It was already getting late, and after all that fuss, it was already deep into the night.
Qin Ge turned over, his eyes half-closed, and raised his hand to let out a delicate yawn. The light in the tent was dim. Jun Chenbi reached out and pulled the slender young man into his arms. Fortunately, when he was still a concubine in the harem, he had already gotten used to sleeping in the same bed with Jun Chenbi like this, so he didn't really object now. He just squinted his lips sleepily and muttered, "What kind of quirk is this, having to sleep like this..."
Despite his complaints, the boy closed his eyes and found a comfortable spot in the tyrant's arms, then fell asleep with his head on his arm.
…
Let's go back to last night.
Princess Fengxi brazenly used a scheme at the palace banquet to get the top scholar to drink the drugged wine, and then waited for the drug to take effect.
After Qin Ge left his seat, Jun Yuanyao also got up without making a sound.
She also instructed a palace maid to lead Qin Ge to the palace she had prepared in advance.
She went ahead and waited in the palace for her beloved young man to come and spend the night together.
To prepare, Jun Yuanyao took a bath and changed clothes in advance, wearing a thin gauze to cover herself. Incense to enhance the arousal was lit in the palace, and she leaned gracefully against the couch.
She was confident that as long as she and the top scholar consummated their marriage tonight, she could persuade the Empress Dowager to issue an imperial decree granting them a marriage.
As a royal princess who grew up in the palace, Jun Yuanyao learned from a young age that she had to fight for what she wanted.
Although she was granted the title of Princess Fengxi, if she could not marry into a good family, she might not be able to maintain her status as a princess for long.
Her past behavior was quite absurd. She had kept pets in the princess's mansion. Since she had no hope of marrying the eldest son of a noble family, she set her sights on Mu Xiange, a new top scholar from a poor family, who was handsome, had won the emperor's favor, and had a promising future. She wanted him to be her consort.
Of course, she also really liked and was very fond of Mu Xiange.
It is quite rare for Princess Fengxi, a woman, to possess such cunning and skill.
However, her scheme was destined to fail because it was thwarted by Qin Ge.
Jun Yuanyao waited and waited, but the top scholar did not appear. Instead, the little maid she had sent out stumbled back to report:
"Your Highness, Your Highness, the top scholar... he may not be able to make it!"
Jun Yuanyao suddenly sat up from the chaise longue, pulled back the pink gauze curtains on both sides, and leaned out, her breasts slightly exposed, her beautiful face showing surprise and anger, "—What?!"
The maid knelt on the ground, not daring to look at the princess's disheveled hair and thin veil covering her body, her appearance so undignified, for fear of angering Jun Yuanyao. She recounted in a trembling voice, "This servant followed the princess's instructions, intending to lead the top scholar to Changfang Palace, but the top scholar was very wary, and this servant failed. I could only secretly follow behind him, preparing to act at an opportune moment..."
Hearing this all the way through, Jun Yuanyao didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
To everyone's surprise, the maid's next words were—
"But then Eunuch Xia came and said... His Majesty urgently summoned the top scholar!"
Jun Yuanyao was shocked, and her vision went black for a moment. "What?!"
"The top scholar went to the Dragon Palace. This servant dared not follow him any further and had no choice but to return and report to the princess..."
Jun Yuanyao couldn't hear what the maid said after that. She never expected that her imperial brother would suddenly appear out of nowhere in her seemingly foolproof plan...
Her elder brother was so violent, dark, ruthless, and cruel; she dared not imagine what would happen if Mu Xiange lost her temper in front of the emperor, lost her composure, and offended her brother…
Jun Yuanyao could almost picture it all: the handsome young scholar dying tragically under his elder brother's sword, his crimson blood staining the ground of the Dragon Palace, his eyes wide open in death...
Jun Yuanyao couldn't help but shiver.
She had blood and lives on her hands, but Mu Xiange was different; after all, he was the young man she had fallen for.
To avoid being exposed and implicated, Princess Fengxi quickly left the palace under the cover of night.
After a night passed and no news of the top scholar's death was heard the next day, Jun Yuanyao's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, slowly began to settle down.
No news of the top scholar was reported, but it was said that the emperor suspended court for a day.
Jun Yuanyao had a strange sense of unease in her heart. She couldn't sit still in the princess's residence, her eyelids twitching, as if something bad was about to happen...
Of course, she never imagined that her painstaking scheme, which aimed to consummate her marriage with the top scholar, would end up benefiting someone else, sending her beloved prince consort to her brother's bed...
After all, this was far too shocking.
…
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Eunuch Xia stood by the dragon bed, bowing slightly outside the light gold tent, and softly called out to the emperor in a low voice.
He dared to enter the Dragon Palace without permission, but dared not lift the curtain and recklessly peek into the secret love affair between the emperor and the top scholar.
After His Majesty summoned the top scholar at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, the palace gates of the Dragon Palace remained closed for nearly a day and two nights. The top scholar did not step out. His Majesty even ordered hot springs to be prepared at the Jade Dew Pool. When the palace servants were cleaning the dragon bed and the Jade Dew Pool, they all blushed, which showed that His Majesty had favored the top scholar.
Although male-male relationships were rarely heard of in the Dayong Dynasty and seemed unbelievable, in the previous dynasty, homosexuality was prevalent, and it was not uncommon for princes and nobles to be extravagant and absurd.
Moreover, the one sitting on the dragon throne is the emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty, who has the power of life and death, the supreme ruler. What can't he have?
Yesterday, Eunuch Xia wisely refrained from disturbing them, or rather, dared not disturb them. He even forbade unauthorized personnel from approaching the Dragon Palace, keeping watch outside the palace himself and leaving a few trusted confidants at his beck and call.
However, His Majesty has already suspended court for a day without cause, so it would be unreasonable for him not to show up today as well.
So, he mustered his courage and went in to wake His Majesty.
Jun Chenbi hadn't slept so well in a long time. He was only awakened by Eunuch Xia. When he opened his phoenix eyes, a faint trace of fierceness still flashed in them. However, when his gaze fell on the face of the boy in his arms, that fierceness gradually faded and quickly disappeared.
"What is it?" The emperor lowered his voice, not wanting to disturb the person in his arms.
Eunuch Xia said softly, "Your Majesty, it's already past four in the morning. You should attend the morning court session today."
Jun Shenbi is a tyrant in history books, but he was not a foolish ruler during his reign, and he never suspended court for several days in a row.
Even when his headaches were severe, he never missed a day of court sessions.
Yesterday... was already quite absurd.
However, upon hearing Eunuch Xia remind him that he should attend the morning court session, Jun Chenbi frowned, feeling a strange reluctance to leave and a desire to indulge in this "gentle embrace"...
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