Chapter 38: His Majesty Likes the Queen's True Nature
This action was obviously intimate. Jiang Shuyi's eyelashes trembled slightly. For the first time, she felt that it would be nice to be a little palace maid. Serving a kind and gentle master like Pei Yan was more comfortable than being a girl at home.
She immediately took over Cheng Shouzhong's job, stood on tiptoe to take off Pei Yan's outer robe, and said with a smile: "I am a new servant, and I don't know much about the rules. After following Your Majesty for a while, I will have a better understanding."
Several servants spoke fluently, without any of the embarrassment they experienced in the imperial pond last night.
Pei Yan looked at the dress she was wearing calmly. He didn't have time to take a closer look yesterday, but now he saw that it suited her very well.
The light pink palace skirt wrapped her body tightly, revealing the full curve of her chest. A soft silk ribbon was tied around her slender waist. The hem of her skirt was embroidered with a crabapple flower, which fluttered as she moved left and right.
It was as if she originally belonged to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Pei Yan raised his hand to accommodate her actions of dressing him, and said in a gentle tone: "Then follow me well."
*
At dinner, Jiang Shuyi ate very little.
Pei Yan looked at the dishes on the table, then at Jiang Shuyi, who had only eaten half a bowl of Tremella soup before getting up to serve him the meal. He paused and asked, "Is my imperial meal not to your liking?"
Jiang Shuyi was a little embarrassed and whispered: "No, no, it's just that I ate too much during the day..."
Pei Yan smiled, and did not eat the fish she had put on the plate. He took a piece of stir-fried vegetables with his chopsticks and said, "I see. I was worried that you would not be able to eat because I was not here. Now it seems that I was worrying too much."
Jiang Shuyi snorted softly and sat back opposite Pei Yan: "I couldn't eat at first, but in the morning, the Imperial Concubine brought cakes, and at noon, the Imperial Concubine brought side dishes. In the afternoon, the Imperial Concubine Jin wanted to come in and dance. How could I bear to let their kindness go to waste? So I enjoyed the food for Your Majesty. The remaining songs and dances are not yet appreciated. Would Your Majesty like to taste them tomorrow?"
The smile on Pei Yan's face deepened.
"Okay, I will listen to you and watch Concubine Jin's singing and dancing tomorrow."
Jiang Shuyi immediately looked aggrieved and asked in disbelief: "Your Majesty really wants to see it?!"
"I didn't want to watch it, but you couldn't bear to see her kindness go to waste." Pei Yan indulged her helplessly: "You know, I hate to see you sad, so it's okay to watch it."
Jiang Shuyi felt that he was joking, but she was more afraid that Pei Yan was serious, so she quickly stood up and walked to his side, shaking his sleeve anxiously: "I was just joking! If Your Majesty wants to see it, I will learn how to dance for Your Majesty. I guarantee it will be much better than Concubine Jin's dance!"
Pei Yan deliberately hesitated for a while, making Jiang Shuyi blush anxiously, and then he said slowly as if weighing the pros and cons: "Okay, then I'll wait and see you jump."
Jiang Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief and made up her mind to learn dancing once the house arrest order was lifted!
After dinner, Pei Yan was going to copy scriptures for the empress dowager, so he asked Jiang Shuyi to go to the bedroom to play for a while and then go to sleep.
Jiang Shuyi was unwilling and wanted to accompany him, but Pei Yan responded gently but firmly: "Your presence here will disturb my peace of mind."
Jiang Shuyi hugged his arm and tried to act like a spoiled child: "Your Majesty, I won't say anything, I'll just look at you, okay?"
Pei Yan touched her cheek and said, "You bit the jade pendant for so long last time, but you still haven't learned your lesson."
Jiang Shuyi didn't expect to be threatened suddenly. Her expression froze and her originally bright eyes dimmed a lot.
Even though she knew Pei Yan probably wouldn't really punish her again, it was still sad enough to be intimidated when they were being intimate.
She said "Oh" softly, let go of Pei Yan's arm, stood up, and bowed obediently: "Then I will go back to the bedroom to read and will not disturb Your Majesty."
Pei Yan felt helpless as he looked at Jiang Shuyi, who had the words "I'm sad, I won't make trouble with you anymore" written on her face.
But with important matters at hand, there was no time to coax her.
"Go ahead. There is a nine-ring puzzle in the hall. If you can't concentrate on reading, play with it for a while."
Jiang Shuyi agreed sensibly and went to the bedroom.
Pei Yan watched her enter the inner hall and called Cheng Shouzhong: "Go and call Fang Chu, let her go in to accompany Concubine Jiang, and by the way, change the spices in the hall."
Cheng Shouzhong understood and replied “yes” in a low voice.
*
In the bedroom, Jiang Shuyi sat on the dragon bed with her knees hugged, staring at the bright yellow curtains in a daze, when she suddenly heard a gentle, teasing voice: "Madam, are you worried?"
She turned her head and saw Fang Chu coming in with a smile.
Jiang Shuyi was in a bad mood. She would not vent her anger on the palace maids, but as a favorite concubine, she did not need to put on a forced smile in front of them, so she ignored her.
Fang Chu did not feel embarrassed and went to replace the incense in the gilded four-legged incense burner.
When she smelled the familiar fragrance, Jiang Shuyi came back to her senses. She looked at the incense burner, then at Fang Chu, and asked uncertainly, "Is this the incense in my palace?"
"Yes." Fangchu put the incense burner back and said with a smile, "His Majesty is worried about the queen, and is afraid that you will not be used to the smell of ambergris and will not sleep well at night, so he specially asked me to go to Zhaoyang Palace to get this Yihe incense to replace it."
The faint sadness on Jiang Shuyi's face disappeared in an instant.
She seemed to have a last breath and wanted to get out of bed, Fang Chu hurried over to help her put on her shoes.
"My lady, please don't be anxious. If you fall, I will die."
Jiang Shuyi wanted to go out and see Pei Yan, but when she thought of what happened just now, she hesitated and asked Fang Chu, "Sister Fang Chu, you have served in the imperial court for many years and you are very thoughtful. Tell me the truth, am I too noisy and annoying His Majesty?"
"How could your Majesty think so?" Fang Chu was surprised. "The Queen is dignified and the Concubine is gentle, but neither of them is as pleasing to the emperor as you. It is obvious that His Majesty likes your true nature."
Jiang Shuyi was even more distressed: "Why did they all serve His Majesty when he was handling official business? I wanted to accompany him, but was driven away by His Majesty?"
Fang Chu smiled: "Isn't this lady able to figure it out?"
Jiang Shuyi looked at her puzzledly.
"Of course it's because the other ladies are all obedient and serve, not even daring to glance at the memorials, but you are so favored by His Majesty that you can't wait to stick to His Majesty. If His Majesty doesn't drive you away, how can he handle official business?"
...It seems to make some sense.
In her previous life, Jiang Shuyi suffered from the blows of her son and sister, and was imprisoned in Zhaoyang Palace. She was exhausted and unhappy all day long. When she accompanied Pei Yan to review memorials, she rarely spoke, and often lay quietly on his legs. Instead, Pei Yan would pinch her ears and rub her head from time to time.
But this life is different. After she died once, she let go of those things. She no longer felt depressed for someone who was not worthy of her. But she also wanted to win favor. Whenever she was with Pei Yan, she would stick to him, which really disturbed him.
After Jiang Shuyi figured it out, she decided not to go out. But when she came to her senses, she met Fang Chu's eyes that were full of understanding and amusement.
She realized it later and felt a little embarrassed. She reached out to scratch Fang Chu's waist and said, "You talk as if you saw it. When did I want to stick to your majesty? I am a palace maid in front of the emperor. I am cautious and prudent. You are also talking nonsense!"
Fang Chu smiled and dodged: "Oh, when you have something to ask me, just call me sister. I feel happy to hear that. I told the truth to the queen at the risk of being beheaded by your majesty. In the end, the queen was ashamed of herself and now she is repaying kindness with hatred and bullying me!"
Jiang Shuyi couldn't help but laughed as well: "How dare you be so slick? Today I will make you admit your mistake!"
The laughter and joyful chatter from the inner hall could be heard through the door. Pei Yan was copying scriptures in front of the imperial desk. Hearing the sound, he curled the corners of his lips, then rolled up his sleeves to dip the ink in the dark red ink that was obviously mixed with human blood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com