Low murmurs echoed from inside the Liuxia Palace.
Like spring water flowing down the mountain rocks, meandering and winding.
A closer look at the mountains and forests reveals a broad, massive rock rising abruptly from the ground. On this rock face, one particular boulder stands out with a unique shape, seemingly suspended in mid-air, forming a scene of its own. A babbling spring meanders down the mountainside, converging into a cascading waterfall. The water crashes against the protruding boulder, splashing up layers of white spray and producing a clear, melodious sound.
Hearing the commotion inside, Pearl blushed and quickly stuffed two wads of cotton into her ears before continuing to wait outside.
The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. Exhausted, Yun Chaoxi lay on the bed, not wanting to move at all, with an expression of utter despair.
Chu Xiao chuckled and gently pinched her nose. "Xi'er still needs more practice."
Yun Chaoxi muttered to herself, "Someone like you, even if I broke my back, I still couldn't satisfy you."
Fearing that Chu Xiao might come again, Yun Chaoxi quickly closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Chu Xiao then held her contentedly and rested for a while.
...
A villa in the capital city,
This is where Chu Yansheng and Lin Zhirou often meet in secret. Lin Zhirou was concerned about Chu Yansheng's efforts to win over the Yun family, so she sent a message to ask him to meet here.
Upon meeting, Lin Zhirou couldn't wait to ask, "Have you seen Yun Chaoxi? Did she agree to speak up for you?"
Chu Yansheng felt a surge of annoyance at the thought of how Yun Chaoxi had treated him that day. "Don't even mention it. I don't know what got into her, she was completely ignoring me. I didn't even have to ask her anything before she told me to get lost!"
"Why don't you say something nice to her? She must have gone to the palace because you did something to disappoint her. How could she give up on you for no reason?"
Chu Yansheng scratched his head in frustration, "How should I know!"
"Send another message to her, try your best to persuade the Prime Minister's faction to stand on your side. I've also picked out a few women from good families. Take a look at which one is suitable and find an opportunity to get close to her," Lin Zhirou rambled on.
Chu Yansheng was already annoyed because Yun Chaoxi was ignoring him, and when Lin Zhirou told him to lower himself to coax Yun Chaoxi and to choose a noblewoman for him, he became even angrier.
"Lin Zhirou, you know perfectly well that I like you, so why do you always push me to others?"
Lin Zhirou was also angry, "I did all this for you! Who would want their husband to marry another woman and live a harmonious life together?"
In an instant, Chu Yansheng felt that Yun Chaoxi was much better than Lin Zhirou. At least Yun Chaoxi wouldn't nag him like that. Lin Zhirou kept talking about the big cause and support, which became extremely annoying after a while.
Feeling a surge of gratitude for Yun Chaoxi, Chu Yansheng even regretted not proposing marriage sooner. If Yun Chaoxi had been willing to help him, things would have been much simpler.
Seeing that Chu Yansheng was truly furious, Lin Zhirou was the first to lower her head and pour him a glass of wine. "Alright, alright, Your Highness, don't be angry. I'm doing this for our future. Didn't you promise me before that you wouldn't touch the other person even after you married her?"
Chu Yansheng was still in a bad mood. He drank several cups and, with the alcohol taking effect and the warm, soft woman in his arms, the two soon couldn't help but fall into a passionate embrace.
In a daze, Chu Yansheng mistook the person in his arms for someone else.
After a moment of pleasure, Chu Yansheng awoke with a start, his head covered in sweat.
He had a dream in which he ascended the throne after the emperor died.
He immediately deposed his first wife, Yun Chaoxi, and made his beloved Lin Zhirou his empress. Unexpectedly, Lin Zhirou, who had always been considerate of him, poisoned him after giving birth to their child. After he died from the poison, Lin Zhirou supported her young son to ascend the throne and ruled from behind the curtain, seizing all power!
Chu Yansheng broke out in a cold sweat. When he looked at Lin Zhirou, who was leaning towards him, the love in his eyes vanished, replaced by terror, as if he were seeing a venomous woman. Chu Yansheng jumped out of bed and dressed immediately.
"I have other things to do. I'll have a servant take you home in a bit."
Chu Yansheng didn't know if the dream was real or not, but regardless, Lin Zhirou had left a shadow on him. Recalling the various signs of their past interactions, Chu Yansheng felt more and more that Lin Zhirou's ambition might be even greater than his own!
In short, Lin Zhirou should never be married!
He fled the villa as if escaping and returned to the Prince Yu's residence. After thinking for a while, he picked up his pen and wrote a heartfelt letter, then used the spies he had painstakingly planted in the palace to deliver the letter to Yun Chaoxi.
...
In the Imperial Study, Chu Xiao was processing memorials when a young eunuch entered and presented him with a letter.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter sent into the palace by the Prince of Yu's heir, intended for... Consort Zhao. This servant has stopped him."
Chu Xiao's thorough understanding of the palace stemmed from the fact that his network of informants could not escape his notice. He usually turned a blind eye to the dynamics of the court, but that did not mean he was unaware of who had planted spies in the palace.
Therefore, Chu Yansheng's letter was intercepted as soon as it entered the palace.
Chu Xiao reached out his hand, and the eunuch respectfully handed him the letter.
He opened it and read it quickly, his heart sinking with each line. By the time he finished reading the letter, his face was as black as ink.
Finally, he gave a cold laugh, ordered the envelope to be resealed, and sent to Zhaoyang Palace. He then got up and went to Zhaoyang Palace as well.
Zhaoyang Palace was more than twice the size of Liuxia Palace, with a small garden in front and connected to the Imperial Garden in the back. A pond had also been dug specifically for growing water lilies and raising koi. Yun Chaoxi strolled around for quite a while, until her nose was slightly sweaty, before reluctantly returning to her bedchamber.
There was a letter on the table, and Yun Chaoxi raised an eyebrow.
The letter was unsigned, and she only realized it was written by Chu Yansheng after opening it. She patiently read on.
The first half of the letter was roughly about him expressing his feelings for her and asking what he had done wrong that made her so heartless as to enter the palace and ignore him.
Yun Chaoxi sneered and looked down again.
The second half is quite interesting. Chu Yansheng is still persistent, saying he doesn't mind if she enters the palace and becomes the emperor's concubine. He wants to maintain a close relationship with her and have an affair in secret, and he asks the Prime Minister's Mansion and the General's Mansion for support. He claims that since the emperor has no heir, a crown prince must be chosen from a collateral branch, and if he ascends the throne, he will definitely give her a title, and so on.
Although he didn't write it so explicitly, that's the gist of it.
After reading it, Yun Chaoxi wondered, how could she have fallen for such a brainless person in her past life, and how could he have even ascended to the throne?!
She stared at the letter for a long time, then laughed in exasperation. Little did she know, a figure outside the hall was watching her intently through the crack in the window.
Chu Xiao's heart sank lower and lower. She smiled. She smiled at Chu Yansheng's letter?!
In an instant, Chu Xiao felt ridiculous. He had taken her into his heart, but she still had someone else on her mind.
He wanted to turn around and leave, but his clothes accidentally got caught on the window frame, making a slight noise.
Yun Chaoxi noticed it immediately, and when she looked up, she saw a glimpse of a dark-colored garment passing by the window.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com