Chapter 20 His Majesty turned over the name card of Concubine Wen
At dusk, news came from the Qianqing Palace that His Majesty had turned over the name card of Concubine Wen.
Jiang Shuyi was sitting by the window watching the spring swallows return to their nests. She was stunned for a moment when she heard the words, then she closed her eyes and raised her sleeve to wipe away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.
*
Unlike the silence in Zhaoyang Palace, Changle Palace was filled with joy.
The eunuch from the Jingshifang came to report the good news. The two maids that Wen Yao brought into the palace grabbed golden melon seeds and rewarded them generously, giving each of them a handful.
The eunuchs were laughing so hard that their faces were about to twitch, and they poured out nice words in baskets as if they were free of charge. The two maids smiled and agreed on their masters' behalf.
However, Wen Yao frowned slightly, as if serving the emperor in bed was a hassle for her.
In this dynasty, concubines were supposed to bathe and then be wrapped in brocade quilts and carried into the Palace of Heavenly Purity by eunuchs to protect themselves from assassination by hidden weapons. However, the late emperor thought it was boring to see all the concubines naked, so he was happy to let them dress up and try every way to please him.
As for the assassination, the late emperor did not think that the concubines who had been pampered since childhood would have nothing better to do than to kill their nine clans for fun.
Therefore, from that time on, the rules for concubines to serve the emperor in the palace were changed. They had to dress up themselves and ride on the seven-fragrance carriage to be brought to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
When the bedroom nanny came to teach Concubine Wen the rules, she mentioned this matter. Unexpectedly, Concubine Wen glanced at her indifferently, with a look of displeasure on her face: "Even if the late emperor had not changed the rules, I am of noble birth and innocent, and I would never be carried naked to the bed by a eunuch."
The maidservant was choked with speech for a moment.
What does this mean? Before the late emperor changed the rules, the concubines were not noble and innocent, weren't they?
She looked at the other maid, who shook her head at her, signaling her not to meddle in other people's business.
With the Empress Dowager as her aunt and the general as her father, why would you mess with her?
*
The night deepens.
Wen Yao took the Seven Fragrance Carriage to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. When she entered the bedroom, she saw Pei Yan reading a book.
It was a copy of the Book of Songs, which must have been read many times, and the cover was already a little wrinkled.
She felt it was strange. Shouldn't His Majesty have memorized the Four Books and Five Classics, the foundation-building books, by heart? Why was he still reading them now?
Wen Yao did not show it. She knelt down respectfully three steps away and kowtowed. She said in a calm voice, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well and safe."
Pei Yan seemed to have just noticed her coming in. He closed the book and looked up at her.
Wen Yao was still dressed simply today, in a light pink skirt, and the jade hairpin on her head was replaced with a mutton-fat jade hairpin, which was also priceless and became even more translucent under the candlelight.
Pei Yan said: "No need to be polite."
Wen Yao stood up, then lowered her head and said nothing.
The hall fell into silence.
Pei Yan stroked the book in his hand, looked at her for a while, and then said, "Don't be nervous. I won't visit you tonight."
Wen Yao's body stiffened and she looked up in surprise.
Pei Yan sat at the top, just like he had seen at his aunt's place, with a gentle demeanor, as elegant as a jade or a jade. At this moment, he was wearing a moon-white brocade robe, and looked more like a modest gentleman from an ordinary family.
He looked at her and asked, "You don't want to sleep with me, do you?"
Wen Yao was panicked for a moment, and immediately knelt down: "I dare not!"
"I dare not." Pei Yan repeated her words and smiled: "Then I am right."
Without waiting for Wen Yao to argue, he stroked the scroll in his hand and asked in a puzzled tone: "Lady Wen, since you are avoiding me, why did you choose to enter the palace?
Wen Yao knew she had no way to refute it, so she bit her lip and looked at Pei Yan and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm trying to avoid you, but in my heart, I want a husband who is devoted to me and loyal to me."
Pei Yan seemed not to notice the hope hidden in her eyes, and pretended to be puzzled: "Your father treats you like a pearl in his palm. If he knew you wanted this, he would definitely not let you run for election. Could it be that you didn't tell your family about it?"
Wen Yao lowered her head again.
It was not something she had not said before. Her father had found many young men from noble families who had sworn that they would never take concubines in their lifetime, but those ordinary people were not at all acceptable to her.
Her father had made great military achievements and was feared by the court and the country. Her life since childhood was not much different from that of a princess. Why should she marry an ordinary man, take care of her husband and children, serve her parents-in-law, and waste her life in vain?
Only the present emperor, who is both virtuous and talented, and has the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, can be considered to have humiliated her.
"Your Majesty, you don't know that most of the children of the noble families nowadays are idle and have no ambition to make progress. Rather than marrying them, I would rather enter the palace."
Wen Yao said with some annoyance, looked at Pei Yan, a little struggle flashed in her eyes, and finally said: "Maybe... maybe His Majesty will treat me well in the future."
Pei Yan smiled, as warm and gentle as the spring breeze melting the ice: "Is there anything wrong with me treating you now?"
Wen Yao was distracted for a moment, but soon calmed down and looked away: "Your Majesty is very good to all the concubines, especially Concubine Jiang. I heard from my aunt that His Majesty dotes on her very much."
When she finished speaking, there was obvious dissatisfaction in her tone.
Pei Yan thought of Jiang Shuyi.
She has been in a bad mood these past two days.
After all, Jiang Shuyi had been raised by him for five years and was used to relying on him, so it was okay for her to act coquettishly and throw a tantrum towards him if she felt wronged and sad.
As for Wen's...
Pei Yan chuckled and tapped the scroll in his hand with his fingers: "Lady Wen, you must understand that from today on, all the kindness I show you is no longer because you are my mother's niece, but because you are my concubine. As a monarch and a husband, it is natural for me to take care of you, but the same applies to the concubines in the six palaces. Naturally, I have to be good to them too."
After hearing this, Wen Yao couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad.
I am happy that since Your Majesty has said so, it means he is not afraid of my father and aunt, and he is not being nice to me just for their sakes. But I am worried that Your Majesty is so sentimental, will he give up the harem for her?
Wen Yao pursed her lips and tried: "Then I dare to ask Your Majesty, can you not force me to sleep with you before you fall in love with me?"
Pei Yan sighed helplessly as if he was looking at a naughty child, put the book on the table, and raised his hand towards her: "Okay, I will do whatever you say. Get up quickly, the ground is cold, be careful not to catch a cold."
This comforting tone made Wen Yao's heart suddenly tremble.
Although her father loved her, he was a big and strong military commander after all. He could not ask about her well-being gently, but only bought her cold and beautiful clothes and hairpins. Her brothers were also stationed in the northwest, and they had not come back for several years, so they were all unfamiliar.
This was the first time Wen Yao felt warmth from a man.
Wen Yao stood up, feeling a little at a loss as to what to do.
Pei Yan smiled: "I heard that you like reading at home?"
Wen Yao nodded: "Father has many rare books in his collection, but he doesn't like to read them. The other sisters don't like writing either, they just like to get together and play. Only I like quietness, and I often keep company with poetry and books."
Pei Yan: "Then you should have read all the books here. How about this? I will ask the palace maids to prepare some pens and ink, and I will use the theme of impromptu spring night as the subject. You and I will each write a poem. Whoever writes better will sleep in bed today, otherwise you will spend the night on the low couch in the outer room."
After he finished speaking, he smiled softly with his eyes curved, "Lady Wen, I am doing this for your own good. If you go back now, you will be laughed at."
Wen Yao was so excited that when she came to her senses, she had already responded with "OK".
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