in a crowd.
But Qi Yu felt that she was very light and graceful, and walked without making a sound, like a cat, so she took a closer look at her.
Qi Yu had already noticed that this house was unusual; there were no ordinary servants or maids, and even the steward seemed to have come from the military.
He habitually followed orders when dealing with Wu Shiyan.
Wu Shiyan said, "This is the Imperial Concubine. Arrange a private room for her."
The butler agreed.
Because the side room still needed to be prepared, Qi Yu stayed by Wu Shiyan's side. After they arrived at the flower hall and sat down, Qi Yu noticed that the aura of the person hidden in the shadows next to Wu Shiyan had changed.
Qi Yu glanced at the eaves.
Originally, only one guard had come out with them through the secret passage. He followed their carriage at a distance until they entered the house.
However, once they arrived at the flower hall, the bodyguard was replaced.
So when the steward announced that the room was ready, Qi Yu tactfully took her leave.
Qi Yu had a guess that this house was probably a place where Wu Shiyan trained his secret guards, and even the woman who served by his side was a secret guard.
The housekeeper led them to their room and then left.
Qi Yu looked at her: "What's your name?"
The woman beside Qi Yu looked up in surprise, and after a moment she said, "My name is Lin Qi."
"Your surname is Lin, and you're the seventh child in your family?"
Lin Qi shook his head: "I am the seventh person with the surname Lin."
Qi Yu smiled and said, "We are so destined to meet, my name also has the character 'qi' in it."
Lin Qi fell silent; she wasn't used to small talk.
Qi Yu also noticed this, but Lin Qi answered all her questions. She would answer whatever she could, and keep quiet about things she couldn't.
After chatting for a while, Qi Yu learned that the house was located near the Pei residence, and could be considered a neighbor. The Pei residence was right behind the house, separated only by a wall. Behind the wall was the Pei residence's garden, and it was also very close to the women's courtyard.
The house was very large, and there were probably quite a few people there, but they came and went without a trace, which made it seem very quiet.
No wonder Wu Shiyan knew that Zhao Wanyi had revised Pei Jin's article. He probably had a bodyguard nearby who copied down Zhao Wanyi's approximate schedule and reported it to Wu Shiyan.
Because the house was quiet, Qi Yu didn't feel bad at all; on the contrary, she felt comfortable.
She asked Lin Qi, "Miss Lin Qi, what should I do if I want to take a bath?"
Lin Qi then disappeared and brought her hot water.
On the other side, just as Qi Yu had expected, as soon as she left, Wu Shiyan made a hand gesture, and the guards on the eaves flipped to the ground without making a sound.
“She discovered you,” Wu Shiyan said.
The guard, who was about to get up, froze.
Wu Shiyan didn't intend to delve into the matter. He knew what would happen once he brought Qi Yu here, but Qi Yu was a smart person who understood immediately, so he didn't need to worry about anything.
He brushed the matter aside: "I'll practice my lightness skill more."
The guard finally breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and handed a small note to Wu Shiyan, which detailed what Zhao Wanyi had done that day.
However, the records only cover situations where maids were present, and there is no mention whatsoever of the intimate moments between Zhao Wanyi and Pei Jin.
After all, Wu Shiyan wouldn't allow him to remember it.
Zhao Wanyi's day was uneventful: admiring flowers, reading books, going to the palace to meet the Empress Dowager, leaving the mansion to go to the clinic, returning home for a meal, and then the lights in her room were turned off, and the guards also returned to the mansion.
This time, Wu Shiyan spent more time looking at the notes than usual. Pei Jin would spend any free time with Zhao Wanyi, sticking together all the time. Judging from the notes alone, they were a couple who were inseparable.
He found nothing, put the note down, and then began to deal with the messages brought back by the other guards.
In the past, emperors only used secret guards to ensure the safety of royal family members. However, when Wu Shiyan took over the secret guards, he needed to pacify the world. He himself no longer needed the protection of secret guards, and even the royal family members were few and far between. Therefore, he dispersed the secret guards to various places to gather information, and during this period, the secret guards expanded further. As the world descended into chaos, more people went hungry, and those with good fortune joined the secret guards for various reasons.
Later, when the country was at peace, he still had no children, so he used his secret guards as sentries and scattered them among the ministers' homes.
Compared to his predecessors, Wu Shiyan was not as diligent, but the court was thriving, which was due to his conquest of the country by force.
If corrupt officials are brought to justice, wouldn't the government be in better shape?
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Pei Residence.
Inside the room, with the lights off, moonlight streamed down, creating a beautiful shimmering effect on the water.
But the two people inside showed no appreciation whatsoever.
Pei Jin said, "Let's go."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanyi's beautiful face fell into a gloomy expression. She said nothing and turned over to go to sleep.
Upon seeing this, Pei Jin took out bedding from the cabinet and went to the outer room to make a makeshift bed on the floor.
He had gotten used to this routine. Ever since their marriage, His Majesty had sent secret guards. Pei Jin didn't know whether to say His Majesty was perceptive or to complain about how His Majesty was making things difficult for him.
At night, they had to avoid the guards; in the morning, they had to avoid the maids; and during the day, they had to pretend to be a loving couple with Zhao Wanyi right under the guards' noses.
Fortunately, I can catch my breath when I'm on duty.
However, Pei Jin also noticed traces of secret guards in the residences of other ministers. He knew that His Majesty was not specifically targeting him, or that he had noticed something, which was good news.
The next day, at dawn, Qi Yu was woken up by Lin Qi, and after getting dressed, she met with Wu Shiyan.
This time they returned to the palace by carriage.
Wu Shiyan was the most powerful man in the entire palace, so he could leave and return whenever he wanted. He used a secret passage perhaps because he didn't want anyone with ulterior motives to discover his routine of leaving the palace.
Seeing Lin Qi leave, Qi Yu asked in confusion, "Doesn't Your Majesty keep secret guards by my side?"
Wu Shiyan: "The lightness skill of a suitable bodyguard is not so great that you cannot detect it."
Qi Yu smiled gently, probably because Wu Shiyan had noticed her glance at the roof yesterday.
Wu Shiyan was surprisingly perceptive.
Of course, there was another meaning behind his words: the bodyguards with excellent lightness skills had more important things to do.
Qi Yu would not argue about this; she didn't want her every move to be monitored.
Once they were on the carriage, Wu Shiyan asked, "Are you learning to read?"
Qi Yu nodded: "Yes, Aunt Jinrong found a female teacher for me. I have been learning to read every moment in Zhaoyang Palace. Now I can recognize most of the simple characters, but I still write them very poorly."
Wu Shiyan said, "After returning to Zhaoyang Palace, copy an article and have a palace servant deliver it to me."
Qi Yu was a little confused and was stunned for a moment when Wu Shiyan explained, "The affairs of the palace cannot always be handled by me. The Imperial Concubine should share my burdens."
Judging from Wu Shiyan's attitude towards his secret guards, one can see that he is a person who makes the most of everything and will not let talented people sit idle.
But Qi Yu didn't know that. She asked, "Isn't there an Empress Dowager in the palace?"
If the power of the palace remains in Wu Shiyan's hands, that's fine. But if it's really divided up, would the Empress Dowager be happy?
"She is not my biological mother, and she has reached an age where she should not be burdened with such worries." Therefore, while I can ensure the Empress Dowager's wealth and honor, I will not give her too much.
The Empress Dowager was one of the first concubines of the late emperor, and she is no longer young.
Qi Yu no longer refused: "I will write it carefully."
Upon returning to Zhaoyang Palace, Aunt Jinrong looked her over from head to toe and reassured her: "Why did Your Highness and His Majesty return from outside the palace?"
Qi Yu smiled and said, "His Majesty took me out of the palace for a look around. Aunt, prepare ink and another poem."
She wrote one with great care, but her skill level was simply not up to par with that of the native talented woman. Sure enough, after the letter was sent to the Greenhouse Palace, nothing more was written.
Qi Yu was naturally unconvinced. She challenged herself, practicing until her wrists ached every day before resting, and the next day she would send a copied article to the Greenhouse Palace.
At first, there was no reaction from the greenhouse palace, but gradually, Wu Shiyan began to review her handwriting and wrote his comments in small print next to it.
Qi Yu was a Noble Consort and a Favored Consort. Wu Shiyan would visit Zhaoyang Palace every few days.
Before going to sleep through the quilt, the two of them would get excited because of Qi Yu's handwriting and come to the table to write freely.
Looking at Wu Shiyan's handwriting, Qi Yu felt a pang of jealousy rising in her heart.
She was truly impressed by Wu Shiyan, this ancient man!
Noticing Qi Yu's intense gaze, and the genuine jealousy she expressed, Wu Shiyan's lips curved slightly.
Qi Yu has her merits, and Zhao Wanyi has her merits.
Unbeknownst to him, Wu Shiyan had clearly distinguished between the two. He would never mistake one for the other, nor would he ever mistake Qi Yu for Zhao Wanyi again.
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